Queens College Student Choreography Showcase 2021

About the Choreographers

Alisha Anderson is a professional dancer who works every day to fulfill the highest expression of herself as a human being and an artist. Alisha has studied various genres of dance for over 20 years and specializes in tap, Afrobeat and African dance. She began her dance career at her family owned dance school, Dance Arts Repertory Theater, which had a well known company called Yori that specialized in African dance; and inspired her to become a professional African dancer. Alisha has studied under Randi Lloyd, Lancelot Theobald, Shandella Molly, Jewel Love, Chet and many more. She is currently attending Queens College where she is graduating with a Minor in Dance and a Major in Education. Alisha has traveled to Ghana, Senegal and other countries in West Africa to further her studies in African dance. Alisha has performed professionally with Salsa Ache which is a salsa and Afro Caribbean dance company, and currently performs with two of the top African dance companies in New York City, Harambee and Bambara. In 2014 Alisha joined Harambee which is directed by Shandella Molly and located in Bronx, NY. With Harambee Alisha has performed for the African American Museum, Nick Cannon, Vice the TV show and many more. In 2015 she joined Bambara which is directed by Jewel Love, and with the company she has performed for the Tira Banks show, Dance Africa (BAM), numerous African festivals, weddings and much more. Alisha began her teaching career at Layla Dance and Drum school where she has taught for the past three years and enjoys working with the students. Alisha is also the mom to a wonderful six year old, Chloe.

Anna Artinger is an NYC based dancer, choreographer, and musician. She began dancing at age three in College Point, NY at Strut Your Stuff dance studio. She later studied at Nadia’s Performing Arts Centre where she competed with the NPAC Company for twelve years, in addition to assisting and then teaching a range of classes from creative movement to teen jazz at NPAC for six years. Anna is a graduating senior and Dance major at Queens College, with a minor in Business and Liberal Arts. She choreographed for the 2019 student concert Synergy, and again for the 2020 student concert that was inevitably canceled due to the pandemic. She is delighted to revisit the work she started in 2020 and give it a new life. Anna began dabbling in music at a young age picking up and putting down various instruments until high school where she became serious and spent her high school career studying music theory and production. She released her debut EP Too Young to Know What Love Is in March 2020. As an artist Anna strives to keep learning and creating. Outside of her art, Anna is an avid gamer and proud parent to a bearded dragon, a veiled chameleon, a five-legged frog, two tanks of fish, and most recently, a rescue pup.

Dana Mongelli is a Rockaway Beach based dancer, choreographer and actress that has performed with Dances Patrelle, Nashville Ballet, and Rockaway Theatre Company. In 2020, she co-choreographed and performed in the dance film The Restless, directed by choreographer Yin Mei Critchell in collaboration with Marshall Davis and the theater group What Will The Neighbors Say? Dana received her classical ballet and modern dance training from LaGuardia High School, the School of Nashville Ballet, Ballet Academy East, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She has a BA from Hunter College in Italian Language and Civilization and is a Substitute Teacher with the NYC Department of Education. She is taking dance classes at Queens College and Hunter College as she applies to Master’s programs in Dance Education. Dana blends her ballet and modern dance background with her theater experience to create dance works that promote healing and encourage the development of empathy in order to bring people together.

Isobel Seabrook is a dancer and choreographer based in the Hudson Valley, New York. She began her training in traditional Irish dance at age five with Joel Hanna at The Rhinebeck Dance Centre. Since then, she has explored her passion for myriad dance genres from percussive dance styles and traditions to contemporary and more. As a Dance Major at Queens College CUNY, Isobel performed in Out of the Ashes by Brittany Stewart, and unthought known by Robyn Cascio for the 2018 Showcase; as well as uniTy - The Rhythm of the Movement by Marshall Davis, Jr., and #Hyperlink by Richard Move for the 2018 Fall Dance concert. In addition, she stage managed the 2019 Showcase. She has had the joy of performing with The D’amby Project Dance Company at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, The Riverside Theatre, the Irish Arts Center, the Irish Festival at Chelsea Piers, and Steps on Broadway; as well as the following works by Queens College Dance colleagues unthought known by Robyn Cascio at CUNY Baruch; and DEFINE: |value| by Stephen Jeltsch at Marymount Manhattan College. Isobel has had internships in arts administration at Hudson Hall and Mount Tremper Arts, and is currently interning with the theater group, What Will the Neighbors Say? Isobel is extremely interested in bringing together her experience in movement with her love of film, and is excited to premiere her debut dance film, Tranglam, at this year’s virtual showcase!

Jiemin Yang, originally from China, is a dancer, choreographer, and graphic designer based in Queens. He holds a MA in Contemporary Dance from London Contemporary Dance School. He toured and taught workshops with EDGE Dance Company in multiple cities in Europe and the UK. He received a BS in graphic design and dance from Macaulay Honors College at Queens College and Farah Marcelus Choreography Award upon graduation. There he had the honor performing works by Yin Mei Critchell, Kristin Jackson, Nia Love, Joseph Mills, Carolyn Webb, and Edisa Weeks. He was granted scholarships to study at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, Bates Dance Festival and American Dance Festival. He trained with Akram Khan Summer Intensive, B12, P.A.R.T.S., and Hofesh Shechter Dance Company. He was selected to attend Goa Dance Residency’20 in India. He is a recipient of the 2020 New Works Grant from Queens Council on the Arts. He was commissioned to create dance works for the Making Moves Dance Festival’19 hosted by Jamaica Performing Arts Center (JPAC) and Emerging Choreographer Series’17 hosted by Mare Nostrum Elements and LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. He also presented his works at Ailey Citigroup Theatre, The Mark O’Donnell Theatre, and Auditório do Parque da Devessa in Portugal. As a visual artist, he has collaborated and performed with Lane CoArts at 92nd Street Y, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center and Boston Center for the Arts. He has performed in outdoor-site-specific dance projects with Kinesis Project at Riverside Park and Snug Harbor Cultural Center. He is currently a CUNY Dance Initiative artist in residence at Queens College.

Edisa Weeks (Showcase Director) is a choreographer, educator, curator and founder of DELIRIOUS Dances. She creates interdisciplinary interactive work, that merges theater with dance to explore our deepest desires, darkest fears and sweetest dreams. Her work has been performed in a variety of venues including the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum and Mount Tremper Arts; as well as in swimming pools, storefront windows, senior centers, sidewalks and living rooms, including living rooms in Berlin, Germany, as part of Haus der Kulturen der Welts 50th anniversary celebration. Weeks choreographed for the play “Novenas for a Lost Hospital” (2019) by Cusi Cram at Rattlestick Theater, for which she was nominated for an inaugural Antonyo award for Best Choreography; and “The Transfiguration of Benjamin Banneker” (2020) by Theodora Skiptares at La Mama Theater. Weeks appeared in the movie “Rachel Getting Married”, Dir. Jonathan Demme, and has been on the cover of several magazines including Wired and La Fotografia. She grew up in Uganda, Papua New Guinea and Brooklyn, NY. She has a BA from Brown University, and received a full fellowship to attend New York University’s TISCH School of the Arts where she obtained an MFA in choreography. She has had the joy of performing with Annie–B Parsons Big Dance Theater, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co., Dance Brazil, Homer Avila, Jane Comfort, Jon Kinzel, Muna Tseng, Reggie Wilson Fist & Heel Performance Group, Sally Silvers, Spencer/Colton Dance, among others. In addition, she danced in the 2016 "Bessie" award-winning performance by The Skeleton Architecture. She is on the Board of Directors for Movement Research and is an Associate Professor of Dance at Queens College, where she teaches modern technique, improvisation, choreography and mentors emerging artists. deliriousdances.com