BETTINA MONTANO
Founder/Artistic Director
Modern Dance Director

Bettina holds a BFA in Dance, Cum Laude, from Temple University.

In Philadelphia, she performed professionally with Philadelphia’s Sybil Dance Company, Artistic Director Eva Gholson, and Dance Conduit, Artistic Director Ann Vachon, for the reconstruction of Doris Humphrey’s “Dawn in New York.”

In the Berkshires, Bettina performed with choreographer Dawn Lane, Artistic Director Community Access to the Arts, as an independent choreographer and as a member of choreographer/film maker Laurie McLeod’s Victory Girl Productions with whom she performed extensively throughout the Berkshires, New York, and abroad.

Bettina’s dance training began with her mother Christa Montano, a student of renowned dancers Mary Wigman, Herald Kreuzberg, Martha Graham, José Limón and Louis Horst. Her early training continued under the direction of Truda Kashman, Martha Graham technique with Debra Zall, with various teaching artists at the Murray Louis and Alwin Nicolais Dance Lab and later with Educators/Choreographers Eva Gholson, Ann Vachon, Hellmut Gottschild and Marilyn Middleton Sylla. Bettina’s passionate belief in accessible dance education led her to teaching and inspired the creation of The Flowering Child Performing Arts Program in 1995 — which ultimately evolved into Berkshire Pulse in 2005. Bettina has been teaching classes in modern dance for students of all ages and levels throughout her 25-year directorship of the organization. See REVIEW, PICS & VIDEO

KIM WATERMAN
Founding Faculty
World Music and Dance Program Director
In-School Program Coordinator

Fall 2021 Classes: Dances of Africa on Zoom
Kim has studied a variety of dance styles and has come to love the traditional dances of Africa. She has been studying, teaching, performing and sharing these dances with children and adults for more than 30 years. Kim holds a Masters Degree in Education and her extensive classroom teaching experience makes her dance classes accessible to students of all levels. In addition to the Pulse, she currently teaches throughout the Berkshire public school system in grant funded programs, is a faculty artist at IS183 and program coordinator for parent/child education at CHP. She has been working with Berkshire Pulse since its inception as the Flowering Child Performing Arts Program in 1996.  See REVIEW, PICS & VIDEO

TOM MASTERS
Dance for Boys
Program Director
Musical Theatre Dance Program Director
Fall 2021 classes: Intermediate Tap, Dance For Boys, Modern 3-4 Humphrey Weidman, Broadway Jazz 3-4

Tom Masters holds an MS in Special Education from The City College of New York and a BS in elementary education with a concentration in dance and movement for elementary school children. As a performer he has danced with The Park Avenue Dance Company in Rochester, NY, The Alvin Ailey Student Ensemble in New York City, and with various musical theatre productions both nationally and internationally. He has taught dance and creative movement since 1990. Most recently he was on staff at the Center for Kinesthetic Movement in NYC as an educational tutor using dance to teach literacy, and using movement to increase the attention span of students with ADHD. Tom has been with Berkshire Pulse since 2009 teaching dance for boys, Humphrey-Weidman repertory, tap, and Broadway jazz. See REVIEW, PICS & VIDEO

SUSAN QUINN
Young Choreographers Program Director
Fall 2021: Modern 1, Young Choreographers Workshop, Creative Process Workshops

Susan Quinn is a teacher, choreographer and performing artist. She is currently enjoying directing the Young Choreographers Initiative at Berkshire Pulse with a focus on Movement and Activism and how choreography shows up in our everyday lives. She co-founded and co-directed Choreo Collective for seven years, a laboratory for choreographers to engage in the creative process and produce new work in the Triangle area of North Carolina. She also developed the Choreographers’ Workshop Series to showcase and provide feedback for artists across NC through the North Carolina Dance Alliance. Her choreography has been produced in a variety of venues, including the American Dance Festival and Dixon Place. She directed the dance department at Cardinal Gibbons High School and has been a guest choreographer in high schools and colleges. She has studied composition with Donald McKayle, Marlies Yearby, Neil Greenberg, Faye Driscoll and David Dorfman. She studied technique privately with master teacher Sarah Neece and Alexander Technique with Anne-René Petrarca. Susan has also performed with many dance companies and choreographers, including Thread Dance Theater, HMK Dance, Sarah Daunt, Insurgo Stage Project, Sara Smith, Carol Finley/The Postcards Project, Isabel Gotzowsky, Stephanie Landouer, Caroline Williford, Beth Fath and Five Chick Posse Productions. (Photo: Skye Schmidt)

SHANA PARKEHARRISON
Ballet Program Coordinator
Fall 2021: Ballet 3 and Ballet 3-4

Shana ParkeHarrison grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She trained with Moscelyne Larkin and Roman Jasinski and was a member of Tulsa Ballet. During summer intensives she received additional training with dancers including, Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Marjorie Tallchief and Georgina Parkinson. While pursuing a BFA in Art she continued to dance and perform in productions including Oklahoma!.

Shana will act as coordinator of the Pulse ballet program, working with the Pulse ballet faculty toward commonality in our ballet/pointe curriculum, as well as teacher of a newly added Ballet 3 class for the Performing Arts program.

Learn more about Shana and all of the members of our Board of Directors.

IAN SPENCER BELL

Fall 2021 classes: Ballet 3-4 Variations/ Repertory, YCI Creative Process

Ian Spencer Bell is a dancer and poet combining the two in performance. He has danced his solo works at the Poetry Foundation and the Queens Museum and received grants and fellowships from Jacob’s Pillow, Lambda Literary, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Bell trained at North Carolina School of the Arts, School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and NYU’s MFA in poetry program. ianspencerbell.com See Ian perform solo at Jacob’s Pillow for a special Weekend Out performance on August 5! (Photo: Christopher Duggan)

LAUREN BERKMAN

Fall 2021 classes: Acting Your Song

Lauren is an actor, singer, and teaching artist based in the Berkshires. She has performed and taught throughout the U.S. and internationally, from Argentina to Switzerland. After receiving her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Boston Conservatory, Lauren went on to study theatre at L’Ecole de Comédie Musicale in Paris, France. There she performed with non-profit theatre companies bringing new musical theatre works to France, and taught children English through theater. In January 2020, she co-founded Stage Lingo, courses that enhance language learning through theater training. (https://www.stagelingo.com/). Favorite performance credits include Into the Woods, Ordinary Days, Next Thing You Know, Rock of Ages, and singing at Carnegie Hall, Feinstein’s 54 Below, and on Radio France!  http://www.laurentaylorberkman.com/

JOANNE BOCKEMUEHL-JACKSON
Fall 2021 classes: Flamenco

Joanne Bockemuehl-Jackson was born in Germany, where she began her flamenco dance studies at the age of 19. Since then, while working as a nurse and as a cranio sacral therapist, she has continued to dance and study the art of Flamenco for more than 20 years. Falling in love with Flamenco, Joanne went to Madrid to study at the traditional Flamenco School “Amor de Dios.” She is a Jacobs Pillow alumnus of the 2019 Flamenco and Spanish Dance program and was recently accepted to the Artist Development Program at Flamenco Vivo in New York City.

Joanne is the founder of the Flamenco Dance program at Berkshire Pulse where she has been introducing youth and adult students of all ages to the experience of Flamenco dance for more than six years. See REVIEW PICS & VIDEO

Sandra Bonilla
Fall 2021 classes: Belly Dancing

Sandra Bonilla was born in El Salvador in 1979 starting in the world of dance in 1986 with the teacher Mercedez Cotto Classical ballet teacher. I studied ballet for 8 years, in 1994 I went on to study folklore from different countries of Central America with the renowned teacher, Marcial Gudiel. In the Morena Celarie dance school, in this same institution, I had the honor of being able to study Contemporary Dance in 1996 with the teacher German Paz, and the teacher Xenia Vaquero. In 1998 I received creative dance workshops, Pre-dance, specialized dances in children from 5 to 9 years in the year 2000 I received my certification as a dance teacher working in a dance company and in educational television for children called “La hora del niño” doing musical works such as “The nutcracker” in 2003 I have the opportunity to study with the teacher Jorge Gabidia and Mauricio Bonilla the beautiful Flamenco and Tango dances in 2005 I studied and managed to receive my certification as an Aerobic instructor in 2007 I received a workshop of the wonderful dance of Brazil Samba, in 2009 I study with the teacher Ruth Salas a workshop of Eurythmy. In 2010 she joined the International Dance Company Zamiras Belly Dance studying sensual oriental dance, belly dance and studying performances such as Flamenco-Arabe, Tango-Arabe and I had the opportunity to study cha-cha-cha and Conga. in 2016 with The help of the mayor and the dance company managed to open a small ballet school for people with very low resources that is still operating, in 2020 living in this beautiful community of the Berkshires I manage to form a small group of women which my dream is Let him grow up called L @ tyn Dance. Currently we do a choreography of no to machismo which is called “a tango between friends” because my passion for dance has no limit

KATHY AND DAVID CROWE
Tai Chi

Berkshire Tai Chi is a traditional, lineage school. Sifu David Crowe and Sifu Kathy Crowe, with 18 years experience, are certified lineage tai chi and qi gong instructors under the Kuoshu Federation of the Republic of China. They trained under Master Eric Sbarge, a member of the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame, at The Hall of the Peaceful Dragon In Charlotte, NC. Outside of teaching tai chi, Sifus David and Kathy lead busy and creative lives. Sifu David is a composer and teaching artist, whose works have been performed across the country. Read more and hear samples of his music at www.DavidCroweMusic.com. Sifu Kathy is a web and graphic designer, including the design of websites, logos, brochures, etc. You can see samples of her work at www.KathyCrowe.com.

GILLIAN EBERSOLE

Fall 2021 classes: Modern 2 

Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Gillian Ebersole is a dancer and choreographer, as well as a poet, dance critic, and researcher. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a dual degree in Dance and English. Performed on stages in Los Angeles, Denver, and Paris, her choreographic work merges her love for language and movement. She trained with Denver contemporary dance company Wonderbound, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Gibney, and Bill T. Jones. She is a certified yoga instructor and has taught both dance and yoga in studios and community spaces. Gillian currently works for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival as the Marketing Coordinator for Community Engagement and The School.

MELISSA ELSTEIN

Fall 2021 classes: Ballet 2, Ballet Barre for Beginners
Melissa Elstein founded Good Energy Movement & Wellness to bring the joy of movement to students of all ages and levels in her dance and yoga classes.  As a young dancer, she trained at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet and performed with NYCB, Berlin Opera Ballet, and Royal Danish Ballet. Her teachers at SAB included Stanley Williams, Madame Danilova, and Suki Schurer.  During Summer breaks, Melissa studied at Ballet West, and in NYC with Melissa Hayden, Willie Burmann, Madame Darvash, and David Howard (where she became a scholarship student).  She was accepted into the Pennsylvania Ballet Company her last year of high school. Melissa performed with that company for several years until an injury sidelined her professional ballet career. 

Shifting to academics, Melissa graduated from Barnard College and Columbia Law School. She completed Federal clerkships, before joining NYPD’s legal bureau. Her life took another turn when she trained in yoga, qigong, Pilates, Reiki, and other healing modalities. Returning to her first passion (ballet), Melissa graduated from Finis Jhung’s teacher training, performed in three of his instructional DVDs, and taught adult ballet for him at Alvin Ailey’s Extension Program. She completed children’s teacher trainings with Yogi Beans and American Ballet Theater and has taught children’s and teen ballet at the School at Steps on Broadway and as a guest teacher in the Berkshires. 

Since the pandemic, her adult and senior yoga classes are held via Zoom and telephone. Melissa looks forward to in-person teaching at the Pulse! Her website: 

 www.Melissa-Mati.com.

FERN KATZ
Fall 2021 classes: Contemporary

Fern is freelance performer and dance maker based in Western Massachusetts and New York City. With a BA in Dance and Birth Studies from Goddard College, Fern has also had the privilege of training at the Gibney Dance Center, earning a certification from the Professional Contemporary Track, as well as various intensive trainings with Shannon Gillen’s VIM/VIGOR Dance Company, and has studied the unique partnering technique of Sharon Fridman (Artistic Director of Compañia Sharon Fridman) in Madrid. She has had the pleasure of performing as a youth performer with Albany Berkshire Ballet Company production, and later with Opera Nouveau, Moving Arts Ensemble, Buglisi Dance Theater’s Table of Silence project at Lincoln Center, Compañia Sharon Fridman’s US premiere of Caída libre, and much more. Fern currently choreographs and performs with VEERdance Company (which she co-founded in 2018), collaborates and performs with Rebecca Pappas’ Projects in Hartford, and Olga Rabetskaya Dance Projects in New York City. Additional work includes teaching Pilates at The Pilates Space and dance at LifeWorks Studio, both in Great Barrington.

RYOKO KUDO
Modern, Limón Technique, Ballet, & Pilates

Ryoko Kudo MFA, has worked with the Limón Dance Company since 2001 and has had the privilege to dance works by world-renowned choreographers such as Graham, Taylor, Lubovich, Kylian, Linke, Koner, McKayle, multiple works by Limón and Humphrey. Kudo is also an aerialist with Airealistic and has performed at the Beijing Olympics, Hangzhou, China, Bregenz Opera, and in the show Breaking Surface in NYC. She teaches and restages Limón works and has taught at various institutions such as Marymount Manhattan College, Canadian Children’s Dance Theater (Canada), Congresso Brasileiro de Dance Moderna (Brazil), Arte Centro (Guatemala), Bratislava Academy of Dance (Slovakia), ArtEz (Holland), Puglia Talenti (Italy), Casa de la Cultura (Mexico), and schools in the U.S. such as SUNY Purchase, Point Park College, Bryn Mawr, Mont Clair, University of the Arts, Drexel University. Kudo is also a certified Pilates instructor (read more…) since 2008. Kudo received her training from Emerson College, The Boston Conservatory, Ailey School, Graham School, Limón Institute, and Kane School of Core Integration.

Ryoko’s classes explore movement based on the principles of the Limón Technique, which incorporates the effect of gravity and use of breath as an initiation of movement. We explore coordinating breath and weight in terms of falling, recovering, and suspending. The classes also address use of space, time and energy with clear intention and musicality for greater dynamic range of movement and richer coloring of human expression.

(photo credit: Nilaya Sabni)

THOMAS LIBETTI
Fall 2021 classes: Drawing Meditation

Thomas Libetti is a Kripalu-certified yoga instructor and local artist/educator (MFA; School of Visual Arts) whose drawings have been published in; NY Times Book Review, The New Yorker, LA Times, Rolling Stone, Boston Globe,Chicago Tribune, Vogue Italia and American Illustration, among others.

ERIN NAYLOR
Fall 2021 classes: Yoga, Tumbling

Erin has been an avid dancer since she could walk. Throughout her youth she studied ballet, Modern, and Jazz as well as Hip Hop and Afro-Caribbean, being one of the first graduates of the Flower Child Performing Arts Program that became Berkshire Pulse. As a young adult she began teaching gymnastics and ballet to children at Berkshire South Regional Community Center and Berkshire Country Day School. In 2013 and 2014 Erin studied and completed Ashaya Yoga Teacher Training with Todd Norian, and in 2017 she completed Zumba Teacher Training. Erin enjoys helping people become better versions of themselves through all kinds of movement!

RICK SHRUM
Fall 2021 classes: World Music Drumming

Rick Schrum has been drumming since age 3 when his dad (also a drummer) gave him his first drumsticks and began teaching him classical percussion. Rick played in school orchestras, concerts stage bands, drum and bugle ensembles, percussion ensembles and rock bands. He credits Arthur Hull, from Santa Cruz, as his primary teacher of African drumming. He began studying Afro-Cuban drumming in his 20s and has been playing and teaching this art for the last 30 years. In the 90s Rick played for Dance Kinetics (now called Yoga Dance) at Kripalu. Having been a Waldorf teacher for almost 20 years Rick has taught drumming to all of his classes incorporating rhythm into the learning process. He has played for Afro-Caribbean dance classes at the Berkshire Pulse for the last six years. Rick has led drum circles at Mountainside drug alcohol rehab center. Having a Masters degree in neurobiology Rick has been a registered nurse from 2010 to present.

TOM TRUSS
Moving Life Stories Coordinator
Creative Dance
Fall 2021 classes: Creative Dance

Tom Truss is a performing artist and educator who has had a thirty-year career as a dancer, actor, choreographer and director. Tom has created with and taught all ages and abilities from children, firefighters, and inmates to teens, older adults, and professional actors and dancers. He is certified to teach the Alexander Technique, has a Masters of Fine Art in choreography from the University of Iowa, a Masters of Fine Art in Acting from the University of Texas and graduated from the College of Wooster with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance. In between all that he has been teaching for Flying Cloud Institute since the 90s, toured with the Liz Lerman/Dance Exchange for four years, had his own company for ten years, was a community artist at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival for five years (with residencies at the majority of south county Berkshire schools) and taught at American Dance Festival for seven years. Currently, he freelances in the Berkshires, has a podcast with his nephew called Ask You Gay Uncle, teaches the Alexander Technique from his home and most recently almost directed The Drowsy Chaperone at Mt Everett High School (the pandemic quarantine happened two weeks before the show was to open).

MICHELINE WEILER
Fall 2021 classses: Ballet, Pointe

Ballet was Micheline’s first love and was the early focus of her training. She studied Vagonova method and trained with the Sacramento Ballet in California, and later with the Washington Ballet in D.C. She also had the opportunity of brief intensive studies with the San Francisco Ballet, Hartford Ballet, and Boston Ballet companies. Micheline had the privilege of performing in countless productions – in the corps, as a featured dancer, and as a solo artist. She later switched her focus to the Cecchetti method, while also learning more of jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop, and even some ballroom styles. Micheline had always been a singer and began pursuing theatre as well. She then received her BFA in musical theatre from Syracuse University and moved to New York City with her husband, to pursue a career as a performing artist.

As Micheline began teaching ballet, she discovered that she appreciated both the opportunity to inspire young beginners, as well as a real passion and gift for developing more advanced dancers into artists. In 2009 she became certified with the state of Massachusetts to teach both theatre and dance in the school system. She then took the opportunity to choreograph high school musicals – to continue to work with young artists on the cusp of their careers.

Although Micheline’s life as a dancer has taken a back seat for the last several years as she became a mother to her two beautiful daughters, she has continued as a teacher, choreographer, and mentor. Micheline is thrilled now to be making a return to her first love and teaching ballet for the Pulse!

TARCÍSIO RAMOS DOS SANTOS
Fall 2021 classes: Introduction to Capoeria

Tarcísio is a Brazilian musician, writer, and Direct Support Professional. He’s been sharing his culture since the first year he arrived here in the USA and in the last 8 years Capoeira has been one of the Brazilian arts that he is the most excited to practice and share. He is proud to share with Berkshire Pulse this unique Brazilian full body expressive and fun art form using music, rhythm, movement and ornate with the Brazilian heritage.

ILANA RANSOM-TOEPLITZ

Fall 2021 classes: Advanced Tap, Adult Broadway Jazz, Jazz 2-3

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz is a New York City-based director/choreographer specializing in new musicals. On Broadway, Ilana assistant directed VIOLET (2014 revival starring Sutton Foster, Tony Nominations for Best Direction and Best Musical Revival) and was the SDCF Mike Ockrent Fellow on THE PROM with Casey Nicholaw (2018, Tony Nominations for Best Direction and Best Musical).

In addition to her work on Broadway, Ilana has worked at Lincoln Center, Keen Company, York Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, NY Theatre Barn, and the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and on multiple national tours.

Ilana is a Drama League Directors Project Alum (2016 Leo Shull New Musicals Directing Fellowship) and the 2018 SDC Foundation Mike Ockrent Fellow. Ilana is also a plus-size model. Ilana is also co-writing an original piece about Clara Schumann (Book, Co-Lyrics & Direction), currently slated for a world premiere with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra next season.

Twitter/Instagram: @IlanaRanToe; Website: www.IlanaDirects.com

FIONA SCRUGGS

Fall 2021 classes: Creative Dance, Beginner Tap, Intro to Dance, Ballet

Fiona Scruggs is a 2019 summa cum laude graduate of Radford University in Dance Education. She holds a Virginia PreK-12 Professional Teaching License for Dance Arts in public schools. Fiona has received several fellowships and grants to conduct research in France and the USA on the life, career and legacy of Josephine Baker, and has presented at numerous regional conferences. She has trained at the Salzburg International Ballet Academy in Austria, Bates Dance Festival, and NextGeneration Ballet, and has served on the dance staff of the Tennessee Governor’s School for theArts and Radford University Ballet Youth for three years. Fiona is currently working at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival as the School Programs Coordinator.

Born in Tübingen, Germany, Fiona moved to the USA as a child and has since continued dancing.She advocates and shares her passion for the arts’ abilities to influence positive changes in people’s lives through research, education, choreography, and performance. Fiona is excited to be a part of the Pulse community and share her love of dance in the Berkshires. To see more of Fiona’s work, visit fionascruggs.com

VERONICA BONE
Program Coordinator

Veronica Bone is a Pittsfield-based choreographer, teacher, and performer. After achieving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance at Indiana University, Veronica moved to Western Massachusetts to work at Jacobs Pillow. She then worked at Berkshire Theatre Group as the Fundraising and Outreach Associate. While there, Veronica served as an artistic associate for the Actor Intern Program. She taught daily dance classes and choreographed site-specific performances. She now teaches at Berkshire Pulse and works on artistic projects with local dance artists.

ISADORA WOLFE
Fall 2021 classes: Ballet 4, Pilates

Isadora Wolfe is from Lowell, Massachusetts. She is the Resident Director of Punchdrunk’s New York City production of Sleep No More, and has been a cast member since 2011. She was a founding member of johannes wieland and danced under Wieland’s direction at Staatstheater Kassel (Germany) in 2007, 2014 and 2015. Isadora has performed nationally and internationally with choreographers such as Gerald Casel, Martha Clarke (Garden of Earthly Delights and Angel Reapers original cast), Mark Dendy, Fiona Marcotty, Neta Pulvermacher, Tami Stronach and Muna Tseng. Her theater credits include the acclaimed production of The Hairy Ape (dir. Richard Jones, Park Avenue Armory) and Peter Pan (Peter, Berkshire Theatre Group). Isadora has been a guest teacher, movement director and rehearsal director at various universities and festivals, and is currently adjunct faculty at The Juilliard School.

JOSEPH POULSON

Joseph Poulson is originally from Philadelphia, PA. He is a New York City based artist who has received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Iowa and Bennington College respectively. Currently a rehearsal director and performer in Punchdrunk’s New York City Production of Sleep No More, between 2000 and 2020 he has toured and taught nationally and internationally with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Susan Marshall and Company, David Dorfman Dance, Mark Morris Dance Group, Creach Co., Bill Young and Colleen Thomas and Dancers, Jeanine Durning, Melinda Ring and Aconarytori among others. Joseph received a Dance and Performance “Bessie” award in 2009. He has taught, collaborated and created at numerous institutions around the world including Bates Dance Festival, American Dance Festival, Springboard, and universities around the country.

MOSCELYNE PARKEHARRISON

Moscelyne graduated from The Juilliard School in 2019. She began her dance training in the thriving artistic atmosphere of the Berkshires. She attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts where she received a broad dance education, as well as the opportunity to choreograph works for the student choreography showcases. In her time at Juilliard she had the pleasure of performing new works by Helen Simoneau, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Roy Assaf, and Stefanie Batten Bland, as well as the repertoire of José Limón, Nacho Duato, Martha Graham, and Crystal Pite. During her summers she trained and performed with the Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Ensemble, as well as the composing principles of Iztok Kovac at Dock 11 in Berlin. She won “Best Choreography” in the NY Theater Summerfest 2018 for the play He & She.

In addition to performing, Moscelyne enjoys choreographing and collaborating with other artists. Four of her works have been selected for Juilliard Choreographic Honors. “Tour of a Reverie”, originally choreographed for Juilliard’s ChoreoComp, was performed in the Triskelion Arts CollabFest in fall 2018. Her latest work “Room for Longing” was performed as a part of Senior Production in the Willson Theater at Juilliard. She recently performed an original solo by Johannes Wieland entitled “rule/breaker” for Juilliard’s Senior Showcase. She is currently a member of Post:Ballet in San Francisco, and jHSpro lead by Alexandra Wells.

Moscelyne is the recipient of the Joseph W. Polisi Award for Artist as Citizen. She recently established BODYSONNET, a dance collective which is creating work in the Berkshires and is currently the company in residence at Berkshire Pulse.

ANDRES RAMIREZ

Andres Ramirez a Berkshire resident and owner of The Funk Box dance studio. Has been dancing for 11 years and has competed and taught in many different countries. His studio has placed top 3 within the USA Breakin’ League, has grown its reputation and was voted 2018’s Berkshires Best Dance Studio. Andres is here to share and spread his knowledge on breaking and hip hop culture.

JORDYN CORMIER 

Jordyn is a multidisciplinary creative artist, holding a BFA in Dance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. After graduation, she merged her extensive movement background with other creative avenues—namely filmmaking, writing, and movement direction. Through her company, Whimsy Media, she has created short films, worked on children’s books, written 900+ published articles, choreographed shows, worked as a brand creative strategist, and production managed a short film with an Academy Award winning director. She specializes in helping people of all ages and backgrounds experience the joy of movement and recognize their own creative potential.

GENÈVE BROSSARD

Genève Brossard has been running a grassroots boxing program here in the Berkshires for the past 5 years, coaching everyone from kids and teens, to adult newcomers to sport, to competing athletes.

She is so happy to be partnering with Berkshire Pulse for Youth Boxing and Women & Girls Boxing. These two groups people are the closest to Genève’s heart. Boxing can have such a positive presence in our youths’ lives by providing mastery, confidence, community, and health.

As a woman, she knows the power and peace that the embodies practice of boxing (an historically male domain) can bring specifically to people who identify as female.

Genève is a 2 x New York Golden Gloves and an NY State Empire Games Champion. She was an athlete on the USA Elite Women’s Boxing team in 2006, and represented the USA at the Pan-American Games, among other tournaments. She was also the first woman to represent the London Lynn Boxing Club, the oldest club in England- established in 1892, and was a London ABA tournament finalist.

Genève has devoted much of her life to boxing, and she loves coaching as a way to share the joy, freedom, and fun she has found in the sport!

Mio Ishikawa

Mio Ishikawa (she/her) is a dancer and choreographer based in New York City. She is a native of Tokyo, Japan, where she began dancing at the age of 6. Her training in both classic and contemporary dance forged her strong interest in the performing arts and led her to study at the Juilliard School. She earned her BFA in May ‘19. She has performed the works of Iván Pérez, Alejandro Cerrudo, Roy Assaf, and Twyla Tharp among many others. She has been a collaborator with BodySonnet and a founder of Body Talk since 2019. She is currently in her certification process of Ilan Lev Technique. Mio received her degree in Economics from Keio University in ‘20. Mio has been a collaborator of BODYSONNET since ‘19.

PAMELA BADILA

Pamela Jackson Badila received a Bachelor of Science in Education and Creative Art at the University of Old Westbury in 1977. She taught African Folklore at Nassau Community College professionally for over seven years. In 1981 she went to tour the Ivory Coast with Les Guirivoires and visited Paris on an invitation from Le Grand Ballet d’Afrique Noir. She met Andre in Paris and subsequently joined the infamous Ballet Kodia. Pamela currently lives in Hudson NY where she continues teaching in the Arts.

SHAKIA BARRON
Hip Hop/ Street Style Intensive

Shakia Barron is a choreographer, performer, and dance educator whose work is rooted in the African Diaspora, focusing on Hip-Hop, House and other African diasporic dance forms. She graduated with her MFA in Choreography at Wilson College, she holds an Associate’s degree in dance and psychology from Dean College, a Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Westfield State University, and she received the National Dance Institute’s teaching artist certificate in 2009.

Barron has choreographed and directed more than 50 Hip-Hop, modern, African and lyrical works that have been performed at Trenton Education Dance Institute, Rider University, the Princeton School of Ballet, Bates Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow. She has performed for numerous Hip-Hop events and has opened for concerts by Fat Joe, Jadakiss, 112, Charlie Baltimore, and Kima from “Total” and Omarion.

SEREENA HUNTER
Hip Hop/ Street Style Intensive

Sereena Hunter is a powerhouse dancer, choreographer and instructor. Her classes are dynamic, energetic and LOVED by students of all ages and backgrounds because of her exceptional teaching style and the joyful atmosphere she creates. Sereena studied a variety of dance styles and completed her formal training as a choreographer and instructor at Manchester College and Clague and Green Performing Arts School in the UK. She founded Urbanized Dance Academy in 2014 in Manchester, UK. and has been teaching and performing in the UK and US for many years.

SAYER MANSFIELD
Guest Teacher

Sayer Mansfield is currently dancing with Compagnie Marie Chouinard in Montreal, Quebec. She holds a BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Sayer worked full time with Pilobolus Dance Theater for 3 years and has performed with Compañía Sharon Fridman (Madrid, Spain), Boston Dance Theater and The Indah Walsh Dance Company. Sayer has been an adjunct faculty member and guest artist at Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover and Roger Williams University. Sayer has worked extensively across mediums including film, television, music videos and print. Sayer received her classical training from The Royal Academy of Dance, Boston Ballet and Joffrey Ballet and has studied at Laban in London, UK and The Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance in Austria. More recently, Sayer has begun an independent investigation of performance, choreography, and creation – collaborating with inspiring artists of her generation, Sayer has presented work in New York City and The Berkshires.

CHRISTA MONTANO

Founding Faculty

Christa began her dance studies in Germany with Suzanne Kabitz, former assistant of Rudolf Von Laban. She continued her studies in Germany with Modern Dance innovators Mary Wigman and Herald Kreuzberg, and in the USA with Martha Graham at the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance in New York City, as well as with other renowned choreographers/educators such as José Limón, Alwin Nicolais, Murray Louis, and Louis Horst. In 1962, Christa established a Modern Dance Department in a private high school in Windsor, CT. For many years, she taught Modern dance for students of the now Oxford Kingswood High School, as well as Creative Dance for children and adults throughout Hartford, CT, and NY. Christa is a founding faculty member, now in her late 80’s, she enjoys participating in the morning modern classes at Berkshire Pulse.

RUBY AVER

Founding Faculty

Ruby Aver passes on the highest standards of classical ballet which she fully absorbed through my training and performing internationally. I applaud her for her commitment to the art of ballet.- Master Teacher David Howard

Ruby served as Associate Director and Ballet Director for the Berkshire Pulse Performing Arts Program from 2005-2017. Her extensive contributions included curriculum development, establishing policies and guidelines essential to interdisciplinary dance training for youth and teens, and mentoring of teaching artists throughout her tenure.

Ruby’s primary ballet instructor Ed Parish was trained by Bronislava Nijinska. Ruby was awarded a full talent scholarship to the Harkness House for Ballet Arts by master teacher David Howard, where she went on to apprentice with the Harkness Ballet Company. She performed as a soloist with the Chicago Ballet Company and Ballet de Caracas. She was a principal dancer for Het Scapino Ballet of the Netherlands, where ‘Firebird ‘ was set on her by choreographer Job Sanders.

In addition to classical ballet Ruby has performed contemporary ballet by Hans van Manen and Nils Christie, Jazz choreography by Matt Mattox and dance theater work by company members from Pina Bausch Wuppertaal Tanzteater. Ruby has taught for Bard College at Simon’s Rock since 2004 and guest teaches for The Florida Ballet and Brooklyn Ballet.

AIMEE GELINAS, M.Ed.
Founding Faculty

Aimee Gelinas M.Ed is a musician and naturalist educator who has been performing and facilitating educational programs for over 25 years. She is a skilled percussionist and singer specializing in djembe, doun doun, conga, bongo, shekere and various percussion instruments. She co-founded and performs drumming and singing in the world music ensemble Gaia Roots (World Music/West African/Caribbean) and Trio Candela (Caribbean/Latin) and the rock band SIFER. She previously performed as a lead percussionist in the Cuban ensemble Iroko Nuevo for over 5 years. She teaches drumming throughout Western, MA and beyond and produces a yearly fundraiser event for Tamarack Hollow Nature & Cultural Center, the Berkshire Drum and Dance Fest and leads her student drum performance ensembles: The Berkshire and Valley Rhythm Keepers. She co-founded and directs the Tamarack Hollow Nature & Cultural Center in Windsor, MA a non-profit organization conserving 32 acres of boreal forest land that is dedicated to “Inspiring environmental and cultural awareness, appreciation and stewardship” by providing nature & drumming programs for all ages throughout Western MA and beyond. Aimee has traveled to West Africa, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and throughout the US to perform and study percussion with master drummers including: Mamady Keita & Tam Tam Mandingue, Bolokada Conde, Namory Keita, Moussa Traore, Ismael Bangoura, M’Bemba Bangoura, Mague Sylla, Sidiki Sylla, Baros Gomis as well as Joe Platz, Raul “Lali” Gonzalez, Alexis Zayas, Pedrito Martinez, Titos Sompa, Frisner Augustin, master artists at the Conjunto Folkloriko in Havana and Los Munequitos de Matanzas and many more. She co-produced the 19-track CD Mother Drum by Gaia Roots featuring music from West Africa, the Caribbean and originals. You can reach Aimee at:

aimee@gaiaroots.com
www.tamarackhollownatureandculturalcenter.org
www.tamarackhollow.com
www.gaiaroots.com
www.sifer.net

Facebook Pages:
facebook.com/motherdrum (Gaia Roots)
facebook.com/tamarackhollownatureandculturalcenter
facebook.com/triocandela
facebook.com/sifer