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Dakshina Dancers
Nathan Boecker trained at the Advance Dance Academy in Ellicott City and the Carver Center for Arts & Technology in Towson. He is currently pursuing his BFA in dance and is excited to be joining Dakshina.
Dahlia Nayar Butler was born in Chicago to Filipino and Indian parents. She has studied both western and non-western dance forms. She trained in the dance form Mohiniyattam under Sobha Antherjanam in Kerala, India, completing her arengetram in 2001. More recently, Dahlia began training in Bharata Natyam with Lauren Paul, a longtime student of Balasaraswati, in Massachusetts.
Renée Brozic Barger has been performing, making dances, and teaching all levels of Ballet and Modern Dance in the Baltimore/DC Metro Area for over twelve years. She holds her Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and her Master of Fine Arts in Dance from George Mason University. She was the recipient of an Artist Residency at The Silo Project through The Field, NYC in 2005, and she was invited to create/perform in the 2006 and 2007 DC Improvisation Festival. Currently Mrs. Barger serves as full time faculty as an Instructor and Coordinator of the Dance Department at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland.
Mark Carter is a graduate of GMU's Theater department, and was also a member of GMU's Dance Company. Favorite roles and pieces include Nikos in Big Love, and "Duet for 6" choreographed by Heather Robertson. This is Mark's second run in Songs of My Life He would like to thank Dan for the opportunity to perform, and always thanks to Eileen for never thinking I deserved to be in the back row.
Stacey Yvonne Claytor has studied dance on a professional level for the past ten years. She earned a bachelor's degree in theatre and dance from James Madison University, and for further professional study, she trained at dance studios in Virginia and New York, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Currently she teaches dance classes at Dance Place in Washington as well as Virginia Ballet Company and Swan Ballet Dance Schools in Fairfax. Stacey includes dance instruction in her continuing outreach efforts at Stone Ridge in Bethesda, The Boys and Girls Club of Silver Spring, and local churches and places of worship.
Melissa Liu Greco holds a BFA in dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Since moving to the D.C. area in 2001, Melissa has performed works choreographed by local artists such as Vladimir Angelov, Adrian Bolton, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Paul Emerson, Eric Hampton and Gesel Mason. In addition to performing with Dakshina, she has danced with CityDance Ensemble and Gesel Mason Performance Projects. By day, she works with Lautman Maska Neill & Company developing membership and donor campaigns to help non-profit organizations raise money.
Francesca Jandasek born in Africa and of Czech descent, teaches, choreographs, composes and performs in the Washington DC area. She has worked with several companies in the DC area, including Propaganda Dance Theater, CityDance Ensemble, Artefacts Dance and Santi Budaya (Indonesian Dance). In 2006, she received the Artist Fellowship for Dance from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and also a choreographic fellowship from the Kennedy Center as part of the Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project 2006.
Nithya Joseph has been dancing for more than twelve years under her guru, Ramya Harishankar, and for five years she has been a part of the Arpana Dance Company (ADC). Performing mostly in Southern California, she has also traveled to Arizona and Ohio to perform, and she recently toured within India for a six-city tour with ADC. Moving to DC to obtain a master’s degree in public policy at Georgetown University, Nithya joined Dakshina in 2007.
Minakshi Krishnan works as a healthcare consultant in McLean, VA. Her introduction to dance came at an early age and she has pursued her love for Bharata Natyam ever since. She has trained under gurus Gayathri
Srinivasan and Aparna Ramaswamy, both in the Kalakshetra style. Minakshi is also passionate about education in India, and is an advocate for
environmental and healthcare awareness.
Daniel Phoenix Singh attributes his love of dance to Pamela Matthews, a long time friend, teacher, and mentor. Singh holds a master's degree of fine arts in dance, and he has studied Bharata Natyam with Guru Meena Telikicherla for several years. He continues to train at the Maryland Youth Ballet. Singh's most recent explorations include Cuban/Colombian variations of salsa and meringue with Javier Varela and Shawn Malone.
Lauren Stash is a graduate of the George Washington University with degrees in English and Dance. In addition to her work with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company, she has performed with Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Maida Withers, and Alexander Gish. She currently works at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Vyjayanthi Neha Vadrevu began her Bharata Natyam tutelage at the age of 11 from Satyavani Iswara and later continued with Krithika and Hema Rajgopalan of Natya Dance Theater in Chicago. At the age of 17, she began training in Kathak with the Anila Sinha Foundation, also in Chicago. She has received Kuchipudi instruction from Raja and Radha Reddy, Natyacharya Krishna Kumar (disciple of Vempati Chinna Satyam), and had been cast as Lakshmidevi in Pasumarthi Venkateshwara Sharma’s production of Mohini Bhasmasura. Vyjayanthi received her bachelor’s degree cum laude in anthropology and international studies from the University of Miami. She is currently a program associate with Professional and Global Exchanges at the Institute of International Education in Washington, DC. .
Stephanie Yezek has been dancing professionally in Washington, DC, Baltimore and Virginia since 2003, when she graduated from Bucknell University with a BA in English and a minor in dance. Stephanie received her MA in English Literature and Language from Oxford University in 2006 and continues to explore the milieu between dance and language as a contributing writer for Dancer Magazine. She is pleased to be joining Daniel Singh and Dakshina in this, her premier performance with the company. Stephanie also dances locally with BosmaDance, has been seen with Gesel Mason Performance Projects and just finished the inaugural performance of DeviatedTheatre. Stephanie keeps fit and stable as a BASI Pilates instructor.
Staff:
Brian Allard, technical director and lighting designer. Recently, Brian designed lights for The Secret Garden (McLean Community Players), Local Story (Madcap Players), Ghost Sonata (Vpstat Crow), A Flea in Her Ear (Loyola College), and Celebracion de Semana Santa (Los Quetzales). Recent work as assistant lighting designer includes the national tour of Gypsy (Phoenix Entertainment) and Hamlet (Shakespeare Theatre Company).
Karen Bernstein has been performing and teaching
in the Washington DC area for the past 30 years. She has performed
as a principal dancer with the CityDance Ensemble, Karen & Alvin,
Maryland Dance Theater, Jan Van Dyke and Dancers, Perlo/Bloom & Co.,
and CODA. From 1987 to 2001 she Co-Founded/Directed "Karen & Alvin",
one of the most accomplished dance partnerships in the Washington,
DC area, with Alvin Mayes. As Associate Director of CityDance Ensemble
from 2001-2005, she was an integral part in the company’s recognition
as the “preeminent” dance company and dance education organization
in the area. Currently she is working as Development Assistant for
BlackRock Center for the Arts, as an Art Consultant for the Arts Education
Initiative for the DC Collaborative and a Dance Consultant for three
local dance companies.
Harriet Moncure Williams, rehearsal director, has been on the faculty at the Maryland Youth Ballet since 1982. Williams received her early training at the Richmond Academy of Ballet and later with Eric Hampton in Washington, DC. She was graduated from the University of Richmond and was a leading dancer with the Virginia Ballet Theatre. She performed with Perlo/Bloom & Company for many seasons. She has taught dance at Randolph-Macon College, George Washington University, Arlington Center for Dance, Dance Place, Richmond Academy of Ballet, Lancaster Ballet, and master classes for Dance Educators of America, Towson State University, and the NW American College Dance Festival. She has created dances for Maryland Youth Ballet, Perlo/Bloom & Company, Southern Virginia Dance Company, Center Dance Ensemble, and Ballet Theater of Lancaster. As the conservator of the choreographic work of the late Eric Hampton, she has staged his work at the Juilliard School, Washington Ballet, Rincones & Company, CityDance Ensemble, The Maryland Youth Ballet, and DanceSmith.
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