Django Allegretti was born and raised in San Francisco, California.  He began his ballet training at nine years old at San Francisco Ballet School under the direction of Helgi Tomasson and Associate Director Gloria Govrin, and later Lola De Avila.  He attended summer programs offered by San Francisco Ballet School, The School of Ballet, Chicago, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, and American Ballet Theatre at Orange County.  This is his second season with Ballet Theatre of Maryland.

Lynne Bellinger began her training at age four at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary.   She chose to take a few years off to explore other opportunities such as Track and Field, Musical Theater and her high school Concert Choir, which was invited to sing in the Christmas Candlelight Procession at Walt Disney World.   In 2002, Lynne was accepted to Goucher College, where she returned to her passion of dancing.   Upon earning a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management, she moved to Virginia to join the Richmond Ballet as a trainee to the Company, where she performed Serenade, Who Cares?, Don Quixote, and A Midsummer Nights Dream and several others.  Lynne performed many different ballets in the last three years with the Ballet Theatre of Maryland.  Her favorite experience was being able to celebrate BTM’s 30th Anniversary.  This year Lynne is excited to return as a part of BTM II, and cannot wait to see what this year will bring.

Jillian Cyr, of Derry, New Hampshire, began her training at age four under Barbara Mullen of the Londonderry Dance Academy.  She then furthered her studies with Mary McCarthy of Dance Progressions before attending a private high school to train with Andrei Bossov and Natalya Getman of the Bossov Ballet Theatre.  Jillian spent summers partaking in summer intensives offered by Bossov Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Ballet Theatre of Maryland. She's looking forward to her third season with Ballet Theatre of Maryland. 

Erica Diesl grew up in Acton, Massachusetts and received her early ballet training at the Acton School of Ballet under the direction of Kathryn Anderson.  While in high school, Erica was invited to join the Commonwealth Ballet Company, with whom she performed leading roles in ballets such as Coppelia, Lunar Tides and Cinderella.  She also had the opportunity to perform with Boston-based company, BalletRox, in Anthony Williams’ The Urban Nutcracker.   After high school, Erica continued her education at the University of Utah, as well as the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, where she was able to learn works by Jiri Kylian and Ohad Naharin among others.  She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a B.F.A. in Ballet as well as a B.A. in History.  This is her second season with BTM.

Alyssa Johnson was born and raised in Annandale Virginia.  She received her early training at The Metropolitan Ballet Theatre under the direction of Susan Blazey.  During high school she attended Virginia Ballet Company and school under the direction of Tania Rousseau and Oleg Tupine.  After high school Alyssa attended the University of Oklahoma where she earned a BFA in Ballet Performance. While at the University of Oklahoma, Alyssa performed in George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco and Serenade, and Bruce Well’s Les Patineurs.  She was also able to work with Kathleen Tracy, Bruce Wells and Zippora Karz during her four years at the University of Oklahoma.  Alyssa joined The Ballet Theatre of Maryland in 2007 and has performed in Sleepy Hollow, The Nutcracker, Coppelia, The Seasons, Italian Symphonette, Carmen, as Fauna in Beauty and the Beast and as a stepsister in Cinderella.  This is Alyssa’s fifth season with Ballet Theatre of Maryland.

Alexandra Keen is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA, earning a BA in dance performance.   While at Point Park, she performed in Serenade, Alan Hineline’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Lauri Stalling’s je t’aime, as well as original works by Jay Kirk and Peter Merz.   Her classical training began with the Washington School of Ballet, under the direction of Mary Day, while there she performed various roles in The Washington Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker as well as performing in The Kirov Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty.  She has attended summer studies at Ballet Theatre of Maryland, the Lou Conte Studio in Chicago, Nashville Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts and the Washington School of Ballet.   She is looking forward to her third season with BTM.