Current Dancers

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	Nancy Bannon received her BFA from the Juilliard School. She performed with Doug Varone and Dancers from 1993-2000 and with Tere O’Connor Dance from 2000-01. She teaches yoga and dance in NYC and currently serves on the faculty of SUNY Purchase. Creatively, Nancy has been developing original dance and theater for the past six years and was an Artist-in-Residence for Movement Research. Nancy is a 2001 Bessie Award winner for her ongoing achievements as a dancer. She first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2001.
	Julian Barnett first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. Born in Tokyo and raised in California (where he grew up breakdancing), Barnett began his training at the Idyllwild Arts Academy and continued at The Joffrey Ballet and Alvin Ailey Schools. He attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where his choreography was presented at the Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center and where he worked with Bill T. Jones. He has performed and choreographed extensively across the US, Europe, and Asia and has had the privilege of working in the companies of Lubovitch, Doug Elkins, Mark Dendy, Shapiro and Smith, Larry Keigwin, Eun Me Ahn, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet under Doug Varone, and Johannes Wieland, where he was a guest artist with Pina Bausch’s TanzTheater. As a choreographer, his work has been presented by The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Hong Kong Cultural Center, The Joyce Theater, Berkshire Theater Festival, Dance Theater Workshop, Symphony Space, and PS 122 among others. His piece Float is currently in the repertory of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He enjoys choreographing for film and video as well as for theater, and in 2005 co-founded Alexander Productions
	Stefanie Batten Bland was born in New York City. She is honored to have been invited by Mr. Lubovitch to dance in his new production of The Wedding. She is a former member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co. and has performed as a guest artist with Pina Bausch Tanz Theater Wuppertal. Ms. Bland continues to pursue the live performance arts where the sacred remains mysterious and the process of discovery is ongoing. She would like to welcome Reina Brill into her richly artistic -- and just plain goofy -- family…le chef. She first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2001.
	Griff Braun first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000. This year he appears with the Lubovitch company courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Braun has danced professionally with American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Swedish Ballet, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, the Lubovitch company, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Complexions, the Dallas Ballet, and Feld Ballets, NY, among others. He has performed principal roles in original ballets and repertoire of such choreographers as Agnes DeMille, Antony Tudor, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Jiri Kylian, Mark Morris, Doug Varone, John Neumeier, James Kudelka, José Limon, Eugene Loring, Eliot Feld, Dwight Rhoden, and Stanton Welch, among others. Mr. Braun is an NFAA “Scholar in the Arts,” and in October of 2003 was honored by the Dance Council with a “Legacy Award”: the Nathalie Skelton Award for Artistic Achievement.
	Gerald Casel was born in the Philippines and raised in California. Since graduating from the Juilliard School, he has had the pleasure of dancing in the companies of Stephen Petronio (1991-1998), Zvi Gotheiner, Sungsoo Ahn, Michael Clark, Metropolitan Opera Ballet and the Stanley Love Performance Group. A New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) was given to him for sustained achievement in 1997. In 2000 Mr. Casel served as Artist-in-Residence at Movement Research and was awarded a Harkness Space Grant from the 92nd Street Y. He has presented work at DTW's Fresh Tracks, Aaron Davis Hall, Dixon Place and at other venues in NYC. He frequently teaches at Dance Space Center, Movement Research, Copenhagen's Dansens Hus and Vienna's International Tanzwochen. He has also just completed choreography for Ed Montgomery's upcoming feature film The Singing Biologist. He first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000.
	Elisa Clark is from the Washington, DC, area and received her early training with Eric Hampton, Helen Hayes and the Maryland Youth Ballet. She then went on to study at the Juilliard School, under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy, and recently graduated with a BFA in dance. Ms. Clark has performed with the Nederlands Dans Theater, as well as with the Juilliard Dance Ensemble in works by Robert Battle, Jiri Kylian, Lar Lubovitch, David Parsons and Paul Taylor, among others. She is thrilled to begin her professional career by dancing with the Lubovitch company. She first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2001.
	Nancy Colahan, a native Californian, received her training in classical ballet from Dimitri and Francesca Romanoff. She danced with the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, the Joyce Trisler Danscompany and for nine straight years with the Lubovitch company. Ms. Colahan performed with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project from its inception in 1990 until 1995. Guest artist appearances include the Jose Limon Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Houston Grand Opera, Martita Goshen’s Earthworks and the Royal Danish Ballet. She is Associate Artistic Director of Los Angeles-based American Repertory Dance Company, with which she has performed since 1996. Currently on the dance faculty of UC/Santa Barbara, she also guests with its resident modern company, Santa Barbara Dance Theater. Ms. Colahan is honored and very pleased to be dancing with Lar and his company again. She first danced with the Lubovitch company in 1979.
	Patrick Corbin first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. He was born and raised in Potomac Maryland where he started his dance training at Art Linkletter Totten studio. Following his teacher Russel Jay to Fairfax, VA, Corbin performed with Mr. Jay’s The Dance Company. He loved this early taste of company life and next joined the Rockville Civic Ballet. Rockville ballet gave way to D.C. City Ballet, then the Washington School of Ballet, then the School of American Ballet. It was his dream to become a member of New York City Ballet. Corbin spent one year at SAB. He marveled at the Balanchine and Robbins work and had his first experience seeing Martha Graham’s company there. Seraphic Dialogues changed his life – watching this dance he finally felt at home. Any free night Patrick would go for the cheap seats at City Center to see Joffrey, Alvin Ailey and Paul Taylor and realized there was life beyond NY State Theater. Corbin danced with the Paul Taylor Dance Company for many years.
	Jay Franke first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. Franke began his formal training at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. In 1993 he was selected as a Finalist for Presidential Scholar in the Arts and accepted into the Julliard School, were he furthered his studies by working with choreographers such as Benjamin Harkarvy, Glen Tetley, Igal Perry and Lila York. Upon receiving his BFA in Dance from the Julliard School, Franke went to work with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, “THARP!” Franke has since danced with The 58 Group, Lyric Opera Ballet Chicago, and most recently Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
	Junichi Fukuda first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. He is a native of Japan and trained at the Boston Conservatory as a full scholarship student, where he received a BFA in Dance. Upon graduation, Fukuda moved to NYC and became a member of Ballet Tech, under the direction of Eliot Feld. Later, he joined Michael Smuin’s company, Smuin Ballet/SF as a soloist. He has worked with American choreographers such as Jacqulyn Buglisi, Colin Connor, Sean Curran, Eliot Feld, Jessica Lang, Murray Louis, Daniel Pelzig, Igal Perry and Michael Smuin. He is currently a member of Buglisi/Foreman Dance Company and a soloist with the Peridance Ensemble. He also assisted Igal Perry in creating a new work for the Joffrey Ensemble in 2005. Fukuda is also on the faculty of Peridance Center and other studios near NYC.
	Philip Gardner began his formal training at the age of seven at the Missouri Concert Ballet School in St. Louis, where he also attended the Visual and Performing Arts High School. He danced principal roles as a member of the Joffrey Ballet from 1990-1995. He also danced with the Feld Ballets/NY, the Daring Project, the Stanley Love Performance Group, the Stephen Petronio Dance Company, Lucinda Childs Company, and he has helped in the creation of works with Carol Armitage and Twyla Tharp. He first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000.
	Roger Jeffrey first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000. He was born in New York City where he began his training at the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center. He is a graduate of the Performing Arts High School and the Juilliard School. Jeffrey has performed in the companies of Bernice Johnson, Kevin Iega Jeff, Twyla Tharp, Zvi Gotheiner, Martial Roumain and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. He has also worked with Gary Deloatch, Dudley Williams, Eleo Pomare, Benjamin Harkarvy, Debbie Allen, Doug Varone and Obediah Wright. Inspired by his mentor Kevin Iega Jeff, he began to explore his full artistic potential as both a teacher and choreographer and has subsequently worked at the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center, Edge School of the Arts, the Juilliard School, Elisa King and Dancers, Ulster Ballet Company, Philadanco!, CityDance Ensemble, State University of Purchase, University of the Arts, Goucher College, University of Santa Barbara, Long Island University (C.W. Post), the Joffrey School (Texas), La Companyia (Spain), Tanz Project (Germany), Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, American Ballet Theatre, Dancespace Center and Peridance Center.
	Tai Jimenez first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. Jimenez is a Principal Dancer of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She began her dance training under the direction of Joan Millen Mesh. Before joining the Dance Theatre of Harlem School Ensemble, Jimenez studied at the School of American Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and with Madame Gabriella Darvash. Jimenez has performed the title roles of “Giselle” and “Firebird.” She has an extensive Balanchine repertory and has also danced the works of choreographers Glen Tetley, Sir Kenneth MacMillian, Sir Frederick Ashton, Bronislava Nijinska, Alvin Ailey, Alonso King, Dwight Rhoden, Doug Varone, Billy Wilson, Robert Garland, John Alleyne and others. She has appeared as a guest artist with the NYCB, Virginia Ballet Theater, Hawaii Ballet, Maryland Ballet Theater, Complexions and other companies. Jimenez performed the role of Ivy Smith (Miss Turnstiles) in the Broadway revival of “On the Town,” directed by George C. Wolfe. She created the role of Fran in Marie Irene Fornes’ play “Letters from Cuba” and Isabel in Debbie Allen’s “Soul Possessed.” Her television appearances include a featured performance on the Academy Awards with Desmond Richardson, Rasta Thomas, Savion Glover and Joaquin Cortez. She has also danced in Prince’s “Rave Unto the Year 2000.” She played the role of Mela in an upcoming film starring Patrick Swayze entitled “Without a Word.” Jimenez is a member of the improvisational performance group, “You are Madness, Diana!” Her short dance film “Down,” created by Jimenez and Vipal Monga, was a featured favorite at the Brooklyn Rooftop Film Festival. Jimenez’s choreography has been shown at the International Blacks in Dance Conference, City Center Studio performances, Dance Theatre of Harlem Open House series, Baton Rouge Ballet, The Kitchen in NYC, Martha’s Vineyard and has been selected for this year’s E-Moves series at Aaron Davis Hall in NYC for emerging choreographers.
	Gabby Malone first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. She trained at the New World School of the Arts in Miami under the direction of Danny Lewis. In Florida she worked with Mary Street Dance Theater, Gerri Houlihan and Dancers and Gary Lunds Dance Waves. In New York she has performed with Twyla Tharp, Irene Hultman, Jamie Bishton, Stephen Petronio and Martha Clarke, and also with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet. She has also most recently assisted Martha Clarke on several projects, including “SUENO” for the Martha Graham Company.
	Marc Mann was born in Georgetown, Guyana. He later moved to the United States where he began his training. Mr. Mann graduated cum laude from SUNY/Purchase, with a BFA in Dance. He also received the school's Presidential Award. Upon graduation, he immediately joined the Martha Graham Dance Company. During this time he performed in such works as Acts of Light, Maple Leaf Rag, yellow in Diversion of Angels, and his first principal role as the Preacher in Appalachian Spring. His other professional credits include Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Toronto Dance Theatre, Zvi Gotheiner and Dancers, Complexions in Dance, Susan Marshall, Bill Young and Dancers and the Kevin Wynn Collection. He first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000.
	Jason McDole (rehearsal director) first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000. He was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He received his formal dance training from Paula Scriva, Buddy Thompson and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. McDole received a BFA from the Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy in 1997. He has danced in the companies of Twyla Tharp, Lar Lubovitch and David Parsons. McDole is a dancer and assistant to Robert Battle of Battleworks Dance Company. He has been privileged to work on projects with Zvi Gotheiner, Mark Dendy and Graciela Daniele. Mr. McDole has taught and staged works throughout the US and abroad.
	Leonard Meek (rehearsal director) is a former principal dancer for both the Lubovitch company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. During his time as a dancer and in the years since, Mr. Meek has established himself as a teacher in great demand. His now impressive teaching experience includes workshops, master classes and outreach programs nationwide. He has worked for the Lubovitch company, the Ailey company and the BankBoston Celebrity Series (for Boston area public schools) and has also taught dance to children at the New York City Mission Society, the Boys and Girls Club, the Ailey Camp in New York and at numerous universities in this country and in South America. Mr. Meek began his dance training in Harlem, New York, where he was born and raised. He graduated with honors from the renowned High School of the Performing Arts before beginning his professional career in 1981 with the Lubovitch company. He was named a principal dancer shortly thereafter. In 1986, Mr. Meek joined the Ailey company, where he had the privilege of working with Mr. Ailey himself. Following Ailey's death, he returned to the Lubovitch company for two years, before eventually rejoining the Ailey company, under the directorship of Ailey's successor, Judith Jamison. During his years with the Ailey company, Mr. Meek performed principal roles in works created by Mr. Lubovitch, Ms. Jamison and other notable choreographers including Jerome Robbins, Elisa Monte and Donald McKayle. Mr. Meek also had the pleasure of performing at President Clinton's 1993 inauguration, on the Phil Donahue Show and at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In 1998 he served as the rehearsal director for the Fort-Worth-based Bruce Wood Dance Company, where he piloted a summer dance program. He then returned to New York and is currently teaching summer school kids at the Ailey Wrap-Around Camp in New York City and teaching aspiring dancers (on behalf of the Lubovitch company) at the Peridance Studio. In the fall of 2000, Mr. Meek has been working for the Lubovitch company assisting Mr. Lubovitch in the creation of Men's Stories, while also serving as the education coordinator and primary teacher for Dance Your Dreams, an educational outreach program of the Lubovitch company that encompasses 8 high schools in all 5 boroughs of the city of New York. He first danced with the Lubovitch company in 1981.
	Miho Kanani Morinoue first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. She is a dancer, painter and designer and was born in Kealakekua, HI. Morinoue studied ballet since she was 8. She started with Yoko Saito in Japan and continued more seriously in Hawaii with Virginia Holte (founder of West Hawaii Dance theater), Earnest Morgan, Eva Lee, Ballet Hawaii and the Boston Ballet. At 14, she moved to California with a scholarship to study at the Marin Ballet Academy. There, she trained under the guidance of Maria Vegh and performed leading rolls in classical ballet and Balanchine. In 1991, she moved to New York where she received a scholarship at he David Howard Dance Center. Between 1992-2005, she worked with choreographers such as Leigh Wichel, Michelle Elliman, Jodie Gates, Desmond Richardson, Dwight Rhoden, Gina Grahm and Nathaniel Tryst. In 1995, she joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet Co. (CCBC) and has performed all over the US and Europe. As a visual artist, Morinoue’s work includes design, painting and sculpture. She has collaborated with Dwight Rhoden (director/choreographer of CCBC) on numerous projects, designing costumes and setting ballets. Morinoue has showed her paintings in New York, Seattle and Hawaii. In 2003, Morinoue became Director of Fine Arts for the Hilden Hahn Creatives Gallery (NY). She has organized many group shows with a variety of artists such as Mark Hilden, Craig Hahn, Hiroki Morinoue, Setsuko Watanabe, Gabriella Zellapi, Timothy Ojile, Tim Davis, Jeera Ratanangkoon.
	Darrell Grand Moultrie (understudy) graduated this past May from the Juilliard School. He is now pursuing a career as both performer and choreographer. This summer he performed in Milan at La Scala Opera House in West Side Story. He also choreographed a new work for the Connecticut Ballet. The Juilliard Dance Ensemble along with the Juilliard Orchestra will premier his work Against the Grain in February 2001. He is also a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts in East Harlem. He feels honored to be able to observe and participate in Mr. Lubovitch's creative process.
	Rebecca Rigert first danced with the Lubovitch company in 1988. Originally from Tacoma, Washington, she has performed with major New York dance companies since 1983. Rigert has held the position of principal dancer with the Joyce Trisler Danscompany, the Elisa Monte Dance Company, the Jamison Project, the Lubovitch company, Stars of American Dance, rhythMEK and Complexions. Rigert had the honor of performing as partner to Mikhail Baryshnikov in his White Oak Dance Project, and was chosen to recreate the role of Mary in Martha Graham’s El Penitente, among other roles. Rigert has worked as Choreographic Assistant to Lubovitch, coaching stars from ballet and modern companies around the world, including American Ballet Theater, and such Broadway productions as The Red Shoes, The King and I and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She has also had the privilege of working on projects with choreographers Mark Morris, Garth Fagan, Dwight Rhoden, Irene Hultman and Zvi Gotheiner. Rigert was featured as a guest artist with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, performing Lubovitch’s acclaimed Fandango in 1997. She is a guest teacher at the Juilliard School, as well as a computer animator/web designer and sculptor.
	Scott Rink first danced with the Lubovitch company in 1990. He formed DanceRink in 1995 and has since created a number of works seen in NYC most notably at the American Theatre of Actors, HERE, The Kitchen and Riverside Church as well as other national and international venues. Rink’s commissioned works include dances for Ailey II, ABT Studio Co., NCSA, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Austin Contemporary Ballet, Compagnia Dansa Contemporaria of Portugal and dances for various university dance programs in the US. In addition to dancing principal roles with the Lubovitch company, Rink has also performed in the companies of Eliot Feld and Elisa Monte. As a teacher, Rink has taught at North Carolina School for the Arts, University of Minnesota (Cowles Chair 1996, 2000, 2003), University of Utah, among others and taught master classes throughout the US, Europe and South America.
	Kevin Scarpin first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000. He was born and raised in Cypress, California. He began his dance training at UC Berkeley while studying rhetoric and ethnic studies, and continued training at North Carolina School of the Arts where he received his BFA in 2000. Since moving to New York, Scarpin has danced in Mark Morris’s “The Hard Nut” and “L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato,” Doug Varone’s “Les Troyens” at the Met Opera, several productions at New York City Opera, with Bill Young and Dancers, and many others. Scarpin currently dances with the Sean Curran Company (2000) and continues to work with Mark Morris.
	Sean Stewart first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. He began his training in California with Lisa Clark and Yanina Cywinska. He spent two years as a member of the Joffrey II Dancers before spending a year studying at the Paris Opera Ballet School. He joined American Ballet Theatre, where he went on to perform many soloist and principal roles in full length ballets, as well as mixed repertory pieces. Some of the roles he has danced include Lankendem and Birbanto in Le Corsaire, Benno in Swan Lake, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Nutcracker prince in the Nutcracker, and Hortensio in Taming of the Shrew. Stewart has performed in works by Balanchine, Tudor, De Mille and Macmillan. He has created roles in works by Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Nacho Duato and many others. He danced a soloist role in Jonathan’s ballet in the feature film “Center Stage.” His next project will be a new Broadway show by Twyla Tharp.
	Michael Leon Thomas first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2000. A performer, director and choreographer, he made his professional debut with renowned dancer and artistic director Judith Jamison. The Daily News reporter Charles Jurrist wrote, “And Michael Thomas, who attracted notice in the original company, is now clearly a star waiting only for adequate recognition. In even the briefest passages, he evinces prodigal virtues – control, suppleness, speed and unfailing elegance of line.” Thomas continued his career with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, featured in Ulysses Dove’s Urban Folk Dance, Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder, and the beginning of an over decade long choreographic relationship with Dwight Rhoden in his ballet, Beyond a Cliff. In 1991, Thomas resumed his work with Ms. Jamison, joining the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where he gained instant recognition for his passionate performances of Alvin Ailey’s Love Song’s, Billy Wilson’s Winter in Lisbon, Jawole Zollar’s Shelter and Dwight Rhoden’s Frames. Thomas was also featured in Judith Jamison’s Emmy Award-winning PBS special, A Hymn for Alvin Ailey, performing a solo to his own words as interpreted by actress/playwright Anna Deavere-Smith. Jennifer Dunning of the NY Times wrote, “Michael Thomas scorched the stage with his quiet intensity during his years with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.”
	Rasta Thomas first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005. He was born in San Francisco in 1981 and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was evident from the beginning that Rasta was a prodigy with a flair for the stage. He studied at the world-renowned Kirov Academy in Washington D.C. As a teenager, Thomas made dance competition history with honors including the Special Jury Prize from the 1994 Paris International Dance Competition, the Gold Medal in the Junior Men's Division of the 1996 Varna International Ballet Competition, and the Gold Medal in the Senior Men's Division of the Jackson, MS USA-IBC. In 1995, he became a member of Le Jeune Ballet de France and in 1997, was invited to be a Principal Dancer with the Hartford Ballet. His guest credits include the Russian Imperial Ballet, National Ballet of China, Victor Ullate Ballet of Spain, Inoue Ballet of Japan, Ochi Ballet, Universal Ballet of Korea, Joffrey Ballet, Washington Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, CityDance, and Philadanco. He has been a featured soloist at many galas, including Le Gala Des Etoiles. In 2001 he was the first American to become a member of the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2003 he joined Dance Theatre of Harlem as its youngest principal dancer. He has danced diverse roles including "Albrecht" in Giselle, "Basilio" in Don Quixote, "Ali" in Le Corsaire and "Death" in Debbie Allen’s Soul Possessed. Television credits include a Bravo documentary in 1997, CBS Breakfast with the Arts, Sesame Street, a featured solo during the 1999 Academy Awards and the Spring 2000 international ad campaign for the GAP. He appears as “Timmy Chambers” in the feature film, One Last Dance, starring Patrick Swayze. He most recently starred in Twyla Tharp’s Broadway Hit, Movin’ Out. Critics have described his dance style as a mix of Baryshnikov, Bruce Lee, and Michael Jackson, “a force of nature.” A multi-talented artist, he spends most of his free time writing songs and scripts.
	Shila Tirabassi, a native of Florida, received her B.F.A. from the Juilliard School in 1999. She began her professional experience with Ballet Hispanico of New York and later joined the Merce Cunningham Repertory Group, where she also understudied the Cunningham Company. Ms. Tirabassi has performed with Buglisi/Foreman Dance and with Stephen Petronio Dance Company. She first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2001.