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Artists of The Georgia Ballet
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 Elizabeth
Chapman (8th season)
Elizabeth
began her training with The Springfield Ballet
Company in her hometown of
Springfield,
Illinois, where she has often
returned to perform guest roles. She has also
studied with American
Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet
School, The Rock School of
Pennsylvania Ballet,
and Nashville Ballet, where she danced for two
years prior to joining The Georgia Ballet. Now
in her seventh season with The Georgia Ballet,
Elizabeth
has especially enjoyed dancing the title role in Paquita,
as well as the Snow Queen and Dew Drop Fairy in The
Nutcracker. In
addition, she has loved the challenge of dancing
George Balanchine’s Serenade,
Concerto Barocco, and Valse-Fantaisie. When
not performing, Elizabeth's
passion lies in sharing her knowledge and love
of dance through teaching students of all ages.
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 Whitney
Edwards (3rd season)
 Whitney
received her early training from The Duluth
School of Ballet and North Atlanta Dance
Academy. After
graduation, Ms. Edwards moved to
New York City to dance
for The Dance Theatre of Harlem where she
received additional training from Arthur
Mitchell, Eva Evdokimova, and Raymond Lukens.
Whitney performed at the Kennedy Center Protege
Project in 2006. Whitney also danced for
the Nashville Ballet and was a company member
with Nevada Ballet Theatre. Whitney is
excited to be back in her home state to explore
new endeavors in life while still being able to
express her love of dance with The Georgia
Ballet.
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 Amanda
Farris
(6th season)
Growing up in California, Amanda
received her training at Valley Oak School of
Dance and Central West Ballet, and studied
on scholarship at the Boston Ballet and Ballet
Pacifica summer programs. While studying
anthropology at Cal State, Long Beach on full
academic scholarship, Amanda also received
training in ballet under Sophie Monat, Lorin
Johnson, and Alaine Haubert, and in modern
dance. There she created lead roles in
several new contemporary works, and was coached
for her role in Balanchine’s
Serenade
by Zippora Karz. In 2004, she won the
bronze medal at the Russian Pointe USA National
Youth Ballet Competition. Since joining
The Georgia Ballet, Amanda has especially
enjoyed performing featured roles in
Giselle, Pas de Quatre,
Going Bach,
and Paquita, and both dancing and choreographing in
Spectrum.
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Juliana Fisher
(3rd season)
Juliana received her formal training in her
hometown of
Phoenix,
Arizona, as well as at The Rock
School for Dance Education, the
Joffrey San Antonio Workshop, The School of
Ballet
Arizona, and with scholarship
offers from State Street Ballet of Santa
Barbara and the Milwaukee Ballet School.
As a scholarship student, she graduated
summa cum laude from the University of Oklahoma with a BFA in Ballet Performance
and a Spanish minor. Juliana performed with
the Oklahoma Festival Ballet for four
seasons under Mary Margaret Holt and
also appeared with the OU Opera Theatre, OU
Summerdance, Contemporary Dance Oklahoma and the Arizona School of Classical
Ballet. She was previously a founding
company member of Convergence Ballet Company
in
Phoenix,
Arizona. Her repertoire includes
La
Bayadere, The Firebird, Rodeo,
Valse-Fantaisie, and
Paquita, along with various contemporary
works.
Brandon Funk (1st season)
Brandon Funk began his ballet training at
Metropolitan Ballet Theatre under the
direction of Maniya Barredo at the age of
17. Since then he has gone on to train at
the Georgia Ballet and Atlanta Ballet Centre
for Dance Education. Brandon then danced
with Atlanta Ballet as a Fellowship Dancer
and Milwaukee Ballet as an apprentice, where
he performed in productions such
as,
Romeo & Juliet, Swan
Lake,
Dracula,
Sleeping Beauty, Don
Quixote,
and John McFall’s
Nutcracker.
This is his first season with Georgia
Ballet.
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 Miriam
Golomb
(3rd season)
Miriam was born in
Philadelphia
where she began her early training in the
Vaganova style with Olga Kresin, and Lev
Vladimirovitch. At age 14 she was a participant
in the 5th International Ballet Competition held
in
Moscow, in the legendary
Bolshoi Theater. She continued her education in
ballet at the North Carolina School of the Arts, dancing under
renowned teachers Melissa Hayden, Nina Danilova,
and Gyula Pandi. Miriam has danced with numerous
companies including the Ohio Dance Theater,
Louisville Ballet, Columbia Classical Ballet and
The Alabama Ballet. She has spent summers
training in Washington,
Boston,
Atlanta, Budapest
and
Odessa, Ukraine. In addition to dancing,
Miriam has been teaching since she was 16 to
children of all ages.
She
is certified in Power Pilates beginner mat with
Studio Lotus, and
looks forward to continuing her education and
incorporating it both into her teaching, and her
dance.
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 Ashleyanne
Hensley (8th season)
Ashleyanne, a native of Cleveland,
Tennessee
received her training from numerous prestigious
ballet schools including North Carolina Dance
Theatre, Nashville Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and
Ballet West, among other prestigious schools. Before
joining The Georgia Ballet in 2005, Ashleyanne spent
three years pursuing a BFA in Ballet at Belhaven
University where she also jumpstarted her
costume/dancewear design career. Her work has been
recognized nationally at Youth America Grand Prix,
featured in
Dance Magazine and The Chicago Tribune,
and has received awards at national competitions.
Ashleyanne has enjoyed working with resident
choreographer Janusz Mazon in costume creations for
A Young Dancer's Guide to the Orchestra,
Pinocchio, Enigmatic Tangos, and
Prelude Pictures while also creating unique
pieces for Swirling Soiree choreographers.
When not dancing or designing, Ashleyanne enjoys
teaching body conditioning, ballet and modern while
also focusing on a fitness oriented lifestyle with
her husband Sam. She wishes to thank her family and
husband for their continued support in all of her
endeavors.
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 Abby
McDowell Hyatt (6th season)
Abby began her formal training at the age of twelve
with the School of North Carolina Dance Theatre.
There, she studied under Patricia McBride, Mark
Diamond, and Kathy Moriarty and later was
appointed an apprentice, performing in many works
with the company. At age eighteen, Abby was awarded
a full tuition scholarship for Pacific Northwest
Ballet School’s professional division and later a
fellowship with Atlanta Ballet. She looks forward to
performing new roles with The Georgia Ballet.
Abby is also a part-time student at Kennesaw State
University, where she maintains a 3.75 GPA. In
her spare time, Abby enjoys spending time with her
friends and family, and playing with her dog, Bella.
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Andrea Lucas (2nd season)
Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts degree
with Honors (2009) in Dance Pedagogy
from Butler University
in
Indianapolis, Indiana, where she attended on a Talent Award
Scholarship.
Ms. Lucas began her training with
Alexandra Zaharias in
St. Louis, and attended
summer programs with American Ballet
Theatre (New York
City),
Joffrey Ballet,
North Carolina Dance Theatre,
Kansas City Ballet, Ballet
Internationale, and Radio City Rockettes.
She continued her studies at Butler
University
under Marek Cholewa, Michelle Jarvis,
Rosanna Ruffo, and Stephan Laurent,
among others.
In addition, she has trained
abroad in St.
Petersburg, Russia and Poland, where she performed on the
stages of the five National Opera
Houses. Some of Ms. Lucas’ notable roles
include Dark Angel (Elegy) in George
Balanchine’s
Serenade, Dew Drop Fairy (The
Nutcracker), Fairy Godmother (Cinderella),
Lilac Fairy (The
Sleeping Beauty), and Odette (Swan
Lake, Act II). Additionally, she has
danced featured roles in multiple
productions of
Giselle,
Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée,
and
The Nutcracker, as well as original
choreographic works by Marek Cholewa,
Stephen Mills, Robert Kelley, Trinette
Singleton, Leslie Browne, and Kennet
Oberly. Ms. Lucas has performed as a
guest artist with Alexandra Ballet and
Indianapolis Opera, and has worked as a
print model for both Motionwear and
Dancewear Solutions.
Andrea is excited
to join The Georgia Ballet.
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 Karina
Nolan
(6th season)
Born in upstate
New York, Karina left home at 14 to
attend
North Carolina
School
of the Arts where she received several merit-based
scholarships including the Alexandra Danilova
Endowed Scholarship for 3 years. While there, Karina
studied with such esteemed teachers as Melissa
Hayden, Warren Conover, and Gyula Pandi, and had the
honor of dancing in George Balanchine's Stars and
Stripes and Symphony in C as well as
Michel Fokine's Les Sylphides. She then spent
one year on full scholarship at The School of
Nashville Ballet and went on to join Atlanta
Festival Ballet for two seasons. Since joining The
Georgia Ballet, Karina has enjoyed performing in
such ballets as Janusz Mazon's A Young Dancer's
Guide to the Orchestra, Balanchine's Concerto
Barocco, and Nicolas Musin's Going Bach. Karina
continues to maintain the highest academic standing
at
Georgia
State
University
where she is currently pursuing a double major in
Marketing and Hospitality Administration, and is
excited to be back for her fifth season.
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 Victoria
Norman (2nd season)
Victoria began her training in
Tulsa, Oklahoma at Oklahoma Performing Arts. She
focused on many forms
including ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatic, singing, and
acting. After graduating from high school, she moved
to
Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah on a
merit scholarship. Ms. Norman was a member of the
University's Utah Ballet and Character Dance
Ensemble. She had an opportunity there to train as a
teacher
and choreographer. In May 2010, Victoria graduated
with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. She has performed
with several companies including Tulsa Ballet,
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, and for a period of time she
was the principal performer at Yakov's Moscow
Circus. This is Ms. Norman's first year as a member
of The Georgia Ballet. |
 James
Sciarrotta
(2nd season)
James is
originally from Detroit, Michigan. He began training
at age 16 with prima ballerina Maniya Barredo at
Metropolitan Ballet Theatre on full scholarship. He
went to various summer programs on half and full
scholarships including Virginia School of the
Arts, Washington Ballet, North Carolina Dance
Theatre. After graduating high school, James was
invited to train at North Carolina Dance Theatre. He
later danced with Nashville Ballet. He is currently
in his first season as a member of The Georgia
Ballet's professional company.
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 Kelsey
Stanhope (2nd season)
Kelsey, a Marietta native,
received her training at The British Academy of
Performing Arts (BAPA) and The Georgia Ballet.
Throughout her training, Kelsey has enjoyed
performing in Giselle, Coppélia, and
The Sleeping Beauty. She has attended summer
intensives at the Atlanta Ballet, The Georgia
Ballet, and Carolina Ballet. Kelsey is excited to
join the professional company this year. In addition
to dancing, she plans on attending Kennesaw State
University.
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 Katie
McMillen Stull
(7th season)
Katie received her early
training at the
Academy
of
Ballet Arts
in
Marietta.
She graduated summa cum laude from
Texas Christian University in 2006 with a BFA in
Ballet and News-Editorial Journalism. At TCU she had
the opportunity to perform in original works by
Fernando Bujones and was also able to present
several pieces of her own choreography. Katie has
danced in Ballet Concerto’s summer dance concert in
Fort Worth,
Texas. She
has enjoyed growing as a dancer through diverse and
challenging opportunities with Georgia Ballet. In
addition to dancing, Katie enjoys teaching ballet
and supporting arts and culture throughout the city
through her work with Atlanta PlanIt.
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 Sean Steigerwald (3rd
season)
A Marietta
native, Sean-Tristan Steigerwald trained at the
Academy Dance Company and Roswell Dance Theatre.
He received additional training at the Nutmeg
Conservatory, Houston Ballet, and Orlando Ballet.
Sean earned a B.F.A. from University of North
Carolina School of the Arts in 2010, where he
trained with world-renowned artists Melissa Hayden
and Gerald Freedman.
While at UNCSA, he performed roles in
Raymonda, Rodeo, and West Side Story.
Sean thoroughly looks forward to his second
year dancing with The Georgia Ballet!
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 Cara Cook (1st season)
Cara received her training at The Raleigh School of
Ballet and The Georgia Ballet, where she studied
with Gina Hyatt-Mazon and Janusz Mazon. She has
attended summer intensives at The Georgia Ballet,
Carolina Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth
Ballet. Throughout her training, Cara has enjoyed
performing exerpts from Paquita,
Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadere. She
also loved dancing in new choreography by Janusz
Mazon such as: Reverence to Rhapsody, On the
Town, and Somewhere Within. Cara is
excited to join the professional company this year
and has already been accepted to Oberlin College
where she plans to pursue majors in English and
Biology.
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 Cortney Funk (1st season)
Cortney Funk started dancing tap, jazz, lyrical and
ballet at the age of 9. In 2004 she decided to
pursue ballet and attended The Rock School of
Ballet's summer intensive and The Metropolitan
Ballet School. In 2007 she joined the Atlanta Ballet
as a pre-professional student and was offered a
fellowship position in 2008 where she did works such
as: The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Serenade, Don
Quixote, Pinnochio (the pearl) and Christopher
Hampsons Sinfonietta Giocos. In 2009 she
was offered an Apprentice contract with the Atlanta
Ballet and performed in: Four Season, Moulin
Rouge, Dracula, Sleeping Beauty (Lilac Fairy),
and Cinderella (Summer Fairy). After a year
off for some rejuvenation, she is excited to perform
again!
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 Sophie
Lange
(3rd season)
Sophie grew up on a farm in
Nebraska. She received her
early dance training at Heartland School of Dance.
At 16, she trained for two years at Central
Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She also trained for a
year and a half with Madame Adrianne Dellas who was
a founder of the Kirov
Ballet
School in Washington D.C
and was on scholarship at Atlanta Ballet Centre for
Dance Education in 2009. She has spent her summers
training at Ballet Magnificat, Atlanta Ballet,
Louisville Ballet, Kaatsbaan Extreme Workshop (Adv.
Session) Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre, and Central
Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She was a guest artist at
Belvue Dance Academy
dancing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the
Snow Queen in the Nutcracker. She has enjoyed
her parts in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,
Cinderella, The Princess and the Pea,
Alice and Wonderland and Coppelia.
Sophie is thrilled to be part of The Georgia Ballet
and looks forward to her future.
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Jayme Leach
(1st season)
Jayme grew up in Pittsburg, PA where she started her
dance training under the direction of Jean Gedeon.
There she performed Stars and Stripes, Valse
Fantesie, Serenade, and Western Symphony.
While in school, she also studied at Pittsburgh
Ballet Theatre. After high school she joined North
Carolina Dance Theatre under the direction of
Jean-Pierre Bonnefeaux and Patricia McBride as an
apprentice. While at NCDT, Jayme performed Jean
Pierre's Nutcracker and Cinderella,
Mark Diamond's Little Mermaid, and
Balanchine's Ramonda and Union Jack.
This past year she performed many pieces by Director
Diana Cuatto as a member of Ballet Theatre of
Maryland. Jayme has also received scholarships for
summer training at Chautauqua Institute, School of
American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet
Austin, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Jayme is very
excited to start her first season with The Georgia
Ballet!
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 Katie
Owerbach (1st season)
Katie Owerbach grew up in Rochester, NY where she
trained with the Draper Center for Dance Education,
Botsford School of Dance, and the Rochester City
Ballet. She recently moved to Atlanta after
graduating Magna Cum Laude from The University of
South Carolina with dual degrees in economics and
ballet performance and choreography. With the USC
Dance Company she had the opportunity to perform
many works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Helen
Pickett, Alan Hineline, and Thaddeus Davis. In
addition she has attended summer intensives with
Hubbard Street, GloATL, Ballet Hispanico, Orlando
Ballet, The Nutmeg Conservatory of the Arts, and
Rochester City Ballet. Katie also enjoys teaching
dance to students of all ages and is excited to join
The Georgia Ballet!
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 Cassandra
Powers
(1st season)
Cassandra Powers is originally from Austinburg, OH
where she began her training at Ballet Theatre
Ashtabula with Shelagh Dubsky, Clover Robinson, and
Scott DeCola. She attended Mercyhurst University
under the tutelage of Tauna Hunter and earned a B.A.
in Dance and minor in Business Administration. While
there she danced leading roles in classical and
contemporary ballets and was coached by several
distinguished dancers such as Laura Alonso, Vivi
Flindt, and Lesley Bories-Scalise. Cassandra danced
with the Lake Erie Ballet for three seasons before
joining The Mongomery Ballet in 2009. She has also
toured with The Montgomery Ballet; performed as a
guest artist with Arova Contemporary Ballet in
Birmingham, AL; and served as program assistant for
National Dance Institute in NYC under the direction
of Jaques d'Amboise.
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 Hilary
Pyo
(1st season)
Hilary is from Greensburg, PA where she trained with
the Laurel Youth Ballet. Hilary continued her
training for four years with the Pittsburgh Ballet
Theatre School Pre-Professional Division under the
direction of PBT Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr
and School Directors Marjorie Grundvig and Dennis
Marshall. Her performance credits at PBTS include
The Nutcracker, Serenade, and original pieces by
Alan Obuzor, Artistic Director of Texture
Contemporary Ballet. Hilary has also studied with
BalletMet Columbus, the Cincinnati Ballet, and Peter
Merz of Point Park University's Conservatory of
Performing Arts. Hilary recently obtained an
Associate Degree in Liberal Arts with a focus in
English/Writing, graduating with high honors as a
member of the Phi Theta Kappa hoonors fraternity and
plans to pursue a bachelor's degree. Hilary is
thrilled to join The Georgia Ballet for their
2012/2013 season and would like to express her
deepest love and thanks to her family and friends
for their constant support.
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 Amber
Runyan
(1st season)
Amber began her training at the Gainesville School
of Ballet before joining the Gainesville Ballet
Company under the direction of Diane Callahan. She
then received a scholarship to the Pacific Northwest
Ballet School where she had the privilege to train
with renowned teachers such as Elaine Bauer, Bruce
Wells, and Dane Holman. After her time at PNB,
she went on to study at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in
the Graduate Program where she performed in La
Sylphide, Etudes, and Nutcracker. Upon
completion of the Graduate Program, she joined the
North Carolina Dance Theatre as a trainee and was
able to work closely with Patricia McBride, Mark
Diamond, and Kathryn Moriarty. She performed in
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux's Nutcracker and
Sleeping Beauty, Balanchine's Serenade
and Theme and Variations, as well as
original works by Mark Diamond. Throughout her
training, Amber has spent her summers with Pacific
Northwest Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre,
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, North Carolina School of
the Arts, and Alabama Ballet. Amber is very excited
to join The Georgia Ballet!
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 Katie
Walker
(1st season)
Originally from northern Virginia, Katie received
her early training at the Manassas Ballet Theatre.
After graduating from high school, she moved to
Columbia, SC to attend the University of South
Carolina. While at the university, she had the
opportunity to perform various works including:
George Balanchine's Stars and Stripes,
Walpurgisnacht, Who Cares? and Western
Symphony. Katie recently graduated summa cum
laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance
and Choreography.
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 Constance
Doyle
(Student Trainee)
Constance has been a student at The Georgia Ballet
since her early childhood. She spent the past three
summers training at intensives of American Ballet
Theatre, Boston Ballet, and most recently, the
School of American Ballet (SAB) where she was
awarded a full merit scholarship. While at SAB, she
was selected to participate in the new York
Choreographic Institute's Summer Showcase, in which
apprentices of the New York City Ballet choreograph
new works on summer students. As a student at The
Georgia Ballet, she has particularly enjoyed dancing
the role of Aloura in A Young Person's Guide to
the Orchestra, Columbine in Janusz Mazon's
Pinocchio, as well as many parts in The
Nutcracker. Constance is very excited to be a
Student Trainee with The Georgia Ballet and would
like to thank her family, friends, and God for
unending support, unconditional love, and countless
blessings.
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 Emilie
Mazon (Student Trainee)
Emilie has been a student at the School at The
Georgia Ballet for fourteen years. During this time,
Emilie has especially enjoyed performing the role of
Clara in The Nutcracker, Aloura in A
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra,
Columbine in Pinocchio, Aurora in the third
act of The Sleeping Beauty, and Medora in
the third act pas de deux of Le Corsaire.
In addition, Emilie is grateful to have had the
opportunities to perform in Janusz Mazon's original
works for the Student Ensemble including: Piece
of One, Reverence to Rhapsody, On The Town, and
Somewhere Within. This past summer Emilie
attended the San Francisco Ballet Summer Program on
merit scholarship. Previously, she has participated
in summer intensives at the Central Pennsylvania
Youth Ballet. Emilie is the recipient of the
Southeast Regional Ballet Association's 2011 Dorothy
Alexander Scholarship and the 2012 Robert Barnett
Scholarship. Emilie is honored to dance with The
Georgia Ballet Professional Company as a Student
Trainee and would like to thank her parents for
their endearing love, support, and guidance.
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 Josiah
Savage
(Student Trainee)
Josiah Nathaniel Savage begun studying tap and jazz
at the Kingdom Life Performing Arts School in
Westchester NY. His formal ballet training began
with a full scholarship from the New Haven Ballet
where he studied with John Carney from the Royal
Ballet. Jo' moved to Georgia in 2006 and began his
dance journey with The School at The Georgia Ballet.
Josiah has spend his summers studying with the
Orlando Ballet and The Boston Ballet and was offered
many other summer intensive scholarships to Pacific
Northwest Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Dance Theatre of
Harlem, and the Houston Ballet. He has performed in
numerous original works by Janusz Mazon as well as
classical roles such as the Pirate in Le
Corsaire, The Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty,
pas de trois in Paquita, and Soldier Doll
and Russian in The Nutcracker. Josiah is
excited to continue his studies as a student trainee
at The Georgia Ballet!
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