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Calendar

Class list

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Master classes

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Modern Dance

Andrea Blesso has made a career of pushing the boundaries of dance and individual movement. As part of her exploration, she has performed underwater, through the air, 18 feet above the ground, with objects of transportation, video, technology, and outdoors on various land surfaces. Andrea has supplemented her training in ballet and modern dance with capoiera, acting, jazz, aerial dancing, hip hop, contact improvisation, release technique, acrobatics, and wushu - aspects of which she brings into her teaching and movement style. She has over 8 years of educator experience and has worked with a broad range of movers: beginners, athletes, disabled movers, non-dancers, and professionals. Andrea has led master classes at Colby College, Salem State College, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Harvard Business School, through Partners for Youth with Disabilities, the Yard, as well as private lessons at the Dance Complex and various dance studios in the area. Andrea has studied and performed with Bennett Dance Company, Turnpike Project, Falling Flight Project, EgoArt Inc, and Snappy Dance Theater among others.

Alissa Cardone, co-founder of Boston-based Kinodance Company, is an award winning choreographer and performer who has taught and toured nationally and internationally in Russia, Armenia, Belgium, France and Japan where trainings with Min Tanaka (Body Weather Farm), and research & performance engagements with 'Nijinski of Butoh' Akira Kasai were galvanizing. A core member of Paula Josa-Jones/Performance Works (1998-2003), she has worked with Victoria Marks, Ann Carlson, Elaine Summers, Yoshito Ohno and Nora Chipaumire among others. She brings more than ten years of experience to her teaching and has worked with beginning to advanced movers. On faculty at Longy School of Music from 2005-2008, she has been a guest artist at numerous colleges and universities across the Northeast - Connecticut College, Tufts, Keene State College (NH), Marlboro College (VT) - most recently at UCLA where she is receiving her MFA from the Department of World Arts & Cultures.

Kathryn Dunkel earned her BA in Dance from Hamilton College with a Minor in Anthropology. While at Hamilton, she studied with Elaine Heekin, Leslie Norton, and Bruce Walczyk. Katie is a graduate of the Trinity/La Mama program out of New York City, where she studied with Maureen Fleming, Tiffany Mills, and Lisa Race, among others. She has enjoyed teaching dance at schools & studios in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. Currently, Katie teaches at Dancers Workshop in Sudbury, MA, Ballet Arts Centre of Winchester, and Green Street Studios. Since moving to Boston, she has had the pleasure of performing work by choreographers and companies including: Audra Carabetta, Contrapose Dance, EgoArt, Inc., Mariah Steele, Danny Swain Dance Company, and WeberDance. An alumna of the Shared Choreographers Concert (2007) at The Dance Complex & the Emerging Artists Program (2009) at Green Street Studios, Katie has presented her own choreography in Cambridge, the Triskelion Arts Center in Brooklyn, and The Annex at La MaMa E.T.C. in New York City.

Cheri Opperman is a Founding Director of Green Street Studios in Cambridge where she currently teaches intermediate modern technique. Cheri has been performing, teaching and choreographing professionally for more than 20 years since receiving her BFA in Dance from the Boston Conservatory. As a member of Susan Rose’s DanceWorks she taught and performed extensively throughout New York and New England and guest taught at the Festival d’Arles, France.At DanceWorks studio she taught elementary through advanced level of modern technique and repertory. As a member of Concert Dance Company she performed in the works of Merce Cunningham, Mark Morris, Kei Ta Kei, Laura Dean, Lucinda Childs, Bebe Miller, Deborah Wolfe, Mark Dendy and many others, and taught company repertory and master classes on tour including the Colorado Dance Festival. Cheri taught at CDC’s School for Contemporary Dance modern and ballet technique, stretch and alignment and company repertory. Her work has been performed at Green Street Studios, The Dance Complex and Emerson Stage. Cheri has been on the dance faculty of Emerson College since 2000.Cheri’s teaching style focuses on breath, imagery, dynamic alignment and the pleasure of moving through space. She has a long association with musicians Anne Silverman and Jerry Bussiere, who accompany classes with live music.

Nicole Pierce is the Artistic Director of EgoArt, Inc. which she founded in 1999 to pursue self-discovery, universal truth and cultural paradoxes through dance, theater, music and multimedia. She serves on the dance faculty at Emerson College and Green Street Studios where she also served as the Co-Executive Director from 2000 to 2005. Pierce teaches music with her own private practice in the Boston area. She has taught master classes in dance technique at Harvard University, Tufts University, Emerson College, Salem State College and the Chelmsford Academy of Ballet Arts. Pierce has danced locally for Marcus Schulkind, Caitlin Corbett and Jody Weber among others.

Marcus Schulkind is a founding director of Green Street Studios and has been dancing, teaching, and performing for over 40 years. Originally trained in Graham Technique and Graham based variants (Norman Walker, May O’Donnell, Pearl Lang), he went on to study ballet with Anthony Tudor and Maggie Black at Julliard, bodywork with Zena Rommett (for whom he taught in New York), and Pilates Technique with Kathy Grant. He has performed nationally and internationally with many major modern dance companies including Lar Lubovitch, Kathy Posin, and Batsheva Dance Company of Israel. He has taught in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East. Mr. Schulkind is a nationally recognized dancer, teacher, and choreographer, having received grants from the N.E.A., N.Y.S.C.A, Affiliate Artists Inc., Bank Boston Celebrity Series, and First Night. He has choreographed for Dennis Wayne’s Company, Princeton Ballet, David Brown, Elisa Monte, 5 by 2 Plus, People Dancing, Pick of the Crop, Little Feet, Peanut Butter and Jelly Dance Company, and in Canada for Dance Partout and the National Ballet of Egypt. Since seriously injuring his knee twenty five years ago, he has been integrating Pilates, Gyrotonic®, and physical therapeutics into his work. Marcus is also a practicing acupuncturist.

Wanda Strukus is a movement and dance-based artist who directs and devises dance and physical theater in traditional and site-specific settings. She has been a guest teacher of modern dance at Ninth State Studios, Tufts University, Boston College and has taught movement, Viewpoints and physical theater at Marlboro College, UMass Lowell, the Dance Complex, and Brookside Studios. She has been a recipient of a GSS Emerging Artist Award and is an alumna of the Jacob's Pillow Choreographer/Director Lab. She performs with Daniel McCusker Dance Projects.

Jody Weber received a BFA from SUNY Purchase in 1988. She was deeply influenced by teachers Sarah Stackhouse, Kevin Wynn, and Mel Wong. In 1992 she received an MA from American University focusing on dance history. At American University she was a recipient of a full teaching fellowship. In addition to teaching and graduate school studies, she continued to participate in the professional community through the works of Debra Riley and Beth Davis. Over the past seventeen years she has performed in New York City, Washington D.C., and Boston. Her company, Weber Dance, has been presented through numerous local outlets including Green Street Studios, Mobius, Central Square World’s Fair, Cambridge Access TV, Somerville Artbeat, Boston First Night, Casco Bay Movers, Salem State College, The College of the Holy Cross and Boston University as well as venues in New York City and Washington D.C. In the 2001 and 2005 seasons, Ms Weber received an Artist Fellowship Grant from the Somerville Arts Council to support her choreography. In the fall of 2002, the Cambridge Arts Council and the Cambridge Public Library funded an audience development program proposed by Jody. Her work has received critical attention in the Globe, Herald, and The Phoenix. In addition to performing and choreographing, Ms Weber has an avid interest in dance history. She presented her original research as a selected speaker at the Dance History Scholars Conference held at the New York Public Library in 1993. Her work as a dance historian and guest speaker was funded through the Hall of Black Achievement at Bridgewater State College. In June 0f 2001 she worked on the Boston Dance History Survey with Ruth Benson-Levin through the Boston Dance Alliance. This project established the foundation to build an archive on local dance history. In May of 2005 she completed her Ph.D. in Dance History through the University Professors Program at Boston University. Ms Weber has worked as part time faculty at Stonehill College, Emerson College, Salem State College and The College of the Holy Cross. Currently, she teaches Modern Dance at Green Street Studios in Cambridge where she was the Co-Executive Director for five years, and is Assistant Professor of Dance at Bridgewater State College.

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Ballet

Marcus Schulkind is a founding director of Green Street Studios and has been dancing, teaching, and performing for over 40 years. Originally trained in Graham Technique and Graham based variants (Norman Walker, May O’Donnell, Pearl Lang), he went on to study ballet with Anthony Tudor and Maggie Black at Julliard, bodywork with Zena Rommett (for whom he taught in New York), and Pilates Technique with Kathy Grant. He has performed nationally and internationally with many major modern dance companies including Lar Lubovitch, Kathy Posin, and Batsheva Dance Company of Israel. He has taught in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East. Mr. Schulkind is a nationally recognized dancer, teacher, and choreographer, having received grants from the N.E.A., N.Y.S.C.A, Affiliate Artists Inc., Bank Boston Celebrity Series, and First Night. He has choreographed for Dennis Wayne’s Company, Princeton Ballet, David Brown, Elisa Monte, 5 by 2 Plus, People Dancing, Pick of the Crop, Little Feet, Peanut Butter and Jelly Dance Company, and in Canada for Dance Partout and the National Ballet of Egypt. Since seriously injuring his knee twenty five years ago, he has been integrating Pilates, Gyrotonic®, and physical therapeutics into his work. Marcus is also a practicing acupuncturist.

Dean Vollick began his ballet training at the late age of twenty, already a college student in Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It became obvious that with good professional training, he could make up for lost time. A move to Toronto led him to many fine Canadian teachers including Lois Smith, Glen Gilmour, Luc Amyot, and Mavis Staines, the Artistic Director of Canada’s National Ballet School. He also had the good fortune to be under the tutelage of Laura Alonso (daughter of Alicia Alonso) for 3 summers at the Banff School of Fine Arts. His career as a classical dancer spanned several years and included work with Ontario Ballet Theatre, Ballet Omaha, and Ballet Florida. Though he loved the classics, he found that contemporary dance was his forte, and decided to pursue studies in modern dance. He acquired a thorough training in Graham based technique while working with Toronto Dance Theatre. It was there that he also began to explore his desire to choreograph, and has created works for various venues from liturgical celebrations, to sales demonstrations for the Swarovski Crystal Company. As a company dancer and freelance artist Mr. Vollick danced across Canada and many parts of the US and Europe.

A desire to teach led him back to the National Ballet School where he completed the two- year teacher-training course for professional dancers, and graduated valedictorian of his class in June of 2001. That summer he joined the faculty of the American Academy of Ballet and continues to be an instructor at their Summer School of Excellence, held at SUNY College in Purchase New York. He spent four years as a full time teacher at Boston Ballet and was Principal of Boston Ballet’s ground breaking Citydance outreach program for three of those years. Currently Mr. Vollick is working as a freelance teacher and choreographer in the Boston Area, and is on the faculty of Ballet Arts Worcester, Walnut Hill Academy, and Boston Conservatory. He recently completed certification in the foundations of Gryrotonic Exercise, and is enjoying working as a trainer with dancers and non-dancers alike.

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Movement Training

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Joeritta Jones de Almeida is the only director and certified instructor in the USA of Open River/Rio Abierto Comprehensive Body/Mind System of Harmonious Development. She has been involved with this work since 1977 when living in Brazil. While living in Brazil for 10 years, she started a ‘school without walls’ project that consisted of educational activities in public spaces such as parks and museums. This eventually led to the formation and construction of a small private school with 5 other educators in a small town in the mountains outside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Originally starting with kindergarten through third grade, the school, Educational Study and Research Center (CEPE), is now over 30 years old and includes all grades through high school. Joeritta holds a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University and is currently an Assistant Professor of Education at Wheelock College in Boston, Ma. Her other important roles include consultant, mother and grandmother. Open River/Rio Abierto Comprehensive Body/Mind System of Harmonious Development originates in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This system of working incorporates movement classes with music, various workshops of different themes and individual sessions of massage. It includes a large variety of body techniques from meditation to dance and yoga poses. The objective of the classes (and body/mind work in general) is to work on oneself using movement with music to activate, separate, align, and facilitate the unobstructed flow of energy ( http://openriver.org/ ).

Julie Pike Edmond began her academic pursuits in Dance Education and Performance at Columbia College in Chicago. There she studied under Shirley Mordine and Jan Eckert. After a back injury, she returned to her native New England where she graduated from Bradford College with a B.F.A. Since then, she has danced with Brian Crabtree, Exit Dance Theater, and Nicola Hawkins Dance Company. She currently performs with Caitlin Corbett Dance Company, Weber Dance, EgoArt, Inc., and Karen Murphy. Julie works as a Shiatsu, Craniosacral, and Reiki practitioner and will soon be certified in therapeutic pet massage. Julie develops her own choreography as The TurnPike Project.

Martha Mason is the Artistic Director of Snappy Dance Theater, founded in 1997. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Cum Laude from Mount Holyoke College and has been choreographing and teaching internationally for the past 13 years. She has taught, choreographed and performed in Taiwan, Germany, the former Czechoslovakia, France and Russia as well as New York City and presently in Boston, MA. Past commissions include: New Lines, Ping Dong, Taiwan; Éspace Créations, Paris, France; the Lancaster Opera Company; The New Experimental Theater, Magnitogorsk, Russia; and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Martha has received two grants from the International Theater Institute, a “New Forms” Award by the New England Foundation for the Arts, and was a 1997 recipient of a Fellowship Award from the Somerville Arts Council. Martha also teaches Modern Dance technique and is a certified instructor of the Pilates ® Method of Body Conditioning with a practice in Cambridge.

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Jazz & Hip Hop

Carl Alleyne has been involved with the entertainment industry for over 15 years. A native Bostonian, he has spent his time teaching, performing and making dances in the Greater Boston area for The Boston Ballet, Jeanette Neill Dance Studio, The Bank North Garden and other venues. As a performer, he has performed in front of thousands of people, sharing the stage with artists such as Gladys Knight, the late Ray Charles, the O-jays, Fabolous, SPEECH of Arrested Development, Sir Elton John, Neill Young and others. In 2000 he did a West Coast tour with his 3 time Boston Music Award Winning R&B Band Eye2Eye.

Carl has recently come back to Boston full time. He was in New York working with his Talent Agency, TTE Talent Agency. TTE has worked with choreographers and dancers who worked with projects and with artists such as Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child, Chris Brown, The Rolling Stones, Don Omar, Coke Commercials, Bombay Dreams National Tour and the list goes on.
Carl brings personality, style, and knowledge to the table. He has made a great impact on the dance scenes in New York and in New England.

Andi Taylor-Blenis began her dance training in International Folk Dance as a student, teacher’s assistant, and performer with RSCDS. She graduated from UMASS Amherst with a BFA in Dance and has danced with many people in Boston such as, Dance Collective, Miguel Lopez, Rozann Kraus, Julie Ince Thompson, Prometheus Dance (15 years), and Debra Bluth. She is currently teaching at The Boston Conservatory, Jeanett Neil’s Dance Studio, and is teaching International Folk Dance in schools and private events for the FACONE.

David Liberge has been a Hip Hop instructor with Hop to the Beat Dance Studio for 5 years and currently teaches ongoing classes in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. He is an accomplished Hip Hop dancer and was a member of the Street Hop team who won the Cabaret Division of the 1999 American Lindy Hop Championships. This past summer David choreographed some dance moves for Troy Brown of the Patriots for a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial and has also choreographed and performed a group Hip Hop routine for the Somerville Arts Theatre Festival. He has been interviewed and filmed for the nationally broadcasted show Hip Hop Nation. David has also taught Hip Hop classes for children and teens at various dance studios throughout eastern Massachusetts. Besides Hip Hop, David is a Lindy Hop dancer, having taken his first classes with Hop to the Beat in 1997. He is a member of the Hop to the Beat Dancers as well as an instructor.

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Traditional Dance

Petre Petrov is formerly a soloist of the Bulgarian National Dance Company “Rodhopa”. He has been dancing and teaching in the Boston area since 1995. Trained in Bulgarian-Balkan folk dance as well as creative dance, Petre is the Artistic Director for “Ludo Mlado”, his own performing group. He started his dancing career 25 years ago at the age of 6 as a member of a children’s dance group. He studied at the Bulgarian National Academy of the Arts and became a professional dancer and choreographer in 1988. During his years of dancing he won several national and international awards.

Najmat is a Brazilian-born, Boston-based dancer. She is widely known for her strong and compelling performances and expert drum solos. As a teacher, Najmat sees the therapeutic side of middle eastern dance — it is a healing dance designed to awaken the feminine spirit and unleash women’s sensuality and inner power.

Marta Moussa has over 25 years experience as a performer, and teacher. She co-founded and directed the International Academy of Ethnic Dance. She first studied hula with La Meri. She continued her study with Kumu Hula Keith Awai of Honolulu. She studied Tahitian dance with Cathy Teriipaia and Roiti Sylva, both of Honolulu. Marta has performed with Ethnic Dance Arts, Anjali Ethnic Dance Company, and Polynesian Dance Arts which she founded and has directed since 1985.

Deraldo Ferreira

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For Children

Erin Pellecchia holds a BFA in Dance from Emerson College and a postgraduate degree in Cultural Management from City University, London. She returned to Boston in May 2005 to dance for Josie Bray, and has most recently worked with the Animus Ensemble, Audra Carabetta, Jimena Bermejo, Serena Hadsell and Linden Tree Dance Company. As a manager, Erin worked at the UK Foundation for Dance and The Place Artist Development in London and currently works in the office at Green Street Studios. She teaches creative movement classes for children at Peanut Butter & Jelly Dance in Brookline where she is also Administrator for the company.

Katie Dealy has taught dance and creative movement to children in the Boston area for many years. She was assistant director and teacher at Room for Children in Back Bay and taught for the Cambridge Performance Project before coming to Green Street Studios four years ago. Currently she also teaches at Newtowne and Agassiz pre-schools in Cambridge. Katie studies modern dance with Marcus Schulkind and Cheri Opperman at Green Street. She has a Masters Degree in Secondary Education from Simmons College and a Masters in Dance Education from George Washington University. Katie likes to use props and create storydances in her energetic and imaginative classes. She also loves teaching parent-child dance classes.

Erin Blatti feels lucky to have found what she wanted to do with her life at a very young age. Coming from a family that made music a priority, she was always encouraged to take lessons, starting with piano, later the oboe and finally voice. She always felt that singing was the most fun and expressive and so she went onto the Ohio State University as a vocal performance and music education major. At OSU she was involved in musical theater and light opera performances, as well as traditional and gospel choirs. Since then she has taught all ages, both privately and in groups, focusing on piano and voice. A few years ago she moved to Boston to study contemporary singing and songwriting at the Berklee College of Music and has lived here since graduating in December 2006. She sings with a funk/R&B band called Beantown Project, continues to write original songs and also to teach music to all ages. She is very excited to start working with Groovybaby and looks forward to helping kids become expressive and creative with music!

Isabel Esquitin received her ballet training at Escuela Profesional de Danza Clasica in Mexico. She graduated from Universidad de las Americas-Puebla with a BSc in Actuarial Sciences and a minor in Dance. After graduation Isabel taught ballet and modern dance at EPDC and UDLA-P, and performed with UDLA-danza, Sunny Savoy Dance Company and Ad-libitum Dance Company. Isabel moved to Boston in 2004. Since then, she has performed with local artists and taught ballet, creative movement and yoga for Topf Center for Dance Education and The Guidance Center. Currently, Isabel teaches dance at Haynes EEC, and ballet and creative movement for Cambridge Performance Project. Isabel is also a teacher assistant at the Baptiste Power Yoga Institutes and dances with Lorraine Chapman the Company.

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Martial Arts

Fred Lohse www.kodokanboston.org

Eric Rasmussen

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Resident Musicians

Igor Tkachenko is an award-winning composer, producer, and pianist. In 2001 he received the Best Music Award and the Audience Prize at the 3rd International Internet Film Festival (FIFI) in France, sponsored by the European Union and Vivendi. As a virtuoso pianist, he has performed in major concert halls throughout Europe and the US, including Carnegie Hall, the Berlin and St. Petersburg Philharmonics, the Helsinki National Opera, and many others. He has produced and recorded over a dozen music CDs as featured artist and band leader. In the last 5 years Mr. Tkachenko has also produced the Interactive Classics series of award-winning musical computer games for children.

Jerry Bussiere

Anne Silverman

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Guest Teachers

Kristina Berger is a principal dancer with The Erick Hawkins Dance Company, BALAM (Balinese American) Dance Theatre, and a founding member of S.W.A.T.T., based in Paris, France. Ms. Berger also performs as a soloist with Lester Horton Dance Theatre, Inc. under the direction of Donald Martin in Los Angeles, and teaches Horton Technique at Marymount Manhattan College.

Jeanine Durning

Photo credit: Janet P. Levitt
Kristen Hollinsworth has worked with Susan Marshall since 1994. She has also danced with the Metropolitan Opera since 1998 in numerous productions. In New York, she has had the pleasure of working with Tami Strohach, Cherylyn Lavagnino, Doug Varone, and in San Francisco with Cheryl Chaddick and Della Davidson. She is featured in two dance films choreographed by Nina Winthrop and directed by Morleigh Steinberg. During her time with Susan Marshall and Company, Kristen teaches master classes and residency workshops in technique, composition, partnering, and repertoire. She has re-staged Marshall's Working Memory at SFU and CSU as well as assisting in the creation of that work at Juilliard. She has also re-staged Marshall's Kiss for Pacific Northwest Ballet, and excerpt from The Most Dangerous Room in the House at Rutgers University and the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Kristen's work has been presented in Cape Cod, San Francisco, and in New York at Dance Space and The Flea.

Jennifer Nugent is a performer, teacher, and choreographer. She has been a member of David Dorfman Dance since 1998, and received a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) for her performing in the company. She has danced with and for Martha Clarke, Shen Wei, Lisa Race, Nina Winthrop, Yin Mei, and Daniel Lepkoff. Originally from Miami, Florida, Jennifer has danced with Gerri Houlihan & Dancers, Mary Street Dance Theatre, and Barbara Sloan- Duo Da Da Dance Theater. She has taught and performed her own work at universities and festivals throughout the United States, Korea, and Vietnam.
She is currently co-artistic director of Nugent+Matteson Dance with Paul Matteson. Nugent+Matteson Dance supports the collaborative as well as individual choreography and teaching of Jennifer Nugent and Paul Matteson. 

S. Christien Polos began his dance training with the San Francisco Ballet after graduating from high school. While attending San Francisco State Universtity as a Theatre Major, he studied African Dance with Dolores Cayou, Jazz Styles with Alberta Rose, and Limon with Ruth Langridge. Christien moved to Boston in 1980 and has since danced The Marcus Schulkind Dance Company (a founding member), Impulse Dance Company (served as assistant director ’85-’88), Susan Rose’s DanceWorks, Choreo, The Danny Sloan Dance Company and Prometheus. As a teacher, Christien has taught locally at Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, Boston University, Joy of Movement Center, Emerson College and Boston College. He presently teaches dance and musical theatre at Brookline High School and Period Movement for The Boston University Opera Program. Christien’s class is a unique blend of styles that focus on effortless body alignment, core strength through muscular balance, and an exploration of movement dynamics.

Rebecca Rice is a sought-after and highly respected modern dance choreographer, teacher, and performer. She co-founded and performed in Pittsburgh's influential Dance Alloy Company, and has worked with Bill Evans, Jose Limon, Laban method, and ballet. Rice has performed her own dance work in France and throughout the United States, receiving many awards and grants. She has also created numerous works for Boston Ballet II and organized Boston Ballet Company's first choreography workshops and performances. Her company, Rebecca Rice Dance, debuted in NYC in 2006 as "Editor's Picks" in both the Village Voice and the New York Times. In 2004, the company performed at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and in 2006, premiered a specially commissioned John Harbison piece. She presently teaches at the Winsor School, MIT and the Moving Arts Studio in Harvard. For more info about Rebecca Rice and her work: www.rebeccaricedance.com, (978) 852-3863

Tony Rizzi
Born in 1965 in West Newton, Massachusettes, USA and trained on full scholarships from 1980 to 1985 at the Boston Ballet School with Bruce Wells, Violette Verdy, Virginia Williams and Richard Dickenson.
From 1985-2005 Principal Dancer and Choreographic Assistant and Ballet Teacher at the Frankfurt Ballet under the direction of William Forsythe. Danced most of the main roles and helped to create many of them , for example in Kammer/Kammer, Herman Schmerman, Eidos/Telos, As a garden in this setting, Steptext, Wolff Phrase, Of Any If And, Isabelles Dance and Impressing the Czar. During Mr Rizzis career at the Frankfurt Ballett, where he still occasionally guests , he also was able to work with other choreographers and directors like Jan Lauwers in Dead Dogs Dont Dance in the main role of James Joyce, as well as with Saburo Teshigawa, Amanda Miller, and Susan Marshal.
1993-2005 Worked as a dancer and actor with Jan Fabre in Belgium on the productions "Universal Copyrights", "D`a un altra faccio del tempo", in the role of the devil , in the production "Glowing Icons", as Mae West/ Neil Armstrong as well as in "The sound of one hand clapping" created for the Frankfurter Ballett and most recently in "The History of Tears" that premiered at the Avignon Festival 2005.
GUEST TEACHING:
Mr Rizzi already at the age of 23 was asked by Bruce Marks of the Boston Ballet to guest teach the company. In addition to Boston Ballet he has guest taught at La Scala Ballet, the Bayerishe Staatsballet in Munich, The Gartnerplatz Ballet in Munich, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Oper Ballet in Graz Austria, Carte Blanche in Bergen Norway, The Star Dancers Ballet in Toyko, The Pretty Ugly Dance Company (now in Cologne, Germany) and is a regular teacher at the Impuls Summer Dance Festival in Vienna. Improvisation workshops, including the methods of William Forsythe, as well as his own, given at Impuls Dance Festival in Vienna, Lund University in Sweden and at several workshops in Tokyo.

Emily Randolph Silva is a body worker, dancer, choreographer and technique instructor. Her knowledge and practice of Modern Release Technique shape her organic approach to the body. Emily has been teaching release for the past 5 years. ‘Release’ technique is an athletic movement style that explores gravity, weight sharing, alignment versus off-center and breath. She incorporates these fundamentals into her bodywork, energetically moving the body with intention and flow. She received her BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has danced with companies in New York City, San Francisco, Honolulu and Boston. Some of these include Tau Dance Theater, Lost Wax, Akrynm Dance, Vertigo/inFluxdance, and Annie Rosenthal & Co. She founded her own company, Emily Randolph Silva and Dancers in 2005. Emily is certified in Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis, and Pilates. She currently teaches at Body Works Studio in Boston and Shelia Donovan Pilates in Canton. The fusion of Gyrotonic, Pilates, and Dance lend to Emily’s unique approach to her bodywork and dance style. Her focus is to increase range of motion, strength, special awareness and improve your performance in other athletics and daily living.

Joe Simeone

Adriana Suárez was born into a family of dancers in Caraca, Venezuala, and began her training at age ten with her mother, Celia Ines Marino. Suarez studied at the School of American Ballet for five years before joining Boston Ballet as a member of the corpes de ballet in 1989. She became a principal dancer in 1994. Suarez has thrilled audiences performing lead roles in a wide range including Onegin, Romeo and Juliet, and Taming of the Shrew. She has also performed in works by Ballanchine, Nacho Duato, Mark Morris, Christoper Wheeldon, Rudi van Dantzig, and Stanton Welch. Adriana has been a certified Gyrotonic® teacher since 2003.

Tommy Thompson has given numerous workshops for dancers at a variety of venues including the School at Jacob's Pillow Summer Dance Festival, Expanded Dance, Harvard Summer Dance, Bates College Summer Dance Festivals, La Canal Danse, Paris, institut de pedogogie musicale et choreographique in Aix en provence, and the American Dance Guild. Tommy has lectured and given close to 400 workshops on the Alexander Technique worldwide.

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