Photo: Shawnae Neujahr
Tehya West
Tehya West, a Baltimore, Maryland native, began her dance journey at the age of seven at the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts. There, she trained in the Vaganova technique under the guidance of Shannon Torres, Ninel Cherevko, and Dmitri Malikov. After earning an associate degree alongside her high school diploma, Tehya continued her education at Butler University, graduating with a BA in Dance Pedagogy and minors in Strategic Communication and Journalism. During her time at Butler, she performed soloist roles in iconic productions such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Cinderella, as well as soloist choreography by Jennifer Archibald. In 2024, Tehya joined Ohio Contemporary Ballet, where she has been featured in works like Rainbow Suite by Donald McKayle and World of Another by Stephanie Martinez. Tehya is thrilled to be promoted to company dancer and looks forward to her second season with Ohio Contemporary Ballet!
