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.”