An internationally recognized dancer, teacher, choreographer and author, Daniel Lewis joined New World School of the Arts (NWSA) in Miami, Florida, in 1987, as founding Dean of Dance. Here, drawing from nearly three decades of experience in the field, Mr. Lewis created the dance division’s eight-year professional program. In addition to developing and managing NWSA’s dance program, Mr. Lewis has heightened modern dance awareness in South Florida through Miami Dance Futures, a production company he formed in 1988. Miami Dance Futures produced the highly successful Miami Balanchine Conference in 1990, the Dance History Scholars’ Conference in 1991, and the 2nd National High School Dance Festival in 1994. Miami Dance Futures also produces local dance companies, including Rosita Segovia’s Ballet Español and Houlihan & Dancers. Mr. Lewis is perhaps most widely known for his association with the work of José Limón. From 1962-74, he danced with the José Limón Dance Company, originating roles in A Choreographic Offering, Legend, Psalm, The Winged, Comedy and The Unsung. In 1975, Mr. Lewis completed the choreography of The Waldstein Sonata, an unfinished work begun by Limón just before his death. As Mr. Limón’s assistant for seven years, Mr. Lewis staged the works of Limón and Doris Humphrey for such companies as the Royal Swedish Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theater, National Ballet of Canada, the London School of Contemporary Dance, The Juilliard School, and the José Limón Company. In 1983, Mr. Lewis served as the Limón company’s acting artistic director and in 1984 became founding director of the Limón Institute. Mr. Lewis’s book, The Illustrated Dance Technique of José Limón (HarperRow Publishers, 1984), has been translated in German and Japanese. As a choreographer, Mr. Lewis has been commissioned to create works by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, Dallas Civic Opera, American Opera Center at Lincoln Center, Amherst College, the University of California at Los Angeles, The Juilliard School, as well as companies in South America and England. His repertory company, Daniel Lewis Dance, has performed and taught extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Scandinavia. From 1984-87, Mr. Lewis was Assistant to the Director of the Dance Division at The Juilliard School, where he had been a member of the dance faculty since 1967. Mr. Lewis was also an adjunct professor at New York University and a professor at Amherst College for six years while his company was in residence there. Mr. Lewis has served on the Fulbright Screening Committee and as a dance panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. He now serves as a dance panelist and advisor to the Canada Council, a dance panelist for the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and a community grants panelist for the Metro-Dade Cultural Affairs Council. A productive writer, Mr. Lewis’s articles on Dance education have been published nationally and abroad. In 1992, he was guest editor of Choreography and Dance. Mr. Lewis graduated from New York’s High School of Performing Arts in 1958 and The Juilliard School in 1962. In 1990, the National Society of Arts and Letters awarded Mr. Lewis the gold medal for Lifelong Achievement in Dance.

Ivett Rodriguez was born in Honduras. She received her A.A. in Business Administration from Miami-Dade College in 2002. Her experience in accounting, helping students in the Financial Aid Office at Wolfson and her tax season community services through the IRS and MDC partnership, have made Ms. Rodriguez an asset to the Dance Division. Presently, she is working toward a B.A. in Business Administration at Florida International University.

Bambi Anderson began her dance training at the age of seventeen with a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Her subsequent career included work with Miami’s Fusion Dance Company and, in New York, with Joan Miller Dance Players, Chen & Dancers, and Clay Taliaferro and Dancers. In 1983, Ms. Anderson began an eight-year association with the José Limón Dance Company. She has danced leading roles in such Limên masterworks as “The Moor’s Pavane”, “Missa Brevis”, “Dances for Isadora”, and “There is a Time”, as well as the works of Doris Humphrey. Her dance career has included work and solos with top choreographers, among them Anna Sokolow, Jiri Kylian, Susanna Linke, Jean Cebron and Phyllis Lamhut. Ms. Anderson’s teaching credentials include associations with George Mason University, Cal State Long Beach, Loyola Marymount and Claremont College. She currently appears as a guest artist with the Isadora Duncan Dance Ensemble.

Gerard Ebitz was trained at the Miami Conservatory, the School of American Ballet in New York, and the National Ballet School in Toronto. He has danced professionally with the New York City Ballet and the Miami City Ballet. He was principal dancer with the Zurich Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. As a teacher and choreographer, he has been invited twice to the Carlisle Project and was commissioned to choreograph a work on the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. His work has been recognized by the National Choreographic Plan and he has been awarded a 1992-1993 and 1997-1998 Individual Choreographic Fellowship from the State of Florida. Mr. Ebitz was Artistic Director of Ballet Randolph from 1990-1993. He has choreographed for the Rochester City Ballet, Ballet Jorgen in Toronto, Santa Fe Dance Foundation in New Mexico, Tsoying Performing Arts School in Taiwan and Freddick Bratcher & Company, Juegos del Arte and Acme Acting Company in Miami. He has choreographed two major productions “The Haunted” and “Firebird” for Dance Alive! in Gainesville, Florida, as well as the musical “Working” at Miami-Dade Community College. Mr. Ebitz has been teaching at the New World School of the Arts since 1988.

Born in Port of Spain, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. Peter began his dance education at age six in the “Palais” the sacred grounds and temple of the African Yoruba Orishas, in Trou Macaque Road Laventille . At age twelve he began formal training in the secular traditional dances of African origin for the performance stage, led by Esau Fraser, at the George King Fan Club for Youth. At age sixteen he became a member of one of the leading National Folk dance Companies, “The Barataria Folk Group “, and then at age nineteen was appointed the choreographer and teacher for the dance group. On several occasions Mr. London was awarded the country’s highest recognition in prizes and trophies for his achievement as best folk dancer and choreographer. In 1978 he was invited by his mentor, the late Astor Johnson, founder and artistic director of The Repertory Dance Theatre of Trinidad & Tobago, the illustrious and premiere contemporary dance company of the country, touring locally and internationally as a principal dancer until 1983. In 1982, under the auspices of Caribbean School of Dancing Ltd. where he had studied ballet since 1979, and passed with a commended mark and received his Male Elementary ballet Certificate from The Royal Academy of Dancing, patronage The Queen of England. At The Juilliard School, Mr. London graduated at the top of his class in 1987, with the Juilliard Diploma in Dance, receiving the first “Martha Hill prize “For Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Dance”. While at Juilliard, he was appointed choreographer, dance captain and assistant producer in the first Juilliard “ Cross Cultural” out reach program for schools, under the auspices of The Lincoln Center Institute. At Juilliard, Mr. London studied with the world famous master teachers which included Maestro Hector Zaraspe, Ethel Winter, Kazuko Hirabayashi, Peggy Lyman and Daniel Lewis. He also studied with Alfredo Corvino, the late Genia Melikova and Michael Maule, former principals of the Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo. He received many awards, prizes and scholarships, which included the Schumann prize, the William Randolph Hearst Award, The Jose Limon prize, the Jose Limon Honorary award and The Rockettes Award. At Juilliard, he made a name for himself, dancing to critical acclaim by leading critics of the New York Times, for his Interpretations of Jose Limon’s Master Works restaged by Daniel Lewis for Julliard’s famous spring concerts. He danced the leading roles in Limon’s “Missa Brevis”, “The Traitor, Emperor Jones”. He also recreated roles in Anna Sokolow’s “ Rooms” and “ Prelude”, Alvin Ailey’s “Streams”. Before his graduation from Juilliard, Mr. London was honored with an invitation by the Jose Limon Dance Company to perform at the world famous “Nijinsky Festival” at the Hamburg Opera House in Germany. Mr. London subsequently became a member of the Jose Limon Dance Company. In 1988 he was invited by Ms. Graham to join her world most prestigious contemporary Dance Company. During his tenure with the Martha Graham Dance Company, as scholarship student, faculty member and rehearsal coach, he recreated roles as a principal dancer in Graham’s legendary masterpieces, including Paris in “Clytemnestra”, Tiresias in “Night Journey” The Christ figure in “ El Penitent” which he danced with Michael Baryshnikov, The Shaman in “The Rite of Spring” and The Shaman in “ Night Chant” a role Ms. Graham specifically choreographed for him. Mr. London is assistant professor at MDC/NWSA where he serves as choreographer, teacher and mentor. In 2003 he was awarded MDC prestigious “Learning Innovations Golden Apple Grant.” The grant sponsored An “Educational Residency” by the Martha Graham Dance Company was conceived and produced by Dr. Diane Brownholtz and Mr. London. At present, he serves as rehearsal director and assistant to the artistic directors of The Martha Graham Dance Company for their New York Season. He is a faculty member for the Alvin Ailey American dance Center Summer Intensive. Mr. London, a member of Phi Kappa Phi, received his AA Degreefrom MDC/NWSA and Graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance from the University of Florida in partnership with MDC/NWSA.

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.

Tina Santos-Wahl began her professional career in dance in her native Philippines. She was also well known on television, as a ramp model and cover girl, and as a musical theater actress. She became a founding member of Dance Theatre Philippines in 1968 and its youngest principal dancer. She joined the Harkness Ballet of New York as a member of the corps in 1970 and was promoted to Soloist six months later. Her favorite roles included: The Woman in Time Out of Mind, the Princess in Firebird (Brian MacDonald), The Sister in Sebastian (Vicente Nebrada) and solo roles in Ceremonials (Norman Walker) and Percussion for Six Women (Nebrada). She toured Europe and the USA extensively, bolstering her status in the company. In 1973, she and her husband Gary Wahl joined the San Francisco Ballet as principal dancers. The SF Bay Area and Filipino fans knew Ms. Santos for her versatility on stage. National and international critics called her acting talents "absurdly comic" to "intensely dramatic" while her technique in dance encompassed classical virtuoso, Balanchine ballets, jazz and modern-contemporary. Some of her memorable roles included: The Geisha in Shinju, The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Quattro A Verdi, Scherzo (Smuin), Purple Lady in Moves (Robbins), The Vamp in Souvenirs (Bolender), Lucretia in Scarlatti Portfolio (Christensen), to name a few .In 1978, Ms. Santos was elected as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Women of California. The following year, she was awarded a "Medal of Distinction in Dance" from the Manila Commission on Arts and Culture, Philippines. As a teacher, Ms. Santos has developed a style of her own that emphasizes purity of movement and unmannered technique. She studied with ballet masters of varying systems like Poul Gnatt (Danish); David Howard, Ben Stevenson, Terry Westmoreland, and Kathaleen Crofton (British); Perry Brunson (Checetti); Richard Gibson, Tatiana Grantzeva, Alexander Minz (Russian); Lew Christensen (Balanchine). Ms. Santos recently attended the Teachers Workshops at the National Ballet School in Toronto and Finis Jhung for intensive studies on alignment and principles of turning. The Filipino critic from Dance Magazine described her classes as "energetic, musical, positive, tough and precise". She taught students and professional dancers in major schools in the SF Bay Area in the ‘80’s before moving to South Florida and joining The Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton as Resident Faculty from 1989-1997. She is currently with the New World School of the Arts in Miami as a full-time faculty member. She traveled to Arizona as Ballet Mistress in 2003 and 2004 with the NWSA Dance Ensemble and the Michael Uthoff Dance Theatre. Recent guest teaching ventures include Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theatre, Ballet Florida, Thomas Dance Studio, Ballet Spartanburg, SC, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Florida Dance Festival, Florida Dance Masters (Pointe Seminar for Teachers), National HS Dance Festival, Arlington Dance Academy in Jacksonville, Booker T. Washington Magnet in Montgomery, AL and around Dade and Palm Beach county schools. In more recent years in Florida, Ms. Santos has staged and rehearsed works of choreographers Michael Uthoff, Robert Barnett, Peter Paulus, Mia Michaels, to name a few. Coaching students is considered her passion and her forte. She has also given workshops in ballet technique for the Florida Dance Masters held in West Palm Beach. Choreography includes a pas deux called “Poeme”, versions of “Nutcracker, Act II”, and lecture-demonstrations of technique – all at the Harid Conservatory. Ms. Santos has won five Teacher Recognition Certificates sponsored by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (1996-99 and 2003-04). She has served for the Florida State Division of Cultural Affairs on its Dance Organizations Panel and as an On-site Evaluator for Miami City Ballet. Ms. Santos is an honoree in the Who’s Who among America’s Teachers Edition 2004. She and her husband dote on their daughter, Nikka, who is in the music theatre business and loves her role of “Mom”.

Ruth Wiesen is on the faculty of the Miami Conservatory, and is an adjunct faculty member at the New World School of the Arts. She is presently the Artistic Director of the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet and scholarship program. She serves as the Miami community outreach coordinator for the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Ruth received her ballet training at the Miami Conservatory from Theatre of Harlem. Ruth received her ballet training at the Miami Conservatory from Thomas Armour and Robert Pike. She performed with the Miami Ballet, under the direction of Thomas Armour, from 1984-1990. She is a R.N. with a BFA in Dance from the University of Florida and the New World School of the Arts. She is married with four children.

A 1970 graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music, Dale Andree began her performing career in New York City. She danced with May O'Donnell, teaching in her studio and traveling with her as her assistant, as well as performing under the direction of Joan Lombardi, Pearl Lang and Paul Sanasardo. Moving to Miami in 1980, she became one of the founding members of the Miami Dance Umbrella. Through this organization Ms. Andree worked with and performed pieces of Anna Sokolow and Kei Takei. She established Mary Street Dance Theatre in 1985 and maintained the company through 1999, touring the southeastern United States and Latin America with performing and teaching residencies. During that period Ms. Andree received both public and private funding for her work as well as two Florida Individual Artist Fellowships and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create "Silent Voices; Women Speak". Ms. Andree has conducted residency workshop's in the United States, Europe and Latin America. She also teaches creative movement for children and in 2000 established the children's company, "The Good for Something Dancers".

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.

Susan Theobald D’Arienzo, a native of Pennsylvania, is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music with a diploma in Dance. She has performed in Equity summer Stock, was a member of American Ballet theatre, Radio City Music Hall Corps de Ballet and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. After getting married and moving to Miami, Ms. D’Arienzo graduated from New World School of the Arts/Florida International University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist in the state of Florida, is also Nationally Certified and is certified in Neuromuscular Therapy. She is currently employed as a massage therapist in the Dance Division at New World School of the Arts and is a volunteer at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

James [Jay] Harragin was born in Peru and began studies in piano in New York. He received a B.A. in Music from Portland State University, Portland Oregon, where he studied with famed composer Tomas Svoboda and as well an M.M. from Manhattan School of Music in accompanying. There he worked with a variety of teachers including Ellen Faull, Charles Bresler, Uta Graf, Raphael Bronstein, Lillian Fuchs and Ani Kavafian. In 1978, he became Music Director of the Portland Ballet Company and performed frequently with the company under the direction of Jacqueline Schumacher, an alumnus of the original San Francisco Ballet Company. There he studied ballet for 10 years. In his 27 years in Portland, Mr. Harragin worked with almost all local music venues including the Portland Opera Company, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet Oregon, Oregon Flute Society, Community Concert Series, The Peter Britt Mustic Festival and the Portland Brass Society. He has been on the adjunct faculty at Portland State University, Reed College. Pacific University, Lewis and Clark College and Clackamas Community College, as well as serving on the faculty of the Jefferson High School Music Magnet Program and the Mittelman Jewish Community Center. In 1986, he became one of the founding members and later Assistant Music Director of the contemporary music group Virtuosi della Rosa premiering works by Lou Harrison, Constant Vauclain and Vincent McDermott, and introducing Portland audiences to the brave new world of contemporary music. He has worked in many diverse musical efforts from the Moody Blues World Orchestra, a touring orchestra for the musical Chorus Line, to a tour of Japan with a Flamenco group, Amor Espana. In Florida, Mr. Harragin works as an organist for Christ Congregational Church, a rehearsal pianist for Miami City Ballet and teaches and provides music staff at New World School of the Arts. In his spare time he teaches piano and gardens.

Lara Murphy is a native Miamian who began her training with Martha Mahr and Thomas Armar. She graduated from New World School of the Arts high school and has a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies from New York University. She has performed with 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 and the Miami Conservatory, where she continues to work with the scholarship program. Presently she also teaches at Miami City Ballet School. Ms. Murphy teaches body alignment and ballet at the high school and college levels.

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.

A native of Nante, France, Arnold Quintane graduated for the Paris Opera Ballet School in 1983 after completing his five years of training. Paris Opera Ballet School, which is three hundred years old, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the world and has produce and continues to produce some of the best dancers in companies around the globe. There, Mr.Quintane trained extensively in classical ballet as well as Pas de Deux, contemporary jazz, character, mime, folk dances, dance history, musical expression, and anatomy. His teachers include some of the finest dancers, teachers and ballet historians of our time. Mr. Quintane went on to dance with Belgium’s Royal Ballet of Wallonie where he gained prominence as a principal dancer, dancing many leas roles including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Quintane then danced as a principle dancer with the Miami City Ballet under the artistic direction of Edward Villella where he dance principle roles in much of the repertory including Balanchines’s “Rubies”, “Who Cares” and “Themes and Variations.” Last winter he was a guest dancer with the Atlanta Ballet where he preformed the role of the Prince in John McFall’s, “The Nutcracker,” and has also been a guest teacher at the Atlanta City Ballet School. Mr. Quintane has retired from Miami City Ballet, and is currently teaching at The Miami City Ballet School, and The New World School of the Arts.

Elaine Wright was born and raised in New York City, graduated with honors from New York's High School for Performing Arts, and received her B.F.A. in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has danced with Elisa Monte Dance Company and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company touring extensively through Scandinavia, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Canada and the United States. Ms. Wright-Roark has appeared in various experimental dances, theater and television productions, and her Off-Broadway and Broadway credits include The Chosen and the original cast of Jerome Robbins' Broadway. A Miami resident since 1991, Ms. Wright's teaching credits include, New World School of the Arts Dance Division (1992-2003), The National College Dance Festival, The National High School Dance Festival, The Miami City Ballet (Summer Program), as well as her own private practice, Wright-Studio, on Miami Beach where she teaches semi-private and private Pilates classes focusing on the needs of performing artist. Her Pilates experience goes back to 1983 as a student of Kathy Grant. Elaine completed her certification through the Physical Mind Institute and Power Pilates from 1997-1998.

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.