Christy Dobbratz is a Senior at St. Olaf College, and will be earning her Bachelor's of the Arts in Dance with a concentration in Management Studies. Dance is the common thread that has connected her life. She loves trying any form of movement that she can learn and embody. She enjoys creating screen dances for herself and her friends and hopes to incorporate it into her post-graduate life. She hopes after graduating and making her name in the dance world to open her own studio.
Leiden Doma graduated from The College of Wooster with a double degree in Theatre & Dance and Philosophy. Her dance training is concentrated in modern dance, and she enjoys Release Technique the most. Leiden specializes in dance research, and has received grants for studies on dance as a cultural interaction. Her long-term goal is to provide a dance platform for the youth of Bhutan, where dance can be explored, shared and created.
Kiana Fotoohi is a senior at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She will be graduating in May of 2018 with a BFA in Dance Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts as well as a BA in Communication specializing in Public Relations. Over her years of dance training in modern dance, Kiana has attended numerous workshops of companies such as Jose Limón Dance, Batsheva Dance Company, and most recently Ate 9 Dance Company this past June. Last year, she had the privilege of studying at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, England towards continuing her studies as well. This year, Kiana continues to expand her knowledge of the body and will receive her Comprehensive Pilates Certification in May with Polestar Pilates Education®.
Kimberly Neil graduated from Mount Holyoke College in May 2017 with a B.A. in Dance Ethnography. Her self-designed major combined technical training with medical anthropology, intersecting her love of dance and feminist health politics. Before college, she was trained primarily in classical and contemporary ballet, modern, and contemporary jazz. Kimberly has danced at Ballet Chicago, The Joffrey Academy, Gallery 37, and Chicago Multicultural Dance Center. In college, she served as a Diversity Fellow for the Office of the Deans, and wrote for The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) through Proud2bme.org, a resource to inspire teenagers and young adults to curate a healthy lifestyle. Post-graduation, Kimberly hopes to continue to write, dance, and choreograph professionally. She is presently working as an intern with Amalgamate Dance Company, and as a dance specialist for elementary school students at PS 127. Her biggest goal for the future is to create a professional contemporary dance company that honors intersectionality and body positivity.
Maya Pleninger is a senior at Manhattanville College. She is completing her degree with a major in Dance and Theater, as well as a minor in Business Management. Maya started dancing around the age of two, and has continued her training on and off since then. She went to School of the Arts, a performing arts high school in Rochester, NY where she was a dance major. Through her high school career, Maya had many performance opportunities both within the school, as well as professional performances through the Upstate Cirque Troop doing aerial arts. Once off to college, Maya has been able to be a part of the Fall and Spring Dance Concerts where she has choreographed and danced, Senior Thesis Projects, and is also the President of Manhattanville Dance Troupe. She recently went to Italy with the the Amalgamate Dance Company and Damage Dance Company through the BREAKOUT! program. Once graduated, Maya hopes to continue her career as a dancer and aerialist, and hopes to expand and grow as an upcoming choreographer. She is very excited to be interning with the Amalgamate Dance Company, and feels this will be a great step towards her future!
Melissa Marino is currently a senior at Muhlenberg College where she is a Media and Communication major and a dance minor. She started her dance training when she was 3 years old by taking ballet classes, which she continues to enjoy today! Over the years of her training, she has studied modern, theater dance, ballroom, and tap in addition to ballet. She was in the children’s division of the Eglevsky Ballet for four years. In high school, she attended American Academy of Ballet’s summer intensive for three summers. She has had the opportunity to perform in numerous dance performances during her time at Muhlenberg as well. She has spent much of her dance career standing on the stage, so now she would like to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes. She hopes to use what she learns from this experience to enable her to eventually work for a successful dance company like Amalgamate Dance Company. She is thrilled to be working with ADC as the Marketing: Web and Social Media Intern this semester.
Vanessa Nandram is a dancer, Pilates Instructor, and an aspiring choreographer. She has spent most of her youth in the workforce and quickly found her passion as a dancer. She has attended Queensborough Community College and is looking to finish her Bachelor in Arts, majoring in dance, at Hunter College in 2018. She enjoys helping others in any way she can including in the dance field. Her passion is helping to create opportunities for other dancers to be recognized and compensated for their work.