Carmen

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P R O F I L E S | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
February 11 - March 25, 2017 | 27
including productions at Sarasota’s Asolo
Rep Theatre (West Side Story), Bloomington’s
Cardinal Stage Company (Hairspray), St.
Louis’s Muny (West Side Story, Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), and most
recently at The Marriott Lincolnshire (How to
Succeed, The Nutcracker).
ASHLEY ELIZABETH
HALE (Ballet Mistress)
Lyric debut
The dancer was born in
Lake Forest, Illinois, and
grew up in Scotland, U. K.
She began her training
at The Dance School of
Scotland, Knightswood,
with Scottish Ballet and completed her musical
theater education at Laine Theatre Arts in
London. Her theater credits include Matilda
(Broadway); Mamma Mia! (Las Vegas); and
Shrek, Jersey Boys, Candide, Dirty Dancing, On
the Town, Guys and Dolls, and Fame (London’s
West End). She has toured throughout Britain
in Finding Neverland, Starlight Express, and
Saturday Night Fever. Film and television
audiences have seen her in Ted 2, Disney’s
Cinderella, the 2016 Kennedy Center Honors,
and the Tony Awards.
SHANNA HEVERLY
Lyric debut
The dancer has been seen
on the North American
tour of Cats, at New York’s
New Amsterdam Theatre
in Gypsy of the Year, and
in the Broadway pre-
production presentation of
Waitress. Among her many regional credits
are Cats (Marriott Lincolnshire), White
Christmas (Denver Center Theater Company),
A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theater), and
eight productions with Reagle Music Theatre
in Massachusetts. She was a principal in Devils
in the Moonlight with Band of Gypsies (New
York City) and has been a soloist with both the
Brooklyn Ballet and Eglevsky Ballet. Among
her film and television credits are projects
for Random Poet LLC, Republic/Universal
Records, and ABC.
MARISSA LYNN
HORTON
Lyric debut
The Washington, D. C.
native received her early
training at Duke Ellington
School of the Arts and
North Charolina School
of the Arts with a major
in contemporary dance. Horton has worked
with the Kevin Wynn Collection performing
at Joyce SoHo and touring to Nanjing, China.
She has studied at the Lou Conte Dance
Studio and performed with Ron de Jesus
Dance. Horton also danced with DanceWorks
Chicago for two years, touring nationally
and internationally before joining Visceral
Dance Chicago as a founding member and
performing for three seasons. She most
recently finished performing in the Radio City
Christmas Spectacular in New York City.
JEFFERY B. HOVER,
JR.
Previously at Lyric:
Seven operas since 2013,
most recently The Merry
Widow (2015-16);
Carousel, Tannhäuser
(both 2014-15).
The New York-based
dancer, an alumnus of Indiana’s Butler
University, has been featured in concerts
with Ballet Hispanico, New Jersey Ballet, and
Dance Kaleidoscope. Hover was seen on the
first national tour of Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly
Away. Under Gemze de Lappe’s direction, he
performed the original de Mille choreography
for Oklahoma! at The Muny in St. Louis. In
addition to appearances at Lyric, his opera
experience includes Aida (The Dallas Opera,
Opera Carolina) and Samson et Dalila (San
Diego Opera). Internationally, Hover has
danced in Russia (Stars of American Dance) and
in Mumbai, India (Soldier Doll and Trepack/
The Nutcracker).
JESSICA WOLFRUM
RAUN
Lyric debut
The Buffalo, New York,
native most recently
appeared as Lady in Green,
Olga Mara, and in the
ensemble of Singin’ in
the Rain (The Marriott
Theatre). Previously Raun was a company
dancer for 14 years with the nationally and
internationally renowned River North Dance
Chicago, joining the company in 2002 under
the direction of Frank Chaves. She is currently
on faculty teaching ballet at the Lou Conte
Dance Studio and is also a certified personal
trainer. Raun graduated cum laude with a
B.A. degree in dance and psychology from the
University of Buffalo in 2002.
TODD RHOADES
Previously at Lyric:
Ten operas since 2005-
06, most recently Die
Fledermaus, Parsifal,
Rusalka (all 2013-14).
The Chicago-based dancer/
choreographer has been
seen at Chicago Opera
Theater, New Orleans Opera (as dancer and
choreographer), Chicago Folks Operetta (as
dancer and choreographer), Civic Ballet of
Chicago, Luna Negra Dance Theatre, Ballet
Austin, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Rhoades’s theater credits include productions
with Goodman Theatre, The Muny in St.
Louis, Oak Brook’s Drury Lane, Aurora’s
Paramount Theatre, Lincolnshire’s Marriott
Theatre, and the Tennessee Williams Festival
in Provincetown. Rhoades has choreographed
for DePaul University - The Theatre School,
Lifeline Theatre, Finger Lakes Opera, Inaside
Dance Chicago, and Nomi Dance Theatre.
ABIGAIL SIMON
Previously at Lyric:
Louise/Carousel, Capriccio
(both 2014-15).
Last season the dancer
reprised the role of Louise/
Carousel at Houston Grand
Opera. In recent years,
Simon has performed
throughout America in more than 30
Nutcracker productions as the Sugar Plum Fairy
and also portrayed Juliet/Prokofiev’s Romeo
and Juliet (Vienna). She trained at The School
of American Ballet and has danced for ten
years with Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet (principal
roles in The Merry Widow, Tarantella, Night,
Kettentanz, Reflections). After performing as
an actress off-Broadway in I Count the Hours,
she was invited on Broadway to perform
a specially choreographed solo by Gillian
Lynne celebrating Phantom of the Opera as
Broadway’s longest running show.
MALACHI SQUIRES
Previously at Lyric:
La Clemenza di Tito
(2013-14).
The dancer’s recent
Chicago-area performances
include The Day of the Gypsy
(Harris Theater); Brigadoon
(The Goodman Theatre);
La Journée des Tziganes, An American Portrait,
and Nostalgic Suite (Athenaeum Theatre);
Timon of Athens (Chicago Shakespeare
Theater); The Nutcracker and Sleepless Nights in
the City (Ruth Page Performing Arts Center);
and Gnossiene (Dance in the Parks). Squires has
toured four times with Les Ballets Grandiva,
performing in over 70 cities in Japan including
a live broadcast of Swan Lake in Tokyo. He has
also performed at New York’s Skirball Center
for the Performing Arts and Symphony Space,
as well as with Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet under
the directorship of Ben Stevenson.