Conservatory Staff & Faculty

Olga Aru (She/Her)

Faculty, Conservatory

Brittany Bailey (She/Her)

Faculty, Conservatory

Ryan Bailey (He/Him)

Faculty, Conservatory

Anna Canova (She/Her)

Program Manager, Conservatory

Alicia Canterna

Associate Director, Pre-Professional Conservatory Program

Alicia Canterna is a seasoned professional in the world of Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance.

Rotita “Ro” Cunningham (She/Her)

Program Development Specialist & Costume Manager, Conservatory

Jessica Denson (she/her)

Registrar, Conservatory

Asanga Domask (She/Her)

Director of Student Services, Conservatory

Sarah J. Ewing (She/Her)

Head of Programming/Director, Contemporary Training, Conservatory

Micah Geyer

Faculty, Conservatory

Molly Hohlt

Director, Ballet Program, Conservatory

Stanislav Issaev

Ballet Master, Conservatory

Kim Kokich

Communication and Development Specialist, Conservatory

Melo Ludwig (She/Her)

Faculty, Conservatory

Matthew McLaughlin

Faculty, Conservatory

Marie McNair (She/Her)

Program Specialist, Studios & Faculty, Conservatory

Aminah Moody

Faculty, Conservatory

Aminah's foundational dance education includes training from Jones- Haywood Dance School, CityDance Conservatory, and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. While at these institutions Aminah has strengthened their knowledge, execution and experience in Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary/Ballet/Improvisational Partnering, Improvisation, Contemporary and Contemporary Ballet, Jazz, West African, and Modern (Graham, Horton, Dunham, Limon, and Swing/Release Technique).

Aminah has received scholarships to perform/ train with Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, Koresh Dance Company, GALLIM, Philidanco, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Brucewood Dance and Netherlands Dans Theatre. Aminah is teaching, private coaching, and choreographing all over the DMV. All whilst, being a freelance dancer all over the U.S.

Alexandra Nowakowski (She/Her)

President & CEO

Natalie Palumbo (She/Her)

Front Desk Manager, Conservatory

Robert J. Priore (He/Him)

Choreographer-in-Residence, Conservatory

Robert J. Priore is a queer artist who is committed to exploring the ever-evolving issues that exist within the LGBTQIA+ community. Currently he is most interested in exploring movement generated as an exploration of the duality between queer joy and sadness and how they truly are two sides of the same coin. He founded his contemporary dance company PrioreDance in the fall of 2016. Additionally he is very proud to be a founding member of Washington based Company | E. Robert also serves as the Choreographer-In-Residence for the CityDance Conservatory as well as an Ignite Artist. Robert studied dance at Point Park University. Since 2016 Robert has been named an outstanding fellow in the arts in the District of Columbia. Additionally he has been awarded a Projects, Events and Festivals Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities since 2018 to create original evening length works. Robert was commissioned to create a work for the Mark Twain Prize Award Ceremony, which was nationally televised on PBS mid-November 2018. Robert was awarded the Pola Nirenska Memorial Award in 2019 for outstanding contribution to art in the District of Columbia. In Fall of 2021, Robert became the Director of Dance at The Madeira School, as well as adjunct faculty at George Mason University. Robert's choreographic work has been seen in almost thirty countries, and continues to hope to see his work throughout the US and the world! Most recently Robert was awarded the Washington Award by S&R Evermay for his outstanding contributions to dance in Washington DC. In 2024 alongside long time friend and collaborator Robert launched a dual city contemporary dance company Compania Medusa with Magali Dominique Zato. Follow Robert on his journey through instagram @Robbiedanzar & @companiamedusa.

Caroline Rocher (She/her)

Faculty, Conservatory

Alanna Sibrian (She/Her)

Faculty, Conservatory

Skye Sibrian

Faculty, Conservatory

Cristina Vasilis (She/Her)

Senior Manager, Day Program & Competitions, Conservatory

Monique Walker (She/Her)

Faculty, Conservatory

Katherine Weaver

Marketing Associate, Conservatory

Katherine Weaver, B.A. McGill University, is excited to join the CityDance team as Development and Social Media Assistant. As a former collegiate and international level sailor, Katherine holds a great appreciation for the environment CityDance Conservatory provides young people in their journey towards mastery and performance at the highest levels of dance. She brings a love for the arts as well as proven experience in fundraising and external communications.

Katelyn Yang

Faculty, Conservatory

Staff & Faculty

Locations

Administrative Office