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SUNDER ASHNI (in-house teacher) is an experienced teaching artist specializing in dance, theater, poetry, storytelling and yoga. Using dance, theater and words to weave her way through this life, she was Artist in Residence with Tribeca Performing Arts Center in 2003 and 2004. She is a member of Matriotism, a writing and performance collective, Movement for the Urban Village, a dance collective, D Underbelly, a multidisciplinary performance collective, Resident Artist with Society of the Educational Arts and co-founder of the OceanicaAcqua performance collective. She is excited to be a part of the BAX family. 
KELLY BARTNIK (BAXco) is a graduate of James Madison University where she earned her BA in Dance and BBA in Computer Information Systems. Since moving to New York, she has performed with the Wright Now! Performance XPerience, Melissa Briggs Dance, Restless.Native.Dance, Carl Hancock Rux and Shannon Hummel Dance/CORA. Her own choreography has been presented at Dixon Place, Williamsburg Arts Nexus, the Publick Playhouse in Maryland, James Madison University, BAX, Joyce Soho, BRIC Studio, Dance Theater Workshop and Arena Stage in Washington DC. She has been a guest choreographer at Long Island University and a faculty member of Sarah Lawrence College. She is currently director of BAXCo, a teen repertory company with the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Kelly is a founding member of Forum, Inc., a multidisciplinary arts organization based in Washington D.C., and recently co-founded a video production company, Gk1 Productions.
BETH BRADFORD (BAXco), originally from Virginia, holds a BA degree in Dance from James Madison University. Beth teaches ballet and modern at Greenwich House Music School in addition to teaching private pilates lessons. Since moving to New York, Beth has had the pleasure of working with Monica Bill Barnes, Kelly Bartnik, and Shannon Hummel, and she is currently creating her own work in collaboration with Arizona artist Casey Blake. DONNA COSTELLO (teaching artist and in-house teacher) has been living, dancing and teaching in New York City for over 10 years. She is a founding member of Shannon Hummel's Cora Dance where she has been described as "an impressive dance actor" (New York Times). In this past year, Ms. Costello has performed with jill sigman/thinkdance, Barbara Mahler and Mollie O'Brien's mob productions. She has had numerous residences at James Madison University where she received her BA in dance and speech communication. Ms. Costello has been on faculty at Queensborough Community College, Greenwich House Music School, Poly Prep Country Day School and in residence with Cora and jill sigman/thinkdance. She is currently a teaching artist for Lincoln Center Institute and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. She has taught at BAX since 1999. ASMA FEYIJINMI (teaching artist) loves expanding her knowledge by teaching. This year she is grateful for the five elementary school classes she is teaching in Sunset Park through BAX. Her students have the advantage of more than one verbal language, which parallels dances from the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. She has also worked with BAX for the past fifteen years as an African and sometimes modern dance teacher. While working with Young Dancers in Repertory besides teaching African, Caribbean and Latin dance, she had the honor of assisting in a Latin percussion workshop that culminated with students and teachers performing with Bobby Sanabria and the revered Candido. Asma also works with DreamYard Arts Project primarily in the Bronx at various schools teaching third through tenth graders. She has helped English language learners acquire language skills through accessing the creativity of dance. [top] HEIDI FLANAGAN (in-house teacher) started teaching in Philadelphia where she attended the University of the Arts. Since then, she has been a judge for the Star Systems dance competition and teaches at their summer workshop. She also teaches for Camp Broadway in NYC and Connecticut High School for Performing Arts. In addition to teaching, Heidi has performed in many musical theater productions across the country. She has been assistant choreographer for two off Broadway shows--- Bloomer Girls for the Encore series in NYC with funding from the Agnes DeMille Foundation and Censored! for the Lincoln Center Summer Festival at Alice Tulley Hall also in NYC. She works hard to create a positive atmosphere in her classroom and to teach the love of dance along with technique. JOSÉ JOAQUÍN GARCÍA, (teaching artist), director, composer, actor, singer, writer, is the Artistic Director of Rubí Theater Company. a song he wrote and performed with members of Rub’, was featured on acclaimed recording artist Dan Zanes' CD "Family Dance" on Festival Five records. Rub’'s production of Mart’n Espada's IMAGINE THE ANGELS OF BREAD has been performed at sold-out runs at New WORLD Theater in Amherst, Massachusetts as well as the 2nd NYC Hip-Hop Theater Festival. Members of Rub’, under the direction of Mr. Garc’a were recently in Rotterdam, The Netherlands where they led theater workshops and created an original musical production that was performed by young people from all over the world. Mr. Garc’a was the production director of Urban Youth Theater at Henry Street Settlement's Abrons Arts center for 6 years. There he directed A WOMAN WHO OUTSHONE THE SUN, RAKSHA'S CHILD, the hip-hop musical THE MINOTAUR (collaborating with PopMaster Fabel and Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew as well as bilingual rap pioneers Latin Empire) and additionally the critically acclaimed EL BRONX REMEMBERED by Nicholasa Mohr. Other plays he has directed for Rub’ have been performed at the Northeast Conference of Teachers of Foreign Languages in Manhattan; the Hispanic Leadership Conference in Lorain, Ohio; INTAR; Dixon Place; Hunter College and many other locations. Mr. Garc’a was a member of Pregones Theater Company for six years and has also performed with The New Group; Repertorio Espa–ol; Joseph Papp Public Theater's Latino Playwrights Workshop, among others. He appeared in and understudied RubŽn Blades on Broadway in Paul Simon's THE CAPEMAN. Mr. Garc’a teaches acting, collective creation and empowerment through theater for young people with the arts organizations Brooklyn Arts Exchange, City Lore and Henry Street Settlement's Youth Employment Program at various schools in New York City. He has been a resident teaching artist at Brooklyn Arts Exchange since 1993. CHRIS HELLER (teaching artist and in-house teacher) ) is a veteran of the New York City public school system where she taught high school Drama, Dance, and Spanish for nine years. During that time she developed self-sustaining performing arts programs, directed numerous plays and talent showcases with middle school and high school students, and collaborated with teaching artists and outside arts organizations to bring artists into the classroom. In 2000, she received a Master's Degree from NYU in Educational Theatre. Chris is also the co-artistic director and founder of (re)ACTion Youth Theatre, a youth theatre program for teens ages 14-20. She works as a freelance teaching artist at various New York City schools including residencies with Brooklyn Arts Exchange, CREATE! and Arts Connection. Chris is also on the faculty at Dance New Amsterdam where she teaches the Simonson Jazz technique. 
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RACHEL LANE (teaching artist and in-house teacher) a Brooklyn native, began her formalized dance training at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange at age three. Her love of movement and expression lead her to Bard College where she spent four years studying various dance styles and creating elaborate site specific works. Upon her return to the city she has been studying West African and Caribbean Dance forms and has found a new passion in Kundalini Yoga. Rachel is an HIV and AIDS educator for teens and teaches dance in many different after-school and summer arts programs throughout NYC. Rachel is the Director of the Dance Performing Workshop Level II and teaches children of all ages throughout the year and the summer. Currently she dances for Andrew Jannetti, collaborates with a The Highcliffe Project, and is a co-founder of Box By Three Dance. Her collaborative work has been presented through Newsteps series/Mulberry St. Theater, d.u.m.b.o. arts Festival, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, food for thought/ Dancespace Project at St. Marks, and SWEAT modern dance series. Her company has also performed in North Carolina, Upstate NY and the mountains of Wyoming. NICKI MARSHALL (in-house teacher) is a professional dancer, choreographer, and singer. She has taught dance to students ages 3 to 87 and in addition to BAX, currently teaches through the National Dance Institute and various camps and senior centers in New York, Vermont, and Maine. She also creates dance/theater pieces combining movement and live vocal scoring with her collaborator, Helen Tocci. They have produced three evenings of work and have been presented at various venues throughout NYC including Dance Theater Workshop, Joyce Soho, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, WOW Café Theater, Mulberry Street Theater, Theater 80, BRIC Studios, and University Settlement. Nicki has recently been a member of Movement for the Urban Village Dance Company, CompanyAmyCox and Magbana Drum & Dance. She is also a yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner. Nicki received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a minor in Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College. DAWN MAZZEO (in-house teacher) graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a BFA in Theater and Dance. In her senior year she and a group of her classmates studied acting technique at the Royal Court Theatre in London. After graduation, Dawn continued her training at The HB Studio, The Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting, and The Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. In 1995 she co-founded ŇThe Innisfree Festival of New Plays Theater Company", whose mission was to work with living playwrights and actors interested in developing plays through the rehearsal process. Dawn has worked in television as well as independent and feature films. While at Sarah Lawrence she interned at the on-site Early Childhood Development Center, and it was then that she discovered her love of working with children. She led groups of theater students in under-funded elementary schools, and co-taught theater workshops as part of her Theater Outreach studies. Dawn believes children are the most interesting dance and drama students. She has an essay in the upcoming book "Elephant in the Playroom" (Hudson Press), and just completed a documentary with the Andrus Children's Center in Yonkers, NY. This Fall, Dawn will also be teaching movement to children with autism, pervasive developmental delay and learning disabilities at the Otsar Early Childhood Center in Brooklyn and has coached children for the past five years. She lives in Park Slope with her husband, two children, and miniature dachshund. [top] ESTHER NEFF (in-house teacher) holds a degree in performance from the University of Michigan, studied at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has taught theatre including movement, improv, voice, and Shakespeare for New World Arts in Chicago and Detroit, the Backporch Theatre Company, and the youth theater of Goshen. She is the Artistic Director of the Panoply Theatre Laboratory and a member of The Internationalists at 45 Bleecker. She is also a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab. Her focus is on concepts of narrative, character, and physical theatre. BECKY PEARL (in-house teacher) received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Connecticut College in 2001. Since then, she has taught at various schools throughout Westchester, Manhattan and Brooklyn. Becky has also performed with choreographers such as Jeremy Nelson, Heidi Latsky and Curt Haworth, and is currently rehearsing with Barbara Mahler for performances at BAX and Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church. MARION RAMIREZ (in-house teacher) is a Puerto Rican dance artist. She performed from an early age and trained in pantomime, ballet, flamenco and modern dance. She completed a BA in Choreography and Education from the Laban Center in London. Throughout the years she has had the opportunity to perform and teach in Puerto Rico, Europe, Korea and Cuba. In New York, she collaborated more extensively with Merian Soto Dance and Performance, working with improvisational dance forms and live music. For the last 2 years she has also been a founder of U turn Dance Company, collaborating with Korean choreographer Jung Woong Kim. Their dance/theater work explores movement qualities and events from their very different cultural sensibilities. For the last 13 years Marion has enjoyed teaching movement to children and adults from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds. She is currently a teacher at BAX. GWENYTH REITZ (in-house teacher) is an actress, director, teaching artist and creative arts consultant. As a teaching artist, Gwenyth works with Lincoln Center Theater, The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Vital Theatre Company and the Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School. She has taught workshops in creative dance and movement at Youth Theatre Northwest, where she also served as Education Director, The Glasgow Performing Arts Academy, and the Creative Dance Center in Seattle. In addition to working Off Broadway and in Regional Theatre, Gwenyth leads professional development workshops with classroom teachers on integrating the arts into their core curriculum, is a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre's Directors Lab, and serves on the funding panel for the New York State Council on the Arts. She is excited to be joining the team at BAX! AMY BETH SCHNEIDER (AIE Coordinator and in-house teacher) has been a part of the BAX faculty for close to four years. She teaches creative movement, modern dance, Music and Movement and Nearly 3. She is also BAX's Arts in Education coordinator, serving as a liaison and support between teaching artists and BAX off-site public school programs. She founded and currently directs Thread Dance Theater, a performance and production company that is best known for its Brooklyn Dance Sampler. Amy Beth graduated from Oberlin College and studied for four consecutive summers at the American Dance Festival prior to moving to New York City in 2000. She is an alumnus of the Triangle area's Choreo Collective, where she had the exceptional opportunity to choreograph for and perform with numerous North Carolina based dance artists. [top] 
ELLYNNE SKOVE (in-house teacher) has been working with children for over 25 years. She is a licensed dance/movement therapist, an Orff music educator, and she teaches yoga for special needs babies and children as well as expecting mothers. Ellynne studied Dynamic Anatomy with the late Nancy Topf for 15 years focusing on developmental movement from inutero to standing. She brings her passion for this innate movement blueprint to her work. Ellynne has performed with The Lake Ivan Performance Group, Meredith Monk, Nancy Topf, and others as well as creating her own work. She is the mother of EmmaGrace, 21, a BAX graduate, and Jackson, 8.
ANDREA THOME (teaching Artist) is a playwright, performer and educator whose plays, dance-theater works, comedy sketches and video satires have been presented nationally and internationally. She has created collaborative, community-based works with young people in New York City, San Francisco, Fargo (ND) and other communities, and is currently spearheading an international playwrights exchange and translation workshop with Mexico for the Lark Play Development Center (NYC). Andrea's own plays have been presented by the Lark, INTAR's New Works Lab, NYU, WOW Cafe, Cherry Red Productions (DC) and in San Francisco (Latina Theatre Lab, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts), where she also co-founded the Red Rocket Theater. As a performer and writer, she has collaborated with artists including Anna Deavere Smith, the comedy trio Culture Clash, Ariane Anthony & Co. Dance Theater, the Bay Area's Campo Santo and performance artist Guillermo G—mez-Pe–a. She received her MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and is co-founder of FULANA, a satirical video and performance collective (www.fulana.org). She teaches a playbuilding workshop through BAX at P.S.24, and since 2002 she has been a teaching artist for teenagers at El Puente, a Southside Williamsburg (Brooklyn) center for community arts and activism, where she has developed four full-length theater works in collaboration with young people. HELEN TOCCI (in-house teacher) began dancing in the woods of Northern Vermont and has since worked in Washington, D.C. with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange; in Senegal, West Africa; in Boulder, CO; and finally in NYC with various choreographers. She holds a BA in Religious Studies and Dance from Connecticut College. Helen is a co-founder of Varoom Group Dance Collective and has produced her own work at various venues around the city. Helen has been a teaching artist in the New York City public schools and is currently on the dance faculty of the Brooklyn Friend's School in addition to teaching the lovely dancers at BAX. JOANNA WALCHUK (in-house teacher) is an actress, director, performer and proud member of Actors Equity Association. She has been performing professionally for 20 years on stage, television and film. Joanna has been seen at Town Hall (Times Square), The Comedy Works, Openstage at Lincoln Center, The Country Dinner Playhouse, The Producers Club, The Cutting Room, and toured nationally with Theaterworks/USA. Directing credits include the full length premiers of "Newsreel" (Union Colony Civic Center) and "Gravediggers" at the Producers Club, and many more one acts. She holds her B.A. in theater from the University of Northern Colorado where she studied Acting, Musical Theater and Directing. While in Colorado, Joanna collaborated with Canyon Concert Ballet Company to create a Musical Theater Camp for ages 4-16 that will be in its 7th summer in 2008. She had the pleasure of bringing this experience to BAX's summer program in 2005, and will be teaching Acting and Musical Theater weeks this year. Also at BAX, Joanna has taught Creative Movement, Creative Dramatics and Acting and is excited to be joining the faculty this spring teaching Theater II and Teen Acting. [top] Photos on this page: Donna Costello (photo: Carolina Kroon) Pene McCourty (photo: Carolina Kroon) Helen Tocci (photo: Carolina Kroon) |