CHOREOGRAPHERS
Katy E. Cashin
Choreographer & Répétiteur
Katy E. Cashin is a freelance choreographer in New York City, creating works for White Horse Theater Company (WHTC) and The Tallahassee Ballet (TTB). Cashin’s WHTC productions include Tennessee William’s A Cavalier for Milady, Sam Shepard’s Eyes for Consuela, and WHTC Artistic Director Cyndy Marion’s world premiere, You Are Perfect, which was selected for the 2017 Toronto Fringe Festival and restaged in Los Angeles, CA in 2018. Cashin has created ten original works for TTB, including Rhapsody, Retour, Focus, Mainframe, and Rebonds B. She created works for “First Look” presented by Brooklyn Ballet and South Georgia Ballet’s FUSE: Boots & Ballet.
Cashin received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance performance and Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Southern Methodist University, where she performed soloist roles in masterworks by George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Arthur Mitchell, and Gerald Arpino. She trained with The Tallahassee Ballet (TTB) under the direction of Joyce Fausone as well as under Christina Paolucci (New York Theatre Ballet), Sheila Humphreys (Royal Ballet), and Richard Sias (National Ballet of Canada). At TTB, Cashin performed several principal and soloist roles in full-length ballets such as The Nutcracker, Coppélia, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Beauty and the Beast. Cashin received her Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York City. Cashin is an ABT® Certified Teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Meagan Helman
Artistic Director and Choreographer
Meagan Helman has been with The Tallahassee Ballet since 2015, first serving as a faculty member and later as School Director, Company Teacher, Ballet Mistress, and now as Artistic Director. She has a diverse array of professional experiences as a dancer and educator. Helman is an adjunct faculty member at Florida State University’s School of Dance, where she has taught all levels of Ballet and Dance Technology courses, choreographed, and served as a rehearsal director. She performed professionally for over ten years as a principal dancer with Ballet Theatre of Maryland (BTM), where her repertoire included Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Coppélia, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Firebird, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Nutcracker, Carmen, and The Scarlet Letter, among other classical and contemporary works.
Helman served as the Ballet Mistress for BTM from 2009-2014, where she also choreographed and taught for the company and school. Her choreography has been performed by Ballet Theatre of Maryland, The Tallahassee Ballet, Florida State University, Delaware Dance Company, Goucher College, and the American College Dance Association. Helman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from Goucher College and a Master of Arts degree in Dance from Florida State University. She also serves as the photographer for FSU’s School of Dance and the performance photographer for The Tallahassee Ballet. Her photographs have been published in Dance Magazine, Dance Studio Life, and Dance Teacher Magazine. She has served on the FSU Friends of Dance Leadership Council since 2017.
Helman is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
additional choreographers
Holly Borrelli
2024 EOMAD Choreographer
Originally from Alpharetta, Georgia, Holly Borrelli is an honors senior on scholarship at Florida State University and is pursuing a dual degree in dance and finance. She trains in ballet and contemporary under the esteemed School of Dance faculty members, including Kara Wilkes, Ilana Goldman, Caleb Mitchell, Meagan Helman, Jawole Zollar, Tim Glenn, Donna Uchizono, Kehinde Ishangi, and Rachel Hunter. She has performed in classical ballet, contemporary, and musical theatre works by Caleb Mitchell, Tim Glenn, Ilana Goldman, and Calypso Haddad. In addition, she performed in Lynda Davis’s restaging of Shadow Dance and Suzanne Farrell’s restaging of Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15. She recently presented her newest choreographic work, Pinnacola, in Florida State University’s Days of Dance 2024 performances.
Borrelli danced with The Tallahassee Ballet as a Corps de Ballet member for two seasons and was a dance instructor at The Tallahassee Ballet School. With the company, she has performed in Sleeping Beauty as the Silver Fairy and White Cat, The Nutcracker as Marzipan, Snow, and Waltz of the Flowers, in excerpts of Swan Lake, and in various contemporary ballet works. She also choreographed the jazz quartet, Out On The Town, and the swing finale, Bandstand Boogie, for TTB’s 2024 INTIMATE performances.
Rachel S. Hunter
2024 EOMAD Choreographer
Rachel S. Hunter, a native of Cookeville, Tennessee, is thrilled to be making a new work on The Tallahassee Ballet company. Rachel currently works as Specialized Faculty and Production Manager at Florida State University’s School of Dance, as well as directs and performs in her own project-based company, Hunter Dance Project. In her free time, she has the honor of restaging works by Dan Wagoner and working in a plethora of roles for local theatre and dance companies. With the majority of her work being in the contemporary and dance-theatre genres, Hunter is excited to get to venture into a new process with The Tallahassee Ballet dancers.
Caleb Mitchell
2024 EOMAD Choreographer
Caleb Mitchell was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, where he started his serious early ballet training at the age of 16 under Rose Marie Floyd. After graduating cum laude in 1998 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Arizona, Caleb joined the Houston Ballet under Ben Stevenson, OBE-emeritus (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), and later Stanton Welch, Artistic Director.
During his tenure with Houston Ballet (1998-2007), Mitchell performed many featured roles in works by George Balanchine; Sir Kenneth MacMillan; Sir Frederick Ashton; Ben Stevenson, OBE; Glen Tetley; William Forsythe; Paul Taylor; Christopher Bruce; Ronald Hynd; Lila York; Natalie Weir; Julia Adams; Trey McIntyre; Stanton Welch; James Kudelka; and David Parsons. In 2007, Mitchell was awarded a Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellowship (Helen Russell Scholar) at the University Of California-Irvine. In June 2009, Mitchell received a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance and soon after became Assistant Professor of Dance faculty at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, where he received tenure (2009-2016).
Mitchell’s guest choreographic, teaching, and guest panel engagements include the following institutions: Co-choreographed with late legendary choreographer and teacher Dr. Donald Mckayle on a creation for University of California, Newport Contemporary Ballet, Ad Deum Dance Company, Irvine’s Etude Dance Ensemble entitled Sanctuary (2009), METdance, Ballet 5:8, The Link School of the Arts, Vivid Ballet, Ballet Hartford, Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet, Cirque du Soliel: Elvis, Brigham Young University Department of Dance, Texas Ballet Theater Professional Division, the University of California Irvine’s Etude Ensemble (Dr. Donald McKayle–Artistic Director), Charlotte Ballet Summer Intensive, The Masterworks Festival, Belhaven University, University of Utah, University of Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Summer Dance Intensive, East Carolina University School of Theater and Dance, Santa Monica College, Houston Ballet 2, Southern Methodist University, and others.
In the fall semester of 2016, he joined the Santa Monica College Dance Department (Santa Monica, California) as a full-time Associate Professor of Dance. Currently, since August 2018, Mitchell serves as a full-time Assistant Professor of Dance at Florida State University School of Dance.​
Kara Wilkes
2024 EOMAD Guest Choreographer
A Milwaukee native, Kara Wilkes is an educator, choreographer, visual artist, and filmmaker. Her expertise in classical and contemporary ballet is supported by her 20-year career performing with Milwaukee Ballet Company, Ballet Victor Ullate, Charlotte Ballet, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. In 2019, Wilkes earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Hollins University and has since been on dance faculties at Florida State University (2022-present), Wake Forest University, Mills College, and Santa Clara University.
Wilkes was a 2022-2023 Toulmin Choreography Fellow through NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts and National Sawdust. Most recently, she was resident choreographer at Chautauqua Dance and created works for University of Oklahoma, Florida State University, Traverse City Dance Project, Texas Christian University, the University of South Carolina Kaufman School of Dance, and COCA (Center of Creative Arts) in St. Louis, Missouri. Wilke’s choreographic research investigates generational trauma, addiction, and healing; it also examines the impacts of the Information Age on human behavior and our planet. Wilkes is a movie enthusiast whose creations are often cinematic and offer non-linear narratives; viewers are exposed to theatrical elements such as props/sets, vocals, and gesture-inspired movement.
Dr. Kathryn Karrh Cashin (1957-2023)
Choreographer
Kathryn (KK) Karrh Cashin, PhD, was a beloved former dancer of The Tallahassee Ballet (TTB) and long-time Resident Choreographer, best known for the brilliant choreography of our production of The Nutcracker.
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In addition to The Nutcracker, KK is known for numerous chamber works, most notably Boléro. Her full-length ballets include Beauty and the Beast, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Coppélia, Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty. She also choreographed several children’s ballets and shared her artistry with Florida State Opera, choreographing over 20 works, including The Mikado, Eugene Onegin, Orpheus in the Underworld, and Romeo and Juliet.
The Tallahassee Ballet will always be indebted to the countless hours, creative passion, high standards, and unwavering support of Dr. Kathryn Karrh Cashin. Her commitment to TTB was beyond reproach and her kindness had no bounds. Her choreography and influence will be seen in our performances and in our hearts for as long as TTB exists.
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