ECOS: AXIS Dance Company 2024 Home Season - Flipbook - Page 15
A(laj)a Badalich
Company Dancer
Native to Eugene, Oregon,
A(laj)a Badalich (they/she) is
a black-queer neurodivergent
dance artist, choreographer, and
co-founder of Fermata Ballet
Collective. She trained at the
Alonzo King Lines Ballet Training
Program, across the United
States and internationally. Laj has
served as a guest choreographer
and faculty member for Shawl
Anderson Dance Center, LINES
training program, and various
competitive
dance
studios,
demonstrating their commitment
to nurturing and paving the
way for the next generation of
dancers. Laj has worked closely
with choreographers Alex Ketley,
Alice Klock, Maurya Kerr, and
Christian Burns. Since joining
AXIS Dance Company in 2022,
they have performed at Jacob's
Pillow and in Latin America. Laj
believes movement is a universal
language and a form of ancestral
storytelling, aiming to share and
celebrate what it means to be the
“other”.
D Calhoun
Company Dancer & Costume
Designer for Blueprints of being
D Calhoun (they/them) was born
and raised in Omaha, Nebraska.
They spent their summers training
at LINES Ballet, Ballet West,
Kansas City Ballet, Hubbard
Street, Martha Graham and Bates
Dance Festival. D obtained their
BFA in Dance Performance
and Choreography, emphasis
in Ballet and Modern, from the
Conservatory at University of
Missouri – Kansas City in 2017 on
full scholarship. After graduation,
D moved to San Francisco to join
dawsondancesf for two seasons.
Professional credits include ODC/
Dance, SFDanceworks, Ballet22,
Wylliams/Henry, Concept o4
and Lady Camden’s ‘Naughty
Nutcracker’. D teaches yoga
and dance to all ages with the
intention to help others connect
to the gift of movement. Recently,
they have begun garment making
and costuming as a way to explore
their creativity.
