Notes in Motion - Artists (Outreach)

	Jessica Barzell (teaching artist) Jessica Barzell, a native of Montreal Canada, received her M.A. in choreography and performance at Florida State University. She has held a Lecture Professor position at the University of Virginia teaching modern and ballet classes and a TA position at FSU teaching similar technique classes. Jessica helped develop and teach an afterschool program for an elementary charter school while in graduate school based on teaching methods of BrainDance Compatible Education and has continued dance education for children in Virginia and DC. She is a certified Pilates instructor from STOTT and currently a student at the Kane School/ Kinected Pilates in Chelsea. She has taught Pilates to young dancers at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in DC and currently teaches private Pilates sessions at Gramercy Pilates Fitness and PT Plus.
	Catherine Coury (dancer) Catherine Coury, a native Detroiter, began dancing with Mack Avenue Dance Company at a young age. She continued her training as a scholarship student at the University of Michigan and received a B.F.A. in dance with a creative writing emphasis. Catherine has performed the works of Paul Taylor, Laura Dean, Colleen Thomas, Jana Hicks, Sandra Torijano, Amy Chavasse, Darcy Naganuma, and David P. Frances. Catherine currently works with Spark(edIt) Arts and Sarah Konner. This is her second season with Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre.
	Henry Cross (teaching artist) Henry started dancing at the age 10. He began by learning Latin American folklore and ballroom dancing. During college, he discovered yoga as a stamina training activity for dance. He trained in Bikram and Vinyasa practices. Today, he teaches ballroom, academics, and yoga to young people in NYC as he continues to pursue professional growth in all three fields.
	Jessica Danser (teaching artist) Jessica Danser-Schwarz, a native New Yorker, holds a B.F.A. cum laude in dance composition from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She is on faculty at the Ailey School as well as various other dance studios, and has done extensive subbing and teaching artist work in the NYC public schools. Jessica is an American Ballet Theater certified teacher in Primary-Level 3 of ABT's national training curriculum. She is also the choreographer and director for the contemporary dance company JD/dansfolk, which has received numerous grants and awards from the Bronx Council on the Arts.
	Carlita V. Ector (dancer/teaching artist) Carlita V. Ector is a NYC based dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist. She began her dance career in Raleigh, NC and attended The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; receiving a B.F.A. in dance performance and choreography, K-12 teaching license in dance education, and a minor in Spanish. Carlita also studied at Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts (CT), the American Dance Festival (NC), the Urban Bush Women Summer Institute (NY), and the Impulstanz International Dance Festival in Vienna, Austria. Professional credits include touring with the Chuck Davis African American Dance Ensemble, Shani Collins’ Eternal Works, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, and Chiku Awali African Dance Company of Rockland, The Phyllis Rose Dance Company, and Christal Browns’ INSPIRIT, a dance company. Carlita currently teaches with Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theatre, Chiku Awali African Dance Company of Rockland, INSPIRIT, a dance company, The Phyllis Rose Dance Company, The Dalton School, and In Grandma’s Attic. This is Carlita’s second season with Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre.
	Caron Eule (teaching artist) Caron Eule received her B.F.A. in dance from SUNY Purchase and has studied at the London Contemporary School of Dance, the Bat D’or School in Israel, and The Paul Taylor School in New York City. She teaches ballroom dance in the public schools with “Dancing Classrooms” through American Ballroom Theater. She has taught dance at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute, Ballet Hispanico School of Dance, Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech, and Chelsea Day School in New York City; Peak Performance and the Tenafly JCC in New Jersey; and master classes at SUNY Buffalo and SUNY Fredonia. She has performed with Stephan Koplowitz, Daniel Gwirtzman, Tina Croll, Carol Fonda, Naomi Goldberg, Jodi Liss, Anna Sokolow, and Shadow Box Theater, and has toured Germany with Ariane Mertz and Company. As director of C. Eule Dance, she has presented choreography at The Remember Project (Dancers Responding to AIDS), the Elan Awards, Williamsburg Art NeXus, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, the 92nd Street Y, Dance Space, University Settlement, dumbo Arts Festival, the Williamsburg Bridge 100th Birthday, the Pelham Street Fair, and Pride Fest and has choreographed for film, opera, and theater.
	Marianne Glosa (teaching artist) Marianne Giosa is a certified Vinyasa and Children's Yoga Teacher. She has taught Children's Yoga in various public and private schools and has also helped develop an after-school dance and yoga program at Metro Baptist Church to young children. She currently teaches adult yoga in various corporations in NYC. Marianne has an extensive background in movement and healing arts. In the early 90's she traveled to Africa to immerse herself in African Dance and rhythm. She currently dances with Cilla Vee Movement Project, Toukounou Dance, and is currently a director of improvisation between dancers and musicians. As a teacher's assistant with Young Audiences, she has co-taught dance to children with special needs with artist Sidiki Conte in NYC and Florida. Marianne is a Certified Sound Healer, Reiki Master, Masseuse, and has studied various other energetic and somatic modalities.
	Sheila Klein (teaching artiist) Sheila Klein is a Brooklyn-based performance artist and yoga teacher. A graduate of the University of Michigan, with a BA in Psychology and a BFA in Dance, Sheila's work both as an artist and a teacher honors the strength and creativity of the human spirit. Sheila has performed Artichoke Dance Company, AlexanDANCE, A.H. Dance Company and currently dances with J/W Motion Mix. Her choreography has been presented at WAXworks, Greenspace Studios, and the Take Root Festival as well as at several theaters throughout the State of Michigan. Sheila recently completed her 200-hour Yoga Certification through Laughing Lotus College of Yoga, and teaches vinyasa classes throughout NYC. She recently developed a 16-week yoga curriculum for underprivileged youth and teaches yoga in charter schools throughout Brooklyn. Sheila is trained as a trauma-sensitive yoga teacher as well, and works to teach safe, nurturing classes to survivors of violence against women. She currently is a teacher at Spoke the Hub in Park Slope, Yoga Sutra NYC, and at various YMCAs throughout the city.
	Alden LaPaglia (teaching artist) Alden LaPaglia trained at the school of the Richmond Ballet in Richmond, VA and performed their professional company's production of The Nutcracker for nine years, dancing her way from children's roles into the corps de ballet. She earned her B.A. in dance and psychology Goucher College. She has toured nationally as a featured dancer in Bye Bye Birdie and danced at the Kennedy Center with Goucher College's Choreographie Antique. As the founding director of ALDEN MOVES Dance Theater, Alden has produced her own work in and out of New York City. She has also danced with Becky Radway Dance Projects, Incidents Physical Theater, and in work by Sarah Seely. Alden completed her pilates certification under Romana Kryzanowska and Sari Santo and now teaches young athletes and dancers. She has written for *-ISM Magazine, an online arts publication, and has been featured as a consultant for Dance Spirit magazine.
	Fatima Logan (teaching artist) Fatima Logan is a native of Durham, North Carolina and a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA where she received a B.F.A. in dance and choreography and a minor in African-American studies. Logan is an enthusiastic dancer, choreographer, and teacher who received awards for her excellence and commitment to dance including the Joan Oates Dance Education Award and The Carpenter Scholarship. She has danced with Chuck Davis’s African-American Dance Ensemble (Durham, NC ) and Ezibu Muntu African Dance Theatre ( Richmond , VA ). Logan currently dances with Forces of Nature Dance Theater (New York, NY) and Roots in Revolution (New York, NY). As the Artistic Director of VashtiDancec, Logan has presented work for the Powhatan Arts Council and the Glenn Allen Cultural Arts Center (Richmond, VA). In addition to her work with Notes in Motion, Logan teaches dance residencies at many schools in the New York area with Young Audiences/New York.
	Ginger Merritt (teaching artist) Ginger Merritt had a love for movement at a very early age. She has performed all over the world in various Broadway shows. Upon moving to New York, she began teaching dance at Ballet Academy East where they offered free yoga classes. She immediately fell in love with the practice. Ginger is a proud certified yoga instructor through YogaWorks and Karma Kids Yoga. She is also trained in Jacques d'Amboise's National Dance Institute's pedagogy. She feels blessed to have been taught by some of the best instructors out there today and is excited to be able to share the wisdom and knowledge that has been passed down as well as what she has learned throughout her own personal journey. Ginger believes that yoga and dance truly act as catalysts for self exploration, realization, and acceptance; therefore, a positive transformation of the individual can't help but take place when engaging in these modalities.
	Megan Mintum (teaching artist) Megan Minturn loves sharing her passion for movement. Megan has worked with the Charles Ahovissi's African Culture Connection performing and teaching West African dance, the Artery teaching Dancing Classroom's ballroom dance to 5th graders, the Little Red School House summer program, and the Peridance's PeriChild Progrm. She also participated in a Kennedy Center funded Teaching Artist Initiative teaching contemporary dance. Megan studied dance in Senegal, NY, Omaha, Colorado, and most recently, Cuba. She holds a BA in Philosophy from Fordham University with a Minor in African and French Major Studies. She is also a registered yoga teacher. Currently, she is pursuing a Masters in Dance Education at New York University.
	Carla Monzo (teaching artist) Carla Monzo is a New York-based dance artist and educator. She is dedicated to creating ways for students of all ages to discover the freedom of moving to their own inner rhythms. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Carla went on to earn her BA in English from Allegheny College, and an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College. Carla has taught students in Cleveland, Yonkers, and New York public schools, and is currently a Creative Movement teacher at Growing Up Green Charter School in Astoria. Other endeavors have included directing an intergenerational dance company, teaching the Allegheny College Summer Dance Intensive, and continuing to create her own work. Carla has performed works by Deganit Shemy, Jeanine Durning, Joan Meggitt, Amie Dowling, and Mercedes Searer.
	Anastasia Niemann (teaching artist) Ani Niemann received a B.F.A. in Theatre from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she pursued teaching artist work and her own choreography in addition to her theatre training. She was born and raised in New York City, where she has trained extensively in ballet, jazz, modern and tap at Ballet Hispanico and Steps on Broadway. At NYU, she trained at CAP21 (musical theatre), the Classical Studio (Shakespeare), the Experimental Theatre Wing, and the 2007 Tisch Summer Dance Residency Festival. In 2007, she co-founded the street performance collective The Glass Company, for which she has choreographed and directed a number of pieces. Ani has tau ght for the Red Hook-based company Dance Theatre Etcetera, the Rudolf Steiner School in New York, and Beyond Dance at the BergenPAC. She has performed with Les Freres Corbusier, David Dorfman Dance, Liz Swados' NYU Reality Show, and Political Subversities.
	Sari Nordman (teaching artist) Sari Nordman holds an M.F.A. degree in modern dance from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. She recently has presented her choreography at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance!, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Columbia University, Danspace Project, Dixon Place and Movement Research at the Judson Church. She has also performed with many notable choreographers such as Douglas Dunn, Naomi Goldberg Haas, Dean Moss, Robin Rapoport, Susan Rethorst and Melinda Ring, and artist Ming Wong, among others. She is a recipient of American Scandinavian Society’s cultural grant. She has worked as a teaching artist since 2008. She currently works at PS 191 in Brooklyn through Neighborhood Music and Arts. She is pleased to join the team at Notes in Motion.
	Eva Perrotta (teaching artist) Born in France, dance brought Eva to Argentina, and then New York where she studied at the Martha Graham School and performed with the Martha Graham Ensemble, AMDaT, NDTV, and Human Kinetics Movements Arts. She has created various physical theater works for the Aurillac and Avignon festivals in France, as well as shows for fashion designers in Paris. In NY, her work have been presented at the Puffin Room, La Guardia High School of Performing Arts, Merce Cunningham Studio Theater, Dance New Amsterdam, Theresa Lang Theater, Triskelion Arts, The Theater for the New City, and Spoke The Hub. Since 2007, she has led a creative dance class and choreographed for the Young Artist Program at the Martha Graham School. Eva is the artistic director of Nu Dance Theater.
	Victoria Roberts-Wierzbowski (teaching artist) Victoria Roberts-Wierzbowski is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, where she received her B.A. in social sciences and dance. A native of Western Massachusetts, Victoria spent her high school years studying dance, theater and visual arts at a performing arts charter school in Hadley, MA. Her experience there helped shape her strong belief in the vital importance of arts programs in education, specifically programs that emphasize non-competitive, creative communities. Since her graduation, Victoria has been teaching movement to grades K-12 in public and charter schools throughout Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. She has had the delight of spending her last four summers at the Bates Dance Festival, living and working with teenagers during the intensive for young dancers. She currently dances with David Neumann/advanced beginner group and choreographs dance works herself.
	Jenn Rooney (teaching artist) From her earliest memory, Jenn Rooney has possessed an innate passion for movement. She started dancing at the age of 3, and upon entering high school traded in her dancing shoes for running sneakers. She ran long-distance through high school and college, and was encouraged to try yoga as a counter-balance to running. After graduating from Hamilton College in 2002 she moved home to the NYC area, where she first stepped into a yoga studio. The freedom of expression and connection to not just the body, but mind and spirit, have inspired her ever since. She was certified to teach Vinyasa Yoga through Laughing Lotus in the spring of 2011. Since, she has discovered a deep joy for teaching and helping others to find their balance, both inside and out. Jenn is beyond grateful to begin sharing her love of yoga, movement and life, and is especially excited to join Notes in Motion's Teaching Ensemble.
	Jamie Schembri (teaching artist) Transplanted New Yorker from MN, Jamie has been sharing the joy of yoga with children for the past 5 years. Having completed her children’s yoga certifications with Karma Kids and Radiant Child in addition to RYT 200 hour level certification - she is ecstatic to bring her life and yoga experiences to Notes in Motion!
	Amanda Selwyn (artistic director/choreographer) Amanda Selwyn founded Notes in Motion Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre in 2000 and in twelve seasons, has directed over 25 productions, developed a network of artists, and created the curriculum for Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theatre’s arts-in-education programs. Amanda’s choreographic works include: Five Minutes, Passage, Undercurrent, Hearsay, Interiors, Disturbance, Salut, Tilt, Tidal, Shift, Siren, Contradicting Unity, Save My Spot, Hold On, Momentum, and Behind Us. She has choreographed dance for Chicago's Motivity, a collective of modern choreographers; for theatre productions including House on Mango Street, Free to be You an Me, Once Upon a Mattress, The Wiz, Little Shop of Horrors, and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory; and for her original theatre productions which include Herland, Yellow Feather, and Slitting the Clouds. In addition to her choreographic work, Amanda has directed off-broadway theatre in NYC at John Houseman Studio, 30th Street Theatre, Grove Street Theatre, Kraine Theatre, Center Stage, and the Producer’s Club. Amanda teaches dance and theatre to New York City children and has been on faculty at independent schools including The Brearley School, Brooklyn Friends School, Beit Rabban School, Solomon Schechter School, and the New Acting Company. She has taught dance composition and technique at the Berkshire Institute for Music and Art and taught dance and theatre in Israel at the Israel Museum, English Village, and the Arad Community Center. Amanda led the workshop “Accessing Inspiration for Dance-Making” at the NYC Arts-in-Education Roundtable's 2007 Face to Face conference and "Teaching a Choreographic Process" at the 2008 and 2011 conferences. She presented her choreography at NYU’s Women and Theater conference in 2003. She is the recipient of a grant from the NY State Council on the Arts, 2 grants from the Illinois Arts Council for the development of new works, a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Community Arts Fund, 2 grants from the Bronx Council on the Arts, 2 grants from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Development Fund, and a grant from the Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation. In 2008, Amanda participated in the Choreographer's Lab program at Jacob's Pillow in Beckett, MA. Her work has been presented on Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Stage, in the DUMBO Dance Festival, the APAP conference showcase at Dance New Amsterdam, the COOL NY Dance Festival, WestFest Dance Festival, Movement Research’s Performance Series at Dance Theater Workshop, and on the Hudson River as part of Earth Celebrations. Amanda has a 500-hour yoga teacher's certification from Laughing Lotus Yoga Center in NYC and teaches yoga in studios and gyms in NYC. She has a Masters from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in performance studies and a B.S. from Northwestern University in theatre, women's studies, and dance.
	Jules Skloot (teaching artist) Originally from Madison, WI, Jules Skloot is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who lives in Brooklyn, NY. Jules received a B.A. from Hampshire College and an M.F.A. in dance from Sarah Lawrence College. As a dancer, Skloot has worked with Peggy Gould, Katy Pyle, Fritha Pengelly, Sara Rudner, and Jon Kinzel, and Marielle Amrhein. As a choreographer, Skloot received a 2009 Outer/Space creative residency from Dance Theater Workshop in NYC and has shown work at Dixon Place, the University Settlement, the Cunningham Studio, through AUNTS chain curations, as well as in theaters and performance spaces in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, California, and the Pacific Northwest.
	Diane Tomasi (teaching artist) Diane has taught ongoing classes, and workshops in and around the U.S., including New York, Alaska, and Massachusetts as well as the UK. Her teaching repertoire includes gymnastics and tumbling, modern, ballet, contact improvisation, and jazz. Diane moved to New York in 2006 and has danced with choreographers such as Nana Suzuki, Taras Kardashov, Rainey Welch, Sunhwa Chung, Johannes Wieland, and currently, Becky Radway. Diane graduated from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts; where she received her B.A. in performing arts, dance. Diane also holds certifications in Thai massage Levels I, II, & III. Diane has modeled for Nicholas Monaco Photography, Imme Industries, and Ovation Dancewear. Her company KusterFlux has performed in venues such as Dance New Amsterdam, New Dance Group, Green Space Studios, Rover SoHo, and Studio 43.
	Shira Turkl (teaching artist) Shira is a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance and has received her degree from Sonic Yoga in New York City. She is a certified Karma Kids Yoga teacher and enjoys working with the budding yogi. She is also a Certified Holistic Health Coachthrough the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City and has a passion for teaching children how to eat healthy. Personally, Shira practices a holistic lifestyle and takes pleasure in teaching others to find their own paths. Her own personal style of yoga focuses on Vinyasa. She has studied with Lauren Hanna, Johanna Aldrich and William Duprey with influence from Sri Dharma Mittra and Shiva Rhea. Shira’s teaching style focuses on guiding her students through proper alignment, breath work, and guided meditation. Shira has learned an abundance of information about yoga and health in general and she is thrilled to be able to share it with new people everyday.