Artistic Director

Diana Movius

Diana Movius (Artistic Director, Founder, & Choreographer) was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. She trained with Patricia McBride at the Charlotte Ballet (formerly named North Carolina Dance Theater) and continued her dance studies at Stanford University, where she earned a BA and MA in Anthropology and minor in Dance. In 2018, she earned her choreographic certification from the International Consortium for the Advancement of Choreography. In Washington, DC, Movius’ work has been presented by Atlas Performing Arts Center, the Kennedy Center, Dance Place, Dance Loft, and others. Her Glacier: A Climate Change Ballet toured nationally to San Francisco (2018) and New York City (2019) as the first ballet to be presented as part of international climate conferences. Glacier and other works by Movius have been critically acclaimed in the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, DanceInforma, Reuters, Observer.com, and other outlets. Movius is the Founder of Dance Loft on 14, the flagship dance center of Moveius Contemporary Ballet, in addition to being a climate policy expert at Climate Advisers.

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Alvaro Palau

Alvaro Palau (Associate Artistic Director) is from Cali, Colombia and danced with The Washington Ballet for 10 years, National Ballet of Venezuela for two years and the Cali Ballet in his native Colombia for two years. Mr. Palau toured internationally with all three companies, and received his training at Colombian Ballet Institute. He studied at workshops in Cuba, New York with David Howard, and the summer program at the Houston School of Ballet. Palau currently teaches at Dance Loft on 14, Catholic University, Séber Method Academy, and Washington Ballet.

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Sona Kharatian

Sona Kharatian (Artistic Advisor) spent 24 seasons with The Washington Ballet. She has danced with Orlando Ballet, Ballet Hawail, the Trey McIntyre Project, and Copenhagen International Ballet. She was a regular guest artist with ARKA Ballet under the direction of Roudolf Kharatian, and has performed as a featured principal with the National Ballet of Armenia and Ballet 2021.

Kharatian has performed roles in works by George Balanchine, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Choo San Goh, Antony Tudor, Septime Webre, Nacho Duato, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Christopher Wheeldon, Trey McIntyre, Nicolo Fonte, Alexei Ratmansky, Roudolf Kharatian, William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, Hans van Manen, Frederick Asthon, Edward Liang, Alejandro Cerrudo and others. Notable roles include Juliet in Romeo + Juliet, Giselle and Myrtha in Giselle, Carmen in Carmen, the Red Queen in ALICE (in wonderland), Myrtle in The Great Gatsby, and Lady Brett Ashley in Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises, among others. In addition to her work as a dancer, Kharatian teaches at The Washington School of Ballet and other schools in the Washington. D.C. area, as well as coaching and staging works internationally. Kharatian began her ballet training at the Choreographic Institute in Yerevan, Armenia, and later studied al the Kirov Academy of Ballet and The Washington School of Ballet. Kharatian is a two-time recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award.