Ana (she/her) is native of a small town outside Chicago, began dancing at age three, and moved to Madison, WI at 14 to train at Monona Academy of Dance under Artistic Director JoJean Retrum. She danced competitively and pre-professionally with Dance Wisconsin, performing works by choreographers Anthony Cannarella, Chelsey Bradley, Danielle Fuhrmann, Ashley Christensen, Miye Bishop, Imani English, and Elise Jessup. She was awarded 1st Place Senior Contemporary at Youth America Grand Prix Chicago and named Senior Outstanding Soloist for three consecutive years by Regional Dance America MidStates. To expand her training, she studied Urban Dance styles at Barrio Dance in Madison. After high school, Ana joined The Grainger Academy of the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago as a Contemporary Ballet Trainee under Director Katlin Michael Bourgeois, performing works by Manoela Goncalves, Jainil Mehta, and as a soloist in a piece set by Martha Nichols.

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Ana most recently trained under Rachel Nye at the Oklahoma City Ballet Yvonne Chouteau School and was a company member with RACE Dance Collective under Executive Director Sheri Hayden and Founder Hui Cha Poos. Her recent performances include CURE-8 (choreographers: Alex Schooling and Jessica Cajina), The In-Between (director and choreographer: Luis Rojas), RACE’s Hip Hop Nutcracker (project director: LaKeysta Goree), Bonded: Licensed to Dance (director: Hui Cha Poos), and the Bridge Choreography Initiative, where she both performed and choreographed. 

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Ana is beyond excited to begin her first season with Resilience!