We are Aurelia - radiating golden auras and individual luminating essences coming together into one cascading entity - the ShenCo Senior Class of 2024 Dance Majors at Shenandoah Conservatory. Artists, choreographers, performers, designers, and researchers combine to create a uniquely talented group of individuals ready to share their art with the world. We are in the final stretch of our fundraising campaign! This month will feature the final installment of the capstone projects with a performance featuring solo works by BA and BFA senior dance majors, and a research presentation concert, featuring three of our BA dance majors. Thanks to you, we have fundraised for one performance production in the fall semester as well as the two professional development trips to NYC and LA. We are still campaigning to raise funds for this month's final performances and presentations as well as seed money for the next upcoming senior class of 2025. Our goal of $20,000 is to provide funds for each artist in this class to make their visions and careers become realities, and we can’t do it without YOU! With your contribution, you are giving us the opportunity to expand our individual limits and to learn without bounds. Your generosity will help mold us not only as artists, creators, and researchers but as people who will remember our incredible experiences this year for the rest of our lives. #shencoaurelia All photos by JHsu Media ----- Hannah Black (she/her) is an ‘out of the box’ thinker, creator, and performer in the DMV area. Her passions are to push the limits of dance, art, and absurdity in order to inspire deep thought through abstract content. Black began her artistic endeavors training with Virginia Ballet Company, IMPACT Dance, and the Fairfax Academy Dance program. She studied styles such as ballet, pointe, pas de deux, jazz, and contemporary. Throughout high school, Black was heavily involved in theater, choreographing the entirety of both Thoroughly Modern Millie and Legally Blonde while also performing the roles of Millie Dillmount and Elle Woods. In 2018, she was nominated for a National Capital Area Cappie award for Female dancer for her work in Pippin. In 2024, working under the direction of Michael Replogle, Black performed as Kristine in A Chorus Line. Black’s roots have always been ballet, and she has been invited to perform ballet excerpts from The Nutcracker at the National Theater in Washington, D.C. for their Saturday morning show as well as the Air Force Band’s annual holiday show at Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall. She has taught and choreographed at several Virginia dance studios including: Virginia Ballet Company, Loudoun School of Ballet, and Stage Door Dance Studio, and spent three years as a dance teacher at her home studio (Virginia Ballet Company) as well as at various REC centers in the DMV Area. Black is now pursuing a B.F.A in dance at Shenandoah University where she is dancing under the instruction of Tiffanie Carson, Shylo Martinez, Mary Robare, Daniel Padierna, and Maurice Fraga. She is also performing locally in the DMV area with Shelley Star and the Galaxy as a backup dancer. Black hopes to continue to expand the boundaries of what dance is, how it can be created, and the way it is taught. Alexa Boyles (she/they) is a native Virginian dance artist. She attended Valley Dance Theatre from 2004-2019 where she trained in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, and acrobatics, and was a member of their performance company. Alexa began their collegiate journey at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2019, and later transferred to Shenandoah Conservatory in 2024 to complete their B.F.A. Dance & Choreography degree. Throughout their collegiate time Alexa has danced in works by Ballet Hispanico, Urban Bush Women, Joanna Kotze, Earl Mosley, David Dorfman, Nicole Corea, Danielle Sten-Guillermo, Yebel Gallegos, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Ruddy Frias, Ting-Yu Chen, Tiffanie Carson, Daniel Padierna, Erica Helm, and Lindsay Browning, in addition to many student works. Alexa has continued her training by attending various intensives, including the American Dance Festival Winter Intensive, University of North Carolina School of the Arts Contemporary Intensive and their Professional Studies Intensive, Ballet Hispanico’s ChoreoLab, Bates Dance Festival, Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts, and David Dorfman’s Emerging Artists Intensive. Alexa is interested in utilizing choreography as an avenue to examine the world, and was selected to showcase their solo choreography, Dissonance, at the ACDA Mid-Atlantic North Conference in Slippery Rock, PA in March of 2024. Alexa is excited to pursue all avenues of her dance career by exploring her performance capabilities and challenging her artistic voice. Hannah Campbell (she/her) is from Stuarts Draft, VA. She began her training in dance at Valley Dance Theatre where she trained in ballet, tap, contemporary, hip hop, and acro. In 2019, she participated in the UNCSA Contemporary Summer Dance Intensive and in 2024, returned to UNCSA for their Professional Studies Program. In 2024 and 2024, she attended Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts where she performed in pieces choreographed by Earl Mosley, José Limón, Paul Taylor, Norbert de la Cruz, and Anya Clarke, among others. Also, in 2024, she attended Orange Grove Dance Company summer intensive which focused on dance, design, and film elements of performance. She is currently entering her fourth year at Shenandoah University (SU) earning a B. F. A. in Dance and a B. S. in Exercise Science. Additionally, she is in the College of Arts & Sciences’ Honors program. At SU, she has performed in pieces choreographed by Sidra Bell, Daniel Padierna, Danielle Sten-Guillermo, Frederick Earl Mosley, Tiffanie Carson, Erica Helm, and Charlie Maybee. Hannah’s solo choreographic work was shown at “Dance Louder than Words” in Waynesboro, Virginia, a collaborative performance with Mental Health in Motion. She also volunteers at the Kid’s Club of the Northern Shenandoah Valley and serves as the treasurer of the Epsilon chapter of Sigma Rho Delta. Hannah is looking forward to continuing to grow through academic and artistic experiences in her final year at Shenandoah. Brittany Copp (she/her) is from Shrewsbury, PA and has been dancing ever since the age of 4. She started her dance career at EMC Performing Arts Studio in New Freedom, PA. where she trained in jazz, hip hop, tap, ballet, modern, and other styles. Due to her strong work ethic, she became a student teacher at her home studio, assisting and teaching in multiple classes for 4 years. She fell in love with the technique classes at EMC so much that she began to take classes at other studios and learn from different teachers, such as with Broadway Dance Center in New York (2017, 2018, 2019) and with Carlos Neto, Hayden Frederick, Chio, and many others. In 2024 she took DanceWorks Chicago’s Danceworks 360 intensive. She took classes in ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and also had a showcase at the end. Different teaching styles and techniques were gained from this intensive. Brittany has also performed in a few musicals at her home school in the dance ensemble. Including Mary Poppins and Pippin. She is now working towards her B.F.A. degree in dance at Shenandoah University. She studies different styles from contemporary, modern, commercial jazz, and musical theater. Brittany has also gotten the chance to participate in residencies during her time at school. Ally Dede (she/her) is from Pottstown, Pennsylvania and began her training at age six at Dance One Studios and later switched to Visions Dance Company. Her early dance training included ballet, contemporary, hip hop, jazz, modern, and pointe. She was a member of the Visions Dance Performance Company where she performed locally and competed at several competitions. In addition, Ally has participated in numerous master classes and intensives in New York City, Philadelphia and New Jersey, and has performed in places such as Disney World, The Gershwin Theatre, The Performance Garage in Philadelphia, and Hershey Park. Ally is currently in her third year at Shenandoah University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Dance and a Bachelor of Science (B.S) in Exercise Science, as well as minors in Psychology and Biology. She is also a member of the College of Arts & Sciences’ Honors Program. While attending school, Ally has trained with Lindsay Browning, Tiffanie Carson, Dr. Ting-Yu Chen, Maurice Fraga, Erica Helm, Shylo Martinez, Charlie Maybee, Daniel Padierna, and Mary Robare and participated in works by Lindsay Browning, Tiffanie Carson, Erica Helm, and guest artist Danielle Sten-Guillermo. Ally is excited to navigate and grow her artistic and academic journey. Kiana Ducusin (she/her) began her dance training at Accent School of Dance in Allentown, PA where she trained in various dance styles including ballet, jazz, modern, commercial styles, contemporary, hip-hop, and tap. She also participated in numerous regional and national dance competitions and conventions such as Artists Simply Human, True Dance Challenge, and 24/7 where she was awarded scholarships and choreography awards for her performances. She attended the DeSales University Summer Dance Intensive in Center Valley, PA (2018) on scholarship for two weeks and experienced collegiate-level training, and most recently, she completed Ballet Hispánico’s two-week ChoreoLab in New York, NY (2024) where she delved into the company’s repertory. In addition to performance intensives, Kiana has also had the opportunity to guest teach ballet, contemporary, and jazz technique classes at her childhood studio. She is a rising senior at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA pursuing a B.F.A degree in dance, where she has studied under Shylo Martinez, Lindsey Browning, Charles Maybee, Mary Robare, and Ting-Yu Chen and performed in pieces choreographed by Tiffanie Carson, Maurice Fraga, Daniel Padierna, and Erica Helm. While at Shenandoah Conservatory, she has participated in numerous student composition dances, as well as guest works choreographed by Earl Moseley, Natasha Davis, Roderick George, and Danielle Sten-Guillermo, as well as in Ballet Hispánico's restaged Batucada Fantástica. She was selected to perform her self-choreographed solo, I am Within and Without, at the Dance Louder Than Words: Mental Health Prevention, Recovery, and Healing through Dance event in Waynesboro, VA (2024). She recently performed Tiffanie Carson’s Lustrous Collapse at the American College Dance Association Mid-Atlantic South Conference. She is currently at Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts (EMIA) summer dance intensive (2024). Kiana wants to continue expanding her artistic knowledge and performance ability to pursue an everlasting career as a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Sammy Fossum (he/him) is a dancer and theater artist from Marietta, GA. He attended the Cobb County Center for Excellence in Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School, where he began his dance training. He is currently pursuing his BFA in Dance at Shenandoah Conservatory and is expected to graduate in December of 2024. At Shenandoah, Sammy has danced in works by Sidra Bell, Roderick George, Ballet Hispánico, and Tiffanie Carson. He has also performed in the musicals A Chorus Line, directed by Mary Robare, and Hair, directed by Kevin Covert. Additionally, at Shenandoah, Sammy studies voice with Stephanie Higgins and acting through song with Kevin Covert. He began his professional theater career at City Springs Theatre Company (under the artistic direction of Schuler Hensley), performing and serving as dance captain in their production of West Side Story, directed by Daniel Kutner. During the 2024-2024 school year, he took a one year hiatus from school to perform in the National Tour of CATS. Over this ten month long contract, Sammy performed over 230 shows in 49 different cities all over North America, including Canada and Mexico. He played the role of Alonzo while covering three other roles and performed two of those (Mungojerrie and Tumblebrutus) on multiple occasions. In the summer of 2024 Sammy earned his Yoga Teacher Certification, completing 200 hours of in person training with the Kootenay Yoga School in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Post graduation, Sammy plans to move to New York City with his fiancé and continue working professionally as a theater/dance performer. Tyson Francis (he/him) is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Winchester, Virginia. Starting dance at the age of five at Vostrikov Academy of Ballet, he grew in ballet, modern, and jazz styles. Performing in a variety of ballet’s and the annual Nutcracker, he also appeared on stage in various musicals at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, in Shenandoah Conservatory’s mainstage season, and in student-led productions with Your Act!. Currently studying at Shenandoah Conservatory working towards a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Production emphasizing in Stage Management, he has continued pursuing his passion for a range of performative and technical theatrical environments. Most recently, Tyson had the opportunity to perform a duet choreographed by Daniel Padierna at Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance charity performance: Dancing Beyond, in New York City. Previously he has danced in works choreographed by Ehizoje Azeke, Ting-Yu Chen, Maurice Fraga, Daniel Padierna, Danielle Sten-Guillermo, Lindsay Browning, and a plethora of fellow students, and served as Production Stage Manager on The Apple Tree, Reefer Madness, Borne: A New Musical and the Shenandoah Conservatory’s Holiday Gala 2024, as well as Assistant Stage Manager on Hair, The New World of Opera, and SSMT’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Expanding his artistry, he has also explored lighting design and wig design/styling for various dance concerts, showcases, and theatre performances. Tyson cannot wait to continue growing and learning while navigating the world of live entertainment and the arts. Alexa Guadagnoli (she/her) is a dancer and choreographer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing her B.F.A. in Dance at Shenandoah Conservatory with plans to complete an M.S. in Performing Arts Leadership and Management. Between 2014-2024, Alexa performed in over 35 productions at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center- most recently dancing in the ensemble of Carousel. While training at Shenandoah Conservatory, she has had the opportunity to perform in original and reconstructed works from Daniel Padierna, Tiffanie Carson, Earl Mosley, Erica Helm, Maurice Fraga and Natasha L. Davis. This summer, Alexa danced professionally as a performer at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, in over 300 performances. Having developed her choreographic skills at Shenandoah Conservatory, she has choreographed for mainstage and student produced projects including MOONRISE: A New Musical, A Dream Play, a workshop presentation of Borne: A New Musical, Assistant Choreographer for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time alongside Maurice Fraga and Director Scott Hudson, and made her directorial debut with Coalescence: an original collaborative project conceived and premiered at ShenCoLAB. Her concert dance works include We’re Too Busy Dreaming, SPINNING; SPINNING!, and Unidentified Fluorescent Objects. Alexa strives to work in the industry as a choreographer and performer for theater, film, and other collaborative arts. Anna Irwin (she/her) is a dancer/choreographer from Prince George’s County, Maryland. She began her dance training at Joyful Motion in Greenbelt, Maryland, studying many forms of dance including ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical and contemporary. She also attended Bishop McNamara High school in Forestville Maryland where she continued to study classical dance and African dance. In high school, she was a member of F.A.D.E (Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement) where she choreographed and performed a solo her senior year entitled Isn’t it Lovely as her capstone project. Following this new found love for choreography, Anna was invited to coach at her local middle school for the after school dance team where she choreographed various routines for their school talent shows and pep rallies. In 2019, Anna was invited to participate in a pre-professional contemporary dance series at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. where she studied with various guest companies such as Alvin Ailey Dance Company and Mathew Bourne’s New Adventures. Later that summer, she was asked to be one of the first dancers to participate in the Merce Cunningham Technique summer intensive in the new Kennedy Center wing, The Reach. In December of 2024 Anna participated in the DC Tap Festival run by Chloe and Maud Arnold where she took classes from Maud and Chloe Arnold, Gisele Silva and Jason Holley. Anna is currently studying at Shenandoah University, in Winchester Virginia, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a minor in Spanish. Training under Shylo Martinez, Tiffanie Carson, Charlie Maybee, Erica Helm, Maurice Fraga, Daniel Padierna, Mary Robare, and Dr. Ting-Yu Chen. Anna has also performed in works by guest artists Ginger Cox, Natasha Davis and Danielle Sten-Guillermo, among others. This past summer, Anna completed her second summer as the dance instructor with Summer at Sandy Spring in Sandy Spring Maryland where she choreographed weekly dances, each emphasizing a different dance genre, to all age groups. She is currently choreographing for the Trilogy Tap Dancing Club in Frederick Virginia and working as the after school dance educator at the Powhatan School in Boyce, Virginia. Anna is looking forward to completing her degree and continuing to grow and expand her teaching and choreography vocabulary. Jenna Lucy (she/her) is from Prince George, Virginia. She began her training at Appomattox Regional Governor's School in Petersburg, VA where she trained strictly in ballet and modern with teachers Rebecca Hodal and Denise Purvis. Outside of school, she danced and worked as an assistant and student teacher at Tip Tap Toes in Chester, Virginia, not only taking classes there, but also participating with them in Regional and National dance competitions and conventions such as Dance Makers Inc., and Hollywood Vibe. Jenna has also had the opportunity to travel to NYC to take classes at Gibney Dance and Broadway Dance Center, as well as attending High School Dance Festivals in Pittsburgh (PA) and Norfolk (VA) where she took classes from different artists from around the world. These amazing opportunities have allowed her to grow love for the art of dance. Lastly, she was a member of the National Honor Society for Dance. Jenna Lucy is currently working towards her Bachelor of Arts in dance at Shenandoah University (SU) with a minor in Business Administration. At SU she has trained under and performed works choreographed by Maurice Fraga, Tiffanie Carson, Daniel Padierna, Erica Helm, and Ting-Yu Chen, as well as participating in choreographic residencies with Natasha Davis and Danielle Sten-Guillermo. Jenna hopes to continue her training to become a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Skylar Matos (she/they) is an artistic mover currently based in San Diego, California. They began dancing at the age of three in Monterey, California, and have trained in ballet, tap, hip hop, jazz, musical theatre styles, modern, pointe, and contemporary. They have expanded their discovery of learning and artistry through a variety of intensives where they have taken classes from artists: Alex Wong, Twitch, Alison Holker, and professionals in the hit TV show: So You Think You Can Dance. Skylar is currently attending Shenandoah Conservatory working towards a B.F.A. in Dance where they have participated in works choreographed by Daniel Padierna,Tiffanie Carson, Lindsay Browning, Danielle Sten-Guillermo, Charles Maybee, Lauren Carnesi Daniels, and Ting-Yu Chen. Recently, they have had the opportunity to present Chen’s work for the Tea for Harmony Yaji Cultural Salon at the Chinese Embassy in D.C. They have also performed in two student works choreographed by Amy Cutler, and Dakota Matos for the American College Dance Festival. They are also excited for their performance in the upcoming release of a dance film choreographed by BARE Dance Company’s Director - Mike Esperanza and Guest Artist - Leann Alduenda. Skylar is excited to continue their artistic journey, education, and experiences in performing and choreographing. Ella McCauley (she/her) is a dancer and artist from Washington, D.C. Ella is currently attending Shenandoah Conservatory to obtain her B.F.A. in dance, continuing her training in various techniques including ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, pointe, musical theater, and commercial styles. While at Shenandoah, she has been involved in multiple choreographic works and trained with many professionals, including Tiffanie Carson, Maurice Fraga, Shylo Martinez, Daniel Padierna, Erica Helm, and more. Additionally, Ella has had the opportunity to work with guest artists such as Danielle Sten-Guillermo, Natasha Davis, and Ballet Hispanico’s residency work “Batucada Fantastica” in Spring 2024. Ella attended the 2024 American College Dance Association’s Mid-Atlantic North Festival where she took classes from professionals in the industry and performed in the adjudicated concert and the final gala in student-choreographed work. Ella has trained in New York City dancing with Ballet Hispanico during their 2024 ChoreoLAB Summer Intensive. She has started to find her artistic voice through choreography. Her recent work, titled I-95S, was chosen to be a part of the 2024 ACDA Mid-Atlantic South Informal Showing, as well as being featured during White Wave Young-Soon Kim’s 2024 Dumbo Dance Festival in Brooklyn, NYC at the Mark Morris Dance Theater. Alongside many rising and established artists, her choreography was shared throughout the four day festival. Ella is eager to continue growing her artistry as a professional through different creative paths within the industry. Kaitlyn O'Grady (she/her) began her dance training in 2009, at the age of seven. From 2009 to 2024, Kaitlyn trained at Barton and Williams School of Dance located in Stafford, Virginia. She trained in ballet, contemporary, lyrical, tap, jazz, and hip hop throughout these years of her training. With this studio, she participated in their competition company from 2011 until 2024, performing in solos, duets, as well as, group dances. Annually, she participated in recital performances for this studio and attended West Coast Dance Explosion, an intensive where dancers are able to take classes, compete, and perform in various styles and in 2018 she earned a tap scholarship through recognition in those classes. In addition to this, she also trained at Classical Ballet of Fredericksburg, located in Fredericksburg Virginia, from 2013-2018. With this, she focused specifically on her ballet technique through ballet and pointe classes. She participated in recital performances in her time at this studio as well. From 2016-2024, Kaitlyn was a member of her high school’s varsity dance team, where she competed on the state and nation level, performing in styles such as pom, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop. Kaitlyn is currently working towards her Bachelor of Arts in Dance, as well as, her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science at Shenandoah University. She plans to continue her education, ultimately in pursuit to earn a Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree. She would like to continue dancing recreationally as well. Ashley Reed (she/her) from Annapolis Maryland, has been dancing for 19 years, spending a majority of her training with Spotlight Studio of Dance in Millersville Maryland. From 2014 - 2019, she was selected as a member of the Washington Redskins allstars team, which allowed her to not only perform on the Fedex field during half-time,but be part of the team that was a two-time Universal Dance Association national champion. Ashley also had the opportunity to perform with Capital Movement pre-professional troupe, which is a non-profit organization that worked and performed to raise money for young dancers in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area who could not afford to take dance classes. Ashley was a member of her high school senior dance company, South Rivers Dance company, for four years where she choreographed 6 pieces for both the senior and junior companies. One of her pieces entitled The Spectator, was selected for the 2024 student showcase and received the highest score out of 15 pieces. She was also a part of Anne Arundel Counties National Honors Society for dance, and in 2024 was selected as an All County Dancer and All State Dancer.In her free time, she assisted her hometown middle school dance company by choreographing and directing their shows. Lastly, Ashley taught Ballet, Tap, and Jazz to toddlers aged 2-5, at Thrive Gymnastics and Cheer in Annapolis Maryland. Ashley is currently attending Shenandoah University to earn a BFA in dance, where after graduating she hopes to dance on a cruise ship and travel the world. Ian Sabatine (he/him) is pursuing his B.F.A. at Shenandoah University (SU). Before attending college, he studied at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with teachers Amy Berry, Kimberly Maniscalco, Jennifer Weaver, and Rebecca Moyer who all have a wide variety of knowledge in many styles and choreography. Ian then had the opportunity to attend the National High School Dance Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2024, where he took classes and learned more about the professional dance world. At SU, he has performed in numerous student-led concerts, faculty ensemble works, and guest artist concerts, as well as performed his own choreography in solo composition showings. He has had the opportunity to work with guest artists such as Natasha Davis, Danielle Sten-Guillermo, and Ginger Cox, as well as professors such as Tiffanie Carson, Daniel Padierna, Mary Robare, Shylo Martinez, Maurice Fraga, Erica Helm, Charlie Maybee, and Ting-Yu Chen. After college, Ian plans to pursue a career in dance performance.
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