Sarah Walston Phillips
ARTISTIC TEAM
Director
Performing Artist
Sarah Walston Phillips is a professional dancer and choreographer currently based out of Tampa, FL. Sarah is the Director and Founder of ATLAS Modern Ballet, a new professional performance company serving the Tampa community. She also performs and creates works in the Tampa Bay area as a freelance artist.
Sarah graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of South Florida in 2015. At the University of South Florida, she had the privilege of working with and performing works by choreographers such as Alonzo King, Maurice Causey, Robert Moses and Jennifer Archibald among many other guests and faculty members. In addition to her USF training, she has participated in many professional training programs across the country including, the Ailey School, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, ArchCore40 and BalletX, as well as studying abroad in Paris.
After graduating from USF, she spent five seasons as a company member at Florida Dance Theatre where she performed and created new repertory presented by the company in Lakeland and on tour. At Florida Dance Theater she performed principal roles in original narrative ballets and The Nutcracker, as well as in contemporary works by company directors and guests such as, Jerry Opdenaker and Gregory Dolbashian. Following her time at FDT, Sarah was a member of Tampa City Ballet in Tampa, FL for two seasons as a performer, guest choreographer, and company class instructor.
Over the past few years her choreography has be presented in multiple festivals and showcases both across the United States, and internationally. She also has choreographed for Florida Southern College's Dance Department, where she is Adjunct Ballet and Modern Faculty. Sarah has graduated Summa Cum laude this past Spring from Jacksonville University with her MFA in Choreography.
COLLABORATING DANCE ARTISTS
Baylie Dockins
Baylie Dockins began her dance training and competitive career at Dance In Motion in Abilene, Kansas. At the age of thirteen Dockins switched her focus from competitive training to classical ballet under the direction of Mara Klenda. She has attended many prestigious summer intensives including Kansas City Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet. After graduating high school, Dockins relocated to Tampa, Florida where she joined Tampa Ballet Theatre. During her time there she danced multiple Principal roles including Tinkerbell in Tampa Ballet Theatre's world premiere of "Peter Pan" as well as, Odile/Black Swan in Tampa Ballet Theatre's first production of "Swan Lake". Dockins has also performed with Brandon Ballet of Brandon, Florida as a Principal Professional Artist in productions such as "Nutcracker" and "Giselle". Outside of performing professionally, Dockins serves as Lead Ballet Instructor, Assistant Competition Director, and Choreographer for Just Dance Academy - champions of multiple national awards, and travels with Prestige National Talent Competition as a judge and convention teacher. Most recently, Dockins has become adjunct faculty for the dance program at Pinellas County Center of the Arts at Gibbs High School, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Caitlyn Elie-Gowan
Caitlyn Elie-Gowan (Choreographer / Dancer) originally from Miami, FL is a graduate of The University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance with a Modern concentration. While she attended USF, she presented her own works and had the honor of working with many choreographers such as Yaniv Abraham who works under Ohad Naharin with the Batsheva Dance Company, Robert Moses from Robert Moses' Kin, Andee Scott, Erin Cardinal, Bliss Kohlmyer, Jeanne Travers, MerryLynn Morris, Julien Desplantez, Catherine Dénécy, Clint Lutes, and Kevin Quinao. Caitlyn is currently residing in Tampa, FL as a freelance artist & dance instructor. Also, she has worked with Jeanne Travers and Moving Current Dance Collective as a project-based dancer here in the Tampa Bay Area. As she progresses, she is focusing on developing her own movement/teaching vocabulary and working towards choreographing her own works, performing, and educating.
Drew Travis Robinson
Raised in Largo, Florida, Drew Travis Robinson started his foray into dance with various genres at the Tutterow Dance Academy. This gave him the tools necessary to gain acceptance into the Dance program at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School where he received the Arete Award, honoring him for being a rare force of creativity and vision throughout PCCA. On scholarship at the University of Arizona, Robinson choreographed and set multiple works annually, was welcomed as a frequent guest at Artifact Dance Project, was an Ambassador of Dance for African American Student Affairs receiving Chaka Khan, was selected by Colin Connor to perform at the Jose Limon International Dance Festival and assisted in the research and development of various projects involving motion capture for dance preservation. Robinson was honored to perform various leads as well as choreograph during his time at Florida Dance Theatre before taking an offer at Tampa Ballet Theatre and later working with Tampa City Ballet. While his competition years gave him versatility, Robinson is most at home with modern. He has taught modern and more as a university employee, received the Gertrude Shurr Memorial Award for his exemplary abilities, and was invited by the Limon Dance Company to reprise an old role before then being invited into the fold. Drew is now adjunct faculty at PCCA, giving back to the community that raised him, and part of Prestige National Talent Competition & Convention.
Raised in Largo, Florida, Drew Travis Robinson started his foray into dance with various genres at the Tutterow Dance Academy. This gave him the tools necessary to gain acceptance into the Dance program at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School where he received the Arete Award, honoring him for being a rare force of creativity and vision throughout PCCA. On scholarship at the University of Arizona, Robinson choreographed and set multiple works annually, was welcomed as a frequent guest at Artifact Dance Project, was an Ambassador of Dance for African American Student Affairs receiving Chaka Khan, was selected by Colin Connor to perform at the Jose Limon International Dance Festival and assisted in the research and development of various projects involving motion capture for dance preservation. Robinson was honored to perform various leads as well as choreograph during his time at Florida Dance Theatre before taking an offer at Tampa Ballet Theatre and later working with Tampa City Ballet. While his competition years gave him versatility, Robinson is most at home with modern. He has taught modern and more as a university employee, received the Gertrude Shurr Memorial Award for his exemplary abilities, and was invited by the Limon Dance Company to reprise an old role before then being invited into the fold. Drew is now adjunct faculty at PCCA, giving back to the community that raised him, and part of Prestige National Talent Competition & Convention.
Faith Miller
Faith Miller, originally from Palm Harbor, Florida, has been dancing since the age of three. She began her training at local dance studios and later attended the dance program at Howard W. Blake High School. She continued her studies at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. It was during her time at New World that Faith discovered her passion for choreography and storytelling and had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Peter London, Darshan Singh Bhuller, and Franchesca Harper. She currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she performs in a comedy magic show at the Zubrick Magic Theater while also teaching dance and aerial arts. Faith remains dedicated to expressing her artistic and creative vision and aspires to choreograph her own works in the future.
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Kate Gierke
Kate Gierke is a 2023 graduate of USF, Tampa Florida. As an honor student she earned a BFA in Modern Dance Performance along with a sales and general business certificate. While at USF Kate performed in multiple pieces choreographed by USF faculty including Michael Foley, Jeanne Travers, Bliss Kohlmyer, and Andee Scott. She performed Foley’s piece at the American College Dance Association Regionals (2022) as well as two BFA senior pieces (2020 and 2022). Kate auditioned three pieces for the USF student choreography showcase, they were all selected, one piece (2021) and two pieces (2022). Kate was selected to perform at the 2019 Fine Arts department’s Human Trafficking Awareness charitable performance. Kate participated in USF Dance in Paris (June 2023) under the direction of Michael Foley, Colleen Thomas and Wanjiru Kamuyu. She held an Internship with Howard Blake Performing Arts High School (2023) as a contemporary teacher.Kate grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Kate trained extensively under the direction of several professional dancers and choreographers including: Lizzie Mackenzie, Ben Wardell, Lauren Blane, Laura Wade, Nick Pupillo, Rebecca Mclindon, and Jackie Nowicki. She attended numerous intensives including: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (2017), River North Dance Chicago(2016), The Cambrians (2018, 2019) and Engage (2020, 2021). Kate was selected to compete her solo at the Dance Awards in Las Vegas 2019 as a best dancer finalist. Kate is excited to continue her dance career as a professional dancer with Atlas Modern Ballet.
Troy Martin
A Tampa native, Troy Martin began his dance journey at only eight years old at his hometown studio, Centerstage Dance Academy. After years focusing in hip hop, his interests broadened to include ballet and contemporary. Naturally, these genres led him to competitive dancing, where he found new inspiration on the stage, translating the language of dance for diverse audiences. Troy attended and graduated from the dance program at Blake High School’s School of the Arts, where he first discovered and began to nurture a passion for modern dance. This passion sent him down to Miami, where he continued to train at the New World School of the Arts. Due to COVID-19, Troy was forced to cut his academic training short and return home to Tampa in 2020. Nonetheless, he has continued to engage in performance and teaching alongside many talented peers at Centerstage Dance Academy, Song and Dance Inc., and the Tampa City Ballet. Today, Troy practices as both a freelance dancer and Reiki Master, and looks forward to continuing to create, collaborate, and help others feel inspired and balanced through dance.
Hannah Thompson
Bio Coming Soon
Jordan Malkie
Apprentice
Jordan Malkie began dancing at a small studio called Harmony Studios owned and directed by Christy Allen at the age of 4. At a young age she fell in love with ballet and eventually joined Tampa Ballet Theatre as a trainee in 2019-2020. During that time she trained under Lindsay Clark, Heather Mills, and Katherine Kunz. Following the closing of the company, Jordan trained competitively at Dreamer’s Dance Company under Anna Rose, Carleigh Gee, Kelly Panagiotopoulou, and Amy Jo Walter in contemporary, ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, hip hop, and acro. Jordan is looking forward to expanding her performance experience and working more closely with other dance artists across the Tampa Bay area.
Antonio Hernandez
Apprentice
Antonio Hernandez is from Fort Myers, Florida. After graduating from Lehigh Senior High School Center for the Arts and training at Footnotes Dance and Music Studio, he moved to the Tampa area and continued his dance training at Hillsborough Community College for the next three years under Program Director, Christina Acosta. He’s been a part of numerous student choreography and faculty showcases choreographed by Jessica Williamson, Helen French, Richard Ploch, Julie Harlan, Sea Lee, Christina Acosta, Bianca Russell, and Sarah Walston Phillips. Antonio has recently joined ATLAS Modern Ballet in their second season as an apprentice. He also spends his time at Tampa Bay Rhythmics as a ballet and contemporary instructor. While getting his associate’s degree in dance, he’s also been studying the art of motion media. He desires to combine his love of filmmaking and dance into a theatrical experience for others to relate to and be seen on the big screen.
ATLAS is committed to upholding the highest respect and support for our performing artists and additional collaborators at all times. Diverse performers which bring forth their perspectives within each creative process are the lifeblood of the company. Their uniqueness is celebrated through the mission to uphold inclusive values and share art that is relatable amongst all audiences.