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Erica MoshmanDirector of Development & Donor Relations
Youth Repertory Director; Ballet, Modern 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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Nadia SimmonsAdministrative Assistant
Nadia Simons (Bronx, NY) began her dance training at Uptown Dance Academy and Dance Theatre of Harlem. She attended Talent Unlimited High School which opened doors to programs such as teens@Graham and the Teen Taylor Ensemble. Nadia graduated with an Arts and Science degree from Queensborough Community College. At the Dance program there she had the opportunity to work with Emily Berry, Aviva Gisemer, Maria Bauman and Kevin McEwen. She recently received her BFA in Dance at Montclair State University where she peformed in works by Urban Bush Women, Dolly Sfeir, Stefanie Batten Bland and Janice Rosario. Dance is my outlet and can be so healing and therapeutic in my eyes. I enjoy creating, as well as being apart of my peers visual/projects to help there visions grow and come to life! I've been apart of “the Panorama” at The Martha Graham and have recently joined Matthew Wetserby Company's MWC2. |
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Alex MartinProject Manager
Tap, Theatre Jazz, Early Childhood Dance 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. Recently, she completed a three month residency through the 92Y’s Young Leaders Series in collaboration with Dorrance Dance. Currently, Alex devotes her time teaching over 40 classes per week throughout New York, including movement classes at two Special Education schools. |
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Rachel ShaverOutreach Coordinator
Jazz, Contemporary Rachel hails from Chesterfield, Virginia. Her performance career began at King's Dominion Theme Park, while she was studying Dance at Thomas Dale High School Specialty Center for Performing Arts. She obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the Conservatory at Shenandoah University. Upon graduating, she joined Christopher K. Morgan and Artists (CKM&A) as Company Apprentice, and later Company Dancer. Her solo work, Antlers, was commissioned by VelocityDC Dance Festival, the 34th Annual Choreographer's Showcase, and by CKM&A to be performed at Brighton Dance Festival, as well as other D.C. dance festivals. Since moving to New York she has worked with local choreographers in showcases such as APAP, and One Condition, and has recently added virtual performances to her repertoire. To support herself living and dancing in New York, Rachel has always maintained a myriad of occupations. She began her administrative ventures in 2018 on the management and customer service teams of NYC Fitness Studios. In 2022, she started her own business, Willow Tree Fitness, LLC. with which she manages her client books and all business matters. Outside of RDA, she enjoys listening to Taylor Swift, reading her kindle, and taking her dog Willow to the park. |
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Rachel BinneyTap
Rachel Binney is a tap dancer based in New York City. Rachel began dancing in Brewster, NY where she studied as a multidisciplinary dancer with Nicole Aravena. She took a special interest in tap dance, and sought further training at Steps on Broadway with Derick K Grant and at the American Tap Dance Foundation as part of the Tap City Youth Ensemble. Some of Rachel's performance appearances include the New York City Tap Festival, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Tribeca Film Festival, Dance Off The Grid, Tap Family Reunion, Steps Beyond Foundation’s Performance Lab, and more. Rachel has co-produced and choreographed a show entitled "Love Notes to Tap Dance" through the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. Rachel joined Dance Lab New York as Rehearsal Director for their 2022 Tap Dance Lab Cycle under the direction of Ayodele Casel and Torya Beard with choreographers Naomi Funaki, Dario Natarelli, and Demi Remick. Rachel attended Lehman College for Rehabilitation Science and seeks to continue collaborations with arts education organizations such as A Free Bird and Dance Education Equity Association (DEEA). Rachel is currently on faculty at the American Tap Dance Foundation and a guest teacher at studios across the greater New York (city) area. |
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Caitlin BradyModern
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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Sidney ChoothesaHip Hop
Sidney Choothesa is a dance instructor, choreographer, and performer originally from Bridgeport, CT. She grew up training at CT Dance Conservatory where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, and hip hop. Sidney continued her dance training in Sacred Heart University’s Dance Company’s Professional Track. While in the dance program at SHU, Sidney was able to work closely with professionals such as Mike Esperanza, along with BARE dance company, Phil Orsano, Jesse Obremski, Matthew Westerby, Tiffanie Carson, and McClaine Timmerman. Through the SHU dance program she was also able to travel to Italy to dance and perform for the World Dance Movement where she won two scholarships from Michele Assaf and Desmond Richardson. Sidney also gained the opportunity to be a featured dancer in two musicals put on by SHU’s Theater Arts Program which are, “In the Heights” and “Hair”. After college, she taught at Sacred Heart University for the dance program and choreographed numerous pieces. Sidney is currently a dance instructor and choreographer for CT Dance Conservatory and a company member for “Matthew Westerby Company” where she continues to perform in numerous shows based in New York City. |
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Whitney JanisJazz
Whitney Janis (New York, NY) is a dancer, instructor and arts enthusiast. She received her professional training from The Ailey School in 2018 and completed summer intensives at Ailey, San Francisco Conservatory and Elisa Monte Dance (now EMERGE125). She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University. Whitney has performed with American Liberty Ballet, ARIM Dance, Artists By Any Other Name, Avoir Motion, Bugge Ballet, Dance Visions NY, NYC Dance Arts, Dance Entropy and VashtiDance Theater in venues throughout New York City and in Virginia, North Carolina and Australia. She has worked with choreographers Souleymane Badolo, Bassam Abou Diab, Valerie Mae Browne, Michael Buoni, Ari Mayzick, Nicole Bugge and Beth Jucovy among others. Her choreography has been presented in venues throughout NYC and in Australia. In addition to working with Rivertown Dance Academy, Whitney is on faculty at the Brooklyn- based Purelements school and is an Ailey Arts-in-Education Teaching Artist. Whitney is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum, and completed Ailey’s Horton Teacher Training Workshop in all levels. |
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Elisabeth JeffreyBallet, (Pre)Pointe
Elisabeth Jeffrey is currently the Rehearsal Director and a member of Periapsis Music and Dance, while also being a freelance artist in NYC. She is a full scholarship graduate of the Joffrey Ballet School, and has trained with schools such as The Royal Ballet School, Houston Ballet and Washington Ballet. Elisabeth has taught company classes for Benjamin Briones Ballet and led auditions for Periapsis Music and Dance and Emotions Physical Theater, as well workshops for Central Minnesota Ballet Academy's Adult Program, Montana School of Classical Ballet, MADco Dance Company, and is a core teacher for NYCommunity Ballet. She also enjoys being a supplementary teacher for Greenwich House of Music School, Dancation (NJ) and Logrea Dance Academy (NY). Elisabeth’s class is built on an honest and straightforward approach to ballet. Classes provide a firm technical structure, focus on the individual’s needs, technical goals, and accuracy of movement, helping the student to build layer on layer of technical tools, while preparing the professional for the day. |
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Luiza KarnasTap, Early Childhood Dance
Luiza Karnas is a dance artist and educator in the NYC and Westchester area. Originally from Brazil, she received her M.F.A in Performance and Choreography from SUNY The College at Brockport, NY, and graduated from Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS (Brazil) with a degree in Dance Education. An advocate of dance education, Karnas has 10+ years of experience as a Teaching Artist with a focus on early childhood education, tap dance, hip hop, and creative movement. Karnas is thrilled to be part of the RDA team and to continue sharing her passion for dance. |
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Jill MoshmanBallet, Modern, Early Childhood Dance
Jill Moshman is a choreographer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist. She holds a BA from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA and an MA from Bath Spa University in Bath, UK. Her 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. www.jillmoshman.com |
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Sophia OrtegaEarly Childhood Dance
Sophia Ortega grew up in Orange County, California and began dancing at age four. At age 13, Sophia attended Joffrey Ballet School’s Contemporary Ballet Program in San Francisco, where she was a scholarship award recipient two years in a row, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Advanced Program at age 16. In 2019, she choreographed in Colombia with JUNTOS Collective, teaching jazz classes to students at elementary schools and performing at various non-profits. In California, she taught at Avanti Dance Company and was selected to choreograph and perform an original solo for the dedication of the Christ Cathedral. Sophia graduated from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program with a BFA in Dance and BA in English in 2022. At The Ailey School, she danced works by Pedro Ruiz and Jamar Roberts, as well as choreographing many contemporary ballet pieces. When Sophia's not teaching classes at RDA, she is busy as a Teacher’s Assistant for Pre-K and enjoys helping students achieve their goals in reading and handwriting. |
