2023-2024 Guest Artists In Residence

Jamila Glass

Jamila Glass is a creative working in the realm of dance, film, and television. A graduate of University of Southern California’s film school and a member of the Television Academy, she is the Artistic Director of Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company and joined the company in 2005 as a founding member.  Her choreography work includes Dear White People (Netflix), Bad Hair (Hulu), Twenties (BET), The Beauty of Blackness (HBO) and a PRADA campaign.  Performing credits include Netflix’s Mascots (Christopher Guest), American Horror Story, Paul McCartney, Colbie Caillat, Foster the People Tour, American Apparel, Samsung, & the NY Times Best-Selling photography book Dancers Among Us. Additionally, she has spent the last 10 years bridging the world of film and movement, directing and producing 20 dance films. @jamilaglass | www.jamilaglass.com/links

Photo by Rick Proctor

 

 

 

William Isaac

William Isaac is an award-winning choreographer and dancer. His project-based company Kymera Dance is dedicated to making new work in the artistic discipline of dance, collaboration within other arts & entertainment fields and the development of future dance artists.  He has choreographed for the Ailey/Fordham University BFA program, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Hofstra University, The Juilliard School, UNCSA and Philadanco’s “Danco on Danco”. He has received a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” award.

 

 

 

Jenelle Figgins

Jenelle Figgins is a dance artist and teacher. With an extensive career as a dancer, most notably as a member of Dance Theatre of Harlem and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Figgins has been recognized for her work by organizations such as the Princess Grace Foundation and Dance Magazine’s Top 25 to Watch. Figgins currently dances for Wideman Davis Dance and continues to teach and expand her choreographic process through research, collaboration and intuitive practices.

 

 

Photo by Jefry Andres White

 

 

 

Christian von Howard

Christian von Howard is the Artistic Director of the VON HOWARD PROJECT, a contemporary dance company based out of New York City. As an international artist, he has worked with many dance artists such as Doug Varone, Fernando Bujones, Douglas Becker, Germaul Barnes, Daniel Gwirtzman and various others. Christian is a Fulbright Specialist (2019-2021) and a NJ State Council of the Arts Choreographic Fellow (2006) and his choreography has been produced in various venues across the globe including Germany, Japan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Chile, South Korea and in the states at Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts), Joyce SoHo, Dixon Place, the Ailey Citigroup Theater amongst others. His guest artist teaching/residency highlights include the American Dance Festival, Dance It! Festival (Bulgaria), Peridance Dance Center, and the Korean Dance Festival. Christian is a 2013/2014 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts where he was part of the teaching faculty in the Department of Dance & Choreography from 2008 to 2014. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance at Montclair State University and concurrently teaches at the Alvin Ailey School in NYC where he has been on faculty since 1998. Christian serves as the Northeast Regional Director of the American College Dance Association. He holds advanced degrees in Performance and Choreography from the School of Classical and Contemporary Dance at Texas Christian University and from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

 

Richard A. Freeman Jr.

A native of Washington, D.C., Richard began his training with the District of Columbia Youth Ensemble and the Washington Ballet. He received additional training from Duke Ellington School of the Arts, as well as Virginia Commonwealth University. He danced professionally with Elisa Monte Dance, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Arts Unlimited, and Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Freeman has had the pleasure to perform in Operas/Musicals such as Casa Blanca, Brothers of the Knight, Dreams, Porgy and Bess, The WIZ and Rusalka. Some of his commercial credits include Mary Kay, Holiday Inn, and Chuck E. Chesse. Richard has choreographed works for the Atlanta Dance Connection, Texas Ballet Theater School, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, DBDT: Encore, Urban Souls Dance Company, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and I. M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA. Richard has been the resident choreographer for Dallas Black Dance Theatre as well as the ballet master for Spring Cypress Dance Center. He has performed works by world-renowned choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Ben Stevenson, Debbie Allen, Christopher Huggins, Nejla Y. Yatkin, Alonzo King and many others. Alongside performing, he also teaches master classes and workshops across the nation. Mr.Freeman is formerly the Artistic Assistant for Dallas Black Dance Theatre: ENCORE! but now is currently the Artistic Project Coordinator for DBDT. This is his 15^th season with the company.

Bernard H. Gaddis

Founder and Artistic Director of Contemporary West Dance Theatre & Conservatory (CWDT) is the first professional contemporary dance company in the history of Nevada and is now celebrating its 16th year. Mr. Gaddis’ is also the first person of color to establish a major professional dance company in the state of Nevada. Bernard has choreographed over 32 ballets some of his works can be seen by various dance companies and universities and was recently chosen for the Jacob Pillow ACDA dance festival. Bernard’s dance studies began in Philadelphia at the High School for the Performing Arts, where he received numerous awards and scholarships; including a full scholarship to the prestigious Governor’s School for the Performing Arts, a school for gifted dance students. Mr. Gaddis has also received scholarships to Pennsylvania Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, Princeton Ballet, & The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Bernard’s first professional dance experience was with the Philadelphia dance company “Philadanco” under the direction of the renowned Joan Myers Brown. Bernard has since been a certified Master Horton and Ballet teacher that has been teaching for the past twenty years both nationally and internationally to many dancers in Universities and Professional companies.

Bernard became the Co-Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer for Philadanco’s second performing company D2. Bernard has received numerous awards for his role as Artistic Director & Choreographer, most notably the prestigious award for Men Making a Difference in the city of Philadelphia presented to him by Senator Chakka Fattah and the Living the Dream award for community leadership and for helping solidify the arts here in Las Vegas.

A principal dancer with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bernard danced under the Directorship of the renowned Judith Jamison. Bernard joined the L.A. cast of The Broadway Musical The Lion King as a principal dancer and chorus singer. Mr. Gaddis was a Principal Artist for several Cirque Du Soleil shows in Las Vegas, performing as a Dancer, Choreographer and Dance Captain for one of the headlining acts in Zumanity and Mystere.

Bryn Cohn

Described as having “a brilliant mind” (Dance Enthusiast), Bryn Cohn is an award-winning choreographer and movement director whose work merges storytelling, rhythmic play and kinetic physical languages. She has been commissioned by BalletCollective (dancers of New York City Ballet), Repertory Dance Theatre, Los Angeles Ballet II, Big Muddy Dance Company, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Backhaus Dance, Youth America Grand Prix, Jacksonville Dance Theater and Billy Bell’s Lunge Dance. Cohn has been hired for commercial, fashion and visual art projects with Louis Vuitton, Smartwater, Betsey Johnson, Artists & Fleas and Tribeca Art Night. Her choreography has been presented by Jacob’s Pillow, Danspace Project, Bryant Park, Hudson Valley Dance Festival, 92nd Street Y, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, McCallum’s Choreography Competition and REDCAT Theater among others. Cohn was nominated for a Princess Grace Fellowship in Choreography. She was selected to participate in the New Directions Choreography Lab at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – a creative residency supported by the Ford Foundation. She has been in artistic residence at Cal State Fullerton, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Minnesota Duluth, Stockton University, Texas Christian University, Roger Williams College, University at Buffalo and Grand Valley State University. Cohn received a BFA from CalArts and was honored as a distinguished alumna. She has an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as a High Honors, Chancellor’s and Regent’s award recipient.

Peter Pucci

Peter Pucci is an award-winning choreographer and movement director who has worked extensively in contemporary dance, theater, ballet, and dance education.  A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he was a principal dancer and rehearsal director with Pilobolus Dance Theatre for nine years, where he toured and taught worldwide.  He went on to form his own company, Peter Pucci Plus Dancers, in New York City. Peter’s work has been commissioned by the Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Arizona, Ballet Hispanico, Dance Theatre of Harlem. Colorado Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and many other companies, both ballet and modern. He has also served as movement director for numerous theatrical productions.  Peter also has significant experience as a dance educator, including nine years as Artist-in-Residence at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY, and seven years teaching at the Juilliard School of Drama.  Upcoming commissions include a new work for the New Mexico Ballet Company and a residency and new work at Texas Christian University’s School for Classical & Contemporary Dance.

Bridget L. Moore

Bridget L. Moore, a native of Dallas, TX is the Artistic Director of B. MOORE DANCE. Moore’s choreographic works provide both cultural and kinesthetic experiences rooted in African-American and global dance aesthetics. Her choreography is kinesthetically and technically challenging and at times period-specific, integrating historical and cultural perspectives through research and development. She has received choreographic commissions from TITAS, Ailey II, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Urban Bush Women, to name a few. In addition, Moore’s work has been presented at, Jacob’s Pillow-Inside/Out, Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, Winspear Opera House, The Joyce Theater and Ailey Citigroup Theater, among others.

Stephanie Pizzo

Eisenhower Dance Detroit Artistic Director, Stephanie Pizzo joined the company as a founding member in 1991. At various points in her dance career with EDD, she served as Resident Choreographer, Associate Artistic Director, and Co-Artistic Director. Ms. Pizzo now leads the company into her 5th season as Artistic Director. Her focus involves collaborating with the highest quality national and international artists and creating strong ties within the Detroit Metro community through the art of dance.  Ms. Pizzo also believes in educational programming and youth mentorship as key tools to develop community connections. She works to use the art of contemporary dance both as a means to present beautiful, athletic, and engaging repertory and as a vehicle to reflect on and explore issues of social significance. Her work has been presented in Tel Aviv as part of Eisenhower Dance Detroit’s production of The Light Show, at international dance festivals in Poland, and most recently on the Inside/Out Stage at Jacob’s Pillow.

KT Nelson

KT NELSON (ODC Fellow) danced, choreographed, and with ODC Founder, Brenda Way directed the ODC/Dance Company from 1976-2021. She has been awarded the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Performance, Sustained Achievement, and twice for Outstanding Choreography. She has collaborated with the Berkeley Symphony, Marcelo Zarvos, Joan Jeanrenaud, and Volti Vocal Ensemble. Her Dead Reckoning was presented at Jacobs Pillow and American Dance Platform at the Joyce Theater. (see Fighting Climate Change with Dance | KQED Arts). Her collaboration with Brenda Way, boulders, and bones, was presented at BAM’s Next Wave Festival. Path of Miracles is presently touring with a NEFA National Dance Production grant. Nelson choreographed and directed ODC’s Velveteen Rabbit, which has been an SF holiday tradition for the past 35 years.

Kara Wilkes

Kara Wilkes is a dance educator, choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker.  She most recently created works for Traverse City Dance Project, the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, and Santa Clara University.  For eighteen years, the Milwaukee native performed classical ballet and contemporary répertoire by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, Dwight Rhoden, Jacqulyn Buglisi, George Balanchine, Alonzo King, Lila York, and Nacho Duato; she danced such works with Milwaukee Ballet Company, Ballet Victor Ullate, Charlotte Ballet, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. In 2019, Kara earned her MFA in Dance at Hollins University and joined the dance faculty at Wake Forest University; she later returned to LINES to serve as Ballet Master. Kara is currently a freelance artist and teacher based out of Berkeley, CA.

Joy Bollinger

Joy Bollinger is a distinguished choreographer, teacher, and répétiteur and has led Bruce Wood Dance since 2018. Bollinger is a veteran performer of the nationally acclaimed Fort Worth-based Bruce Wood Dance Company from 2002 to 2007 and a founding member of Bruce Wood Dance in 2010. She has performed in over 50 of Wood’s ballets. Hailed as the “poet of dance” by Margaret Putnam, Bollinger has created critically acclaimed works: Carved In Stone (2016), Hillside (2017), In My Your Head (2019), and Blue (2021). Carved In Stone was called the “single best dance in 2016 . . . deeply emotional and striking in its stillness” by Mark Lowry of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and “a dance for the ages” by Margaret Putnam of TheaterJones.com. “Hillside goes for broke, swirling with the same kind of physical and emotional power that marked her stunning debut as a professional dance maker,” acclaimed Manny Mendoza of The Dallas Morning News. Bollinger is listed by D Magazine as “Women Who Make Dallas Great,” citing her choreography as “highly cerebral and intuitive.” Her work has recently expanded to film, collaborating with Broadway composer Joseph Thalken to create Life Interrupted (2020), presented on KERA’s Frame of Mind TV series. D Magazine has referred to her as “one of the most evocative and lyrical choreographers on our scene.”

Bryn Cohn

Bryn Cohn has presented work at Jacob’s Pillow, Danspace Project, Bryant Park, 92nd Street Y, and REDCAT Theater. She was nominated for a Princess Grace Fellowship and participated in the New Directions Choreography Lab at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Cohn has been commissioned by Louis Vuitton, Smartwater, BalletCollective, Repertory Dance Theatre, Los Angeles Ballet, Billy Bell’s Lunge Dance, Cal State Fullerton, and University at Buffalo among others. Cohn received a feature in Dance Teacher Magazine and is on faculty at AMDA College and Hussian College. She received a BFA from CalArts and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Natalie Desch

Natalie Desch, (Juilliard School, BFA and the University of Washington, MFA) performed for five seasons with the Limón Dance Company and eleven seasons with Doug Varone and Dancers in NYC. She has taught for summer programs around the country and internationally. Natalie has restaged and continues to research the works of José Limón, Doug Varone, Jirí Kylián, and Daniel Charon. Natalie joined the University of Utah as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2019.

Kurt Douglas

Originally from Guyana, South America received his BFA in Dance from The Boston Conservatory and M.F.A. from Hollins University. He danced with the Limón Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch, Ballet Hispanico, and Azure Barton, among others. Associate Professor of Dance at the Boston Conservatory, he serves as director for Berklee’s Summer Dance Intensive. Kurt has been associated with Limón since 2001 and continues to represent the Limón Foundation through workshops, masterclasses, and reconstructions.

Ruben Gerding

A native of Kentucky, Rubén Gerding received his BFA from the University of Oklahoma and his MFA from Texas Christian University in Classical & Contemporary Dance. He is currently an assistant professor of Dance at Southeast Missouri State University.

Rubén danced for three seasons with the Eugene Ballet before joining Texas Ballet Theater. Rubén then danced with Metropolitan Classical Ballet in Arlington, TX. He has also danced in Casa Manaña musical theatre productions Damn Yankees and Beauty and the Beast and performed with Ballet Concerto, the Bruce Wood Dance Project, Avant Chamber Ballet, and other North Texas dance companies.

Rubén’s choreography has been performed at the ACDA Festivals in several regions, the Plano Dance Festival in North Texas, and at regional theatres in Missouri and North Texas.

Suzanne Haag

Suzanne Haag is the Resident Choreographer of Eugene Ballet (EB) and co-founder of the interactive performing group, #instaballet. Performance credits include the Hartford Ballet, Indianapolis Opera, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ballet Idaho, and 15 seasons with EB. Suzanne holds a B.S. in Arts Administration and Dance from Butler University. Suzanne’s choreographic work for EB includes a post-apocalyptic version of The Firebird and a collaboration with the band, Pink Martini. She participated in the 2017 National Choreographer’s Initiative, was a 2017 and 2018 finalist in the McCallum Theatre’s Choreography Competition, is a 2019 recipient of the New York Choreographic Institute’s Commission Initiative award, and received the 2019 Oregon Arts Commission’s Joan Shipley Fellowship. More information about her work can be found at suzannehaag.com

Francesca Harper

Francesca Harper joined and performed soloist roles with Dance Theatre of Harlem and later became a Principal Artist in William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt. Harper has choreographed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Richmond Ballet, and others, including The Francesca Harper Project, founded in 2005 and touring internationally. A fellow at Urban Bush Women’s Choreographic Center, Harper served as a ballet consultant for the Oscar-winning film Black Swan and is currently engaged as Executive Producer with Sony Pictures on a series in development.

Gabrielle Lamb

Gabrielle Lamb is a Princess Grace Award-winning choreographer based in NYC, where she directs Pigeonwing Dance. Her dances, infused with the rigor of classical ballet, strobe between puzzle-solving and the hedonic pleasure of pure movement.  She has created for both classical and contemporary companies and dance departments across North America, including American Ballet Theatre, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ballet, Whim W’him (Seattle), Ballet Collective (NYC), Ballet Austin, Ballet Memphis, and the Sacramento, Milwaukee, and Kansas City Ballets.

Ms. Lamb has won choreographic competitions at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Milwaukee Ballet, as well as the Banff Centre’s Lee Award and a New York City Center Choreography Fellowship.  In 2018 she was Grand Prize Winner of the S&R Foundation’s Washington Award.

A native of Savannah, GA, she trained at the Boston Ballet School and was a longtime soloist at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.  In 2009 she was invited by Christopher Wheeldon to join his company Morphoses in NYC. Her performing repertoire also included new creations by Mauro Bigonzetti, Pontus Lidberg, and Shen Wei, as well as leading roles in existing works by Naharin, Balanchine, Kylian, and Duato. She was described by DANCE Magazine as, “a dancer of stunning clarity who illuminates the smallest details—qualities she brings to the dances she makes, too”.

She is currently a 3rd Year Trainee in the 4 Year Professional Training Program of the Feldenkrais Institute of NY.

Adam Barruch

Adam Barruch began his career as a young actor, performing professionally on Broadway and in film and television, working with prominent figures such as Tony Bennett, Jerry Herman and Susan Stroman. He later received dance training at LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts. After three years, he graduated early and was accepted into the dance department at The Juilliard School. As a dancer he has performed the works of Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Susan Marshall, Jose Limon, Daniele Dèsnoyers, and was a dancer with Sylvain Émard Danse in Montreal. He has also worked with The Margie Gillis Dance Foundation, performing and researching Conflict Transformation as part of The Legacy Project. Based in Brooklyn, Adam currently creates and performs work under the epithet of his own company, Anatomiae Occultii.

As a choreographer, Adam’s work has been presented at venues such as The Joyce Theater, New York Live Arts, City Center, NYU/ Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, The Juilliard School, The Baryshnikov Arts Center, Ailey-Citigroup Theater, The 92Y: Buttenweiser Hall, Jacob’s Pillow: Inside/Out, LaMaMa,The Cedar Lake Theater, Gina Gibney Dance Center, The Harris Theater, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The Cowles Center, The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard, Bates Dance Festival and Theatre Usine C in Montreal. He has also taught technique and repertory at Princeton University, The Boston Conservatory, The Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Program, Marymount Manhattan College, The Martha Graham School, The Hartt School, The Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, New York University, Hofstra University, West Virginia University, La Escuela Profesional de Danza de Mazatlán (EPDM), New Zealand School of Dance and The Hubbard Street Professional Training Program.

Adam Barruch was selected as a participant in the 2011 Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation New Directions Choreography Lab made possible by generous support from the Ford Foundation. Adam Barruch’s short-film collaboration with filmmaker Nel Shelby, Folie a Deux, was screened at the Dance On Camera Festival in Lincoln Center in 2012. In June 2013, Adam performed a full-length evening solo work, My Name is Adam, at Joe’s Pub commissioned by DanceNOW NYC, and was a recipient of a Late Stage Production Stipend from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation. In addition, he has also created works for companies such as The Limón Company, Ailey II, Keigwin + Company, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, River North Dance Chicago, BalletX, Whim W’Him Seattle Contemporary Dance, Graham II, GroundWorks Dance Theater, Minnesota Dance Theatre, The Gibney Dance Company, 10 Hairy Legs and Daniel Costa Dance, as well as for dance icons Margie Gillis and Miki Orihara. Adam has also choreographed two music videos for Tokyo based musical act mishmash* and created movement for Variety Worldwide, whose projects combine non-traditional theater with nightlife and dining.

Adam was the recipient of a 2014 Lotos Foundation Prize in the Arts and Sciences, which recognizes institutions and individuals for distinguished accomplishments and exceptional talent in the arts and sciences. In September 2015, Adam Barruch was the choreographer-in-residence at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, California as part of the 2015 DANCEworks Residency. Adam Barruch was an artist-in-residence at the 92Y Harkness Dance Center in 2016-2017. He is currently working on a new physical theater production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Darrell Grand Moultrie

Darrell Grand Moultrie has established himself as one of America’s most diverse and sought-after choreographers and master teachers. A recipient of the Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award, he is one of the few choreographers simultaneously working in theatre, modern dance, ballet, and commercial dance.  This past spring, Moultrie had a premiere performed by The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre during their engagement at New York’s Lincoln Center.  Moutlrie has created and staged works for Colorado Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, BalletMet Columbus, Ailey 2, Milwaukee Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Tulsa Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Smuin Ballet, Washington Ballet, and NBA Ballet in Japan.  Moultrie was selected by Grammy Award winning artist Beyoncé as a choreographer on her recording breaking “Mrs. Carter Show” world tour.  On stage, he has provide movement and choreography for Jeremy O. Harris’s new play Daddy, directed by Danya Taymor, Witness Uganda at American Repertory Theater directed by Tony Winner Diane Paulus, Sugar in Our Wounds at Manhattan Theatre Club, the Off Broadway musical Invisible Thread at Second Stage, Evita and Pride and Prejudice at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and he has collaborated with Tony Award-winning hoofer Savion Glover. Moultrie also choreographed El Publico, a new opera at the world famous Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain directed by Robert Castro and Conducted by Robert Heras-Casado.  Moultrie is a proud New Yorker, born and raised in Harlem, and a graduate of P.S. 144, Laguardia High School, and The Juilliard School.

Elijah Alhadji Gibson

Founder and Artistic Director of Social Movement Contemporary Dance, based in Houston, Texas. Originally from San Diego, California, he attended the San Diego School for the Performing Arts. He later studied at Sam Houston State University under the direction of Dana Nicolay and received his Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Gibson danced with the world-renowned Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago where he toured nationally and internationally. Gibson has been on faculty at Shenandoah University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Sam Houston State University.

 

Rochelle Zide-Booth

Rochelle Zide-Booth has retired after a long career in ballet. She trained in Boston with Harriet Hoctor and E. Virginia Williams and then joined the fabled Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, signing her first contract on her 1 6th birthday and quickly rising to the rank of Soloist. After breaking her leg in a rehearsal on tour, and dancing on it for two weeks, she left the company. Then came a New York season with Jerome Robbins’ Ballets: USA and four years as Principal Dancer of The Jaffrey Ballet, where she danced ballerina roles in most of the repertoire, including Lisette in “La Fille Mal Gardee”; the title role in Thomas Andrew’s “Clarissa” and the leading role in Dirk Sanders’ “Yesterday’s Papers”, both of which were choreographed for her; the pas de deux from Bournonville’s “Flower Festival in Genzano” and from Act 1 of
“Giselle”; and the leads in Balanchine’s “Pas de Dix” and “Square Dance”. Another accident, this time detached retinas, made her decide to leave that company. Freelance work with a partner and symphony orchestras throughout the United States and as ballerina of America Dances and as Prima Ballerina of the New York City Opera Ballet followed. A new company was being formed for her by Walter Terry and Thomas Andrew when a third accident cut short her performing career at age 27.

The next phase of her career began immediately: Ballet Mistress of The Jaffrey and Boston Ballets, starting the Dance Program at St. Paul’s School in Concord NH, Artistic Director of the Netherlands Dance Theatre, Professor of Ballet at Adelphi University, Head of Ballet at The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, teaching and staging residencies in South Korea, Israel and the Philippines, teaching on the faculty of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, and Professor of Ballet, Men’s Ballet and Dance History at Butler University. As a Fulbright lecturer, Zide-Booth was the first American invited to be Artist in Residence at the Prague Conservatory of Dance and the Ballet of the National Theatre in the Czech Republic. While there, she also taught master classes at the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague, the Brno Ballet, the Brno Dance Conservatory, the Army Ballet Company and she helped to start an American-style conservatory of dance. She also staged one of her ballets for the Prague National Ballet. Next she was selected from an international search to be Artistic Director of the New Zealand School of Dance. Rochelle is a nine time adjudicator for the National Association of Regional Ballet (now Regional Dance America), including the first National Festival at the Jackson International Ballet Competition, and has choreographed some two dozen ballets. She is also a Certified Reconstructor at the Dance Notation Bureau. Dance Chronicle published some of the diaries from her Jaffrey years in 1 988 and she is listed in 2,000 Notable American Women, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in Entertainment, The International Who’s Who of Professional and Business Women, Personalities of America, Who’s Who in the East and Jewish Women in America, an Historical Encyclopedia. Rochelle is now Professor Emerita of both Butler and Adelphi Universities. In 2014, she was honored to receive the CORPS de Ballet International Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in teaching Ballet in higher education.

Francisco Aviña

Francisco’s training started at Orange County High School of the Performing Arts and continued at Alvin Ailey.  He worked as a dancer in such projects as: Celine Dion’s A New Day at Caesars Palace,  Newsies-the Movie , Batman and Robin, Michael Jackson’s Sisterella, Fame L.A the TV series,The World Billboard Music Awards. He danced for Elton John, Bette Midler, Janet Jackson, and numerous corporate industrials such as Adidas, Canon, Nike, Reebok, Asics, Nintendo and Aveda. Moving to Chicago he began his company career with Hubbard Street 2 for 1 year, moving to River North  for 1 year, and subsequently into Hubbard Street for 3 seasons. He has also worked with  Lucky Push Production’s under the artistic of Julia Rhoads. His choreography credits include Giannai Versace fashion show in Singapore, 10^th Annual American Choreography Awards in Los Angeles, Nickolodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards with Justin Timberlake, three pieces for Hubbard Street 2 in which one he won a national choreography competition.

Working in Mexico City he choreographed  for TV Azteca Disney’s High School Musical La Seleccion  and Yo Mexico which was a multi media production celebrating the bicentennial anniversary of Mexico’s independence and the centennial anniversary of its revolution with more than 350 artists including dancers, aerialists and musicians. It was performed in the Zocalo at the foot of the National Palace and viewed by over 1.5 million people. He completed the first piece set on Danceworks Chicago entitled “Track 4” under the artistic direction of Julie Nakagawa. He has choreographed for Chicago dance companies such as Luna Negra, Thodos Dance, Ron de Jesus Dance and the Joffery’s second company. Francisco received the “Outstanding Choreography Award” at the Youth America Grand Prix competition.  Francisco is also the resident choreographer for “Digital 9″ in Shibuya Tokyo where he periodically sets new works for a cast of over 60 artists. Currently Francisco is the Artistic Director of Danza Tres in Mexico City, were he over see’s the artistic direction of large mass live event’s as well as television and theatre projects.