Faculty

Our Faculty is comprised of graduates from some of the finest theater and dance departments in the U.S. and most create and perform professionally. They are selected for their unique understanding of the developmental stages of children and how that translates into the training of a young dancer, actor, choreographer or playwright. BAX faculty members are provided with ongoing professional development to hone their skills, share their experiences and insure continuity of the BAX educational experience.

CHRISTIANA AXELSEN (In-house Teacher) originally from Bainbridge Island, WA, is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher based in Brooklyn.  She is a member of the contemporary dance company zoe |  juniper and has danced for Michou Szabo, Anne Zuerner, Dai Jian, Mana Kawamura, Korhan Basaran, Jules Skloot, and as a guest artist with the Merce Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group.  She has a degree in dance and geology from Mount Holyoke College and has taught ballet, modern, and contemporary for over ten years.

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ILONA BITO (In-house Teacher) is a choreographer, dancer, and educator living in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. She holds a BA and MS. Ed. from Sarah Lawrence College where she presented her Master’s Presentation in the Art of Teaching on teaching movement in NYC public schools. Since graduating in 2011, she has taught 2-5 year olds at Pono, K-2 at Freebrook Academy, and currently teaches creative movement to people of all ages in several independent schools and educational arts organizations, including BAX. She is also an organizer with the Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA). Ilona has recently danced with Kathy Westwater, the A.O.Movement Collective, and Sinecdoche Dance. Her own choreography, emphasizing collaboration and expressions of internal creative processes, has been presented at Movement Research’s Open Perform, NACHMO, The Wired Arts Festival, and Rooftop Dance’s Ground Floor series. Ilona believes that by engaging youth in dance we can create empowered bodies and communities, compassionate problem solvers, and creative visionaries for a brighter future.

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KEITH BURNSTEIN (Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance! Summer Specialist) Keith Burnstein has been playing piano since the age of five, when he decided that the low notes on the family’s upright “sounded like Frankenstein. ” He continues in that tradition to this day, approaching both pedagogy and performance with child-like wonder. He holds a Masters in Music Education from Clark University and is a the singer and pianist with New Orleans based avant soul duo, The Mumbles.

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ERIN CAIRNS CELLA (In-house Teacher) started dancing at the Hatboro, PA YMCA at age 3, and has most recently performed for Rebecca Davis, Esther Palmer, Colleen Hooper, and Tanya Calamoneri/Company SoGoNo. She has shown work at various venues throughout Philadelphia and New York and holds an MFA in Dance, Choreography, and Performance from Temple University. She is also certified to teach both Vinyasa and Hatha yoga and has been teaching yoga and dance based classes to the youngest of dancers, ages 18 months to three years old. Erin has also been teaching dance and movement based classes to children and teens for the past 9 years throughout the tri-state area. She currently teaches Mommy and Me Yoga along with Kids Yoga at Bamboo Moves Yoga Studio, and has developed a curriculum focusing on instilling a sense of body awareness for little movers and shakers.

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DONNA COSTELLO (In-house Teacher, Youthworks Director, DPW I Director, BAXco Co-Director, BNS, Dance Frenzy Summer Specialist) is a project-based dance artist living in Brooklyn, NY. She has built rich relationships dancing for Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance (founding member), jill sigman/thinkdance, Mollie O’Brien and Jimena Paz. Ms. Costello’s performance in Carrie Ahern’s 3-hour installation, SeNSATE, was picked as a 2009 favorite by writer Eva Yaa Asantewaa. In 2010 she taught and performed throughout Germany with the program Dancing to Connect for Aviva Geismar’s Drastic Action. She has also danced for Pele Bauch, Barbara Mahler, the Human Company, composer Anne Hege, The Vagabond Inventions and many others. She is a teaching artist for Lincoln Center Institute and PS 154. As a guest artist she has worked for Dance New Amsterdam, the Liz Gerring Company, Rebecca Davis and at James Madison University. She is currently developing a new work titled, L. Hartke and collaborating with Collision Ensemble on an original devised movement/theater work. At BAX, she is also a teaching artist at Brooklyn New School, co-directs BAXco and is the Director of the Youthworks program.

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EMILY CONNUCK (You Gotta Have Art Summer Specialist) a Brooklyn native and recent Tulane University graduate, is very excited to start her first summer working with BAX. Emily has been working with children in the arts since high school when she volunteered in visual art classes for children at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Since then she worked as a camp counselor at Frost Valley YMCA, interned at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum with the Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program, and worked with various public schools in New Orleans. In the fall she will be attending Bank Street College to get a joint degree as a certified elementary school teacher and a museum educator.

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TONY DOMENECH (Guest Artist Series) has been a priest of Yemaya for the past seven years and a practitioner of the religion for many. He began singing, dancing, and acting in school performances at an early age and was involved with various off-Broadway theater companies such as TADA and AMAS, which brought him to start freelancing as a dancer and singer for community and social events. He dances mambo with the Young Ambition Dance Company, and studied Afro-Cuban folkloric dance with Xiomara Rodriguez, Rita Macias, and the late great Pupy Insua. As a priest of Yemaya in the Santeria religion, Tony is frequently called upon to dance for Yemaya. Recently, he performed onstage as Shango with the great Latin Jazz artist, Bobby Sanabria.

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JOSÉ JOAQUÍN GARCÍA (PS 24 and BNS), director, composer, actor, singer, writer, is the Artistic Director of Rubí Theater Company. “Mi Rey”, a song he wrote and performed with members of Rubí, was featured on acclaimed recording artist Dan Zanes’ CD “Family Dance” on Festival Five records. Rubí’s production of Martín 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 Rubí, under the direction of Mr. García 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. García 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 Rubí 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. García was a member of Pregones Theater Company for six years and has also performed with The New Group; Repertorio Español; Joseph Papp Public Theater’s Latino Playwrights Workshop, among others. He appeared in and understudied Rubén Blades on Broadway in Paul Simon’s THE CAPEMAN. Mr. García 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.

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WeeGiant Puppets Creator and founder, ANDREW GAUKEL (Puppet Play Summer Specialist), is a director/actor/drama outreach coordinator/puppeteer originally from Kentucky. He has over fifteen years experience in the arts working with audiences of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Andy is a 2003 graduate of the Trinity Rep. Conservatory in Providence, RI, (now called the Brown University/Trinity Rep. Consortium), where he received a Master in Fine Arts Degree (MFA) in acting.
Before moving to Scotland, Andy toured and worked with many organizations ranging from The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (where he performed for large audiences and taught drama workshops for homeless children) to Madcap Puppets (a U.S. based touring puppet theatre which performed in primary schools, museums and libraries).
Andy has also worked as a professional actor and puppeteer in New York City where he worked in Television, Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre. Andy’s love and work with puppetry began with the late, great Jerry Handorf (Former Artistic Director of Madcap Puppets). Puppetry has since taken Andy to performing in the strangest places. In 2004 and 2005, Andy appeared in Basil Twist’s Off-Broadway underwater puppet-play Symphonie Fantastique that ran for eight months at Dodger Stages in New York City.
Since moving to Scotland, Andy has been working with a variety of arts organizations. Along with directing The Wee Giant Puppet Company, Andy has taught both puppet and drama workshops to young people at the Tron Theatre Company and TAG Theatre Company in Glasgow. He also teaches weekly classes in drama at Theatre NEMO, a theatre company aiming to promote the education of those affected by mental health issues.

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JOIE GOLOMB (BAX Education Manager, Beansprouts, Beyond Our Walls Teacher) is the Education Manager at BAX. She received her teaching certification and the Outstanding Senior award in Theatre Education from Emerson College. Before coming to BAX, she trained, performed and worked with numerous organizations as a director, choreographer, and educator including the American Repertory Ballet Company, McCarter Theatre, TADA! Youth Theater, New Victory Theatre and Emerson Stage.

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LAURA GRANT (In-house Teacher) is a freelance performer, dance-maker, arts educator, and yoga instructor. She was born in Chicago, grew up in North Carolina, went off to school in Minnesota, and currently resides in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. She has worked with choreographers in Minneapolis and NY, including Justin Jones, The BodyCartography Project, Mariangela Lopez/Accidental Movement, Willi Dorner, Sasha Welsh, and Stacy Grossfield. Laura has been teaching dance and yoga to bodies of all ages for the past 6 years, most recently on faculty as the movement and yoga teacher at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in Manhattan. She has been the resident movement artist at a K-8 arts magnet school in Minneapolis, a teaching artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and currently teaches yoga and dance at public schools, preschools, and studios throughout NYC. She is passionate about engaging young movers in learning about themselves, their bodies, and how to relate to others through imaginative play and creative challenges, and she is thrilled to be teaching at BAX.

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BELINDA HE (Birthday Party Facilitator) returns to BAX after being Group Leader of the Jumping Tomatoes at BAX’s Junior Summer Arts Program 2008. She has an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in English Literature from the National University of Singapore. Belinda has followed her passion for teaching children (and the young at heart) since her first teaching encounter substitute teaching a children’s jazz dance class, and feels fortunate that she can spend her time with young ones making music and dance. The rest of her time she spends with not so young ones making music and dance. Some of them include Sara Rudner, Jon Kinzel, Kathleen Kelly, Lauren Holstein and Kelley Donovan.

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ANDREW JANNETTI (In-house Teacher, Summer Program Director) has been dancing, choreographing, and teaching in NYC since he graduated from Montclair State University in 1976. His choreographic work has been presented in many venues in NYC including DTW, St. Marks’s Danspace, 92nd Street Y, Alvin Ailey Center, The Duke, DIA, BAX, Cunningham Studio, DUMBO Dance Festival, CoolNY Festival, ADG Festival, NY International Dance Festival, Philadelphia Fringe, as well as various venues throughout the U.S. and Europe, including the prestigious Edinburgh Festival. He has received grants from NYSCA, NJSCA, MCAF, Meet The Composers, the Field, and Harkness Center. He received a BAXten Award for his strong commitment to Dance Education and a PASEtter Award from the Partnership for After School Education for his work with after school arts programming for NYC youth. He was the co-director of Children’s Dance Project of Manhattan as well Summerstage, a music and theater workshop for children in Rockland County, NY. He taught at Staten Island Academy for 6 years where he developed the entire dance program for Pre- K thru 12th grade and an integrated arts curriculum for grades 1- 4. His lesson designs have been published in national magazines that include Dance Teacher, Dance Spirit, and National Dance Association Journal. He is currently employed by the NYC Department of Education as a full time dance educator at PS 79 in Whitestone, Queens. In addition, he teaches modern dance to young students at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange and has been a teaching artist at PS 115 for the past two years. After an hiatus from BAX for four years, he returned as the director of all of the school breaks programs and has been coordinating them for the past three years. His classes for adults include modern/jazz dance, aqua aerobics, stretch and tone, and his own special brand of cardio-conditioning, Rhythmic Fitness, which he teaches throughout the New York metropolitan area. He is a recent honors graduate of the Steinhardt School at NYU with a Masters in Dance Education.

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RACHEL LANE (Dance Frenzy Summer Specialist), an energetic Brooklyn native, holds a BA in Dance from Bard College, and will complete her Masters of Education from LIU in July, 2012. Currently, she teaches at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies as a sixth grade teacher and studies West African and Afro Caribbean Folkloric dance. For nine years Rachel was on Faculty at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange where she was the director of a youth dance company and worked as a Teaching Artist in several public schools. Through dance and literacy, Rachel engages students to think critically, creatively and sometimes to abandon thought all together. Rachel is passionate about using the diverse knowledge that people bring to a community as the foundation for building and constructing new ideas and deconstructing pre-existing ones. Her collaborative work has been presented through Newsteps at Mulberry St. Theater, d.u.m.b.o arts festival, Food for Thought at St.Marks, SWEAT modern dance series, BRIC, LaMama, and BAX.

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DANA KAPLAN-ANGLE (Playspace Facilitator) Dana is a teaching artist, improviser, and babysitter based in Brooklyn, NY. Dana is a member of The Story Pirates, an arts education organzation that leads writing workshops in schools and performs children’s stories to promote literacy, self-confidence, and creativity. She is also a member of Funkle Todd, an all female long-form improv group that prioritizes thighs, stockings, and flocking. She works for artist Stephanie Diamond and has taught creative drama, storytelling and improvisation to youth ages 6-16. Originally from the greatest city on earth (Philadelphia, PA), Dana earned her B.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University in 2010.

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GINA KOHLER (BAXco Co-Director) is a Brooklyn based independent choreographer, teacher and yoga instructor. She holds a BFA in Dance, from Kent State University, Yoga Teaching Certification through the White Lotus Foundation and received her MFA in Dance, from HU/ADF in 2009. She currently teaches Yoga throughout New York City and works for Dance4Peace as a Senior PeaceMover and Teacher Trainer. Kohler has taught as a guest artist at Kent State University, Holy Cross, Salem State College, Frostburg State University, Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and TanzTag Coop (Austria). As a dancer, Gina has had the pleasure of working with the following: Archipelago Theater Company, Kelly Bartnik, Tessa Chandler, Diana Crum, Thomas DeFrantz/SLIPPAGE, Camille Dieterle, David Dorfman (Underground) and Apprentice, GK1 Productions, Lyndsey Karr, Dahlia Nayar, Jennifer Nugent, Daniel Lepkoff, James Morrow, Nora Stephens, Claire Tunkel and Shen Wei Dance Arts. Kohler continues to share her work internationally and throughout New York City and is passionately developing her current project, dream [factories] both a live art event and book in the making. Gina Kohler is an interdisciplinary artist and continues to imagine the endless capacity for dance making thru multiple mediums. She believes in the importance of artistic living and collaboration as a life long practice and is honored to begin this partnership with BAX.

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PAUL LEOPOLD (In-house Teacher, Summer Outdoor Group Leader) Paul is an actor, director and teaching artist with a passion for sharing the joy of theatre with people of all ages and backgrounds. He is thrilled to continue being a part of the BAX family after working as an education intern in the fall of 2010 and a group leader/program assistant for the 2011 Summer Program.
Paul has a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University. Additionally, he has studied with theatre collectives SITI Company, Double Edge Theatre and Irondale Ensemble Project. In 2009, Paul spent a semester in Johannesburg, South Africa studying community-based applied theatre and traditional storytelling. Paul is the director of Descent, a group of collaborative artists dedicated to the creation of groundbreaking theatrical events that stimulate your senses, get your blood pumping and ignite your imagination.

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CALIA MARSHALL (Tumble Moves Summer Specialist) has taught dance and acrobatics to students ages 3 to 87 and currently teaches through the National Dance Institute and various camps in New York, Vermont, and Maine. She is also a yoga instructor, a Reiki practitioner, and a singer. Calia currently dances for Cora Dance, directed by Shannon Hummel, and LAVA, directed by Sarah East Johnson. She has produced three evenings of work and has been presented at various NYC venues including Dance Theater Workshop, Joyce Soho, WOW Café Theater, BRIC Studio, Galapagos Arts Space, Brooklyn Pride, and BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, where she has been a Space Grant Recipient. Calia received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a minor in Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College. To find out more please visit www.caliamarshall.com and www.facebook.com/kirtansoulrevival.

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SHELLEY MCPHERSON (PS 29, Birthday Party Facilitator) is originally from Canada. She received her Honours B.A. in Theater from Queens University in Canada, B. Ed from The University of Toronto, and her M.A. in Theater from Northwestern University. In New York, Shelley has taught theatre at Making Books Sing, Enter Stage Write and at BAX. Regionally, she has taught at The University of Southern Indiana and the Canadian performing arts secondary school, Cawthra Park, and has taught dozens of workshops for groups including professional dancers, figure skaters, models, and theatre companies in Canada and the U.S. Shelley has performed at New York theatres including Women’s Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, HERE, Queens Theatre in the Park and The Workshop Theatre Company and at regional theatres including The New Harmony Theatre, East Lynne Theatre Company, and Shadow Lawn Theatre. Feature films include principal roles in Fall Before Paradise and The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek and she appeared in many episodes of Guiding Light. As a singer, Shelley performs regularly at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre and at the Young Centre in Toronto. You can hear her on the CD “Toronto Sings the Breithaupt Brothers Songbook”.

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MONSTAH BLACK (BAXco Guest Choreographer) Multidisciplinary performing artist Monstah Black a.k.a Reginald Ellis Crump, studied choreography/performance at Virginia Commonwealth University and holds an M.F.A. in New Media Art and Performance from Long Island University. He has choreographed for nightclubs, art galleries, black box theaters, warehouses and has toured internationally with his work as well as with The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Maida Withers Dance Construction, Court Dance Theater of Philadelphia, Muse Dance Theater of New York City, Grisha Coleman’s Echo::System and Nicholas Leichter Dance of New York City. He has worked collaboratively with Superfront Architects Gallery in Brooklyn creating a show/installation entitled Suspended Gardens. Monstah is also the front man of his band Monstah Black and The Sonic Leroy, is the guest vocalist for (electro pop dance band) Girls Like Bass and performs as a duo with his life partner as The Blackz. Seasonally he co-hosts with his glam partner Cabaret Cataplexy, a fun, sexy, variety show. Monstah is currently an Artist In Residence at Dance New Amsterdam where he is collaboratively building the show Black Moon and codifying his signature movement language, www.blackmoon-pierrotlunaire.com. He was also choreographic consultant for Iona Rozeal Browns show, The Battle Of Yestermore, fusing Kubuki theater, hip hop and voguing which was presented in the Performa Biennial and also was a highlight of Art Basel in Miami in Dec. of 2011. He has received generous support from American Music Association’s Music For Dance (for The Whizz with Nicholas Leichter Dance) and The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Topaz Arts, Dance Theater Workshop (NYLA), Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center, Blackout Arts Collective, DC Commission On The Arts and Humanities, Career Transitions For Dancers and Dance New Amsterdam.

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DANA O’BRIEN (GigaBAXers Summer Group Leader, Education Assistant), a Park Slope native, is thrilled to be returning to BAX for another summer. A recent graduate of the Theatre Department at Northwestern University, Dana has worked with the District 65 Drama Department, teaching classes and workshops in theater around the Chicagoland area. She has also served as Artistic Director of Purple Crayon Players, Northwestern’s nationally recognized theater company producing works for young audiences, where she has particularly focused on the development of new works for very young children. In Brooklyn, Dana has taught and performed with Piper Theatre and White Bird Productions.

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DREW PETERSEN (Media Madness Summer Specialist) has been teaching and performing for children for over 9 years. Originally from Philadelphia, he holds a M.A. in Educational Theatre at N.Y.U. In addition to BAX, Drew is currently a teaching artist with The New Victory Theater, Park Avenue Armory, Roundabout Theatre Company and The Public Theater. He is also the associate artistic director of Trusty Sidekick Theater Company, a theater devoted to creating original work for children as their families. In Philadelphia, Drew has taught with Curio Theatre Company, Flatbush Development Corporation, People’s Light and Theatre Company, Theatre Horizon and Hedgerow Theatre.

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AMY BETH SCHNEIDER (PS 115, Birthday Party Facilitator) has has been part of the BAX faculty since 2004. After graduating from Oberlin College with majors in Dance and English, she served as a founding member of Choreo Collective, a modern dance cooperative in the Triangle area in North Carolina. Upon moving to New York City, she formed her own dance company, Thread Dance Theater, and joined the faculties of Young Dancers in Repertory, Marquis Studios, and BAX, teaching creative movement and modern dance in the public schools and in house at BAX. She has lead parent/child and professional development workshops for teachers and after-school (TASC) group leaders, and is a registered yoga teacher through Yogaworks. Amy Beth recently earned her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College.

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SUZI SHELTON (NanoBAXers Summer Specialist) is a NYC award winning recording artist, who writes, performs and records cool music for kids (and their grown ups). This Brooklyn-based mom-blogger and proud mother of two (ages 7 and 13) also teaches music in local preschools and elementary schools and has been a standout among the current crop of kid-friendly NYC musical performers since her days performing with the Imagination Workshop Band. Shelton’s two solo CD’s Simply Suzi and No Ordinary Day, as well as her live DVD, have won her the prestigious NAPPA Gold Award, Kids First, Children’s Music Web, iParenting and Parent’s Choice Awards. Shelton just released a brand new music video Tomboy In A Princess Dress along with a mini CD that features 3 new songs. Her full length album is scheduled to be released Spring 2012. See and hear it all at www.suzishelton.com.

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LAKE SIMONS (Puppet Play Summer Specialist) is a theatre artist who makes theatre productions incorporating puppetry, movement, and live music. Some of her collaborative work of the past includes Wind Set-up, White Elephant, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, What’s inside the egg?, How I Fixed My Engine with Rose Water (all with John Dyer), and the clown solo Etiquette Unraveled. Lake has a lifetime association with the Hip Pocket Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas where she has performed in over 30 world premieres and presented 7 collaborative works as well as directed 8 plays. Lake has worked as both a puppet and mask designer making creations for My Brightest Diamond, NY Shakespeare Festival, Signature Theatre, Division 13, Kristin Marting, Gabrielle Roth, Doug Elkins, Cori Orlinghouse, and various universities. As a puppeteer she has performed in the work of Basil Twist, Dan Hurlin, Matthew Acheson, Patti Bradshaw, Chris Green, Erin Orr, and Christopher Williams. She is a puppetry associate for War Horse on Broadway and for the national tour. Lake teaches set design and puppetry at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the recipient of 5 Jim Henson Foundation grants. She attended Ecole Jacques Lecoq (96-98), and holds a BFA in scene design (1996) from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

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JULES SKLOOT (In-house Teacher, DPW II Director) is a performer, choreographer, teaching artist, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. Jules received a BA from Hampshire College with a concentration in choreography, performance, and community dance studies, and an MFA in dance from Sarah Lawrence College. Jules collaborates with and performs in the works of Katy Pyle and, in New York, has also performed in the works of Sara Rudner, devynn emory, Peggy Gould, and Fritha Pengelly. In addition to teaching movement related classes and workshops at BAX, in public and private schools, summer camps, community organizations, and at the college level, Jules also facilitates anti-oppression, social justice workshops and dialogues in some of those same settings, and co-leads a spiritually based, arts and outdoor, social justice focused summer camp for young people in Northern Virginia every summer.

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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 teaches yoga and movement for 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. Currently she is doing graduate work in pre and perinatal psychology. She maintains a private practice in somatic therapies for people of all ages, and offers conscious parenting programs. 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 choreographer and dancer, EmmaGrace, 23 (a BAX graduate), and Jackson, 9. Additionally Ellynne created all of the painted floorcloths at BAX. For more information on Ellynne, visit www.gogobabies.net and TrueNorthWellness.com.

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KATHLEEN STANSELL (In-house Teacher) has had a knack for teaching since she was in high school. She allowed teaching into her lifestyle as a means of learning about herself and communicating to others the joys of movement. Kathleen, a native of Mississippi and Honors Dance graduate of University of Southern Mississippi, currently resides and works in Brooklyn. She believes we all need expressive movement within our lives to balance us mentally, physically, and spiritually. She teaches a wide range of dance forms including Creative Movement for Toddlers, Gymnastics, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Modern. To express her own inner voice, Kathleen is also learning and teaching herself how to use dance and performance to educate the public on social issues through her dance collective, Move for Change. She is very grateful to be teaching the students at BAX. moveforchange.info

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LEIGH STEIN (In-house Teacher) is a writer, director, teaching artist, and classically trained vocalist. For ten years, she has taught private voice lessons and group acting classes for children and young adults. She has studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, Second City, the Piven Theatre Workshop, and with Keith Johnstone. In addition to teaching Act, Dance, Sing! at BAX, she works in children’s book publishing and is a published novelist and poet.

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ALDER SUTTLES (You Gotta Have Art Summer Specialist) is a practicing artist living in Brooklyn and has shown her work in various exhibitions around the country. She holds a BFA in Photography from Maryland Institute College of Art, a Masters degree in Art Education from School of Visual Arts, and a New York State Teacher Certification.

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HELEN STYRING TOCCI (In-house Teacher, DPW III Director, Tumble Moves Summer Specialist) is passionate about creating space for people of all ages to explore their unique creativity and discover the innate strength and wisdom that lives in every body. With over 15 years of experience as a professional dancer, vocalist and movement teacher in NYC, Helen is the co-founder of Varoom Group Dance Collective and her multi-disciplinary performance works with collaborator Nicki Calia Marshall have been presented at venues throughout the city and beyond including BAX, Joyce Soho, Judson Church and DTW. Helen was the recipient of a BAX space grant in 2008. Helen is a certified yoga instructor and teaches privately throughout the city. She is also trained in CircusYoga and travels nationally teaching workshops and sharing this innovative and playful new practice, most recently presenting at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She is a dynamic facilitator and is well-loved for her joyful approach to community building and art-making. Helen is a founding member of the Mantra Music band, Kirtan Soul Revival and leads group singing experiences all over the country. She has been on the dance faculty of the Brooklyn Friend’s School since 2001, and it has been one of the great joys of her life to create and explore with the BAX community for the past 12 years.

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DIANE TOMASI(In-house Teacher) began her teaching in 2001 and has taught ongoing classes, and workshops in and around the US, including New York, Alaska, and Massachusetts as well as the UK. Her teaching repertoire includes gymnastics and tumbling, modern, ballet, and contact improvisation. Diane is also a dancer, aerialist, thai massage practitioner, and choreographer. Diane graduated from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance. Diane moved to New York in 2006. www.dianetomasi.com

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OSCAR TRUJILLO (PS 24) applies theatre, dance and embodied awareness tools to community based dialogue, educational programming, healing and performance. He has performed with Organic Magnetics, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Alayo Dance Company, Richard Gonzalez and many others. He currently works as a teaching artist with BAX, Peoples Theatre Project and Empire Childrens Programs as well as a Yoga and movement instructor at Studio Anya, the Urban Yoga Foundation and in private practice.

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JANET WERTHER (In-house teacher) has an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College under the direction of Sara Rudner. She has performed in New York City and regionally with Anne Burnidge, Missy Pfhol-Smith/BIODANCE and David Appel among others. Her choreography has been presented at the Dance/NOW RAW, The Flea, Movement Research, and Danspace Project. She self produced her first full length concert at Triskelion Arts in January 2011. Janet has taught dance and creative movement at studios and public schools throughout New York State. Several evenings a week, you can also find her smiling at the BAX front desk! www.janetwerther.com

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PHOTO CREDITS: Erin Cairns Cella by Jenny Naima Photography | Donna Costello by Kamau Mucoki | José Joaquín García by BAXstaff | Andrew Jannetti by BAXstaff | Dana Kaplan-Angle by BAXstaff | Catey Ott by BAXstaff | Drew Petersen by BAXstaff | Amy Beth Schneider by Aaron Sandler| Jules Skloot by BAXstaff | Ellynne Skove by BAXstaff | Leigh Stein by BAXstaff | Helen Tocci by BAXstaff | Diane Tomasi by BAXstaff.