Biographies

Wayne Eagling

Wayne Eagling is a former Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden and is a leading international choreographer and director. Born in Montreal, Canada in 1950, Eagling spent much of his early life in California, where he attended the Patricia Ramsey School of Dance Arts. After deciding to pursue a career as a professional dancer, Eagling was invited to take a place at the Royal Ballet School in London. Eagling joined the Royal Ballet company in 1969, he was promoted Soloist in 1972 and promoted to Principal in 1975. During his time with the company he partnered a number of notable dancers, including Dame Margot Fonteyn, and also worked with the renowned British choreographer Sir Kenneth Macmillan. After retiring from the Royal Ballet in 1991, he decided to continue his career in dance as a choreographer and director, becoming Artistic Director of the Dutch National Ballet from 1991-2003. He has choreographed numerous dance works for the Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School, La Scala, Dutch National Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Rome Opera and Kremlin Ballet Theatre. In 2005, Eagling was appointed Artistic Director of English National Ballet in London. He was chosen for his training in and experience of British ballet and was also the Artistic Director for the English National Ballet School.

Stefan Wise

STEFAN WISE  trained at the Royal Ballet School, London, and has danced in productions with the Royal Ballet in London and with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Wise was engaged by the English National Ballet in 2000 to 2003 and with K Ballet in Japan. Wise has performed Voluntaries by Glen Tetley and Facing Viv by Cathy Marston, The Rose Adage in Sleeping Beauty and numerous soloists roles in the classical repertoire. Wise joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders and danced works by Forsythe and Dawson. At the Peter Schaufuss Ballet, Stefan has performed in the majority of the Peter Schaufuss Ballet productions including THE NIGHTWATCH, H.C. ANDERSEN.  Wise has danced the title role &  Frustration in THE KING, Lord Mountbatten in CHARLES THE PRINCE, the title role in HAMLET, Stuart Sutcliffe in THE BOYS FROM LIVERPOOL, The prince & the Dream master in THE TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY, Jimmy in MIDNIGHT EXPRESS & the Narrator in TOMMY. Wise performed the role of young Michael Jackson in MICHAEL I’M BAD. Wise has also danced soloists roles in HARALD, THE MAN WHO WISHED FOR A SEAVIEW, SATISFACTION and Arthur Miller in MARILYN. In 2008 Wise starred in the West End Production of DIVAS, performing the role of Judy Garland with the renowned ballerina Irina Kolesnikova. Besides from that he has participated in the The West End Productions of SATISFACTION and MARILYN. Stefan has also danced Romeo & Paris in Sir Frederick Ashton's ROMEO & JULIET.

Megumi Oki

Megumi Oki trained at Emikolkemoto Ballet School, Noboru Miyagi Ballet Studio, Japan and at the John Cranko School i Stuttgart. Before joining the Peter Schaufuss Ballet in 2006 Oki danced with Staatsoper Dresden, Ballet Dresden where she danced The Vertiginious Thrill Of Exactitude by William Forsythe. Oki has danced in many of the companies productions, including MIDNIGHT EXPRESS and HAMLET. Oki has performed the role of Priscilla in THE KING, the White Swan, Aurora and Clara in THE TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY, Child Michael Jackson in MICHAEL I’M BAD, Judy Garland in THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE, Ophelia in HAMLET, Juliet in Sir Frederick Ashton's ROMEO & JULIET and soloist roles in THE MAN WHO WISHED FOR A SEAVIEW, MARILYN and the West End Production of SATISFACTION, DIVAS and MARILYN.

Johan Christensen

Johan Christensen trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School and at the Hamburg Ballet School. He has performed at the Pantomimetheater in Tivoli. Christensen has performed in many of the companies production's, including TOMMY & MARILYN.. Johan has danced soloist roles in THE KING, THE BOYS FROM LIVERPOOL, MICHAEL I"M BAD, Tybalt in Sir Frederick Ashton's ROMEO & JULIET, the Prince in the TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY & the title role in HAMLET.

NIKLAS BLOMQVIST 

Blomqvist trained at the Royal Swedish ballet school and at the Bolshoi Ballet academy. He has danced with the Royal Swedish Ballet in productions of the RITE OF SPRING by Bejart, COPPELIA & SWAN LAKE. With the Peter Schaufuss Ballet Niklas has danced Gospel in THE KING, ROTHBART in The TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY, Horatio in HAMLET and Paris in Sir Frederick Ashton's ROMEO & JULIET

Yoko Takahashi

Takahashi Trained at the Izumi Ballet, IS Ballet in Japan and at the Northern Ballet School in Manchester where she received Elizabeth Baines Hewitt Award. Yoko Joined the Peter Schaufuss Ballet in August 2006 and has danced in many of the companies productions including THE MAN WHO WISHED FOR A SEA VIEW, TOMMY, DIVAS & MARILYN. She has performed soloist roles in DIVAS, SATISFACTION, Bad in MICHAEL I'M BAD, Georgie Brown in THE BOYS FROM LIVERPOOL, Gospel in THE KING, Black Swan, Carabosse & the Black Boss in The TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY, A Spirit in HAMLET. Takahashi has also performed the role of Livia and the Nurse in Sir Frederick Ashton's ROMEO & JULIET.

Yonas Meshaima 

Yonas Meshaima trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School and at the Peter Schaufuss Ballet School. He performed with the Peter Schaufuss Ballet as a child, and joined the company as an apprentice in 2005-2007, performing several Schaufuss productions  including THE KING, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, SATISFACTION, DIVAS and HAMLET. In 2007-2010 he trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School, and in 2010 he joined the Royal Swedish Ballet. With the Royla Swedish Ballet Meshaima has performed in COPPELIA, ROMEO & JULIET, MANON, SWAN LAKE, NUTCRACKER and LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS. In 2012 Meshaima rejoined the Peter Schaufuss Ballet performing the Arabian prince in the TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY, and Laertes in HAMLET. 

Ashleigh Wilson

Ashleigh was born in Johannesburg South Africa and trained at the Ballet Theatre Afrikan Academy with Martin Schönberg. In 2010 she joined the SemperOper Ballet in Dresden as an apprentice and then moved to Berlin to tour extensively with the MDR German Television Ballet. This is her first season with the Peter Schaufuss Ballet.

Lauren Crispin

Lauren was raised in Somerset, England. She began her training locally at the Alexandra School of Dance, before joining Elmhurst School for Dance in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet and then at the English National Ballet School, London in 2010. During her training Lauren worked along side both The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet on their productions of CINDERELLA, THE NUTCRACKER, THE RITE OF SPRING, SWAN LAKE and THE SNOW QUEEN. She joined English National Ballet as an apprentice in 2010 and has also previously worked with Ballet Nice Méditerranée in France. This is Lauren's second season with the company and she has performed in THE KING, The Queen in the TCHAIKOVSKY TRILOGY and a Spirit in HAMLET.

Emma Perez Sequeda

Emma was born in Venezuela and studied at the Real Conservatorio Nacional de Danza in Madrid and later on with the school of Ion Beitia. In 2009 Emma won the first prize at the Concurso Nacional de Danza de Castellon and was awarded a scholarship to work with the Escuela de la Opera de Roma. Sequeda has worked Angel Corella's Company in their premiere of Makarova's La Bayadere in Madrid and Nazarina Ballet in Madrid. In 2011 Emma takes part in the Festival of Latin Choreographers in New York, where Fernando Troya created a piece especially for her. Sequeda has danced in many classical ballets including The Hours in COPPELIA, GISELLE, RAYMONDA, NUTCRACKER, ALLEGRO BRILLANTE by George Balanchine and MADRIGAL by Nacho Duato. This is Emma’s first season with the Peter Schaufuss Ballet.

Julie Michelon

Julie was born in Chiba, Japan, and started to dance at the age of 6. In 2006 she went to study at the  K-Ballet School where she danced in MIRAGE, COPPELIA & the SLEEPING BEAUTY by Tetsuya Kumakawa. In 2009 Michelon went to the Ecole Superieure de Danse Cannes Rosella Hightower. Upon graduation she joined the Cannes Jeune Ballet. This is Michelon's first season with the Peter Schaufuss Ballet.

James Loffler

James was born in Germany, and at the age of 7 moved with his family to Guildford in the United Kingdom. He began his dance training here at the Arden Holford School of Dance, and at the age of 11 continued his full-time training at the Royal Ballet School.  James completed his training at the Arts Educational School, Tring, and was a member of Britain’s National Youth Ballet for three years.  In 2005 he was awarded the Barbara Fewster Boys’ Award, under the auspices of the Cecchetti Society and was granted a scholarship to attend their annual Summer School. Since graduating in 2006 James has worked professionally with The National Ballet of Ireland, Michael Clark Company, Pasodos Company and has toured to New York, Seoul and extensively throughout Europe. In 2012 he presented his first choreographic work at The Place, and later that year was invited to create a piece for Tring Park school for the Performing Arts.  This is James' first season with the Peter Schaufuss Ballet.