Sayoko is extremely excited for her first season with IDT.  Sayoko is from Seattle, WA where she received the majority of her classical ballet training from the Pacific Northwest Ballet School (PNBS). She is a graduate of the University of Utah’s nationally recognized Department of Ballet where she received her BFA and MFA in teaching and choreography. Through her training and performing experience, she has had the opportunity to work with and or perform ballets by Val Caniporoli, Edgar Zendegas, Richard Tjia, Ohad Naharin, Jiri Kylian, Kent Stowell, Jiang Qi, Alex Ketley, George Balanchine, Conrad Ludlow, Jennifer Hill-Barlow, Bruce Wells, Donald Byrd, Stephanie Saland, and Sonia Dawkins. Sayoko also began choreographing prior to graduating from PNBS and has since been invited as a guest choreographer for a Gala performance in Tokyo, Japan with Valentio Bartes Ballet Company, Ballet West Academy’s Summer Intensive, Regional Dance America’s Craft of Choreography Conference, the University of Utah’s resident company-Utah Ballet, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance’s Choreographic Residency, and the Barlow Arts Conservatory in Utah. She has also choreographed contemporary solos for the Youth America Grand Prix over the last three years in which she has already been awarded the Outstanding Choreographer Award for the 2010 San Francisco Region.

Gonzalo is very excited to return to another thrilling season of Idaho Dance Theatre. He began his dance training as a senior in high school after the persuasion of a classmate to take a swing class. After that one recital he discovered his new found passion for dance and began to dance with the local studios in his hometown of Wendell, Idaho.  Gonzalo’s early training was with Shari Mauldin and Cindy Jones of the Magic Valley, which included local and national competitions in jazz, tap and hip hop. He then focused his training in classical ballet and studied under the direction of Marla Hansen. In his six seasons with the company, Gonzalo has not only been featured in new and original works, but has also been nurtured as a choreographer. He has set four pieces on the company, two of which were selected to take on two of the company’s tours.  His choreography has also been featured in IDT’s “Dancing Through the Decades” Gala and IDT’s Outreach Program.  He has also performed in the community with Boise State University and Opera Idaho in the productions of “Pippin” and “Amahl and The Night Visitors”. Most recently, Gonzalo is very excited to be the director of IDT’s newest endeavor, its youth company, Focus Dance Ensemble. He looks forward to see this pre-professional dance company take flight and work with this new company of young dancers that are eager, dedicated and very talented.

Lia is looking forward to her third year with IDT where she has been challenged to perform with an exceptional group of dancers. Born in Vancouver, WA, she graduated from Prairie High School while attending Running Start classes at Clark College. Lia began her dance training at age six and joined Columbia Dance Company in 2000 under the direction of Jan Hurst. She has performed lead roles such as Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, the Black Swan pas de deux, excerpts from Coppelia and other original works, including a Bob Fosse piece set by Laura Haney. Lia’s experience has been enriched by participating annually in Regional Dance America festivals and attending summer intensives with Summer Dance Lab (Walla Walla, WA), Joffrey Ballet (New York), International Ballet Competition and Summer Dance Program (Jackson, MS), Ballet Idaho, Long Beach Ballet’s Ambassadors to China program during the Beijing Olympics (2008) and Milwaukee Ballet. She also had the opportunity to perform with the professional modern company BodyVox of Portland, OR. Lia enjoys creating choreography and received first place in the Weiler Choreography Competition 2009 and this last summer she set her first professional piece for Columbia Dance Company. In addition to dancing with IDT, Lia is dually-enrolled at BSU and ISU as a full-time student pursuing a double major in American Sign Language studies and criminal justice.

Elizabeth is originally from Nampa. She started dancing at age eight after competing in gymnastics for years. Her dance training began in jazz and tap, and later in ballet. Her dance experience widened when Elizabeth began dancing with Studio C under the direction of Carol Fipps. There she was able to work with choreographers from around the country and travel for competitions. At age 16, Elizabeth began training with Marla Hansen as a freshman at Boise State University. As a junior, Elizabeth transferred to Chapman University in Orange, California to pursue a Bachelor’s of Arts in Dance which she received in May 2010. At Chapman University, Elizabeth grew to love modern and contemporary dance as she was able to take from professors who trained with Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Donald Byrd, Bella Lewitzky, Hanya Holm, Laura Dean, Trisha Brown, Lar Lubovitch, and Donald McKayle just to name a few.  Elizabeth is happy to return for another season with IDT.