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Erica Moshman (she/her)Director of Operations
Junior Repertory Director; Ballet, Modern, Inclusive Dance Faculty Erica Moshman is a dance artist, performer and facilitator. Erica's focus is in inclusive dance practice and community work. She is a co-founder of Parable Dance & Artistic Director of Parable NY, and has performed with Becky Radway Dance Projects, Heidi Latsky Dance Company, Evolve Dance Inc. Suse Tietjen/ Tanzorchester Suse Tietjen, Bahar Fattahi, and Jill Moshman, among others. Erica is also the Managing Editor of The Dancer-Citizen online journal. She holds a BA in dance and anthropology from Connecticut College (USA) and an MA in dance anthropology from the University of Roehampton (UK). |
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Alex Martin (she/her)Project Manager
Tap, Theatre Jazz, Early Childhood Dance; Camp Faculty Alex Martin is a dancer, choreographer and educator with a BFA in Dance from Wayne State University. Originally from Michigan, she relocated to NYC post-graduation and has worked with numerous companies, including The American Tap Dance Foundation, Evolve Dance, John Zullo/Raw Movement, and Nicholas Leichter Dance. Alex was an Administrative Assistant with Dorrance Dance for several years and has worked with The American Tap Dance Foundation for over 15 years as a festival coordinator and intern director. Currently, Alex devotes her time teaching over 40 classes per week throughout New York, including movement classes at two Special Education schools and is the Artistic Director of the MK Dance Company and Project Manager at Rivertown Dance Academy. |
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Renée KashubaDevelopment Manager
Renée brings more than 25 years’ experience in marketing and communications to RDA and has been a friend of the program since its inception and a lifelong dance student. After completing an undergraduate degree from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, Renée earned a master’s from Columbia University in New York City and entered a career in professional promotions in medicine, winning an Rx Club Award of Excellence for writing a patient education program. |
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Jill Moshman (she/her)Studio Manager
Youth Repertory Director, Ballet, Modern, Early Childhood Dance; Camp Faculty Jill Moshman is a choreographer, performer, and teacher of all ages. She holds a BA from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA and an MA from Bath Spa University in Bath, UK. Her artistic work is primarily grounded in movement, while seeking to explore the intersections between dance, film, text, and visual media, and the diverse ways in which movement can be captured for an audience. She has taught at RDA for several years, and is excited to bring her love of organization to the admin team! www.jillmoshman.com |
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Sandy Andrade (she/her)Front Desk Associate
Sandy brings nearly two decades of dance experience to Rivertown Dance Academy, having been part of the RDA community since the age of three. She is currently pursuing a degree in Digital Media Production at Manhattanville University, where she has also been a member of the Manhattanville Dance Troupe for four years. In addition to her extensive background in dance, Sandy is an aspiring graphic designer and animator. Her creative work includes developing social media campaigns, photography projects, logo design, and branded content for a variety of platforms. She is passionate about combining movement and visual storytelling, both in the studio and in her academic and professional pursuits. |
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Leah Barcelo (she/her)Front Desk Associate; Inclusive Dance Facutlty
Leah is an alumna of Rivertown Dance Academy, having first joined the community at the age of three and served as a student mentor for six years. She recently graduated with a BA in Neuroscience & Behavior from Barnard College of Columbia University, where she trained in Tap and Flamenco. During her time at Barnard, Leah performed in Barnard/Columbia Dances at Miller Theatre, where she was featured in the original work In the Groove, choreographed by Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards. She was also a member of Columbia UnTapped, Columbia University’s only tap dance ensemble open to students of all experience levels, where she assisted with choreography and served as Vice President. |
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Laura Aronoff (she/her)Jazz, Contemporary, Theatre Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Jazz Funk
Originally from Atlanta, GA, Laura has lived and performed in Los Angeles, NYC and all over the country. She is SO happy to have found her permanent home with her husband and family in Sleepy Hollow. After graduating from Tulane University with a degree in Communication, Laura began her career in commercial dance and theatre. She has performed for brands such as Adidas, Southwest Airlines and Disney, as well as live premieres for Cartoon Network, FX Network and HBO. TV, commercial and film credits include Rooms To Go, Tall Girl 2 (Netflix), Step Up Series: Season 3 (Starz), Pretty Little Liars (HBO) and Will Trent (ABC/Hulu). Laura’s favorite music video credits include 'KIDS' by New Kids on the Block and the official video for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ ‘American Girl’. Regional theatre credits include: Footloose, West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, National Tour of Rudolph, and The Music Man. |
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Asia Bonilla (she/her)Ballet, Early Childhood Dance, Stretch
Originally from Trabuco Canyon, CA, Asia graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program with a major in Dance and a minor in Mathematics. She has performed internationally in Australia, Africa, and across Europe and is currently a dancer with Ariel Rivka Dance. She has also danced with VISIONS Contemporary Ballet, BHdos (the second company of Ballet Hispánico), and Alison Cook-Beatty Dance and has performed works by choreographers Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, Michelle Manzanales, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Jacqulyn Buglisi among others. Asia has taught dance throughout New York and abroad at institutions such as West Village Nursery School, The Dalton School, and Dance Project of Washington Heights. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist and has worked with physical therapists for over five years. She loves teaching all kinds of movement and is very excited to be joining the faculty of Rivertown Dance Academy! |
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Caitlin Brady (she/her)Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Early Childhood Dance; Camp Faculty
Born and raised in Peekskill, New York, Caitlin Brady has been a dance instructor since 2003. Caitlin studied dance at Hofstra University where she was also a student choreographer for both Danceworks and MoVom. She has choreographed for a range of events from the Miss Delaware Competition to the Annual Business Council of Westchester’s Dancing with the Rising Stars. She believes that dance should be a release from reality as well as a challenge of the individual mind/body within a safe space (@caitiilou) |
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Grace Cotter (she/her)Special Programs Faculty; Camp Faculty
As a teaching artist, Grace’s philosophy is to “stretch the circle wider.” She is continuously advocating for dance to be accessible for people of all abilities. Grace has taught for studios such as American Ballet Theatre, Mark Morris Dance Group and The Nashville Ballet, as well as in homeless shelters, senior living homes, community centers for people with disabilities, and for Big Brothers Big Sisters. She works in District 75 NYC Public Schools, creating and providing dance programs for students with Autism. Grace is an ABT® Certified Teacher Pre-Primary through Level 5. She has also completed National Dance Education Organization’s Teaching Dance to Students with Disabilities program, and the University of Roehampton’s Dance Movement Psychotherapy course. |
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Kiana Davalos (she/her)Hip Hop, Early Childhood Dance
Kiana Davalos is a self taught international dancer, choreographer, and creative director from Yonkers, New York. Her passion and love for dance began ever since she could walk, and carried on throughout her life since. Without the luxury of being able to take classes when she was young, she took matters into her own hands and made "something out of nothing." At the age of 13, when she first began, she did everything from performing at local events for the community and teaching free classes to the youth, to just simply dancing for herself within the comforts of her own home. Today, that same passion and drive to share and learn has opened some amazing opportunities to travel, perform and teach master workshops all over the world in places such as Canada, Iceland, Puerto Rico and even an International 7 month tour throughout China as head choreographer, artistic director and performer. Kiana has also been featured in Paper Magazine, Complex Magazine, New York Times, International Dance Battles, and World of Dance. As well as worked alongside some amazing sponsors such as Snipes, Sprayground, Contra, Woxer, Staple Pigeon, NBA sports wear, and artists such as TKAY, 070 Shake, Annalise Azadian, Justin Love, Wiz Kid, Akon, and Jadakiss. Kiana uses her networking ability, and passion for dance and the arts to reach out to different people of all sorts of artistic genres to exchange and collaborate. Working with others has pushed Kiana to create in more ways than just dance- it led her to branch out into other fields and develop her own brand and company in which includes Videography, Photography, Fashion, and creative direction. Constantly driven, and inspired by her past and present, Kiana decided to make something that meant more than just a brand, she created a Lifestyle. |
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Joseph Harrington (he/him)Ballet, Contemporary, Pointe
Joseph is a dance educator, fitness instructor, and performer based in New York City. He holds a BFA in Dance from Pace University where his concentration was Ballet Pedagogy. Joseph began performing at a young age, eventually making his Broadway debut at age 8. He starred as Billy in Billy Elliot The Musical on Broadway at age 11 and continued the child performer life for a few more years before heading back to Cincinnati, OH to focus on training and being a kid. He has since maintained a performance career alongside being an educator of dance and fitness to folks of all ages. Some of his favorite opportunities include creating a Boys Ballet program with Mariana Sanchez of Dance Matters in Queens, NY and initiating a theater dance program for seniors at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. He is a NASM-certified Personal Trainer and a certified Reformer Pilates instructor through Studio Pilates International. Joseph strives to use his experiences growing up to inform how he teaches his students. He is passionate about creating a safe, kind, and fun space for his students that inspires hard work and growth. |
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Maddie Hopfield (she/her)Early Childhood Dance; Camp Faculty
Maddie Hopfield is a New York City-based dancer, performer, choreographer, writer, and taiko drummer. Her movement practice and history include shotokan karate, postmodern dance, contact improvisation, house, hip hop, and waacking. She has shown at work venues including Kestrels, The Brick, LifeWorld, the MAAS building, and Urban Movement Arts. She has collaborated with Kayla Bobalek and Julia Bryck, and currently makes work with Marin Day under the name PEPTALK. She has performed in the work of Barnett Cohen, Amelia Heintzelman, Paris Cullen & Sarah Zucchero, Lindsey Jennings, Maya Lee-Parritz, Amalia Colón-Nava, Leah Stein Dance Company, Philly Kerplop (Vince Johnson), Lily Kind, Concept Kinetics ("Cricket" / James Colter), among others. She also performs taiko drumming with Casual Fifth (Philadelphia) and Taikoza (NYC), and dances with Christina Reaves’ company, The Creature (NYC). She loves teaching dance to young people and is excited to be working at Rivertown Dance Academy! |
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Kristin Licata (she/her)Ballet, Modern, Pointe, Floor Barre
Kristin Licata holds a BFA in dance from the Fordham/Ailey program & is an ABT© Certified Teacher in Primary through Level 3 through the ABT® National Training Curriculum. After graduation she worked with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II, Yuka Kawazu/Danse En L’air, Felice Lesser Dance Theatre, Regina Nejman and Company, Tamara Saari Dance, Vabang! and Vox Lumiere. Kristin is a freelance dancer in New York City working with Ariel Rivka Dance, Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn, Matthew Westerby Company, and Valerie Green/Dance Entropy. She is Associate Artistic Director of Matthew Westerby Company. Kristin is a dance teacher on faculty at Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn and is their Artistic Advisor to CBT-2 Junior Company, and Elite Performing Arts Center in NJ. Photo by Whitney Browne. |
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Taylor Litz (he/him)Contemporary, Jazz, Acro
Born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, Taylor started his dance journey at the age of 10 beginning in acro classes journeying his way into other art forms: Contemporary, Jazz, Ballet, Jazz Funk and Hip-Hop. He focused his studies at Krystie’s Dance Acdemy in Warren, Ohio. Here he found his passion training underneath teachers that recognized and fostered his love for the Dance. Upon graduation, he began his professional career as an ensemble member on Disney Cruise Line. Here he starred in many roles including the Magic Carpet, Pinnochio and Sven. Finishing his time with Disney, Taylor moved to New York City where he currently is continuing his professional performance career. In the city, Taylor has performed in the Macy’s Day Parade, “English with an Accent” at Lincoln Center and other Upfronts, Galas and Community Fundraising events. Living in the city Taylor has continued his passion of seeking knowledge in dance. He takes pride in training, and working under many distinguished choreographers and educators such as Nijawwon Matthew’s, James Alonzo, Ehizoje Azeke and Kellen Stancil to name a few. With this knowledge he strives to share his expertise with students of all ages. Taylor has been educating for 8+ years having the opportunity to teach at studios in New York and Ohio. Notably, he has assisted Nijawwon Matthew’s in the AIM and ProSem programs at Broadway Dance Center, and serving as a Dance Captain during his time with Norwegian Cruise Line. Taylor embraces anything that his career has to offer him, and looks forward to his ever-evolving life with Dance. |
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Brianna Luciano (she/her)Adult Latin Fusion
Brianna Luciano is a Choreographer, performer, and versatile Dancer. Born in New Jersey- currently living in Yonkers, New York. Brianna has over 18 years of dance experience and over 13 years of teaching styles such as Latin, hiphop, street jazz, acro, heels, and hustle. She works on commercial sets, creates sets and directs movement through classes, videography, photography and fashion daily. All ages, dance styles and art forms excites and inspires her movement throughout the week and life. Brianna currently teaches 26 classes a week throughout Westchester NY of all ages and has been fortunate to travel overseas and throughout the states for job opportunities with artists like snoop dog and Brittney spears. Brianna was signed to a talent agency also known as Bloc at the age of 17 where she learned a lot about collaborations and have since been featured in magazines, music videos, and dance competitions. There is a special joy about learning and sharing the knowledge of movement. This is Brianna Luciano's life passion. |
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Perla Martinez (she/her)Ballet, Conditioning for Pointe
Perla Martinez is a dancer, performer, and teacher trained at the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School in the Jazz & Contemporary Trainee Program, with extensive training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and musical theatre. Her performance experience includes Broadway, concert dance, and community productions, giving her a well-rounded and versatile artistic background. As an educator, Perla is passionate about using dance to build confidence, discipline, and community. She creates a supportive and uplifting environment where dancers of all ages can grow technically while developing creativity, self-expression, and a love for movement. |
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Charis Polycarpou (she/her)Early Childhood Dance, Ballet, Jazz; Camp Faculty
Charis received her BFA in Creative Writing from Stony Brook University, where she founded Dynamic Dance, a non-competitive dance ensemble open to all students. Since its founding, the group has grown to more than 63 dancers taking six weekly classes across a range of techniques. She directed all six of Dynamic Dance’s showcases, including Spring 2026’s Peter Pan, with a cast and crew of 42. Charis’s choreography has also been performed at RDA’s Frost Fest 2025, Dance N.O.W. Festival 2025, the MWC Youth Dance Platform 2025, and Stony Brook University’s Seawolves Showcase 2025. Charis has been a part of the RDA family since it's founding, graduating from the program in 2022, when she began teaching for RDA as a substitute and then summer faculty. |
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Fiona Scruggs (she/her)Ballet, Pointe; Camp Faculty
Born in Tübingen, Germany, Fiona Scruggs is a dancer, choreographer, researcher, educator, and writer. Fiona is an American Ballet Theatre Certified Teacher (Pre-Primary-Level 5) and received a BS in Dance Education from Radford University where she trained in classical ballet and contemporary with Inessa Plekhanova, Aleksey Plekhanov, and Deborah McLaughlin. She also trained at the Salzburg International Ballet Academy with Ildiko Pongor and Amelia Wanderlingh, Next Generation Ballet, Louisville Ballet, and Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts with Donna Carver. She has performed lead and ensemble roles from ballets including The Nutcracker, Chopiniana, and Don Quixote, musicals including Oklahoma! and Anything Goes, and numerous contemporary and modern works. Fiona has recently performed with Ulster Dance Company and Qualia Dance Collective, of which she is the founder and artistic director. As an artist, Fiona's interests are in storytelling, worldbuilding, and magic. Her work lives at the intersection of ballet, contemporary, and our imaginations. Fiona’s choreography has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, 5×5 Dance Festival, The Foundry, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Chesterwood, Choreography on the Edge, Wandering Dance Festival, Salzburg International Ballet Academy Gala, and Radford University. Formerly, she was a Teaching Artist Fellow through the Massachusetts Cultural Council Creative Youth Development program, the School Programs Coordinator at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and has modeled for fashion designer Samantha Pleet. She is currently an MFA in Dance Candidate at Sarah Lawrence College. |
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Matthew Westerby (he/him)Modern, Choreography
Matthew is a dancer, choreographer and dance educator originally from the U.K. He trained at the Laban Centre, London, and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre. After moving to New York in 2005 he danced with notable choreographers including Nai-Ni Chen, Risa Jaroslow, Dusan Tynek, Bronwen MacArthur, Peter Kyle and Sue Hogan. He founded Matthew Westerby Company in 2009, creating numerous choreographic works and initiating a variety of dance education and community outreach programs. As a non-profit organization, the Company is dedicated to building community through the arts, making dance accessible for all regardless of age, experience or the ability to pay. He has been choreographer-in-residence for Hudson Guild Theatre Company since 2012 creating projects spanning the worlds of dance, opera, music and circus arts. Matthew works as a dance educator for all ages in New York City public schools, in dance training programs and is an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University (CT) teaching dance technique, choreography and dance history. He lives in Manhattan with his husband Steven and their pit bull mix rescue, Macy Grey, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration at Baruch College. |