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Susan Jaffe

Recognized as one of the leading ballerinas of her time, Ms. Jaffe has performed in many Opera houses throughout the United States and Europe. She joined American Ballet Theatre in 1980 at the invitation of Mikhail Baryshnikov and became well known in the dance world at a young age. She has received critical praise for her interpretations of such roles as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Kitri in Don Quixote, Nikiya and Gamzatti in La Bayadere, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Swanhilda in Coppelia and the title roles in Manon, Giselle, and La Sylphide.

Ms. Jaffe has worked with and performed the repertoire of many of the twentieth century's most prominent choreographers including George Balanchine, Anthony Tudor, Kenneth MacMillan, Jerome Robbins, Roland Petit, Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kiyan, and James Kudelka.

Ms. Jaffe's European engagements have included performances with The Royal Ballet, The Kirov Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet, The Munich State Opera Ballet, La Scala Ballet, The Vienna State Opera Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet and The English National Ballet.

Television appearances have included several "Dance in America" programs and host of "Dance New York". Film credits include 1994's "Angie" with Geena Davis and the 1995 documentary "Ballet" directed by Frederick Wiseman.

Ms. Jaffe has served as advisor to the chairman and president of the Board of Governing Trustees at American Ballet Theater and she gives master classes throughout the United States and Japan. She has recently received the Annual Dance Magazine Award.

Risa Gary Kaplowitz

Ms. Kaplowitz, former principal ballerina with Dayton Ballet, drew critical acclaim for her portrayals of Giselle, Titania in Midsummer Night's Dream, and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. She was a member of Houston Ballet and Manhattan Ballet and performed with Pennsylvania Ballet and Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

Ms. Kaplowitz, who was originally trained at Maryland Youth Ballet, went on to study with Maggy Black, Marjorie Mussman, Stuart Sebastian, Ben Stevenson, and Lupe Serrano. She has performed the repertoire of many choreographers including Fredrick Ashton, George Balanchine, Ben Stevenson, Stuart Sebastian, Dermot Burke, Billy Wilson, and Marjorie Mussman.

After spending ten years in a successful business career while building a family, Ms. Kaplowitz returned to the dance world and co-found PDT with Susan Jaffe. Ms. Kaplowitz is also the co-artistic director of DanceVision Inc., and she found D.A.N.C.E. (Dance As a Necessary Component of Education), an outreach program that brings dance to New Jersey schools.

Ms. Kaplowitz has choreographed more than twenty pieces, and her original full-length ballet, The Secret Garden, premiered with DanceVision Youth Ensemble in 2008. Additionally, her choreography has been seen in New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's family and school outreach concerts.

Nora Cotter - Nora Cotter was born in Buffalo, NY and began dancing at age 12. Ms. Cotter graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts High School with a concentration in Ballet and as a North Carolina Regents Scholar. Nora continued her education at Mercyhurst College where she earned a BA cum laude in Dance. While in school, Ms. Cotter performed leading roles in Giselle, Raymonda, Symphony Italienne, Stars and Stripes and Coppelia. She also had the opportunity to work with Configuration Dance Theater, performing works by Joe Cipolla and Harrison McEldowney. Nora holds a Masters Degree magna cum laude from NYU in Dance Eduction, with a concentration in American Ballet Theater Pedagogy. While attending NYU, Ms. Cotter worked at the School of American Ballet as an Assistant Resident Hall Director for two years.
Nora is certified in all levels of American Ballet Theater's National Training Curriculum. Also, Ms. Cotter has worked with Dance Educators of America, both judging and teaching the Ballet portion of workshops. This July, Nora will teach the ballet workshop for Dance Educators of America's national compeition in Orlando, FL. Ms. Cotter currently teaches at Marymount Manhattan College as an adjunct Ballet instructor, and at a private studio in Warren, NJ

Christina Johnson, born in Vienna, Austria, Christina began her dance education at age seven. She trained at the Boston School of Ballet, the School of American Ballet and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. By the time she was seventeen she began her professional career. She was a member of the Boston Ballet for two years before joining the Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she rose to become a principal dancer during her 13 year tenure. She danced leading roles in much of the company's repertoire, including Swan Lake, Giselle, Firebird, Voluntaries, Prodigal Son, The Four Temperaments and Fancy Free. Christina has worked with distinguished choreographers and coaches, among them, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Franklin, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent and Sir Anthony Dowell. She also has had original works created on her by Glen Tetley, Rui Horta, Alonzo King and Dwight Rhoden among others. She was a member of the Swiss companies, Le Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneve for five years and the Ballett Basel for two years, where her repertoire expanded to include works by William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Ohad Naharin, Jean-Christophe Maillot, John Neumier, Twyla Tharp, Amanda Miller, Richard Wherlock and David Parsons to name a few. Christina has been a featured guest artist with various companies worldwide, including the renowned Royal Ballet of London. She is a founding member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York. Christina made her Broadway debut in The Red Shoes. She is also featured in The African Americans, a book which portrays accomplished African Americans in various fields.

After her performance career Christina has been sought after as a teacher, coach and ballet master and has worked with companies such as the DanceTheatre of Harlem, Washington Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Gotesborg Ballett, and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo to name a few. Christina assisted Frederic Franklin in the staging of Giselle for the Joffrey Ballet. She has also assisted choreographer Dwight Rhoden with his creation of Carmina Burana on Ballet Met, as well as the staging on Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She also staged Rhoden's Ave Maria for Ballet Arizona and North Carolina Dance Theatre. In addition she held the position of Rehearsal Director for the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in New York and has since worked as assistant to choreographer, Nicolo Fonte. Christina continues her work as a teacher, coach and ballet master worldwide.

Maura Ryan - born in Staten Island, New York and began seriously training in ballet after her family moved to the Princeton area during her childhood.  She danced at Princeton Dance and Theater her junior and senior years of high school dancing in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Pequita, Sleeping Beauty and Raymonda. After graduating high school, she attended the Dance Conservatory at SUNY Purchase College on scholarship, where she received a B.F.A in Dance Performance in both ballet and modern technique. While at Purchase, Maura has danced soloist and demi-soloist roles in ballets such as Four Temperaments (Phlegmatic, Melancholic) and The Nutcracker (The Dewdrop Fairy and Marzipan)as well as worked with Robert Hill, Bettijane Sills, Rosanna Seravalli and Ted Kivitt.

Evelyn Ebo - Evelyn Ebo is an accomplished dancer and all around performer. She began her training at the age of four with Joan Myers Brown, executive director of the Philadelphia Dance Company and the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts. Hard work and total committment has been a part of Evelyn's character since she began her professional dance career at the age of 15 with the Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco), where she also began her teaching career. Since then Evelyn has toured and performed abroad with The Wiz and the Broadway production of Shakespear's Timon of Athens just to name a few. Evelyn's credits also include television, music videos, commercials and feature films. You may have seen her in episodes of Fame, The Cosby Show, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit TV Special, Homicide...Life on the Streets and many more. Evelyn, now a mother of 2, is still involved in the performing arts encouraging young people to pursue their dreams. Perserverance, committment and hard work is key.

Linda Mannheim, is a former apprentice to the Martha Graham Dance Company. She holds a BFA and MFA in Dance from Florida State University, and a MPA in Arts Administration from Syracuse University/Maxwell School. While in Washington, DC, Linda served on the staff of the Dance Program for the National Endowment for the Arts and was a Professor of Dance at American University. While performing with companies of Daniel West, Liz Lerman, David Holmes and City Dance Ensemble, she was on faculity at Washington Ballet and Maryland Youth Ballet. Additionally, she has performed with the Kennedy Center Artists-in-Education Program. Linda is a nationally Certified Pilates Instructor. She is currently working on her Master Teacher Training in Pilates at The Pilates Center in Boulder, CO

Meagan Woods - graduated from Rutgers University with a BFA in Dance, and earned the Margery J. Turner Award for choreography. She has performed with John Evans and Dancers, Insurgo Stage Project, Dana Salisbury and Glitterati. Her choreography has been shown at George Street Playhouse, Matheny School through Arts Access, American College Dance Festival, Ailey Citigroup Theater and NJPAC. She is also the orginator and choreographer of Dance Within the Art at the Zimmerli Art Museum. Meagan is a board member for Dance New Jersey, and a costume designer and arts administrator for Nimus Dance Works.

Karen Callaway Williams, an original member of the New Jersey Tap Ensemble and its first Dance Captain, is currently featured on the cover of Flow Magazine Summer Issue. She can be seen in the current documentary Been Rich All My Life (The Story of the Silver Belles).

Broadway credits include Tony Award Nominated Duke Ellington musical PlayOn and the International Phenomenon Riverdance-On Broadway of which she was the first African American female tap dancer and dance captain. A special quest artist on Sesame Street she was also interviewed in Bojangles the Legacy for Showtime. Karen tours nationally and internationally with Tap City in Tour and Tap Tel Aviv.

Other credits include Essence Magazine, Dance Magazine, and performances at the Cotton Club and the Apollo. She has been a quest tap soloist for several orchestras including The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops

Look for the upcoming release of her first children's book "Gabriella's Tap Shoes".

Tom Mckie - there is no substitute for Tom. He has been entertaining audiences of all kinds since the early 1990s. His work has been seen in an array of venues from Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, to New York's Apollo Theatre. Tom has also choreographed for productions for Sesame Street Live, "Dance Jam" at New Jersey's Performing Arts Center, Towson University's Dance Team in Maryland, and the annual Ladies of Hip Hop Festival in Philadelphia to name a few. While Tom chooses not to perform frequently, he has a strong history of training young dancers who have grown to go on to great jobs in the dance industry. Tom's teachings spread throughout the states of New Jersey, New York, as well as internationally (Europe and Canada). He teaches children and adults of all ages from dance studios, to public schools, to colleges and universities. Tom wishes to keep traveling the world, spreading knowledge of the Hip-Hop culture to anyone willing to learn it. His will to continue learning and growing has pushed Tom forward into becoming more than just a messenger of dance and culture, but a manisfestation of the true essence of the culture itself.

Matt Williams, choreographed Will Ferrell's Tony-nominated and Astaire Award-winning Broadway show, You're Welcome America. Last fall, Matt created the choreography for the world premiere of Wicked creator Stephen Schwartz's new opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, which arrives at New York City Opera in 2011. Off-Broadway, he choreographed Paul Scott Goodman's Rooms, directed by Scott Schwartz. Matt created, produced, and choreographed his first full-length dance play, WARD 9, at the 2008 New York Musical Theater Festival, for which he received the festival's award for Best Choreography. Since 2004, Matt has been the choreographer and manager of the Big Piano Show at FAO Schwartz toy store in New York City where he recently performed for First Lady Michelle Obama and her family. Matt is also the resident choreographer for the internationally acclaimed Circus Smirkus. Matt's choreography has appeared at The Alley Theater, Lincoln Center, Irish Repertory Theatre, La Mama, The Rubicon Theatre, Stamford Center for the Arts, Metrostage, and Geva Theatre. Most recently, Matt assistant-directed the Broadway production of All About Me starring Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein. Matt holds a BFA in choreography from UC Irvine. He is married to former New York City Ballet soloist Jennifer Tinsley, with whom he has a beautiful one-year old baby girl, Chloe.
www.mattwilliamschoreographer.com

Henri Velandia born in Venezuela and social dancing has always been his passion. His training began in classical ballet, jazz and modern dance at the age of 20 under the tutelage of Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz. He has completed various workshops with Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York City. He also trained with Irina Piginnina and has competed in the Pro-Am division for Ballroom for 2 years. Henri also teaches his own style of hip urban street Salsa.

Lenore Pavlakos Morales - a native of Brooklyn, NY, trained with Vicky Simegiato and continued her training at Nubert Ballet School. She was awarded a trainee scholarship to study at Harkness House for Ballet Arts. She is a graduate of The Julliard School where she received her BFA Degree in Dance. Ms Pavlakos Morales performed with Maryland Ballet & Eugene Ballet before joining Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1993. While with DTH Ms. Morales danced as soloist then Principal Dancer. She additionally served as assistant rehearsal director and master teacher. While with DTH, Ms. Morales toured Europe, Asia, South America, Canada, The United Kingdom, and the United States, performing ballets by noted choreographers such as George Balanchine, Glen Tetly, John Taras, and Michael Sumuin, to name a few. Ms. Pavlakos Morales is a guest teacher with "Tremaine Conventions" where she teaches ballet classes to hundreds of children throughout the United States. She has performed on TV for the 2000 Kennedy Center Honors Award and has been seen in various magazines such as "Oprah", "Mademoiselle," "Pointe," and "Dance," as well as the Italian magazine "lo Donna." She currently is the director of the Harkness Youth Ballet, teaches private classes, and coaches students.

Lisa Botalico (Dance, Choreographer) toured throughout the USA as Artistic Director and Principal dancer of La Compania Folklorica Latina under the auspices of the National Theatre of the Performing Arts; performing in such theatres as Town Hall (NYC), Constitution Hall (DC), Society o f the Four Arts (Palm Beach), Chicago Theatre, and the Masonic Temple (L.A.). She has shared the stage with many flamenco greats including Maria Alba, Jose Molina, Manolo Rivera, Orlando Romero, Victorio and Carmen Salao. Lisa performed in collaboration with the great Middle Eastern Dancer, Elena in Flamenco Moro. Currently Lisa is principal dancer and co-artistic director of the Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre with whom she has received critical acclaim throughout the tri-state area, including performances at the George Street Playhouse, Crossroads Theatre, Union County Arts Center, Community Theatre of Morristown, Keane University, Passage Theatre, and the Ocean County Arts Center to name a few. She has appeared many times on NJN's Images/Imagines. Lisa recently conceived and directed Sueno de Una Nina, a Spanish Dance Ballet based on the Nutcracker Ballet. Her upcoming performances include The Feast of Sarah at the George Street Playhouse in May and The Sephardic Connection (The Story of the Spanish Jews) at the new performing arts center at Princeton High School. Lisa dances regularly at the tablao at Spain Inn II in Clinton.

Judy Yeh, B.A. with a music major from National Taiwan Normal Univ., M.A. (piano pedagogy) and M.Ed. (music education) from Teachers College, Columbia Univ. NYC. Judy has been a piano teacher for twenty years, having played piano and organ in different churches for over twenty five years, and an accompanist for PDT Studio since 2005.

Phylis Kohn, has a B.A. in Music Education from Kean University. She has accompanied dance classes for many years, taught Dalcroze, Music for Dancers, and teaches privately. Phylis is delighted to have been a part of PDT since its start

Pamela Mingle -

Marie Alonzo Snyder - is a modern dancer, choreographer, scholar and educator. Born in the Philipines, Marie was raised in Italy and eventually settled in New York City attending New York University's Tisch School of Arts earning her BFA and MFA in Dance. She has performed and toured with HT Chen & Dancers, Asian American Dance Theater, Hikari Baba Dancers, Second Avenue Dance Co., Maude Baum & Co., and performed works by Don Redlich, Ruby Shang, Joan Finkelstein, Cliff Keuter, Remy Charlip, James Cunningham, Yung Yung Tsuai, and Rozalind Newman. Since 1986 Marie's works have been presented in New York, Princeton and throughout the United States and Canada. She has also been produced several times by the Chen Dance Center/Mulberry Street Theatre, NYC and commissioned by Ear to the Ground Series, supported by the Jerome Foundation. Marie is a founding member of the West Windsor Arts Council and in 2004 she co-founded the "I'll have what she's having..." Dance Project, a dance cooperative of NJ 40Up women choreographers. Marie also earned her EdD from Columbia University and presented papers at Texas Women's University, Teachers College, Michigan State University, the University of Quebec, Princeton University, Barnard College and University of the Philippines. In 2009 she ws a guest dancer with Shen Wei Dance Arts at the Lincoln Center Festival. She has been on faculty of Princeton Dance and Theater Studio since 2003 and is D.A.N.C.E. Program Coordinator for DanceVision Inc. Marie is a certified Pilates instructor with her own studio.

Ximena Ojeda -