Rhodes Elliott is originally from Florence, South Carolina. Rhodes retired in 2018 as a Demi-Soloist with the Houston Ballet, after having been with the company for 11 years. He received his early dance training and pre-professional experience with UNCSA, as well as The School of Dance Arts and South Carolina Dance Theater under the tutelage of the esteemed Susan Rowe. He attended several summer programs throughout his training, including North Carolina Dance Theater, Houston Ballet, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. While dancing with the Houston Ballet, Rhodes enjoyed performing many works, including those by Stanton Welch, Jiri Kylian, Christopher Bruce, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton, Ben Stevenson, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, and Christopher Wheeldon. After retiring from The Houston Ballet, Rhodes was the Assistant Ballet Director at Texas Academy of Dance Arts in The Woodlands, Texas. In 2021, Rhodes joined Texas Ballet Theater School (TBTS) as a Studio Training Company Instructor, as well as the Professional Training Division Instructor at TBTS Dallas. In November of 2022, Rhodes became an instructor with the Sacramento Ballet.

Stefan Calka received his formal dance training at Indiana University under the legendary Violette Verdy, whose mentorship deeply shaped his artistry and lifelong commitment to the craft.

He began his career with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal, touring internationally and serving as assistant répétiteur for John Clifford, staging George Balanchine ballets for both the Kirov and Bolshoi Ballets during the International Balanchine Centennial Celebration. He also toured China, performing in Clifford’s Casablanca at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.

In 2004, Stefan joined the Sacramento Ballet, where he enjoyed a distinguished 16-year career as a Company Artist. He danced leading roles including Prince Désiré (The Sleeping Beauty), Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Count Dracula (Dracula), and Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby), as well as featured roles in Carmina Burana. He was also a principal in works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Trey McIntyre, Lila York, Septime Webre, Amy Seiwert, Matthew Neenan, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Ma Cong, Jodie Gates, Edwaard Liang, and Adam Hougland, among others.

Alongside his performance career, Stefan developed a distinct choreographic voice and aesthetic. He created works for Sacramento Ballet’s Modern Masters series and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, and choreographed for film projects including the feature Ukrainian Dance Movie directed by Roxy Toporowych. He also appeared in Toporowych’s documentary Folk! and in PBS’s Sugarplum Dreams: Staging the Nutcracker Ballet. He continues to choreograph and teach master classes nationwide.

A founding member of Capital Dance Project, Stefan has been a driving force in Sacramento’s arts scene, collaborating with local artists and musicians to create innovative new works. For over a decade, he has also served as teacher, ballet master, and choreographer for the Roma Pryma Bohachevsky Summer Dance Workshop, mentoring aspiring pre-professional dancers.

Since retiring from the stage in 2020, Stefan has served as Rehearsal Director for the Sacramento Ballet. In this role he works closely with choreographers, stages and maintains repertoire, oversees rehearsals and production planning, and mentors dancers through the creative process, continuing his lifelong dedication to the art of ballet.

Originally from Sacramento, California, Elise Elliott danced with the Houston Ballet for ten seasons, retiring as a Soloist in 2017. She enjoyed being featured in works by many choreographers, including Stanton Welch, Antony Tudor, Ben Stevenson, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Christopher Bruce, Sir Kenneth Macmillan, Jorma Elo, Wayne MacGregor, and John Cranko. She was also fortunate enough to tour with the company to many countries, including Australia, China, Canada, Germany, and Spain. In 2017, Elise became Texas Academy of Dance Arts’ Ballet Director in The Woodlands, TX, as well as the Founding Artistic Director of TADA’s Youth Ballet Company. In 2021, Elise joined Texas Ballet Theater as the School Business Manager, as well as a Professional Training Division (PTD) and Advanced Instructor and choreographer in the esteemed school. In November 2022, Elise became one of the Rehearsal Directors for The Sacramento Ballet. . She is also a certified Pure Barre Instructor, as well as mother of 3!

R. Colby Damon was born and raised in Richmond, VA and received his early dance training at Richmond Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Virginia School of the Arts. Throughout his 12-year performing career, he danced professionally for Sacramento Ballet, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, Northwest Dance Project, and BalletX among others. He has danced the works of George Balanchine, Alexei Ratmansky, Dwight Rhoden, Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa, Bobbi Jean Smith, Matthew Neenan, and many more.

As a choreographer, Colby has received commissions from Nashville Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, BalletX, Sacramento Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet II, Nashville Ballet II, Bryn Mawr College, and DeSales University, among others, and his work has been performed at festivals in Brazil, Mexico, Bermuda, and New York City. As a teacher, Colby has been on faculty at a number of prestigious dance institutions, including of The Rock School for Dance Education, Ballet Tech – NYC Public School for Ballet, Ballet West Academy, Nashville Ballet, The University of the Arts, and many others. He has additionally been invited to teach company class for Pennsylvania Ballet (currently Philadelphia Ballet), BalletX, Ballet Prejlocaj, City Ballet of São Paulo, Ballet Hispanico, BodyTraffic, Nashville Ballet, and Sacramento Ballet. He has also coached national finalists for the Youth America Grand Prix Ballet Competition, and received the Outstanding Choreography Award at the Philadelphia Regionals in 2019.

Colby holds a BA in Performing Arts from Saint Mary’s College of California’s LEAP Program, in addition to professional certificates in Non-profit Arts Management, Marketing Strategy, and Creative Advertising. He is currently the Director of Marketing for Sacramento Ballet, in addition to working as a freelance choreographer and dance teacher throughout the USA and beyond. http://www.colbydamon.com.