Dancers Bios
Lucio Abruzzi is currently pursuing his BFA in Dance, on scholarship, at ASU. He has been awarded scholarships to train with AMEBA Acrobatic and Aerial Dance in Chicago and Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine. Lucio has danced with Scorpius Dance Theatre, Temenos Dance Collective, Aaron McGloin Dance and CONDER/dance. His choreography has been performed at ASU, Chandler Center for the Arts, and the Phoenix Art Museum. Lucio has been dancing with Aaron McGloin for three years and has loved every minute of their experience together.
Kendyl Barshter was born and raised in Arizona where she attended On Stage Dance Academy taking a wide range of classes. While studying dance at Ironwood High School, she choreographed and performed in countless dances and had the opportunity to work with Aaron McGloin. Since then, she has continued to work with Aaron while attending Arizona State University and pursuing a career in dance movement therapy.
Alyssa Gersony began her dance training competing throughout the east coast. She has performed in venues such as the Joyce SoHo, NYC, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. In 2007 she became a member of ASH II Dance Company under the direction of Braham Crane. Alyssa is currently pursuing her BFA in Dance at Arizona State University, and is excited to be working with the very talented artists of Aaron McGloin Dance
Nicole Grabianowski was born and raised in Parker, CO. She began her training at Millers Dance Studio in Aurora, CO where she continued to train until graduating in 2006. Throughout high school she was in the Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet Company based in Boulder, CO. She currently attends ASU and is in her second season with Aaron McGloin Dance. She has enjoyed every minute of this great experience and wonderful dancers.
Chelsey Hauk began dancing at the young age of four in her hometown River Falls, Wisconsin. At 13, she began training Classically in ballet at the Classical Ballet Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota and eventually performed alongside Ballet Minnesota company members in various works. In high school, Chelsey had the opportunity to train at the Kirov’s Universal Ballet Academy in Washington DC during the summer months, in addition to her year round training at Larkin Dance Studio. Chelsey is currently a senior at ASU pursuing her BFA in Dance-Performance. Here, she has been privileged to work with artists such as Karen Schupp, Shouze Ma, and Nina Watt.
Jessica Jones began dancing at a small studio in Las Cruces, NM. Here, she performed with the Las Cruces Chamber Ballet and was involved with the annual production of "The Nutcracker". Jessica moved to Chandler, AZ when she was fifteen. She dabbled in cheerleading and competition dance, but ultimately she was won over by her high school's dance company. Kinesis Dance Company gave her the chance to choreograph, perform, and be a leader when she became the president her second year. Jessica is now a dance major at Arizona State University. She has performed with Instinct Dance Corps, Temenos Dance Collective, and fellow choreographers and dancers around the valley.
Cory Martinez has a bachelors degree in Biology from ASU. While attending ASU, she also studied dance at SCC and was a member of Instinct Dance Corps for four years. During that time, she was fortunate to work with many excellent artists including Chad Michael Hall, Holly Johnston, Alex Ketley, Keith Johnson and Nathan Trice. In 2006, she performed selected works at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC for the National College Choreography Initiative, and in 2007 she was invited to choreograph for Snow College in Utah. Cory has danced with Dulce Dance Company, Instinct Dance Corps and is now in her first season with Aaron McGloin Dance.
Katie McCaskill recently graduated summa cum laude from ASU where she received her BFA in Dance Performance. While at ASU, she received the Special Talent Scholarship in Dance and has worked with guest artists Nicole Bradley-Browning, Carley Conder, and Nancy Bannon. Over the past few years, McCaskill has been privileged to work with companies such as Dance Arizona Repertory Theater (DART), Temenos Dance Collective, and Aaron McGloin Dance. She looks forward to her future in the arts and community, and would like to thank her family and friends for their unconditional support.
Aaron McGloin was born and raised in Arizona, and graduated with honors from Arizona State University with a BFA in Dance (Choreography). Over the past few years he has had the privilege of performing with companies such as Dance Arizona Repertory Theater, Scorpius Dance Theatre, Temenos Dance Collective, CONDER/Dance, and AMEBA Acrobatic and Aerial Dance of Chicago. He was the winner of the Arizona Choreography Competition in 2006, was awarded merit scholarships to attend the Bates Dance Festival in both 2006 and 2008, and recently won Dance Magazine's Video of the Month - Critics' Choice Award. The Chicago Tribune has called his choreography "quirky" and "whimsical" and has been compared to work by great artists such as Susan Marshall. His work has recently been commissioned by a number of organizations including Scottsdale Community College Moving Company, Scottsdale Arizona Jazz Ensemble, Scorpius Dance Theater, CONDER/dance, and AMEBA.
Caitlyn McNamara began her training at age 4 in her home city of Rochester, NY. From there she continued her dance training at Arizona State University where she is currently working towards a BFA in Dance Performance and a BIS in Business and Justice studies. In the summer of 2008 she had the experience of a lifetime studying dance abroad in China. In the future she plans to travel and dance in a variety of countries, and hopes to eventually settle down and open her own studio or modern dance company.
Jessica Mumford, a native of Kalamazoo, MI, recently received her MFA in Dance with a concentration in Arts, Media, and Engineering at Arizona State University. While Jessica's current focus is in creating new forms of movement-based media, she also performs on a regular basis. During her dance career, Jessica has had the opportunity to perform with artists such as Nora Chipaumire, John Mitchell, Todd Ingalls, Mary Fitzgerald, Carley Conder, and Steven Iannacone. In efforts to bring her work to the greater Phoenix community, Jessica is working with four other interdisciplinary artists to build a non-profit organization for media art called urbanSTEW. The mission of urbanSTEW is to create art and innovative technology for use by communities.
Jenna Ramey (apprentice) was born and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas. There she danced for Western Arkansas Ballet Company for six years. She trained over the summers with Houston Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, and the American Ballet Theater. Jenna is currently pursuing concurrent degrees in Dance and Journalism at Arizona State University and taking advantage of the many performance opportunities ASU Dance has to offer.
Gina Ricker (apprentice) began her dance training at the age of four at a studio called Exclusively Dance. There, she studied under Janice Backus, former member of Joffrey Ballet, in the forms of ballet, jazz, and tap. At the age of twelve, Gina auditioned into a pre-professional ballet company, Ballet Etudes, and danced with them for six years performing a variety of works. She also had the privilege to attend summer dance programs with State Street Ballet under director Rodney Gustafson and Joffrey Ballet under director Gerald Arpino. Gina is currently pursuing her Associates of Fine Arts in Dance from Scottsdale Community College and her BSN from Arizona State University. She thanks her family for their unfaltering support of her undeniable love of dance.
Celine Syslo began her dance training in ballet and jazz at the age of twelve at Dance Theater West in Phoenix, AZ. She continued her training throughout high school where she was introduced to modern dance and eventually decided to further her dance education in college. Celine is currently pursuing her BFA in Dance Performance at Arizona State University. In 2005, she was a finalist in the Arizona Young Artists' Competition and has had the opportunity to work with artists such as Carley Conder, Shouze Ma, Mary Fitzgerald, Karen Schupp, Brad Garner, Frances Cohen, Dennon and Sayber Rawles. This is Celine’s first season with Aaron McGloin Dance.
