Denise Azzari
is a freelance dancer, choreographer and dance educator who is a native of Pittsburgh. She
earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from Point Park University, and has danced,
choreographed, and taught in the Pittsburgh community for more than 20 years. Denise has
performed with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Opera,
Dance Alloy and The Extension as well as with other local choreographers. Her performance
credits include Pittsburgh-staged productions for internationally recognized choreographers, Bill
T. Jones/Arnie Zane, and for Ping Chong in “The Angels of Swedenborg.” Most recently she has
performed in the 2015 New Moves Festival at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater and in the Wood
Street Galleries Movement Series. Her diverse choreography has been performed
professionally on stages in Pittsburgh theaters and has garnered awards at the Pittsburgh
Choreographers’ Continuum, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Dance Council. Denise has shared
her dance technique, knowledge and experience with students teaching at Point Park
University, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and at Rogers Middle School for the Creative and
Performing Arts as well as in workshops and classes in other educational institutions throughout
the region. Denise is currently on the dance faculty of Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12. She is delighted to
be dancing again in her second season with TanzTheater André Koslowski.
Ira Cambric III
of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, began his formal dance training at Rogers CAPA (Creative and
Performing Arts) under the direction of the Denise Azzari and Tony Anthony Dixon, There he
received the Lynn Swann Scholarship to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. While attending CAPA he
joined the Abby Lee Dance Company and earned the titles of Mr. Dance of Pennsylvania and
New York, as well as Mr. DEA (Dance Educator of America). Ira began his professional dance
career working in a production of Tarzan Rocks at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida, and
then in Tokyo Japan as a cast member of Disney’s Mystic Rhythms of the Jungle. Ira has also
worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Ira has danced with the August Wilson dance
ensemble, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Abby Lee Dance Company, Got 2 Dance, and Atlanta
Ballethnic Dance Company, among others. He has also appeared on Regis and Kelly, and
modeled for Harley Davidson, Tokyo Disney Magazine and artist Jenelle Monea. For the past
few years Ira has found a passion in teaching hip hop to the young people of Pittsburgh as well
as to orphans in Shiroka Laka, Bulgaria. This is Ira's second season with TanzTheater André
Koslowski.
Kim Clay
graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Masters of
Fine Arts in Dance, and currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her
choreography has been featured in the American College Dance Festival,
and throughout Texas, Oregon, Washington and Pennsylvania. Her past
performance contracts include Six Flags Theme Park as a dancer, and
Holland America Cruise Line's MS Rotterdam as a cast member. She has
performed with Houston's Recked Productions, Pittsburgh's Attack
Theatre, and was part of the Pittsburgh Biennial 2014 Festival under the
film direction of Carolina Loyola-Garcia. Kim is the Certificate Program
Director at Millennium Dance Complex Pittsburgh, teaches at Pittsburgh
Ballet House, Seneca Valley High School, and is an Adjunct Professor at
Seton Hill University. This is her second season with TanzTheater André
Koslowski.
Maira Duarte
is a Mexican dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She holds a BA in Social Communication by the Metropolitan Autonomous University of Mexico. In 2010, she received support by the National Fund for the Arts and Culture (FONCA, Mexico) to complete an MA in Dance Education by Steinhardt, NYU. Her choreographies have been presented in several venues and festivals in Mexico, Spain, Uganda, and the United States. She has performed in
several works by Douglas Dunn & Dancers in New York City, and, since April 2014, she has performed with TanzTheater André Koslowski. Duarte has taught in more than twenty schools in the New York City area and New Jersey with the non-profit organizations Education in Dance and the Related Arts, the Dance Theater of Harlem outreach program Dancing Through Barriers and with the New Victory Theatre. In 2011, she taught East African dances at NYU and most recently, she completed an appointment as a visiting dance full time professor at the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico. Duarte is also an independent dance-film and documentary director and producer. She is currently working in a dance-film documentary about dancers in New York City, titled Being There, and a documentary on naturalists’ work in
the Amazon, titled A Scientist Search.
Jennifer Keller
works as a choreographer, teacher, and performer drawing on the confluence of technology, improvisation, contact improvisation, and her experiences as a repertory dancer. She has received awards from the Pittsburgh Foundation and Pittsburgh Magazine (the Harry
Schwalb Excellence in the Arts Award), along with the 2003 Slippery Rock University President’s Award for Creative Achievement, and the 2002 Zuzak Teaching Artist/Scholar Award from the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts. Her 2002 solo-duet concert was listed
as one of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s 2002 top ten dance events. Her choreography has been commissioned by professional companies including TanzTheater André Koslowski, Labco Dance, Dance Alloy, and Cleveland’s Dance Theater Collective, as well as by numerous university dance programs. Jennifer has studied extensively with Nina Martin and Martin’s training systems for solo and ensemble improvisation. Since 2008, she has performed with TanzTheater André Koslowski. From 1988-1996, Keller worked with choreographer Mark Taylor, dancing in his companies in New York City (Mark Taylor & Friends) and Pittsburgh (The Dance Alloy). During that time, she originated roles in twelve of Taylor’s pieces and worked with commissioned guest artists Elizabeth Streb, Eiko and Koma, Doug Elkins, Myriam Hervé-Gil, and Ann Carlson. Keller received an MFA from Arizona State University, a BA from Connecticut College, and is a certified Core Dynamics Pilates instructor. Keller is a faculty member in the Slippery Rock University Department of Dance, and serves as Assistant to the Dean for the SRU
College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts.
Tina Konrath
has been dancing with The Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop and TanzTheater André
Koslowski for nearly 20 years, joining TanzTheater André Koslowski in 2001. Tina, a former
gymnast, choreographs floor routines for Centre Elite Gymnastics, and has extensively studied
and practiced Pilates and various forms of yoga. In 2002, as Board President of what was then
Pennsylvania Dance Theatre, Tina was instrumental in reviving the company from near
bankruptcy.
Sheila McKenna
works regularly as an actress and a director. She has played a broad variety of roles, including
classical (“Fool” in King Lear, The Rep), modern (“May” in Footfalls, PICT), and contemporary
(“Vermandero” in Dog Face, Quantum/Festival D’otono in Madrid). She has been involved in
a number of new plays as a writer, actress, or director in her career; world premieres include
acting in Michele Lowe’s Mezzulah, 1946 for City Theatre and directing Tammy Ryan’s The
Gift of the Pirate Queen for Playhouse Jr., and FBI Girl for The Rep. Her collaborations with
André Koslowski include The Selfish Giant and The Happy Prince (PICT), The Two Gentlemen
of Verona (Conservatory Theatre Company), and The Queens (The REP). McKenna chairs the
Department of Theatre at Point Park University.
Gretchen Moore
is a dancer, choreographer and teacher currently residing in
Morgantown, WV. After graduating from Slippery Rock University with a BA in Dance,
Moore was a company member with Laboratory Company Dance (LABCO), STAYCEE
PEARL dance project, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, Dance Alloy Theater
and Gia T Presents. She also served as guest artist with the Pillow Project Dance
Company. Her teaching career has taken her all over the Pittsburgh region from
Pittsburgh public schools to the Dance Alloy Theater School, and master classes in
dance clubs to becoming an Adjunct Faculty member at Chatham University and West
Virginia Wesleyan College. Currently, Moore is creating both personal solo work, as
well group choreography. She is an Adjunct Faculty member both at West Virginia
Wesleyan College and West Virginia University as well as on the faculty of Morgantown
Dance where she teaches modern, jazz, hip hop, improvisation and choreography to all
ages.
Zachary Bergfelt
of Pittsburgh, PA, holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance from Slippery Rock University.
Throughout his career at Slippery Rock, he has had the opportunity to work with many artists
including Jennifer Keller, Melissa Teodoro, Teena Custer, Nola Nollen Holland, and Thom
Cobb. He has performed and choreographed on the Slippery Rock University Faculty Concert,
Jazz/Tap Ensemble, SRUDT Fall and Winter Concerts, and the Senior Synthesis Concert.
Bergfelt is also a member of the Rock Dance Company at Slippery Rock University, which
teaches dance education and performance to children in the area schools. He has attended many
workshops including Evolve Summer Dance Intensive, Jones Summer Dance Intensive, and the
PULSE. He is currently a company member of Continuum Dance Theater in Pittsburgh under the
direction of Sarah Parker.
Jill A. Brighton
has performed professionally with the Pennsylvania Dance Theatre in State College for eleven
years, as well as with Happendance in Lansing, MI, and in New York with the Great Wave
Dance Ensemble. She has been directing the Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop since 1994
and is the Artistic Director of the Fraser Street Dancers. A native of State College, Brighton
has been dancing since she was four. She graduated with Highest Honors from Penn State
University, and has since served frequently on the dance faculty there. At Penn State, she
performed with the Contemporary Dance Company and toured Israel with the Dance Collective.
At the Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop, Brighton has been active in teaching all styles of
dance to both children and adults.
See Cha
is originally from Fresno, CA, where he began his dance training primarily in improvised street
dancing. He moved to Pennsylvania in 2007 to study dance and, in 2011, earned his Bachelor
of Arts degree from Slippery Rock University. He has over fifteen years of dance experience
including a short stint with Miller Dance of Pittsburgh. This is his first season with Pennsylvania
Dance Theatre.
Tiffany Finamore
is the daughter of Colleen and Duane Ehredt Sr., and is currently residing in Altoona, PA. In
2008, Finamore graduated with her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance from Slippery Rock
University. During her time there, she participated in the Slippery Rock University Dance
Theatre for two years as a dancer and choreographer. Her choreography for the solo Warrioress
has been performed for e.da.co’s debut concerts in Pittsburgh, PA, and Buffalo, NY, and for
LABCO’s Blackbox Concert Series in Pittsburgh.
Ethan Gwynn
is a native of State College now residing in New York City. Ethan began his dance
training at the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania under the guidance of Andrea Hill
and Lane Grosser. Subsequently he joined the Staycee Pearl Dance Project. He continued his
training at both the Certificate Program of the Alvin Ailey American Dance School and the
French Ballet Academy. Ethan has performed with Project 44, Brio Dance Company, Hanna Q
Dance Company, Pennsylvania Dance Workshop, Ailey Student Performance Group and
American Liberty Ballet Company. Currently he teaches dance at P.S. 225 and participates in
freelance dance projects in New York City. This will be his second season with TanzTheater
André Koslowski.
Shonnita Johnson
was born in Largo, Maryland and received her formal dance training at Baltimore School for the
Arts, under the leadership of Norma Pera. During high school Ms. Johnson attended Dance
Theater of Harlem’s summer program, as well as the Peabody Institute summer program. Ms.
Johnson has graduated with honors from Point Park University in Pittsburgh PA, with a B.F.A in
business entrepreneurship and dance. While at Point Park University Shonnita performed works
with choreographers Kellie Hodges, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Terrance Marling, Randy Duncan,
Jason Mcdole, Troy Powell, Raphael Xavier, and Garfield Lemonius. Shonnita also performed
with Reed Dance, and Green Works project. After graduating college Shonnita continued her
professional training with the Lula Washington Dance Theater, and Mystic India, and the World
Tour. Ms. Johnson also spent a season dancing with the Staycee Pearl Dance Project.
Currently Ms. Shonnita is working with various photographers and studios such as 4D arts
imagination studios, building her portfolio and choreography.
Julie Snyder
has been a student and lover of dance all her life and is thrilled to be dancing with PDT. She
trained from age three at Pauline Baker-Rodgers School of Dance in Altoona, PA. During her
college years and after, she has been a part of the Centre region dance scene, choreographing and
teaching for groups such as the PSU Thespians, Dance Fusion, and Joshua House in Tyrone, PA.
She is also a current member on the Board of the Central PA Dance Workshop. In 2003, Snyder
founded the Keystone Church Dance Team, which has performed locally as well as in Baltimore,
MD. Snyder currently lives in State College where she works from home as an administrative
assistant to her husband Will, a part-time seamstress, and a full time mom to her son, Liam.
Jil Stifel
has performed extensively both nationally and internationally with Pittsburgh’s Attack Theatre
and Philadelphia’s Miro Dance Theatre. She worked for several years with Kyle Abraham and
with Labco Dance. Stifel has been dancing in André Koslowski’s works since 2001. She is
currently creating a new work, imaginary is also real, with the internationally based company,
perpetual mvmnt <> sound, with whom she has performed since 2007. She is an ensemble
member of the improvisation company Gia T presents, with whom she participated in the
critically acclaimed Blink in 2012. Her choreography and multi-media projects have been
presented in the United States and Japan. She collaborates with sculptor Blaine Siegel; their
work progenitor will be performed in various venues throughout Pittsburgh, PA, this summer.
They also happen to be raising five chickens, two cats, and one daughter together. Stifel is a yoga
teacher and leukemia survivor. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Highest Honors in Dance
from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts.
