Choreographer Bios

Haley Winegarden:

Haley Winegarden is a NYC-based dancer and choreographer from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A recent graduate of The Juilliard School, she has performed works by Justin Peck, Ohad Naharin, James Whiteside, Sonya Tayeh, Donald McKayle, Amy Hall Garner, Troy Schumacher, Norbert De La Cruz III, Jawole Jo Willa Zollar, and Spenser Theberge and Jermaine Spivey. Haley’s  choreographic work, returning was commissioned by Orlando Ballet II in 2021 and in 2022, her work within or without was selected to be presented in Juilliard’s Choreographic Honors. She was awarded the 2022 Kaatsbaan Playing Field Choreography Award and the Juilliard Dance Faculty nominated her for a Princess Grace Award in the choreographic category in 2023. She was subsequently awarded the Héctor Zaraspe Prize which is given to a graduating senior of the Juilliard Dance Division who has shown outstanding talent and development as a choreographer. Haley recently made her debut at The Joyce Theater (NYC) in December in Dancing with Glass: The Piano Etudes program produced by Pomegranate Arts.

Christian Denice:

Christian Denice is a dancer and choreographer originally from Los Angeles, California. His professional dance experience includes Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, BJM Danse, and The Little Prince on Broadway. As a choreographer, he has created new works for such companies and organizations as Moving Arts with dancers of Kansas City Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet, Chamber Dance Project, Odyssey Dance Theatre, DanceWorks Chicago, Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Western Michigan University, MADCO, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Wright State University, Kit Modus, Dance Lab New York, Santa Barbara City College, Manhattanville College, and Dreyfoos School for the Arts.  Christian has also been a dance educator for Modas Dance, Eisenhower Dance Detroit NEWdanceFEST, Kansas City Jazz Dance Fest, DanceWorks Chicago Dance360, AXIS Connect Los Angeles, Peridance Center, SALT Dance Link Festival and Stage de Danse de Mansle. He was the 2015 winner of the University of South Florida’s Echo Choreographic Competition and selected as one of the three choreographers for the Joffrey Academy’s Winning Works Choreographic competition in 2016. Christian works for Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis, restaging his work for companies throughout the United States and Europe, as well as dancing in his production of Salema Revisited which premiered in Athens, Greece in 2021. He recently served as Repetiteur and Rehearsal Director for Texas based ISHIDA Dance.

Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair:

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair began his training at the School of Ballet Tucson. He graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts in 2005, and joined Kansas City Ballet, performing featured roles in ballets by renowned choreographers like George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Antony Tudor. In 2008, he joined the Dutch National Ballet and was promoted to Coryphée in 2014 and Grand Sujet in 2016. Notable roles include Roméo in Sasha Waltz’s Roméo et Juliette, Prince Gremin in John Cranko’s Onegin, and creations from Sidi Larbi Cherkouai and Christopher Wheeldon. Joining Oregon Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in 2018, Matthew showcased his versatility in various roles, including Gennaro in Bournonville’s Napoli, the Prince in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, and contemporary works from William Forsythe, Nicolo Fonte, and Trey McIntyre. He has choreographed for the Dutch National Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre II (OBT2), and Ballet Northwest, and live orchestral performances with the Oregon Symphony and Lakes Area Music Festival. Co-founding House of Makers in 2014, he produced site-specific works for the Van Gogh Museum, Tommy Hilfiger, and Nowness. Matthew leads the Preparatory program of the Dutch National Ballet Academy in Groningen. In 2022, he became the board chair of the non-profit foundation Devéloppé, dedicated to supporting the development of talented dancers. Matthew also served as a pre-jury member for the Rotterdam International Duet Choreographic Competition and the jury for the Coda Ballet Competition. 

Mariana Oliveira:

Originally from Brazil, Mariana Oliveira has created over 30 choreographic works for dance organizations across the U.S. such as the New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute, Joffrey Ballet Academy, Ballet West Academy, Kansas City Ballet, Carolina Ballet, BalletX, Ballet Memphis, Richmond Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Madison Ballet, National Choreographers Initiative, Ballet Arkansas, American Midwest Ballet, Chicago Repertory Ballet, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and The University of Oklahoma School of Dance, among others. Mariana is the recipient of the NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts Fellowship as well as the Kansas University Choreographic Fellowship. In 2015, she was nominated for the World Choreography Awards in Los Angeles. She is the founder of The Union Project Dance Company, and her works were presented at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, McCallum Theatre Choreography Festival, LA Dance Festival, Tribeca Performing Arts, and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, among others. Mariana studied at the Royal Academy of Dance in Brazil and London and was a trainee dancer with the National Dance Company of Wales and Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami.

Composer Bios

Tasos Peltekis

Tasos Peltekis is a guitarist, composer, and educator originally from Greece. He began studying classical guitar at the age of nine and has studied under eminent guitar soloists and professors such as Ricardo Cobo (COL) and Oz Noy (ISR). He has performed at prestigious venues such as T-Mobile Arena, MGM Garden Arena, Smith Center, Beverly Wilshire (US), Maxx Royal (Turkey), Schloss Wiesenthau (Germany), GSP Stadium (Cyprus), Megaron Mousikis Thessalonikis, Melina Mercouri Open Air Theatre, and Zappeion Megaron (Greece). He has collaborated with world-acclaimed artists such as Debbie Gibson (US), Joey McIntyre (US), Maluma (COL), Clarence McDonald (US), Human Nature (AUS), Stamatis Kraounakis (GRE), Cayetano (GRE), and Antonis Remos (GRE). As a composer, Tasos is always looking for new ways to integrate elements from different genres, such as classical music, jazz, and pop. He has composed music for a variety of recording artists, theatrical plays, and documentaries, such as “What Politica” (17th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival , 2015) ,”Schnitzel Arthur” Studio Vis Motrix (2017), “Nerium Park” Averto Theater, Thessaloniki (2018). His electronic EP “Algebraic” (2020) received critical acclaim from music magazines. Tasos is pursuing a master’s degree in composition at UNLV and studies with Dr. Jennifer Bellor.

Sophie Cheesman 

Sophie Moorea is an Argentinian-American composer, trombonist, and dancer hailing from São Paulo, Brazil. With over 10 years of experience in music and dance in over three continents, Sophie’s goal in her artistic career is to amplify the voices of underprivileged and marginalized communities as well as bring social justice issues to light through the greater unification of music composition and dance choreography.

Alec Schantz

Alec Schantz is an educator, composer and clarinetist from Northern California. Alec received their Bachelors in Music Education (B.M.E) from San Jose State University where they studied clarinet under Dr. Janet Averett and Jonathan Szin. Alec has also received a certificate of completion from the teaching credential program at California State University Chico, and now studies composition (M.M) under Dr. Viet Cuong at University of Nevada Las Vegas. Alec writes primarily for chamber ensembles as well as the wind band. Alec’s compositions, such as Zacramento Soo, (I carry it in my heart), Speak of the Devil, The Pitch Black Basement, and I Wish I Could Give You Something…have been winners or runners up in competitions and call for scores within the past two years and have led to collaborations and commissions with ensembles such as the Magnolia Wind Quintet, Houston Pride Band, and CMEA Northern-Section Junior High Honor Band. Alec has also worked with ensembles such as the San Jose State Wind Ensemble, Los Gatos High School Bands, and Butte College Symphonic Band among others.

Julius Trenkler

Julius Trenkler is an emerging composer and undergraduate student from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As a double bassist having spent his formative years in Las Vegas, his scholastic endeavors have provided him with the opportunity to perform and compose both nationally within the United States and internationally.