SEPTEMBER’S GUEST ARTIST

Avi Pryntz-Nadworny is an international choreographer, circus acrobat, and physical theatre artist. 

He has taught and performed around the globe, including seven years touring internationally with PUSH Physical Theatre and performances with Cirque du Soleil, Cirq’ulation Locale, and CirqOvation. Avi brings a unique blend of physical precision and theatricality to his teaching, creating a space that is both technically rigorous and creatively expansive.

OCTOBER’S GUEST ARTIST

Reign Capers (she/her) is a visionary dance artist, choreographer, and educator from Columbia, SC. She is earning her MFA at SUNY Brockport, where her work explores embodied love, identity, and the healing power of movement. Through her artistic direction as Founder of Radiance Movement Co., Reign creates empowering spaces where marginalized voices are nurtured through dance. Her work strongly upholds principles of education and community, offering dance as both a liberatory practice and a force for social change.

NOVEMBER’S GUEST ARTIST

Nanako Horikawa Mandrino is a dance artist and educator whose classes empower participants to cultivate awareness in their body and the space around them. Her dynamic career, marked by collaborations with a variety of artists around Great Rochester, has deepened her profound interest in improvisation and nuanced qualities of movement. She holds certifications in Pilates and Movement Analysis with a focus on Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals.

DECEMBER’S GUEST ARTIST

Anne Wilcox (MFA) presents nationally and internationally on topics such as kinesthetic education, creativity, assessment, intergenerational dance, and linguistics and dance. She is a former President of NYSDEA and founder of the educational company Active Learning Games. For twenty-five years she directed the contemporary dance company, Present Tense Dance, and in 2024 published her first book, Get Up and Learn: Anatomy.

 www.activelearninggames.com

JANUARY’S GUEST ARTIST

Heather Acomb, MFA, ERYT 500, RPYT, is a Rochester-based dance artist and somatic movement educator. She has more than 20 years of experience studying, practicing and teaching somatic movement through the lenses of dance and hatha yoga. She received her MFA in dance from SUNY Brockport in 2009, and currently teaches there full-time.  Heather works closely with internationally known dance educator and celebrated choreographer Bill Evans. She is a former Bill Evans Dance Company member and a Certified Evans Teacher. She teaches Evans Technique and is well versed in the Laban/Bartenieff framework.  She enjoys exploring the intersection of dance and yoga in her all of her movement classes on both physical and philosophical planes. Her classes invite all ages and levels of movers into their physical practice with a focus on breath, body awareness and mind-body connectivity all while honoring the individual self and playfully enjoying being in the present moment!

FEBRUARY’S GUEST ARTIST

MARCH’S GUEST ARTIST

Amya Brice (She/They) is the Founder and Creative Director of Grassroots Dance Exploration; a dance company based in Rochester, NY. She is 25 years old and works as the School Administrator for Garth Fagan Dance.  She is a choreographer under the Grassroots Dance name and a member of the dance company Cat + the Coyote which has performed in the Rochester Fringe Festival and Rochester Cocktail Revival. She has also performed with Create a Space NOW, founded by Hettie Barnill. As a choreographer, Brice focuses on Contemporary Dance as a story-telling device. They have created evening length shows; Hitsville, 1959, CHROEOMANIA, as well as her collaborative work with Max Laszewski; Eroding Attachments. She will continue to make works to inspire and motivate others to keep dancing and growing in this world.

ANNOUNCING SOON!

MAY’S GUEST ARTIST

Doreen S. Prempeh is a passionate and dynamic dancer who began her journey with Ma'Frisah, the University of Rochester’s Afrobeat dance group. She continued performing throughout her college years with Kerfala Bangoura and his Guinean, West African group, Sansifanyi, bringing vibrant movement to the Rochester community. She also got to  choreograph and perform for the Dance Department which expanded her artistry all while taking a variety of classes offered.Through jazz, contemporary, and somatic-based styles, she deepened her understanding of embodied practice and movement. Her work reflects both cultural pride and a commitment to growth through interdisciplinary exploration and expressive performance.