Company Dancer
Anna Gichan (she/her) is a Deaf contemporary dancer from NJ with a background in gymnastics, yoga and circus. She received her BFA in Dance from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Artistic Team
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
Native to Eugene, Oregon, A(laj)a Badalich (they/she) is a Black, queer, neurodivergent dance artist, choreographer, and co-founder of the Fermata Ballet Collective. They trained at the Alonzo King Lines Ballet Training Program and have studied across the United States and internationally. Laj has attended prestigious summer programs on scholarship, at Texas Ballet Theater, Ballet West, LINES, Dance Theater of Harlem, and De Dutch Don’t Dance Division.
Laj has served as a guest choreographer and faculty member at Shawl Anderson Dance Center, LINES programs, flex Studios, and within their collective, demonstrating a strong commitment to nurturing and paving the way for the next generation of movers. They have worked closely with renowned choreographers such as Alex Ketley, Alice Klock, Asun Noales, Maurya Kerr, Robin Dekkers, and Christian Burns.
Since joining AXIS Dance Company in 2022 under the direction of Nadia Adame, Laj has performed at Rowan University, Cincinnati Ballet’s “Bold Moves” festival, Jacob’s Pillow Summer Dance Festival, the 2023 Invictus Games, the 51st Festival Internacional Cervantino, and Stanford University. Laj views movement as a universal language and a form of ancestral storytelling, aiming to share and celebrate what it means to be the “other.”