2024 Choreographers | Directors
Bios are listed in the order corresponding to the presentation of works
Valentina Flores-Briggs was born in Guatemala and fell in love with movement ever since she took her first dance class at the age of 4. Her passion for this art was a motivator to move countries to be able to continue enriching her craft with access to better training. This has led to her being in her junior year at the renowned Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA). During her time at BSA she has been able to continuously work with acclaimed choreographer Amy Hall Garner on her work The Nutcracker: A Magical Tale In Mt. Vernon, where she was most recently cast the soloist role of Snow Princess. Throughout the past couple years she has had the pleasure of participating in several workshops led by companies like Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. In the summer of 2023, Valentina had the honor of attending Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s summer intensive where she got to train in the heart of Chicago for three intense weeks learning the company's repertoire alongside company members. That opportunity was possible as she got the privilege to receive the Roberto Bobes and Grace Schwartz Niepert Scholarship. As Valentina continues her high school journey she hopes to continue growing her artistic voice and continue sharing her love and appreciation for this art form through her work.
Sydney Tignor is a junior currently studying at Baltimore School for the arts (BSA) as a dance major. Her earliest training included youth classes at the Peabody Conservatory as well as at Ballet Nouveau. Sydney decided to continue her love for dance with the grand decision of auditioning for BSA as she continues to study ballet, modern, and contemporary. While still attending BSA, she has performed works in the Nutcracker, A Magical Tale in Mt. Vernon, choreographed by the renowned Amy Hall Garner. Sydney has danced at the American Dance Festival (ADF) for their summer intensive program where she had the grand pleasure of watching and participating in masterclasses with companies such as Sean Dorsey Dance, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Resident Island Dance Theater, ZviDance, and Ballet Hispanico. Sydney is currently an inspiring artist as she traverses through her early dance life and continues her journey into the professional dance world.
Isabella Wolf has been expressing themselves through art and choreography from a very young age. Setting many pieces in the greater DMV area and having their work recognized and placing at competitions including YAGP (top 6), National Ballet competition (first place), and DC Grand Prix. They are currently getting a dance degree at Point Park university as they continue to learn and grow their artistry and voice.
Baylee Wong is in her first season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company in Washington DC. Born and raised in Carmel, New York, Baylee Wong began her dance journey at age three. Baylee received training at Pinewood School of Dance, Fred Astaire, Joffrey Summer Intensive, AAB Summer Intensive, and Towson University. She learned various dance styles including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and ballroom. In 2019, she took 1st at the Tri-State Dancesport Championship in youth rhythm open gold, competing in cha cha, rumba, bolero, mambo, swing, and samba. Baylee received a BFA Dance Performance and Choreography degree at Towson University and had the privilege of working with Linda-Denise Fischer-Harrell, Runqiao Du, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Vincent Thomas, Caroline Rocher Barnes, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Baylee is the recipient of the Jim Synder Award for Technical Excellence and The Outstanding Award for Choreography at Towson University.
Yasir Jones “Yas” is a second-year certificate student at The Ailey School. He started dancing at the young age of 7 at Newark School of the Arts. When he graduated middle he attended Arts High School under the guidance of Ronnie Carney and Krystal Hall-Glass, while in high school Yas received a scholarship to attend The Ailey school in their Junior Division program. Once he graduated high school in 2020 he studied with Karen McDonald and attended Johns Hopkins pursuing a BFA in Dance. He gained the opportunity to work with Kevin Igea Jeff, Deirdre Dawkins, Kristen Stevenson, and Vincent Thomas. After two years he transferred back home to the Ailey School where he performed with Dance Theater of Harlem, Ronald K Brown, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. In 2023 he was invited to join the Ailey Performance Group. Yasir is excited to perform and hope you’ll say “Yas!” when you see him.
Travis D. Gatling received his B.A. in English/Liberal Arts from Norfolk State University and his M.F.A. in Dance at The Ohio State University. He has performed with the Norfolk State University Dance Company, the Omawale African Dance and Folklore Group, the University Dance Company at Ohio State University, Gathering Wild Dance Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and as a freelance dance artist. In addition, Mr. Gatling has performed the works of Donald McKayle, Merce Cunningham, Doris Humphrey, Dianne Maroney, and Tyrone Brooks. His teaching and choreographic credits include the Black College Dance Exchange, dance faculty and assistant coordinator at Georgia State University's Movement Force Dance Company, Emory University Dance Company, the Urban Dance Academy at Norfolk State University, Coker College, University of Akron, and the University of Michigan, Flint. Mr. Gatling created and performed a solo dance project entitled My Brother's Keeper , a collection of solo works choreographed by African American male choreographers. Mr. Gatling has set numerous works on Full Circle.
Taylor Leigh Richardson (23) Is a Baltimore and DMV based Artist, Educator and Visionary in Choreography. She began her dance training in Wilmington, DE at age 2. She continued her secondary education at Cab Calloway School of the Arts (Wilmington, DE). Taylor most recently received her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and K-12 Education from Towson University in Towson, Maryland in December 2023. Her passionate heart for dance and intellectual writing merged to support her creative, Self-Curated, interdisciplinary minor in Black Performance Theory. As a choreographer, Taylor yearns to share stories of raw truth and triumph within the socio-cultural context, examining themes from the past as it relates to the present and the present as it informs the future. Her work has been featured in the Baltimore Black Choreographers Festival and invited to perform at the Koresh Dance Show Case in Philadelphia. In the past year she has traveled to South Africa and Japan as a performer and plans to continue to expand her artistry globally. Overall she hopes to inspire reflection, empathy, and a renewed sense of shared identity by delving into the rich tapestry of our collective history and weaving it seamlessly with the contemporary narrative.
Tom Resseguier studied ballet at the Ballettschule des Hamburg Ballett, where he took his first steps into the neoclassical repertoire through John Neumeier’s style, before joining the Junior Ballet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in 2016. There, he performed, among others, pieces by William Forsythe, Jean Guizerix, Yong Geol Kim, José Martinez and Douglas Becker. He then went on to dance for the Ballet de l’Opéra de Metz in 2018 and joined the Compagnie Illicite Bayonne under the direction of choreographer Fabio Lopez. In 2019, he started working at the Compagnie Par Terre on the creation of À Mon Bel Amour, a contemporary piece by choreographer Anne Nguyen. During this time, he also worked as a freelance dancer and actor on various other projects, including the French TV series L’Opéra and the Netflix short film Anima choreographed by Damien Jalet. Alongside his dance projects, Tom Resseguier has a passion for astronomy and earned a dual bachelor in mathematics and physics, as well as a master in astrophysics, both from Sorbonne Université in Paris.
Marie-Amelle Thenoz was born in Lyon, France and grew up in Southern California. She has been dancing since the age of three, first pursuing numerous dance styles before focusing her training to ballet, specifically Balanchine technique, in middle school. Along with her ongoing training with her method, Lisa Cuizon, Marie-Amelle trained for two summers at Pacific Northwest Ballet (2018, 2019). Marie-Amelle is now in her fourth year at The Peabody Institute, under director danah bella, where she diversified her movement study to include several modern and ballet techniques, improvisation, West African dance styles, jazz, and choreography. She is currently enrolled as a Dual Degree student at Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Institute with plans to graduate in 2025 with a BA in Cognitive Science and a BFA in Dance. Marie-Amelle hopes to continue dancing after college in a contemporary ballet company in Europe. Her pursuits in dance have allowed her to her support community in the greater Los Angeles area and Baltimore through many volunteer based performances. She believes in dance as a method of connecting and understanding others and wishes to share this gift through performance, teaching, mentorship, and advocacy for as long as she can.
Shaela Davis received her BFA in Dance Performance with a K-12 Teaching Certification from Towson University. While at Towson, she performed with the Towson University Dance Company as well as choreographed/performed for the 2013 American College Dance Festival in VA. She also trained, on scholarship, at the American Dance Festival where she performed in the Footprints show and in repertory by Abby Zbikowski. Shaela has performed with Abby Z and the New Utility based in NY, Christopher K. Morgan & Artists in DC, Company E in DC, and Full Circle Dance Company in Baltimore and with various vocal performers including Thomas Beard and Carolyn Black-Sotir. She has performed at Baltimore Theatre Project, Bard College, Chesapeake Arts Center, Creative Alliance, Fusebox Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, The Kennedy Center, NY Live Arts, and 92nd Street Y. Shaela’s choreography was featured in the Baltimore Black Choreographer’s Festival and has been performed at Maryland Youth Ballet, Baltimore Theatre Project, Creative Alliance, Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University, and the B&O Railroad Museum. Shaela has taught for Towson University Community Dance, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, and Anne Arundel County Public Schools. She currently teaches dance at McDonogh School and Morton Street Dance Center.
Taylor Knighton is a native of Dallas, Texas and currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts under the direction of Kate Walker and is currently pursuing a BFA in Dance at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University under the direction of danah bella. In high school, she had the opportunity to work with world-renowned artists such as Andy Noble, Sidra Bell, Darrell Moultrie, Meghan Lou, and Aszure Barton. At Peabody, Taylor has performed works by Kelly Hirina, Diedre Dawkins, Kevin Iega Jeff, Stephanie Zaletel, Dolly Sfier, and Bernard Brown. Knighton has also studied at the Ate9 Dance Intensive, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Dash Academy, MODULE|21, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and at the University of South Florida’s Semester in Paris Program. Taylor explores movement in all its forms, seeking to discover an understanding of the world through her artistry.
Elizabeth Buchheister is currently a choreographer, teacher, and freelance performer based in New York City. Elizabeth is from Emmitsburg, Maryland and began performing in community musical theater at a young age. She later studied dance at various schools including The City Ballet School. Elizabeth graduated from The Ailey School’s three year certificate program in 2023 as well as completing the Horton pedagogy certification. She has performed works by Alvin Ailey, Amy Hall Garner, Ronald K Brown, Darrell Grand Moultrie, JA Collective, and Kevin Jenkins. Elizabeth currently teaches at 92NY Harkness School of Dance, assists at The Ailey School, and has taught at various dance schools around NYC, DC, and Maryland. Her choreography has been seen at Bridge for Dance’s Uptown Rising, with Ballet Hartford, and the new opera Gracchus. Elizabeth is continuing to develop her voice as a choreographer as well as collaborating with various other types of artists for her works.
Abena Adanna Crittendon was born in Washington D.C. and currently lives in PG County, MD. She is a sophomore Theater Arts major at the Illustrious Morgan State University. Abena started her dancing career at the age of 5 years old in an after school program called AYO ( AfterSchool Youth Organization) where she began her African dance training. At the age of 9 she joined Farafina Kan Youth Ensemble where she trained with Lesina Martin, Nkenge Cunningham, Akosua Akoto, and Fofie Akoto. At the age of 13 she joined the Dance Place Step led by Donna Kearny and Princess Riddick. Abena then joined the Taratibu Youth Association directed by Arla Victory and Naima Hylton and was dance captain for her senior year. Abena attended Suitland High School and #39’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts where she studied Jazz, Modern, Ballet, Hip hop, Contemporary, and Ethnic Dance. Abena started choreographing two years ago and has fallen in love with that aspect of dancing. She strives to become a Director, Choreographer and possibly own her own studio one day. Abena has performed at the White House for Black Women in Dance hosted by Michelle Obama, MOVE! Live on tour with Julianne Hough and Derek Hough from Dancing with the Stars, Brooklyn Academy of Music for Dance Africa New York, Dance Africa DC, and Keur Khaleyi African Dance Company just to name a few. Abena strives to be a household name and wants to continue to dance and choreograph for years to come.