a female dancer laughing while standing by flowers

How Joffrey Ballet Company Artist Amanda Assucena is Dancing With Abandon

From her first audition with The Joffrey Ballet, Amanda Assucena knew she was where she was meant to be. “Before the auditio­n class, I had never connected with ballet technique and free movement so much,” Assucena recalls. The Brazilian-born dancer officially joined the trainee program in 2012, was promoted to company artist the following year, and continued her meteoric rise with lead roles like the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by the age of 19.

a female dancer wearing a green dress and sneakers extending her leg in a la seconde

Scottish Ballet Principal Dancer Roseanna Leney is Redefining the Wellness Space

During the pandemic she became a certified personal trainer and established Balanced With Rosi, to encourage a balanced approach to fitness and food. “I’ve been very adamant about not doing things like ‘What I eat in a day’ videos,” Leney says. “Everyone is different and everyone’s body is different, so I just try to be the kind of person that I’d want the younger version of me to see on social media.”

a female dancer wearing a white dress and sneakers dancing in front of a mural

Yusha-Marie Sorzano’s Identity as an Immigrant and Black Woman Informs Her Work as a Performer, Teacher, and Choreographer

Even before she realized it, Yusha-Marie Sorzano’s identity as an immigrant was the driving force behind her all-encompassing career—one that has ranged from company positions with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Camille A. Brown & Dancers to guest artist spots and commercial work to choreographing, teaching and becoming the co-artistic director of Zeitgeist Dance Theatre.