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.

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.

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.