Bryn Mawr College

Faculty and Staff

2011-2012, 2012-2013

Linda Caruso-Haviland is an Associate Professor at Bryn Mawr College and the founder and Director of the Dance Program, and the current Alice Carter Dickerman Chair for the Director of the Arts. Prior to her current roles at Bryn Mawr, she founded the dance program at SUNY/Westchester CC and taught in several colleges and universities. She also teaches in and directed Bryn Mawr College’s critical thinking and writing program for first year students and has received the College’s Rosalyn R. Schwartz teaching award. She received her undergraduate degree in dance from Adelphi University, continued studying technique in NYC, and went on to complete her doctorate in the areas of dance and philosophy at Temple University. She has performed with companies in New York and Philadelphia, principally with ZEROMOVING COMPANY under the direction of Hellmut Gottschild, and continues to dance and choreograph. Her professional activities include panel presentations, interdisciplinary arts collaborations, and projects focusing on mediating the multiple perspectives that arise from the observation of and writing about dance. Her scholarly research has included preserving the work of significant Philadelphia dance artists through oral histories and video documentation and her present writing projects focus on the rise of a professional class of dancers in turn of the century Philadelphia and on the role of bodiedness in both historiography and the archive.

 

Madeline Cantor (Associate Director) received her BA from Barnard College and an MFA from the University of Michigan. She performed and choreographed independently and as a member of DANCE CONDUIT from 1980-89. She has been awarded grants for her choreography and has set her dancers as a guest choreographe on professional companies, youth companies and community groups.  In adition to directing Bryn Mawr's Dance Outreach Project, she coordinates Dance TAG (Teaching Artists Group), works with young dancers at a Philadelphia public school, trains daycare staff in using movement as a learning tool, and serves on the national board of Dance and the Child International. She was named one of the "Exciting Women to Watch" by the magazine Main Line Today.

 

Dinita Alishia Askew (Princess Di) Dinita Alishia Askew began her formal training in modern dance with Faye Snow at Franklin Learning Center High. She then joined ELEONE's second company, was selected to participate for three years in Philadanco's Summer Intensive Training Program, and went on to earn her  B.F.A. at University of the Arts.  She expanded her knowledge of the many forms of hip-hop and funk styles and has been choreographing, and teaching various age groups and levels including children with special needs.  She has worked with recording artists and as a  dancer and actress with ILLSTYLE & PEACE PRODUCTIONS.  Dinita teaches at The University of the Arts and has choreographed alone and in collaboration with Kyle “Just Sole” Clark. She has also taught at Koresh Dance Studio, Philadanco School of Dance Arts, Philadelphia Dance Theater, and in several Arts and Education Programs. She co-founded a workshop series with Clark called FUNKY SOLE FUNDAMENTALS (check Facebook) a bi-monthly that strictly teaches the codified techniques of Hip-Hop dance. She has performed with Ron Wood, Montazh, and Moncell Durden. Working as Dance Captain and Rehearsal Master with RENNIEHARRISPURE MOVEMENT, she has danced and taught in Egypt, Palestine and Israel.  She has also taught in regions as far flung as California, Poland, Mexico, and Canada.

 

Renee Banson is an administrator of FIELD/PHILADELPHIA, part of a national network of independent artists. Renee danced with ZEROMOVING CO and with TERRY BECK DANCE. She continues to present her own work and has choreographed for The Philadelphia Theatre Workshop and for the Drexel University Dance ensemble. In 2007, Renee's work was recognized by her peers in the region when she was selected to receive the Rocky Award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Philadelphia Dance Community." Renee has taught at several Dance schools in the area and in addition to teaching at BMC, also teaches at the Baldwin School and at Cabrini College. (2011-12)

 

Myra Bazell has been performing, creating dances and teaching nationally and abroad in Europe, South America and the Middle East. She graduated with a BFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and has taught Movement for Theater there. She is a sought after choreographer for theatrical productions; is a recipient of numerous grants or fellowships for her choreography; was selected by Philadelphia Magazine as an artist to watch and is a founding member of SCRAP PERFORMANCE GROUP. Myra also added a Masters in Social Work from Bryn Mawr College to her list of accomplishments. Myra has choreographed for both our Modern and Jazz Ensembles. (2011-12)

 

David Brick graduated from Wesleyan U. with a double major in Dance and English(with special emphasis on Gender issues). He is co-Artistic Director of HEADLONG DANCE THEATER, a critically acclaimed company that produces work in an environment of physical, intellectual, and choreographic collaboration. The company was awarded a ‘Bessie’ in NYC for their work and was listed in Philadelphia Magazine among its ’50 rising stars.’ Their work has been presented nationally and internationally, including Dance Theater Workshop (NYC), The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, P.S. 122 (NYC), The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, and The Wilma Theater, among others, to a range of audiences, and their work — informed by a deep commitment to collaboration, and formal experimentation — has won many fans and much acclaim. Prior to Headlong, David danced with the RICHARD BULL DANCE THEATER. David has guest taught and choreographed at numerous colleges and universities and has taught at Temple University and the University of the Arts. David is also a sign language interpreter.   He has received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, an Independence Fellowship, and, recently, a 2012 creative artist fellowship from the Japan-US Friendship Commission. He is also co-founder and Dean of the Headlong Performance Institute, an intensive Philadelphia semester in hybrid performance for which students can receive a full semester of undergraduate credit through Bryn Mawr College.

 

KC Chun-Manning earned her BA from Trinity College.  While simultaneously pursuing her M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Illinois she trained with master teachers in the Alexander technique and is a certified instructor.   Her dance practice interweaves the Alexander Technique, developmental movement, somatics and release technique and is reciprocally influenced by her interest in how deep life experiences swim within the circuitry of our thoughts, impulses and stories we create for ourselves.  She is Artistic Director of the collaboratively-driven pickup company, FRESH BLOOD presenting work regionally and in Colorado and NYC.  She has performed with Susan Rethorst and Guillermo Ortega Tanus among others and is working collaboratively on a performance project with with Pasión y Arte Flamenco Co. She has won several awards for her choreography and has had work commissioned by colleges and performing arts centers. Since her arrival in Philadelphia in 2011 her teaching has ranged from working with cancer patients to teaching or making work for Temple, West Chester and Drexel Universities, ChiMAC studio, and the nEW Festival.

Eun Jung Choi graudated from University of North Carolina School of the Arts and received her Master's from NYU. She is an independent dancer and choreographer and artistic co-director of DA·DA·DANCE PROJECT which has presented work in venues ranging from New York to to Korea and Mexico. She has also worked with numerous collaborators and dance companies including Limón Dance Co., Allyson Green Dance, Seán Curran Co., Risa Jaroslow and Dancers, Katija Wachter (Germany), and Pulso Cía. de Danza (Mexico) among others. Choi has taught or set work at colleges and universities here and abroad as well as on various community workshops. Eun Jung is also an interdisciplinary video/interactive installation artist and graphic designer whose works have  been presented at various theaters, galleries, festivals, and commercial venues. (2011-2012)

Victor Colón Raised in Puerto Rico, Victor's extensive background provides him knowledge of styles ranging from Salsa to Mambo to Ballroom and Hustle as well. Victor began his career performing with LUNA  NEGRA, shortly after graduating from Penn State University with a B.S. in Engineering and shortly after became the director of and choreographe for Luna Negra and La Luna Dance Studio in Bensalem, PA. He has also taught or choreographed for or collaborated with Dance Crush in Vineland, NJ, Art In Motion and Living in Rhythmand has performed on TV and in local venues. He has earned recognition in the national salsa circuit winning the Philadelphia Salsa Congress 2006 and placing in the top 5 in both World and national Salsa Congresses.

Melanie Cotton started formal dance training at age four at the Ivy Leaf School and continued at the prestigious Freedom Theater School of Performing Arts where she studied acting, modern dance (Horton technique), West African (Umfundalai), jazz, and ballet. She danced and performed in the underground hip-hop scene before studying with pioneering hip-hop performers from the legendary group Elite Force. She studied with Moncell Durden, Rennie Harris, and the creator of locking, Don “Campbell Lock” Campbell. Cotton earned her A.S. in communications theater at Community College of Philadelphia and served as resident choreographer there for theater productions directed by Dr. Ardencia Hall-Karambe. In 2003 she became a principal dancer and choreographer for Philadelphia’s all-female hip-hop dance crew, Montazh Performing Arts Company, where she continued her training in locking, waking, house, and Caribbean fusion. Ms. Cotton now works with RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT, performing and teaching around the world. She is a youth facilitator and a teaching artist with “Moving Creations: Girls On The Move.”

 

Heidi Cruz-Austin born and raised in Allentown, Pa.,began her dance training at the age of four at The Dolly Haltzman Dance Academy. She went on to study with Suki Schorer at the School of American Ballet and Gloria Govrin at Pennsylvania Ballet. Ms. Cruz received an apprenticeship with PENNSYLVANIA BALLET in 1994 and joined the Company as a member of the Corps de Ballet in 1995. She has had featured roles in works by choreographers ranging from Alvin Ailey to George Balanchine. Ms. Cruz has also premiered works for such renowned choreographers as Paul Taylor and Pennsylvania Ballet colleagues, Meredith Rainey and Matthew Neenan. Heidi performed more recently with BALLETX and CARBON DANCE THEATER Heidi has turned to choreograph, showing work for several years with PA  Ballet's Shut Up and Dance and has received grant support for her work in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey and has work commissioned by several colleges and universities. She is co-artistic director of DANCESPORA. (2011-12)

Nia Eubanks graduated from the University of the Arts and has performed and taught extensively. She danced most recently with URBAN BUSH WOMEN but has performed as well with Chuck Davis and the AFRICAN AMERICAN DANCE ENSEMBLE, PHILADANCO II, DUNYA WEST AFRICAN DANCE COMPANY, ALO BRASIL, and DANCE THEATER X. Nia is also a committed educator working with chldren and adults alike and she is an ordained minister and works with the New Hope Baptist Church, recently creating their Education Through the Arts program.  Reverend Nia teaches African and Modern techniques and choreographs for the African Ensemble.
Photo: Tempe

 

Clyde Evans is a U.S. Trinidad-born dance phenomenon who danced with pioneering Hip-hop company, RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT, for over nine years. He co-developed and co-starred in the role of Mercutio in "Rome and Jules," Harris' dazzling spin-off of "Romeo and Juliet." A recognized dance star in his own right, who has thrilled spectators in Europe, South America and Africa, Clyde is also a born teacher, sharing his skills performing and instructing in places such as Africa, Brazil, London, France, Germany, Italy, Holland and Scotland. Clyde has acted in feature films with Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe, Robert Redford and Michelle Pfiefer, and has danced in music videos for musical artists, KRS-1, and Will Smith.  He is the founder and Artistic Director of CHOSEN DANCE COMPANY. (2011-12)

 

Meg Foley is a dance artist and the director of MOVING PARTS, a name ascribed to various dance- and performance-based acts that explore the materiality of dance and its relationship to form. Meg explores how art environments are made and tries to create elusive yet emotionally evocative performance experiences that straddle the fine line between focus and freedom. She is concerned with how somatic experience bumps up against visual experience - in seeing and in doing. She is a 2012 PEW Fellow in the Arts and a 2012 Independence Foundation Fellow. Her work has been presented by the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, Thirdbird, Bowerbird, Mascher Space Cooperative, Little Berlin Gallery, Vox Populi Gallery, the Community Education Center, Cirque De Verre, Scripps College, and in Movement Research at the Judson Church.

 

Nora Gibson is a Philadelphia based dancer and choreographer, whose training spans
classical ballet to post-modern improvisation. Early training included attending Baltimore School for the Arts and ballet residencies with Jean-Pierre Bonnefous of NYCB, Chautauqua, and NCSA. She later graduated with a BFA from Tisch, at NYU, where she had the opportunity to perform in the works of Elisa Monte and Mark Morris . Nora studied improvisational forms with Daniel Lepkoff, Andrew Harwood, Nancy Stark-Smith, and KJ Holmes. She has performed with several companies and choreographers including the Ellicott City Ballet, PATH Dance Company, The Second Avenue Dance Company, Andrew Marcus, Olive Prince Dance, and Jeffrey Gunshol and is working in a special project with Lucinda Childs and Ty Boomershine to learn and perform various Childs' pieces from the 1970s, such as “Interior Drama” and "Melody Excerpt" and others. Nora has performed her own work throughout Philadelphia and in NYC at various downtown venues. Nora Gibson Performance Project was awarded a 2009-10 Artist in Residence with the nEW Festival in Philadelphia, the CEC New Edge Residency for 2009-10, and the Ellen Forman Memorial Award in 2011 to commission new work for Drexel University. Recently, Gibson was awarded a residency through DanceUSA/Philadelphia to work and study in Poland.

 

 

Yasmin Goodman trained extensively in gymnastics and in Shotokan Karate before turning to dance. She has studied at Temple University and with top area Jazz teachers and has taught and performed in the greater Philadelphia area for 20 years. She founded and directed YAZZU DANCE Co, was director at the Main Line YMCA and continues to design and conduct their Jazz Dance programs.

 

Corinne Karon has studied tap extensively and currently performs with and is assistant artistic director of the highly celebrated TAP TEAM TWO. She has also studied Irish step dancing in ireland. She has successfully tapped on every continent in the world, including Antarctica! Corinne also teaches on a regular basis at Rowan University, The University of the Arts, The Chester Valley Dance Academy, and Wissahickon Dance Academy.She is the founder and artistic director of Uniting Colleges Through Tap.

 

Anitra N. Keegan began her training at the Academy of Dance
Arts in New Jersey, receiving honors in both the Dance
Education Syllabus and the Royal Academy of Dance examinations. She then studied at the Royal Academy of Dance in England, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Pennsylvania Ballet School in Philadelphia. She began her professional career with PENNSYLVANIA  BALLET COMPANY, OHIO BALLET COMPANY and AMERICAN BALLET REPERTORY COMPANY. In New Yor kshe danced with DANCES PATRELLE, CHAMBER DANCE PROJECT,and BALLETNY in roles choreographed by Alonzo King, Donald Byrd, Laura Dean, Heinz Poll, George Balanchine, among others. Upon joining BALLET X in Philadelphia, she has worked with choreographers Christine Cox, Matthew Neenan, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jodie Gates, Meredith Rainey, and more. Ms. Keegan earned her undergraduate degree in Dance from Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University.

Dolores Luis studied Flamenco in Barcelona, Madrid and New York. Since 1986 she has been a performer with FLAMENCO OLE. She also teaches flamenco at the Arts League in Philadelphia and at Swarthmore College and works with gifted children in the Philadelphia School system. 
(2011-12)

 

 

 

Megan Mazarick earned her BFA in Dance from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her MFA from Temple University.  She has performed, taught and choreograped in the Philadelphia community since 2004. She has danced with numerous choreographers in Philadelphia including Melanie Stewart, kate watson-wallace, and Merián Soto and has choreographed and produced her own work in venues across the US and in Australia. She has more recently begun creating short dance films and video design for her dances through explorations of video editing and projection. She has taught at Temple, Rowan University, and University for the Arts. (2012-13)

 

Linda Karash Mintzer studied with Thomas Cannon and with the PENNSYLVANIA BALLET and danced with the company from 1971 through 1982, interrupting her tenure to attend Harvard/Radcliffe for two years. She danced several leading roles with the company and after retirement worked there in public relations and special projects. She received a BA  from NYU and also attended Drexel University's Nesbitt College of Design Arts. In addition to her teaching here, she continues as a faculty member at the highly regarded Pennsylvania Academy of Dance in Narberth.

                                   

Chandra Moss -Thorne began her studies at the school of the Cleveland ballet and earned her BA in dance pedagogy from Butler University. Chandra dance with the CINCINNATI BALLET, including principal roles, and has performed as well as with The DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM and with the Washington and Cincinnati Operas. She was on the instructional staff at the Cincinnati Ballet and at Goucher College and has taught as a guest artist at other colleges and universities. She is also a certified Pilates instructor.  

 

 

 

Shannon Murphy graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Dance from Point Park University and, while pursuing her performance career, continued her investigations into the somatic and movement healing arts. She is currently a level three Franklin Method Educator, one of a select few in the United States and Murphy. She was on the faculty of Pittsburgh Ballet theater and Point Park College, has been guest artist at several Philadelphia universities or colleges and is on the instructional staff at University of the Arts. Her danceworks have been presented at multiple venues in the US and in Paris and she was also selected as a New Edge Resident Artist at the CEC in Philadelphia. She was recently awarded one of five prestigious Live Arts Brewery (LAB) residency choreographic fellowships to produce a work for Live Arts' 2013 season.  Shannon has danced for Peggy Baker, Robert Battle and Wally Cardona and collaborated with noted Philadelphia choreographers. Shannon is also Co-director of idiosynCrazy productions, an adventurous and award winning dance collective.  In addition to her work in contemporary dance, Shannon has choreographed several musicals ranging from Carousel to Urinetown. (2012-13)

Jodi Obeid is a choreographer, performance artist, and dance educator obsessed with the study of movement of all kinds. She has presented or produced work in Philadelphia at the Painted Bride Theater, Mascher Space IN FLUX series, CEC New Edge Mix, Glue Series and in collaboration with Stadium/ Praxis- a puppet theater as well as in presented in Washington DC, Toronto, North Carolina and Belgium. As a performing artist Jodi currently works with KOSOKKO PERFORMANCE GROUP, RING DANCE THEATER, and the upcoming PDP Philadelphia Local Dance History Project and has danced with anonymous bodies, and SCRAP Performance Group among others. She earned her MA in Dance Education from the American University and her BA in French and Dance from Goucher College and the Sorbonne University in Paris and teaches at Rowan University and CHImac studio.

Meredith Rainey began dancing at 15 in his hometown of Fort Lauderdale. In 1985 he joined the MILWAUKEE BALLET and in 1987 he was asked to join the newly formed PENNSYLVANIA  BALLET-MILWAUKEE BALLET. He remained with the PENNSYLVANIA  BALLET dancing as a soloist with the company. He was also a demi-soloist with the DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM in 1997. Meredith has performed throughout the US, Europe and South America. His repertoire includes roles in the works of choreographers ranging from George Balanchine to Alvin Ailey to William Forsythe. He has premiered original works by numerous choreographers including David Parsons, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Jorma Elo, Ib Anderson and Matthew Neenan. He has been awarded numerous support grants for his choreographic work as well as commissions from several ballet and modern companies. He is a founding choreographer and yearly contributor to 'Shut Up & Dance,' created by the dancers of the Pennsylvania Ballet to benefit MANNA, an organization that feeds and cares for home-bound HIV and AIDS patients. He is co-founder and co-director of CARBON DANCE THEATRE. (2012-13)

Ramaa Ramesh began studying classical Indian dance at the age of 6 and her principal mentor was the reknowned artist of the Bharathanatyam style, Citra Visweswaran. She has been performing since the age of 12 and has danced in India, Europe, the middle East, and the US. She pursued her doctoral studies at Temple University and she presently directs the NARDHANA  ACADEMY OF DANCE. Ms. Ramesh will be teaching an introduction to Bharathanatyam. (2012-13)

 

Donna Reinhart & Bob Butryn were co-directors of SWINGCONNECTION DANCE COMPANY for several years and they have continued teaching and performing Lindy, Swing and other contemporary and historical social forms together and with other partners. They placed in many competitions along the East Coast and teach in various venues throughout the city. Donna continues with Swingconnections and her day job-- teaching high school chemistry, while Bob tours his dance music program, Crazy Rhythm, Fancy Feet and is also a sought after musician in the Philadelphia area.

 Toni Shapiro-Phim is a dance ethnologist with a specialization in the performing arts of Southeast Asia. She received her Ph.D in cultural anthropology from Cornell University in 1994. Her dissertation, "Dance and the Spirit of Cambodia," recent books (Dance in Cambodia with Ashley Thompson and Dance, Human Rights and Social Justice co-edited with Naomi Jackson) and other publications focus on the history and cultural context of dance around the world, particularly in relation to violence and gender concerns.  At Philadelphia Folklore (PFP) project for six years, and at Khmer Arts in Cambodia for three, she designed and implemented public arts, educational and documentation programs in diverse settings. She has held teaching and research appointments at the University of California-Berkeley, San Jose State University, Yale and Mills College, and has served as a consultant for the Asia Society, Japan Foundation, New England Folklife Project and other organizations. She is currently back at PFP as a program specialist. Dr. Phim-Shapiro has taught Dance, Migration and Exile and Anthropology of Dance,both cross-listed with the Anthropology Department.

 

Leah Stein received a BA from Wesleyan University in dance and anthropology. Many movement forms have influenced her including extensive study in Modern Dance, Body/MindCentering, Contact Improvisation, Aikido, and additional non-western movement traditions. She has received choreographic commissions from Dancing in the Streets,Arranged Introductions, and The Painted Bride Art Center, among others. Her performances have taken place in galleries, theaters, museums, outdoor sites, and dance festivals in the US and Edinburgh, Scotland, and through the On Site Philadelphia project. Stein's work has been supported by numerous grants and fellowships. Her choreography often refers to particular landscapes and addresses the relationship between people and their physical surroundings. She has also collaborated with musicians Toshi Makihara and David Forano and with The Mendelssohn Club Chorus. She directs LEAH STEIN DANCE COMPANY. Image: Lois Greenfield

Michelle Stortz is a Texas native who received her BFA in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin before migrating to San Francisco where she worked both collaboratively and independently as producer, performer and choreographer for eleven years. Her work has graced stages in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Austin, Italy and Singapore where she did a year long residency--choreographing, teaching and performing. She received her MFA in 2005 from Ohio State University. She is currently teaching and performing and is the Artistic Director of RING DANCE THEATRE.

 

Laura Vriend is a doctoral candidate in Critical Dance Studies at the University of California at Riverside. She is finishing her dissertation which mines the relationship between social theories of space and choreographic uses/ideas of space in the site based work of several Philadelphia area choreographers. She intends to focus on how these works themselves propose and perform specific understandings of spatiality and urbanism and how these understandings alter the spatial text of the city. Laura graduated in 2005 from Bryn Mawr with a double major in Dance and Anthropology. Throughout her graduate work, she has continued performing her own work and that of other choreographers at various venues in California, Texas, and Philadelphia. Laura will be teaching a new course Fall'12 -- Performing the City: Theorizing Bodies

in Space.

 

Anne White started dancing when she was 6 years old
in Shrub Oak, NY and. At age 11,she began studies at the School of American Ballet in New York City where she trained until 1988 when she joined THE OFF CENTER BALLET directed by Christopher D’Amboise. In 1990 Anne joined The PENNSYLVANIA BALLET, performing for eight seasons and dancing lead roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Peter Martins, Paul Taylor, and Alvin Ailey . Anne originated roles in ballets choreographed by Christopher D’Amboise, Kevin O’Day, and Tony Rizzi. Anne has also worked with many local artists including Myra Bazell, Pig Iron Theater, Rennie Harris, Melanie Stewart, and Phrenic Ballet. Anne toured with Alanis Morristette, assisting dance choreographer Kevin O’Day and appearing in her music video “So pure”. Anne has taught Ballet technique and Repertory at Rowan University, Bryn Mawr College, and Drexel University.