faculty
Our Faculty is comprised of graduates from some of the finest theater and dance departments in the U.S. and most create and perform professionally. They are selected for their unique understanding of the developmental stages of children and how that translates into the training of a young dancer, actor, choreographer or playwright. BAX faculty members are provided with ongoing professional development to hone their skills, share their experiences and insure continuity of the BAX educational experience.
KELLY BARTNIK (BAXco Co-Director) is a graduate of James Madison University where she earned her BA in Dance and BBA in Computer Information Systems. Since moving to New York, she has performed with the Wright Now! Performance XPerience, Melissa Briggs Dance, Restless.Native.Dance, Carl Hancock Rux and Shannon Hummel Dance/CORA. Her own choreography has been presented at Dixon Place, Williamsburg Arts Nexus, the Publick Playhouse in Maryland, James Madison University, BAX, Joyce Soho, BRIC Studio, Dance Theater Workshop and Arena Stage in Washington DC. She has been a guest choreographer at Long Island University and a faculty member of Sarah Lawrence College. She is currently director of BAXCo, a teen repertory company with the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Kelly is a founding member of Forum, Inc., a multidisciplinary arts organization based in Washington D.C., and recently co-founded a video production company, Gk1 Productions.
BETH BRADFORD (BAXco Co-Director), originally from Virginia, holds a BA in Dance from James Madison University. Beth is the Director of Dance at Greenwich House Music School in addition to co-directing BAXco and teaching private pilates lessons. Since moving to New York, Beth has had the pleasure of working with Monica Bill Barnes, Kelly Bartnik, Shannon Hummel, Casey Blake, and she is currently collaborating with Human Company under the direction of Kelly Hanson. Her own choreography and collaborations have been presented at Dixon Place, James Madison University, PS 122, The Kitchen, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, University Settlement, and The Arizona Performing Arts Center.
DONNA COSTELLO (In-house Teacher, Youthworks Coordinator, DPW I Director), often deemed a “process junkie,” is a project-based dance artist focused on performing and teaching. She is a founding member of Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance and has built rich relationships creating and dancing for jill sigman/thinkdance, Mollie O’Brien/ mob productions and Jimena Paz. Ms. Costello has a diverse background and has had the pleasure of working with an inspiring group of choreographers over the past years including: Stephan Koplowitz, Barbara Mahler, Juliette Mapp, Naomi Goldberg Haas, Melissa Briggs, Pele Bauch, Kelly Bartnik and others. Ms. Costello has been on faculty at Queensborough Commmunity College, Poly Prep Country Day School, and in residence with Cora Dance and jill sigman/thinkdance. She is currently a teaching artist for Lincoln Center Institute, BAX and Dance New Amsterdam. She began teaching at BAX in 1999 and this marks her fourth year directing Dance Performance Workshop I.
FAYE DRISCOLL (DPW II Guest Teacher) was a member of Doug Varone and Dancers ‘00-’03 with whom she toured internationally. She also has performed extensively in the works of both David Neumann and Yasmeen Godder. Driscoll’s choreography has been performed at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, the University of Maryland, State University of New York at Purchase, New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts, The Kitchen’s Dance-in-Progress series, Danspace Project’s Food for Thought and 40up projects, PS122’s Avante-Garde-a-Rama, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Galapagos, Dixon Place, Ur, Dancenow/NYC’99-’05, and in San Francisco at ODC and the Marsh Theater. While in San Francisco she also performed in Kathleen Hermesdorf and Albert Mathias’s Motion Lab. Driscoll holds a BFA in dance from NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts.
JOSÉ JOAQUÍN GARCÍA (PS 24 and BNS), director, composer, actor, singer, writer, is the Artistic Director of Rubí Theater Company. “Mi Rey”, a song he wrote and performed with members of Rubí, was featured on acclaimed recording artist Dan Zanes’ CD “Family Dance” on Festival Five records. Rubí’s production of Martín Espada’s IMAGINE THE ANGELS OF BREAD has been performed at sold-out runs at New WORLD Theater in Amherst, Massachusetts as well as the 2nd NYC Hip-Hop Theater Festival. Members of Rubí, under the direction of Mr. García were recently in Rotterdam, The Netherlands where they led theater workshops and created an original musical production that was performed by young people from all over the world. Mr. García was the production director of Urban Youth Theater at Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts center for 6 years. There he directed A WOMAN WHO OUTSHONE THE SUN, RAKSHA’S CHILD, the hip-hop musical THE MINOTAUR (collaborating with PopMaster Fabel and Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew as well as bilingual rap pioneers Latin Empire) and additionally the critically acclaimed EL BRONX REMEMBERED by Nicholasa Mohr. Other plays he has directed for Rubí have been performed at the Northeast Conference of Teachers of Foreign Languages in Manhattan; the Hispanic Leadership Conference in Lorain, Ohio; INTAR; Dixon Place; Hunter College and many other locations. Mr. García was a member of Pregones Theater Company for six years and has also performed with The New Group; Repertorio Español; Joseph Papp Public Theater’s Latino Playwrights Workshop, among others. He appeared in and understudied Rubén Blades on Broadway in Paul Simon’s THE CAPEMAN. Mr. García teaches acting, collective creation and empowerment through theater for young people with the arts organizations Brooklyn Arts Exchange, City Lore and Henry Street Settlement’s Youth Employment Program at various schools in New York City. He has been a resident teaching artist at Brooklyn Arts Exchange since 1993.
SARA GRUNDMAN (Summer Program Group Leader) currently teaches English at the NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies. Prior to becoming a teacher, Sara performed with independent choreographers and dance companies including Mimi Garrard Dance Theater Company, Ramona Ganslosser and the Tanzkunst Project, and Katherine Howard. Sara looks forward to being involved with all of the creative young artists during BAX’s summer arts program.
BELINDA HE (In-house Teacher) returns to BAX after being Group Leader of the Jumping Tomatoes at BAX’s Junior Summer Arts Program 2008. She has an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in English Literature from the National University of Singapore. Belinda has followed her passion for teaching children (and the young at heart) since her first teaching encounter substitute teaching a children’s jazz dance class, and feels fortunate that she can spend her time with young ones making music and dance. The rest of her time she spends with not so young ones making music and dance. She has worked with a host of artists including Sara Rudner and Jon Kinzel and is currently a member of the Parijat Desai Dance Company. Belinda is also the Artistic Director of SINecdoche Dance.
ANDREW JANNETTI (Summer Program Director) attended Montclair State University where he received a BA in Speech and Theater (Dance Specialization). Upon graduating he headed straight for New York City, where he has been dancing, choreographing, and teaching ever since. His choreographic work has been presented in many venues in the NYC metropolitan area as well as various venues throughout the U.S. and Europe, including the Edinburgh Festival. He received a BAXten Award for his strong commitment to Dance Education and a PASEtter Award from the Partnership for After School Education for his work with after school arts programming. He has team taught many children’s classes with Wendy Taucher and the Children’s Dance Project of Manhattan as well as co-directing Summerstage, a music and theater workshop for children in Rockland County, NY for four years. He is currently teaching dance full time for grades K –12 at Staten Island Academy and is in pursuing a graduate degree in Dance Education at the Steinhardt School at NYU. In addition he teaches modern/jazz dance, aqua aerobics, stretch classes and fitness classes, including his own special brand of Aerobic Conditioning (Rhythmic Fitness), throughout the NY/NJ metropolitan area.
RACHEL LANE (In-house Teacher, PS 115 and BNS, DPW II Director) a Brooklyn native, began her formalized dance training at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange at age 3. Her love of movement and expression lead her to Bard College where she spent four years studying various dance styles and creating elaborate site specific works. Upon her return to the city she has been studying West African and Caribbean Dance forms and has found a new passion in Kundalini Yoga. Rachel is an HIV and AIDS educator for teens and teaches dance in many different after-school and summer arts programs throughout NYC. She is also on faculty of BAX where she began her artistic endeavors. Rachel is the Director of the Dance Performing Workshop Level II and teaches children of all ages throughout the year and the summer. Currently she dances for Andrew Jannetti, collaborates with a The Highcliffe Project, and is a co-founder of Box By Three Dance co. Her collaborative work has been presented through Newsteps series/Mulberry St. Theater, d.u.m.b.o. arts Festival, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, food for thought/ Dancespace Project at St. Marks, and SWEAT modern dance series. Her company has also performed in North Carolina, Upstate NY and the mountains of Wyoming.
CARON LEVIS (In-house Teacher) has been a New York City teaching artist for several years using storytelling, creative drama, and writing, to teach self awareness, communication, and literacy skills to kids of all ages, teachers, and parents. She has studied acting at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, the Moscow Art Theatre, and the Michael Chekhov Acting Studio in NY. Caron and her plays have been seen on stages in NYC and Boston. She has an MFA in Creative Writing for Children & Young Adults from the New School University where she was winner of the 2008 Chapbook contest. Her short story Permission Slip won the 2009 SLS Unified Literary Contest and can be found in the current issue of Fence Magazine.www.fence.fenceportal.org
MAXINE LYLE (Summer Program Specialist) began stepping at the age of seven in her hometown of Newark, NJ. She now performs, choreographs, and offers step instruction to youth and adults throughout the Northeast. In 1996 she co-founded Sankofa, the Williams College step team, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2006. She taught at arts institutions, including the Youth Alive Step Team (Pittsfield, MA), the Manhattan College Step Team, the Westfield State University Step Team, the Vermont Arts Exchange, Berkshire Pulse, Eden Hill, and Simon’s Rock. Her choreography has been featured at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA). She is a Master of Fine Arts candidate in Theatrical Management and Producing at Columbia University’s School of the Arts.
NICKI MARSHALL (In-house Teacher and Young Minds) has taught dance to students ages 3 to 87 and in addition to BAX, currently teaches through the National Dance Institute and various camps in New York, Vermont, Maine, and most recently in Ethiopia. She is also a yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner. Nicki dances for Cora Dance, directed by Shannon Hummel, and has worked with choreographers and companies such as Stephen Koplowitz, Shalewa Mackall, Kelly Bartnik, Amy Cox, Maura Nyugen Donahue/In Mixed Company, and Magbana Drum & Dance. Nicki has produced three evenings of work and has been presented at various NYC venues including Dance Theater Workshop, Joyce Soho, WOW Café Theater, BRIC Studio, Galapagos Arts Space, Brooklyn Pride, and BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, where she has been a Space Grant Recipient. She has choreographed for two music videos by Jess Seigel and has danced in videos by Faye Driscoll and Ana Carolina. Nicki received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a minor in Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College.
DAWN MAZZEO (In-house Teacher) graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a BFA in Theater and Dance. In her senior year she and a group of her classmates studied acting technique at the Royal Court Theatre in London. After graduation, Dawn continued her training at The HB Studio, The Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting, and The Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. In 1995 she co-founded “The Innisfree Festival of New Plays Theater Company”, whose mission was to work with living playwrights and actors interested in developing plays through the rehearsal process. Dawn has worked in television as well as independent and feature films. While at Sarah Lawrence she interned at the on-site Early Childhood Development Center, and it was then that she discovered her love of working with children. She led groups of theater students in under-funded elementary schools, and co-taught theater workshops as part of her Theater Outreach studies. Dawn believes children are the most interesting dance and drama students. She has an essay in the upcoming book “Elephant in the Playroom” (Hudson Press), and just completed a documentary with the Andrus Children’s Center in Yonkers, NY. This Fall, Dawn will also be teaching movement to children with autism, pervasive developmental delay and learning disabilities at the Otsar Early Childhood Center in Brooklyn and has coached children for the past five years. She lives in Park Slope with her husband, two children, and miniature dachshund.
PENE MCCOURTY (DPW II Guest Artist) is an arts administrator, educator and interdisciplinary performing artist who uses movement as her base. She has worked with several locally and nationally known dance performance companies and community arts organizations. As a performer and teacher she was a member of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Marlies Yearby’s Movin’ Spirits Dance Theater and Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group. As an educator, Pene has created, taught and facilitated movement, dance and theater workshops in numerous schools, senior centers and universities within the New York City area and beyond for the past 13 years. She is a trainer for the National Center for Creative Aging and was the Performance Director of Elders Share the Arts creating/directing Continuum Dance Collective-a cross-generational performance and teaching collaborative. As an art maker, her work has been presented at St. Mark’s Church, Joyce Soho, Chicago’s Links Hall, Towson University and San Francisco State University. She has also worked collaboratively with percussionist Leon Parker, writer Suhier Hammad and composer Tigger Benford. Pene is currently the Director of School Settlement Association.
SHELLEY MCPHERSON (In-house Teacher) is originally from Canada. She received her Honours B.A. in Theater from Queens University, her B. Ed from The University of Toronto, and her M.A. in Theater from Northwestern University. In New York, Shelley has taught theater at Making Books Sing, Enter Stage Write and at BAX. Regionally, she has taught at The University of Southern Indiana and the Canadian performing arts secondary school, Cawthra Park, as well as many workshops for groups including professional dancers, figure skaters, models, and community theatre groups. Shelley has performed at theatres including New York Theatre Workshop, Women’s Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, HERE, Queens Theatre in the Park, The Rude Mechanicals and The Workshop Theatre Company. She has also performed regionally at theatres including The New Harmony Theatre, East Lynne Theatre Company, and Shadow Lawn Theatre. As a singer, Shelley performs regularly at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre and at the Yonge Centre in Toronto, Canada. A live concert recording on which she is featured – Toronto Sings the Breithaupt Brothers Songbook – was released in January 2010. She played Donna in the award-winning feature Fall Before Paradise and Sheba LeJeune in the feature, The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek, which will be premiered this Spring at The Atlanta Film festival and at Cannes. She has appeared in many episodes of Guiding Light. Shelley wrote the book for Seeing Stars, an original boxing musical, which was read last year as part of the York Theatre’s Development Reading Series and enjoyed a sold-out run in October 2009 at the New York Musical Theater Festival.
JAMES MILES (Academy of Talented Scholars and Brooklyn School of Inquiry) is a teaching artist that has performed in theatre, tv, and film in and around New York for several years and has a recurring role on the PBS show, “The Electric Company.” He uses his strong improvisation background as the foundation for his teaching and his performing. He also teaches with Disney, the New Victory Theatre, Brooklyn Arts Council, Urban Arts, New York Film Academy, and has directed fights for student productions at BAM. MFA, Brandeis University. BA, Morehouse College.
DAVID MILLER (Summer Program Specialist) is a professional theatre director and theatre educator. During the summer of 2009, David will be directing a remount of Gutenberg! The Musical! with Amphibian Stage Productions, Fort Worth, TX (voted Best Production of 2008 by the readers of Fort Worth Weekly) and Dano Madden’s Survival, a finalist in the Samuel French OOBR Short Play Festival 2008, as well as The Second Pipe of Desire for The Artful Conspirators at The Old Stone House in Park Slope. David is the Artistic Director of The Artful Conspirators, a company dedicated to putting audiences at the heart of the theatrical experience. David is the former Director of Education at Roundabout Theatre Company, served as Artistic Director of the CityKids Repertory Company in Tribeca, and was the Director of Educational Outreach at Seattle Children’s Theatre. As a teaching artist, David has taught students and teachers of all ages at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Arts Horizon, McCarter Theater, George Street Playhouse, NJPAC, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and others.
CATEY OTT (In-house Teacher) is the director of Catey Ott Dance Company and has a MFA and BFA from UW-Milwaukee. She has performed with Soundance, Allyson Green, Heidi Latsky, Sean Curran, Bill Young, Gotham Group Dance, Carrie Ahern, Angela Jones, Shannon Hummel, Chris Farris, and others in NYC. Her work has been presented at Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church in 2003 and 2007, as well as at Hatch, WAX, BAX, DUMBO Dance Festival, Cool NY Dance Festival, 92nd Street Y, Dixon Place, and others. She has been teaching ages 3-adult since she was 16 in Milwaukee and continues to teach all ages in dance, Pilates, yoga, creative movement, choreography, and fitness in NYC. www.cateyott.com
BECKY PEARL (In-house Teacher) received a Bachelor of the Arts in Dance and Dance Education from Connecticut College, where she studied with many inspiring teachers, such as Dan Wagoner, Eddie Taketa and L’Ana Burton. At Connecticut College, she also studied Chinese and Israeli folk dance and traveled to China and Israel to perform and engage in a cultural dance exchange. Originally from Katonah, New York, she moved to Brooklyn to pursue her dream of dancing and teaching dance to children. Becky has had the pleasure of performing with Barbara Mahler, Jeremy Nelson, Jeff Rebudal, Heidi Latsky, Curt Haworth, and Christina Suarez at various venues throughout New York City. She is thrilled to be teaching classes in Creative Movement, Modern and Ballet for her fourth year at BAX. Currently, Becky enjoys practicing yoga, learning to surf, and teaching at a preschool in Brooklyn Heights.
DREW PETERSEN (In-house Teacher) has been teaching and performing for children for over 5 years. Originally from Philadelphia, he is currently pursuing M.A. in Educational Theatre at N.Y.U. and began working at BAX this past summer. He has taught with Curio Theatre Company, Flatbush Development Corporation, People’s Light and Theatre Company, Theatre Horizon and Hedgerow Theatre. Further, he has worked and performed with Puppetry in Practice, Wissahickon Arts Center, The Mederia School, Central High School and The Pathway School. He has co-written adaptations of Alice in Wonderland and The Nutcracker which were produced by Curio Theatre Company in the last 2 seasons and has composed music for over 10 theatre productions in the last 3 years. Recent projects include an adaptation of The Little Prince as well as original music for a one man production of A Christmas Carol which is being produced in Philadelphia this December/January.
CHRISTINANOEL REAVES (In-house Teacher) After a BFA in Music: Voice Performance from Georgia State University, and an MFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, ChristinaNoel Reaves pursues dance and voice performance, instruction, and composition in New York City. She enjoys teaching all ages, now working with toddlers, teens and adults. She has also set choreography for Atlanta’s Kid’s Drama Factory, and taught dance and voice to children and adults for years while living in Atlanta. Christina has had choreography presented at LaMama Theater, at Joe’s Pub for the DanceNow Festival, and for the French short film Au Clair du la Lune. She is currently dancing for Yin Yue Dance, Carlos Cruz’s Colectivo Doszeta, Patrycja Noworol Dance Co., and Rachel Wynne’s Expandance. She has also performed for Meredith Monk, Doug Elkins, Ellis Wood, David Dorfman, and the Collective Opera Co. Thanks to my incredible family and mentors for their support and wisdom.
ERIN RONDER (In-house Teacher, Academy of Talented Scholars) is an educator and an artist. She recently graduated from New York University’s Educational Theater program with a M.A. and New York State Theater Teaching License for grades K-12. She received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Mount Holyoke College in 2004. Since moving from Boston three years ago, Erin has been an active member of the arts in education community. She has assisted in the Education and Outreach Department at Disney Theatrical Productions and Theatre for a New Audience. Currently, she is a Teaching Artist for Disney Theatrical Productions, DreamYard, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and The Women’s Project. Erin is dedicated to creating connections and accessibility between students with disabilities and the performing arts. She continues to perform and was most recently seen in Steinhardt’s production of The Eumenides and this year, The Giver.
AMY BETH SCHNEIDER (In-house Teacher) has been a part of the BAX faculty for five years. She teaches creative movement, modern dance, and tumbling. She also founded and directs Thread Dance Theater, a performance and production company that is best known for its Brooklyn Dance Sampler. Amy Beth graduated from Oberlin College and studied for four consecutive summers at the American Dance Festival prior to moving to New York City in 2000. She is an alumnus of the NC Triangle area’s Choreo Collective, where she had the opportunity to choreograph for and perform with numerous North Carolina based dance artists. In NYC she has collaborated and performed with Heather Mims, Annie Sailer, playwrights Susan Melinda Dunlap and Lisa Barri, and Dance Consort:Mezzacappa/Gabrian. She is also certified as a yoga teacher with YogaWorks and is currently working towards a M.F.A. in Writing at Sarah Lawrence College.
JULES SKLOOT (In-house Teacher) is originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Jules Skloot is a dancer, a choreographer, and a teacher based in Brooklyn, NY. Jules received a BA from Hampshire College with a concentration in choreography, performance, and community dance studies, and an MFA in dance from Sarah Lawrence College. Jules has had the honor of getting to teach, dance, and create with people of many different ages and experiences. As a teacher, Jules values the knowledge, art, and creativity that already exists within people, and works to provide space, encouragement, and learning opportunities for people of any age to express themselves and connect to each other through the practice of art. Jules has choreographed and performed in New York, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, California, and throughout the Pacific Northwest, and recently received a 2009 Outer/Space creative residency from Dance Theater Workshop in NYC.
ELLYNNE SKOVE (In-house Teacher) has been working with children for over 25 years. She is a licensed dance/movement therapist, an Orff music educator, and teaches yoga and movement for babies and children as well as expecting mothers. Ellynne studied Dynamic Anatomy with the late Nancy Topf for 15 years focusing on developmental movement from inutero to standing. She brings her passion for this innate movement blueprint to her work. Currently she is doing graduate work in pre and perinatal psychology. She maintains a private practice in somatic therapies for people of all ages, and offers conscious parenting programs. Ellynne has performed with The Lake Ivan Performance Group, Meredith Monk, Nancy Topf, and others as well as creating her own work. She is the mother of choreographer and dancer, EmmaGrace, 23 (a BAX graduate), and Jackson, 9. Additionally Ellynne created all of the painted floorcloths at BAX. For more information on Ellynne, visit www.gogobabies.net and TrueNorthWellness.com.
CYNTHIA ST. CLAIR (In-house Teacher) is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and arts administrator based in Brooklyn. Cynthia earned her BFA in Dance & Choreography from Temple University and is certified in both Integral and MA Yoga, in addition to being a trained doula. She studies movement modalities such as The Alexander Technique, Contact Improvisation and Pilates, all of which influence her work with both children and adults. Cynthia has taught extensively throughout New York City, most notably at the Integral Yoga Institute, Chopra Center, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and at numerous public schools. She has enjoyed performing with COURT, Darla Stanley Dance, Dance Theatre X, Rebecca Lloyd-Jones and Victory to Others in New York and Philadelphia, and has presented her choreography throughout the east coast of the United States.
LEIGH STEIN (In-house Teacher) is a writer, director, teaching artist, and classically trained vocalist. For over seven years, she has taught private voice lessons and group acting classes for children and young adults. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, Second City, the Piven Theatre Workshop, and with Keith Johnstone. In addition to teaching Act, Dance, Sing! at BAX, she works in editorial at The New Yorker.
CHEVON STEWART (PS 24) is a Performer, Teaching Artist, Choreographer and Certified Yoga instructor. She is currently investigating dance and Culture in Jamaica and its surrounding islands. Chevon is thrilled to have an opportunity to share her research and stories with students at PS 24. She began her formal dance training at Ballet Arts Studio in Beacon, NY and hasn’t stopped dancing since. In High school she went on to study at Central Pennsylvania Youth ballet and attended The Ailey school as a fellowship student. She graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges as an Arts Scholar and received her B.A. in Dance and Psychology. Chevon has had the privilege to perform with INSPIRIT, a dance company, Urban Bush Women’s apprentice program, Arthur Aviles Typical Dance Theater, Richard Rivera, Baraka De Solilel’s D’ Underbelly and Nia Love’s/ Black Smith Daughters. As a choreographer she has had an opportunity to share her work at BAAD! , Sweat dance festival, The Point, and as collaborator with BSD at Dance Theater Workshop.
AUBREY STRICKLAND (DPW III Guest Teacher) is a multifaceted performer, choreographer, teacher, and media producer. She is passionate about teaching movement to all ages and specializes in the Lester Horton technique. Aubrey is Co-founder of Amalgamate Dance Company (ADC), whose repertoire has been presented in New York, Georgia, Virginia, Texas, Asia, and Australia. Aubrey has appeared Off-Broadway in Dear Mr. Rosan (Purple Threads Ensemble), For Christ’s Sake (C3Manhattan), and was the Dance Director for Eyes to See at the Times Center. She also teaches at Sweet Soul Movement, The POINT CDC, and several Senior Centers. Aubrey has worked alongside film director Michel Gondry, associate produced for PBS, and freelances in multimedia at Christie’s Auction House. She has a BA from Marymount Manhattan College. www.AmalgamateDance.com
JEMA TAYLOR (DPW III Guest Teacher), from Lake Park, Fl., is a graduate of North Carolina School of The Arts. She began her dance training under the fabulous direction of Joan Miller at Palm Beach Ballet Center. While in attendance at NCSA, she worked with Alberto del Saz, Scott Rink, Kraig “Bopi” Patterson, Neta Pulvemacher, and Andrea E. Woods. Since moving to NYC in ‘03 she has had the privilege to be apart of INSPIRIT, a dance company (’04-’08) and become the company’s Associate Artistic Director (’08). She is currently dancing with Trebien Pollard’s Residue Dance Theater. On the acting side, Jema played Delia in the Night the Devil Cried, directed by Lynne Mold. She has also expanded her dance capabilities in a few music videos. Most recently, Sondre Lerche’s, If Only.
HELEN TOCCI (In-house Teacher, Young Minds and Rivendell School, DPW III Director) began dancing in the woods of Northern Vermont and has since worked in Washington, D.C. with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange; in Senegal, West Africa; in Boulder, CO; and finally in NYC with various choreographers. She holds a BA in Religious Studies and Dance from Connecticut College. Helen is a co-founder of Varoom Group Dance Collective and has produced her own work at various venues around the city. Helen has been a teaching artist in the New York City public schools and is currently on the dance faculty of the Brooklyn Friend’s School in addition to teaching the lovely dancers at BAX.
DIANE TOMASI (In-house Teacher) began her teaching in 2001 and has taught ongoing classes, and workshops in and around the US, including New York, Alaska, and Massachusetts as well as the UK. Her teaching repertoire includes gymnastics and tumbling, modern, ballet, and contact improvisation. Diane moved to New York in 2006 and has danced with choreographers such as Taras Kardashov, Rainey Welch, and currently Sunhwa Chung. Diane graduated from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts; where she received her Bachelor of Arts.
PHOTO CREDITS:
Kelly Bartnik by BAXstaff | Beth Bradford by Ferran Cassanova | Lynn Brown by BAXstaff | Donna Costello by Kamau Mucoki | José Joaquín García by BAXstaff | Sara Grundman by BAXstaff | Belinda He by BAXstaff | Andrew Jannetti by BAXstaff | Rachel Lane by Fernando Maneca | Caron Levis by Casey Kelbaugh | Nicki Marshall by BAXstaff | Dawn Mazzeo by BAXstaff | Shelley McPherson by BAXstaff | James Miles by BAX Staff | David Miller by BAXstaff | Catey Ott by BAXstaff | Becky Pearl by BAXstaff | Drew Petersen by BAXstaff | ChristinaNoel Reaves by BAXstaff | Erin Ronder by BAXstaff | Amy Beth Schneider by Aaron Sandler | Jules Skloot by BAXstaff | Ellynne Skove by BAXstaff | Cynthia St. Clair by BAXstaff | Rebecca Stabille by BAXstaff | Leigh Stein by BAXstaff| Chevon Stewart by BAXstaff | Aubrey Strickland by BAXstaff | Jema Taylor by BAXstaff | Helen Tocci by BAXstaff | Diane Tomasi by BAXstaff.
