Derryl Yeager is the Founder and Artistic Director of Odyssey Dance Theatre and an accomplished performer, director, and choreographer with over 25 years of professional experience. He holds a BFA (Magna Cum Laude) and MFA (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Utah, with additional training from the American Conservatory Theatre and vocal study with Seth Riggs. A former principal dancer with Ballet West, Yeager has performed on Broadway (A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls, Cats), in film (Staying Alive, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), and on television (Touched by an Angel, Fame). His choreographic work spans ballet, contemporary dance, and musical theatre, including Thriller, Romeo + Juliet, The Redux Nutcracker, and Les Misérables.

Athena was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida. She is trained in many styles, particularly jazz, hip hop, and ballet. After years on a competitive dance team she sought to further her training and transitioned to more intensive study as part of Candace Trasoras' APEX Mafia apprenticeship program. In addition to her extensive experience as a traveling assistant, she also has experience in dance convention training, backstage management, merchandising, and social media coordination. For the past two years she has been teaching jazz, lyrical, hip hop, musical theatre, and technique to dancers age 4-18. Athena is excited to begin her second season with professional dance company Odyssey Dance Theatre!

Ian Sabatine began his dance training at age seven in Pennsylvania and later attended Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. He earned his B.F.A. in Dance from Shenandoah University, where he trained under and performed works by Daniel Padierna, Tiffanie Carson, Shylo Martinez, Maurice Fraga, Erica Helm, and Ting-Yu Chen, and worked with industry professionals including Dance Works Chicago and Danielle Sten-Guillermo.

In 2023, Ian performed Lustrous Collapse at the Mid-Atlantic ACDA Conference, completed his first professional contract at Carowinds Amusement Park, and participated in a Global Experiential Learning trip to Greece. After graduating in 2024, he joined Odyssey Dance Theatre in Draper, UT, touring Thriller and performing in Christmas Spectacular Spectacular and Shut Up and Dance! He is excited to return for his second season with ODT.

Natalie Riggs 

@nat.riggs

Natalie Riggs is a professional dancer who grew up in Orem Utah with training in jazz, hip hop, contemporary, tap, ballet, ballroom, and modern. She began her training at The Dance Club, where she spent a decade developing her versatility and performing on award-winning teams. She also was given the opportunity to work on High School Musical the Musical the series, season two, as Olivia Rodrigo’s stand-in/photo double as well as an extra on the show! 

Natalie went on to dance with the Blaze Dance Team at Utah Tech University from 2021-2023. Then she danced for the Utah Jazz NBA dance team in 2023-2024. She was most recently seen in Footloose at Hale Centre Theatre. Nat is so excited to be back for a second season with Odyssey!

Lily Farrar, a Tennessee native, earned her BFA in Dance from Shenandoah University in 2021 and a Master’s in Performing Arts Leadership and Management in 2023. She has performed works by Lucinda Childs, Sidra Bell, Matt Pardo, Daniel Padierna, and Tiffanie Carson, and has danced with DanceWorks Chicago and Contra Tiempo. Now based in Utah, Lily has performed with Fem Dance Co, Wasatch Contemporary Dance, Serena Webb Dance, Shift Dance Co, and Odyssey Dance Theatre, where she is a company member and head of social media. She is the Executive Assistant at Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company, serves on the boards of Chrysalis Ballet and Wasatch Contemporary, and was named Utah’s Best of State Individual Dancer for 2024.

Carson Oliver, born and raised in West Jordan, Utah, trained at Local Motion Dance Studio, The Vibe, Extravadance, and The Dance Project SLC. With 17 years of training in hip hop, locking, popping, ballroom, ballet, contemporary, and jazz, Carson has performed and taught with his former crew, The Chocolate Factory, and appeared in They Reminisce, a production celebrating hip-hop culture, where he now serves as a choreographer. He has performed in Bonnie Lythgoe’s A Snow White Christmas and appeared in the film Dear Dumb Diary. Carson is currently studying dance at BYU with a minor in business and is excited to join Odyssey Dance Theatre as a new company member.