DOMINIQUE ALFANDRE has been involved in arts management since college, where she managed singing groups, produced plays and inhaled a seminar in arts management with Tom Wolfe. On graduation, she moved to New York, becoming Assistant Manager for Nikolais Dance Theatre and then a press representative at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She moved to Newport in 1982 just as Miki Ohlsen and a group of dancers were forming the Island Moving Co. Beginning as a Board member, Dominique is now Executive Director. She became active in the arts community in Rhode Island, helping to found the RI Dance Consortium; RI Citizens for the Arts; and the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County, which she chaired for 8 years. She has worked as a consultant with Janice Kissinger in Non Profit Advisory Services and has offered counsel to many fledgling arts organizations. Dominique was a RI Foundation Fellow and received the Arts & Business Council’s Arts Advocate Award in 2005. In 2010, she was recognized for her contribution to the arts community with the inaugural “Dominique Award” by the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County. Dominique graduated from Harvard University in 1979. She lives in Newport with her husband, Thomas Palmer.
LUCY BOWEN MCCAULEY is the Artistic Director, choreographer and creative energy behind Bowen McCauley Dance. Since founding BMD in 1996, she has created over 80 works ranging from lyrical ballets to highly physical contemporary pieces set to rock music. Her repertoire offers an unconventional array of genres; her choreography demonstrates a fluent outpouring of dance blending balletic lines, quirky gestures and modern dance’s earthiness that uniquely explores the interplay between music, dance and drama. Washingtonian Magazine named her among those “who have helped transform Washington into one of the nation’s liveliest centers in performing arts.” A dancer since childhood, Lucy’s early training at the Jordan School of Music & Dance in Indianapolis, and the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Traverse City, Michigan, provided her with a profound appreciation for both music and musicians that is so striking in her work. At age 18, she was offered a scholarship to the Joffrey School in New York City where she performed with the Joffrey Concert Group. She also danced with the Maryland Ballet, the Virginia State Ballet, DC Contemporary Dance Theatre and Daniel West Dancers. She was a founding member of Eric Hampton Dance. Throughout her career, Lucy has received numerous awards and recognition for her excellence in dance. In 2012 she was honored with the Pola Nirenska Award for her many contributions to the field of dance. In October 2010 Lucy received the prestigious lifetime award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education at the 10th Annual Metro DC Dance Awards. Other awards include the Alumni Path of Inspiration Award from the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the STAR Award for Artistic Excellence from the Arlington Commission for the Arts, and the Elizabeth Campbell Award for the Advancement of the Arts in Arlington from the American Association of University Women.
LAURA COLBY, established Elsie Management in 1995. Elsie is an artist management company representing a global roster of dance, theater, world music, special attractions, and outdoor spectacle, including the world-renowned Australia’s Strange Fruit. Currently serving on the board of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Colby served as the President of NAPAMA (2007 & 2008, North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents), on the board of Dance/USA, and was the founding Chair of the Dance/USA Agents Council. Since forming Elsie, Colby has represented over twenty-five performing arts touring companies from five continents, coordinating tours to over two hundred global venues. She was the initiating facilitator between Dr. Edward Fishkin, Medical Director at Brooklyn’s Woodhull Hospital and Medical Center and the performing arts community in the creation of ArtistAccess, the groundbreaking healthcare program for artists and arts workers begun in May, 2005. A frequently invited speaker for panels, workshops, and educational sessions, Colby began her arts administration career as a manager for several independent contemporary choreographers. Her current dance roster includes Ballet Memphis, the Brian Brooks Moving Company, a canary torsi|Yanira Castro, Jane Comfort and Company, Cie Andre Gingras, Lucky Plush Productions (Julia Rhoads, AD), Adele Myers and Dancers, Aparna Ramaswamy, Italy’s Spellbound Contemporary Ballet, and Union Tanguera (France & Argentina).
Known as a creator of evocative dances that reflect her concerns about the human condition, CAROLYN DORFMAN is interested in creating “worlds” into which the audience can enter. A brilliant storyteller, Dorfman, a child of survivors of the Holocaust, has also created a celebrated body of work that honors her Jewish legacy. A Michigan native, Dorfman received her BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and MFA from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. She has been designated a distinguished artist and granted six choreography fellowships (most recently 2011) from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts among other honors. A master teacher, she is a guest artist/choreographer at major universities, professional and pre-professional training programs across the U.S. CDDC appears at major theaters, dance festivals, universities and schools nationally and internationally and is lauded for its artistry and exceptional arts education and community programming. The Company presents new and repertory works by Dorfman, guest artists and regularly commissions original scores and artistic collaborations.
MOLISSA FENLEY is a New York based choreographer and performer who founded Molissa Fenley and Dancers in 1977 and has since created over 75 dance works during her continuing career. Molissa's work has been presented throughout the United States, South America, Europe, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Molissa's work has been commissioned by the American Dance Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, Dia Art Foundation, Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center, the New National Theater of Tokyo, The National Institute of Performing Arts, Seoul, Korea, The Kitchen, Dance Theater Workshop, and many others. Both Cenotaph and State of Darkness were awarded a Bessie for Choreography in 1985 and 1988, respectively, and Regions (1995), was supported by an award from the NEA American Masterpieces Initiative. Molissa's work has been commissioned by major ballet and contemporary dance companies, and since the 1970's has been written about in major publications. Rhythm Field: The Dance of Molissa Fenley, a series of essays written by Molissa and colleagues will be published by Seagull Press in March 2014. Molissa is Associate Professor of Dance at Mills College in Oakland, California, in residence every spring semester, (since 1999). Recent awards include the American Masterpieces Initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (2010) and the Mills College Sarlo Award for Excellence in Teaching (2011). Molissa is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and a Master Artist of the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
BARRY HUGHSON, a Connecticut native, marks his 20th anniversary as a professional arts executive in 2012. In his current role as Executive Director and CEO of Boston Ballet, Hughson manages the fourth largest ballet company in the US, with a $31 million dollar annual budget, 700 employees, a world-class professional ballet company and North America’s largest ballet academy. Prior to his appointment in Boston, Hughson was Executive Director of Atlanta Ballet, where he successfully engineered the move to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, completed the sale of the Ballet’s real estate resulting in the elimination of the Company’s debt, resolved a dispute with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, and developed the $14.8 million “Choreographing Our Future” campaign. To date, it is the most successful fundraising campaign in Atlanta Ballet’s 80-year history. Hughson’s experience includes a distinguished career in arts administration which began at the historic Warner Theatre in Torrington, CT. There, Hughson created the Warner’s acclaimed Centre for Arts Education, and led a successful $12.5 million campaign to restore the Warner Theatre’s art deco building. He went on to become the first Executive Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York City before working with the American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School in Princeton, NJ. As an arts advocate, consultant, and educator, Hughson has worked extensively, including teaching and speaking engagements in the US, Europe and South America. Most recently, Hughson was a featured speaker at Harvard Business School as part of its annual Social Enterprise Conference, and represented the United States on the jury of the Russia’s Benois de la Danse in 2009. Additionally, Hughson has a background as an award-winning dancer and choreographer who has performed the works of George Balanchine, Jirí Kylián, Choo San Goh and Antony Tudor as an artist of The Washington (DC) Ballet. He was the only American male dancer awarded a prize at the 1990 New York International Ballet Competition, and was recognized as Outstanding Choreographer at the Youth America Grand Prix Finals in 2002. Hughson received his childhood training from Sharon Dante and Donna Bonasera at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts and the Connecticut Dance Theatre. In 1979 at age 11, he founded the Youth Theatre Ensemble in his hometown of Watertown, Connecticut, which provided access to theatre for thousands of local young people during its near 20-year run as a non-profit arts organization. Hughson currently resides in Wellesley, MA with his wife, Ashley, and their two children, Aila and Tyler.
MICHELLE RAMOS-BURKHART, legal and arts consultant, has a twenty-year successful history in business, consulting and work in the arts non-profit sector. She has worked as an Executive Director and Consultant for multiple non-profit arts organizations. She was an adjunct professor at New York University and worked with Columbia University and Cornell University in an advisory capacity on arts initiatives and studies. Michelle holds a B.S. in Behavioral Science from University of San Francisco, a J.D. from Golden Gate University, and an LL.M. from California Western School of Law. She is currently completing her PhD in Psychology with a focus in cognition and perception. Michelle consults in arts-business with non-profit organizations in addition to her legal practice Verdict Works, LLC where she works in jury and trial consulting nationwide. She is the proud mother of a professional dancer and since retiring from her own dance career Michelle has become a competitive Ironman triathlete and marathoner.
As a loyal employee for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for over 31 years, JAY ROMANO has spent his entire adult life working in a very demanding profession. As Director of Operations and Finance, he has helped lead the organization to increasing levels of service, recognition, and support while fulfilling its mission to enrich the cultural growth of the community. He continues to focus his attention on accurate and timely financial reporting and cash flow management, which is critical for each department in order to reach the strategic objectives of the organization. Jay provides reliable recommendations to assist the leadership team with making artistic, developmental, and financial decisions to achieve growth projections. As a former Board member of the Canon McMillan School District from 1993 through 2009, Jay served as past Treasurer and Board President, while also sitting on the grant review panel for the PA Partners in the Arts. Jay and his family continue to reside in the overcast skies of western Pennsylvania and he remains an enthusiastic Bruce Springsteen fan.
KEN TABACHNIK, is the new Deputy Dean at the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. Tabachnick has extensive experience in all areas of the entertainment business. Most recently, he was Dean of the School of the Arts, Purchase College, SUNY, and before that was the general manager for the New York City Ballet (NYCB), where he was responsible for all administrative aspects of the largest American dance organization. Tabachnick joined NYCB after working as a lawyer focusing on intellectual property, licensing, and corporate matters. He began his career as a lighting designer working with clients such as the Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Trisha Brown Company, Live from Lincoln Center, Robert Wilson, Stephen Petronio, and Karol Armitage, among others. Tabachnick was also the resident lighting director at New York City Opera from 1986 to 1990, where he designed approximately a dozen operas. Some of his other design clients included: Pittsburgh Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Michigan Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Hartford Stage, and Berkeley Rep. He earned his JD from Fordham Law School in 1996. At Fordham, he was consistently on the Dean's List and served as the writing and research editor of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Entertainment and Media Law Journal. Tabachnick was admitted to practice law in New York State in 1997 and maintained a solo practice in New York City serving a variety of clients, including online ventures, magazines, directors, writers, designers, and producers. From 1998 to 2000, Tabachnick also served as general counsel for Rising Tide Studios. While attending law school, he was the corporate relations director and Gotham Awards producer for the Independent Feature Project, a not-for-profit service organization supporting filmmakers. He then worked as executive director of the Hamptons International Film Festival. Until joining NYCB, Tabachnick was the managing member of indieWIRE LLC, a news publisher focused on the independent film sector. For indieWIRE, he was responsible for financial oversight, licensing, contract negotiations, employment matters, and brand development. Tabachnick lives in New York City with his wife and son. He holds a second degree black belt in Taekwondo.
Since 2009, ANITA THOMAS has been the Executive Director of the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company. She was the part-time Executive Director of Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn from 2003-2008, as well as the founding Executive Director of Youth Entertainment Studios (YES), Inc., a national media arts organization focused on at risk youth. She has an extensive and eclectic background embracing community activism, passion for the arts and social issues, global marketing and consulting with non-profit organizations and small businesses. She has a BS in Community Development (Organizing) from Penn State University and a MA in Media Studies (Film & Technology) from the New School for Social Research. She spent 18 years as a Marketing and New Business Development Manager in the AT&T family of companies, wrapping up her telecommunications career in Lucent Technologies as a District Manager, Global Marketing Events. Over the last 15 years, her work has included Project Director of medical education and communications for several prominent healthcare institutions as well as serving as a consultant to public and private sector firms in organization, marketing, fund development and arts administration. Anita has extensive board experience serving on local and national board of directors for organizations as varied as the Bread and Roses Community Fund in Philadelphia to the YWCA of Central Jersey. Currently, she is on the boards of DanceNJ, NJ Citizens Action (NJCA), the Steering Committee of the Main Street Alliance, an advocacy project of NJCA, and the Membership Committee of WOCA (Women of Color in the Arts.)
MICHAEL UTHOFF studied at Juilliard, the School of American Ballet, and with Martha Graham. He was the leading dancer with the Jose Limon Dance Co. and a principal dancer with The Joffrey Ballet. Mr. Uthoff founded the Hartford Ballet, and also served as artistic director of Ballet Arizona and Ballet Estable Del Teatro Colon. He has choreographed and directed numerous operas, served in various NEA and NEFA panels, and received numerous grants. Mr. Uthoff now serves as an adjunct professor at Webster Universtiy and UMSL, and is the Artistic and Executive Director of Dance St. Louis. Mr. Uthoff earned his Laureates Degree from St. Joseph College in Hartford, and an Honorary Doctor’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Mr. Uthoff was recently awarded the 2013 Excellence in the Arts Awards by the Arts and Education Council in St. Louis, Missouri.
DOUG YEUELL, Executive/Artistic Director, Joy of Motion Dance Center (JOMDC) since 1989. During his tenure, JOMDC has expanded from a one-room studio to a major performing arts organization with 3 locations serving tens of thousands of children and adults every year. In addition to increasing the scope of dance classes, workshops, and performing ensembles offered by JOMDC, Yeuell launched outreach initiatives to schools in Maryland, Virginia, and the District, and secured the designation of JOMDC as a regional dance center for the DEA Youth Dance Program. Most recently, Yeuell was integral in the development and construction of new dance studios for JOMDC as part of the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Northeast D.C. Yeuell has an active career as a dance teacher and artist has taught at numerous institutions throughout the country and world. Yeuell has served on the Board of Directors of the Capital Region Educators of Dance Organization, the Grants Committee of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and the Arts and Entertainment Advisory Committee of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. He is currently Chair of the Board for Dance Metro DC, Chair of Dance Bethesda, and board member of CulturalDC. Yeuell was awarded the Alan M. Kriegsman Award at the 2008 Metro DC Dance Awards for his service to the dance community.
