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Paul Gordon
Emerson, Artistic Director &
Co-Founder
Paul Gordon Emerson moved to Washington for what was supposed to
be a brief stopover while waiting for his first posting in the U.S.
Foreign Service. He ended up serving as Legislative Director to the
late Thomas M. Foglietta (D-PA) for seven years and liaison to the
House Armed Services Committee. Mr. Emerson has worked on more than
20 federal campaigns, including races for the White House, Senate,
and House of Representatives. He is a published author on defense
and foreign policy, and is a former radio broadcaster, having served
as a news director, disk jockey, and sports announcer for several
radio stations in Ohio. Mr. Emerson has traveled nationally as a professional photographer, specializing in industrial photography. He has worked as a journeyman in construction and design and dabbles in bronze as a sculptor. He served as Executive Director for CityDance
Ensemble from 1996-2004 and has been Artistic Director since 2000.
During his tenure with CityDance Ensemble, the company has been named
a “Top 25 To Watch” worldwide by Dance Magazine, won
the 2003 DC Mayors Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and
the 2005 DC Mayor’s Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts,
created one of the largest and most successful education outreach
programs in the region, launched CityDance FilmWORKS, and opened
the CityDance Centers at Strathmore and Mt. Vernon
Square. In 2006, Mr. Emerson received the Pola Nirenska Award for
Artistic Excellence in Dance. His God children Aidan and Nathan are his real pride and joy. (top)
Email: pemerson@mac.com
Phone: 202.347.3909
Alexandra Nowakowski, Executive Director
Alexandra Nowakowski is responsible for CityDance Ensemble’s
overall business and financial operations including strategic planning,
business development, fundraising, and marketing, working closely
with the Artistic Director and the Board to ensure that the organization's
artistic and programmatic goals are supported by a viable strategic
and operational plan. After ten years of professional experience
in the for-profit sector, Alexe made the transition to providing
professional services to the dance community. As former Vice President
of Product Development for MarketResearch.com and a Sales Operations
manager for WorldCom (now Verizon), Alexe
uses her broad business background to implement the best-practices
of financial, operational and marketing strategies for CityDance.
(top)
Email: alexe@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Lorraine Audeod Spiegler,
Director of Studio Education
Lorraine Spiegler has 25 years of experience in the dance field
as an educator, director, and choreographer.
Ms. Spiegler holds a B.A. in Dance cum laude (1979) as well as
Masters in Dance and Arts Management
(1991) from American University. She began her studies at the Washington
School of Ballet under the
direction of Mary Day. Ms. Spiegler is the co-founder of The Washington
Ballet’s DanceDC Program and
served as the organization’s first Director of Education
and Outreach from 1999-2001.
Ms. Spiegler returns to the U.S. after working at the Escola Americana
do Rio de Janeiro as a Dance
and Language Specialist. She has completed numerous Brazilian projects,
among them serving as a
choreographer-in-residence for Richard Cragun’s Ballet DeAnima,
co-creating the Goucher College
international study abroad course “History and Practice of
Brazilian Dance,” and functioning as a dance
education advisor for Centro de Movimento Deborah Colker.
Email: lorraine@citydance.net
Phone: 301.581.5204
Christopher K. Morgan,
Rehearsal Director
Said to possess "originality and a gift" by The San Diego Union Tribune, Christopher's choreography has been commissioned/ presented in Germany, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Hong Kong, and throughout the U.S. The artistic director of New York pick-up company Muse, he has garnered support from the Jerome Foundation, Dance Ireland, Asian American Dance Performances, Dance Theater Workshop and the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. A respected teacher, credits include the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Shawbrook (Ireland), Iwanson Schule (Munich), Stephens College & Western Kentucky University. He has lectured and spoken on panels for the Alliance of Artist Communities, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, New York City Ballet’s Education Department, and Dance Theater Workshop (New York). A veteran performer, Christopher's credits include David Gordon, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Fabulous Beast Dance Theater (UK), Malashock Dance & Company, Verb Ballets, Selfish Shellfish (Germany), Pilobolus Creative Services and as a soloist with the Washington National, Houston Grand, and New York City Operas. A skilled facilitator committed to artist development, Christopher also directs the Omi International Dance Collective, an annual 3-week residency for professional international dancer/choreographers that takes place in upstate New York. (top)
Email: christopher@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Letitia Hays,
Director of Operations
Letitia Hays began her formal dance training locally at the Suitland Center for Visual and Performing Arts. Continuing on to pursue her love of dance though academia, Ms. Hays delved into a myriad of dance studies, finally focusing on Dance Ethnography at Florida International University in Miami where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance and Religious Studies. Ms. Hays returned to the DC metro area to accept a fellowship from American University where she graduated with a Masters in Choreography and Performance and a Certificate in Arts Management. A little luck from the cosmos brought Ms. Hays to CityDance, where a semester internship while finishing her Masters blossomed into an abounding year of growth with the company. During her tenure, Ms. Hays has undertaken many roles with CityDance, including Project and Business Management, managing the CityDance Center at Strathmore, and most recently Director of Operations for CityDance Ensemble, Inc. (top)
Email: letitia@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Betsy Lundgren,
Director of Marketing
Betsy Lundgren grew up in Wisconsin where she studied dance, piano, voice,
and theatre while performing with Wisconsin Dance Ensemble, Performing Arts
for Children, and several other dance and theatre companies. She attended the
University of Wisconsin – Madison where she earned a B.A. in Journalism
and Communication Arts. While in college, Betsy began dancing with Jazzworks
Dance Company and remained a member of the company for five years. Betsy returned
to the University of Wisconsin – Madison
to pursue a M.A. in Business through the Bolz Center for Arts Administration.
Before moving to Washington, D.C., she worked in the marketing department of
the Madison Symphony Orchestra. She joined CityDance in June 2006 and is happy
to be working with the company as the Director of Marketing. (top)
Email: betsy@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Asanga Domask,
Director of Finance
Asanga Domask grew up in Sri Lanka, where she devoted most of her
childhood to the art of traditional Sri Lankan dance. She has performed
in numerous national dance competitions in Sri Lanka and has won
various awards in these events. In 1993, Ms. Domask moved to the
United States to attend Mary Baldwin College in Virginia where
she earned a B.A. in Economics. After completing her degree, she
began working at the World Wildlife Fund as a financial analyst.
In April 2003, she left the financial field to pursue a M.A. in
Dance at American University. Over the years, Ms. Domask has worked
with many renowned choreographers including Vladimir Angelov and
Peter Dimuro, and has choreographed and performed in many events
in the greater DC area. She has also taught Sri Lankan dance as
a guest artist at the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and at the National
Teen Institute Conference, and also teaches Early Childhood Dance
at the CityDance Center. She was the Assistant Manager before assuming
her current position as Manager for CityDance Center at Strathmore.
(top)
Email: asanga@citydance.net
Phone: 301.581.5204
Marla Moffet, Director of Individual Giving & Major Gifts
A native of the Washington, DC area, Marla is amazed at how dance continues to open her world. It all started one summer when she donned a wool kilt, laced up her gillies, and performed the Sword Dance at the Virginia Scottish Games. Now, over twenty years later, Marla has competed at Highland games across the country, studied in Scotland with world-renowned teachers Jesse Stuart Haggarty and Christine Lacey, and taught these traditional steps to children in the U.S. and France. Marla graduated from Rice University, where she pursued a double major in art/art history and French. She later became Director of Development & Operations for the French-American Cultural Foundation, an American nonprofit organization located at the Embassy of France in Washington. She worked closely with the Foundation's President and the Embassy's Cultural Attaché to secure funding for its activities and to support its world-class artists. Marla is delighted to have the opportunity to serve in a similar capacity with CityDance Ensemble, while enjoying her involvement in the dance community. (top)
Email: marla@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Candice Webster, Education Advisor
Candice Marie Webster currently holds a BFA in Performance and Choreography and
a BA in Psychology from Columbia College of South Carolina, where she had the
opportunity to work with amazing guest artist and faculty. As a dancer and
educator, Ms. Webster has work with companies such as Ground Zero, Liz Lerman
Dance Exchange, Mason Rhynes Production, and CityDance Ensemble. Ms. Webster
joined CityDance in 2000. Her work within public schools lead
her in her role as Education Advisor with CityDance Ensemble. She is responsible
for the creation and development of Early Arts teacher training. Ms. Webster
has actively served as an interface and liaison between outreach programs since
2003. In February she worked between D.A.R.E. Dance and the D.A.R.E. Dance
schools, teaching staff, D.A.R.E. Dance Director, and CityDance Early Arts.
She also prepared the materials for all participating D.A.R.E. Dance schools
and teaching staff and organized the end of the year performances. As 2003
continued she applied her experience to CityDance Early Arts and served as
the interface and liaison between schools and teaching staff and directed and
managed the Early Arts Performing Company. She develops curriculum supporting
the National Standards of Dance Education for the program, facilitates teacher
training for new and existing teaching staff on a bi-yearly basis, and cultivates
new and existing partnerships and outreach programs to serve metro DC youth.
She assists in program marketing and promotion, prepares and reconciles the
Early Arts budget on a monthly basis, sets short and long-term goals for Early
Arts programs, and conducts bi-yearly evaluation of Early Arts programs, including
teacher performance reviews. (top)
Email: candice@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Dina Ghandour, Marketing & Development
Associate
Originally from Palestine, Dina grew up in the United Arab
Emirates where her interest in dance began with traditional Arabic
Folk Dance. She later joined a hip hop troupe, performing in cities
including Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In 2007, Dina graduated from Duquesne
University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she earned her Bachelors
Degree in Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Studio
Art and a certificate in International Business Administration. While
in Pittsburgh, Dina was highly involved in both Duquesne University's
theater and musical theater companies as a performer, choreographer,
dancer, singer, and board member. Upon moving to Washington, DC,
Dina joined City Dance as marketing intern in June 2007. Dina began
her position as Marketing and Development Associate in August 2007
and is excited to be involved with CityDance Ensemble. (top)
Email: dina@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Daniel Zook, Manager, CityDance Centers
Daniel Zook is a senior B.F.A. in Dance major and Business minor.
He has been cast in the work of Danny Ezralow, Susan Marshall, Larry
Kegwen, Lar Lubovitch, and Mark Morris while studying at GMU. This
past summer he participated with Dance Tactics at American Dance
Festivial Intensive and White Wave Dance Festival. He performed
with them at Dance Theater Workshop in New York City. He
recently joined CityDance Ensemble’s administrative team at
Strathmore and will be performing in the metropolitan area with BosmaDance
upon graduating in December 2007. He extends his deepest gratitude
to the artists who have mentored him while at George Mason Dance
Department. (top)
Email: daniel@citydance.net
Phone: 301.581.5204
Brittany Kneussl , Assistant Manager, CityDance Centers
Brittany Lea Kneussl grew up in Kingsville, Maryland. Her love for dance began at the age of two at a local studio, and this passion has remained with her throughout her life. She continued her dance education at George Mason University where she received her B.F.A. in Dance and was awarded the honor of Overall Outstanding Achievement in the Major. Her summers were spent in New York City studying on scholarship at the Tisch School of the Arts Summer Dance Program and The Paul Taylor Intensive. Brittany has worked with choreographers such as Lar Lubovitch, Doug Varone, David Parsons, Danny Bureaczski, Kate Skarpetowska, and local choreographers Susan Shields and Dan Joyce. After studying dance in New York City, Brittany came back to the Washington, DC area to pursue her dream of teaching dance. She joined the CityDance staff in 2006 as a DREAM outreach and In-studio teacher and has since become the Assistant Manager of CityDance Centers and the Summer Camp Manager. (top)
Email: brittany@citydance.net
Phone: 301.581.5204
Kate Jordan, Outreach Program Manager - D.A.R.E. & DREAM
Kate holds a B.S. in Marketing from Grove City College and an MFA
in Dance from the State University of New York at Brockport where
she specialized in education and performance. She has taught at
numerous school and outreach programs along the east coast including
DeSales University, Jeanne Ruddy Dance and Messiah DanceWorks.
Kate has also performed with Philadephia-based companies MERGE
Dance/Meghan Durham, 7Dance Company, At Marah Dance Theatre, and
Gwendolyn Bye’s Dancefusion. She is currently dancing with
BosmaDance in DC as well as creating her own work. Kate is very
happy to be a new CityDance staff member and looks forward to become
a greater part of the DC Arts community. (www.katejordan.net)
(top)
Email: katej@citydance.net
Phone: 202.347.3909
Mark Rubin,
On-Site Director, Madeira School
Mark P. Rubin has been performing, teaching, and training
in the performing and healing arts for more than 30 years. He has
been teaching the Floor Barre technique for more than 20 years. He
received his training and taught for the originator of the Floor
Barre Technique, Zena Rommett. He has also taught Ballet and Modern
for more than 20 years. In ballet, he has trained with such luminaries
as Zena Rommett, David Howard, Robert Christopher of the Alvin Ailey
School, and Dolores Brown of First Negro Ballet Co. In modern, he
has trained with Joyce Tristler, James Truitte, Milton Myers, and
Marjorie Perces. He is certified to teach Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong,
Meditation, and Nutrition. (top) |
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