A self-proclaimed tomboy, Grace Shivers was eight years old when she took her first ballet class. “I think ballet was great for me because it was kind of athletic and musical at the same time,” she says, “and then I fell in love with it automatically.” A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, Shivers felt she needed more time to grow as a dancer before joining a company, choosing to attend Indiana University where she graduated in three years with majors in ballet and history. She joined Cincinnati Ballet Second Company in 2010, quickly working her way up to the Corps de Ballet in the company. “I’ve learned so much every year, and I feel like I’ve been dancing a lot since the beginning. You get a lot of stage time,” she says of Cincinnati Ballet, “And time to learn, so that’s really good.”

Sponsors: Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Schlagheck and Bernie & Mary Kay Calonge

Fun fact: Grace loves to sing!

Touchet will never forget her 19th birthday. That was the day Victoria Morgan came to Pacific Northwest Ballet, to audition Touchet’s professional division. “Directors from everywhere auditioned us, but nobody ever picked me,” she says. “I remember thinking she wouldn’t like me anyway, so I told myself to just have fun, and after it was over, she said, ‘I’d like to talk to Janessa’.” Crossed wires with communicating Touchet’s acceptance of Morgan’s apprenticeship offer led to a planned spot with Memphis Ballet, but Morgan called one last time and Touchet was able to come to Cincinnati Ballet instead. “It was meant to be here. I started as an Apprentice and moved all the way through the ranks. I had always had my heart and mind set on Cincinnati Ballet.”