Ballet Mississippi Welcomes Veronika Part as the Sugarplum Fairy

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1978, Veronika Part began her early training in artistic gymnastics before entering the Vaganova Ballet Academy in 1988. Part graduated in 1996 and joined the Kirov Ballet. She was promoted to soloist in 1998, with roles including Nikiya in La Bayadre, the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote, the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. She was the winner of the BALTIKA Prize in 1999.

Veronika joined American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in August 2002. Her roles with the Company include a Shade in La Bayadre, Mercedes and the Queen of the Driads in Don Quixote, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, the Polish Princess in Swan Lake and the second movement in Symphony in C. She created a leading role in Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison.

Blaine Hoven

Born in Mobile, Alabama, Blaine Hoven began his training at Mobile Ballet under the direction of Winthrop Corey and Ann Duke. During his high school years, he trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts with Melissa Hayden, Warren Conover, Fanchon Cordell, Nina Danilova and Susan McKee McCollough. Hoven received American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Scholarship from 1999 through 2002 and attended ABT’s Summer Intensive for five summers.

Hoven joined ABT’s Studio Company in September 2003 and the main Company as a member of the corps de ballet in April 2004. His repertoire with the Company includes the Lead Mazurka/Czardas in Coppélia, the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, the Standard Bearer in The Green Table, Known by Heart pas de deux, Des Grieux in Lady of the Camellias, Cassio in Othello, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Bluebird, the Russian Prince and a Fairy Knight in The Sleeping Beauty, the Neapolitan Dance in Swan Lake and roles in Airs,Baker’s Dozen, Brief Fling, C. to C. (Close to Chuck), Clear, Désir, In the Upper Room, Mozartiana, One of Three, Overgrown Path, Thirteen Diversions and Troika.

He created the Spanish Dance in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker as well as roles in Citizen, Everything Doesn't Happen at Once, From Here On Out, Glow - Stop and Pretty Good Year.

Hoven was a recipient of the 2008 Princess Grace Award as well as receiving a specially designated award, the Chris Hellman Dance Award, awarded to one recipient in the dance category each year. This year,

Hoven was featured in the June/July edition of Pointe Magazine where he was highly praised in his feature titled "The Next Guys of ABT."

Dustin Layton

Dustin Layton, originally from Mize, MS, began his training with Sylvia Hennington. He then continued with David Keary at Ballet Mississippi. After attending summer programs on full scholarship at the School of American Ballet and Boston Ballet, he joined Boston Ballet school as a trainee. One year later he started his professional career under the direction of Jean Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia Mcbride at North Carolina Dance Theatre. Dustin performed various lead roles such as, George Balanchine's Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Mark Godden's Dracula (title role), Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs & Alonzo King's Map to name a few. In January 2011 Dustin joined the cast of Pahntom of the Opera - Las Vegas Spectacular.