Instructors & Choreographers

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Aaron Bantum is an actor, singer, and dancer from Stamford, CT. Aaron graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelors in Fine Arts. Aaron also graduated from LPAC in 2015. Broadway credits include: Finian’s Rainbow, Kinky Boots (pre-Broadway). Film credits include: Last Vegas (Jon Turtletaub, dir.), Carry Me Home (Peter Cousens, dir.), Demolition (Jean-Marc Valee, dir.) TV credits include: Law and Order SVU, A Gifted Man, Are We There Yet. Readings include: The Countess of Storyville (Donna Trincoff), Motown (Charles Randolph - writer, director), and Eve’s Turn (Johanna McKeon). Connecticut Repertory Theatre credits include: Grapes of Wrath (Gary English, Dir). Newsies (Christopher d’Ambroise, dir.) Aaron’s dance training is from Locust Performing Arts Center in Stamford, CT, under Jimmy Locust. Learn more about Aaron on Instagram.

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Sidra Bell is the founder of Sidra Bell Dance New York and a dancer, choreographer, and educator. She has been an artist in residence at the University of Oklahoma (Brackett Distinguished Visiting Artist Chair), a Visiting Lecturer and Artist in Residence at Harvard University, and an Adjunct Professor at Barnard College. Bell received a BA in History from Yale and an MFA in Choreography from Purchase College. She is the founder of the award-winning MODULE Laboratory. Bell has won awards for her work, notably a First Prize for Choreography at the Solo Tanz Theater Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, a National Dance Project Production Award from NEFA and a Creative Capital Wild Futures Award. In 2017 Mayor Thomas Roach named February 3 “Sidra Bell Day” in White Plains, NY. Her work has been seen throughout the United States and in Denmark, France, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, Slovenia, Sweden, Germany, China, Canada, Aruba, Korea, Brazil, and Greece. Bell has created over 100 works notably for Nevada Ballet Theater, Nashville Ballet, BODYTRAFFIC, Ailey II, The Juilliard School, Whim W'Him, Boston Conservatory at Berklee College, River North Dance Chicago, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Sacramento Ballet, Boulder Ballet, Motto Dans Kolectif Turkey among many others. Solo mainstage presentations and commissions of her dance company include The Met Museum, The Met Breuer, Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, The Aronoff Center Cincinnati, Emens Auditorium Indiana, Kungsbacka Teater Sweden, Vara Konserthus Sweden, One Dance Week Bulgaria, Chutzpah! Festival/The Dance Centre Vancouver, Gibney, The Wilson Center North Carolina, Manship Theatre Baton Rouge, Dance Theater Workshop, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, SteelStacks Pennsylvania, SummerStage Jackie Robinson Park NYC, Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre Pittsburgh, 92Y, Tanz Farm at The Goat Farm Arts Center, Bryant Park NYC, and The Egg Performing Arts Center. The company was lauded in the press as No. 1 in Contemporary Dance by the Pittsburgh Examiner in 2014 for The 2023-2024 Gibney Presents Season was curated by Gibney Center Artistic Director Nigel Campbell. ABOUT THE ARTISTS company has been in residence at Alloy Studios Pittsburgh, Kelly Strayhorn Theater Pittsburgh, Point Park University Pittsburgh, LevyDance San Francisco, LINES Ballet School San Francisco, Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, Dance Theater Workshop Studio Series, Stella Adler Acting Studios, Gibney, Arts Umbrella Vancouver, Ball State University, CUNY Dance Initiative at Hostos College and Lehman College, Vara Konserthus Sweden, SITE Stockholm, New Jersey Dance Theatre, Tisch Summer Dance Festival, Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, University of the Arts Philadelphia, Derida Dance Center Bulgaria, and PearlArts Pittsburgh. Bell was commissioned as the choreographer for the feature film "Test" set in San Francisco during the height of the AIDS crisis in 1985. Written and directed by Chris Mason Johnson (Frankfurt Ballet/White Oak Project), "Test" was awarded two grand jury prizes from Outfest. The film had many screenings at festivals worldwide, including The Seattle Film Festival, Frameline37 (San Francisco), Outfest (L.A.), Berlinale, and New York City Lincoln Center's NewFest. The movie enjoyed a theatrical release and was a New York Times Critics Pick. It is currently available on VOD, iTunes, and Netflix. Bell was the first Black female commissioned to create work for the New York City Ballet where she created works for film and the Lincoln Center stage (Fall Fashion Gala 2021). Her work was performed at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC for New York City Ballet’s engagement in May 2022. She was nominated for a Bessie New York Dance & Performance Dance (Outstanding Choreographer) for SUSPENDED ANIMATION for New York City Ballet. She was Bessie nominated once again as Outstanding Choreographer for the Gibney presented show IN | REP: Introspection. Recent features of her historical work at New York City Ballet include Essence Magazine, NY1, News12, Playbill, and Amsterdam News. She has also been featured in press outlets Town & Country, Cero Magazine, Meet the Dance Company Theater Development Fund, Good Company Cleveland WKYC, Dance Magazine, DancePulp, Home4Dance, BiT TV Bulgaria, Turkish TV, and CityLights Vancouver. As a solo artist she has held residencies at Yaddo (The Patricia Highsmith-Plangman Residency) & Djerassi Resident Artist Program with funding support from Yaddo Access Grants and University of the Arts Faculty and Academic Development Fund. Recently she performed in experimental durational events with acclaimed violinist Sita Chay at Joe’s Pub, Washington, D.C. 's Union Stage, and at the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. Upcoming projects include continued installments of her living archive and book project INSIDE | FORM, an action installation of ephemera, performance objects, documentary film, collaged media, and writings. She has been a featured guest speaker on numerous podcasts and at institutions for dance and theater. She was highlighted in an aired television feature on TODAY (NBC) “How choreographer Sidra Bell is blazing a trail for next generation" in June 2023.

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Kenny Bermudez is a hip-hop dancer born a raised in the Bronx, New York. Starting as a street performer, he was recruited by a crew; shortly after, competed on America's Best Dance Crew S.4 (Top4). From this moment on, Kenny has been performing on TV shows, Award shows, Movies, and tours with artists of multiple genre's of music. Till this day, Kenny is still an established working dancer based in New York out of Connecticut.

Guest Choreographer: Contemporary Dance

Following a successful performing career, including dancing in the films Across the Universe and Jaaneman, commercials, videos, and performances with pop artists Aaliyah, The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Usher, Eric and Lynne Mariani created a dance based curriculum for 2 prestigious universities in China: Hebei Art Institute and Shandong Art University. As a choreographer, Eric toured all over the U.S. and Germany, works with Carnival Entertainment, and most recently worked on The Thundermans for the Nickelodeon network. He is on faculty at Broadway Dance Center in NYC, holds a B.A. in Marketing, and is the Youth Artistic Director for the Brooklyn Dance Festival. Eric strongly believes the most interesting thing about every dancer is what they hold inside; their heartbreak, their triumph, and everything in between. It is his mission to see that developing young artists realize their worth, their voice, and their possibility!

Degrees & Certifications

• BA in Marketing

Hip Hop Instructor

Brandon is a New England-based choreographer, instructor and producer. His love and talent for Breaking, the first style of hip-hop dance, drew him to Tony Award-Winning Hartford Stage Company and the Breakdancing Shakespeare Program. After performing in several productions, he would go on to become the Program Choreographer. Brandon’s love and skill for teaching have led him to instruct classes in numerous universities, studios and workshops around the country. Students at Trinity College, Choate Rosemary Hall and his alma mater, Central Connecticut State University, have experienced and grown from his teachings. He continues to grow and share his knowledge of hip-hop through his instruction and choreography.

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Shane Farrell is a choreographer, dancer and educator from Providence, Rhode Island. His diverse dance training started at a family-owned dance school in North Providence, RI and continued at the Brae Crest School of Ballet – the official school of the State Ballet of Rhode Island – where he performed with the company from 2004-2008.

In 2009, Shane joined the Island Moving Company (IMC), a classically trained contemporary ballet company in Newport, RI. During his ten years at IMC, he performed in several national tours and two international tours to Kazakhstan. Shane danced in many amazing venues with IMC’s site-specific repertoire: Newport Nutcracker at Rosecliff Mansion, Dracula at Belcourt Castle, and Second Star To The Right: A Tale of Hook and Pan aboard the Oliver Hazard Perry tall ship. He has performed works by José Limón, Colin Connor, Maurice Causey, Kevin Jenkins, Rodney Rivera, Stephanie Martinez, Spencer Gavin Hering, Miki Ohlsen, Danielle Genest, Staycee Pearl, Scott Putman, Simona De Tullio and Mark Harootian. Shane has also performed in collaboration with Pasadena Dance Theatre (CA), Missouri Contemporary Ballet (MO), Owen/Cox Dance (MO), Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theatre (FL), Staycee Pearl Dance Project (PA), Houston MET (TX), and Samruk Dance (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and danced as a guest artist with companies throughout the northeast. Outside of the concert dance world, Shane has appeared on MTV’s Made, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, and the 2010 film Hachi starring Richard Gere.

As a choreographer, Shane’s work has been presented nationally and internationally, most notably at the Abay Opera House in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He has choreographed six world premieres for Island Moving Company (RI) and two original works for their 2018 and 2019 Newport Dance Festival summer intensive program to critical review. Writing for Motif Magazine, Mark Morin described Luminous (2013) as “raw...and passionately graceful...The suggestiveness and the musicality of Farrell’s choreography...make this piece a guilty sensual delight.” He has additionally choreographed original works commissioned by Wheaton College (MA) and Salve Regina University (RI).

Shane is a master teacher with educational experience at universities, ballet schools and elementary schools. Using a variety of pedagogical approaches, he has helped dancers of diverse backgrounds understand movement education. Please visit Shane's website for additional information and up-to-date news.

Dance Program Staff

Aidan Gibney is a New York City-based producer and director known for his dance-centric films, pushing the envelope of movement art. Along with media arts production, Gibney is a professional choreographer with credits including K-Pop’s BTS, Emawk, Ian Eastwood’s Young Lions, SHINSA The Collective, and much more. As one of NYC’s premier visual artists, Aidan is a lead photographer and filmmaker at the award-winning off-broadway show ‘Beyond Babel’. Aidan has worked in partnership with some of the entertainment industries best, including Casey Neistat’s 368, David Dobrik, Art Basel, B&H, Adobe, EA, and more. His works have been published throughout a wide range of articles ranging from ARTnews magazine to Dance Magazine and Dance Spirit magazine. Recent films include ‘do you wanna party with me?’, Emawk’s ‘ACOUSCOUS’ music video, Beyond Babel’s documentary series, and Rob Bynes ‘Rooted Kings’ to name a few.

Contemporary Dance Instructor

Caitlyn was born and raised in Connecticut where her passion for dancing would grow and flourish through all of the styles of dance she studied. Her first loves were jazz and tap which would eventually be accompanied by ballet, contemporary and hip hop. She went on to study at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro where she earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in dance and performance and was the captain of her dance team. During this time she expanded her repertoire with more styles such as breakin’, popping, and locking. Her love for performance and creating movement continued as she took classes in New York, North Carolina, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Connecticut. She began teaching and choreographing award winning hip hop routines for various studios and dance teams while also presenting her work on the stages of New York and Connecticut. She has danced for artists such as Kat Deluna, Flo Rida and Def Jam productions and has appeared on networks such as MTV2. She has been dancing and teaching for Double up Dance Company and their non profit, Gift of dance for the last eight years. She has been coaching and choreographing for the Fairfield University Dance Team while teaching and choreographing contemporary dance for the Sacred Heart University dance program. She has also been the head choreographer for ERA theater productions for the last two years. Creating movement for productions from In the Heights to The Wizard of OZ. She has been dancing for twenty nine years now with Thirteen years of experience in choreography and loving every minute of it. 

Degrees & Certifications

• Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance and Performance, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Dance Program Staff

Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Daisy Infantas is a strong, passionate individual that shares her love for the arts to others. Dancing at the age of 8, she learned how to dance primarily through Peruvian culture, which then became the bridge to learning all styles of Hip Hop/ Commercial Dance through various of well known dancers/choreographers such as Luz Frias, Bo Park, Rhapsody James, Luam, Ian Mckenzie, and more. She worked in many Hartford Stage productions such as Breakdancing Shakespeare, and Comedy of Errors (which was directed by a tony award winning director, Darko Tresnjak). She has appeared as a dancer in the upcoming film "In The Heights" (2020) directed by Jon M. Chu, and will appear in the upcoming movie "Hocus Pocus 2" as a primary dancer directed by Anne Fletcher!

Daisy has a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Hartford,and is currently a Registered Behavioral Technician: dedicated to improving the lives of people with developmental disabilities or other educational needs.

She is motivated to continue her passion with dancing and acting while being a teacher/mentor for younger generations.

Through her growth and accomplishments, she aspires to share and inspire the younger generation to pursue their goals and love for the arts. 

Tap Dance Instructor

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Sarah-Katarina (SKooJ CorE-O) brings her knowledge and talents to the Performing Arts with experience in performance, choreography, instruction, and adjudication. SKooJ’s organic approach toward movement created the Boston Community Dance Project (BCDP), a professional collective expressing their passion of story telling through contemporary and fusion movements. BCDP’s work can be seen at NYC Dance Week, Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, and our annual benefit show every August at Boston University! Her choreography and direction has also been featured on the HGTV series "Spontaneous Construction", NESN, The Dr. Oz Show, WayFair.com Commercials MTV. Her talents have also paired up with TedEX Boston/Philadelphia, New Balance, Broadway in Boston, LA’s own Club Jete, and Carnival Choreographer’s Ball Anniversary Show! Most recently SKooJ worked for artist Shoshana Bean as she choreographed the Closing Number of Brian Friedman’s The Main Event in New York City. SKooJ CorE-O entered the Music Video scene with choreographing for International Pop Artist Tamara Rodriguez, Pop/R&B Artist Erene, and Lucia Marie's House of Blues Tour! Other credits include “Digital Love” by Makio, “Dance With You” by Bad Rabbits ft. Clinton Sparks, "Stay With Me" Cover by Keith London “Medicine” by Jack Newsome and her own dance concept videos with McCarthy Visuals, Moonculture Films, 4ward Productions, and TOONTV. Most recently catch SKooJ choreographing for Ari B and featured in Pineapple Citi’s newest video “Rose Colored”. Lastly, SKooJ partnered up with Salty Bovine Films with setting artistry for their past three short films ADONIS, MOSDEN, and TRENT while most recently showcasing her acting talent in movies Basic Math starring Cameron Diaz, TED2 with Mark Wahlberg, and Patriots Day!

Sarah-Katarina (SKooJ CorE-O) has gathered all her adventures, journeys, and experiences to inspire thousands of movers around the world. Her heart will continue to mentor the next generation, build the industry, and spread movement to all. Make sure to check out her work and #FollowTheArtistry.

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Vivake Khamsingsavath (Vive) is a Laotian American dancer, teacher and choreographer from Brooklyn, New York. He studied dance at Binghamton University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Vive has toured across the globe teaching and performing. In 2012, Vive decided to focus his work in New York City where he has performed at notable venues including The Shed, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, Broadway at Bryant Park and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Vive has appeared on the Today Show, The View and Good Morning America. He was listed as one of the “Hottest Men in Dance” by The Huffington Post, featured in campaigns for The W Hotels, VISA, Nintendo and Sears. Vive served as choreographer for Hermes, The US Open, Bravo TV, Bloomingdales, PUMAxMaybelline, NARS Cosmetics, Lululemon and TNT’s “I Am The Night”. Vive is director at Dance United, an arts organization which provides cultural dance workshops to underserved public school across NYC. Vive is currently an artist at Battery Dance Company, an international touring company whose mission is to empower communities through dance. He is passionate about sharing the power of dance with others.

Company Guest Choreographer

Jesse Obremski, a native New Yorker, graduated from LaGuardia High School (2012) and The Juilliard School (2016), under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes, and has additionally trained at The Ailey School, Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, Jacob’s Pillow’s Contemporary Program, and Springboard Danse Montréal. Obremski, an Eagle Scout Rank recipient, Jadin Wong Dance Awardee (2016), Interview En L’air’s “Dancer to Watch” (2017), and Dance Magazine's March 2019 Dancer "On The Rise" has performed with Diversity of Dance, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Peter Stathas Dance, Wilder Project, Kate Weare Company, and a company member with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company (2014-2016 - while at The Juilliard School), Buglisi Dance Theatre (2016-present), WHITE WAVE (2017-present), has performed ensemble, soloist, and
principal roles with The Limón Dance Company (2016-2019), and is currently in his second year with Gibney Dance Company as an Artistic Associate (2018-present). Obremski has had the honor to perform for the Obama family at The White House as well as for the Olympic recognized FINA World Tournament in South Korea (2019).

Obremski has taught at Montclair State University, The University of Hawaii at Manoa, The University of Wyoming, Brigham Young University, Gibney Dance, LaGuardia High
School, MOVE(NYC) and is on faculty for The Limón Foundation and Diversity of Dance. Obremski has assisted in the staging of Limón’s Missa Brevis at The Juilliard School from 2015-2018 as well as staged José Limón’s Chaconne on MOVE(NYC) in 2018 and The University of Wyoming in 2019.

Obremski's choreography has been presented nationally and internationally including The New Prague Dance Festival, Battery Dance Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival, Dixon Place, The Juilliard School’s Choreographic Honors Showcase, Gibney Dance, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, and he has been commissioned for new creations by Diversity of Dance (NY), The University of Wyoming (WY), Fort Hamilton Joffrey Academy (NY), Sacred Heart University (CT), and Brigham Young University (UT). Obremski founded his company, Obremski/Works, in 2018 as an outlet for his choreographic work including his dance films. In 2019, his dance film No Words was selected and presented by HBO and Dance Film Associations at Lincoln Center, NY.

Irish Dance Ensemble Instructor

Pioneer/Oakwood Commons Res Hall Director

Allison O'Riordan was a competitive Irish dancer for sixteen years in the New England Region. She has been ranked regionally and competed at the Irish Dance World Championships several times in both solo and ceili dances.

For the past eleven years, Allison has been involved in the world of collegiate Irish dance. Starting at the Irish Dance Club at The Catholic University of America in 2011, she held the position of captain for four years and grew the club to twenty-five dancers. In addition to this, she oversaw the team’s choreography by creating fun dances and teaching ceili dances. These efforts helped propel the team at Catholic University to compete and place at several intercollegiate competitions at both Villanova and Dayton University.

Allison now has the pleasure of running the Irish Dance Team at Sacred Heart University. Under her direction starting in 2015, the team has won several awards at the college competitions including winning the Fun Number competition twice, winning first in every category in ceili dancing and as well as having several dancers win the Treble reel competition. She looks forward to the continued success of the Sacred Heart Claddagh dancers.

Degrees & Certifications

• Master's in Digital Media Production, Sacred Heart University
• Bachelor's in Media Studies, The Catholic University of America

Hip Hop/Commercial Dance Instructor

Jessica Robles is the Hip Hop/Commercial Dance teacher as well as the dance ensemble advisor here at Sacred Heart University. She was raised in Connecticut and has been dancing since the age of three. From the age of three to sixteen she trained in tap, jazz, ballet, and pointe. She then attended Sacred Heart University and became a member of the dance ensemble for all four years. Through Sacred Heart and the Connecticut dance community she developed a love for Hip Hop. Her junior and senior year she was elected onto the executive board for dance ensemble as the Vice President. Through her years at Sacred Heart University she choreographed multiple pieces that were performed in both the fall and spring ensemble showcases.

After graduating from Sacred Heart University in 2014 with a BS in psychology, Jessica went on to work at a psychiatric hospital in Westport. While working at the hospital she danced with a Hip Hop company entitled Megahurtz. During this time she also continued her training at Broadway Dance Center in New York City as well as local studios in Connecticut. In 2015 she competed at World of Dance with Megahurtz Dance Company in Boston, Massachusetts. She also appeared in local artist G. Brunot’s music video “Goosebumps”. She furthered her training by participating in multiple Hip Hop intensives with Ashley Anderson and David Beatz here in Connecticut. She also has numerous appearances in local choreographers dance production/concept videos on YouTube.

Jessica currently still works at the psychiatric hospital as a mental health worker, as well as at Sacred Heart University. She continues to train by taking classes in Connecticut, and at Broadway Dance Center, EXPG, and Ripley Grier studios in NYC. She teaches workshops here in Connecticut at local studios and choreographs for the both the dance ensemble and company here at Sacred Heart University. She is currently attending graduate school at Fairfield University to receive her masters in Mental Health Counseling. She plans to keep growing in the professional dance world as well as make sure she receives her education to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. No matter where or how, Jessica states that she will dance for the rest of her life because she simply can’t live without it.

Degrees & Certifications

• BS in Psychology, Sacred Heart University, 2014

Dance Program Staff

Emma Rosa, Cuban New Jersey native, is a professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher in various styles ranging from heels and hip hop to contemporary and tap. Emma is currently a backup dancer for popular Reggaeton artist Guaynaa and  has also performed live and in music video with other Latin artists including El Alfa, Sech, and Chimbala. Emma's live stage experience expands to performances with American music artists like Trey Songz, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Todrick Hall, and VH1 Love & Hip Hop’s Mariah Lynn as well as Tayla Parx's international We Need To Talk tour.

Emma was also a featured tap dancer and actress in Variety Life Production's off-Broadway show Midsummer: A Shakespeareance and the Public Hotel’s sold out Carmen: To Havana and Back. She was recently a dance athlete for Nike's Own The Floor campaign and has been a member of Maurice Cheatnut's tap company Dance Therapy, Theresa Stone’s contemporary fusion company AbstraKT BEINGS, and Shirlene Quigley’s heels crew Queendom.

Emma just completed her International Heels Expression Teaching Tour, traveling to 15 different cities including Paris, France and Milan, Italy. Right now, Emma teaches weekly sold-out classes at well-known NYC studios Brickhouse and SassClass and guest teaches at Peridance Center and Ailey Extension. She has also been a movement coach to emerging music artists including Mia Gladstone, Remi Lewis, Imani Rey, and more. Her main focus is to inspire movement expression for people of all levels and abilities through a focus on intuition, community-building, and unapologetic self-acceptance.

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Lexie Sahagian is originally from Long Island, where she grew up training in various styles of dance. After competing for many years, Lexie moved to NYC to continue her training. She completed the Professional Semester at Broadway Dance Center, where she trained from and/or assisted many well known choreographers such as Bo Park, Theresa Stone, Luam, Neil Schwartz, Keenan Cooks, etc. She is a member of AbstraKT Beings the Company directed by Theresa Stone, as well as Shinsa directed by Bo Park. Credits include Adidas, Amazon, Macy's, Heineken, America's Got Talent, Good Morning America, etc. Lexie has taught dance for over 10 years to all different ages and levels. Teaching and choreography credits include, Immersive shows “Limbo” and “B_tterland” directed by Bo Park, BDC Professional semester showcase, Brickhouse NYC, etc. Lexie looks forward to continuing to grow and learn while sharing everything she has learned along the way!

Dance Program Staff

Yoshito Sakuraba is the founding artistic director of Abarukas and an award-winning choreographer. Originally from Japan, Yoshito began his career in New York City and has expanded to presenting work in Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and nationally across the U.S. including Joyce Theater, BAM Fisher, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jacob's Pillow, Kaatsbaan, and McCallum Theater (Palm Desert Choreography Festival). He has received the Best Choreography Award at FINI Dance Festival in Italy, the Audience Award at Masdanza International Contemporary Dance Festival in Spain, and he's a winner of NW Dance Project's Pretty Creatives and Whim W'Him's Shindig. In addition to his company repertory, he’s been commissioned by numerous companies including Bayerisches Staatsballett (Munich), DAF (Rome), Lamondance (Vancouver), Louisville Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, Ballet Des Moines II, Litvak Dance, Levy Dance, Pony Box Dance Theater, Modas Dance, Kit Modus, Nimbus Dance, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, and Graham II. He seeks to inspire young artists in their artistic expression and has been invited to create works and teach at institutions such as Joffrey Ballet School, Alvin Ailey/Fordham University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Peabody at Johns Hopkins University, Marymount Manhattan College, Barnard College, DLNY, MOVE l NYC and Steps on Broadway Conservatory. Most recently he was commissioned by the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Michigan.

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Neil Schwartz had been dancing competitively since the age of seven. He has had the privilege and honor of working with actor Channing Tatum for Magic Mike, Girl Generation, Icona Pop for America’s Got Talent, and has been a lead in commercials for The Lottery, Simply Safe, and Mastercard which premiered at the 2020 Grammys. He has choreographed for artists such as ASTR, Kontravoid, Nuovo Testamento, Patriarchy, Wingtips and more. He is an international instructor who has taught in over 18 countries, an artistic director and currently teaches at the world-renowned Broadway Dance Center in New York. He is also a guest instructor at Brickhouse NYC, Movement Lifestyle and Millennium in LA. He has also had the honor to become part of the judging panel for World of Dance and Hit the Floor.

Guest Instructor/Choreographer

Natalie Stys is a New York City based dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Natalie holds an MA in Performing Arts Administration from New York University and a BFA in Dance from Shenandoah Conservatory, studying abroad at Balettakademien Goteborg in Sweden. She has further trained with Broadway Dance Center’s Independent program, Springboard Danse Montreal, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company/Hubbard Street Chicago, Broadway's Best Dance at the Growing Studio, and Dana Foglia Dance. Natalie has spent the past three years performing in National Tours with the physical theatre company, Catapult Entertainment (America’s Got Talent S8). Some other performance credits include: BalletNext, Vertical Shadows, Neville Dance Theatre, New York Jazz Choreography Project, “Trapus 11” at New York Live Arts, and “A Christmas Carol” (Crossroads Theatre Company). When not performing, she works as a guest teacher and choreographer throughout New York and New Jersey across all genres. Natalie focuses on developing technique, artistry, and style, working in both commercial and concert dance mediums.

Dance Company, Modern Dance and Dance Improvisation Instructor and Choreographer

Matthew Westerby is a New York-based choreographer originally from the UK. After his education at Laban (London), Westerby worked extensively with choreographer Thomas Small/Smallpetitklein before re-locating to the United States in 2005. He has since performed with choreographers including Nai-Ni Chen, Risa Jaroslow, Dusan Tynek, Jessica Gaynor, Peter Kyle, Sue Hogan, Tze Chun & Bronwen MacArthur. He established Matthew Westerby Company in 2009, now a non-profit organization. Westerby has also created original work for other companies - Covenant Ballet Theatre, Evolve Dance, the Hudson Guild Theatre Company, the Dancewave Companies and others. connection to music. He works as a dance educator throughout the New York City area, and has also taught at Laban (UK), Silesian Dance Theatre’s Summer Festival (Poland), the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance (Scotland), Naugatuck Valley Community College (Waterbury, CT), Artifact Dance Company (Tucson, AZ) and at Pima Community College (Tucson, AZ).

Dance Program Staff

Garet Wierdsma is a multidisciplinary artist from a small town in CT, and is the creator and director of Garet & Company. She graduated from NYU Tisch with a BFA in Dance in May 2021. Garet was selected as the Choreography Fellowship Recipient for Sacred Heart University in January 2022, and was selected for Young Choreographers Festival 2022 in NYC. Garet's work with Garet & Co. has been showcased in Dixon Place’s “8 in Show,” Emerging Artist Theatre's "New Work Series," and iKada Dance Company’s “Ko Da Fe." Garet believes that art changes the world and is passionately and actively working to be a generator of light.