Chantel Aguirre trained with San Francisco Ballet, The Dance Company of SF and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has performed with San Francisco Ballet, Cedar Lake, Soul Escape, Lunge Dance Collective, Tayeh Dance, Shaping Sound and Still Motion. She has worked with Beyonce, Adele, Florence and the Machine, The Goo Goo Dolls, Taylor Swift, Ceelo Green, Christina Perri, Panic at the Disco, and Chris Brown. Her TV credits include “Dancing with the Stars”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, the Academy Awards, VMA’s, AMA’s, MACY’s Passport, Billboard Music Awards, Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, BET Awards, “GLEE”, “X Factor”, “Good Christian Belles”, “Two and a Half Men” and “Mad Men”.
Daniel Catanach was born into a large Hispanic family and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He served as the Artistic Director for the Urban Ballet Theater for 10 years creating over thirty original ballets including the critically acclaimed "Nutcracker in the Lower" which celebrated a ten year run in New York's Lower East Side. Early on in his career he was appointed to be the Rehearsal Director for the Kansas City Ballet where his duties included assisting Alvin Ailey on "The River." Mr. Catanach was also the Ballet Master for the Armitage Ballet for three years.
He has been a guest choreographer and master teacher at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Dance Theatre of Harlem, STEPS on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, the Dance Teacher Summit, New York City Dance Alliance, Male Dancer Conference l and Manhattan Youth Ballet. Nationally Mr. Catanach has been invited to create work and conduct master classes for the Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Lubbock, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Repertoire Ballet, Delaware Dance Company, Armitage Gone Dance, National Dance Institute, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute and NORD/NOBA Center for Dance in New Orleans. Internationally Mr. Catanach has taught in France, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and for the MovEvent international.
He was first introduced to dance at New Mexico State University. He went on to study at California State University Chico where he studied with Harold Lang and was awarded scholarships to the Lichine Ballet Academy in Beverly Hills, School of American Ballet, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York City. He was a principal dancer with the Kansas City Ballet, the Armitage Ballet, the Garden State Ballet, Connecticut Ballet Theatre, Santa Fe Dance Ensemble, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, among others. He also appeared in Music Video and productions working with Madonna, the Carpenters, the Divinyls and Sheila E. as well as projects with Annie Liebovitz for Vogue and Vanity Fair.
Mr. Catanach currently serves on the faculty of Steps on Broadway, Male Dancer Conference, Creative Dance Lab and is the director of DanielCatanachOnline where he continues to create work and teach for dance organizations both nationally and internationally live and virtually.
Hannah Zin received her early training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and went on to study with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, North Carolina Dance Theatre, the Movement Invention Project, the Northwest Dance Project, and Ballet BC. Hannah graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance and Art History from Fordham University and The Ailey School. Her professional credits include Shen Wei Dance Arts, Phoenix Project Dance, the Jacob’s Pillow “Inside/Out” Festival with Helen Hatch, the Steps Performance Lab with Malik Kitchen. Currently, Hannah performs with the Metropolitan Opera, (Guillaume Tell, Rusalka, and the upcoming Parsifal). She also took part in the creation of a new production of Zemire et Azor at Opera Saratoga.
Jennifer Savelli has danced professionally for over 25 years. At the age of 17 she joined The Pennsylvania Ballet and was a member for four years. She was a Radio City Rockette under the direction of Maurice Hines in Las Vegas. Jennifer’s Broadway credits include Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, The Boy From Oz, Dance Of The Vampires, and Fosse. Along with being a Dance Captain on Broadway, she served as Kathleen Marshall's Associate Director and Choreographer for the National Tours of the Tony Award-winning Anything Goes! Jennifer has been in the casts of five City Center Encores Productions and was featured opening The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas with Hugh Jackman performing an Apache duet. Her movie and television credits include CHICAGO, Not Your Time, PBS' Broadway: The American Musical, and CBS' NYC 22. Jennifer has danced in several TV award shows including The Kennedy Center Honors, The Tonys, The Academy Awards, The MTV Movie Awards, and The VMA's with J.Lo and Ja Rule; and she has directed and choreographed shows for Princess, Radisson, Carnival, and Oceania Cruises.
Jennifer is on the permanent guest faculty at The Rock School in Philadelphia, PA. and has taught at Akron University and Pennsylvania University's Dance Arts Company. She has taught all forms of dance at studios and universities across the country sharing her vast knowledge and love for the performing arts. She likes to encourage the importance of being proficient in and respectful to as many forms of dance as possible -- to have the freedom and flexibility to make the choices desired for a long career in dance. Jennifer also loves being able to teach dance as a means of expression and enjoys sharing its positive impact and tools in preparation for her students' future endeavors.
Jess LeProtto is a New Jersey native and Broadway performer, who holds a B.F.A. Musical Theater at Pace University. Jess' Broadway credits include: Carousel, Hello, Dolly!, Cats (Mungojerrie), On The Town, Newsies (OBC), Bye Bye Birdie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and The Boy From Oz. His national tours and regional theater credits include: Hello, Dolly! (Barnaby Tucker), Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Grand Ole Opry), American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (Joyce Theater), A Bronx Tale (Papermill Playhouse), In Your Arms (Old Globe Theater), and Freddie Falls in Love (Signature Theater). Jess' film and television credits include: West Side Story (directed by Steven Spielberg), So You Think You Can Dance (Season 8, Top 8), Smash, Law & Order: SVU, One Life to Live, and the MTV VMAs.
Kelby Brown received his training at the School of American Ballet, the official School of the New York City Ballet. As a classically trained dancer, he performed with State Ballet of Missouri, Ballet Chicago, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pacific NW Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet. He danced featured roles on some of the most notable stages including, The Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, the Los Angeles Opera and Cirque du Soleil’s, Mystère. After Cirque he was invited to join Celine Dion’s, A New Day Las Vegas Show, Directed by Franco Dragone and Choreographed by Mia Michaels.
He has worked with other musical artists such as Madonna, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Melody Gardot, Elton John, and Usher. He has appeared on So You Think You Can Dance, dancing alongside Lady Gaga. He also assisted Emmy Nominated Choreographer, Stacey Tookey and Emmy Award Winning Choreographer, Mia Michaels on SYTYCD. He graced the big screen dancing in, The Dance Flick, Transformers 2, Showtime’s Television Series, Weeds, as well as the hit TV show, Gossip Girl.
Kelby, the Choreographer, joined forces with Director, Ryan Shiraki, on the big screen for the movie Spring Breakdown, where his moves were showcased by the star studded cast, including Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, and Rachel Dratch. He reunited with Ryan Shiraki, to choreograph for the hit MTV show Awkward. His Choreographic stage credits include, Zombie Strippers the Musical, where his choreography was quoted as being, "the star of the night”. He choreographed the 20th Anniversary of The Kids Choice Awards, where he got to work exclusively with multi-platinum recording artist Justin Timberlake.
Kelby’s dedication to the art of dance naturally carries a presence in teaching. His expertise in the art of dance has made him a highly sought after instructor, coach, and choreographer. He has held faculty positions at some of the most prestigious institutions including American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and State Ballet of Missouri. He regularly adjudicates and teaches for dance conventions, like CANDANCE and THE PULSE.
Kristilee began taking dance classes when she was only 2 years old. She started out in tap and jazz before expanding her training to focus on ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz and musical theater. Kristilee spent the majority of her dance training pre-college years at a competition dance studio where she had the opportunity to travel and perform in several different dance competitions as an ensemble dancer, as well as a soloist. As a high school senior, she earned the title of National Miss Dance from American Dance Awards. Currently pursuing dance as a major at Montclair State University, Kristilee has been cast as a lead dancer in pieces pieces including: “Horizon” by Early Mosley, “To Have and To Hold” by Shapiro and Smith, and “Gift” by Stacey Tookey. Kristilee is also a member of DANJ's rehearsal and choreography faculty. Her choreography has already won awards at several leading competitions.
Mia DiLena, a professional dancer from Toronto, received her Certificate of completion in 2009 from The Ailey School (home to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater). There, she worked with several multi-award winning faculty including Camille A. Brown, Pedro Ruiz and Milton Myers. Mia was one of the few student dancers selected to perform with the Alvin Ailey Company at New York City Center Theater as part of the company’s 50th Anniversary featuring Oprah Winfrey as honorary chair. After graduating, Mia was accepted into the 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions of Springboard Danse Montréal directed by Alexandra Wells. Here she had the chance to work with many prestigious choreographers and companies like Margie Gillis, Ballet Jazz de Montreal and RUBBERDANDance. Prior to her post-secondary education, Mia received the Proficiency Award in Dance from Etobicoke School of the Arts. She also passed her Royal Academy of Dance (R.A.D.) Advanced 1 Ballet Exam with Distinction, and was accepted into the distinguished National Ballet School of Canada summer intensive. During Mia’s time as a competitive dancer, she won several regional titles and top overall awards at American Dance Awards and other competitions. She also won a 1st place full scholarship for an exchange program to study ballet in Genoa, Italy in her final year of high school.
Mia was chosen at an audition for the role of Gracie Shinn in Disney’s The Music Man starring Kristen Chenoweth and Matthew Broderick. Later, she played the lead youth dancer in the Bravo! Fact film, From Time to Time, directed by Moze Mossasnen and choreographed by Ginette Laurin. Mia has danced in several Toronto based dance companies including Helix Dance Project, directed by Linda Garneau, Conteur Dance Company, directed by Eryn Waltman, and Bridge To Artists, directed by Vlad Novitski. Mia was invited to dance with Bridge Dance Concepts, directed by Derrick Yanford, at the EDANCO International Contemporary Dance Festival in the Dominican Republic. She has also been featured in music videos, including Heaven by Blake McGrath, Time’s Up by Aleesia, and Graceland by Allan Rayman. As well she performed for Aleesia at the CityTV’s New Year’s Eve Bash at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
Mary Kate Hartung is a professional dancer and actor based in the New York City area. Her credits include playing Wendy in the 1st National Tour of Finding Neverland, Fosse/Verdon on FX, and performing at esteemed venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, and Symphony Space. She received her BFA in dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and her BA in history from the NYU College of Arts and Sciences.
Sondra Steiner
Terk Lewis, Complexions Contemporary Ballet Artist in Residence, joined Complexions in 2010, performing works by Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Jae Man William Forsyth and Marcelo Gomes. Terk has taught at The Joffrey Ballet School, Marymount Manhattan University, Western Michigan University, Broadway Dance Center, Alvin Ailey Extension Program, American College Dance Festival, NYCDA, The Pulse, and Complexions intensives. After training with the City Ballet of San Diego and River North Chicago, Terk received his BFA in Dance from Western Michigan University where he performed in works by Ron De Jesus, Frank Chavez and Antony Tudor. "I believe greatness resides in Terk Waters. He is not just a really good dancer but a dancer rare for his generation." - Darrell Wood, Critic, NYC Dance Stuff
Ashley Gallotto
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.
“I can’t imagine a stronger group of faculty for up-and-coming dancers than the DANJ's Ballet Bootcamp teaching staff. These are the types of educators that helped me achieve my dreams!!” — Brandon Cournay (Mark Morris Dance Group, KEIGWIN + CO., Juilliard Graduate)
As a guest faculty and choreographer at DANJ, I am so excited for all the dancers who will be attending Ballet Bootcamp and learning from this amazing faculty.... it's going to be awesome!!!!!” — Ashley Lindsey (Limón Dance Company, UNSCA Faculty and Graduate)
Sparta
328 Sparta Ave
973-729-9449
dance.danj@gmail.com
General Resources
Lake Hopatcong
768 Route 15 South
973-663-2009
dance.danj@gmail.com
Sparta
328 Sparta Ave
973-729-9449
dance.danj@gmail.com