Instructors and Choreographers

Ally Taylor Sacks trained at New Jersey School of Ballet under the direction of Carolyn Clark, George Tomal, Paul McRae and Carolyn Brown and performed in the Nutcracker at the Papermill Playhouse playing Clara. Ally received a BFA in Dance from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, working with choreographers Cherylyn Lavagnino, Gus Solomus Jr, Christopher Williams and Jessica Lang. Ally has danced at River North Chicago, Springboard Danse Montreal and worked with Kathleen Dyer, Marla Hirokawa, and Brenda Neville in NYC. She has performed at the Guggenheim Museum for Karole Armitage, the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center with the Kirov Ballet and as an ensemble dancer in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in New York. Ally was on the North American Tour of The Phantom of the Opera from 2016-2019 and can be found on Law & Order: SVU in which she played dance instructor Charlotte Bell.

Amanda Molina is a native of Sparta, New Jersey. She completed her early dance training at The Dance Academy of North Jersey where she received a diverse dance education. Upon graduating high school, she attended SUNY Purchase and graduated summa cum laude with a BFA from their Conservatory of Dance. While attending Purchase, Amanda performed works by Rosalind Newman, Rena Butler, Roderick George, Dorchel Haqq, Doug Varone and Jason Reese Cianciulli. She was also selected to study abroad for a semester at London Contemporary Dance School. Amanda has furthered her training at Ballet Hispanico ChoreoLab, and summer intensives at Joffrey Ballet School, Steps on Broadway and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In addition to performing, Amanda has a love for choreographing and teaching dance!

Aspen Waddell, an Arizona native, currently resides in New York City where she is on faculty at Broadway Dance Center and Joffrey Ballet School. She has worked with renowned choreographers such as Marguerite Derricks, Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, Nick Kenkel, Brooke Wendle, Josh Assor, and Karla Puno Garcia. Aspen’s credits include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Good Morning America, Gwen Stefani, L’Oréal Paris, New York Fashion Week, Cadillac, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, LG Electronics, Neiman Marcus, and many more. She made her professional choreography debut at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, with work performed by the Joffrey Ballet School.

Passionate about dance education, Aspen is dedicated to inspiring dancers of all ages. She encourages her students to work hard while enjoying the process. Her high-energy, motivating approach leaves dancers feeling even more confident than when they arrived. Above all, she strives to bring out the best in every student, ensuring they leave feeling inspired and proud of what they accomplished.

Brian Gephart started dancing at the age of five at Susan's Dance Unlimited in Kernersville, NC with Susan Bodsford. After a few years of jazz, ballet, acro and tap, Brian extended his training by attending the Preparatory Program at the NC School of the Arts (now University of NCSA) with Dayna Fox and Nina Danilova in nearby Winston-Salem, NC. At twelve, the Gephart family moved to Chattanooga, TN where Brian got his feet wet with Musical Theatre at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts under Allan Ledford, while spending both holiday seasons in TN as the 'Little Boy' in the Nashville company of Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Drawn to the ballet, Brian ultimately returned to NCSA in the high school program as a freshman Dance Major, where he had the privilege of studying under Dean Susan McCullugh, Kee Juan Han, Warren Conover, Nina Danilova, Clara Cravey, Anna-Marie Holmes and the late Melissa Hayden.

After graduating from NCSA’s high school program in 2007, Brian joined Houston Ballet II for one season where he worked closely with Claudio Munoz and performed numerous works with Houston Ballet II in addition to several works with the main company. In 2008, Brian joined the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago under Ashley Wheater, having the privilege of performing works from choreographers such as Balanchine, Taylor, Robbins, Lubovitch, Wheeldon, and the Snow Prince in Arpino/Joffrey’s “The Nutcracker”. In addition to dancing with the Joffrey, Brian started branching out with teaching around Chicago and Midwest and exploring choreography on fellow dancers in the company (Dance Chance: Redux Choreography Award 2009) in addition to working with/on other companies and schools. In 2011, Brian joined the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada for two seasons, where the company traveled across Canada, from Newfoundland to Vancouver, before moving to NYC where he in now based.

Upon arrival in the city, Brian has been enjoying all the opportunities presented in front of him between both the concert dance and musical theatre worlds. Aside from enjoying roles as Mistoffelees in "CATS" and Larry in "A Chorus Line", Brian has gotten to originate roles in NYC based MorDance, works by Jeremy McQueen and new creations by LA's Barak Ballet ("soloist Brian Gephart in particular excelled"- LA Times on Barak's E/Space in 2017), with many other opportunities in between. While simply going with the flow and enjoying the opportunities to just DANCE, Brian is excited to see what is in store and what other opportunities present themselves to help him expand and grow as an artist.

​Brian finished touring the states and Canada with the 1st National Tour of "An American in Paris" by world renowned director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon in Summer of 2018, and has hence started his higher education studies at Columbia University's School of General Studies. After spending the pandemic with family and teaching/guest performing with Chattanooga Ballet in Chattanooga, TN, Brian can still be found performing at the Metropolitan Opera in addition to dancing in various performances around New York City.

Brianna Ascione is a dancer, actor, and singer based in New Jersey and New York. Beginning to dance at two-years-old, she graduated from the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts in Dance at the Morris County School of Technology and is a recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College with a BFA in Dance with a Jazz Concentration. She grew up training in all styles of dance at The Dance Academy of North Jersey, and studies voice with Marianne Wells. Brianna has performed in theatre and dance, as well as in television and film. Some of her credits include Off-Broadway: The Little Match Girl, and The Concert (Goose Two/Ensemble); Regional Theatre: Dames at Sea (u/s Ruby & Joan), Grease (Sandy Dumbrowski), West Side Story (Anybodys), Catch Me If You Can (Ensemble), and Mary Poppins (Ensemble). Her other credits include: A Chorus Line (Cassie), Into The Woods (Little Red Ridinghood), Big Fish (Jenny Hill), The Government Inspector (Svetsunov), His Play (She), and The Next Screenplay (Perry). Her television/film credits include: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3, Episode 8 (Gibbs School Student), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4, Episode 5 (Studio Audience), and Marry Me (NU High School Student). In addition to her passion and aspirations for performing, Brianna also has a passion for educating young dancers and actors, helping them to achieve their full potential and more in the performing arts. She currently teaches and choreographs at both The Dance Academy of North Jersey and Mayo Performing Arts Center. Brianna has also been the Associate Choreographer at Delbarton School for Working (2021) and Something Rotten! (2022).

Catie Leasca is a dance artist currently based in Brooklyn, NY. With roots in Massachusetts, she has traveled and danced abroad in Israel, France, Belgium, and Germany. Catie has worked professionally with Netta Yerushalmy, Helen Simoneau Danse, Jessie Young, Ambika Raina, MG+Artists, She Me Zoo and Bryn Cohn + Artists. Catie has been awarded choreographic residencies at Gibney Dance through Work Up 5.0, New Dance Alliance through LiftOff and was a 2019 Space Grant Recipient, as well as an Upstart artist at Brooklyn Arts Exchange. She has shown her work at Movement Research through Judson Church, FAILSPACE at The Woods, Center for Performance Research, Dixon Place, Triskelion Arts, WIP IV at STUDIO4, CreateART/Dance in Bushwick, and Salt Dance Fest, among others. She has performed at theaters such as Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv, The Joyce Theater in NYC, The Montalban in Los Angeles and has participated as a dancer in residencies at The Yard (Martha's Vineyard), MANCC (Florida State University), LMCC (Governor's Island and Maiden Lane), New York City Center, NYU Center for Ballet, and Gallim Dance. Catie has taught in NYC at Gibney Dance, Bridge for Dance, Joffrey Ballet School, Joffrey SPECTRUM, Dance Device Lab, Boston Contemporary Dance Project, FAILSPACE, PMT House of Dance, Z Artist Group, Koin+Co, as well as MG+Artists. She has assisted and co-taught for choreographer Netta Yerushalmy at Princeton University. Most recently, Catie received the Masterworks Foundation Choreography Award and was a dancer in Janessa Clark's newest work, COMMUNION, a 2021 Bessie nominated work, which has been shown at American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, Here Arts Center, as well as in Stockholm and Berlin. Catie's writing can be found in Dancegeist Magazine.

Catie graduated with her B.F.A. in Dance from The University of the Arts, under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. She received the Dean’s Award for Excellence and the School of Dance Sustainability award upon graduation. Catie studied intensely under Katie Swords and Jesse Zaritt, among many other incredible mentors.

Catie currently teaches a weekly open class in NYC at Peridance Center and is on guest faculty at Sarah Lawrence College and the Joffrey Ballet School.

Christine Stevens has been teaching dance to children of all ages for nearly twenty years. Christine studied from a young age in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary, pointe, acrobatics, and hip hop. Christine received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with minors in Dance and Education from Bucknell University where she was the recipient of the prestigious Arts Merit Scholarship in Dance. She was a member of the Bucknell Dance Company and was selected to choreograph for both the Dance Showcase and mainstage Bucknell Dance Company. A graduate from Broadway Dance Center's Professional Semester, Christine studied in all styles of dance with a concentration in tap under the mentorship of Jared Grimes, Jazz with Sheila Barker, and ballet with Natalya Stavro. She also studied on scholarship at the American Dance Festival School. Christine received her graduate diploma from the Dance Masters of America Teacher Training School with certification in all four genres: Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Modern, received teaching certification through Acrobatic Arts, and continues to attend teaching workshops, seminars, and training programs to continue growing as a dancer, educator, and choreographer. Christine has taught and choreographed for students at numerous dance studios, schools, workshops throughout the tri-state area in addition to sharing her talents by choreographing high school musicals. She is the recipient of numerous choreography awards in various styles of dance and has led her students to numerous prestigious wins at regional, national, and international events. Christine was recently invited to return to her alma mater, Bucknell University, to choreograph for their dance program.

Jordan Serrano, born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, moved to New York City at 18. She worked closely with choreographers and teachers in the city in addition to touring with NYCDA. In 2016, Jordan joined Nevada Ballet Theater in Las Vegas. She has completed six seasons with NBT, where she was privileged to dance featured roles in ballets including Paul Taylor's "Company B," Jorden Morris' "Peter Pan," Ben Stevenson's "Swan Lake" and Septime Weber's "Alice (In Wonderland)," a soloist in the companies "Studio Series," as well as expanding her Balanchine repertoire, including "Serenade," "Western Symphony," and "Slaughter on 10th Ave." Jordan was a guest dancer in Odyssey Dance Theaters "Thriller." She has also performed in collaborations with Cirque du Soleil, including "A Choreographers Showcase" at Mystere Theatre and "One Night for One Drop," performing Alexander Ekman's 'Swan Lake', at 'O' Theatre, nationally televised by CBS. Jordan most recently was on faculty at the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre as the director of their contemporary program.

Kaya Snow began dancing at age two, primarily training at The Dance Academy of North Jersey. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Rowan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Theatre Arts, concentrating in Acting and Musical Theatre. Kaya was the recipient of the 2022 Joseph Robinette Excellence in Theatre and Dance Award. She can be seen as a featured dancer in Rowan University’s Be Unstoppable commercial. While on the Rowan University Dance Team she performed in their first UDA National competition. She also served as president of Rowan University’s Contemporary Dance Company, Dance Extensions, for two years and was a founding member of the RU campus Hoofer’s Club.

Madison Hicks holds a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and an MFA in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts. Madison is a freelance creator, performer, and educator. She is on faculty for 24/SEVEN. She received the Orsolina28 “Call for Creation” residency for her project, “Corrupt(ed).” Madison was one of eight choreographers chosen for The Jacobs Pillow Ann and Weston Hicks Choreographic Fellowship in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, Madison was commissioned by Loyola Marymount, The Fordham Ailey BFA program, Peabody University, Vitacca Ballet, and Wayne State University, along with being chosen as a choreographer for DanceLabNY and a choreographer in residence at Chez Bushwick. She was also a guest choreographer at The Juilliard School’s Summer Intensive, UNCSA Professional Studies, and MoveNYC in 2023.

Madison was the choreographer for “The Elixir of Love” Opera at Curtis Institute of Music. Madison is a company artist with Sidra Bell Dance New York. She collaborated with Tony Yazbeck as Associate Choreographer for Manhattan Concert Production’s Children of Eden at Lincoln Center. She is the Director and Founder of Moving Forward, an innovative Non-Profit Organization for young artists and founded The Moving Forward Collective in 2022, a group of collaborators that present original work across the country. Madison has been commissioned by companies such as Ballet Arkansas, Avant Chamber Ballet, Mash-Up Contemporary Dance company, Ballet Project OC, and Water Street Dance Milwaukee. She has presented work at Arts on Site, Boston Dance Festival, LA Dance Festival, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, and others. She has been a guest choreographer for Orange County School of the Performing Arts, Lindenwood University, Booker T. Washington HSPVA Rep II Ensemble, The University of Texas at Austin, Center of Creative Arts, Houston MET Too, San Diego Civic Center, and The Windward School along with rigorously teaching artists of all ages. Madison is a faculty member at Steps on Broadway and School of American Ballet. She joined DanceONE’s 24Seven Break The Floor faculty in 2022.

Ryan Redmond grew up in Boynton Beach Florida where he started dancing at the age of 11 at Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. Not long after, he joined Southern Dance Theatre to expand his dance knowledge and then went on to attend and graduate from Dreyfoos School of the Arts. After High School he attended The Juilliard School in NYC where he earned his BFA in dance. Upon graduation Ryan joined Trey McIntyre Project, a contemporary ballet company that toured the world performing the choreography of Trey McIntyre. After spending two years there, Ryan joined Rasta Thomas' Rock the Ballet under director Adrienne Canterna Martinez. Ryan has also appeared in lead roles with Company XIV and continues to dance at the Metropolitan Opera. You can catch him in the Hulu series 'Up Here' choreographed by Sonya Tayeh.