GUEST ARTISTS

GRACEANNE PIERCE

SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

Graceanne Pierce is a freelance ballet and musical theater artist based in New York City. She is a scholarship graduate student of the JKO School at American Ballet Theatre. After graduation she joined the ABT Studio Company where she was a member for two seasons. In 2019 she joined Ballet West. Credits include Balanchine’s Jewels(Emeralds, Rubies, Diamonds), Lauren Lovette’s Le Jeune, Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker(Snow, Flowers), Marco Pelle’s Carmen(Carmen), and Balanchine’s La Source at the La Scala Opera House in Milan.

In 2022 after branching out into the musical theater world, Graceanne booked the international tour of A Chorus Line where she had the role of Sheila Bryant. The following year she joined the cast of the show Dance Ballerina Dance in Copenhagen. There she had the principal role of Lauren. The show re-premiered and toured Denmark in the winter of 2025. In the 2024, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in La Forza del Destino as a featured dancer.

Some of her favorite guesting credits include: Dance for Paws(Dir. Sarah Lane), iHeart Dance NYC(Dir Melissa Gerstein & Kim Giannelli), LifeChance Gala of the Stars(Dir. Brooklyn Mack), Fragments(Dir/Chor Andrew Winans), and Dances Patrelle(Dir Francis Patrelle).  You can follow Ms. Pierce on Instagram at @grace_anne_pierce

Brooklyn mack

CAVALIER

BROOKLYN MACK, of Elgin, South Carolina, is an International Principal Guest Artist, most recently dancing with English National Ballet. He began his dance training at age 12 with the Pavlovich Dance School  under Radenko Pavlovich and Milena Leben before receiving a scholarship to study at the Kirov Academy of Ballet. While at the Kirov he trained primarily under the auspices of Anatoli Kucheruk and Vladimir Djouloukhadze. After graduating from Kirov, Mr. Mack then apprenticed with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and later joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. Mr. Mack spent three seasons as a principal dancer with Orlando Ballet before becoming principal dancer of The Washington Ballet where he danced for 9 seasons. Mr. Mack has danced a wide array of choreography, spanning many different styles between classical, neoclassical, contemporary, abstract, and modern works throughout his career. 

Some of his notable awards include the Senior Silver Medal at the 2006 Jackson International Ballet Competition in Mississippi; the 2007 Princess Grace Fellowship Award; The Senior Silver Medal at the 2009 Helsinki IBC; the Marius Liepa Prize at the 2011 Boston IBC; the Silver Medal at the 2011 Korean International Dance Competition; the Gold Medal at the 2012 Boston International Ballet Competition; winner of the 2012 Istanbul Grand Prix; and the gold medal at the 2012 International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria.  

 Mr. Mack has also been featured on ABC, NBC, NPR, Ebony Magazine, listed in theGrio’s Top 100 (2014), and was named as a top “25 [dancers] to watch” by Dance Magazine (2012).  

 Mr. Mack is highly in demand as a guest Principal dancer the world over. In 2016, Mr. Mack made his debut on three of the world's greatest stages; at Covent Garden's largest theatre; the London Coliseum, The historic Bolshoi in Moscow, as well as the illustrious and historic Paris Opera ballet's Palais Garnier stage. In 2017, Mr. Mack debuted in the Republic of Georgia at the Tbilisi Opera House. In 2018, Mr. Mack made his debut in the role of Solor during his debut on the Ukrainian National Opera's stage with the Ukrainian National Ballet in La Bayadere. In June of 2019 Mr. Mack made his debut on the Metropolitan Opera House Stage at Lincoln Center, NYC as a Principal Guest Artist with American Ballet Theatre. During the height of the pandemic Mr. Mack was part of “Tiler Peck: A New Stage" which was/is featured on Marquee TV. Most recently, Mr. Mack was Principal Guest Artist with English National Ballet for half of their 2019-2020 season, dancing various works in their repertoire including Ben in Wheeldon's Cinderella, Prince in Wayne Eagling's Nutcracker, William Forsythe's Playlist, exceprts of Coppelia and Etudes, as well as reprising his leading roles in Le Corsaire. In 2022, Mr. Mack made his debut as Jean De Brianne in Tamara Rojo's Raymonda, as well as Siegfried in Derek Deane's Swan Lake. You can follow Mr. Mack on Instagram @Brooklynmack5 

JEFFREY GRIBLER

HERR DROSSELMEYER

Jeffrey Gribler began dancing at age seven in Dayton, Ohio, studying at the Schwartz School of Dance and performing with Dayton Ballet. In 1975, at seventeen, he joined Pennsylvania Ballet as an apprentice and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1982.

Mr. Gribler’s extensive repertoire includes leading roles in classical and contemporary works. He performed numerous ballets by George Balanchine, including Prodigal Son, Agon, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as works by Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, William Forsythe, and Lar Lubovitch. His classical roles included Siegfried in Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.

From 1986 to 2014, Mr. Gribler served as Ballet Master for Pennsylvania Ballet, rehearsing the children in the company’s annual production of The Nutcracker. He also choreographed works for Shut Up and Dance and Cricket Dances in 1998. He retired from the stage in 2001 after 26 years of performing but continued to appear in character roles, ultimately completing 40 seasons with the company.

Mr. Gribler now works as a freelance master teacher and occasional choreographer and currently serves as Ballet Master for Pennsylvania Regional Ballet.

Rylan Doty

SNOW KING AND COFFEE PRINCE

Rylan began his ballet training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, where he studied from 2013 to 2020. He continued his training at Houston Ballet Academy from 2020 to 2021 before joining Houston Ballet II from 2021 to 2023.

He began his professional career with Houston Ballet, dancing with the company during the 2023–2024 season, then joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for the 2024–2025 season.

In addition to performing, Rylan has taught ballet during summer programs at Texas Academy of Dance Arts in The Woodlands, Texas. He is currently pursuing entrepreneurship while continuing to train in his free time.