MDS Faculty

Elizabeth Chang, a native of Philadelphia, PA moved to Pittsburgh to join Attack Theater in 2007. Liz began her formal training at the North Carolina School of the Arts where she received a high school diploma. Then, she went on to receive BA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago. She also studied at Drexel University, the America Ballet Theater Summer Intensive, the Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. She performed professionally with Carolina Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet Theater and Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. She taught master classes all over Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Liz is currently on faculty at the Oriental Star Dance School and continues to teach summer programs at Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham College, the Boyd Community Center and the Pace School.

Jenny Lawrence began her dance training at Annabel Timms’ Dance Studio in Bridgeport, WV where she studied ballet and jazz from Annabel Timms, Marcy Mossburg and Cindy Timms Pulice for over twenty years. In 1996, she attended Governor’s School for the Arts where she studied ballet and pointe with Susan Stowe and modern with Ruth Linney-Midkiff. Jenny attended the West Virginia Dance Festival on several occasions, participated in numerous performances, and danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the 1997 Arts and Education production of The Nutcracker. She has recently been attending open classes at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School and is pursuing a PhD in French Language and Literature at the University of Pittsburgh. With more than nine years experience of teaching dance, In 2009, Jenny received her certification in the nationally renowned Leap ‘n Learn program. Jenny is also the director of both the Morgantown Ballet Company and the Morgantown Youth Ballet Company. Jenny received her Phusia certification in August 2011 and is currently the only certified Phusia instructor in the state of West Virginia.

Ashley Marie Manzo began her dance training at Monica’s School of Dance in Fairmont, WV. Her family moved to Illinois where she studied with various studios and danced/competed with her Jr. High and High School Dance Teams. Ashley went on to be a graduate of Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville with a Bachelors of Sciences Degree in Theatre & Dance. During her 4 years at SIUE, Ashley participated in faculty shows, student productions, and was President of the University Dance Organization. She found her true passion in college which was choreographing. Ashley received dance scholarships and awards... her choreography "Whisper to a Scream" was chosen for the Faculty Choreographers Award and was presented at the American College Dance Festival. In school, Ashley studied a variety of dance forms including Graham, Horton, Release and Laban. Ashley is also a FitTour Certified Modern Pilates Teacher. Ashley has created work for the Open House and codirected the MDS performance of Sleeping Beauty with Jenny Lawrence. Her piece A Sleeping Beauty was a Modern Retelling of the classic fairytale. Ashley has also performed solo of pieces of her in a semi-professional setting for independent shows in the area. Apart from dance Ashley is an AST Certified Surgical Technologist, an Ophthalmic Medical Assistant at Regional Eye Associates & teaches Pilates classes around the Morgantown area.

Taryn Frey Misner trained at the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet Company where she was taught by world renowned artists such as Tamar Rachelle, Ernest Tolentino, Kevin and Patty Maloney, Gelsey Kirkland, Patrick Hinson and Stephen Mills. Taryn not only studied ballet but also modern. This early training has allowed Taryn to utilize unique teaching concepts in working with other young dancers.

While still a member of PYBC, Taryn furthered her knowledge of the performing arts and studied theater under George Jaber and Kevin Maloney. She received a technical theater degree and then went on to earn a B.A. in Performing Arts from La Roche College.

Her many talents in arts management, dance, and administration have been called upon by performing companies and schools in the surrounding area including Gannon University. Her choreography has received numerous awards and has been acknowledged as “attention grabbing” to “clean line and proper technique” and “that’s what dance is about.”

Taryn’s Photo courtesy of Simon Photography

Corey Nielsen has been classically trained in ballet in many teaching methods including Vaganova, Balanchine, and RAD. He became an apprentice of the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet early in his life and performed all over North Eastern Ohio with them. Performance opportunities included an original Broadway show, and performing in the Second Annual International Youth Festival in Vevey, Switzerland. He trained with Bolshoi Soloist and renowned teacher Tatiana Stepanova in Toronto, where he performed the lead in Cippolino, and other leading roles in Pinocchio, The Nutcracker, and Thumbelina. He has performed multiple times with Morgantown Dance Studio, in performances of The Nutcracker, and most recently in Snow White.

Marilyn Pipes began her dance training in Corning, NY at Madame Halina’s School of Dance Arts. She furthered her ballet studies at the University of Utah, in Boston with Tatiana Babushkina, and in Tucson, Arizona with Rodney Gustafson. She danced soloist roles in numerous ballets, including Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, La Fille Mal Gardée, and The Nutcracker, and performed with various regional ballet companies, such as The Elmira-Corning Ballet Company and Southwest Dance Theatre. Ms Pipes has been teaching ballet for a total of fifteen years, including twelve years at The Morgantown Dance Studio. She served as Assistant Artistic Director for Morgantown Dance Inc.’s production of The Nutcracker from 1997-2005. Ms Pipes holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Arizona and currently works as a speech-language pathologist and rehab manager in Morgantown.

Rachel Romero began her dance training under Jerry Rose at Beckley Dance Theatre School. She has trained in ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. In 2003, Rachel attended West Virginia's Governor's School for the Arts where she received additional training in both ballet and modern. While attaining a dance minor at WVU, she has performed with the WVU Orchesis Dance Company. As a student choreographer, her choreography has been chosen to represent WVU at the 2007 WV Dance Festival. She has also choreographed for the WVU Dance Team and assisted in the WVU Division of Theatre and Dance production of the musical "Urinetown." In addition to performing in several WV Dance Festivals, Rachel has performed at the American College Dance Festival, Goose Route Dance Festival, and WV Division of Culture and History Collegiate Series. She recently received a B.S. degree in biology summa cum laude and is currently attending West Virginia University School of Medicine.

Liz Rossi trained with Berle Davis in California and received a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan. She directs and choreographs all over the country for summer stock, regional, dinner and children's theatre. Ms. Rossi has fifteen years experience teaching jazz, tap and ballet for studios, theatre companies and theatre camps. She now lives in Morgantown with her husband and two small children and works as a Musical Theatre coach, readying students for auditions and professional careers in New York. Liz recently obtained her certification in the nationally renowned Leap ‘n Learn Program

Robert Steele, originally from Erie, Pa., began his training at the Erie Civic Ballet. He also studied on scholarship at the Boston Conservatory of Music as well as the Boston School of Ballet, and among his many notable teachers were E. Virginia Williams, Vera Volkova, Stanley Willams, and Maggie Black. As a professional dancer, Robert began his career with the Boston Ballet, dancing many soloist and principal roles, and from there he went on to dance with the Royal Danish Ballet, Les Grande Ballet Canadiens, and the Washington Ballet. A master teacher with over thirty years of experience, Robert has taught at many of the top schools throughout the country including the Washington School of Ballet, the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and the Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts. Many of his students have gone on to enjoy critical acclaim as professional dancers, and several have won medals at the Moscow and Varna international competitions. Among his many achievements, Robert founded the Lake Erie Ballet Company in 1988 and produced sixteen original works for the company of eight dancers. A prolific choreographer, Robert’s talents have been recognized by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and he has created ballets for such companies as Allegheny Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Columbus Youth Ballet, Ithaca Ballet, Maine State Ballet, and New Castle Ballet among others

Desiree Witt holds a B.S. in Music Education and a M. Ed. in Dance Education from Frostburg State University. She holds a Maryland State Teaching certificate for Music K-12 and has been teaching in the state of Maryland for over 20 years.

She serves on the Fine Arts Education Advisory Panel for the Maryland State Department of Education and has been a member of MENC and MMEA for 22 years.

At Morgantown Dance she teaches the advanced levels of ballet and pointe and has worked extensively directing, choreographing, and performing in such ballets as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella among many.

She is certified to teach Vaganova Levels I-VI through John White, Irina Kolpakova, and the late Jurgen Schneider. She is also certified to teach Leap N Learn. Ms. Witt supplemented her training at Ballet Theatre of Annapolis, Point Park University, and with Madame Darvash in New York City.

Ms. Witt’s ballet students have been placed in prestigious schools and companies such as The Joffrey Ballet, School of American Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (Schenley Park), Point Park University, North Carolina School of the Arts and The Juilliard School.

In her home studio she trains dancers for the future of the dance world and has even choreographed for The Miss America Pageant. You may reach her at dezzwitt@yahoo.com or by calling 301-689-3052.

Faculty Profiles

Morgantown Dance is pleased to introduce you to our outstanding dance faculty.

Guest Faculty Profiles

Guest Faculty will periodically teach special classes at MDS.

(Be sure to check out the page on the all new Saturday Masters Series)

Lindy Mandradjieff, born in Pittsburgh, Pa, received the majority of her training at School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet. Lindy began her professional career with the San Francisco Ballet, and in June of 2001, she joined the New York City Ballet.

While at the New York City Ballet, Ms. Mandradjieff danced featured roles in David Allan's Reunions; George Balanchine's Coppélia (Waltz), George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (Marzipan and Dolls), Raymonda Variations, La Sonnambula, and Walpurgisnacht Ballet; Peter Martins' Eight Easy Pieces, The Sleeping Beauty (Eloquence and Ruby), and Swan Lake (Pas de Trois and Pas de Quatre); Jerome Robbins' Interplay; Richard Tanner's Soirée; Helgi Tomasson's Prism; and Christopher Wheeldon's Mercurial Manoeuvres and Polyphonia. She also originated a featured role in Peter Martins' Viva Verdi and corps roles in Melissa Barak's Telemann Overture Suite in E Minor, Susan Stroman's Double Feature, and Christopher Wheeldon's Carnival of the Animals.

In 2002, Ms. Mandradjieff appeared in the nationally televised Live From Lincoln Center broadcast New York City Ballet's Diamond Project: Ten Years of New Choreography on PBS, dancing in Mercurial Manoeuvres.

In 2005, Ms. Mandradjieff graduated with a B.A. in Dance from St. Mary’s College and a Public and Professional Writing Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh.

Currently, Ms. Mandradjieff is an adjunct faculty member at Point Park University. She also teaches at The Ballet Academy of Pittsburgh and Wexford Dance Academy.

Lindsay LaFrankie Piper grew up in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. She studied at Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, School of American Ballet and on full scholarship at the Kirov Academy of Ballet (Washington D.C.). At 17 Lindsay began her professional career when she joined the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, then under the directorship of Patricia Wilde. While there she enjoyed dancing a diverse repertoire of classical and contemporary works and working with established and emerging choreographers. Some of her favorite ballets included Balanchine’s Jewels and Symphony in C, Choo San Goh’s Beginnings and Kenneth McMillian’s Elite Syncopations. In 2002, Lindsay received a B.A. in Management from Chatham College, graduating magna cum laude with highest honors and with a membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She has taught ballet and rehearsed young children in the Pittsburgh area for the past seven years. She resides in Pleasant Hills with her husband Steven and their daughters Kyra and Ava.

Steven Piper began his training at the age of eleven with Mary Day at the Washington School of Ballet, and after that, the Maryland Youth Ballet with Michelle Lees, Tensia Fonseca and Eric Hampton. He also studied with Nicolai Morozov at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C., and after moving to Pittsburgh, he completed his training with Mansur Kamaletdinov, former Acting Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet.

Steven danced professionally with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and Nashville Ballet, performing in numerous classical and contemporary works. Among his favorites were Choo San Goh’s Beginnings, Configurations and Unknown Territory, as well as Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante. In 2002 Steven graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a B. A. in History and Philosophy, and he is nearing completion of a Masters Degree in Historical Preservation from West Virginia University. During the past several years, he has taught ballet in the Pittsburgh area and has performed in many local and national venues.

Jamie Kinney Stutler is a native of Bridgeport who grew up under the instruction of Bonnie and Michael McGowan. A founding member of the Kitchen Sink Dance Company, Jamie went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in dance from Radford University in Virginia. Jamie has performed professionally at Dollywood Amusement Park; Unto These Hills —Cherokee, NC, and for Ballet Gloria in Knoxville, TN. She has also taught and choreographed dance for various schools and performance groups in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and West Virginia. She is currently Artistic Director of the Momentum Center for the Arts, and choreographs for Doxa Dance Company, and the RCB Show Choir.

Lauren Slone has trained in classical ballet, pointe, and modern for nearly twenty years. She attended Billings and Betty Studio, Stagecraft, Inc., Academy of Ballet Arts, and the Pinellas County Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida. In addition to several years of performing experience, Lauren has served as faculty at Academy of Ballet Arts, Stagecraft, Inc., Morgantown Dance Studio, and Momentum Center for the Arts. Upon completion of a B.A. in Religious Studies at WVU summa cum laude, Lauren was commissioned to choreograph for Frostburg State University's Dance Program, the National Dance Association’s Annual Gala, and a variety of regional dance festivals. She has also completed several pedagogical seminars such as Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet's Teacher Workshop, Finis Jhung's Ballet Technique Workshop, and the Leap 'n' Learn Early Childhood program. Recently, Lauren was named Artistic Director of the Morgantown Ballet Company (the performing company of Morgantown Dance) and served until August 2009. Currently, Lauren has accepted a full fellowship to attend Florida State University's School of Dance as an MFA candidate in Dance Performance and Choreography. She will complete the prestigious program in Spring 2012 and hopes to become a professor of dance.

Tadashi Kato is a Tai Chi & Qigong instructor, dance therapy instructor, and an interpretive dancer & performance artist. He has been practicing various forms of martial arts for over 30 years and also has been practicing Qigong for 19 years ever since he learned it from Master Kaku who was a graduate from Beijin Physical Education University. He also studied Japanese sword dance with Kensei Namiki; traditional style swordsmanship with Ken Morita; Butoh (Japanese avant-garde dance) with Moe Yamamoto, Toru Iwashita, and Kunishi Kamiryo; Ballet at various dance schools including Morgantown Dance Studio, Modern Dance with Bill Evans, Kista Tucker, Don Halquis, Angela Dennis, Kristina Isabella, and Pilobolous Dance Company; Jazz Dance with Liz Rossi; Contact Improvisation with Jordan Fuchs; Break Dance at Harajuku Dance Academy; Central Asian Dance, Persian Dance, and Middle Eastern Dance with Narah Bint Durr; West African Dance with Jonathan Burbank; and Eurythmy (a form of modern dance founded by Rudolf Steiner) with both Akira Kasai and with Jolanda Frischknecht at Austin Eurythmy Ensemble. He was also trained in Mime, Laban Movements Analysis (Bill Evans and Kista Tucker), Bartenieff Fundamental (Bill Evans and Don Halquis), Alexander Technique (Suzanne Oliver), Qigong, Tai Chi, and various other forms of martial arts. While teaching Tai Chi, Qigong, and dance therapy at various studios in WV, MD, and NY, he also performs originally choreographed interpretive dance repertories by integrating all the movement arts he had learned. He was a commissioned artist at Dayton Performance Art Festival in 2008 and was also recently selected as a solo dancer/choreographer for the adjudicated performance series at Judson Church through Movement Research in NY. Tadashi started teaching at Morgantown Dance Studio in 2004 and he also serves as a faculty member at Fairmont State University WV. He also directs the Tadashi Project that produces benefit-oriented dance theater through M.T.Pockets Theatre in Morgantown, WV.

Degrees

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology (Ohio University)

M.A., Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology (Tokyo University)

B.A., Aesthetics – Philosophy of Performing Arts (Tokyo University)

Donald Laney graduated from the University of California, Irvine with his MFA in dance in 2004. He is currently the Rehearsal/Co-Director of the West Virginia Dance Company. Before entering the graduate progam at UCI, Donald performed with the West Virginia Dance Company, Houlihan & Dancers (Miami, FL), Randy James Dance Worx (NYC), X-Factor (NC), and many guest appearances throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. While attending UCI, he had the opportunity to perform for Donald McKayle, Loretta Livingston, Lisa Naugle, and Christine Chrest, as well as presenting his own choreography which was chosen to represent UCI at ACDFA in 2003 and 2004. Donald's work with Lisa Naugle and John Crawford has produced three dance videos that have been presented at the Lincoln Center and in dance video conferences in Yugoslavia, Japan, New Jersey, Michigan, Arizona, and at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. Donald has taught at James Madison University, UCI, Lees-McRae College, ACDFA-Southwest region, and at many regionally events. In the summer of 2005, he was the modern dance instructor at the WV Governor's School of the Arts.

Katie Finklea received her early training in Morgantown from Fiona Morris, Phyllis Greenwood, and Desiree Witt. She continued her formal training at Boston Ballet School, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Austin Ballet, and the North Carolina School of the Arts where she received her high school diploma. In addition to performances with NWVDC and NCSA, Katie has performed professionally with Boston Ballet and Boston Ballet II. Katie has been on faculty with the Morgantown Dance Studio, Momentum Center for the Arts, and the Northern West Virginia Performing Arts Academy. While teaching and coaching in West Virginia and Maryland, Katie earned a B.A. in political science and a minor in French from West Virginia University, graduating magna cum laude as a member of the WVU Honors program. Katie currently resides in Brooklyn, NY and works as a marketing consultant for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Kyle Hayes began his training at The Hanover Academy of Dance in Hanover, PA and later moved to The Oxford School of Performing Arts. He has trained in various forms of dance including Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Theatre, and Hip Hop. Kyle is currently pursuing a dance minor at West Virginia University, under the directorship of Heather Ahern, where he both dances and student choreographs for the company. Aside from performing in many musical theatre productions in both lead and featured dancer roles, Kyle has performed at The High School Theatre Awards, as well as The American College Dance Festival.

Photo used courtesy of Blue Iris Portraits

Cecil Slaughter, Artistic Director of the Project, is a Senior Lecturer in dance at Washington University and Artistic Director of Washington University Dance Theatre. He was a featured dancer with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company under the direction of Jearldyne Blunden for fourteen years. While at DCDC he served as the Assistant Rehearsal Coach. During his career he has worked with such notable choreographers as Alvin Ailey, Ulysses Dove, Talley Beatty, Doug Varone, Donald McKayle and a host of others considered masters in the field of modern dance. His choreographic accomplishments include collaboration between the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (Dayton, Ohio), and the Grammy Award winning vocal group, Sweet Honey on the Rock, on the premiere of his 1993 work Colours. He has received several accolades for dance and choreography including an Individual Artist Fellowship for Choreography from the Montgomery County Regional Arts and Cultural District (Dayton, OH), and a Patricia Roberts-Harris Fellowship from the University of Iowa (1995), where he received a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Dance and Choreography. His classes at Washington University include all levels of jazz and modern (Horton Technique). He has created works for COCA dance, Ballet Midwest, MADCO and several other professional, university, and studio companies. His most recent work GRID was selected to represent the American College Dance Conference’s Central Region at the National American College Dance Conference in New York.

Stacey Fernandez, originally from Bridgeport, WV, is a 2010 graduate of Radford University with a Bachelors of Science degree in dance education. At Radford, Fernandez graduated summa cum-laude and gained teaching experience in numerous public and private school settings including The Spence School in NYC. In WV, she has received training from Momentum Center for the Arts and Morgantown Dance Studio as well as numerous workshops and intensives at American College Dance Festival, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Point Park University, WV Governor's School for the Arts, and the West Virginia Dance Festival. She was an apprentice for the Kitchen Sink Dance Company, under the direction of Michael McGowan, and has spent the past three years dancing and touring with d a n a h b e l l a DanceWorks, a modern company based in Southwest Virginia.

Andrea Gilreath began her dance studies in ballet, jazz and tap at the age of five at Regina's Studio of Dance in Charleston, WV. She next studied under Kim Pauley at the school of the Charleston Ballet where she performed and apprenticed throughout high school. Andrea attended West Virginia University and took a break from dancing until she was referred to Morgantown Dance where she resumed ballet and found a new love...modern dance. Andrea was an original member of Alchemy Dance Project and has performed locally in many Alchemy and Morgantown Dance performances such as Momotaro, The Nutcracker, Snow White, and more. Andrea continues to dance with Morgantown Dance and is a member of The Morgantown Ballet Company. Andrea recently became certified in the nationally renowned Leap ‘n Learn Program.

Heather Hazucha attended Charlotte’s Dance Studio for 17 years studying tap, ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, and hip-hop. She began teaching when she was a sophomore in high school. Heather taught at Charlotte’s for 5 years, Angela’s Art of dance for 1 year, and is currently an assistant dance teacher for the Boparc Senior Sophisticates. Along with her years of teaching, Heather began choreographing for Eloquence Performance Company, a local indoor color guard, and the University High School color guard in 2009. Throughout her years of dance, she has gone to the Professional Dance Teachers Association (PDTA) “Stars of Tomorrow”, Dance Caravan, Platinum Talent Productions, and Dance Theatre USA competitions and workshops. Heather has won many awards some of which include 1st and 3rd place grand champion, best costume, best stage presence, along with a tap scholarship to “Steps on Broadway” in New York City in 2008. Heather was also a Dance Caravan Kid and traveled across the United States with professional dancers and other dancers from across the country.

Heather is currently a senior exercise physiology student at West Virginia University, and plans to apply to the exercise physiology masters program or pharmacy school.

Maureen Mansfield Kaddar Maureen Mansfield-Kaddar began her dance training and received her BFA at Adelphi University in New York under the direction of Norman Walker. She has danced with numerous modern dance companies in New York City including Peter Pucci Plus Dancers, Rebecca Kelly, Gail Gilbert, Rebecca Stenn and Paul D. Mosley.

As a member of Paul Taylor Dance Company from 1997-2002, she had the privilege of performing his great works all over the world. She can also be seen in the Emmy Award nominated documentary, Dancemaker, a film about Mr. Taylor.

Maureen has enjoyed setting the works of Mr. Taylor and Mr. Pucci on many university dance departments and professional companies, including The Joffrey Ballet. Maureen’s own choreography has been presented at Soundance NYC, Randolph College and Long Island University as well as many private studios.

Together, with her husband, Yoav Kaddar, Maureen created DoubleDance, a performance and educational duet company that toured nationally and internationally.

Throughout her career she has taught and directed dance at institutions such as Vassar College, Randolph College, DanceWave Brooklyn and The Paul Taylor School in NYC .

Her husband’s new position as Director of Dance in the Division of Theatre and Dance at WVU is what brings her to the lovely and vibrant Morgantown where she hopes to immerse herself in the dance community and share her love and teaching of dance and Anti-Gravity Yoga.

Shay Maunz, began her dance training at Momentum Center for the Arts in Clarksburg WV. Ms. Maunz studied ballet and modern dance for more than ten years under the instruction of Eunice Kim, Michael McGowan, Katie Finklea and Jamie Kinney Stutler, among others. While at Momentum, she performed as a member of The Senior Company and was also a member of the Morgantown Youth Ballet Company at Morgantown Dance. Shay's performance credits include several appearances at The West Virginia Dance Festival, and has performed in many local productions such as The Nutcracker. She attended the West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts in 2006. Shay recently received her Leap ‘n Learn certification. Shay is currently a junior at West Virginia University, where she is a print journalism major.

Peter H. LeBreton Merz joined the Louisville Ballet at 19, and went on to serve as head of their InSchool Lecture Demonstration Program when he was twenty. He later joined the Cincinnati Ballet, where he taught in the Cincinnati Ballet’s Academy and at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati.

In 2002, Mr. Merz served as the Artistic Administrator for the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS. In 2004, Mr. Merz joined the faculty of Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. He became Head of Ballet in 2007. He teaches several levels of ballet technique, pointe technique, male technique, and dance composition. He has choreographed more then 20 original ballets for schools around the region, and is a much sought after coach of the classical ballet repertoire. He has coached finalists for the 2008, 2009, and 2010 Youth America Grand Prix, and has served as a coach for competitors in the 2006 and 2010 USA International Ballet Competition and the 2010 Korean International Ballet Competition.

Stephanie Smith started dancing at the age of three at Dancing Unlimited, a local dance studio in her hometown of St. Albans, WV. There she trained in the disciplines of jazz, ballet, and tap. At the age of 13 she took a long hiatus from dance. After graduating college with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, getting married, and moving to Fairfax, VA, she decided to return to dance. Basically from scratch, she began her training again at Russell's School of Ballet in Fairfax, Va where she trained under the instruction of Jane Masciarelli and Mary Marshall for about 2 years. Upon moving back to Morgantown, Stephanie has continued her training at Morgantown Dance Studio for the past 5 years under the direction of Katie Finklea, Marylin Pipes, Lauren Slone, and Renee Nicholson. She is currently a member of the Morgantown Ballet Company and has performed in several MDS productions including Momotaro, The Nutcracker, and Snow White. Stephanie also performed in Ballet Lafayette's production of Mary Poppins. She recently obtained her certification from Beverly Spell in the nationally renowned Leap 'n Learn Program.

Gretchen Moore, maiden name Gretchen M. Hurd, is originally from Brookville, PA. After receiving her BA in Dance from Slippery Rock University in 2002, she relocated to Pittsburgh to accept a company member position with Laboratory Company Dance (LABCO). After five seasons with LABCO and working with choreographers like Kyle Abraham, Teena Custer, Miguel Gutiarez, Jennifer Keller, Ursula Payne, Gwen Hunter Ritchie, Sarah Skaggs, Kevin Wynn and Pavel Zustiak, the company disbanded and Moore became a freelance choreographer and performer for the summer of 2009. While doing work with The Pillow Project and Pearlann Porter she was offered a position with the new African American-influenced dance company, the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble. For the 2009-2010 season, Moore performed with AWCDE as a founding company member and rehearsal director. She worked with choreographers Robert Battle, Crystal Frazier, Terence Greene, Christopher Huggins, Pearlann Porter and Greer Reed-Jones during her short time with AWCDE. This company catapulted her into a company member position with the Dance Alloy Theater. Moore has taught Choreography, Hip-Hop, Improvisation, Modern, Jazz, Salsa and Creative Dance to all ages in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. From Colleges and Universities like West Virginia Wesleyan College, Chatham College and the University of Pittsburgh, to master classes like the Jones Summer Dance Intensive, Moore has taught, created new works and helped to shape the way young and established dancers view the art form of dance. She looks forward to setting her work on the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble for its upcoming season and is in talks with Todd Rosenlieb Dance to rework her trio, Realization.

Arathy N Gowda, is a Classical Bharathnatyam dancer from India. She choreographed a dance piece for Spartacus Returns, a theater production which was played in the World Social Forum 2004, and many other venues in India. She takes on new dance forms to explore them from within, including Cha Cha, Waltz, Foxtrot and Flamenco, and is currently learning Ballet and Modern at Morgantown Dance Studio. She believes anyone can be a dancer: "Dance with your heart- your mind and body will follow."

Wendy Kalasky began her dance training under the direction of Larraine Susa in Uniontown, PA where she studied ballet, jazz, tap, acrobat, lyrical, contemporary, pointe, and musical theater for 13 years. During this time, she was the recipient of such accolades as Dance Masters of Pennsylvania's Barth Acrobatic Scholarship, American Dance Awards Dancer of the Year for Pittsburgh, PA and Buffalo, NY, and Highest Overall Performance Winner for Headliner's Dance Competition. She participated in many workshops across the country including University at Buffalo's Summer Dance Session, New York City Dance Alliance, Dance Masters of America, and West Coast Dance Explosion. She then attended Penn State University to receive her B.S. in Secondary Mathematics Education. While in college, she was a member of PSU's chapter of Orchesis Dance Company and taught and choreographed for local studios in the State College, PA area. Upon graduating from college, Wendy moved to Morgantown, WV where she is currently employed at Morgantown High School as a Mathematics Teacher and is currently the coach of the Morgantown High Dance Team.

Stephen Hadala - Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Stephen received his early training at Allard Academy of Dance and Marygrove College. He also trained at Dance Theatre of Harlem, School of American Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. Now in his 13th season with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Stephen has enjoyed dancing a variety of solo and principal roles in PBT’s vast repertoire. Some of his favorites include, elegy boy in Serenade, male lead in Dwight Rhoden’s Carmina Burana, Johnny in Paul Taylor’s Company B, the male lead in Twyla Tharp’s Octet , Stomper in Tharp’s In the Upper Room. In addition to dancing roles, Stephen has also performed a number of character roles including The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake Dr.Coppleius in Coppelia, The King and Rochfert in Three Musketeers and Dracula.

Aaron Ingley - Aaron’s received his training at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Southern Academy of Ballet Arts, and the Young Actors’ Theatre of Tallahassee, Florida. As a company member with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Aaron performed various roles including the following: Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland, Gamache in Don Quixote, The Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, Principal Male in Paquita, Domani in Nine Sinatra Songs, Dr. Coppelius in Coppelia, Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, Goro in Madame Butterfly, Renfeld in Dracula, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Wicked Stepsister in Cinderella. Aaron has also made several guest appearances and appeared in film and television.

Christina Ghiardi, from Morgantown, began her ballet training with Morgantown Dance Studio at the age of 6 and continued training there until she was 14. While with MDS, she received her ballet training from Dessire Witt, Lauren Slone, Katie Finklea, Marilyn Pipes, Marcy Bowers Mossburg, and Eunice Kim. At the age of 14 she was invited to train with the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program in New York City on full scholarship where she trained with John Magnus, Francesca Corkle and Era Jouravlev for a year. After her year at the Joffrey Ballet School she was invited to train at The School of American Ballet, also in New York City. She has spent three years training there with Kay Mazzo, Suki Schorer, Susan Pilarre, Sean Lavery, Peter Martins, Darci Kistler, and Katrina Killian and will be returning for the 2011-2012 school year to complete her training with the school. Throughout her past three years at The School of American Ballet, Christina has participated in the Student Choreography Workshop where she both choreographed a short ballet and performed in a contemporary ballet piece; she was chosen to be a dancer for the New York Choreographic Institute; she was chosen to participate in New York City Ballet’s Lecture Demonstration Programs; and she has performed in various ballets in the schools yearly Workshop Performances. Christina has also attended many different summer programs including Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, Kirov Academy of Ballet, Joffrey Midwest Workshop, The School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet School and most recently, Boston Ballet School.

Robert Moore, now in his 4th season with PBT, began his dance training in Indianapolis with the White River Ballet Company. He furthered his training there with Jordan Academy of Arts at Butler University. Robert was accepted to the Harid Conservatory and following graduation, joined Boston Ballet II in 1996. In 1998 he was promoted to the Boston Ballet Company. Robert’s repertoire includes Mark Morris’ Maelstrom and Drink to Me, Christopher Wheeldon’s Corybantic Ecstasies, Firebird and The Four Seasons, Balanchine’s Four Temperaments, Theme and Variations, Serenade and Rubies and MacMillan’s Winter Dreams. With Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre he has danced Dwight Rhoden’s Ave Maria, the male lead in Rhoden’s Carmina Burana, Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, Paul Taylor’s Company B and the Cavalier in Terrence S. Orr’s The Nutcracker.

Daniel Karasik began his dance training at age 17 in Buck County, Pennsylvania. He attended on scholarship, the Joffrey Ballet School – New York, the Nutmeg Conservatory and the School of Ballet Florida. Daniel graduated from Point Park University in 2007, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance.

Karasik has most enjoyed roles in Susan Stroman’s CONTACT, Stuart Sebastian’s Dracula, Karen Russo-Burke and Dermot Burke’s The Nutcracker, Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo, George Balanchine’s Serenade and Christopher Flemming’s The Who’s Tommy.

Achievements offstage include acknowledgment by Mayor Tom Murphy for his efforts in helping restore the Hazlett Theater in the North Side of Pittsburgh, PA. Karasik has worked as adjunct faculty at Point Park University teaching dance, and also as a rehearsal director for their International Summer Dance program. In addition, Karasik is proud to have stage managed productions for choreographers such as Nicholas Petrov, Kiesha Lallama-White, Pearlann Porter and Peter Merz.

Most recently Karasik choreographed Introductions and References for the Dayton Arts Project, Fixed Action for Dayton Ballet, and Cha, d’Amour for their annual Nutcracker Ball. While in college, Karasik’s choreography, la Carte du Tendre, was sent to the American College Dance Festival in Boston, MA and chosen for the Gala. He has also collaborated with Pittsburgh's Orpheé Ensemble to create a duet entitled Orpheus.

Karasik is currently the Founding Director of the Dayton Arts Project.

Ray Ejiofor is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where he earned a B.S. in Decision Science and minors in Engineering Studies and Technology and Policy. Ejiofor is a recipient of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship. He has worked with many prestigious choreographers and has trained with the Los Angeles based Brockus Project Dance Company as well as the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company. Ejiofor is the founding, Artistic Director of the student-run Dancers Symposium Dance Company at Carnegie Mellon University and teaches various styles at a number of studios and universities around the Pittsburgh area including Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, and the August Wilson Center Dance Academy where he is a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble.