Sterling Manka is from Fishers, Indiana. In 2019 he graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a Bachelor of Science in ballet. At IU, he had the privilege to train under Sarah Wroth, Carla Körbes, Kyra Nichols, Michael Vernon, Sasha Janes, Christian Classens, Shawn Stevens, and Violette Verdy. Sterling spent last season as a member of the Cincinnati Ballet Second Company. Some of his favorite ballets and roles he has performed include the Shy Boy in Jerome Robbins’ The Concert (or The Perils of Everybody), the Toto Puppeteer in Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, George Balanchine’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier and Valse-Fantaisie, Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel (A Dance), Mark Morris’ Sandpaper Ballet, “Penny Saunders’ Ghost Light, and Suzanne Haag’s Conduct. Sterling joined Eugene Ballet in 2021.