2018 DILT Participants

2018 Mentors

Alleluia Panis

Alleluia Panis is an American Pilipino director, choreographer, and non-profit arts leader. She has created over twenty full-length dance theater works that have been presented on stages in the United States, Europe, and Asia.  She has received numerous awards, including the inaugural Artistic Legacy Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission in 2017 and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Commission for Choreographers for her 2019-2021 dance and film project,   ‘In the Belly of the Eagle’.  She is the Artistic and Executive Director of Kularts, the nation’s premiere presenter of contemporary and tribal Pilipino arts. Her dance film, ‘She, Who Can See’ was a officially selected  and screened at the  2018 CAAMFest  formerly known as the SF Asian American  International Film Festival. She served as member of National Performance Network’s Artists Committee, and as a board member of Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Brava! For Women in the Arts, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and Dance Bay Area. She’s an active member of San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas, Filipino Cultural Heritage District.

 Barry Hughson

Barry Hughson has served the performing arts field for 25 years as a professional arts executive. In 2014, he joined The National Ballet of Canada as Executive Director. Since that time, the company has continued its trajectory of artistic growth, fiscal responsibility, community engagement, and international presence, including landmark tours to New York’s Lincoln Center and the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris. 

Mr. Hughson was previously Executive Director of Boston Ballet. Under Mr. Hughson’s leadership, Boston Ballet achieved several key milestones, including the retirement of its long-term debt, completing a major renovation of the ballet’s headquarters, international tours to Canada, Spain, Finland and the UK and significant increases in annual earned and contributed revenue. As an arts advocate, consultant and educator, Mr. Hughson has had teaching and speaking engagements in the USA, Europe and South America. He serves on a variety of industry boards, including Dance/USA, North America’s largest service organization for professional dance. In January 2015, in partnership with Dance/USA, Mr. Hughson spearheaded the first ever meeting of North American and European executive dance leadership, bringing together 22 administrators from nine countries. In Canada, Mr. Hughson serves as Vice-Chair of the National Council for the Canadian Dance Assembly and served on the Steering Committee for the Canadian Arts Summit from 2014 to 2017. 

Mr. Hughson began his career as a dancer with The Washington (DC) Ballet, where he performed classical and contemporary repertoire at the Kennedy Center and on tour throughout the world.

Greg CameronDriven by his lifelong love for the arts, for his hometown, and for connecting with people from every background, Greg Cameron leads the Joffrey Ballet as Executive Director, responsible for organization-wide administration and strategy. Under Greg’s partnership with Artistic Director Ashley Wheater, the Joffrey has set new records at the box office and built the strongest financial foundation in its history. 

His 2013 appointment was the culmination of three decades of work in arts administration and philanthropy. “I always loved art, but I wasn’t a great artist,” he says. “I could paint by numbers, or I could connect the dots. I realized early on I was a good dot connector. I could connect people to each other and help them get involved with the things they believe in.” 

As a child in suburban Chicago, Greg ran a makeshift theater out of his garage and sold more mints than anyone else for his local YMCA. And as an adult, he turned those passions into a career raising funds for the cultural organizations he loves. At the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, where he rose to the role of Deputy Director and Chief Development Officer; and WTTW/WFMT, where he served as COO, Greg dedicated himself to supporting art and artists and to creating meaningful experiences for others. 

“The Joffrey brings it all together for me,” he says. “It’s about collaboration, partnership with the community, honoring and supporting artists, and telling stories that truly move people.”

Today, Greg leads the Joffrey’s efforts to support unforgettable productions and new commissions, reach out to organizations and communities across Chicago, and open up world-class ballet for audiences from all backgrounds. Greg serves on the Board of Trustees for Dance/USA, currently acting as Council Chair for the Managers’ Council for Large Budget Organizations, while staying an active member of the Chicago cultural community, volunteering for a wide range of nonprofit organizations and civic committees.  These include Enrich Chicago, Forefront, and the UIC Chancellor’s Leadership Board, as well as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Fashion Committee, the UIC Visiting Committee—College of Architecture and the Arts, Terra Foundation’s Art Design Chicago Advisory Committee, and Choose Chicago. Greg also serves as a State Street Commissioner.

Julie Nakagawa

From Evanston, Illinois, Julie Nakagawa was a featured dancer with Christopher D’Amboise’s Off Center Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, and Twyla Tharp Dance. Returning to Chicago upon her retirement from dancing, she has been especially interested in the development of dance artists and their related artistic collaborators. At the invitation of Lou Conte, Julie joined the staff of Lou Conte Dance Studio in January 1994 and rose to the position of Associate Director. In addition, she led Hubbard Street 2 from its inception in 1997 through February 2007 as the artistic director of the second company of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, nurturing young dancers and establishing the National Choreographic Competition to provide creative opportunities for emerging dance makers. A sought-after teacher, Julie has taught classes for dance studios, university programs, and companies, nationally and internationally. She has served as a member and officer of the Board of Trustees of Dance/USA, has engaged as a mentor in Dance/USA’s Institute for Leadership Training, and has served as a panelist for numerous peer review panels including the National Endowment for the Arts. The Chicago Foundation for Women’s Asian American Leadership Council has honored Julie for her work in the creative arts. Julie is a Co-founder and Artistic Director of DanceWorks Chicago, an artistic incubator focused on the holistic development of young creatives. 

Malik RobinsonMalik Robinson is the Executive Director of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD), a not-for-profit cultural arts institution based in Denver, Colorado.  As an internationally recognized arts organization, CPRD has served as a leader in preserving the rich heritage of legendary American modern dance choreographers.  The organization is also distinguished for its arts-in-education and arts advocacy work.  In his role, Malik directs a small administrative staff with an operational budget of $1.3M. 

During his tenure with CPRD, Malik was intricately involved in coordinating the Annual International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference hosted by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance in 1999, 2009 and 2016.  He was responsible for securing award-winning international tours to Israel, Italy and Egypt for the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (CPRDE).  As the booking manager for CPRDE, Malik successfully secured funding from national foundations for new work creation and tour support.  He also booked and managed national tours to an average of 15 cities annually. 

As the primary funds developer for CPRD, Malik worked across sectors to develop partnerships that helped sustain and grow the organization.  He was also the CPRD lead in forming the partnership with the Denver Housing Authority in the acquisition of $20M grant award from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The grant supported the redevelopment of dilapidated housing that formerly surrounded the organization.  Under his direction, CPRD has evolved into an anchor cultural institution and destination for dance in Denver with more than 25,000 visitors annually.

Malik’s dedication to education and the arts led to the creation of the after-school program Aye (Yoruba for “Life”), developed to serve high-risk youth in northeast Denver.  Through partnerships with the Aurora and Denver Youth Probation Departments, the project served an average of 125 teens per year.  In 2015, Malik lead efforts to forge the Bachelor in Dance program in partnership with Metropolitan State University of Denver. The dance major is the first offered by any institution of higher learning in Denver.

Malik serves on several boards and committees including the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District Inclusivity Fund Committee which is charged with developing the criteria for a $9M fund designed to increase cultural equity among Denver’s marginalized communities.  He also serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Blacks in Dance, Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, Denver School for the Arts Friends Foundation, and is a Dance/USA Trustee. Malik is a Leadership Denver graduate, Livingston Fellow, and Association of Performing Arts Professionals Fellow.  Malik earned his B.A. in African Studies from Regis University. 

Malik is the son of Tom and Cleo Robinson, and he is married to Olga Gonzalez with one son, Nez, and two daughters Ximalma and Xareni. 

Michael MedcalfWith over thirty years of arts related leadership, administrative, and practical experiences, Michael Medcalf continues to seek engaging, inspirational, and transformational educational and artistic opportunities where he can leverage his knowledge, skills and vast network to the benefit of the constituents and organizations that he serves.

Various leadership positions in not for profit and private sectors, but particularly in academia as the director of Alabama State University’s BFA/Dance Program, has prepared Mr. Medcalf to engage with a vast range of artistic, administrative, and managerial responsibilities confidently, fearlessly, and with success. In these positions, vision, collaboration, community engagement/responsiveness, commitment to advancing knowledge, and advocacy have been hallmarks of his tenure. 

In addition to his leadership skills, he has provided organizations with strong and proven administrative skills: developing fundraising plans, grant writing, the ability to proficiently use Google, Apple and Microsoft applications, documents and forms, engagement with a variety of social media platforms, website development, excellent typing skills, SMART goal setting, as well as the ability to develop program evaluation and assessment tools.

As a part of his on-going professional development, in the Spring of 2013, received a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. In 2016, he was awarded the Alabama State Council on the Arts’ Fellowship for Dance and was selected for leadership mentoring as apart of Dance/USA’s Dance Institute for Leadership Training.  Currently, He serves as the Vice-President/President Elect of the Alabama Dance Council, a statewide dance service organization, on the Next Generation Board of the International Association of Blacks in Dance and on the board of Cleveland Dance Movement located in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Medcalf has also contributed his time by serving on grant review panels for statewide arts service organizations such as the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council.

As a professional dancer, he has been a member and guest artist with numerous professional companies; Alfred Gallman’s Newark Dance Theatre (Newark), Ballethnic Dance Company (Atlanta), Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (Denver), Dancing Wheels (Cleveland), David Taylor Dance Theatre (Denver), Groundworks Dance Theatre (Cleveland), Kim Robards Dance (Denver), Lula Elzy Dance Theatre (New Orleans), Several Dancers Core (Atlanta), Ohio Dance Theatre (Oberlin), and Verb Ballets (Cleveland).  His own endeavors as founder/artistic director include the Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre (Cleveland) and the Greene/Medcalf Movement Project (Cleveland).  Currently, he develops solo and duet projects for the stage and camera for Michael Medcalf/INVENTIONS (Montgomery).

Rhonda GreeneRhonda Greene is executive director of Heritage Works, a Detroit-based cultural-arts organization with a mission to promote youth and community development through cultural traditions, arts and education. Her favorite work experiences include: coordinating the creation and installation of the International Underground Railroad Memorial (Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario); consulting on the audio tour for Kelly Ingram Park (Birmingham, AL) and National Black Arts Festival Folklife (Atlanta, GA); and interning for the Smithsonian Office of Folklife Programs (Washington DC). She is a graduate of Spelman College and Brown University. 

 Stephanie McKee-Anderson

Stephanie McKee-Anderson is a performer, choreographer, educator, facilitator and cultural organizer born in Picayune, MS and raised in New Orleans. She is the founder of Moving Stories Dance Project, an organization committed to dance education that provides opportunities for dancers and choreographers to showcase their talents. In 2007, she was awarded The Academy of Educational Development/New Voices Fellowship, an award for emerging leaders. For the past 20 years Ms. McKee has been involved with Junebug Productions as an artist and educator. Most recently she served as Associate Artistic Director of the first annual Homecoming Project 2011, a place-based performance project that addresses the Right of Return and what home means to communities in post-Katrina New Orleans. In 2006, Ms. McKee was one of ten artists who collaborated to create the original production, “UPROOTED: The Katrina Project,” co-produced by Junebug Productions. As an artist and cultural organizer, Ms. McKee is deeply committed to creating work that supports social justice and aligns with the FST and Junebug legacy.

Toni Pierce-SandsToni Pierce-Sands (TU Dance Artistic Director). Prior to co-founding TU Dance, Minnesota native Toni Pierce-Sands performed with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Tanz Forum in Germany, Rick Odums in Paris, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where she was a featured soloist in such signature pieces as Revelations. Toni has also appeared in the Twin Cities as a guest performer with Ragamala Music and Dance Theater, Shapiro & Smith Dance, VocalEssence, Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater, and Robin Steihm’s Dancing People Company. Her command of the Horton Technique has led to teaching posts throughout the United States and Europe. Toni directs programming and teaches classes at TU Dance Center in Saint Paul and at the University of Minnesota, where she is also the Director of University Dance Theater. Toni was awarded a 2004 McKnight Artist Fellowship in Dance, named the Sage Awards’ “2011 Outstanding Dance Educator” and recognized with a 2013 Links Emerald Service Award for service in the arts. She was recently named as a 2015 USA Fellow, receiving this year’s Knight Fellowship in Dance together with TU Dance co-founder Uri Sands. 

2018 Mentees

Cheryl DelostrinosCheryl Delostrinos is a Filipino American born and raised in Seattle. She is one of the co-founders of Au Collective. Delostrinos began her training at Kathy’s Studio of Dance, The Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Cornish College of the Arts. She has had the privilege of studying with the American Ballet Theater, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, ARC Dance Productions, the American Dance Festival, Doug Varone and Dancers, and the Alvin Ailey School in New York. In 2013, she graduated with a B.A in Dance from the UW and was awarded the Evelyn H. Green endowed scholarship for artistic merit and promise. As a professional movement artist, she has worked with Prism II under the direction of Sonia Dawkins, the Chamber Dance Company under the direction of Hannah Wiley, and collaborated and toured with the Pat Graney Company. Delostrinos has presented many works for festivals and events in Seattle and New York, including The CHIN Project at the 92ndst Y, the NW New Works Festival, SAM Remix, and the Beacon Hill block party. She is a cultural worker and movement educator with SAAS, Arts Corps, Yesler Community Center, and Coyote Central.  Delostrinos has devoted her life to creating and fostering art spaces that are accessible to marginalized communities.  She believes that art in not a privilege, it is a right. She passionate about creating a platform for the youth to access 

David Kim Warburton

David Kim Warburton (김모세) is the Director of Touring and Business Development for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB), Canada’s oldest premiere ballet company. He is responsible for the company’s overall tour strategy, including national and international touring, guest engagements, and events. He is chair of the Shows Group, a planning group responsible for all upcoming seasons, tours, and special projects. As a member of the senior staff, he is directly involved with the organization’s operational affairs, such as government relations, strategic planning/renewal, collective agreement negotiations, budgets, and policy. 

Warburton represents the RWB on the Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA), the Canada-China Joint Committee on Culture, the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), and Dance USA. He has successfully led the RWB in developing new and existing relationships with presenting partners and key stakeholders, effectively growing the company’s performance opportunities and presence abroad. He has also led the RWB to increase its participation within its respective peer group to further help support artists and other dance institutions. 

Previously, Warburton has experience as a company manager, production manager, technical director, and production stage manager in the areas of theatre, dance, and music. He has worked with such organizations as Electric Company Theatre, Boca Del Lupo, American Conservatory Theater, The Virtual Stage, Vancouver Playhouse, Shadbolt Centre, Theatre Under The Stars, and the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.  He has also worked closely with the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Parks Board, and Live Nation Entertainment on special events and concerts.

In 2015, Warburton co-created the national award-winning play SANGJA, closely inspired by his adoption story and his search to find his birth family. The play premiered in Seoul and has since twice toured throughout Korea and Canada. SANGJA will be remounted in Korea in the summer of 2018. He has been invited to guest speak about his work and experiences as an international transracial adoptee in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Seoul.

DeMar Walker

DeMar Walker is one of the Associate Artistic Directors of Ko-Thi Dance Company and Ton Ko-Thi Children’s Performing Ensemble.  He is responsible for teaching, training, and choreographing for both ensembles. Since becoming a member in 2010, his performance credits include: “Words from the Sole”, “The Sweet Grass Project”, “IMANI: A Tribute to West Africa”, & “VIBRATIONS: Rhythmic Motion”.  He is trained in Hip Hop/Street, West African, & Afro-Caribbean techniques. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Theatre Arts from the University of Central Arkansas where he performed in the following productions: “Answers”, “The Threepenny Opera”, “The Story”, and “The Colored Museum”.

He is a two-time participant of the apprenticeship program Public Allies Milwaukee and three-time recipient of the Danceworks Intensive Study Scholarship receiving training in ballet, contemporary, & hip hop techniques. He has also received rave reviews from local publication for his works “To the Morning”, “Solemn Games”, “YIN/YANG” , “The Beckoning” & the musical “Black Nativity”. He is an original cast member of the theatre production “PIECES: In My Own Voice” which focuses on raising mental health awareness in the African American community.

Since 2014, DeMar has been an Associate Artist/Lecturer in the Peck School of the Arts/Department of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

With a passion for service & advocacy, the Milwaukee native has worked at various non-profit organizations including Cardinal Stritch University’s Lifetime Learners Program, Social Development Commission, and the Free & Community Clinic Collaborative.  He also serves as an adult basic education tutor for Literacy Services of Wisconsin. In 2017, he was selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of Campaign for Black Male Achievement’s Building Beloved Community Leadership Fellowship to increase capacity around local & national civic work for Black men & boys.

DeMar plans to pursue graduate studies with an emphasis on Black dance theory and its societal impact on communities throughout the African Diaspora.

DeMarcus Suggs

A Twin Cities, MN native, DeMarcus Akeem Suggs is an artist, administrator, and agent of change. He began his professional dance training under the tutelage of Katharyn Horne, Maryann Mee, and the late Marcus Sherman. He continued his studies at Masterworks Festival and the USA International Ballet Competition & School. In 2011, he received his B.F.A. in dance from Belhaven University where he was a full-tuition scholarship recipient. While at Belhaven, DeMarcus was selected for the 2009 Bezalel Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement and was also a member of TALK Dance Company with whom he toured internationally. Upon graduation, Mr. Suggs joined Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), where he danced for three consecutive seasons.

During his time with the company, he was honored by his colleagues with the Josephine (JOSIE) Schwartz Award for his pursuit of artistic excellence both on and off the stage. He has been featured as a guest artist with Brown Dance Project, Masterworks Festival, Dayton Ballet, and most recently, Neos Dance Theatre. Meanwhile, his choreographic works have been performed by Stivers School for the Arts, Sangre de Cristo Ballets, the Dance Department of Ohio Northern University, and both DCDC’s professional and pre-professional companies.

DeMarcus has been recognized for his passion for maximizing the effectiveness within organizations and their impact on communities in which they serve. He has gained invaluable professional experience through his work with The Victory Project, Victoria Theatre Association, and Neos Dance Theatre where he currently serves as Director of Education and Outreach. In his current position, Mr. Suggs spearheads the organization’s newest endeavor: Neos Center for Dance, a comprehensive dance training institution in Oberlin, OH.

Kayla Hamilton
Kayla Hamilton is an artist, producer, and educator originally from Texarkana, Texas and now reside in Bronx, NY. Kayla earned a BA in Dance from Texas Woman’s University and an MS Ed in Special Education from Hunter College. She is a member of the 2017 Bessie-award nominated cast of the Skeleton Architecture, the future of our world’s curated by Eva Yaa Asantewaa and that same year won the Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer with Skeleton Architecture. In addition to Skeleton Architecture, Kayla dance with Sydnie L. Mosley Dances and Gesel Mason Performance Projects, teach master classes around the United States, and the recipient of Angela’s Pulses’ Dancing While Black 2017 Fellowship. Under the name K. Hamilton Projects, Kayla self-produced numerous projects over the last ten years including the sold-out Nearly Sighted concert at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, organize community events, and write arts integrated curriculum throughout NYC. When Kayla is not dancing, she’s a special education teacher at the Highbridge Green School who loves to watch Law and Order on Hulu while sipping on peppermint tea.

Kim Savarino

Kim Savarino is a Brooklyn-based artist. Her work is based in inquiries of continuous motion and the creation of space for sustained questioning, and her artistic and administrative practices are rooted in a commitment to anti-racism, equity, and advocacy.   

Savarino joined Third Rail Projects as a company member in 2014. She currently performs leading roles in their critically acclaimed immersive production, Then She Fell, and is an Assistant Producer for their newest immersive work, Behind the City. 

In addition to performance, Savarino works as the Program Associate at the MAP Fund, supporting artists and facilitating MAP’s annual grant cycle, and advocates for dance as co-chair of the Dance/NYC Junior Committee. She co-organizes an ongoing monthly gathering of Asian identity activists, artists, and advocates—established in May of 2017—that developed out of anti-racism trainings through the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. 

Savarino graduated with a BFA in dance, Summa Cum Laude with honors, from Florida 

State University, and trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. She is Chinese-Sicilian-Appalachian-American and a proud member of Alternate ROOTS, and makes dance films at @kasavvy. She was born in Southern California and raised in West Virginia. 

Marc Brew
Acclaimed International choreographer and AXIS Artistic Director Marc Brew trained as a professional dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and The Australian Ballet School. He has been working in the UK and Internationally for over 20 years as a director, choreographer, dancer, teacher and speaker; with the Australian Ballet Company, State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa, Infinity Dance Theatre, Candoco Dance Company and AXIS Dance Company. Marc was Associate Director with Scottish Dance Theatre, Associate Artistic Director with Ballet Cymru in Wales and was Associate Artist at Tramway Theatre in Glasgow. Since 2008 Marc dedicated time to his own choreography with Marc Brew Company and his recent choreographic commissions include Scottish Ballet, Ballet Cymru, YDance, AXIS Dance Company (USA), Candoco Dance Company (UK), Touch Compass (NZ), Amy Seiwert’s Imagery (USA), GDance, Scottish Dance Theatre, Greewnwich & Docklands International Festival and City of London Festival (UK). Marc was featured by Time Out Magazine as the best of the new breed of London’s Rising Dance Talent and was presented with a Centenary Medal for Outstanding Contribution as a dancer and choreographer. His work Remember When was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Best Performance (individual) and his recent solo work For Now, I am… was listed in the Guardians Top 10 Dance Shows for 2016. For more information visit: www.marcbrew.com

Niya Nicholson

Niya Nicholson is dedicated to intersectional and equitable social justice work within the arts field and beyond. As a budding arts leader and creative entrepreneur, her work centers long-range strategic planning, fundraising, and policy-based advocacy within the nonprofit sector. Her fervor for the arts was cultivated by former dance educational studies at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and her B.A. from Vassar College with concentrations in Psychology, Africana Studies, and Educational Studies, coupled with educational, legal, and performance research in Chicago, Cuba, and South Africa. 

Niya serves Gibney and MOVE(NYC) as a development professional and is Co-Chair for the 2017-18 Dance/NYC Junior Committee, founding its first Mentorship Program. Additionally, Niya is the founder and steering member for Gibney’s Equity Action Committee, and a member of the inaugural Dance/NYC 2018 Symposium Programming Committee and Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Harassment. With her skillset, Niya also supports artists and emerging companies with freelance development, branding, and programming services. 

She is proud to be a 2018-19 Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training mentee and to serve the dance field as a panelist for The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ FY19 Cultural Development Fund. Niya is the recipient of the inaugural Vassar ALANA Exemplary Commitment to the Arts award, and presented artistic work at the Black Girl Project 2015 Sisterhood Summit: “When We Free: Black Women, Girls & Emotional Emancipation!” and at the “Cosmic Possibility in Black Speculation” 2016 conference at Vassar College. 

Niya looks forward to continued arts advocacy, communal building, connections to ancestry and space, and shaping the arts and cultural sector in her native New York City and beyond. 

Stephanie Bastos

Daughter of Bernadette Chaves Nunes and Aluizio Ribeiro Bastos, Stephanie Bastos started her performance career as a child with the Miami Ballet and in her teens, became one of the founding members of the internationally acclaimed Isadora Duncan Dance Ensemble of Miami, FL directed by Andrea Seidel and featured in Isadora Duncan Dance and Repertory by Princeton Book 

Company. As a pre-professional, she was awarded scholarships to train at American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow and Bates Dance Festival after losing her leg in a tragic car accident and subsequently retraining herself to dance with a prosthetic leg. Since then, she has received her BFA in Dance from New World School of the Arts and has been performing, touring and teaching Modern/ Contemporary Dance throughout the United States, Germany, Argentina and Brazil. She has trained with master teachers; Martha Mahr, Thomas Armour, Andrea Seidel, Julia Levien, Peter London, Donald McKayle, Chuck Davis, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Reginald Yates, Tania Santiago and Mestre King among others. Winner of the 2011 San Francisco 

“Izzies” Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance Ensemble with Ase West Dance 

Theater Collective, she has also worked with the Urban Bush Women, Axis Dance Company, Deep Waters Dance Theater, Aguas Da Bahia and Ron Brown’s/ EVIDENCE as a guest performer for the “Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth”, Soundsuits exhibit at Yerba 

Buena Center for the Arts, SF. Her teaching credits include FSU/World Dance Festival, American College Dance Festival, ODC in San Francisco and various schools and arts organizations throughout the Bay Area in California, including Destiny Arts Center and Youth In Arts/ VSA. She is grateful to have her first original solo, Timeline, directed and co-choreographed by best friend, Leymis Bolaños Wilmott, awarded as the first EDGE artist- in- residence for Counterpulse, San Francisco and most recently presented it with Sarasota Contemporary Dance in Florida. 

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