LEAP Class of 2022/2023
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(LEAP is on page 5)
Our Graduates:
Alaina Andersen
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
I have adored getting to become a part of the LEAP community, making friends from other ballet companies and getting to know other students from completely different styles of dance, all unified by our desire to become educated. One thing I will cherish forever is the safe space that Shaunna Vella created in her classes as she checked in with each and every one of us before class began. She allowed her students to feel comfortable and accepted, no matter how physically or emotionally exhausted they may be going into class that evening. There's nothing that compares to the LEAP Program in terms of online education.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
I'm looking forward to taking a break from school after steadily chipping away at my degree for nearly seven years. I'm simply excited to have a bachelor's degree under my belt so that I'll be a more appealing candidate for whatever career is next after I retire from ballet, whether that be in physical therapy, law, or even software engineering.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
I performed at the Koch Theater with Miami City Ballet during my first year in the company, and I've also performed at New York City Center with companies like American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet for a Balanchine Celebration.
Kathryn Avery Myers
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
This whole program has been a tremendous gift to me! I especially loved going to the office in NYC for Christian DeMatteo's classes, where we would look the toughest issues facing humanity in the eye and passionately present our different ideas and worldview. I am forever indebted to this program for challenging me with a rigorous core curriculum and discovering my love of learning. I met incredible people, who've left a beautiful impression on my soul. I will carry this experience with me forever.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
For my senior project, I studied somatics. I'd love to continue my education in Laban Bartenieff Movement Analysis, as well as Somatic Therapy, to help people heal through the power of perception and movement in their bodies.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
I've loved dancing for artists such as Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez, Usher and Nicki Minaj, as well as dancing in amazing industrial shows for brands such as Hermes, Moncler, Target, Athleta, and Victoria's Secret. I've had the privilege of working with renowned choreographers such as Andrea Miller, and Noemie Lafrance, who have shifted my understanding of dance!
Simone DePaolo
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
Before Covid my Western Tradition class, with Prof. DeMatteo, gathered at the NYC office. Sharing academia, conversation, and meals was a very special time of bonding and fellowship with other aspiring artist-scholars.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
Gaining my degree was a personal goal I aspired to to accompany my life experience status. Combining both, I am now able to broaden my career opportunities to include instruction in an academic establishment.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
I enjoyed all of my European performing opportunities. From television variety shows and resorts in Italy, casinos in France, clubs in Switzerland, and Mediterranean cruise lines. Returning to the states and participating in several regional theatre productions rounded off my performance career in the best way. Each event I was blessed to be involved in was a unique and extraordinary experience.
Sasha De Sola
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
I plan to continue to expand my knowledge, through both traditional in-classroom studies as well as out of the classroom, to better serve our artists and arts community.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
I've been very fortunate to dance some of my dream roles with San Francisco Ballet, such as Giselle, Odette/Odile, and Aurora. It is a true privilege to share the stage with my wonderfully talented colleagues.
Julia Feeley
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
Any and all classes with Christian De Matteo!
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
I was able to hone in on skills and interests I’ve always had, and hope to dive deeper into the worlds of assisting, choreographing, and protecting the works of choreographers.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
A Chorus Line, Beauty and the Beast, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Alexsandra Meijer
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
Carpooling with my fellow company members every Sunday.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
Odette/Odile, Cinderella, Swanilda, Giselle and Juliet are highlights, but I have never laughed so much onstage as being the "Legs" in Lew Christensen's Il Distratto.
Kennetha Morris
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
My favorite LEAP memory would be the group discussions. I feel they were an integral and meaningful part of the curriculum. The weekly exchanges provided enriching, fervent connection with peers, that I feel inspired us individually and collectively. LEAP is truly a gem!
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
My aim is to expand my business into a global enterprise and build communities.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
I am grateful to have had a blessed performing career overall. Thus, I found the following opportunities most impactful. As a child, performing for the Marley matriarch - Cedella Booker - is a core memory that is very dear to me. Touring globally with KC And the Sunshine Band for over two decades, was my "foundation" and the most invaluable life education. Moreover, working as a principal dancer alongside Beyonce and also performing on the Oscars, are highlights that endowed further enlightenment and cultivation. And one of my proudest moments, is my photo feature in Forbes.
Kafi Pierre
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
One semester my entire class was on tour, I was taking class while in China, others were in Spain, the UK etc.. it was so comforting to be amongst my peers through this journey.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
Masters in Government Policy and Development, so I can be an advocate for the arts through legislation.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
Performing in front of 11,000 people in Budapest.
Claire Rathbun-Solis
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
English with Christian De Matteo. It was my first class with LEAP as a Freshman, and there, I realized my love for writing. Christian created an amazing environment where students feel their passions become possibilities, and this class set the tone for the rest of my LEAP education!
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
I have a lot of dreams, but some I hope to make reality are: A long, healthy, performance career, choreographer, future MFA student, and Artistic Director.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
The Washington Ballet, Cats on Broadway, and Anastasia First National Tour. Believing in myself enough to come back to my first love of ballet, helping to grow the cultural arts scene in Syracuse New York, and dancing full time with Syracuse City Ballet.
David Renaud
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
Studying together at the Garland Hotel.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
Working towards a masters in public health or related field.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
Too many to choose from over 27 years!
Daniel Rubin
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
Too many memories! I really enjoyed dialing into Zoom classes with Professor Courage, Professor Stenersen, and Professor Chugh. I loved having people from all corners of the world learning together. I'm also grateful for my personal classes with Professor Jones and Professor De Mateo.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
I'll be pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Global Studies and International Relations at Northeastern University, which I’ll probably continue into a Master’s. I've just been promoted to Second Soloist at Boston Ballet, so I'm looking forward to continuing to work in a ballet company with a diverse repertoire and such talented colleagues. Personally, I feel that this degree has not only given me strong educational credentials, but opened me up artistically, psychologically, and professionally.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
At Eifman Ballet, I danced leading roles all over the world, like Hamlet at the Alexandrinskii Theatre in St. Petersburg. My last performance at Eifman Ballet was a real highlight – I danced Treplev in "The Seagull. A Ballet Story" at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. I've had the fortune to work with Boris Eifman for seven years, and since then, have had the opportunity to work with choreographers like William Forsythe and Nanine Linning at Boston Ballet. However, I think that the best is yet to come!
Suhaila Salimpour
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
My favorite memory of my time in the LEAP program was the first semester with my daughter. During the Pandemic I was both able to place my daughter Isabella in LEAP to finish her B.A. as well as sign up for college myself. I had never been to college (went straight to the stage after high school) and there were no online options. Computers in every household was not the norm let alone going to school online, so I chose the stage. So in that first semester Isabella and I in our different corners of the house were able to see each other in the little zoom square. We would text each other and make each other laugh. She knew how insecure I was about going to school at my age, and she was my biggest support system.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
I'm not stopping at a B.A. and my goal is to get my MFA in dance and bring my art for (Middle Eastern Belly Dance) into an academic institution in order to share the incredible music and dance my culture has to offer. I would ultimately like to offer a separate but connected certification in my art form under a dance department. I feel that there is not enough "other" dance represented in academia and I look forward to sharing my family's legacy.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
In 1983, 1984 and 1985 I represented Egypt at the SF Ethnic Dance Festival before then graduating high school in 1985. As a professional belly dancer I was able to tour the world for the first decade of my career after high school. When I had my daughter Isabella, in 1998 I opened my own studio and created the first certification program in belly dance. In 1999 I took over directing and choreographing Bal Anat, the longest running Belly Dance show in the world, which was founded by my mother, Jamila Salimpour, in 1968. By 2004 I choreographed a full length theater production, Sheherezade, which I was nominated for an Isadora Duncan award. In 2013, I choreographed a contemporary belly dance show titled "Enta Omri" (translates: you are my life) that toured internationally and acclaim my best work to date. In my career I have choreographed over 380 dances, recorded 28 albums and started Suhaila Salimpour's Institute of Online Education in belly dance in 2020, educating the next generation of dancers globally.
Melinda Songer Soderling
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
The many thoughtful inquiries during the seminar and Moodle discussions, anthropology, research, theology, using art to learn biology, and Professor Jim Iler’s private tutorial in trigonometry.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
Graduate critical studies in American dance, film, politics, and culture while further developing our documentary dance series on the commercial industry called, MOVE.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
Performing at Radio City Music Hall of Fame, Chayanne World Tour, dancing for stadium-sized crowds all over Latin America, the films Showgirls, That Thing You Do, and Man on the Moon, and assisting choreographer Alex Magno.
Katie Thomas
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
The Ghana trip!
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
To continue learning!
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
Having the opportunity to work with some of the truly great choreographers of our time such as Forsythe and Kylian and just to do be able to do what I love for so many years.
Amanda Vortmann
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
During my Capstone research, several of my LEAP peers graciously gave me their time, participating in a group interview, and offering me insight. The diverse knowledge and lived experiences my classmates shared greatly influenced and shaped my project. Their support was incredible and demonstrated once again what an amazing cohort we have here in the program.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
This September I will continue my journey towards a future nursing career. Achieving my BA through LEAP qualified me for the competitive accelerated Nursing program at the University of Washington; I will attain my Bachelors of Science in Nursing and graduate as an RN in August of 2024.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
My final performance. I was on tour with Irving Berlin's White Christmas and had decided in advance to retire. That last evening I danced on the stage I gave everything I had. My final bow was a powerful moment for me, one I will never forget.
Kevin Yee-Chan
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
Connecting with dance artists of different backgrounds from around the country.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
LEAP has allowed me to transition into a third career as a Registered Acupuncturist, and inspired me to continue creative projects that can weave the healing arts together with performance art.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
I loved my time dancing works by William Forsythe, Johan Ingar, Maurice Béjart, Thomas Noone, and Bertrand d'At with Ballet de l'Opéra National du Rhin.
Nina Yoshida
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
My favorite memory is sharing Ethiopian food with my class and our English 5 professor, Christian DeMatteo, while discussing Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
What are some of your future career/academic/personal goals now that you've completed your BA Degree?
I am taking a rest from academics for now so I can focus on dancing as well as planning my wedding, which will be next summer, but moving forward I'd love to become more involved in local sustainability initiatives. I am also considering applying for a masters program in Environmental Science. I really see myself working in the sustainability/environmentalism field once I retire from dancing.
What are some of your favorite credits/highlights from your performance career?
My favorite stage experience has been performing the Snow Queen in the Nutcracker. It's a role I never thought I would get to do, since my dancing is naturally quick and fiery. I have felt so much growth in my dancing through rehearsing and performing it.