A New Jersey native, Alexis Branagan trained at New Jersey School of Ballet and spent summers at The Juilliard School, American Ballet Theatre, Kaatsbaan, and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. She received her degree in English with an emphasis on theater studies and dance from Princeton University, where she also founded Princeton University Ballet. She danced with New York Theatre Ballet from 2012-2022. She has also performed with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, Armitage GONE! Dance, and New Jersey Ballet and in Battery Dance and Westfest Dance Festivals to perform work by choreographer Amanda Treiber. She has performed works by Sir Richard Alston, Merce Cunningham, Susan Marshall, Agnes de Mille, Clove Galilee, Liza Genaro, Robert LaFosse, José Límon, Donald Mahler, Keith Michael, Jerome Robbins, Pam Tanowitz, Antony Tudor, and William Whitener. She has also danced in opera productions, in productions of Shakespeare in the Park by the Public Theater, at Carnegie Hall with the NY Pops for Holiday and Broadway hits concerts, and for television. Alongside her freelance dancing, Alexis works in communications for Princeton University Concerts and manages the Ballet Connoisseurship seminar program for School of American Ballet.
Arianna Tsivkin is a performing artist from New York City. She received her early dance training at the School of American Ballet where she performed with New York City Ballet in productions of "The Nutcracker" and "Firebird". She then studied at the JKO School of American Ballet Theatre where she performed in Alexei Ratmansky’s "The Nutcracker". Arianna has also trained at French Académie of Ballet, received scholarships to dance at Belvoir Terrace Performing Arts Camp, and has studied under Mignon Furman, Merle Sepel, and her mother Rebecca Tsivkin. She graduated from Laguardia High School of Performing Arts as a dance major, and has studied Fosse technique and theatre jazz with the Verdon Fosse Legacy. Arianna was honored to be part of the inaugural class of Pa’lante Scholars in the Professional Studies Program at Ballet Hispánico (BH) under the direction of Rodney Hamilton. While there she helped originate roles in works by Norbert De La Cruz III, Tsai Hsi Hung, and Juan Rodriguez, performed in works by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Michelle Manzanales, Pedro Ruiz, Gerald Arpino, Gustavo Ramirez, Alberto Alonzo, and more, and was a representative student for BH in Canada's National Ballet School's Assemblée Internationale '23. Arianna is delighted and grateful for the opportunity to perform with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance.
Barrington Hinds is from West Palm Beach, Florida. He began his training at the School of Ballet Florida under the direction of Marie Hale. Hinds holds a BFA in dance from SUNY Purchase College and has worked professionally with VERB Ballets, Northwest Professional Dance Project, and the national tour of Twyla Tharp’s Broadway show, Movin’ Out. In 2011 Hinds was honored as a finalist for the Clive Barnes Award for young talent in dance. In 2022 he was awarded a Bessie for outstanding choreography alongside with the Bill T. Jones Company, Bill T. Jones, and Janet Wong . He has worked with leading choreographers including Laurie Stallings, Edgar Zendejas, Sarah Slipper, Helen Pickett, Thaddeus Davis, and Cherylyn Lavagnino to name a few. Hinds has also danced with the Stephen Petronio Company and has freelanced in commercial, TV, and print work. In addition Hinds is also a choreographer and teacher. His work has been shown at Purchase College, Dixon Place, Warwick Summer Festival, Arts On Site, and The Tank. Barrington currently is a Performer with the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company in NYC. You can follow him @bar_hinds and his website www.barringtonhinds.com
Corinne Hart began her dance training in Mundelein, Illinois. Ms. Hart attended summer study programs including North Carolina Dance Theater (Charlotte Ballet), Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, The Rock School for Dance Education, Ruth Page Center for the Arts, and Dance HUB (Toscana Dance HUB). She received her BFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where she performed works by Stefanie Batten Bland, Ori Flomin, and Cherylyn Lavagnino. Upon graduating, she joined Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance full time, as well as DiLorenzo & Co., WADEensemble, and the RIOULT Dance NY Repertoire Group. Ms. Hart continues to have a diverse performance career including performing in the Florence Dance Festival in Italy and at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, among various venues around NYC and upstate NY. She is presently a faculty member at 5678 Dance, Pure Movement Dance Center, and a guest artist at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Department of Dance. She has previously taught at Southern Methodist University, University of Utah, Gibney Dance, Peridance Center, Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, RIOULT Dance Center, Toscana Dance HUB, and Dancenter North.
Dervla Carey-Jones is originally from San Francisco, CA, where she trained with the San Francisco Ballet School and with the ODC dance school. Dervla received a BFA from NYU’s Tisch dance program in 2018. During her time at Tisch, Dervla joined CLD and has continued working with the company since. In addition to performing in Cherylyn Lavagnino’s work, Dervla has performed in works by Gwen Gussman, Jordan Lloyd, Jenny Rocha, Maddie Schimmel, and in Opera Theatre of St Louis’ premiere of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.” Dervla looks forward to continuing to work as a performer, vocalist, and dancer in the projects that the NYC community has to offer.
A company member of CLD since 2016, Emma Pajewski of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, started her dance training with Beth A. Walter before joining Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School under the direction of Marjorie Grundvig and Dennis Marshall. In addition to a BFA in dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Emma received scholarships and training from The Ailey School and Point Park University. Emma has had the pleasure of performing the works of Karole Armitage, Selina Chau, Carlos Dos Santos, Lydia Johnson, José Limón, Jeremy McQueen, Erick Montes, Earl Mosley, Kyle Mullins, Jamie Erin Murphy, Alan Obuzor, Vita Osojnik, Pedro Ruiz, and Christian von Howard. Emma has also performed as a company member with Lori Belilove's Isadora Duncan Dance Company. Outside of the dance studio, Emma runs her business, EP Pilates, and can often be found in the rock climbing gym with husband, Carlos.
Erin Gallagher began her formal dance training at the Academy of Dance Arts in her hometown of Red Bank, NJ. She continued her studies at Studio Maestro (currently Manhattan Youth Ballet) in New York City with Deborah Wingert and François Perron. In addition, Erin participated in training programs at The Rock School of Dance Education, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, American Ballet Theatre, as well as several summers in Washington D.C. studying with Suzanne Farrell at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Professionally, Erin has worked with New Chamber Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, Staten Island Ballet, Rebecca Kelly Ballet, Neglia Ballet Artists, TranscenDance Group, Accent Dance NYC, and Ballets with a Twist. Erin Gallagher is a graduate of Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.
Gwendolyn Gussman is a New York- based dancer and choreographer who hails from Denver, Colorado. Gwendolyn graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dance. In addition to dancing with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, Gwendolyn has worked as a company member of Shen Wei Dance Arts, Sean Curran Company, and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. She has also worked professionally with Vanessa Walter’s ‘Ripening’, Heidi Latsky Dance, Daniel Fish, Ashley Tata, and Roger C. Jeffrey’s ‘Subtle Changes Inc.’ Past credits include performing works by Martha Graham, Nathan Trice, Deborah Jowitt, Charlotte Boyd-Christenson, Cornelius Carter, and others. In addition to performing, Gwendolyn has an interdisciplinary company called HOLDTIGHT and is a current Artist-in-Residence at The Cell Theatre. Gwendolyn has been with CLD since 2016 and is thrilled to be dancing in another wonderful season!
Justin Faircloth is a performing artist from North Carolina. Since relocating to New York, Justin has had the pleasure of working with Blaze Ferrer, Cherylyn Lavagnino, Doug LeCours, loveconductors (FOH), Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener, Maddie Schimmel, Then She Fell, Third Class Citizen, Erik Thurmond, Ash Yergens, Jessie Young, Abby Zbikowski, and others. Instagram: @bacnneggs
Michael Miles was born and raised in St. Mary’s County, MD. He started dancing at the age of 9 at Bunny Bailey Studio of Dance where he studied tap, jazz, and show dance. Michael continued his dance training at Abigail Francisco School of Classical Ballet where he studied ballet, character, jazz, and tap and went on to receive a BFA in Dance from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Since graduating, Michael has had the pleasure of dancing with Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre and Lydia Johnson Dance. He is grateful for the opportunity to perform with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance.
Philip Strom is a New York City based Dance Artist. He has performed with Andrea Ward, Bennyroyce Dance, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, Gabrielle Johnson + Artists, & RyderDance. Philip received his BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he performed work by Crystal Pite, Sonya Tayeh, Ronald K. Brown, and Paul Taylor, among others. In 2018 Philip was selected to be a part of Spingboard Danse Montreal’s 2018 project where he performed in original works by Maxine Doyle of Punchdrunk, and Emese Nagy of MA•ZE. In addition to performing Philip has been a class and rehearsal-assistant for Bennyroyce Royon at The Juilliard School, Ballet Hispánico, Joffrey Ballet School, and Peridance Capezio Center. He has taught and staged Bennyroyce’s work at Rutgers University, and led company rehearsals. As choreographer Philip maintains an ongoing choreographic research process “Silhouette Series” since 2019.
Lila Simmons hails from Portland, Oregon where she received her initial training at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. She has also danced with the Jefferson Dancers under the direction of Steve Gonzales, the Northwest Dance Project under the direction of Sarah Slipper, as a Trainee with the Nevada Ballet Theatre under the direction of James Canfield, and with Ballet Inc. Lila holds a BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Dance. Lila has been dancing with CLD since 2012.
Sharon Milanese is a teaching and performing artist based in New York City. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University, is a certified Pilates instructor and bodyworker, and teaches professional ballet classes worldwide. Sharon has performed with New York Theatre Ballet, Cortez and Company Contemporary/Ballet, Verb Ballets, Ramon Oller and the Peridance Ensemble, Corbindances, Liz Gerring Dance Company, Heidi Latsky Dance, Motley Dance, Patricia Hoffbauer, Katie Orthwein, Dusan Tynek Dance Theater, Robert Wilson & Philip Glass in the opera, "Einstein on the Beach,” and in Merce Cunningham’s Centennial Celebration, “Night of 100 Solos.” Sharon danced for the Lucinda Childs Dance Company from 2009-2019, and was appointed Rehearsal Director in 2014. She has set Ms. Childs work on the Lyon Opera Ballet, and the students at Barnard College and George Mason University.
Ramona Kelley is from Berkeley, CA where she began her training at Berkeley Ballet Theater. She went on to earn a BFA in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ramona danced the principal role of ‘Betsy’ in the touring production of Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away and went on to dance with the Tharp company creating new roles in addition to performing repertory works. She is a principal guest artist with Oakland Ballet and has also performed with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Claudia Schreier and Co, Post:Ballet, Sidra Bell, and Phantom of the Opera (25th Anniversary Tour) among others. Ramona has taught master classes in Tharp technique across the country and is a guest teacher at NYU’s Tisch Dance. She began dancing for Cherylyn in 2006 and is thrilled to be performing with CLD this season.
Jesse Campbell received his dance training on scholarship both at the University of Arizona’s School of Dance and at The Joffrey Ballet School in New York where he was a member of the Joffrey Ballet Concert Group. He graduated with a BA in Communication from the University of New Mexico and graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA, both Magna Cum Laude. Jesse was a member of The Suzanne Farrell Ballet from 2013-2017. Previously, Jesse danced with Ballet NY, Dayton Ballet, Oakland Ballet, and Orlando Ballet and has appeared several times as a guest dancer in New Zealand. He has performed as a guest artist with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, the National Dance Institute of New Mexico, and with the Santa Fe Opera. Since its inception, he was part of Alessandra Ferri’s The Piano Upstairs, which premiered at the Festival dei dui Mondi 56 in Spoleto, Italy. Jesse is excited to join Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance for the 2017-2018 season. .
