Yuka Oba-muschiana
Yuka was born in Japan where she received her training from Hitomi Takeuchi Ballet School. In 2006, she attended English National Ballet School in the UK where she also danced many soloist roles. Upon graduating, Mario Radacovsky invited her to join the Slovak National Ballet where she danced a variety of roles such as Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux by George Balanchine, Spring lead principal lady in Four seasons by James Kudelka. Yuka was then invited to join Grand Rapids Ballet in 2011 where she has since danced many principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine (Serenade, Allegro Brilliant, Who Care’s?, Rubies and Four Temperaments) Marius Petipa (Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake) Yuri Possokhov (Firebird), Ben Stevensen (Cinderella), Val Caniparoli (Ibsen’s House, The Nutcracker), Christopher Stowell (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Trey McIntyre (Wild Sweet Love), Adam Hougland (Cold Virtues), Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (Written and Forgotten, Memorias del Dorado, Dangerous Liaisons), Alejandro Cerrudo (Extremely Close), James Sofranko (Romeo & Juliet Balcony Pas de Deux), Nicolas Blanc (Aquatic Hypoxia), Katarzyna Skarpetowska (Off the Canvas), Daniella Rowe (For Pixie), Olivier Wevers (The Sofa, Midsummer), Mario Radakovsky, Jennifer Archibald, David Parsons, Jose Limon, Kirk Peterson, Brian Enos, Sagi Gross, Andrea Schermoly, Norbert De La Cruz and Penny Saunders. Yuka has won many competitions in Japan including NBA All Japan Ballet Competition, Saitama All Japan Dance Competition, UB All Japan Ballet Union Competition, International Ballet Competition in Yokohama, and others. In 2013, Yuka had the honor of performing Olivier Wever’s The Sofa at the Joyce Theatre in New York and reprised her role in Seattle. Yuka performed Le Corsaire Pas de Deux in the gala at The National Theatre in Tokyo and the Pas de Deux from Le Carnaval de Venise in Fukushima. In 2014, Val Caniparoli choreographed Clara on Yuka for the world premiere of The Nutcracker. She also choreographed for Grand Rapids Ballet since 2015 such as Wave, Eriha, Death and Maiden, Tomorrow Never Comes and Chansons de Bilitis. 2021 Virtual season Yuka had the opportunity to choreograph, direct and film her piece “sol and luna” . Her new piece for the Grand Rapids Ballet “Land of Gods” was commissioned for part of the program 2023-24 season. She also was invited to choreograph and stage her piece with Ballet Arkansas, Saint Louis Dance Theatre trainee program and Flint Institute of Music.
Josue Justiz
Josué Justiz was born in Santiago de Cuba. He started studying ballet at the age of 9 in his hometown. When he was 14, he entered the National Ballet School of Cuba in Havana under the guidance of Masters Fernando Alonso and Ramona de Saa. During his time as a student of NBS, he was a successful competitor in the International Ballet Competitions of Havana, winning one silver and two gold medals. After graduation, he joined the National Ballet of Cuba under the direction of Prima Ballerina Assoluta Alicia Alonso. While at the company, he gained the category of soloist within two years, dancing roles such as Pas de six in Swan Lake, The Young Gypsy, one of the Bullfighters, and the Pas de Deux from the 3rd act in Don Quixote, the leading men in Majisimo, Dialogo a 4, Theme and Variations, one of the friends in Giselle and Maurice Bejart’s “Bakhti Pas de Deux”, among others. After 3 years with the company, he defected to the USA in a tour in Mexico. A few months later, he joined the Studio Company of the Washington Ballet. In 2014, he joined the former Ballet San Jose under the direction of ballet legend José Manuel Carreño. At this company, his repertoire expanded with works like Yuri Zhukov’s “User’s Manual” , Amy Seiwert’s “This Might Be True”, and Ben Stevenson's "Cinderella" among others. Mr. Justiz is a founding member of Dimensions Dance Theatre where he has performed classical masterpieces such as the leading role of Albrecht in “Giselle”and Balanchine’s “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux” and also collaborating with the company in a number of pieces from choreographers like Septime Webre, Tara Reid, Vicente Nebrada, and Yanis Pikieris to mention a few. In 2018, he joined the Grand Rapids Ballet under James Sofranko’s direction, where he has performed the principal role in pieces such as “Sleeping Beauty”, “Cinderella” , Balanchine’s “Allegro Brillante” and “Tarantella”, Trey McIntyre’s “Wild Sweet Love” and “Be Here Now”, Yuri Possokhov’s “Firebird”,and Val Caniparoli’s “Ibsen’s House” and “The Nutcracker”, “Le Corsaire Pas de Deux”, Christopher Stowell’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Twyla Tharp’s “In The Upper Room”,and the titular role in James Sofranko’s “Romeo and Juliet” among others
