Mayzsoul Artists
COLLABORATORS
JESSE GUESSFORD
JAIR KAMPERVEEN
BEN KIRSCH
MONICA MURGIA
CONNIE WEIS O’MARA
MICHAEL WIENER
Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls Oh how we are a maze of souls
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Melanie Lalande, company Founder and Director, has been a noted dance instructor in the DC metropolitan area for many years, based in northern Virginia, following her training at GMU. Meanwhile, she has worked extensively as a choreographer in the corporate/commercial realm—most notably as the tour choreographer for acclaimed hiphop act The Roots and her current work as Artistic Director of Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza. Mayzsoul is the manifestation of a long gestation–the emergence of the artist from the cocoon–allowing Melanie Lalande to, at last, showcase not only the whip crackin’ craft of her long trained ensemble, but also, of course, her ideas as a choreographer in her own right, unfettered, with no constraints, not to mention as an amateur scientist, philosopher and all around curious cat. It’s been a long time comin’ …home.
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Toy Falcone, Cofounder, holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Towson University and has been performing professionally for 17 years with such companies as Classical Ballet Theatre, Stage Crew Jazz Company, Tony Powell Music & Movement, Dancin’ Unlimited, Arlington Dance Theatre, Jazzdanz/dc and most currently, Mayzsoul. Toy has also performed in industrial work for Toyota and General Growth Properties and has appeared as a guest artist in the Finest in Family Living Awards, Festival of Trees Ceremony, Alexandria Christmas tree lighting ceremony, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the American College Dance Festival and ‘Traveling Through Music History’ with the BSO. In addition to performing, Toy is a much sought after dance educator, currently working as the Director of Dance for the Fairfax Academy Dance program. She is the former Director of Performance Programming at the American Dance Institute and former Director of the Joy of Motion Youth Dance Intensive Level III. Toy has worked as a guest teacher for the American High School Dance Festival and as guest choreographer for Bound 4 Broadway.
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Amy Cuppett Stiverson, Artistic and Business Director, is Mrs. Cuppett’s’ Grand Finale’. Under her mother’s tuttelage, Amy performed and competed with the Cuppett Dance Company and danced as a soloist in all the Cuppett ballets. She also studied with the Washington Ballet School, and attended the Teacher’s Training School at Kent University. Amy earned a B.S. degree in Finance from Old Dominion University in 1992 and managed a successful career in Mortgage Banking and Real Estate for 7 years. Feeling a ‘pull’ back to her art, she took her business skills and began managing and promoting the Cuppett Performing Arts Center in the late 90’s, of which her efforts contributed to tripling the enrollment at CPAC. More recently Amy has been rehearsing her ‘Artistic’ side—her award-winning choreography can be seen on the 55-member Cuppett Dance Company for which she directs. Amy served as Master Teacher for a Dance Masters of America Student/Teacher Workshop and was recognnized as a Virginia Governor’s School Outstanding Educator in 2004. She is a teacher member of the Cecchetti Council of America. Amy is the mother for three beautiful girls and a handsome boy.
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Gabby Amato Boselovic was born and raised in Vienna, VA where she studied dance at Vienna Dance Academy growing up. Gabby graduated from Virginia Tech in May of 2007 with a B.A. in English. During her time at Tech, she was a dancer, choreographer, and executive member of Dance Company of Virginia Tech. She also worked as a Universal Dance Association (UDA) dance camp instructor for two years. In 2009, she was named Rehearsal Director of Mayzsoul. Gabby is thankful to everyone who has enabled her to pursue her passion for dance and is very appreciative of her time with Mayzsoul.
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Ashley Cuppett has been dancing since the age of three. She is now teaching and choreographing at the studio that formed her into the dancer she is today—Cuppett Performing Arts Center. She has performed in many award winning dances and has been choreographing since the age of 15. Ashley has recently graduated from high school and now attends Northern Virginia Community College. She has been dancing with Mayzsoul since August of 2007.
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Julius Elegido attended Fairfax Academy for Communications and the Arts, where he met Melanie Lalande. He has choreographed for shows in the Northern Virginia area and performed for the La Me Zoul dance company in Arizona. In 2008, he served as Assistant Artistic Director of Mayzsoul. He currently attends Virginia Commonwealth University and is working on receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography.
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Andrea Freska began her dance training while attending high school in Taipei, Taiwan. Quickly developing a love of movement, she joined the Taipei American School’s International Baccalaureate dance program where she trained in Modern, Jazz, Hip Hop, African and various other world dance forms. Under the influential leadership of mentor Deborah Flemming, Andrea grew as both a performer and a choreographer. She danced in modern renditions of Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker and in various other shows where she performed a number of well known choreographies including Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Etude. Andrea also choreographs her own work, creating site-specific dance as well as dance for the stage. After moving back to the United States, Andrea continued her training at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California and at The Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She currently dances at Joy of Motion Dance Center in Washington D.C. and is excited to be joining the Mayzsoul family.
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Kelliann Grzegozewski began dancing at seven years old, learning the disciplines of Ballet, Jazz and Tap. She has studied with Toy Falcone and Melanie Lalande from the age of nine through today. At the age of twelve she discovered Cuppett Performing Art Center where she began her Pointe, Modern and Company Performance training in addition to Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Lyrical. Taught by Mozelle Stanton, Christine Musig, Connie O’Mara, Amy Stiverson, Nicole Perricelli, Adrian Bolton, Lisa Grau, and Alzine Cuppett, Kelliann danced at CPAC throughout high school. With Cuppett’s she danced in many master classes, workshops, and competitions, including Dance Masters of America Titleship Competition (in 2003) as a soloist, group member, and choreographer. During her junior and senior years of high school, she elected to dance during school in the Fairfax Academy for the Arts. As a senior in high school, Kelliann danced the role of “Kitri” in CPAC’s excerpts from “Don Quixote” where she learned pas de deux under the instruction of Cuppett’s Ballet Director, Christine Musig and guest artist Brian Skates. Currently, she studies dance and choreography at George Mason University while teaching for CPAC and performing with Mayzsoul.
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Lindsay Ingram began her dance career in ballet and has been lucky enough to experience dance styles ranging from traditional to cultural to musical theater over the years. Lindsay graduated from George Mason University with a bachelors in 2007 and is currently pursuing her Masters in Forensic Psychology. Lindsay joined Mayzsoul in 2007, was named Operations Director in Winter 2008 and feels incredibly lucky to be part of such an amazing company. She is thankful for all of the opportunities Mayzsoul has created and is excited to see what the future holds!
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Caitlin Jordan began dancing at a very young age and trained under the direction of Maureen Miller and Sharon Merke at The Loudoun School of ballet in Leesburg, VA until 2005. During that time she performed extensively with the school’s Ballet and Jazz companies and was fortunate enough to participate in the Tanzommer Tour in Austria with the Loudoun Ballet Company in 2002. Caitlin also trained for three summers at the Joffrey New York summer intensive. In May 2009, she graduated from Point Park University earning a BA in Dance with concentrations in Ballet and Jazz. During her time there she studied under Dana Arey, Doug Bentz, Judith Leifer-Bentz, Jason McDole, Susan Stowe and performed works by Nicolas Petrov, Doug Bentz, Sema Konur and her own work in collaboration with Maeghan Flynn. Caitlin works as a Dance/Gymnastics coach at the Loudoun Gymnastics Center in Sterling, VA, teaches at the Loudoun School of Ballet, and is currently working with Alight Dance Theater and Mayzsoul Dance Company.
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Jenn Ruhl Kubilus grew up dancing in New Jersey, New York City and the Philadelphia areas. She is well versed in contemporary, modern, lyrical, ballet, pointe, jazz and acro-dance. She graduated from George Mason University with a BFA degree in Dance and a minor in Arts Administration. While attending college she both performed and choreographed with the GMU Dance Company. As part of resident artist programs she has performed in the works of Kevin Campbell, Danny Ezralow, Susan Marshall, Kate Skarpetowska, Lar Lubovitch and Paul Taylor. Jenn has presented works at GMU’s Harris Theater’s Dance Concerts and one of her piece’s represented GMU at the American College Dance Festival. Jenn also performed with Momentum Dance Theatre during the 2006 Capitol Fringe Festival while completing her Arts Administration Internship. She has choreographed for the T.C Williams High School theater program and volunteered in dance outreach programs. Her athletic background in gymnastics, spring board diving and competitive dance has shaped her creative style. She has worked throughout the DC Metro area as an independent dancer, model, and choreographer. In 2004 Jenn began working with the youth competitive company and recreational adult classes at Chris Collins Dance Studio. She has also joined the dance teaching staff at Cuppett Performing Arts Center and Amyclae Dance Academy. Jenn has been a dancer and choreographer with Mayzsoul since 2008.
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Laura Lamp is originally from Fairfax, Virginia. She has performed in New York City, Washington, DC, and Italy. Her training includes programs at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, North Carolina School of the Arts, American Ballet Theatre and the San Fransisco Conservatory of Dance. Laura’s photography has appeared in F-Stop Magazine, and Elfindorfs, her short film, was the winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Charleston Symphony Orchestra’s Film Festival. Laura is a 2009 graduate of George Mason University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance and a Minor in Arts Administration. Currently, Laura lives and works in New York City, and counts herself incredibly fortunate to have been involved with Mayzsoul since 2006.
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Ahmad Maaty is a student at Pace University in New York City. He is working towards the Actors Studio M.F.A. for acting. He graduated with a B.A. in Theater and a minor in dance from George Mason University in Farifax, VA. Ahmad’s first run in with dance was belly dancing, which he learned through his Egyptian roots starting at a very young age, and continues to both perform and teach belly dancing today. His love for hip-hop and jazz came through watching many music videos and being able to catch on to the choreography and put his own twist and flavor to it. He became co-captain/choreographer of his high school dance team his sophomore year, and was captain/choreographer both junior and senior years of high school. He loves many other styles of dance including tap, modern, Broadway jazz, and anything international. He has performed as a guest artist with Laurel Victoria Gray’s Silk Road Dance Company. He also teaches jazz and hip-hop at the Academy of Russian Ballet in Manassas, Virginia, and acting and musical theater dance at A Class Act: Acting For Young People youth theater program in Fairfax, Virginia. Ahmad has a firm belief that anything can be accomplished if you have the passion and optimism to accomplish it!
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Michelle Murgia has been dancing since the age of three, the majority of those years at Dancensations Dance Center, and has had the opportunity to work with many talented and versatile directors and choreographers. She is grateful dance has given her an edge in her other passion: theatre. Michelle plans to continue her education in dance and theatre, while continuing with choreography and growing into her own existence.
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Onica Patalive studied at the Allegro Dance Arts Academy under the direction of Nancy Volpe and Sharon Druzbanski. There she was a member of the Performing Arts Company and won numerous national awards. Onica graduated from Virginia Tech in May of 2008 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Biology. During her time there, she was a member of the Dance Company of Virginia Tech and frequently choreographed for the company. She also taught and choreographed for the Dance.tech Performing Arts Company and the Blacksburg Ballet. She is currently working at Cvent as a product consultant. This is Onica’s first season with Mayzsoul.
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Krista Sandosky began dancing in her hometown of Elliott City, Maryland. She continued throughout middle and high school, performing in many styles including modern, tap, lyrical and ballet. She attended Virginia Tech, and graduated with degrees in mathematics and economics in 2006. While attending Virginia Tech, Krista was a member of the Dance Company at Virginia Tech, where she choreographed, performed, and served on the executive board. Today, Krista is an accountant at a telecommunication company in Fairfax, Virginia. She is delighted about her first year with Mayzsoul.
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The age of three is when Joye Thomas started dancing. She started her training a couple years later at the Russell School of Ballet, home of the Fairfax Ballet, in Chantilly, Virginia. After Joye was asked to be in their company, she had the opportunity to perform at numerous venues such as George Mason Center for the Arts, Joy of Motion, and Dance Place. She danced in works by Tony Powell and Lucy Bowen-McCaley. During her last two years of high school she had the opportunity to take a dance class everyday for the last half of a school day. That class was a highlight in her life; there she got to work with Melanie Lalande, whose visions are out of this world. She also got to meet people that are still in her life to this day. After graduating high school Joye went on to attend Point Park University, for dance, under the teachings of Nicolas Petrov and Judith Leifer- Bentz. After a year and a half she left college to be a part of her mentor, Melanie Lalande’s, dance company—Mayzsoul. A year later Joye decided to continue her education at Virginia Commonwealth University for dance. Since being in Richmond she started teaching at Jessica Morgan School of Dance along with setting pieces on Mayzsoul. In 2009, Joye was named Assistant Artistic Director. She enjoys the little things in life and her choreography is not little. Joye hopes to always be part of Mayzsoul, even though she is so distant. Being part of Mayzsoul helps reassure her love of dance.
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Gracie Valdez is a graduate of George Mason University with a B.A. in Art (History). She danced through college with the nationally ranked George Mason Masonettes Dance Team. Gracie was a teacher at the Cuppett Performing Arts Center in Vienna, VA from 2003-2008 and the coach of the James Madison High School Dance Team. She has completed her Cecchetti I Teaching certification and is currently working towards further teaching certifications through Cecchetti and Dance Masters of America. Gracie has been dancing with Mayzsoul since 2006 and was named Rehearsal Director/Operations Manager in 2008 and Assistant Artistic Director in 2009.
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Tori Violetta has been dancing since the age of four, when she took her first “baby ballet” class and fell in love with the spotlight. Growing up, she studied ballet, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, modern, pom, and tap at local dance studios, as well as joined a competitive dance company. She went on to become a member of the Robinson High School Dance and Drill Team and, later, a member of the Longwood Company of Dancers, where she served as Costume Mistress and choreographed several pieces. In May 2009, she graduated from Longwood University with a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Elementary Education. Tori currently teaches fifth grade, and she is absolutely thrilled to be a part of Mayzsoul!
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MICHAEL WIENER
Michael is a New York City based film and theater actor, performer and writer. Recent film: a central role as new age cult leader in The Other Way Round, the feature film debut of noted novelist Brian Pera. Next: title character, a disturbed Hasidic man, in Where is Joel Baum, the first narrative film from award-winning documentary filmmaker Pearl Gluck (”Divan”). A music collaboration, The Children… celebrates its first album release with a multimedia performance at St. Mark’s Church, Nov. 18. Michael is volcalist-lyricist of this group, composed of alumni from bands like Swans, Cop Shoot Cop, and Barkmarket. Michael’s projects have taken him to theaters, museums, galleries, rock clubs, college campuses, the pages of magazines, television talk shows, film festivals, runways and hotels all around the country. Much of this activity has occurred, or been birthed in New York City, and occasionally, his native Washington D.C. He is greatly inspired by this nascent collaboration with Melanie, Toy and Mayzsoul.
Most people would classify Jesse Guessford as an experimental composer, his family, however, thinks he should write horror movie soundtracks. Over the years he has softened; occasionally a chord may appear that is not fully dissonant. Generally, he sees himself taking the rules broken in the 50’s and 60’s (which are now half a century ago) and borrowing what he needs fro different schools of thought for each piece. He subscribes to no set ideology, but that in itself is an ideology. He usually can found composing for electronics, but then again he also composes for solo instruments and chamber groups, so it all depends on what is on the program. Also, he has a secret interest in becoming a lounge pianist, which does not fit in musically with his compositions. As a side note, he does have a doctorate in composition, which lends a hint of credibility to some of his crazy ideas.
Jair Kamperveen has worked in numerous productions in Washington, DC, including the Shakespeare Theatre Company and the Folger Theatre. He can also be seen and heard on national TV and radio ads. He is thrilled to work with Mayzsoul when he can.
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Ben Kirsch started studying martial arts when he was four and gymnastics when he was seven. In the seventh grade, Ben became a power tumbler and moved on from there. After giving cheerleading a try, he changed his mind because it wasn’t for him. The next endeavor was diving, and eventually different dance groups. His biggest step in the dance world was with a personality group in high school, which taught a variety of dance forms including jazz, tap and swing. A little ballet and things came from friends who base their lives on it, and he picked it up. Ben aspires to work with Cirque Du Soleil one day, and currently works as a professional clown/character impersonator.
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Monica Murgia has been dancing since three years old and has made dance a large part of her life. She dances at Radford University during the school year and is so thrilled to be a part of Mayzsoul!
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CONNIE WEIS O’MARA
Connie has been dancing for 32 years and teaching for over 25. During this time, she toured throughout the Washington area with the Kathy Harty Gray Dance Theater. She also performed with Upright Vertebrates, Diane Floyd & Saturday Company, Contemporary Dancers of Alexandria, and as a guest performer for several local choreographers. Connie’s dance training has emphasized the historic modern techniques of Martha Graham, José Limon, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. She holds an A.B. in Sociology from Miami University in Ohio. Connie has been honored with scholarships to study at the University of Chicago, where she received an M.A. in Urban Studies, and to study dance with the Joyce Trisler Company of New York and at the Dance Project in Washington, D.C. with Jan Van Dyke. Connie teaches Modern and Yoga for the Cuppett Performing Arts Center, stretch and tone classes for private corporations, and private/individual classes upon request.
