PENN BALLET
The Board
Madeline Port
Executive Director
Joined Fall '23
Madeline is a junior in the VIPER dual degree program studying Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering. She began dancing in her hometown of Richmond, VA at 3 years old. She trained at the School of Richmond Ballet (SRB) from age 6 to 18 in classical ballet, character dance, musical theater, and modern in both their year-long classes and Summer Intensive program. She also attended ABT and Boston Ballet’s Summer Intensive programs. In addition to learning advanced classical repertoire for various student shows as part of the SRB Ensemble, she performed student roles each year in professional company productions such as the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Romeo and Juliet. She is excited to be a part of Penn Ballet for a third year!
Lisa Slattery
Finance Director
Joined Fall '23
Lisa is a senior in the College studying Neuroscience. She began ballet at age four, training at Emerald Ballet Academy in Bellevue, Washington and Akiko Ballet Academy in Tokyo, Japan. She has performed as the Sylph in La Sylphide, Arabian soloist in the Nutcracker, and many other roles in productions such as Paquita, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and Cinderella. She has competed at the Youth America Grand Prix semi-finals in Seattle and the finals in New York City. She is excited to keep dancing as a member of Penn Ballet!
Ivy Jiang
Marketing Manager
Joined Fall '24
Ivy is a sophomore in the M&T Program studying Electrical Engineering and Economics with a concentration in Finance. She is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and began dancing ballet when she was four. Classically trained with Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, she has enjoyed performing the Nutcracker yearly as well as other Storybook Ballets such as Cinderella or Rapunzel. Her favorite roles include Snow Queen and Spanish Chocolate. Ivy is excited to continue dancing ballet with Penn!
Taya Allardice
Social Chair
Joined Fall '24
Taya is a sophomore in the College majoring in International Relations and minoring in History and Legal Studies from Cape Town, South Africa. She is classically trained and has been dancing since she was 3. She has predominantly trained at her ballet school Sue De Moyencourt’s School of Ballet where she completed her RAD exams, performed in yearly showcases, and competed in various local and international competitions. She joined the Cape Junior Ballet company at age 13 where she was exposed to various styles of dance. Taya is excited to continue making memories on stage and in the studio!
Emily Hoff
Co-Performance Director
Joined Fall '24
Emily is a junior in the College from Boston, Massachusetts. She began dancing at age 3 at Boston Ballet School. At age 15, she moved to London to train full time at The Royal Ballet School. At age 17, she was hired at her first professional company and spent 6 years working full time as a professional ballet dancer. She worked professionally for San Francisco Ballet from 2017-2018, for Boston Ballet from 2018-2022, and for The Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen from 2022-2023. She is excited to be part of the Penn Ballet!
Emma Yao
Finance Manager
Joined Fall '23
Emma is a junior from Vancouver, Canada studying Physics and English in the College. She began dancing ballet at the age of 8 with her hometown studio, Essence of Dance Inc. She joined the studio’s competitive dance program, Ignite Youth Company, where she performed classical and character ballet pieces at regional dance competitions, conventions, and charity shows. Emma then trained under Xing Liang at the Royal Principal Ballet Academy. She successfully completed RAD examinations up until the Advanced I level and competed at YAGP with variations from Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote. Emma loves her Penn Ballet family and is excited to continue dancing with them throughout her time at college.
Oma Nwafor
Marketing Manager
Joined Fall '24
Oma is a sophomore in the College studying Health and Societies. She first started dancing at 10, beginning ballet at Barriskill Dance Theater School after moving to Durham, NC. There, she trained in ballet and contemporary, performing various roles in the Nutcracker, Cinderella, and other productions. She was also a member of the Senior Company, where she learned and performed pieces from various choreographers in the Durham area. Oma is excited to continue dancing as a part of Penn Ballet!
Shiny Shen
Co-Performance Director
Joined Fall '22
Shiny is a senior studying Bioengineering, with a concentration in Medical Devices and minors in Math and Engineering Entrepreneurship. She began her classical ballet journey at age four with Triangle Youth Ballet in Chapel Hill, NC and has attended intensives at UNCSA, as well as festivals with Regional Dance America. Her favorite roles include Arabian Coffee in The Nutcracker and Mercedes in Don Quixote. When she’s not haunting the halls of the engineering quad, you can find her aggressively crafting or joyfully chowing down sushi with her Penn ballet family!
Natasha Yao
Marketing Director
Joined Fall '23
Natasha is a junior in the College studying International Relations. She started ballet at the age of 5 and trained at Jean M. Wong School of Ballet in Hong Kong and the Olivia Willoughby School of Dance in England. She has performed in a variety of full length productions with the Hong Kong Ballet and JMW Ballet, such as the Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire and more. She performed as the Nutcracker Princess in her school’s adapted version of the Nutcracker as a high school senior. She also has experience in modern contemporary dance, performing with Avant Garde Dance UK and dancing under Peter Anderson, former artistic programme designer for the National Icelandic Dance Company. Natasha is excited to continue dancing with Penn Ballet!
Sofia Murra Vicario
Costume Chair
Joined Fall '22
Sofia has danced ballet for over 15 years. She danced in Cibolo City Ballet for over 5 years under Danae Quevedo. She has participated in productions of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Fairy Doll, Coppélia, Graduation Ball, and Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is currently a senior in the College majoring in Chemistry and thrilled to be a part of Penn Ballet.
Madeleine Douglas
Joined Fall '25
Madeleine is...
Kaitlyn Green
Joined Fall '22
Kaitlyn is trained in classical ballet in both the Balanchine and Vaganova technique, modern, tap, and jazz at Berrend Dance Center under Patricia Berrend, Runqiao Du, Erin Du, Aaron Jackson, Dmitri Malikov, Roger Riggle and Erica Molina-Hudak among others for around 17 years. During her training she has had the opportunity to perform numerous solo and corps roles in Olney Ballet Theatre’s yearly production of the Nutcracker and Bel Cantanti Opera productions of Sadko and Die Schone Mullerin. She also studied various excerpts from Coppélia, Paquita, Sleeping Beauty, Raymond, and Concerto Barocco among others. She is currently a senior studying nursing and biochemistry at Penn and is so grateful to continue dancing in her seventh semester with Penn Ballet! ​
Allison Liu
Joined Spring '25
Allison is a second-year student She began dancing at age 5 in her hometown of Princeton, New Jersey, and trained in classical ballet at Princeton Ballet School in the pre-professional division of American Repertory Ballet. She has attended summer intensives at PBS and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and has competed in various national and international ballet competitions. At Princeton Ballet School, she performed roles in a number of full-length ballets including the Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia and Giselle. Allison is also trained in Chinese classical, contemporary and folk dance and has performed internationally and on television. She is very excited to rediscover her passion for dance with the lovely group at Penn Ballet!
Ekaterina Skorniakova
Joined Fall '25
Ekaterina graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in electrical engineering and is continuing her education at Penn with an M.S. in robotics. Kat has been dancing since age five, first training at BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. After moving to New York at age ten, she trained at several schools, including Alvin Ailey, VKDCNY, and Verterich Ballet Studio. Kat also attended the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive in New York from 2013 to 2017. After about three years away from the ballet world, she is excited to be back dancing with Penn Ballet.
Cynthia Zhang
Joined Spring '25
Cynthia is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Computer Science and Finance. She has been dancing since the age of five and has performed variations from Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Le Corsaire, and more at competitions such as YAGP. She has also enjoyed the opportunity to attend summer intensives, including Ellison Ballet. Cynthia is excited to continue sharing her passion for ballet and dance alongside the amazing dancers at Penn Ballet!
Noa Erlitzki
Joined Spring '25
Noa is an MD/PhD candidate in the Perelman School of Medicine's Medical Scientist Training Program. She is pursuing her PhD in the lab of Rahul Kohli, MD, PhD, where her research focuses on the biochemistry, clinical implications, and biotechnological applications of DNA-modifying enzymes. Noa began dancing ballet at the age of 11 in her hometown, training under Natalia Shevchenko. After high school, she was accepted to the Perm State Choreographic College in Russia, where she studied in the class of Lydia Grigorevna Ulanova, and also trained briefly at the Novosibirsk State Ballet Academy. After having taken an extended break, Noa is enjoying her return to ballet after so many years and is excited to be part of the Penn Ballet!
Lily Cate Hunter
Joined Fall '23
Lily Cate is a junior and a neuroscience major in the College on the premed track. She has danced ballet for 15 years, and grew up in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, dancing with Classical Ballet Centre. There, she debuted as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, as well as many solo roles in Swan Lake, Coppelia, and Sleeping Beauty. She cannot wait to perform in this year’s Nutcracker and is excited to continue her Penn Ballet journey.
Lia MacLaughlin
Joined Fall '24
Lia is a sophomore from Tampa, Florida and a member of the Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program studying Environmental Science in the College. Lia has danced since she was two years old, with most of her dance experience coming from her time at her home studio: Theater Arts and Dance Alliance. She has training in many styles of dance, but ballet has always been her favorite. Lia has also attended the ABT Summer Intensive program twice. Outside of the studio, Lia is passionate about music, art and reading. She loves to travel, and hopes to spend some time abroad in college
Caitlin Tai
Joined Fall '25
Caitlin is a freshman in the Benjamin Franklin Scholars program, studying Economics and Health and Societies at the College. Originally from Manila, Philippines, she began dancing at age five at her hometown studio, the Claravall School of Dance, where she completed her Royal Academy of Dance exams. Caitlin has performed various roles in ballets “Sleeping Beauty”, “Swan Lake” and “Beauty and the Beast”, as well as a number of contemporary pieces. After taking a two year break from ballet, Caitlin is very excited to return to dancing with Penn Ballet!
Katie Fox
Joined Fall '24
Katie Fox is a junior from Long Island, New York, studying Finance in the Wharton School with a minor in French. With 17 years of dance experience, she has trained in ballet and modern dance at the Ohman School of Ballet and attended the Cincinnati Ballet summer intensive. Outside of ballet, you can find her tapping in Soundworks Tap Factory, or playing flute in the Penn Wind Ensemble. Katie is also involved with the Wharton Undergraduate Finance Club and the Wharton Management Club. Katie is extremely grateful to continue her passion for dance at Penn and is excited to perform again with Penn Ballet.
Caroline Johansen
Joined Fall '22
Caroline is a senior studying neuroscience who has been dancing for 16 years. She is classically trained under Scarlett Fiero-Carbone with the Saugerties Ballet Center. Caroline is also a principal dancer with Ulster Ballet Company, founded by Balanchine-taught Fred Douglas DeMayo, and has performed in their annual ‘Festival of Dance’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’, choreographed and led by former NYCB dancer Sara Miot. She is grateful to be able to lead a wonderful group of dancers and to continue performing with Penn Ballet, and she can’t wait for more PB memories to be made.
Eleanor Sanderson
Joined Fall '25
Eleanor is a sophomore at the College studying International relations. She is from Raleigh, North Carolina and has been dancing since the age of three. She has performed multiple children’s roles with Carolina Ballet including “Clara” in the “Nutcracker,” “bug” in Balanchine’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “Clock” in “Cinderella”. Joining the School of Carolina ballet at age 13, she studied under Debra Austin, Marin Boieru, Jan Burkhard, Pablo Perez, Lindsay Purrington, and Margaret Severin-Hansen. She became a pre-professional student with the company, receiving the Ellyn Daniels Scholarship. Her senior year, she began her professional career as an apprentice with the company. She is so excited to join Penn Ballet this year and be a part of such an amazing group of talented dancers.
Sylvia Yu
Joined Fall '25
Sylvia is a freshman in the College studying Physics and Computer Science. She is from Boyds, Maryland and has been dancing ballet and contemporary with her hometown studio, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, since age nine. Her favorite role is the Arabian Coffee soloist from “The Nutcracker” but she has performed in many other classical ballets such as “Coppelia” and “Cinderella” as well. She is excited to continue dancing in college with Penn Ballet!