Meet the Company
At Spectrum Dance Theater, we believe our dancers are the heartbeat of our work. For the 2026/27 season, we are thrilled to introduce a company of extraordinary artists whose talent, dedication, and artistry embody the spirit of our mission.
The dancers of Spectrum Dance Theater are a select group of unique dance artists individually chosen and trained in Donald Byrd’s singular approach to dance/theater – physically demanding and emotionally charged. They occupy the space where the classical, contemporary, intuitive, cerebral, visceral, right brain, left brain, control and abandonment converge. These are dancers exploring the boundaries of movement – inside and outside of the prescribed. They explore the known and the unknowns of movement with focus, enthusiasm, and an veracious appetite for the authentic and the truthfulness of movement. They are virtuosi of a new order.
Birdy Adler (they/them) was born in Colorado and began their dance training at the age of three at Canyon Concert Ballet. During high school, they attended summer intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, NW Dance Project, and Countertechnique. In 2021, they moved to Israel to study in Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s 10-Month Dance Journey Program, performing works by Rami Be'er and Mats Ek. In June 2022, they joined Kibbutz’s main company as an apprentice under Be’er’s direction. In 2023, they relocated to Seattle and joined Spectrum Dance Theater under the direction of Donald Byrd. In spring 2025, they co-founded the duo Now That We’re Alone and premiered their first full-length show that July. They are currently in their fourth season with Spectrum.
Cody Krause (he/him) began his dance training at a young age in the Philadelphia area and was a Dance major at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. Cody then attended The Ohio State University, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 2019. Immediately after graduating, Cody moved to Cleveland, OH to become a full time company member with Dancing Wheels, America’s first integrated dance company, for four years. He has performed works by choreographers like Dianne McIntyre, Doug Varone, Marc Brew, Donald Byrd, and Ohad Naharin. In 2023, Cody moved to Seattle to join Spectrum Dance Theater as a company dancer and is now entering his 4th season. He is also a teaching artist throughout the Seattle community.
Cooper Sullivan (he/him) is a dance artist from Texas who graduated with a BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. This is his second year as an artist with Spectrum Dance Theater. Cooper has performed in works by Mike Tyus, Luca Renzi, Lauren Edson, Daniel Charon, James Gregg, and Rebecca Margolick. As both a performer and choreographer, he values dance as a space for artistic experimentation, connection, and expression.
Marte Osiris Madera (he/him) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, grew up in California, and became a U.S. citizen in 2019. He holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Washington and a BFA from San José State University.
Marte has been a company member with Dance Kaleidoscope (Indianapolis) and Oakland Ballet (Oakland), and has performed with Lustig Dance Theater (New Brunswick, NJ), Central West Ballet, Menlowe Ballet, sjDANCEco, Margaret Wingrove Dance Company, and Khambatta Dance Company (Seattle). He has also appeared as a guest artist with Robert Moses’ Kin and Olympic Ballet Theatre.
Marte first joined Spectrum Dance Theater as a company member in 2017 and has returned twice since. He has served as Interim Artistic Director for Evergreen City Ballet and Dance Program Manager for the Academy of Music and Dance. He currently teaches and choreographs for Island Youth Ballet and Spectrum Dance Theater. This is his fourth season with Spectrum Dance Theater.
Marissa Thomas (she/her) is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. Marissa has previously danced with South Chicago Dance Theatre and the Dancing Wheels Company. Marissa has had the honor of performing works by Dianne McIntyre, Kia S. Smith, Tsai Hsi Hung, Crystal Michelle Perkins, and André M. Zachery, as well as historic repertoire by Merce Cunningham and Donald McKayle. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from The Ohio State University in 2019, and her performance career includes performances at Jacob’s Pillow, Dance for Life, and Battery Dance Festival; performances with Netflix, Giordano Dance Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, and Opera Laguna; international tours to South Korea, Vietnam, Colombia, Mexico, and China. She is excited to be joining Spectrum Dance Theater for her first season!
Natalie Johnson (she/her) is a movement artist who has dedicated her life to dancing. Growing up in North Carolina, Natalie trained in contemporary, jazz, modern, and ballet at the competitive and pre-professional level. After attending the Alvin Ailey Professional Summer Intensive, she discovered how exhilarating the meshing of strength and technique is with contemporary ideas. She further pursued dance at The Ailey School in the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program. She primarily trained in Horton, Graham, and Ballet techniques, but completed her degree in Seattle at Cornish College of the Arts to refine her contemporary work. Here, Natalie found herself deeply engaged in the community of improvisational work and enjoys intertwining those discoveries with choreography and performance. This is Natalie’s second season with Spectrum Dance Theater!
Serene Wong (she/her) was born in Newport Beach, CA and began her early ballet education at Huntington Academy of Dance. She received her pre-professional training at International Ballet Academy in Bellevue, WA before going on to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Graduate Program under the direction of Marjorie Grundvig and Janet Popeleski. During these years, she received additional training from Houston Ballet Academy, American Ballet Theatre School, the School of Philadelphia Ballet, and Oklahoma City Ballet School. After attending the Byrd Workshop in 2022, she returned to Seattle to join Spectrum Dance Theater. Serene holds her BA in Linguistics from the University of Washington and has performed with International Ballet Theater, ARC Dance, and Chamber Dance Company. This is her fifth season with SDT.
Zoe Foy (she/her and they/them) is a queer French-American dance artist from California. Originally from the Bay Area, Foy grew up dancing at West Coast Dance Conservatory. They attended the University of California, Riverside where they were recognized for excellence as a two-time recipient of the Marius DeBrabant Chancellor's Performance Award. In 2024, they received their B.A. in Dance, with a Concentration in Dance Making. Foy worked as a freelance dancer, choreographer and teacher in Southern California for two years before relocating to Seattle. Foy has recently joined Spectrum Dance Theater and looks forward to their first year with the company!
Company Apprentice Artists
Esther Simmons (she/her) has a strong love for dance and love for art. Taking her first dance class at the age of 6 in Yakima WA she hasn't stopped since. Much of Esther's early training was focused on ballet, intensives gave her the opportunity to train with companies such as Ballet West and Joffery Chicago. Later on she fell in love with contemporary and modern dance. Moving to Salt Lake City Esther attended the University of Utah where she received her BFA in Modern dance and became a freelance dance artist. Esther is excited to be entering her first year with Spectrum.
Zhenya Kostenko originally from Dnipro, Ukraine, received his BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah in 2026, and moved to Seattle to join Spectrum for his first season. Zhenya has been training in contemporary, hip-hop, lindy hop, ballet, jazz, ballet for the past decade. He has had the pleasure of performing in works choreographed by Stephanie Garcia, Sayoko Peterson, Rosie Herrera, Luke Dakota, Rebekka Guerra, Maleek Washington, Viola Farber, Jeffrey Louzia, and others. Zhenya loves dance for its capacity to tell stories, heal, change perspectives, and build connections. Fun fact - Zhenya also holds an MSc in Computer Graphics and a BSc in Computer Science.