Artistic Team

Rehearsal Director

Joseph A. Hernandez (he/him), from Chicago, Illinois, began his movement training with Shotokan Karate. He received formal dance training from Western Michigan University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance. Joseph’s professional credits include Broadway’s West Side Story, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, LA Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, ODC/Dance, Kate Weare Company, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, LED Boise, and River North Dance Chicago among others. Joseph is also a choreographer, having had his work formally presented at festivals, companies, and universities nationwide. 

Apprentice Dancer

Anna Gichan (she/her) is a deaf/hard of hearing contemporary dancer who grew up on the farmlands of NJ. She graduated with a BFA in Dance from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts where she completed a study abroad program at Hebrew University in conjunction with the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Upon graduation, Anna has been freelancing for various artists throughout the tri-state area, performing and choreographing extensively her own work with many thanks from grants provided by Brooklyn Arts Exchange and CUNY Dance Initiative. She has completed workshops in Berlin, Greece, Israel and regularly travels to Europe to continue broadening her understanding of contemporary dance. Anna also freelances with Omnium Circus and is actively improving her circus skills, gymnastics, floorwork, flexibility and ASL. Anna is very grateful to be joining AXIS Dance company as an apprentice. 

Company Dancer

Julie Hasushi (she/her) is dancer, actress and publicist from São Paulo, Brazil. She started dancing at the age of 9 with the dance company Arte Sem Barreiras, and stayed there for 5 years. She was then invited to join the Bombelela Dance Company, where she danced for over 20 years. At Bombelela, she won dance championships where she was the only dancer in a wheelchair, received an award for Revelation Artist, and participated in major events including: A Tour of the Paralympic Torch at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, and representing Brazil at SIDF (Sibu International Dance Festival) in Malaysia. Julie has also performed in TV commercials as a protagonist for major brands including Coca-Cola, Pizza Hut, Advil, and many others.

Company Dancer

David 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. David 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, David moved to San Francisco to join dawsondancesf under Gregory Dawson. Since residing in SF they have danced professionally with ODC/Dance, SFDanceworks, Ballet22, Wylliams/Henry, Concept o4 and other Bay Area choreographers. David teaches yoga and dance to all ages with the intention to help others connect to the joy and gift of movement.

Company Dancer

Louisa Marie was born and raised in Brattleboro, VT. She began her dance training at the age of 3 at the Brattleboro School of Dance, under the direction of Kathleen Keller. She has a BFA in dance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Masters in Dance / Movement Therapy from The Pratt Institute. Louisa lived and danced in NYC for 10 years and started working with physically integrated dance companies on the East Coast in 2015. She has worked with Heidi Latsky Dance, Abilities Dance Boston and Marked Dance Project, as a teaching artist, company dancer, choreographer and administrator. She is a teaching artist at Dance Project of Washington Heights. She teaches creative movement and ballet virtually for children and adults of all abilities. Louisa is passionate about making dance accessible to all people. She is looking forward to continuing her dance journey on the West Coast with AXIS!

Company Dancer

Zara Anwar (she/her) was born and raised in Columbia, MD. She started dancing at a small studio under the direction of former Joffrey Ballet company member Renee Meyer and former Kansas City Ballet dancer Angela Walker. Ms. Anwar began her professional training at the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) under the direction of Norma Pera. During her time at BSA, she was a scholarship recipient and performed lead roles such as Dew Drop Fairy, Snow Queen, and Rat Queen in The Nutcracker staged by Barry Hughson; the Pioneer Woman in Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring; and a corps member in Serenade staged by former NYCB dancer Deborah Wingert. In addition, Ms. Anwar trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on scholarship during her time at BSA.

She graduated from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California summa cum laude with Honors in May of 2020. Throughout her college career, Ms. Anwar has trained with Post:Ballet, the Cambrians intensive with Benjamin Holliday Wardell, Hubbard Street Dance intensive at the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at USC, Vim Vigor, Colorado Conservatory of Dance, and Oklahoma City Ballet on scholarship. During her summers, she toured Latin America doing community outreach, performances, and teaching workshops with Juntos Collective. She has worked with distinguished choreographers and performed works by Robert Dekkers, Gregory Dawson, Carmen Rozestraten, Christian Burns, Maurya Kerr, Robert Moses, Kara Davis, Nicholas Korkos, Dominic Walsh, and Alonzo King.