Registration: Arts Center Lower Lobby

Registration- Arts Center Lower Lobby

Registration: Arts Center Lower Lobby

As Artistic Director of Angier Performance Works, D. Chase Angier creates and performs site-specific performances, performance installations, dance-theater, and walking performances. These intuitively driven works are created in collaboration with dynamic artists in the visual arts, performance, music, theater and dance; and have been performed internationally (Japan, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, The United Kingdom) and nationally in theaters, galleries, and visually inspiring sites. Angier lives and works in both Brooklyn, NY and in Alfred, NY. She is a Dance Professor at Alfred University where she has developed a dance program based on dance composition, creative place making and interdisciplinary performance. Angier received her MFA in choreography from The Ohio State University and her BA in dance from UCLA. angierperformanceworks.com

• Art in the Age of Great Ecological Shifts

• Int. Street Jazz and Commercial Dance
• Int./Adv. Musical Theatre Dance
• Teaching Techniques for young children in the Classroom and Studio

Stephanie Beauchamp is a dance artist based in Jersey City, NJ. She has been teaching dance, somatics and fitness for 25 years and currently is on faculty at New Jersey City University. Past teaching positions include Raritan Valley Community College (Adjunct Associate Professor and Interim Director of Dance) and Texas Woman’s University (Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance), for which she was twice nominated for Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Her choreographic work has been presented all across the country and as a teaching artist, she has held residencies in universities and schools in Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Connecticut and Massachusetts. She has performed with experimental improvisation group Accidental Movement (directed by Mariangela Lopez), with Lacy/Shade Danceworks, and in her own work, which often includes Nancy Hughes.  She holds teaching certifications from IM=X Pilates, The Yoga Institute of Houston, and Lakshmi Voelker Chair Yoga, and received her M.F.A. in Dance from Texas Woman's University and her B.F.A. in Dance from The University of Texas at Austin. 

• Eyes Closed Improvisation
• Deep Stretch Pilates

Allison Bohman is an adjunct lecturer of dance at The College at Brockport, State University of New York and Nazareth College. She has also been on faculty at Colgate University and TASIS (The American School in Switzerland). Allison received her MFA in dance from The College at Brockport and is a certified New York State educator in grades 1-6, special education and dance k-12. She attended SUNY Geneseo for her undergraduate studies. Her choreographic work has been featured in the Vision of Sound New Music and Dance Festival throughout New York State, the STEPS on Broadway performance lab in New York City, and at the Eastman Kodak Theater in Rochester, NY in collaboration with Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Allison is currently the administrative assistant for New York State Dance Education Association and has been an associate editor of Attitude: The Dancers’ Magazine.  

• Ballet (Intermediate)
• Children’s Dance Workshop

Jill Collins PT, DPT received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy degree from Nazareth College. She is an adjunct professor at Nazareth College in the Physical Therapy department, assisting with their orthopedic therapy course. She has received her training in classical ballet and modern primarily from Nancy Burhyte and the Shenandoah Conservatory.

Susanne Callan-Harris, PT, MS, CLT holds a MS degree in Physical Therapy from Boston University and a BS in Biology from St. John Fisher College of Rochester, and received dance training at the Botsford School.  In addition to being the proprietor of CHPT, Sue is on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, where she teaches the Keys to Healthy Music class and is an Arts Leadership Mentor. 

Caroline McBride, PT, DPT, holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Northeastern University in and a BA in Botany from the University of Maine. Caroline presented research on the injuries of modern dancers in conjunction with the Analysis of Dance and Movement Center, and will at the 2015 International Association of Dance Medicine and Science annual conference and APTA Conference.

Elyssia Primus, SPT is in her final semester at Nazareth College’s Physical Therapy program and will receive her DPT degree this May. Elyssia is a graduate of Rochester’s School of the Arts and has danced many different styles, from modern and contemporary to salsa and flamenco.

• The Dancer’s Foot: An Interactive Session on Building and Preserving Your Best Foundation

Tammy Carrasco is a dance artist originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She received her BFA in Contemporary Dance from University of North Carolina School of the Arts and MFA from The Ohio State University. She has studied with Bebe Miller, Susan Rethorst and Nancy Stark Smith, among many others. Her work has been presented at Movement Research at Judson Church, Gowanus Art and Production, Greenspace, OhioDance Festival, Rochester Fringe Festival at Geva Theatre, and Philadelphia’s Performance Garage. Carrasco is Artistic Director of Rochester, NY- based company, WILD BEAST DANCE and spends summers as Lead Dance Instructor at North Carolina Governor’s School East. Carrasco is Assistant Professor at The College at Brockport where she teaches contemporary modern technique, ballet, improvisation and choreography to undergraduate and graduate students.

• Partnered Contemporary Technique

PARVATHA CHIDAMBARAM is the artistic director of 'Bharata'- a 15 year old School of Indian Classical Dance and Music in Rochester NY. She underwent 11 years of rigorous training in Bharata Nrityam and Carnatic Music (South Indian Classical dance and music forms) and graduated in theory, practical, teacher’s training and nattuvangam (playing the cymbals) courses. Since then she has been actively performing both in solo and group productions in the US and India. In order to bridge the gap between theory and practice, Parvatha has developed her own pedagogy and trained many students to spread the knowledge of these beautiful art forms amongst the younger generations in the US who grow up with different cultures. Contact info: bharataarts@gmail.com, email: parvatha_14534@yahoo.com.

• Aesthetic experience (RASA)- In the eyes of an Indian artist

Founded in 2011, Bryn Cohn + Artists is a New York-based contemporary dance company known for their ferocious physicality, risk-taking worlds, and emotional performances. Hailed as “groundbreaking, primal, graceful, flowing effortlessly, surreal and supernatural” (Brooklyn Buzz), the company has presented work in premiere venues including Danspace Project at St. Marks Church, The 92nd Street Y, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, The Los Angeles Theater Center, Dixon Place, The Martha Graham Theater, Judson Memorial Church, The Center for Performance Research, The Theatre at Meydenbauer, Abrons Arts Center, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Salvatore Capezio Theater, Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, Triskelion Arts, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and in collaboration with the contemporary art galleries Foley Gallery and Castle Fitzjohns on two site-specific performance series. The company has received awards and funding including The Alfred Z Solomon Charitable Trust, SILO Residency through Dance Now and The Emerging Artists Residency through The Field.  BC + A has been invited to perform in ReverbDance (both in New York and in the Boston Echoes Tour), Dance Now, Chop Shop (Seattle) WestFest, Split Bill Series (Triskelion Arts), Stuffed, Pentacle’s Fall Farther, Upstart, Underexposed, and Young Choreographers dance festivals among others. The company has engaged in educational residencies and master classes at California Institute of the Arts, City Ballet Los Angeles, Peridance Capezio Center and Chop Shop Dance Festival among others.

Described as a “dancemaker who does not shy away from much” (DIY Dancer), Cohn has been commissioned to create original works for Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Billy Bell’s Lunge Dance Collective (formerly of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet), Grand Valley State University, California State University, Fullerton, The Pushing Progress Contemporary Training Program, Bayonne High School, the fashion designer Betsey Johnson on a site-specific installation and The Youth America Grand Prix.  She is on permanent faculty Peridance Capezio Center and The Pushing Progress Contemporary Training Program, and directs the modern department at Greenwich Ballet Academy.  Cohn has participated in master educational engagements at Gibney Dance (NYC), Loyola Marymount University (CA), Broadway Dance Center (NYC), CAPAS (NYC), Bayonne High School (New Jersey) and for the Michael Susten Dance Company (NYC). She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in dance from California Institute of the Arts in dance performance and composition.

• Contemporary Mechanics
• Improvisational + Partnering Strategies
• Compositional Tools

Derek Crescenti is a dance and teaching artist currently living in New York City. A Michigan native, he received his BFA from the University of Michigan in 2011. As a performer he has worked with choreographers Nejla Yatkin, Gierre Godley, David Parker and danced with Spectrum Dance Theater/Donald Byrd in Seattle from 2011-2014. He currently dances with Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company and is a member of Randy James’ 10 Hairy Legs. Other training includes San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Merce Cunningham Studio and the American Dance Festival. As a teaching artist, Derek has taught master classes at numerous schools and organizations including: University of Michigan, Youth America Grand Prix, Spectrum Dance Theater, Young Audiences Arts for Learning, and abroad in Nepal, Bangladesh and Siri Lanka.

• Donald Byrd Contemporary

Paige began her dance training in Beacon, New York. She holds a BS in Business Administration from SUNY at Buffalo and a MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling Psychology from Antioch University. She has danced with Ballet, Jazz, and Modern/Contemporary companies throughout her career. Zodiaque Dance Company, West End Jazz, Lexington Dance Collective, The Next Stage Project, ASEID Contemporary Dance to name a few. Paige has performed and taught both nationally and internationally. She is Adjunct Faculty at Nazareth College teaching Ballet, Modern, and Dance Performance/Repertoire. Paige is also the Artistic Director of Valley Contemporary Dance Company, which earned an Orange County Arts grant in 2010 and 2014. Her choreography has been seen at The Bardavon Opera House, The Ulster County Performing Arts Center, The Brooklyn Lyceum, LaTea Theater, The New Rose Theatre, Nazareth Arts Center, and Merce Cunningham Studios.

• Barre Conditioning

Jody C. DeLoria is currently on faculty as an adjunct dance instructor at SUNY Geneseo. She is owner/director of Jody B’s Studio of Dance (2003), Penfield, NY. She received a BA degree from SUNY Brockport where she majored in dance and psychology. Jody is currently pursuing a Master's in Fine Arts degree in dance at Peck School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

• Musical Theatre-Tap

Stephanie Fittro played Anybody's- on and off for ten years in West Side Story directed by the Emmy Award-winning Alan Johnson, who was dance captain of the original Broadway company. She also was fortunate to be taught by the late great Mr James Jamieson, Agnes de Mille's sword dancer, advisor and dear friend (Brigadoon)as well as Tonda Hannum who worked with Ms. DeMille in the revival of Oklahoma in the the 70's; and other master teachers such as Susan Dibble of Shakespeare and Company and Master Limon Teacher Jim May. This combined with her strong ballet background led her to search for the line between the natural and the technical in theatre dance

• Jerome Robbins/Agnes DeMille Workshop-”Dancing as Acting”
• Rhythm and Story Workshop

Daniel Gwirtzman - producer, director, educator, filmmaker and dancer--celebrates twenty-one years as a New York choreographer and company director. His diverse repertory has earned praise for its humor, stylistic versatility, musicality, charisma and accessibility. “A flair for the entertaining,” says writer Elizabeth Zimmer. “Mr. Gwirtzman does know that in dance less can be more. And that’s a good thing for any choreographer to know” writes The New York Times. The New Yorker describes him as a choreographer of “high spirits and skill.” His choreography has been performed at venues throughout the country and abroad. He has been awarded commissions, residencies and fellowships from institutions including the Joyce Theater Foundation (NY), The Yard (MA), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (MA), Djerassi Resident Artists Program (CA), Sfakiotes (Greece), Raumars (Finland) and the Sacatar Foundation (Brazil). A master teacher, Gwirtzman has worked at numerous universities and is currently an Assistant Professor of Dance at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta. Daniel holds degrees from The University of Michigan and The University of Wisconsin. He danced in the companies of Garth Fagan Dance and the Mark Morris Dance Group among others, and co-founded Artichoke Dance Company in 1995, which The New York Times called “a welcome addition to the New York dance scene.” As a dancer he has been described as a willowy John Travolta, sensual, playful, a rag doll, unusually supple, and one who moves like the wind. Summer 2016 he will be in residence at the Maison Dora Maar in France and the Aktuelle Architektur der Kultur in Spain. 

• Choreographic Strategies For Making Dances Quickly
• Contemporary Partnering: The Oracle

Nancy Hughes--who grew up in Texas--lives in Buffalo, NY as a teacher, dance-maker and performer. Nancy’s dance work is often in collaboration with other artists. This has been seen at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Elmwood Festival of the Arts, and City of Night. She teaches improv and modern based dance classes and co-facilitates a regular contact improv jam in Buffalo. Nancy has taught and performed her work in such places as Portland Oregon, Colorado Springs and Paris, France. Companies for which she has performed include Suchu Dance, Alien Nation, and Anne Burnidge Dance. Nancy is influenced by the work of Nancy Stark Smith and the Underscore, and she co-coordinates the annual Global Underscore. Her work has received grants from Northampton Arts Council, Mollye and Kelly Maxner, Key Bank, and NYSDanceForce. She holds a certification in Pilates from Motion Studies, a Yoga certification from East Meets West Yoga, and a BA in dance from Texas Woman’s University.

• Pilates and Yoga
• Lifts and other Composition Techniques in Contact Improv

“Ms. Johnson, a captivating and virtuosic tap dancer, has incredible speed, subtlety, fully integrated upper body, and clarity, knowing when to take her time and when to surprise...clearly pays homage to the rich legacy, of which she is a part, while at the same time she keeps the form growing – by adding her own contributions to a tradition that prizes individuality. She is quite singular.” (AMERICAN COLLEGE DANCE FESTIVAL 2014, BALINDA CRAIG-QUIJADE, Professor of Dance, Kenyon College) Cheryl teaches Rhythm, Musical Theatre, and Classic Tap Dance at the College at Brockport, University of Rochester, and Nazareth College.

• Tap Dance Time Step “Boot Camp”
• Tap Dance Musicality

• Hip Hop Class

Vanessa is a recognized dancer, teacher and choreographer who currently co-directs the company DoubleTake Dance in NYC (www.DoubleTakeDanceCo.com). Featured twice in Dance Informa Magazine DTD has recently received several commissions: Rock that Rolls choreographic commission for Dancing Wheels in Cleveland, OH; HTChen New Steps residency NYC; Next Step commission and performance for JPAC NYC. Honored with a professional development scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Culture to study abroad, she later became the resident choreographer for the musical theatre production company Tela-Katola in Spain. Currently she dances and choreographs for DoubleTake Dance (SummerStage; NY Half Marathon, Ailey Theater; Carnival, Webster Hall; Gerald Lynch Theater, Dixon Place, Teatro la Tea, Teatro Madrid, Sala Triángulo), Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company.

She has performed as a dancer, model or actress for international brands and commercials with L OREAL, Heineken, Ameriprise, NYRoadRunners, Tag Heuer, Yahoo, Ursus Vodka, ́KDDance, Lush Cosmetics/Gorilla Perfumes, El Pais newspaper, channel Tele5, Fuse TV, X-Box/Kinect (Times Square with NeYo and Lady Sovereign) Fashion Center Arts Festival, One Truth, Dru Cutler and the Rachel Ray Show. Film credits include “The Ryde of Tom & Valkyrie”, & "Friends With Benefits" with Justin Timberlake (IMDB 2011)

Vanessa is passionate about her teaching career. Currently on faculty at Peridance Capezio Center and a Tap City Leader she’s been featured on CNN and NBC. Vanessa has also been a guest teacher in numerous studios around the world and she also teaches and judges at conventions around the USA.

Cameron McKinney, the Artistic Director of Kizuna 絆 Dance, creates work centered around the Japanese language and culture. He currently performs with Dante Brown/Warehouse Dance, Christal Brown/INSPIRIT, and Seymour Dance Collective. His work has been presented by the Let's Dance International Frontiers Festival in Leicester, UK, The Moving Beauty Series, Dixon Place, Bailout Theater, Triskelion Arts, and RAW: Brooklyn, among others. He has been commissioned twice by the LDIF Festival, by the Steffi Nossen School of Dance, The Moving Beauty Series, and SpectorDance Studio.

He created Loft Technique - a unique blend of house dance, street dance styles, and contemporary floorwork. He has taught a range of classes throughout NYC and teaches regularly at Williamsburg Movement and Arts Center. He has taught in four states, as well as internationally in Japan and the UK. He was on faculty the 2015 Southern Vermont Dance Festival, and was recently chosen as one of 10 promising emerging choreographers for Doug Varone's DEVICES Intensive.www.cameronmckinneydance.com

• Loft Technique

Stevie Oakes became enamored with dance at her first ballet performance while living in Amsterdam. Her serious study of classical ballet began soon after under the tutelage of Sandra Balestracci. After earning a degree in Chemistry and Kinesiology from the College of William & Mary, Oakes received her MFA in Dance from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. Living in New York City, she performed works by a diverse collection of artists, including Tere O'Connor, Gus Solomons, jr, Roseanne Spradlin and Gerald Casel. As a member of the team at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries in New York, Oakes combines her passions for dance and science as both educator and researcher. Oakes joined the dance faculty as an Assistant Professor at the College at Brockport in 2014, continuing her active performance, scientific, and pedagogical interests throughout the country.

• Contemporary Ballet

• Falling and Recovering-Limon Style Modern

Melinda Blythe Phillips is a native Rochesterian, teaching artist, and founding member of FuturPointe Dance. She has spent years teaching and performing at schools throughout upstate NY, at Rochester's Garth Fagan School of Dance, and she is a current member of the Hochstein School of Music and Dance faculty. Having most recently toured in the Bahamas, Melinda is eager to bring some sunshine to the bleak Rochester, NY skyline.

• Afro-Caribbean

Fidel Orrillo, born in Lima, Peru, studied with his Aunt Stella Puga in Trujillo, Peru. At age 13 he received a scholarship to the renowned “National School of Ballet” in Havana, Cuba, directed by Alicia Alonso. He then was offered a contract with the National Ballet of Cuba. Later he danced for 4 years in Ballet de Camagüey in Cuba.

Mr. Orrillo has danced in several companies in South America and the Caribbean as a guest and most recently was a Soloist in Ballet del Teatro Municipal in Trujillo, Peru and a Principal Dancer in Ballet National del I.N.C., Lima, Peru. While in Lima, he worked with Martin Padron who invited him to dance with him in Paris and later in Spain. Mr. Orrillo is also on staff at the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education, the official school of the Rochester City Ballet where he is also Ballet Master.

• Ballet Classical

Denise Purvis is founding member and Artistic Director of Shifting Velocity Dance Company in Cedar City, UT. In addition, she is Assistant Professor of Dance at Southern Utah University teaching ballet, modern, jazz and tap technique, composition, creative dance for children, and K-12 methods. Prior to joining SUU, she designed and directed the dance program for the Chesterfield County Specialty Center for the Arts at Thomas Dale High School in Chester, VA. From 2008 until 2012, Purvis danced with Starr Foster Dance Project in Richmond, VA, and she has consistently worked with various free-lance choreographers since 1999. A strong advocate of the arts and arts education, Ms. Purvis serves on the board of the Utah Dance Education Organization as higher education representative. Locally, she serves on the board of the Cedar City Arts Council as the dance arts representative. 

• Math, Meter & Tap Dance
• Auspicious Beginnings
• An Unlikely Courtship: Improvisation and Ballet

Mariko Yamada is a Rochester-based contemporary dance choreographer/dance artist. Originally from Japan, Yamada grew up in a musical family and later discovered dance as a young adult. She relocated herself to pursue her dance education in the US, studying at SUNY Potsdam for a BA and at The College at Brockport for an MFA. Currently she is serving as an adjunct lecturer at Nazareth College and The College at Brockport, sharing the joy of creative aspects of dance. Yamada's works have been presented in various venues in Rochester, including Rochester Fringe Festival, Baltimore, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and she hopes to continue to do so as she creates and brings her old works back to life. Often minimalistic yet subtly dramatic, her unique artistic voice resonates through tangible richness within simplicity.

• Choreography Exchange