Instructors
Paula Aarons ~ Performing many solo roles, Paula toured worldwide with the Nikolais Dance Company
and completed a number of New York City seasons in
conjunction with The Murray Louis Dance Company. In addition to Nikolais, Paula has also had the pleasure of working with Pearson Widrig Dance Theatre, Susan Hefner and Dancers, Jerry Pearson, Mimi Garrard, and Gerald Otte. Paula received her M.Ed. from Antioch New England with her thesis work done in India, and spent the next 6 years teaching in public schools. In 2001, she left the classroom and began doing residency work and formed a pick up group called Short Ladies Dance that performed for two years. She has been Program Director for Creative Arts at Keene at MOCO Arts and for The Academy of Art and Design, a school of choice program at Monadnock Regional High School. She has been an adjunct staff member at Antioch New England Graduate School and at Keene State College designing courses that integrate dance and art in general into educational models. Paula also teaches many levels of modern dance, improvisation, and composition as well as musical theater at MOCO Arts. Recently she completed her MFA through Hollins University and the American Dance Festival and has been on faculty at Dickinson College. Paula is actively pursuing creating works that address social political issues.
Fallon Ashley Burner moved to Brattleboro from Miami last year to train at the New England Center for Circus Arts. She has been teaching dance and choreographing shows for more than 10 years in Virginia, Florida, and Vermont. After a whole summer coaching for Circus Smirkus, she is back in Bratt for NECCA’s Professional Track Training Program. Her style is an eclectic mix of everything she’s picked up in her career, from musical theatre jazz and tap to Horton Technique, Irish, and circus!
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Aurora Corsano has danced in the work of post-modern choreographers Yoshiko Chuma, Mary Fulkerson and Angus Balbernie in Europe and New York. From 2001 - 2003 Aurora performed through out the Netherlands and Spain as a solo aerial dancer with an experimental improvisation electronic music group led by the composer, Hilary Jeffery. She completed a six month residency with the group at STEIM, an center in Amsterdam for the development of human/technology interface in the arts. From
1990 - 2001, she danced for the New York City based spectacle performance company, “Pink Inc”. She toured with them throughout the US for large scale events such as the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving 1/2 time show and for the Whitney Museum’s Events. Aurora founded Luminz in 2003 and has presented work at Movement Research’s Open Performance Series, Chashama Theater and Here in New York City and in venues in Vermont and Canada. She opened Luminz Studio dance and performing Arts Center in 2005 and holds performances, workshops and for training in all forms of dance for the local, regional and international dance community.
Cyndal Ellis is a graduate of Smith College in anthropology and dance now residing in Marlboro, VT. She is a dance choreographer, performer, and teacher currently specializing in Tribal Fusion Belly Dance with over 17 years of performance experience and training in modern dance, ballet, Balkan folk dance, Turkish Roman, middle eastern popular and folk dances, and Arab-American fusions. She is a co-founder and active member of the Sovereign Collective in Northampton, MA, a member of the Giggle Water Girls, and a Luminz Studio teacher and performer in Brattleboro, VT.
Tracy Grissom is a graduate of Centenary College of Louisiana and holds a B.A. in Dance. Currently, she lives in Keene, NH and is a graduate student at Antioch New England where she is studying Dance/Movement Therapy. Her background in dance includes Ballet, Jazz, Modern and Tap. As a young dancer, Tracy studied at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Nashville Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet, through summer intensives. Ballet has been the foundation for her life as a dancer, but during her time at Centenary College, she developed a love for Modern dance and discovered her creative spirit as a choreographer. Tracy recognizes the connection between body and mind, which allows her to continue to grow as a dancer, student and choreographer. In 2008, she received her Pilates Matwork certification from Body Arts and Science International. She also worked as a Dance Instructor and Choreographer for a children’s theatre in Shreveport, Louisiana. Tracy is excited to utilize her education and training in dance and Pilates at the Luminz Studio!
Marshall Jarreau was trained in the modern dance program at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The majority of his 10 years of dance experience comes from the stage and not the classroom. Guided by a strong passion to perform, Marshall has been fortunate enough to dance and travel with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. He was most recently seen in the very first Broadway musical at sea, Hairspray, while onboard the Oasis of the Seas. He was also featured as one of the top 24 finalists on the first season of FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Marshall is excited to fuse his knowledge of modern, african, hip-hop, house and jazz into fun and challenging choreography that all students in his class are certain to enjoy.
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Nina Kunimoto has been studying flamenco for ten years and has performed in a flamenco dance company in Tucson, Arizona and solo in Tokyo, Japan. She has studied with Jose Molina in New York, with La China and La Truco in Madrid, Spain,with Patricia Guerrero Perez, Mari-Carmen Guerrero, Luis de Luis, Ana Calli, and Ester Marin in Granada, Spain, and with Mara Martinez, Ester Falcon, Mercedes Ruiz, La Marquisita, Miguel Angel Heredia and Manuela Carrasco in Tokyo, Japan.
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Anthony Manuel has been teaching his own exotic blend of movement fusing West African and Euro-centric dance forms using movements of the Caribbean as it pertained to the slaves coming across the sea and has worked with many schools and dance companies on five continents. With a genuine interest in people he went on to receive a BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts and Masters in Psychology from the University of Irvine and continues to share the gift of dance which keeps on giving.
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Angela Martinelli has been dancing for 25 years with a background in ballet, modern, contemporary, improvisation, physical theatre, street funk, hip hop, jazz, West African, and butoh. She has danced and choreographed her own work with Plymouth State University’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble, University of Hawaii at Manoa’s theater and dance department, Built on Stilts in Martha’s Vineyard, MA; Friends of the Arts in NH, Kelley Donovan and Dancers, Green Street Studios, the Dance Complex, and Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. She has done work in Hawaii with her own butoh and independent work, as well as Upside Down Dance. Angela recently attended workshops including FitzMaurice Voice work and Butoh with Gin Hammond and Sheri Brown, as well as blues dance for Odd Duck Theatre. Angela is consistently creating new works and infusions within her dance scope. Her study in indigenous and tribal customs has enabled her vision as a dancer and a researcher to soar. www.angelamartinelli.net.
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Jennefer Moyse is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a B.F.A. in acting. She performed regionally in musical theater in and around New York before moving to Los Angeles where she performed in theater, film and television. She has been teaching for over 10 years and is thrilled to be bringing her skills to Luminz Studio.
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Jahnavi Newsom is addicted to capoeira. This has influenced her
movement style and the way her brain works. She first started doing
capoeira about 7 years ago, and feels that it is very important to
have it as a key part of her community. The bulk of her training has
been with Mestre Beicola in Palo Alto, CA, with Capoeira Narahari.
In addition to capoeira, Jahnavi has had training in a variety of
dance styles, circus (with a focus in partner acrobatics) and yoga.
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Lauren Reedy began studying Authentic Movement in 2004 while earning her Master’s degree in Dance/Movement Therapy. She has a background in dance and psychology and enjoys that AM combines the two. Lauren began teaching with Luminz in Winter 2009. She facilitates movement therapy groups for organizations and individuals in the area.
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Joan Sanchez has been teaching modern dance and performing for 30 years. She studied with the modern dance legend Erick Hawkins and his
company in New York City. She was a guest teacher in dance at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, and served as adjunct faculty in
dance there from 1988-90. As a founding member of Motion Collective Dance Company in Ellsworth, Maine, she brought the fun and excitement
of improvisational dance to the community. During her years in Maine, she also taught at Town Hill Dance Academy and the Maine Dance Center.
In New York, she performed in the companies of Nancy Meehan, Nancy Zendora, Beverly Brown and Phyllis Rose. She is delighted to be teaching modern dance at Luminz and creating new dances on the talented Luminz dancers.
Emily Sweeney is a dancer, choreographer, and educator currently based in southern Vermont, where she’s originally from. She has taught contemporary dance technique and improvisation in the United States and Europe. Since 2006, she has collaborated with sound/ visual artist William Bilwa Costa as perpetual mvmt<>snd. They have shown work in Philadelphia, New York, Berlin, Vienna, Turku (Finland), Rome, and London. Emily is also a dedicated yoga practitioner and Registered Yoga Teacher; she completed a 200-hour training at the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Vrindavan, India. William Bilwa Costa is an electronic musician and visual artist. He has worked with movement artist Emily Sweeney as perpetual mvmt<>snd since 2006. They have shown work in Philadelphia, New York, Berlin, Vienna, Turku (Finland), Rome, and London. Bilwa specializes in creating electronic soundscapes for dancers.
For more information about Emily and Bilwa and their work, visit perpetualmvmtsnd.org
Carrie Towle began her dance training in Brattleboro, Vermont and went on to study at the Boston Ballet, the New York School of Ballet, was a dance major at SUNY Purchase and performed with the Purchase Dance Corps. Carrie taught for several studios in Albuquerque while also dancing and teaching for the New Mexico Ballet Company. Carrie has taught ballet to all ages and levels for over fifteen years. In Vermont and Massachusetts, she has taught for Deerfield Academy, The Stoneleigh Burnham School, The Brattleboro School of Dance, the Perfoming Arts/Dance Program of the Windham Regional Career Center, Vermont Academy, Marlboro College, The Williston North Hampton School, and Kelly’s Dance Academy. She holds a MA in Counselor Education from the University of New Mexico and lives in Dummerston with her three beautiful children
Meg Van Dyck is a graduate of Smith College and received her early dance training at the Stoneleigh Burnham School Community Dance Program. She has performed with Dodge Dance Company in New York City, Sorvino Dance Project in Western Massachusetts, and Luminz Dance Theater in Brattleboro Vermont. She has shown her own work throughout the area has collaborated with local musicians including The Jones Trio, The Ameranouche Trio, and Unit7 for live performance and music video. Meg has taught dance and pilates for the Journey East Program to China at Leland and Gray High School, Foreign Language School International/Tufts University, Theater of Dreams in New York City, and Deerfield Academy. She currently teaches at Luminz Dance Studio. She enjoys sharing her love for dance with others.
Emily Wiadro grew up in CT and has been dancing since she was 5 years old. She has a BA in English and Dance from Skidmore College. In 2002, Emily joined the KIVA Dance Collective in Waterbury, CT. She moved to Brattleboro, VT in 2007. Emily also teaches vinyasa yoga at Bhava Yoga center and offers Yoga Therapy through Biologic Integrative Healthcare.
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Sarah White is a San Francisco native with a Master of Research in Social Anthropology from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Performing Arts & Social Justice from Global College. She has documented the arts of Romany (Gypsy) people and the intertwining of race, power, and aesthetics living with the Kalbeliya Gypsies in Rajasthan, the Roman in Istanbul, the women of the Zar (a trance dance) in Cairo, and the Roma of Romania. She has trained in 25 different dance forms, martial arts, gymnastics, and the flying trapeze. Growing up Sarah was in the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, a diverse group who addressed pressing social issues through dance, theater, and spoken word. She was the star dancer in Neil Young’s internationally touring movie and rock-opera ‘Greendale’ performing in venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks, Madison Square Garden, and The Shrine across the U.S., Canada, China, Japan, and Australia. Sarah has been a member of Project Bandaloop Youth Group (an aerial dance company) and Ultra Gypsy Dance Theatre Company (the creator of Tribal Fusion) since she was 16, and was a founding member of Barbary Coast Shakedown & Foxglove Sweethearts. In 2007 she received a grant from the National Geographic Society to produce a documentary on the Kalbeliyas and is currently in the Peace Corps Master’s International Program at SIT.