DALLAS' CONTEMPORARY
BALLET COMPANY

COMPANY DANCERS

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DAPHNE FITZ

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Daphne Fitz is from Long Island, New York, and began dancing at the age of three. Her training at American Dance Theatre of Long Island encouraged her to continue her ballet training.She graduated with Summa Cum Laude from Purchase College, State University of New York. Here, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance under a ballet concentration and a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Management. She studied a multitude of styles including Balanchine, Horton, Graham and more. Attending the Oregon Ballet Theatre and Kaatsbaan Summer Intensives, she had the room to explore more pas de deux and character repertoire. Daphne studied in Perth Australia for a semester, where she performed contemporary work choreographed by Deanne Butterworth. She received her Pilates Mat certification and taught Pilates at her home dance studio. She gives private lessons and teaches larger classes in ballet, modern, and jazz styles. She has performed works by Balanchine, Bettijane Sills, Paul Taylor, Michelle Thompson Ulerich, and Da’Von Doane. Daphne is thrilled to begin her second season with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet.

ELENA OLSHIN

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Elena, a native of Rockville, Maryland, began dancing at the age of four. She received her early
training at the American Dance Institute where she studied with founder Pamela Bjerknes,
school director Erin Mahoney-Du, and artistic director Runqiao Du. She attended summer
intensives at the Kirov Academy of Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Rock School, and Ballet
West. Elena was selected to participate in the Kennedy Center Masterclass Series for two years
and also competed at the Youth American Grand Prix semi-finals and New York City Finals, as
well as a soloist at the Tanzolymp Dance Festival in Berlin, Germany. After graduating from the
Akhmedova Ballet Academy where she completed her last four years of training, Elena moved
to Delaware to join First State Ballet Theatre. She danced there for four seasons and performed
roles such as Cupid in Don Quixote, Canary Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Ocean and Pearls
Pas de Trois, and Pas De Deux from Flames of Paris, as well as working with Viktor Plotnikov
on his premieres of Romeo and Juliet and Dracula. In 2021 Elena became a Resident Teaching
Artist at the Wilmington Ballet, and had the pleasure of performing roles such as Dewdrop and
Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Waltz from Les Sylphide, Pas de Trois from Swan Lake, and
The Dying Swan. Elena joined Bowen McCauley Dance Company for the 2021/22 season, and
had the honor of performing Exuberant Fanfare and Insistent Music by Lucy Bowen McCauley
at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower stage for the company’s 25th Anniversary Performance.
Elena is very excited for her first season at Pegasus Contemporary Ballet!

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KIERA MAYS

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Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Kiera Mays trained at the Alabama Ballet School and graduated with Distinction in the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus. She moved to Dallas to further her academic and dance education at Southern Methodist University, where she studied Graham, Balanchine, and Fosse techniques. Kiera graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance, a Bachelor of Arts in English, and a minor in Musical Theatre.

During her time at SMU, Kiera performed at the Winspear Opera House in Dwight Rhoden’s Stellar Matter, as well as in multiple works at the Bob Hope Theatre, including a principal role in Carter Alexander’s Luisant and as a soloist in Cherylyn Lavagnino’s Seize en Jeu.

Kiera is a founding company dancer with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet, where she has had the opportunity to explore a wide range of contemporary performance experiences, from immersive works to genre-bending dance theatre incorporating acting and spoken text. She has performed works by acclaimed choreographers including Takehiro Ueyama, Norbert De La Cruz III, and Bruce McCormick, and has danced alongside exceptional live musicians, including Grammy Award-winning violinist Scott Tixier.

Alongside performing, Kiera discovered a passion for sharing the joy of dance through teaching students of all ages. She is PBT certified and is currently training to become an RAD-certified instructor. Kiera is honored to serve as Program Director of Little Wings, where she has the opportunity to lead and shape Pegasus Contemporary Ballet’s early childhood programming. Drawing on her experience as both a professional dancer and educator, she creates experiences that introduce young dancers to movement through creativity, exploration, and play. She is grateful to share her love of dance with the next generation while continuing her professional performance career with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet.

TORI GILBERT

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Originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, Tori Gilbert began her formal dance training at age six under the direction of Julie Bravata at Southern Dance Theatre. There she found her passion and love for dance, while also honing her skills as a performer. She continued her training at the University of Utah, where she worked with numerous guest choreographers and performed a diverse repertoire, including Serenade, La Bayadère, and Paloma Querida. Tori credits performing such varied works with shaping her versatility and ability to embody a wide range of movement styles. Tori graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in Ballet and a BS in Psychology in April of 2026.

Tori is now enthusiastic about dancing with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet to share her passion for dance with the Dallas community. Alongside her performance work, Tori enjoys choreographing and teaching the next generation of young dancers. Outside of the studio, she enjoys reading, crocheting, and spending time with her cat.

Abigail Robertson

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Abigail Robertson, a recent graduate from Texas Christian University (TCU), received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet and Modern Dance as well as comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training through the School for Classical and Contemporary Dance. Her foundational training includes mentorship under Amy Bramlett Turner of The Hot Springs Dance Troupe, Edmond Cooper at Hot Springs Children’s Dance Theater Company, and Andrea Perkowski at Andrea’s School of Dance. As former officer in the Chi Tau Epsilon Honor Society, she championed community engagement initiatives within the dance department, particularly those that bridge dance and advocacy.

As a teacher across disciplines in dance and Pilates, Abigail’s philosophy centers on honoring the humanity of each student, fostering a learning environment that is both functional and health-conscious, and dismantling traditional authoritarian dynamics in the studio. Her work is grounded in curiosity, collaboration and a commitment to using movement as a means of connection, expression, and care.

After completing a season with Open Dance Project, an immersive dance theater company based in Houston, she is beginning the next chapter of her professional career with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet in Dallas.

JOLIANA CANAAN

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Joliana Canaan (she/her) originally from Kansas City, Missouri grew up dancing at Heart of America Dance Centre. She then went on to further her training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. During her time in school Joliana performed and toured with Joffrey Concert Group where she had the opportunity to perform works by Bradley Shelver, Ken Ossola, Thang Dao, Tsai-Hsi Hung, Vernard J. Gilmore and Eric Trope.

Post graduation Joliana has had the pleasure of dancing with LAM danceworks, Visions Contemporary Ballet, and CLOUDS Dance Company. Apart from being a dancer in the studio, Joliana teaches and choreographs for competitive studios in Kansas City, New York City and New Jersey. She also had the opportunity to set Bradley Shelver’s work at Montclair State University, where she also served as a substitute ballet teacher throughout the school year.

With each year Joliana hopes to continue and share her love for the art with every space she enters and cannot wait for her first season with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet.

ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

DIANA CROWDER
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER

Diana is a graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School, where she was accepted at the age of 13 under the direction of Mavis Staines. After graduating from the National Ballet School, Diana started her professional career with Tulsa Ballet II and then joined the corps de ballet at Texas Ballet Theater in 2012. In addition to performing large scale ballet’s such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker and Peer Gynt, she danced works by choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, Ma Cong, Christopher Wheeldon, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Glen Tetley, and Ohad Naharin, as well as world premiere works by Garrett Smith and Jonathan Watkins.

Diana went on to pursue a varied and artistically fulfilling freelance career, dancing for the National Choreographic Initiative in Irvine CA, Dances Patrelle in NYC, ARC Dance in Seattle, Ishida Dance in Austin, Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet, and Ballet Dallas under the direction of Carter Alexander, as well as several guest performances, and ballet teaching throughout the Dallas area. During this time, she created soloist and principal roles in world premiere works by Carter Alexander, Hailey von Schlehenried, Bruce McCormick, Durante Verzola, Kevin Jenkins, Silas Farley, and Alex Ketley.

Diana fell in love with using ballet technique as a tool for creativity, expression and progress. Her passion for dance lead her to arts management and business development, managing dance social media accounts and producing projects through the Pandemic. Diana spearheaded budgeting and site procurement for the short dance film ‘Clara Dreams In Dallas,’ a reimaging of the Nutcracker, as well as initiated and negotiated dancer involvement in the commercially successful Fever Candlelight series in Dallas.

Diana founded Pegasus Contemporary Ballet in 2021 with a vision of putting Dallas on the national map for contemporary ballet. As a choreographer, she premiered her one-act ballet The Gift Of The Magi with a commissioned score in 2021, and As Long As I’m Living for the company in July 2022 honoring her late mother. As Artistic Director of PCB she has commissioned works by Bruce McCormick, Carrie Ruth Trumbo, Joshua L. Puegh, Daniel Ojeda, Sean Aaron Carmon, Carter Alexander, Kevin Jenkins and Gregory Dolbashian as well as initiated artistic collaborations with Verdigris Ensemble, JD Miller, and The DASH Ensemble, and musicians Elkin Pautt, Kwinton Gray, and Dev Wulf. Diana has positioned Pegasus Contemporary Ballet as a company to watch on the Dallas scene, with sold out performances grant support from TACA, The Dallas Arts District Foundation, The Moody Fund For The Arts, and The City Of Dallas Office Of Arts And Culture by the middle of its second season.
She also serves as the Ballet Director for the DASH Academy and lives in Dallas with her husband Jonathan.

ALLISON SCHUSTER
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR

Originally from Southern California, Allison Schuster is a graduate from Orange County School of the Arts and has a BFA from The Juilliard School under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes. She has had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Martha Graham, Lar Lubovitch, Matthew Neenan, Nicolo Fonte, and Aszure Barton.

Throughout Allison’s career, she has had the privilege of working with many companies. She was an original cast member, dancer, aerialist, and dance captain for Cirque Du Soleil’s VIVA Elvis, under the direction of Vincent Paterson and choreography by Napoleon and Tabitha D’umo. Allison was the rehearsal director and performer for Brooklyn-based Company XIV for six years, under the direction of Austin McCormick. She was the dance assistant to Mia Michaels while performing in New York Spectacular starring The Radio City Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Allison was a company member at The Metropolitan Opera for many years, has been a guest performer multiple times with Keigwin And Company, and has assisted on numerous creative projects for Sonya Tayeh, Cherice Barton, and Andy Blankenbuehler.

Allison’s TV credits include Comedy Central’s Alternatino and commercials for IBM and VH1. She can also be seen as a guest performer on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, Strictly Come Dancing, The Emmy Awards, and more.

Allison is a sought-after teacher, choreographer, and adjudicator nationwide. She is currently residing in Dallas, Texas, and is excited to be the rehearsal director for Pegasus Contemporary Ballet.