Director
Aaron Thao
Aaron Thao was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received his bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from Brown University. While pursuing a degree in medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Aaron began his dance training in Minneapolis and then continued to NYC, where he danced professionally with various ballet and theater companies. In 2015, Aaron co-founded a youth ballet program for Westchester County, which evolved into the Hudson Ballet Theatre where he served as co-president and artistic director. Aaron is the recipient of several industry awards and accolades and has successfully developed many innovative and socially responsible dance productions. He is truly dedicated to honoring the art of storytelling through dance.
Assistant to the Director
Jane Summer
Jane Summer began working at the Dance School in 2014. Her first dance teacher was the modern dancer Jane Dudley. She currently studies with Jayne Santoro. Ms. Summer is a widely published author in various genres. Her most recent work, Erebus, was published in 2015.
Julia Benevento
Julia grew up in White Plains, New York, and started dancing under Fran DeAngelo at New York Dance in Harrison in tap, jazz, and ballet. There, she began studying with JCCMW's Dance Director Aaron Thao in ballet and performed in various lead roles in Hudson Valley Youth Ballet's (now Hudson Youth Ballet) Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Julia has also spent several summers at American Ballet Theatre and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in New York City.
She has performed professionally with Hudson Ballet Theatre's Songs of the Sea, ICARUS, and Diaspora: A Mother's Elegy. Julia teaches ballet, pointe, contemporary, tap, and jazz.
Sheba Bergman
Sasha Gologorskaya
Ballet
Violeta Katz
Violeta Katz began studying ballet at the age of 12 with the Bourmans in New Jersey. At 15, she received a dance scholarship to the Center Ballet of Buffalo and studied under Kathleen Crofton. Ms. Katz worked with Anna-Marie Holmes, David Holmes, and Bronislava Nijinska. She also studied at ABT and the Joffrey under William Griffith. Ms. Katz earned her certification to teach ABT’s Primary to Level 3 syllabus, Certification in the Leap ’n Learn program geared toward ages three to six, and attended teachers’ workshops at American Academy of Ballet. She teaches creative movement and ballet.
Hip Hop
Phil Ordoñez
A Certified Fitness Professional, Mr. Ordoñez has organized events, competitions, and talent showcases with the Hip Hop Students Association from SUNY/Buffalo. He trained with Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center, and Alvin Ailey Extension for technical choreography and Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art.
Mr. Ordoñez created his own youth dance-performance program uniting the communities of Westchester, the Bronx, and Harlem to perform original works in musical theater, rap, and hip hop dance with bilingual elements.
Ballroom and Ballet
Cesar Ortiz
Cesar Ortiz began dancing ballet at age seven in Colombia and began his career as a dancer for Ballet de Cali Company dancing the role of Don Quixote.
He has danced with notable companies such as the Ohio Dance Theater, Black Door ensemble, Gainesville Ballet Theater, Sacramento Ballet, Saratoga Springs Ballet, Westchester Ballet Company, and the Joffrey Ballet NYC. His professional training has taken him across the world, from South America to Russia, Europe, and the United States.
Cesar teaches ballroom and ballet.
Belle Marie
Pelin Qualben
Pelin Qualben was born and raised in Turkey and moved to New York in 2009. She started belly dance training in 2018 with Riskallah Riyad in Connecticut and received her teacher certification. She is currently a member of Sheba Sisterhood Troupe in NYC and performs at various cultural events, weddings, and other dancing organizations. She is trained in Turkish and Egyptian belly dance, veils, zills, Debka dance, Saidi cane dance, and fan veil.
Johannah Rickman
Johannah Rickman is originally from Seattle, Washington, and has trained under Shauna Mindt, Mark Medonca, Jessie Sawyers, Christina Carminucci, Dormeshia, and Derick K. Grant. She currently performs in Derick Grant's NY Tap Ensemble in New York City, where she has performed at notable events such as Inwood Artworks Film Works Alfresco and PitCCH In Foundation. She has also performed with the Jacob Pillow's Tap Dance Performance Ensemble, led by Michelle Dorrance, Dormeshia, and Derick K. Grant. Johannah teaches swing dance, jazz, musical theater, and tap, where she focuses on tap dance as an extension of jazz music and of vernacular dance.
Pilates
Jamie Robinson
Jamie Robinson earned his BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona, where he also earned a BA in Media Arts and English. Since moving to New York City in 2018, he's performed in works choreographed by Raeman Kilfoil, Same As Sister, American Liberty Ballet, and The Kennedy Dancers, among others. Jamie choreographs as well as performs in original dance work with collaborator Kristina Hay. He is currently performing with Hudson Ballet Theatre. Jamie is a Fletcher Pilates Professional Teacher.
Ballet
Melissa Rodnon
Melissa Rodnon began teaching dance over 30 years ago at the 92nd St. Y. She was on the faculty of Ballet Academy East for over 20 years and has also taught at the Joffrey School, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Dance New Amsterdam, Sarah Lawrence College, Adelphi University, USDAN, Berkeley Carroll School and more. She performed character roles with Dances...Patrelle ballet company, originating the role of Mother Ginger in “The Yorkville Nutcracker.” Melissa credits her unique pedagogical approach to the legends of ballet teaching with whom she studied, including Francis Patrelle, Nancy Bielski, Finis Jhung, and David Howard.
Ballet
Camille Rodriguez
Ms. Rodriguez graduated New York University as a dance major. She performed professionally with Rod Rodgers Modern Company and showcased with Lee Theadore American Dance Machine.
Ms. Rodriguez has worked in the New York City public schools as a dance educator and arts coordinator for over 20 years. For the last four years, she has collaborated with the Port Chester Council for the Arts, which helps bring the arts into the classroom.
Tap
Arleigh Rothenberg
Ms. Rothenberg, who specializes in tap, jazz and hip hop, has been a featured dancer at the world-famous Cotton Club for 10 years, has made several appearances on television shows including Good Morning America and an international Adidas commercial, and has choreographed for everything from live events in NYC to a social media campaign for a celebrity pop artist. She actively mentors children and young adults in dance and video production through Spring 36, a company she founded to nurture creativity and opportunity in kids.
Ballet
Jayne Santoro
Ms. Santoro retired as director of the Dance School in the fall of 2018 where she directed and choreographed for both the Westchester Theatre of Dance and its Ballet Outreach component at the Dance School. She has continued teaching ballet at the Dance School, as she has done for 35+ years, to children and adults of all levels. Ms. Santoro received her classical training with Maria Swoboda at American Ballet Theatre School in NYC and performed with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Philadelphia Lyric Opera, and regional NY companies. Instructors who were instrumental in shaping Ms. Santoro’s professional career as both an artist and dance educator include Natasha Redel, Leon Fokine, Maria Jones, and Arlene Sugano.
Ballet
Justin Sherwood
Mr. Sherwood trained at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. He is a recipient of the Choreographic Award of Prominence by the Central St. Marten’s School of Art and Design and Cochrane Theatre in London, and has choreographed productions across the United States and in Hong Kong and Albania. He is noted as the first American choreographer for the Albanian National Opera and Ballet Company. As a performer with Metropolitan Opera he appeared in numerous productions on their stage, where he worked with Julie Taymor, Robert LePage, Anthony Minghella, and Mary Zimmerman. Mr. Sherwood is an ABT® Certified Teacher Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Ballet
Annemarie Waltz
Annemarie Waltz began her ballet studies in St. Albans, Vermont. She spent her senior year of high school training in Montreal at L’Ecole Superieure de Danse, the school of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Annie holds a BFA in dance from the Juilliard School, where her teachers included Maestro Hector Zaraspe, Andra Corvino, Sue Bernhard and Benjamin Harkarvy. A highlight of her performing was touring the country in the Broadway National tour of “Oklahoma!” (Trevor Nunn/Susan Stroman.) For many years she had the great fortune to study with Francis Patrelle and perform in his production of The Yorkville Nutcracker. She has taught at Ballet Academy East, 92 St. Y, The Usdan Center, and is currently teaching a beautiful group of dancers at the JCCMW. She loves returning to Vermont each summer to teach and choreograph, and she still loves to study ballet!
Ballet
Jessica Whitehorne
Ms. Whitehorne was a soloist for the Boston Dance Company and a principal with the Greensboro Ballet. She holds a BA in Dance from Dean College. As a teacher, she has held positions at some of the Boston area’s top schools, most notably the Boston Ballet School. She is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique and continues to be an active dancer with Mooney Cooley Dance.
Pianist
Miles Fusco
Mr. Fusco has two degrees from the Juilliard School of Music. He has performed on four continents and made formal recital debuts at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York and the Wigmore Hall in London. He brings a special expertise to dance, having been company pianist for American Ballet Theater for 12 years, where he worked with such artists as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Cynthia Gregory, Susan Jaffe, Fernando Bujones, Carla Fracci, Erik Bruhn, Rudolph Nureyev, and Margot Fonteyn. He toured with Gelsey Kirkland, Patrick Bissell, and Natalia Makarova, and worked with choreographers Alvin Ailey and Twyla Tharp. Though most closely associated with ABT, Mr. Fusco has also worked with New York City Ballet, Berlin Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Kirov. He presently works at JCCMW and at BAE in New York where he plays principally for Wendy Whelan, Cheryl Yaeger, and Gonzalo Garcia.
Pianist
Colin Rose
Mr. Rose attended the Hartt School of Music with a major in piano performance under the tutelage of Paul Rutman. He is a sought-after instructor at Ridgefield Music, where he teaches piano and violin. Mr. Rose was a violinist for six years with the Danbury Community Orchestra and concertmaster with the early music ensemble at the Harvey School in Katonah, New York. He currently teaches violin and viola at the school’s Cavalier Camp. He joined the JCCMW Dance School faculty in the fall of 2017 as a ballet accompanist, just as he completed his third year as a full-time dance accompanist at the Purchase College Conservatory of Dance (ballet and modern).
Pianist
Saul Spangenberg
Mr. Spangenberg retired as the executive director of Hillels of Westchester and before that as assistant dean of music at SUNY Purchase. He has taught music to dancers at numerous institutions in the New York area including the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Tisch School of the Arts – NYU, Marymount Manhattan College, and the City College of New York. He currently is playing the piano most mornings for the adult ballet classes at JCCMW.