Seduction—Obsession—Murder

Hailed by the San Francisco Sentinel as “the Carmen of this Generation” after her debut with the San Francisco Opera, Kate Aldrich has performed the title role in Bizet’s opera to much critical acclaim in such theaters as the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Metropolitan Opera, Opernhaus Zürich and Arena di Verona. Commanding a wide repertoire which also includes the title role in La Cenerentola, Adalgisa in Norma, Charlotte in Werther and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Aldrich has performed in other leading theaters throughout the world, including the Gran Teatre de Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Colon de Buenos Aires, Staatsoper Hamburg, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Regio di Torino, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Opera de Marseille, Opera de Montpellier, Opera de Montreal, and Teatro Sao Carlos in Lisbon, as well as at the Salzburg Festival and Rossini Festival in Pesaro. Aldrich begins the 2019/20 season with her role and house debut as the Foreign Princess in Rusalka at the Theater an der Wien in, after which she will sing her first Princess Eboli in Don Carlos for her debut at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège. She will also sing concerts in Puerto Rico and Salzburg.

This past season, Aldrich debuted in the title role of La Belle Hélène at the Staatsoper Hamburg. She also sang Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Orchestre National de Lyon and Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust with the Wiener Symphoniker. In addition to a series of concerts in Lyon singing Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, the soprano appeared in concert in Salzburg, New York City and Sun Valley. In the 2017/18 season, Aldrich made her role debut as Joan of Arc in The Maid of Orleans with Odyssey Opera in Massachusetts, after which she sang her first Verdi Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony. She also sang Carmen at the Hawaii Opera Theatre, performed in concert with the Zürich Chamber Orchestra, and appeared in galas with the Orchestre National de France and at the Avenches Opera Festival in Switzerland. Engagements for the 2016/17 season included Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Opera National de Paris and Los Angeles Opera, the title role in Carmen at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Semperoper Dresden, and in Tokyo under Charles Dutoit, Charlotte in Werther in San Juan, and her debut as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Aldrich’s engagements from the 2015/16 season included Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust with Opera de Lyon, Arden Scott in Great Scott at the San Diego Opera, Rosmira in Handel’s Partenope in Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid, Carmen at the Verbier and Llangollen Festivals, and Statira in Spontini’s Olympie at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with the Cercle de l’Harmonie, conducted by Jeromie Rohrer. In the 2014/15 season, she sang the title role in Carmen with Opera de Lyon and the Vancouver Opera, later appearing in the same role at Choregies d’Orange opposite Jonas Kaufmann. She also sang Idamante in Idomeneo re di Creta with Opera de Lyon and Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena with Opera de Toulon and the Bolshoi.

In the 2013/14 season, Aldrich sang Adalgisa in Norma at the Metropolitan Opera, Leonore in a new production of La Favorite at the Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse, and Carmen at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zurich, and in Seoul and Beijing. Highlights from the 2012/13 season included her debut at the Opera National de Paris as Nicklausse/The Muse in Les contes d’Hoffmann, her debut in Zurich and Seoul as the title role in Carmen, and her debut with the Royal Concertgebeouw Orchestra in Amsterdam in Frank Martin’s Golgotha. She also sang Sesto in La clemenza di Tito with the Opera Municipal de Marseille and starred in the concert performances of Massenet’s Le Mage at the Massenet Festival in St. Etienne, a work that had not been performed in over 100 years. In 2012, Aldrich also made her debut at the Teatro Real de Madrid as Sesto, returned to the Teatro Regio in Torino as Adalgisa in Norma, and sang her first Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi at the Caramoor Festival under Will Crutchfield.

In 2000, Kate Aldrich made her professional debut at l’Arena di Verona as Preziosilla in La forza del destino. She was soon thereafter chosen by legendary director Franco Zeffirelli to sing the role of Amneris in a new production of Aida, which was performed on the 200th anniversary of Verdi’s death in his hometown of Busseto, Italy. Aldrich then developed her repertoire with performances as the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Staatsoper Hamburg, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito in Prague, and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri at the Teatro Sao Carlos in Lisbon. She made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Opera Orchestra of New York as Frederic in a concert performance of Mignon and sang her first Charlotte in Werther opposite Roberto Alagna at the Teatro Regio in Torino, later repeating the role in Japan with Opera de Lyon. Aldrich returned to Torino as Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia and debuted at the Washington National Opera in the same role. She then made her debuts with both the San Diego Opera and Teatro Massimo in Palermo as Elisabetta I in Maria Stuarda.

Aldrich made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Ascanio in Benvenuto Cellini, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and at the Pesaro Festival in the title role of Rossini’s Zelmira. Her first appearances at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona also marked her debut as Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. Aldrich has also starred in revivals of such less performed works as Mariotte’s Salome with l’Opera de Montpellier and Massenet’s Don Quichotte at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and in Tokyo. She appeared as Adriano in the Deutsche Oper Berlin’s new production of Wagner’s Rienzi and was also heard in the title role of Ernest Reyer’s rarely performed Salammbo in Marseille.

On the concert platform, Aldrich has performed Das Lied von der Erde with the Bologna Symphony and Eine Florentinische Tragoedie with the San Francisco Symphony, both under the direction of James Conlon. She has performed Eine Florentinische Tragoedie and Ravel’s Sheherazade with l’Opera de Montpellier and Stravinsky’s La Pulcinella and Debussy’s Le Martyre de Saint Sebastian with the Orchestra National de Radio France, under the baton of Daniele Gatti. Aldrich has also performed both the soprano and alto solo parts of La Petite Messe Solenelle at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and the Washington National Opera, respectively.

Several of Aldrich’s performances have been issued on DVD, including Benvenuto Cellini, La Favorite, Norma, Zelmira, Don Quichotte and Rienzi, as well as Werther opposite Roberto Alagna at the Teatro Regio di Torino. Ms. Aldrich has recorded Antoine Mariotte’s Salome on CD with l’Opera de Montpellier, as well as Massenet’s Le Mage at the Massenet Festival in St. Etienne, France.

Bruce Sledge is one of today’s most in-demand lyric tenors and sings a wide variety of repertoire with many international houses.

Mr. Sledges started the 2019-2020 season making his role debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in a Metropolitan Opera’s “Live in HD” transmission. He continues with Contareno in a new production of Rossini’s Bianca e Falliero in Frankfurt. He was also seen at UCLA’s Royce Hall as a tenor soloist in Rachel Fuller’s Animal Requiem. Future engagements include debuts with Opera Colorado, the Erl Opera Festival, and Washington Concert Opera, and a return to the Santa Fe Opera.

In recent seasons, Mr. Sledge returned to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for performances of Jean in Le Prophète and to the Canadian Opera Company for Lord Percy in Anna Bolena as well as to the Santa Fe Opera as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos and to the Metropolitan Opera roster.

Prior to that, Mr. Sledge returned to the Vancouver Opera to sing the Duke in Rigoletto, made his debut at the Canadian Opera Company as Paolo Erisso in Maometto Secondo, and returned to the roster of the Metropolitan Opera.

Mr. Sledge’s 2016-2017 season included a return to the Welsh National Opera for performances in two leading roles, Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice and Macduff in Macbeth, a return to the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, and a performance with the Defiant Requiem in Vienna.

Other projects for Mr. Sledge included big personal successes as the Duke in Rigoletto and Paolo Erisso in Maometto Secondo with the Santa Fe Opera and a return to the Metropolitan Opera for Thomas Ades’ The Tempest. In concert, the tenor was heard in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Spoleto USA Festival and with the Radio Television Ireland Orchestra in Dublin, in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the National Symphony, and in Popera concerts with Opera Tampa. Prior to that, he made debuts with the Welsh National Opera as Leicester in Maria Stuarda, with the Opéra de Bordeaux as Percy in Anna Bolena and as the Duke in Rigoletto with Boston Lyric Opera and returned to the Santa Fe Opera as Vladimir Vladimirescu and the Fisherman in the double-bill of Mozart’s The Impresario and Stravinsky’s Rossignol. In concert, Mr. Sledge appeared with the Risca Male Choir in Wales.

Previous projects include a return to the Metropolitan Opera in two Mozart roles: Tamino in The Magic Flute and Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte. Additionally, Mr. Sledge made his debut with the Minnesota Opera as Leicester in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, followed by Tamino with the Manitoba Opera and Almaviva in Hamburg and in Grand Rapids before making his debut in Avenches, Switzerland, as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. In concert, he was heard in Mozart’s Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony and in Schubert’s Mass No. 6 with the San Diego Symphony. He has also appeared as Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore with Atlanta Opera, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Hong Kong, the Duke in Rigoletto with Tulsa Opera, and Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Hamburgische Staatsoper. In concert, he returned to the San Francisco Symphony for Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. Mr. Sledge marked his return to Japan with a role debut as Rodrigo in Rossini’s Otello with Pesaro’s prestigious Rossini Opera Festival on tour, followed by a recital appearance for Marilyn Horne’s 75th Birthday Gala at Carnegie Hall. Additional opera engagements included a return to the Vancouver Opera as the Duke in Rigoletto and a debut with the Teatro Regio di Torino as Ernesto in Don Pasquale. Mr. Sledge also appeared with the San Francisco Symphony in the Schubert Mass No. 6 with Maestro Michel Tilson Thomas.

Mr. Sledge was a finalist in the 2002 World Voice Masters Competition in Monte Carlo, a finalist in Placido Domingo’s Operalia 2000 World Opera Contest and a national finalist in the 2000 Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition. In 1998, he was a Western Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and was awarded first place in the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competition. Bruce Sledge received his master’s degree in vocal arts from the University of Southern California, being awarded the most outstanding music masters graduate.

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as an “artist ready for the big
time,” soprano Susannah Biller was a member of the prestigious Adler
Fellowship Program with San Francisco Opera. While in San Francisco,
she was seen as Frasquita in Carmen, Lolita in the world premiere of
John Harbison’s Heart of a Soldier, Kristina in The Makropoulos Case and
Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor. Additional productions with
San Francisco Opera include Der Ring des Nibelungen, Serse and
Werther. Engagements for 2018-2019 included the revival of her Kitty
Packard in Dinner at Eight in her Wexford Festival debut as well as the
title role in Madame White Snake on tour with Beth Morrison Projects
for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Musetta in La bohème with Austin
Opera, and a return to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as the Countess in Le
nozze di Figaro. The 2019-2020 season sees her as a soloist for Dona
nobis pacem with the Chattanooga Symphony and Carmina burana with
the Memphis Symphony.

Biller’s 2017-2018 season included Norina in Don Pasquale with
Minnesota Opera, Lieschen in Der Ring des Polykrates with The Dallas
Opera, Nanetta in Falstaff with Opera Colorado, and her role debut as
Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with Des Moines Metro Opera. In the 2016-2017 season, she joined Beth Morrison Projects as the title role in Madame White Snake, San Diego Opera as Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Minnesota Opera as
Kitty Packard in the world premiere of Dinner at Eight, and returned to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Fraulein Burstner/Leni in The Trial by Philip Glass.

The 2015-2016 season included her debut with the Louisiana Philharmonic for
Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, her return to Arizona Opera as Rosalba in Florencia en el Amazonas, and debuts with Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Des Moines Metro Opera as Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice, and the
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The 2014-2015 season saw Ms. Biller as Adele in Die Fledermaus with Portland Opera, Mica in Carly Simon’s Romulus Hunt with Nashville Opera, Marie in La fille du régiment with Arizona Opera and
Costanza in Riccardo Primo with Opera Theater of St. Louis. To open the 2013-2014 season, Ms. Biller portrayed the role of Selena in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne with San Francisco Opera.

She received multiple accolades for her work in this role including from the San Francisco Chronicle, which hailed that she “was a bright toned, poignant
Selena; her aria during the eclipse garnered a well-earned explosion of applause” and Opera Now, who acclaimed that she “was hugely impressive as the abused daughter. Her crystalline soprano and limpid tonal production perfectly suggested the young woman, but then assumed a hint of steel when she matures into the bitter twenty-something who hates her mother.” Additional engagements for the 2013-2014 season included Garcias in Don Quichotte with San Diego Opera and Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Theater of St. Louis.

Other notable performances include her company and role debut with Portland Opera as Nanetta in Falstaff, her role debut as Despina in San Francisco Opera’s production of Così fan tutte for which ARThound hailed her as one of the “clear stand-outs” who “literally glows on stage and managed to grab the limelight through the entire performance,” Eritea in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo with Gotham Chamber Opera, her New York Debut as Fortuna in Christopher Alden’s new production of Il sogno di scipione with Gotham Chamber Opera, and productions of Nixon in China and Die Zauberflöte
with San Francisco Opera. Ms. Biller debuted with Ensemble Parallele as Eurydice in the award-winning production of Philip Glass’ Orphée, and also with Opera Santa Barbara as Serpina in La serva padrona. She celebrated major success in the 2009 San Francisco Opera Merola Program performing in the Schwabacher Scenes Concert as Musetta in La bohème, Euridice in Orfeo, Monica in The Medium, and Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri.

Panamanian-American baritone, Nmon Ford, steps into new territory in 2020 by performing the title role Orpheus: a house music opera, written by the artist, which has a Spring run scheduled at London’s Young Vic Theatre directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. At Dallas Symphony Orchestra he sings performances of A Sea Symphony under the baton of Robert Spano. No stranger to London, Nmon won exceptional reviews when he appeared as Crown in Porgy & Bess last season in a new production which transfers this season to the Metropolitan Opera; Nmon returns to the role in Vienna, Austria, next year. Other roles recent appearances include Jochanaan in Salome with Patricia Racette at Pittsburgh Opera, Don Pizzaro in Fidelio with Christine Goerke at Cincinnati Opera and in concert with Atlanta Symphony, Iago in Otello with Russell Thomas in the title role.

Earlier in his career Mr Ford sang often at Hamburg State Opera in Germany and appeared as Scarpia in Tosca, Luna in Il Trovatore, the title role in Billy Budd, The Traveler in Death in Venice, and Thoas in Iphigenie en Tauride under the baton of Simone Young. Other roles in the artist’s operatic repertoire include Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, Telramund in Lohengrin, Amonasro in Aida, Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, Posa in Don Carlo, Pere Germont in La Traviata and the title role in Rigoletto.

Often appearing on the concert platform with the great orchestras of the world, Nmon Ford is a popular choice for the principal baritone part in Bernstein’s Songfest which he recently sang with two different BBC orchestras in the UK–in Scotland and at the Barbican Centre in London. At the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Centre in 2018, he took the part of the Celebrant in Bernstein’s Mass which won him great accolades and outstanding reviews. Further concert repertoire comprises Shostakovich’s Thirteenth Symphony (Babi Yar), Carmina Burana, the Requiem of Brahms and of Faure, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Kindertotenlieder,
and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

His recordings include two Grammy-award winning discs: Naxos’ Songs of
Innocence and Experience, and Teldarc’s Transmigrations. With Atlanta Symphony under conductor Robert Spano, he recorded Jennifer Higdon’s Dooryard Bloom, written for him. Nmon received critical acclaim at Spoleto Festival in the title role Don Giovanni (c: Emmanuel Villaume); he appeared as Riolobo at Cincinnati Opera and at Utah Opera, and at Michigan Opera Theater as Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles; further roles include Amfortas in Parsifal at Los Angeles Opera in Robert Wilson’s production (c: Kent Nagano) where he covered Plácido Domingo; Luna in Il trovatore at Virginia Opera where he also sang Iago in Otello; in the title role of Ernest Bloch’s Macbeth in a new production at Chicago Opera Theatre and at Long Beach Opera; Belcore in L’elisir d’amore at San Francisco Opera (c: Maurizio Barbacini) and at Opera Memphis he sang the role of Amonasro in Aida.

In Hungary, he sang Escamillo in Carmen at the Szeged Open-Air Festival, and he performed at Opéra National de Bordeaux as Jochanaan in a new production of Salome. The artist’s engagements in Italy include his debut at Teatro delle Muse Ancona in the title role The Emperor Jones (c: Bruno Bartoletti) and in the title role in Don Giovanni, a role he also sang in Pier Luigi Pizzi’s production at Teatro Comunale di Bologna; additionally, he appeared at Sferisterio Festival in new productions of Attila and Juditha Triumphans, and as Escamillo in Carmen in both Padova and Rovigo.

His awards include First Place in the Wagner Division of the Liederkranz Foundation of New York Competition, as well as major prizes from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the George London Foundation. He earned his Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in music from the University of Southern California, where he graduated with honors for both degrees.

Appointed in 2015 as Opera Colorado’s first-ever music director, Ari Pelto’s “breathtaking wizardry in the pit” (The Denver Post) has been widely celebrated, with Pelto in demand at opera houses and concert halls throughout the United States. At the age of 24, Pelto was appointed Assistant Conductor at the Spoleto Festival and he has since gone on to conduct worldwide. International engagements include performances with Bochumer Philharmoniker and opera productions at New National Theatre of Tokyo and the Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Ecuador. In 2004 he made his highly-praised debut with New York City Opera, conducting La Traviata, after which he became a regular, returning for productions of Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, and Carmen. Recent successes include Eugene Onegin at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Lucia di Lammermoor at Virginia Opera, and La Voix Humaine at Chicago Opera Theater. Here in Denver, he has led many acclaimed performances, including this season’s La Traviata. Opera Colorado is pleased to announce an extension of Pelto’s contract through the 2023-24 season.

Keturah Stickann’s directing and choreographic credits include L’Orfeo ed Euridice (Florida Grand Opera), Turandot (San Diego Opera), Seven Deadly Sins/Pagliacci (Virginia Opera), Macbeth (Kentucky Opera), Don Quichotte (San Diego Opera), La Traviata (Chautauqua Opera), Orpheus and Euridice (Vermont Opera Project), Flight (Opera Fayetteville), Don Giovanni (Janiec Opera Company, Virginia Opera), Rigoletto (Opera Memphis, San Diego Opera, Dallas Opera), The Tales of Hoffman (Knoxville Opera), Manon (Knoxville Opera), Don Pasquale (Opera in the Heights), La tragédie de Carmen (Janiec Opera Company), Madama Butterfly (Opera Santa Barbara), La clemenza di Tito (Opera in the Heights), L’Enfant et les sortilèges & Bon Appetit (Emerald City Opera), The Pearl Fishers (Sarasota Opera), Peter Grimes (San Diego Opera), Orfeo (Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera), The Old Maid and the Thief (Emerald City Opera), Hansel and Gretel (Portland Opera), and Le nozze di Figaro (Emerald City Opera, Opera Pacific).

Ms Stickann is a frequent collaborator with theater and opera director, Leonard Foglia. She was his choreographer and movement director for the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick in Dallas in 2010, and traveled with the production to the Calgary Opera, State Opera of South Australia, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera (where her work was filmed for a DVD produced by PBS’ Great Performances), Washington National Opera, and LA Opera, and was the revival director for its return to Dallas Opera. Also for Mr. Foglia, she is the choreographer of the Heggie/Scheer premiere of It’s A Wonderful Life at Houston Grand Opera, the assistant director and choreographer for the mariachi opera: Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, which premiered at Houston Grand Opera, and went on to Le Théâtre du Châtelet, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, and the Arizona Opera. She was also the assistant director with Mr. Foglia for his new opera (composed by Ricky Ian Gordon), A Coffin in Egypt, with Frederica von Stade, for Cold Mountain (composed by Jennifer Higdon) that premiered in Santa Fe in 2015, and for the national tour of Anna Deavere Smith’s Let Me Down Easy (also filmed by PBS for a broadcast of Great Performances).

In 2012, Ms. Stickann toured to Japan and Chile as the associate director for Michael Hampe’s production of Tannhäuser, and before that she assisted and choreographed for Lillian Groag, Lotfi Mansouri, Sean Curran, John Copley, Mark Lamos, Michael Gieleta, Lawrence Edelson, and Harry Silverstein, among others. New productions she has helped bring to stage include Orphée, Samson et Dalila, Agrippina, Rigoletto, La fanciulla del West, Pagliacci & Cavalleria Rusticana. La rondine, Maria Stuarda, Acis & Galatea, Pirates of Penzance, Otello, Three Decembers, Hydrogen Jukebox, and The Good Soldier Schweik. Her collaboration with director, Elise Sandell, on their production of Einstein on the Beach was chosen as a finalist for the inaugural Director/Designer Showcase with Opera America in 2009.

Trained as a classical and contemporary dancer, Ms. Stickann was a performer with Cerulean Dance Theatre, Malashock Dance, The Wally Cardona Quartet, Colleen Halloran Dance, SCW/The Group and Danny Grossman and Dancers. With Malashock dance, she starred in two dance films shot in conjunction with UCSD-TV (Love & Murder and The Soul of Saturday Night), both of which went on to win a regional Emmy award for Best Arts and Entertainment Program. Following this success, Ms. Stickann traveled to Hungary in 2006 to shoot a one-woman dance video on the streets of Budapest. Utazo went on to play in film festivals around the country. In addition, she’s captained and been a principal dancer for Chicago Opera Theater, working with choreographer Daniel Pelzig on Death in Venice and Akhnaten, with which she also traveled to the Opera National Du Rhin in Strasbourg, France. She was also the assistant choreographer and principal dancer for the Andrew Sinclair/Zandra Rhodes production of The Pearl Fishers which premiered at San Diego Opera, then traveled to Michigan Opera Theater, and New York City Opera.

Because of her background as a dancer, Ms. Stickann a sought-after movement and acting coach for young singers and actors. She’s trained and coached performers at The Brevard Music Center, The La Jolla Playhouse Theater Conservatory, The San Diego Opera Summer Singers Workshop, the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artists Program, Emerald City Opera, Stephen’s College, and DePaul University, among others. Michael Heaston, former director of the Young American Artists’ Program at the Glimmerglass Festival has said of Keturah’s coaching work, “Every recital she touches turns to gold.”

Born and raised in the Midwest, Ms. Stickann studied ballet and theater at Stephens College while still in high school, and spent her summers at DanceAspen, The State Ballet of Missouri and the prestigious Rep/Etudes Project at Jacob’s Pillow. She received her B.A. in dance education and choreography from Columbia College Chicago, and was a 1997 nominee for the Princess Grace Award for excellence in the arts.