Ballet West Academy Trainee: 2014
Joined Ballet West II: 2015
Joined Ballet West: 2016
Promoted to Demi-Soloist: 2022

Olivia Gusti is from Tampa, Florida.  She joined the Ballet West Academy as a trainee in 2014 and joined Ballet West II in 2015.  She was promoted to the main company in 2016 and to Demi-Soloist in 2022.  Olivia has participated in several competitions, including Youth America Grand Prix, International Ballet Competition, and Prix de Lausanne.  Some of Olivia’s favorite roles she’s performed with Ballet West include Robinson-Harris and Dolkas’ Aladdin, Kunikova’s Paquita, Jooss’ Green Table, and Balanchine’s Rubies. When Olivia isn’t dancing, she spends time with her husband and puppy.

Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviafgum.

Click below to see Olivia’s roles.

2022-23 Season

  • Onegin (Cranko) Madame Larina
  • Concerto Barocco (Balanchine)
  • Rodeo (DeMille)

ON TOUR

  • Orange (Nunes) – Ballet West in the Garden, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Galantheae (LaPlane) – Ballet West in the Garden, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City, Utah

2021-22 Season

  • Dracula (Stevenson) Bar Maid, Bride, Peasant Girl
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Frau Stahlbaum, Grandmother, Doll, Spanish, Arabian, Mirlitons
  • Romeo + Juliet (Smuin) Juliet’s Friend, Montague Harlot
  • Glass Pieces (Robbins) “Akhenaten”
  • Carmina Burana (Fonte)
  • Galantheae (LaPlane) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Orange (Nunes) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • Piece of My Heart (Fonte) – Ballet West in the Garden, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Paquita (Kunikova, after Petipa) – Ballet West in the Garden, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Romeo + Juliet (Smuin) Juliet’s Reflection – George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center, Park City, Utah

2020-21 Season

  • Tides (Archibald)
  • Nine Sinatra Songs (Tharp) “Forget Domani,” “My Way”
  • Precious Gems
    • Precious Jewels Variations from Aladdin (Robinson Harris and Dolkas)
    • Paquita (Kunikova after Petipa)
  • The Thing With Feathers (Adams) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • The Thing With Feathers (Adams) – George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center, Park City, Utah
  • Piece of My Heart (Fonte) – George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center, Park City, Utah

2019-20 Season

  • Le Chant Du Rossingnol (Balanchine) Court Lady
  • Apollo (Balanchine) Leto
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Arabian
  • Giselle (Sklute, after Coralli and Perrot) Giselle’s Friends, Wilis

ON TOUR

  • Giselle (Sklute, after Coralli and Perrot) Giselle’s Friends, Wilis – The Soraya, Los Angeles, California

2018-19 Season

  • Jewels (Balanchine) Emeralds, Diamonds
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) Arabian, Spanish
  • Swan Lake (Sklute, after Petipa and Ivanov) Italian Princess, Hungarian Princess, Swan Maiden
  • Onegin (Cranko) Neighbors
  • But a Dream (Adams) The Racer, Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)
  • Constant Light (Liang) Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • The Nutcracker (Christensen) – Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.

2017-18 Season

  • Serenade (Balanchine)
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen)
  • Cinderella (Ashton) The Stars
  • The Shakespeare Suite (Bintley) Chorus
  • Jabula (Weir) National Choreographic Festival (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

ON TOUR

  • Dances for Lou(Caniparoli) – Joyce Theater, New York City, New York

2016-17 Season

  • Bournonville Divertissments (Bournonville)
  • “Are We There Yet?” (Dolkas)
  • Piece of My Heart (Fonte)
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen)
  • The Sleeping Beauty (Sklute, after Petipa) Aurora’s Friends
  • Chaconne (Balanchine)
  • The Green Table (Jooss)
  • Tremor (Oguma) National Choreographic Festival (George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater, Salt Lake City)

2015-16 Season

  • Symphony in C (Balanchine) First Movement, Fourth Movement
  • The Nutcracker (Christensen)
  • Romeo and Juliet (Cranko)
  • Beauty and the Beast (Robinson-Harris and Dolkas) Evil Fairy, Good Fairy
  • Homer:  A Study in Phenomenological Ontology (Naumann) (Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City)

Balanchine’s Rubies © The George Balanchine Trust

Kunikova’s Paquita

Photos by Beau Pearson