2025 Teacher Bios

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​Ehizoje (Zoje) Azeke (Contemporary): Zoje is a movement-based director, choreographer, and artist based in NYC. He is represented by McDonald Selznick Associates and Wilhelmina Models. Direction/ Choreography credits include: Day After Your Departure (HBO) - Choreographer, Lady In The Lake with Natalie Portman (Coming soon to Apple +) - Contributing choreographer & Assistant Choreographer, Raising Kanan: Season III (STARZ) - Associate Choreographer, Vogue World NYFW -Assistant Choreographer, It's Bruno (Netflix) - Assistant Choreographer, Kiss My Aztec (John Leguizamo) - Associate Choreographer, Pyer Moss (Paris Fashion Week) - Assistant Choreographer, Nike Holiday Campaign 2022 - Assistant Movement Director, Under Pressure Magazine - Movement Director, Monica Dogra "Naraye Mastana" - Choreographer, Sonophonix Crazy In Love - Co-Choreographer, and Loreal Paris - Assistant Movement Director.

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Karen Gayle (Modern): Originally from Toronto, Karen began her formal training in the Claude Watson Arts Program. After moving to NY, she furthered her studies at the Alvin Ailey American Dance School. Karen has had the honor of performing the works of Earl Mosley, Ronald K. Brown and Tony winner Hinton Battle. Karen has taught at Ballet Hispanico, Joffrey Ballet School, The Ailey Extension, The School at Columbia University, Horace Mann, New Dance Group, and is currently a faculty member at Steps on Broadway, Marymount Manhattan College, Montclair State University and Joffrey Ballet School. She has had the opportunity to guest teach and choreograph across the U.S. and abroad, including Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, Italy, Cyprus, and Israel. As artistic director of the xodus dance collective, her choreography has been showcased at such venues as: The Ailey Theatre, Riverside Theatre, American Dance Guild Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival, Movement Research at Judson Church, the Downtown Dance Festival, JPAC, Here Arts Center, The Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto and the Inside/Out Festival at Jacob's Pillow. 

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Anna Aliau Guerra (Street Jazz/Hip-Hop): Anna’s Theatre credits: Cabaret (Helga) at Virginia Theater Festival, Broadway Bares, Red Dress Collection, “Off Broadway in the Boros Fest”, Transcendence’s Theater Company “The Gala” and “Let’s Dance”. TV: Telemundo Upfront 2023, Telemundo, “Un Nuevo Día” and Univision “Despierta America”. Music Videos: J. Balvin’s “Ahora” and “Tu Veneno”, Fabolous (Digital Concert), La Perversa (Pompa), Shadow Blow. Tour: El Alfa (El Alfa World Tour) and Dabangg Reloaded. Dance: Bryant Myers (“Mega Summer Concert”), Farina (“La X Love Live Concert”), Snoop Dogg, Alexis Y Fido, Steve Aoki, among others.

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Luis Salgado (Musical Theatre/Latin): is an international performer, director and choreographer, with an acclaimed career on B’dwy, film, television, and stages around the world. Luis was the Associate Director/Choreographer for “Paramour” in Hamburg, Germany working with Sergio Trujillo, the 2019 Tony Award winner for Best Choreography. He recently choreographed productions of “Fame”, “Aida”, “In The Heights” and “Ragtime”. He is credited as co-choreographer for the remake of “Dirty Dancing” and was the Latin Assistant Choreographer of the B’dwy Musical “In The Heights” which won Best Musical 2008 at the Tony Awards. Other Broadway credits include, “On Your Feet”, “Rocky the Musical”, “Women on the Verge”... and “In The Heights”. Film and television credits include choreographing 2 animated films for Dora's Explorer Girls, and music videos for Wonka Inc. Some of the most achieved credits as a creative include Zucotti Park, Song of Solomon, Amigo Duende, Candela Fuerza y Pasion, Bountiful, Daphne’s Dive at the Signature Theatre and the 50th Anniversary Concert of Peruvian singer Cecilia Bracamonte. He is a faculty member at the Ailey School, Broadway Dance Center and Steps. He is the Founder/Director of R.Evolucion Latina – Dare To Go Beyond!

ACCOMPANISTS

​Cary Brown (Pianist) has played on many stages worldwide as a member of groups such as The Skatalites, The New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, The Sloan Wainwright Band, and The Cary Brown Trio.  As a dance accompanist/administrator/composer, he has played classes for major companies such as ABT, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Miami City Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell Company, and Chet Walker's jazz intensive at Jacob's Pillow.  He is the musical director/composer for the Steffi Nossen School of Dance and has been on staff as an accompanist at Purchase College Conservatory of Dance since 1995 as well as their Musicians' Coordinator since 2000. 
Jerome Morris (Percussionist/Pianist) has been providing live improvised percussion and piano music for dance for several years.  He has had the opportunity to work with and perform original music for several talents including Kevin Wynn, Sara Rudner, Milton Myers and Chet Walker.  Some of his original music for dance was at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Dublin Ireland Dance Festival and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art. He has one CD released in collaboration with Argentinian multi-instrumentalist William Catanzaro entitled “About Time”.  Jerome is currently on staff as an accompanist at Sarah Lawrence College. 

Important Note: Faculty is subject to change

Previous Teachers

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Omar Edwards (Rhythm Tap): is an internationally  acclaimed tap-dancer whose foot-music has taken him to over 20 countries and stages all over the world including: the Paris Tap Festival, Tap Dance Paris, on Broadway in Bring in da’ Noise, Bring in da’ Funk, the national touring company of Black and Blue, in Showtime at the Apollo at  the historic  Apollo Theater (NY), Live at the Hollywood Bowl with Alicia Keys, Tap-dance All Stars at the Kennedy Center, a command performance at the White House with Savion Glover, a featured performer for the 2021 Soul Train Awards (NY), and as the headliner for the inaugural John Coltrane Music Festival at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater/NY.
 
Omar received an NAACP Image Award and nominations for both the prestigious Bessie Award and a Broadway.com LA Award for his performance in the multiple Award- winning play- FLY, where he choreographed and performed. Television and film credits include: A Song for Our People by Emmy Award winning director Mustapha Khan, and Four Little Girls: A Dance Film- by Kerri Edge. 
Omar having studied with legendary dancers, Marie Brooks, Jimmie Slyde, and Savion Glover (to name a few) is himself an accomplished dancer/musician. Witnessing the healing power of dance, he created his own program, DANCE MEDICINE, to engage people in dance as a tool to enhance their mental and physical health. Omar is the Creative Artistic Director of  Street Corner Resources Performance Ensemble ( Harlem, NYC). A foot-musician, Omar has recorded 3 CDs in which the Tap-dancer leads the band. His latest CD ALL UNIQUE is available @omaredwards.hearnow.com. Omar is currently working on a new single with his band, THE NEW YORK JAZZ GYPSIES 

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Valeria Cossu (Body Percussion): Valeria's career began as a performer at the Opera Lirica in Italy, dancing in prestigious productions such as Rigoletto, Traviata, Don Giovanni, Carmen, Nabucco, La Vida Breve, on famous venues such as Teatro Reggio in Parma. She toured all over Europe as part of several dance and theater companies, such as MAYUMANA and Yllana. With MAYUMANA, Valeria started discovering the body percussion technique, bringing it further and create her own unique style that brought her to teach and choreograph in several countries such as Perú, Colombia, Spain, United States among others. Her international experience and collaboration with excellences in the Body Percussion field gave Valeria the opportunity to improve her style fusioning with Flamenco, Zapateo Peruano, Tap dancing, Stepping, and evolve it as a different international language to tell stories through rhythm.

Upon moving to NYC, Valeria choreographed Ser o no Cer...Vantes, 2011 REvolucion Latina Choreographers Festival, BOUNTIFUL, To Be Or Not To Be, and The Tempest. She won Best Director for the musical Discovering Magenta, and the play Until Death Do Us Part and was nominated for Best Play (New York Theatre Festival). Valeria joined Salgado Productions for several years working alongside Luis Salgado as Associate Director/Choreographer in many productions such as Candela Fuerza y Pasion, Song of Solomon, Zuccotti Park, In The Heights, Ragtime, Fame, Aida, Matilda, and the World Premiere of On Your Feet en Español. Recently she served as choreographer/associate director in the LONJ Opera  Production of La Boheme.

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Matthew Steffens (Contemporary): is an international director and choreographer, Broadway performer, teacher and film actor. Most recently he served as Associate Choreographer on the Broadway production and tour of the 6-time Tony nominated Into The Woods working alongside Sara Bareilles, Neil Patrick Harris and Patina Miller. A graduate of the University of Virginia he majored in Government with a minor in Theater.   He has toured the country with the B’dwy musicals: Contact, Beauty and the Beast, and West Side Story. B’dwy credits; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown with Patti Lupone, and Promises, Promises opposite Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth. He has performed in 22 operas at the world famous Metropolitan Opera House, NY.This winter his work can be seen in Once Upon A Mattress at New York City Center Encores! and this summer in Santa Fe Opera's production of La Traviata.

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Pedro Ruiz (Ballet): is a celebrated international choreographer and dancer who was born and trained in Cuba, and later in Venezuela. During his 21-year career with Ballet Hispanico as a principal dancer, Ruiz choreographed three critically acclaimed ballets for the company, among  them Club Havana, which has become a signature piece for the company. Last November, he premiered La Estancia for the New Jersey Ballet, alongside cellist YoYo Ma and Wynton Marsalis at NJPAC. On July 25, 2023, Ruiz will have a world premiere at the Baand Together Dance Festival of his new work Pas de O'Farill, a collaboration between Ballet Hispánico and New York City Ballet, commissioned by Lincoln Center. In February 2010, Mr. Ruiz created The  Windows Project, a groundbreaking endeavor celebrating the art of dance as a cultural bridge  between the U.S. and Cuba, which was captured in a PBS Emmy-nominated documentary in  2011 called: Coming Home. As a dancer, Ruiz was distinguished with a Bessie Award, the New York Dance World’s highest honor, the Choo-San Goh Award, The Cuban Artists Fund Award and The Joyce Foundation Award. For 10 years, Ruiz was Resident Artist of the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program at Hunter. He has also taught master classes and performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Central and South America. Today he is on the dance faculty of Hunter College, Marymount College, The Ailey School, Pace University and 92NY Harkness Dance Center and teaches company class for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ballet Hispanico.