Jill Pajer Raised just outside of NYC, Jill began her training at Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance. She continued on to study at SUNY Purchase where she received her BFA in dance. Over the course of her training she's been given the opportunity to perform works of Lar Lubovich, alex|xan Median Movement, Robert Battle, Bill T. Jones, Lucca Signoretti, Anton Rudakov, Doug Varone, Michael James New York and Jonathan Riedel. She is currently the choreographic assistant and rehearsal director for Megan Bascom of Megan Bascom and Dancers. Jill is currently working with Patrick O’Brien, Inclined Dance Project and Ayalis in Motion.
Dancer
Emily Arden Jones is from Louisville, Kentucky and she attended The Ohio State University where she received her BFA in Dance. Throughout her training she has danced in works choreographed by Crystal Michelle Perkins, Edward Taketa, Ann Sofie Clemmensen, and Ohad Naharin. She has performed alongside BalletMet under the direction of Erez Zohar and Danielle Agami as well as in events like Columbus Fashion Week. Emily also teaches rhythm tap to adults and children and is thrilled to be working with Ayako Takahashi and Ayalis in Motion.
Dancer
Erik Debono is from San Francisco, CA. He has trained at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre (ABT), and a semester abroad to the London Contemporary Dance School. Upon earning his BFA at Adelphi University, he has performed works for Lar Lubovitch, Earl Mosley, Manuel Vignoulle, Frank Augustyn, Orion Duckstein, William Briscoe, and Adelheid B. Strelick, while choreographing original works and composing music. He has danced for AVA Ballet, The Anata Project, dawsondancesf, and Oakland Ballet.
Dancer
Mio Ishikawa is a dancer and choreographer based in New York City. She is native of Tokyo, Japan, where she had begun her training at the age of 6. Training in both classical and contemporary ballet forged her strong interest in the performing arts, which led her to study dance at The Juilliard School; graduating in 2019. She has performed the works of Iván Pérez, Alejandro Cerrudo, Roy Assaf, and Twyla Tharp among many others. She is an original member of H.I.V.E Dance Company in Santa Cruz, where she is sharing Inner Teacher Method with people in the local community alongside of a founder of the method, Nathan Hirschaut. She is currently working with Jesse Obremski Works. This will be Mio’s first season with Ayalis In Motion.
Company Manager/Dancer
Ayaka Kamei is currently dancing with the Metropolitan Opera, MorDance and Ayalis in Motion. She is a recipient of the Regional Cultural Award from Ehime Cultural Association in 2017. She graduated from Northern Ballet School in England as well as SUNY Purchase, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a President Award for Achievement in the Conservatory of Dance. She has danced with many companies including New York Theatre Ballet and Azoth Dance Theatre and performed works by choreographers such as Balanchine, Cunningham, Tudor, Roy Assaf, Aszure Barton, John Heginbotham, Jessica Lang, Austin McCormick, Alexei Ratmansky, and many more.
Dancer
Nikki Ervice began her dance training in her hometown of Homer, Alaska. She graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a BFA in dance in 2014. Since moving to New York she has worked with Rocha Dance Theatre, Emotions Physical Theatre, Jennifer Archibald’s Arch Dance Company, Althea Dance Company and Safety Third Productions among others.
Dancer
Sophie Allen began her dance training at North Shore School of Dance in Highland Park, IL under the direction of Lisa Gold. Upon graduating early from high school, she moved to New York City to participate in Joffrey Ballet School’s Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program for one year. Afterwards, she attended college at the University of Michigan, where she earned a B.F.A in Dance and a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). Sophie has had the pleasure of performing works by Hanna Brictson, Shannon Gillen/Martin Durov/Laja Field, Meredith Monk, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Penny Saunders, Peter Sparling and Sandra Torijano among others. She has completed summer programs with BODYTRAFFIC, Alexandra Beller/Dances, New York University Tisch School of the Arts Summer Dance Residency, DanceWorks Chicago and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Sophie is thrilled to be dancing with Ayalis in Motion, which she joined in 2019.
Dancer
Tyus Southern is a dancer, choreographer, and multi-media artist from southwestern Connecticut. Trained in martial arts for a decade before his introduction to dance at 16, Tyus went on to graduate from Oberlin College with a BA in dance composition. He has performed in dances by Nathan Trice, Alysia Ramos, Earl Mosely, Antonio Brown, and Matthew Rushing in venues such as the Lorain Firefish Festival, Cleveland Public Theatre, and Ailey Citigroup Theater. In addition to his dance career, Tyus maintains an ongoing artistic practice in musical composition and creative writing.