ARTISTS (click on a name to jump to their bio):
» Erica Dankmeyer • Dancer/Choreographer
» Yuko Giannakis • Dancer
» Martin Løfsnes • Dancer/Artistic Director
» Alessandra Prosperi • Dancer
» Natasha Diamond-Walker • Dancer
»
Hana Ginsburg • Dancer/General Manager
» Danelle Morgan • Dancer
» Jerome Stigler • Dancer
» Mary Anthony • Choreographer
» Martha Graham • Choreographer
» Ricardo Flores • Choreographer
ARTISTS/STAFF (click on a name to jump to their bio):
» Martin Løfsnes • Dancer/Artistic Director
»
Hana Ginsburg • Dancer/General Manager
» Vernon Scott • Director of Development
» Judith M. Daitsman • Lighting Designer/Production Manager
»
Tiffani Harris • Stage Manager
» Karen Young • Costume Designer
» Pat Daugherty • Composer
» Susan Berkley • Treasurer
» Craig Tooman • Board Member
» Giselle Woo • Board Member
» Mark Berkley • Web Designer
JUNIOR BOARD MEMBERS
Erica Abbott
Damaris Diaz
Oran Ebel
Kiersten Greene
Megan Gulla
Stefani Johnson
Stephanie Scott Harbour
Martin Løfsnes (Dancer, Artistic Director) was born in East Germany and grew up in Norway. He received his early dance training in Ballet, Jazz and Graham-based modern in Norway with Øyvind Jørgensen and Kirsti Skullerud. In 1990 he left Norway to study at London Contemporary Dance School/The Place and stayed there for two years. In the spring of -92 he was offered a summer scholarship to Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and moved to New York City. The same fall, he was offered a full scholarship to the Martha Graham School and Yuriko invited him to dance with the Martha Graham Ensemble. In 1993 he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company, which remained his artistic home until 2006. At Graham he worked with his most influential teachers and mentors; Carol Fried, Pearl Lang and Yuriko. As a Principal Dancer in the Graham Company Løfsnes had the opportunity and privilege to perform many of the great male roles in the Graham repertoire such as The Lead Man in 'Acts of Light', The Husbandman and The Preacher in 'Appalachian Spring,' He Who Summons in 'Dark Meadow', The Stranger in 'Embattled Garden', the Snake in 'Circe' and the role he performed more than any other; the Creature of Fear in 'Errand Into the Maze'. In the Graham Company he also danced in works by Robert Wilson and Susan Stroman, and had the wonderful experience of working with Maurice Bejart on reconstructing an excerpt from his ballet 'Faust'. Løfsnes was in Matthew Bourne/AMP's Broadway production of 'Swan Lake' and also performed with Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Peal Lang Dance Theater, Donald Byrd/the Group, Dankmeyer Dance Company, Sasha Spielvogel/Labyrinth Dance Theater and Errol Grimes Dance Group. Løfsnes is on the faculty of the Ailey School. Teaching credits include Martha Graham School, State College of Dance (Oslo, Norway), Marymount Manhattan College (New York, NY) and SUNY Purchase (NY).
Løfsnes founded 360º Dance Company in 2006. 360º is a company comprised of some of today's most experienced modern dancers. The company's mission is to present modern-dance classics juxtaposed with cutting edge, contemporary dance works in order to simultaneously preserve and develop the modern dance lineage. The company seeks to challenge the dancers' traditional roots, maintaining the artistic vision and dramatic integrity of the artform's founders while moving into the future with ground breaking new works by today's most exciting contemporary artists. 360º's repertory ranges from Jane Dudley's 1932 solo 'Time is Money' to Lauri Stallings' 2007 ballet 'MAKTUB'. The company also performs work by Erica Dankmeyer, Martha Graham, Mary Anthony, Filip A Condeescu and Martin Løfsnes, and has several new commissions and major reconstructions planned in the near future.
Erica Dankmeyer (Dancer, Choreographer) is a founding member and contributing choreographer of 360º Dance Company. A dancer, choreographer, and teacher, she was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Northern California, where she began her ballet training with Paul Curtis and Anne Bena. She performed for ten years with the Martha Graham Dance Company, after earning her BA in Art History at Williams College in Massachusetts, where she is currently a Visiting Lecturer. She is the Artistic Director of Dankmeyer Dance Company, which has performed two New York Seasons at Danspace Project in September 2002 and 2007. DDC has appeared in Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out series (2006), and at numerous venues in New York City, including the Clark Studio Theater in Lincoln Center, City Center Studios, PACE University, Union Square's Dance on the Square series, Marymount Manhattan College, and the DUMBO Dance Festival, as well as the Hollywood Florida Central Performing Arts Center, The '62 Center for Theater and Dance at Williams College, SUNY/Purchase, the Florida Theater in Jacksonville, FL, and Frostburg State University, among others. Erica is expecting her first child in June.
Yuko Suzuki Giannakis (Dancer) is originally from Tokyo, Japan. She joined 360º Dance Company in Spring, 2008. She is also a certified GYROTONIC/GYROKINESIS® instructor, and on faculty at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. She has worked with various companies and choreographers including the Martha Graham Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Ensemble, Isadora Duncan Foundation,Singapore Dance Ensemble (Singapore), Inoue Ballet (Tokyo), Aszure Barton, Erica Dankmeyer, Whitney Hunter, Andrea Perecovic, Richard Move, and Margarita Roa.
Alessandra Prosperi (Dancer) was born in Florence, Italy where she trained in Ballet, Jazz and Folk Dance at the "Brenda Hamlyn School of Dance" and received her Advanced Diploma from the "Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing" (ISTD) of London. In 1986 she was invited to come to New York by Martha Graham and granted a full scholarship to study at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. First a member of the Martha Graham Ensemble directed by Yuriko, she joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1993. Her roles as a Principal Dancer in the company's repertory include: Ariadne in "Errand into the maze", the solos "Deep Song" and "Serenata Morisca", Lament from "Acts of Light", Eve in "Embattled Garden", Mary in "El Penitente", the Leader in "Maple Leaf Rag", the Woman in Red and Yellow in "Diversion of Angels" Joan the Warrior in "Seraphic Dialogue", the Princess in " Cave of the heart", Phasiphae in "Phedra" and the Leader of the Chorus in "Night Journey". Outside the Graham world Alessandra has also worked with: the Mark Morris Dance Group, City Contemporary Dance Company in Hong Kong, Ballet Hispanico of New York, the Wilkes-Barre Ballet Company in Pennsylvania, Buglisi/Foreman Dance, Erica Dankmeyer Dance Company, Errol Grimes Dance Group, Andrea Haenggi AMDAT, Saba Dance Theater and was a founding member of the Pascal Rioult Dance Theater. Besides having taught all over the U.S. and abroad, Ms Prosperi' s teaching credentials include: Marymount Manhattan College, the Martha Graham School, Alvin Ailey, the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater, Peridance, New World School of the Arts in Florida, CENADACO (Centro Nacional de Danza Contemporanea) in Mexico and IALS in Rome, Italy. Alessandra is also a certified Yoga teacher, she has more than 15 years of experience guiding people in athletic, therapeutic and creative movement. Her vast knowledge and experience of the human body is drawn from 22 years as a professional dancer as well as the Pilates method, Gyrotonic, Structural Integration and Continuum.
Natasha Diamond-Walker (Dancer) began her professional dance training in California at the LA County High School for the Arts under the direction of Don Martin and Ka-Ron Brown-Lehman. She has received scholarships to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre School, Alonzo King Lines Ballet School, and, Dance International Spain with Kazuko Hirabayashi. In May 2007 she graduated from the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University Program, earning her BFA in Dance. She has had the pleasure of dancing the works of Lester Horton, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Francesca Harper, and Nacho Duato. She can be seen dancing with Buglisi Dance Theatre, Hunter Dance Company, Lester Horton Dance Theatre, and most recently 360º Dance Company. A lover of travel she has had the opportunity to dance and choreograph throughout Canada, Germany, Spain, and Korea.
Hana Ginsburg (Dancer, General Manager) holds a BA from Princeton University and an MFA from Purchase College, SUNY. In addition to dancing with 360°, she is currently a member of Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theater, Riedel Dance Theater, Lane & Co and York Dance Works, and is excited to begin work with Mark Dendy this summer. She has performed professionally in Norway, Spain and Japan, and has attended The Yard on Martha's Vineyard for both the Patricia N. Nanon and Bessie Schonberg Residencies. Administratively, she serves as General Manager for 360° and KHDT, Co-Managing Director for Dances Patrelle, and Administrative Director for Dance New York International.
Danelle Morgan (Dancer) Danelle Morgan was raised in Highland Park, NJ. She is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in 2007 where she was a Liberace Scholarship recipient. While studying at the Ailey School, she performed the works of Martha Graham, Nacho Duato, Jacqueline Buglisi, David Parsons, Helen Pickett, Francisco Martinez, Nancy Turano, and Alvin Ailey's Memoria. A huge fan of travel, Danelle has toured Spain performing the works of Nathan Trice, Takehiro Ueyama, Samar Haddad King, and Lejato Robinson. She has also toured Europe performing in the 50th Anniversary Tour of West Side Story, which was nominated for the Best Musical Revival Laurence Olivier Award. While at home in New York, Danelle has worked with the Buglisi Dance Theatre, has been a demonstrator for Mary Hinkson, and has performed at two Dancers Responding to AIDS events working with choreographers Amy Hall and Darrell Grand Moultrie. Other credits include performing as a Radio City Rockette in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and as an ensemble dancer in The King & I. This is Danelle's first season working with 360º. She is honored to be working with such beautiful artists.
Jerome "Nuney" Stigler (Dancer) a native of St. Louis, MO began his training at the Katherine Dunham Children's Workshop and the Center of Contemporary Arts. Mr. Stigler continued his training at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he received his BFA and the University of Iowa where he received his MFA. He has taught and choreographed for numerous schools throughout the United States. Currently Mr. Stigler is working with Douglas Dunn & Dancers and teaching throughout NYC. He is delighted to be working with 360º Dance Company.
Mary Anthony (Choreographer) began her career with a dance scholarship with Hanya Holm in the early 1940's, eventually joining the Holm Company, concretizing with Joseph Gifford, and appearing in Broadway shows. Her staging of the London production of Touch and Go, in which she danced one of the leading roles, resulted in a long association as a choreographer for Italian musical theater. Mss Anthony is recognized as one of the leaders of the modern dance movement, as a dancer, a choreographer, and as an exceptional teacher. The Mary Anthony Dance Theatre began life in 1956 and has a repertory that includes works by Anna Sokolow, Lester Horton, Charles Weidman, Ross Parkes, Daniel Maloney, and Bertram Ross. An international choreographer, Miss Anthony's works have been added to the repertories of the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Bat-Dor Company of Israel, the Dublin City Ballet, and the National Institute for the Arts of Taiwan. Miss Anthony continues to teach at her studio and sporadically at the Herbert Berghof Studio for Actors.
Judith M. Daitsman (Lighting Designer/Production Manager) Recent productions include the premiere season of 360º Dance Company in Oslo Norway, A Child's Christmas in Wales with the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, a new interpretation of La Boheme at the University of Michigan, a production of Terrance McNally's Master Class at the Byre Theatre in St. Andrews Scotland and the gala opening of a new theatre center in New York. Other projects have included a great number of new scripts and original choreography in many of the alternative theatre spaces in and around New York City. Ms. Daitsman's experience also includes work as a Lighting Supervisor for the international tours of The Martha Graham Dance Company and the Philip Glass opera "Les Enfants Terribles," as well as work at the Spoleto Festival USA and Gimmerglass Opera. She has also worked as a Lighting Supervisor for The National Theatre of Greece, the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, and during their tours of the United States.
Pat Daugherty (Composer) has been active as a composer. pianist, and conjurer in the New York dance and music scene for almost 20 years. His jazz group New York Electric Piano released their 5th CD in 2008: King Mystery, which received a glowing review in this April's JazzTimes. His chamber orchestra arrangement "Fauxlero" is heard nightly in the Blue Man Group's shows. Since 2001 he has been pianist for the Martha Graham Dance Co. He danced the role of Hamlet's father in Pearl Lang's last work. In February with choreographer Jennifer Conley he presented GeoDance. an evening length work at Temple University. He has created dance theater pieces for Martha@Mother's, NYU, Arts All Day, MaryMount Manhattan College, and Here Theater. He has composed music for dance, theater. and film. Pat studied composition at the University of Illinois with Herbert Brun and Salvatore Martirano. You can sample his music and painting at www.newyorkelectricpiano.com
Tiffani Harris (Stage Manager) recently began work with 360º Dance Company. She trained at the Ailey School and received a Masters in Fine Arts in Dance from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, where she began her stage managing career. Tiffani has managed work for artists such as Sean Curran and Johannes Wieland Dance. In addition to her work behind the scenes, Tiffani also performs with the Jamal Jackson Dance Company. She thanks God for his myriad blessings and the opportunity to work with 360º Dance Company.
Martha Graham (Choreographer): born May 11, 1894, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; died April 1, 1991. In her lifetime, Martha Graham freed the art of dance by providing a new dance language and new concepts. She revolutionized dance, lighting, stage designing, costuming, and music with her creative perfectionism. From 1913-1916, Graham studied theater and dance at the University of Cumnoch. After graduating in 1916, she joined the Denishawn School, run by Ruth Saint-Denis and Ted Shawn in Los Angeles. She left Denishawn in 1923. In 1926, she started teaching at the Eastman School of Rochester, and she gave her first recital that year. Graham opened the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in 1927. During this time, her pieces often dealt with social problems. In 1929, she choreographed her first non-solo ballet, Heretic. In 1936, Graham took a strong political stance when she refused to go to the Olympic Games in Berlin. Instead, she directed her energies into creating Chronicle, a statement against imperialism, Deep Song, a piece about the Civil War in Spain, Primitive Mysteries, and Frenetic Rhythms, dances concerning Indian and Mexican traditions. Two years later, in 1938, Graham was invited by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt to the White House. Graham would later go on to dance there for seven other presidents. In 1939, Merce Cunningham and Erick Hawkins (who was to become her husband) joined her company. In 1944, she created Appalachian Spring, her first collaboration with set designer, Isamu Noguchi. Many of her pieces during this period dealt with mythology, including Night Journey, which explored the story of Oedipus and Jocasta. Graham's company embarked on their first tour to Paris in 1954, where her ballets were booed by the audience. Paul Taylor joined her company in 1955, and in 1956, she won the Dance Magazine Award. Three years later, she created Episodes with George Balanchine. Her last dance was in Cortege of Eagles when she was 76 years old. She did, however, continue to create new work including works for Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn.In 1984, Rudolf Nureyev invited her company to the Paris Opera, where she was awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government. She completed her 191st new dance, Maple Leaf Rag in 1990 and completed a book called Blood Memory. She was choreographing a new ballet called The Eye of the Goddess for the Olympics in Barcelona when she died in 1991 at the age of 96.
Vernon Scott (Director of Development) is a graduate of Juilliard. Mr Scott danced with several dance companies including Elisa Monte, Stephen Petronio, Pilobolus, Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris and finally 7 years with Mikhail Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project (where he also served as the Rehearsal Coordinator/). He then shifted gears and eventually became the National Public Relations Manager for Aga Ranges, Marvel and Northland Refrigeration. Since the corporate positions, he has enjoyed time with several non-profits and is president of the Martha Hill Dance Fund and is happy to serve as the Development Director for 360° Dance Company.
Lauri Stallings (Choreographer) is a contemporary dancemaker interested in the research of dance and its adherent quality to develop human potential. She began her career at Cleveland/San Jose Ballet, followed by BalletMet, Canada's Ballet British Columbia, and five seasons with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Her first choreographic work was a solo in Ballet British Columbia's "Boy Wonder." The Globe and Mail called it dazzling." Stallings has created works for Atlanta Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, American Repertory Ballet, SUNY/Purchase, the Dutch National Ballet Project, and Fordham/Ailey 2, among others. In recognition of her evolution as an artist, Stallings has received numerous awards, including the Ruth Page, a Driehaus foundation grant, Chicagoan of the Year in 2004, a 2006 IAC Choreographic Fellowship, and one of Dance Magazine's "25 to watch" for 2007. She has choreographed for the NW Professional Dance Project in summer 2007. In the 2007-08 season Stallings created work with ABT Studio Company, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 360º, and River North Dance Chicago. For Atlanta Ballet, Stallings will collaborate with Hip-Hop star Big Boi to create "big," a full-length work to have its world premiere at the Fox Theatre in April 2008. Also this season, Stallings will be working with the creative team of Cirque De Soleil, as well as choreographing two works for the Tony award winning Alliance Theatre. She is honored to work for John McFall and the Atlanta Ballet as Choreographer-in Residence. The secret to a career in the arts: extraordinary parents.
Karen Young (Costume Designer) has designed costumes for numerous dance and video art projects. Recent design for video includes: Eve Sussman and the Rufus Corporation's highly acclaimed "The Rape of the Sabine Women" and "89 Seconds at Alcazar" (Whitney Biennial 2004), David Michalek's "Slow Dancing" (Lincoln Center Festival), Toni Dove's "Spectropia", and Matthew Barney's "Cremaster 5". Design for dance includes recent projects with Pascal Rioult, Karole Armitage, Elisa Monte Dance, Philadanco, Noémie Lafrance, Dusan Tynek Dance Theatre, Alexandra Beller, Andrea Haenggi/AMDaT, Third Rail Projects, and a long-standing association with the Martha Graham Dance Company where she recently reconstructed Martha Graham's original designs for "Clytemnestra".
Susan Berkley (Treasurer) Susan has been the treasurer of 360° Dance Company since its inception, and she provides fundraising, grant development, and administrative support to the company as requested. A graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, Susan works in medical education and has been with Impact Communication Partners for over 16 years. Susan spends most of her free time running around with her family – husband Mark, and sons Sam and Lyle.
Craig Tooman is a Principal at Cutsogeorge Tooman & Allen for the last 18 years and was an Associate with the then named Cutsogeorge & Associates for 4 years prior. Mr. Tooman also serves on the boards of STREB Lab for Action Mechanics (S.L.A.M.) and Young Dance Collective.
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Giselle C. Woo is an associate in Fross Zelnick’s litigation practice, focusing on litigation in the areas of copyright, trademark, and unfair competition. She represents clients on matters related to intellectual property rights across a range of industries, including publishing, fashion, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products. Prior to joining Fross Zelnick, Ms. Woo practiced for three years as a litigator at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
Mark Berkley (Web Designer) has been working as a graphic designer for over 10 years. He attended Parsons School of Design in NYC and after an internship at factor-i, a small design firm, he was hired there as a full-time designer. There he worked on projects for Jaguar Cars, Princeton University, Bartizan, and others. Currently Mark is working as a designer in the marketing department of a non-profit organization that has offices throughout the country. He was won numerous awards as a participant of the New Jersey Advertising Club. You can view more of Mark's design work here: www.markberkley.com and his second love, photography, here: www.markberkleyphotography.com