Program for Smuin's The Christmas Ballet - Flipbook - Page 12
ARTIST PROFILES
MARC LAPIERRE
Marc LaPierre began his early training at Ballet Etudes in Norwalk, CT,
working closely with Christina Fagundes. He attended Ballet Academy
East in New York City under the direction of Darla Hoover and at age
16, Marc furthered his training at The School of American Ballet. At
Los Angeles Ballet he danced works by August Bournonville, George
Balanchine, Aszure Barton and Alejandro Cerrudo. Two years later
he joined Oregon Ballet Theatre, where he danced works by Alvin
Ailey, Ben Stevenson, Nicolo Fonte, Christopher Stowell, and Trey
McIntyre. LaPierre joined Smuin in 2021.
SHANIA RASMUSSEN
Shania Rasmussen from Denver, CO, received her dance training
at Colorado Ballet Academy and the School of American Ballet.
During her 9 years with Sacramento Ballet, she performed
principal and soloist roles in classical ballets as well as works by
George Balanchine, Jermaine Spivey, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa,
Penny Saunders, Val Caniparoli, and Jennifer Archibald, among
others. She has appeared with Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, touring to
The Joyce Theater and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Rasmussen
has presented several works for Sacramento Ballet’s choreographic
showcase, as well as for stage and film for Capital Dance Project.
Rasmussen joined Smuin in 2024.
WEN NA ROBERTSON
Born in Dongguan, China, Wen Na received her early formative
training in Redmond, WA, under the direction of Deborah Hadley.
She earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona, graduating
magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance and minors in Marketing
and Chinese. In 2019, she began her professional career with
Sacramento Ballet, where she had the privilege of performing
works by Alejandro Cerrudo, Ihsan Rustem, Amy Seiwert, Val
Caniparoli, Jennifer Archibald, Andrea Schermoly, Caili Quan,
Michael Pink, Jermaine Maurice Spivey, and Julia Feldman.
YURI ROGERS
Yuri Rogers began his training with the Academy of Ballet San
Francisco under the direction of Richard Gibson and Zory Karah.
He then had the opportunity to continue his training and perform
with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Grand Rapids Ballet, and
BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. Rogers has performed works by
Lar Lubovitch, Leiland Charles, and Edwaard Liang. Rogers joined
Smuin in 2021.
12 • THE CHRISTM A S BALLET • 2025
