July 20, 2018 IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Julia Dillard, Marketing Manager julia@clevelandballet.org<mailto:info@clevelandballet.org> 216-320-9000 Cleveland Ballet welcomes six new company members for the 2018-2019 season. CLEVELAND, OH July 20, 2018: Cleveland Ballet is expanding in anticipation of our 2018-2019 season, adding six new company members from all over the world. The ballet welcomes Andy Sousa from Cuba, who received his training at the Luis Casa Romero School of Ballet, and performed with the National Ballet of Cuba under the direction of Alicia Alonso. Ohio native Brianna Habel also joins Cleveland Ballet this season, having previously performed with Cincinnati Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theater and Neos Dance Theater, as well as performing in a collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. Luciano Perotto joins the ballet from Argentina after dancing with the Barcelona City Ballet. Luciano received his training at the Rock School of Dance in Philadelphia, placed in the Youth America Grand Prix in 2014, 2016, 2017 and received first place at Cecchetti International Classical Ballet Competition. Nicole Fedorov trained under Gelsey Kirkland at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy, where she later danced as a member of the company for three years. She then went on to work for Nevada Ballet, Ballet Theater of Sibiu, Connecticut Ballet, Jersey City Ballet, Moscow Classical Ballet, The Armenian National Opera, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and now joins Cleveland Ballet for the 2018-2019 season. Also joining Cleveland Ballet this season is Alfredo Rodriguez from Cuba, who studied at the Camaguey School of Ballet, then continued on to perform with the Camaguey Ballet Company, Laura Alonso Ballet Havana, JFK Contemporary Dance Company in NYC, Spartanburg Ballet, and most recently Cary Ballet. Jonas Godwin, originally from Florida, attended Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School, and spent summers training with Alonzo King Lines Ballet and American Ballet Theater. He went on to perform with Cincinnati Ballet Second Company and Charlotte Ballet, and now begins his first season with Cleveland Ballet. The company begins rehearsal in August and looks forward to producing a spectacular season of performances, beginning with the Fall Collection on October 19th and 20th. The Fall Collection features a one-act ballet called Provocativo about a group of artists who meet at a late night cafe and discover that romance is in the air. Cleveland Ballet will round out the season with performances of The Nutcracker in the winter and Coppélia in the spring. Cleveland Ballet's 2018/2019 Season tickets are selling fast. Don't miss your chance to see our amazing productions this season; go to www.playhousesquare.org<http://www.playhousesquare.org/> to purchase tickets. You can buy individual tickets or save by subscribing for the entire season. For more information on Cleveland Ballet visit www.clevelandballet.org<http://www.clevelandballet.org/> or call 216-320-9000 Stay connected on Facebook and Instagram.