Matthew Pierce is celebrated for his new classical scores commissioned and performed by major American ballet companies. Born in Brooklyn in 1968, Pierce grew up in Seattle, studied violin at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and moved to New York where he began writing music for the theatre. Alice (in wonderland), with choreography by Septime Webre has been produced by 13 companies with more than 100 performances. The Wizard of Oz is the fifth full length production with this longtime collaborator.

Michael B. Raiford is a Scenic and Costume designer based in Austin, Texas. His scenic designs for The Wizard of Oz were honoured by the Benois de la Danse at the Bolshoi Ballet. He has designed for many ballet companies, including Kansas City Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Austin, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet and Nevada Ballet Theatre. Some of his other favourite work has been for Opera Boston, Central City Opera, South Coast Repertory theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Raiford also directed the national tour of ‘Blast: The Music of Disney’ in Japan.  

Liz Vandal is a renowned costume designer, design teacher, and speaker for international organizations. Beginning her career as a self-taught fashion designer in 1988, she has infused originality into dance, circus, and film. Vandal has collaborated with prominent choreographers, including Edouard Lock and Marie Chouinard. Notably, she designed costumes for Cirque du Soleil’s OVO and Cirque Eloize’s Cirkopolis and Le Géant. She created 3,000 costumes for the 2015 European Games' closing ceremony. Vandal’s 20 years of collaboration continues with Artistic Director Septime Webre with The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland, winning Best Costume Design at the Hong Kong Dance Awards.

Since 1989, Trad has been designing scenery and lighting professionally for theatre, dance and amusement parks. His recent credits include Always…Patsy Cline, Into The Woodsand Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, George Balanchine’s Jewels for Kansas City Ballet, Jekyll & Hyde for Colorado Ballet and world premiere ballets for Andrea Schermoly and Marika Brussel.

Over the years, his dance lighting has been seen at American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Hong Kong Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Ballet X and BalletMet, among others.

Aaron Rhyne’s designs have been seen on stages around the world in musicals, plays, operas, dance performances and immersive experiences. He designed the Broadway, touring, and international productions of Anastasia, for which he won a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Projection Design. Other projects include Hasan Minhaj’s The Kings Jester world tour and Netflix special, the Broadway productions Bonnie and Clyde, The Sound Inside, and the Tony award winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, as well as multiple projects for Disney’s Parks, Resorts and Cruise Lines. His operas include The Thirteenth Child at Santa Fe Opera, The Ghosts of Versailles at LA Opera, among others. 

@aaronrhynedesigns www.aaronrhyne.com

Nicholas Mahon is an Emmy-nominated puppet and theatrical designer specialising in performer interactive pieces and character creation. Since 2004 he has worked on projects for Michael Curry Design, Walt Disney Entertainment, Broadway, The Jim Henson Company, Blue Man Group and many more. His most recent projects include the 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (Pyeonchang), Little Shop Of Horrors (NYC 2019), Sesame Street Television (2013-present) and Islamic Solidarity Games Opening Ceremony (Baku 2017). His work on the Baku 2015 European Games Opening Ceremony as Scenic Designer was nominated for a Daytime Emmy.

Kristi Capps is currently a rehearsal director for Kansas City Ballet and has been given the opportunity to be the répétiteur for many of the company’s productions, including Devon Carney’s Sleeping Beauty for Ballet Hawaii, Cincinnati Ballet and Grand Rapids Ballet and Victoria Morgan’s Cinderella, Edwaard Liang’s Wunderland and Helen Pickett’s Petal. Additionally, she has staged Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz for Kansas City Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet and Nevada Ballet. Previously, she was a Principal Dancer with Cincinnati Ballet performing leading roles in major classical and contemporary productions both within the company and abroad.

A native of Yokohama, Japan, Erina spent the majority of her performing career with Cincinnati Ballet, where she danced many works from Septime Webre, Val Caniparoli, Victoria Morgan and George Balanchine. After leaving Cincinnati Ballet, she was a leading soloist with the Broadway musical ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ for seven years.
Erina was a faculty member for the Academy of Cincinnati Ballet and Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre, as well as many other arts organisations throughout the country. She served as artistic director for an annual benefit gala ‘Hope’ in Las Vegas from 2008-2016. 

Known for his versatility across a broad spectrum of genres, dynamic interpretations and meticulous technique, American-Canadian conductor Julian Pellicano has been recently appointed to the conducting staff of the National Ballet of Canada and is Music Director of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Julian served as associate conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 2013 – 2024, and as a guest he has conducted orchestras and ballet companies across North America and abroad. Julian studied conducting at the Yale School of Music and percussion at the Peabody Conservatory, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden and at the Yale School of Music. He also holds a degree in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University.