Daniel Lewis joined New World as the founding Dean of Dance in 1987.  An internationally recognized performer, teacher, choreographer and author, he graduated from New York’s High School of Performing Arts in 1962 and The Julliard School in 1967, where he served on its faculty from 1967-87, and was the Assistant Director of the Dance Department from 1984-1987. He danced with the José Limón Dance Company for 12 years, originating leading roles and staging works on companies worldwide. Mr. Lewis’ book, The Illustrated Dance Technique of José Limón (Harper & Row, 1984), has been translated in German, Spanish and Japanese. A productive writer, Mr. Lewis’s articles on dance education have been published nationally and abroad. In the first year following the death of Mr. Limón, Mr. Lewis became the company’s artistic director at which time he formed Daniel Lewis Dance, a repertory dance company. In 1990, the National Society of Arts and Letters awarded Mr. Lewis the gold medal for Lifelong Achievement in Dance. In 2001 he received The Florida Arts Recognition Award recognizing his outstanding initiatives, leadership and excellence in supporting the arts in Florida. In 2002 he received two awards, he was Honorary Chairman for "dance4life", and received a Lifetime Achievement award and was presented with the Nancy Smith Award, for consistently demonstrating outstanding leadership and excellence in dance in Florida.

Rebecca Cannan attended Interlochen Arts Academy and received her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from Florida State University, where Dr. Nancy Smith Fichter and Lynda Davis mentored her. While in Florida, she was a member of Dance Repertory Theatre performing works by modern dance legends Doris Humphrey, Alwin Nikolais, Peggy Lyman and several others. She also trained with the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company in Los Angeles for a short time and then taught at the University of Mississippi and for the Mississippi Dance Association. Ms. Cannan then joined the Evansville Dance Theatre as dancer and choreographer. She has presented a series of lecture/demonstrations for visual arts students and educators at the University of Southern Indiana, exploring the relationship between the performing and visual arts, thus bridging the gap between the disciplines. Upon returning to Florida, Ms. Cannan joined Millennium Dance Syndicate as a dancer/choreographer and is an adjunct professor of modern dance at New World School of the Arts in Miami.

New York City native, Bambi Anderson comes from a 30 yearbackground of worldwide performing and teaching.  She was a soloist with the Jose Limon Dance Company for nine years, and an artist in residence in colleges and universities throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe. She has performed the works of  Jiri Kylian(Netherlands Dance Company) Susanne Linke(former member of the Pina Bausch Company) Anna Sokolow, Annabelle Gamson and Joyce Trisler amongst some.  An associate professor at The New World School for the past thirteen years, she has reconstructed the works of Jose Limón in both the high school and college programs, as well as directing the works of visiting choreographers.

Peter London serves as associate professor of dance at NWSA, choreographs and teaches Graham technique and African-Caribbean Dance. His professional work also includes serving as visiting Artistic Director Senior for The Martha Graham Dance Company, faculty for the Alvin Ailey summer intensive program and at Dance Empire in Pine Crest. A former principal dancer of The Martha Graham Dance Company, Ms. Graham created the role of Shaman in Night Chant for him and recreated other major ballets which he danced with Michael Baryshnikov. With the Graham Company, he toured internationally from 1988-1997. He is a dancer and teacher of African dance retentions of Trinidad & Tobago. Mr. London is a 1987 graduate of the Julliard School, and alumni of Jose Limon Dance Company. He holds an AA & BFA Degree from MDC/NWSA/UF.

Tina Santos-Wahl was a principal dancer with Dance Theatre Philippines, the Harkness Ballet NY and San Francisco Ballet companies. Ms. Santos was well-known for her versatility on stage; her acting talents were described as "absurdly comic" to "intensely dramatic" while her technique in dance encompassed classical virtuoso, Balanchine ballets, jazz and contemporary. As an international teacher for over 25 years, Ms. Santos emphasizes purity of movement and unmannered technique. Teaching credits include: Palo Alto Ballet (1980-84); The Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton (1989-1997); Ballet Florida, Atlanta Ballet Summer Intensive 2007, Thomas Dance Studio (WPB), Central Florida Dance Celebration (Lakeland), Florida Dance Festival, Florida Dance Masters’ Teachers’ Seminar on Pointe Work, Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theatre and National Ballet Syllabus schools in Manila, to name a few. Ms. Santos currently serves as Asst. Professor of Dance and stages/coaches ballets of visiting choreographers.

Ruth Wiesen received her BFA in Dance from New World School of the Arts and the University of Florida. She is the director of the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet, as well as the School and scholarship program. She is on the Ballet Faculty at New World School of the Arts. She performed with the Miami Ballet From 1984-1991.

Dale Andree is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music. She has performed and taught nationally and internationally with her company Mary Street Dance Theatre and under the direction of May O’Donnell, Pearl Lang, Paul Sansardo, Anna Sokolow, Elaine Summers and others. She is on the Board of Directors of the Florida Dance Association and has been actively involved in bringing improvisation and site-specific dance to the Miami community.

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Diane Brownholtz attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois as an undergraduate. She then continued on to the University of Illinois where she received a Master of Arts degree in Dance. At Illinois, she studied with former company members of Limón, Nikolais, and Cunningham. She is the Dance Program Coordinator of the Wolfson Campus of Miami-Dade Community College where she has taught for twenty five years. During her tenure at Miami-Dade, she has written two Aerobic Dance books, received an Endowed Teaching Chair, and for two years was the Chairperson of the Arts and Philosophy Department. She has an earned a Doctorate in Higher Education administration from the University of Miami. She teaches Dance History at the New World School of the Arts.

James [Jay] Harragin received a BA from Portland State University and an MM from Manhattan School of Music.  While in Portland, he was the Music Director of the Portland Ballet Company and was one of the founding members of the contemporary music group Virtuosi della Rosa, where he worked with such esteemed composers as Lou Harrison, Ursula Mamlock and Tomas Svoboda.  Mr. Harragin also works for Miami City Ballet and is organist for Christ Congregational Church.

Lara Murphy is a native Miamian who began her training with Martha Mahr and Thomas Armour. She graduated from New World School of the Arts High School and has a BA in Philosophy and Comparative Religions from New York University. She has performed with Washington Square Repertory Dance Company, Miami Ballet and Juegos del Arte and has appeared as a guest artist in multiple Nutcrackers and contemporary galas around the country. Ms. Murphy was a founding member of Maximum Dance Company and currently performs with Miami Contemporary Dance Company. Locally she has taught ballet at the Mencia-Pickieris School of Dance, Miami City Ballet and the Miami Conservatory, where she continues to work with the scholarship program.  Ms. Murphy has been a guest teacher at the National High School Dance Festival, the National College Dance Festival, the Florida Dance Festival and ballet academies in South Carolina and Missouri.  Additionally, Ms Murphy has choreographed contemporary ballets for Miami Contemporary Dance Company and New World School of the Arts as well as the classical divertissement of The Nutcracker for the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet. Presently she is working towards her Masters of Arts at the University of Miami.

Maureen O’Rourke is a dancer with a BFA from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is a licensed massage therapist and certified neuromuscular therapist, specializing in dance rehabilitation and injury prevention. In addition to working with her private clients in the Miami area, she heads the therapy department at the New World School of the Arts' dance division, where she works with high school, college, and professional dancers. She uses techniques from hydrotherapy such as whirlpool, ice massage and contrast baths as well as trigger point release work, connective tissue massage and stretching to rehabilitate injured dancers and to teach them how to heal small injuries before they become major problems. Ms. O’Rourke also teaches anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology in the college program at New World; hydrotherapy, kinesiology and palpation, and “commonly encountered conditions” at Educating Hands School of Massage Therapy; and gives many lectures dealing with anatomy and injury prevention.

Arnold Quintane is a native of France who graduated from the Paris Opera Ballet School. From there he joined the Ballet Royal de Wallonie in Belgium as a principal. He then joined the Miami City Ballet also as a principal, and retired in 2001. Mr. Quintane will graduate with his BFA in dance from NWSA in 2006.

Dance Division faculty member since 1992, Ms. Wright instructs classes in ballet technique, body alignment and Pilates. A native New Yorker, Ms. Wright is a graduate of The La Guardia School of the Performing Arts (NYC) and holds a BFA in dance from NYU”S Tisch School of the Arts. Her Professional credits include the Elisa Monte Dance Co., Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co., the original cast of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway and countless other commercial and independent projects in NYC.  A Miami Beach resident since 1991, Elaine has worked with Miami based artists Gary Lund, Gerri Houlihan, Giovanni Luquini and Marianela Boan. Her choreographic credits include an FIU Wolfsonian commission viewed at London’s Tate Museum, Wash. DC’s Corcoran Gallery and continues to travel worldwide. Her teaching credits include the National H.S. Dance Festival, the National College Dance Festival, the Florida Dance Festival and the Miami City Ballet Summer Program. Her independent Pilates practice (Wright Studio) focuses on the needs of the performing artist and arts educator. Her studies in Pilates began in 1983 as a student of Kathy Grant.

Joshua Gumbinner, a Houston, Texas native, but spent his formative years in West Palm Beach, Florida. His family has been involved in the Florida and Texas dance community for over 25 years. Joshua began working in technical theater while he was in college at the University of Florida’s Center for Performing Arts. Joshua then went on to intern at Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival. Joshua received his BFA in lighting design with honors from the University of Florida, and he is now on his sixth year as the resident lighting designer, and technical director for New World School of the Arts. Joshua is also a freelance lighting designer for many of Miami’s dance companies such as: Michael Uthoff Dance Theatre, Dance Now, Freddick Bratcher Dance Company, Moti Deren and Susana Reyes Dance, and the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet just to name a few.