Amber Star Merkens: Amber Star Merkens received her BFA from the Juilliard School and went on to dance with the Jose Limón Dance Company. She received the Princess Grace Award before joining the Mark Morris Dance Group in 2001. For over a decade, Amber enjoyed rehearsing, performing, and touring the world with MMDG. She was honored to take on many featured roles, including Mr. Morris’s own roles in Dido and Aeneas, Ten Suggestions, and Rondo. Amber still appears as a guest artist with MMDG, she is a current member of Dance Heginbotham, and is on faculty at the Greene Hill School and the Mark Morris Dance Center. Amber is a local mom of two.
Lisa Biagini: Daughter of dance master, director and choreographer Tony Bevinetto, Lisa Biagini grew up immersed in classic jazz dance and old Hollywood style. Luigi, the Jazz master, was a close family friend and colleague of her father's, and she studied with him from the time she was a little girl until his death in 2015. As a teenager, she also had the opportunity to watch another great interpreter of music as work--Bob Fosse--soaking up the nuances of his style when shadowing her best friend's mother, Chita Rivera. It's not surprising that her career as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer has spanned theaters and studios across the US since it began in 1972 alongside Chita herself in "Bye Bye Birdie" (Pittsburgh CLO). During a long association with Atlanta's Theater of The Stars, she appeared with Gene Kelly in "Take Me Along," Leonard Nimoy in "Fiddler On The Roof," Tommy Tune in "Seesaw," and toured the country in "Sugar" with Donald O'Connor and Robert Morse, and "Damn Yankees" with Dick Van Dyke. Regional credits include, "Hello, Dolly!" as Minnie Fay, "The Music Man" as Zaneeta Shinn, and "Fiddler on the Roof" as Chava, as well as "My Fair Lady," "Can-Can," "Applause," "Funny Girl," "How To Succeed...," and "Mame." Recent credits: a production of "Marathon '33" at Webster Hall in NYC and a performance at the Alvin Ailey Studios for the NY Jazz Choreography Project.
- Bill Waldinger: In addition to the Jazz and Contemporary Program at The Joffrey Ballet School, Bill is currently on faculty at the musical theater conservatory CAP 21, The Manhattan Ballet School (Director of Jazz), the contemporary company Cora Dance (Director of Ballet), and Hamilton Dance (Director of Ballet). Certified by Luigi to teach the Luigi Jazz Technique, Bill has taught Luigi Jazz workshops for the New Rising Sun Dance Project at DANY Studios/Joyce SoHo. He has also served as a Master Teacher at Hunter College and Halestone Dance (Lexington, VA), again teaching the work of the jazz master Luigi. In addition, he has developed absolute beginner “Dance Classes For Singers” at The Singers’ Forum.
As a performer, Bill has appeared in musical theater, concert dance, commercials, music videos, television and industrials. Highlights include regional and Off-Broadway productions of A Chorus Line (Paul in the first regional production), Carousel (Carnival Boy), Kismet, Drood, Oklahoma! (Dream Curly), A Funny Thing…, Guys and Dolls and Godspell. He was a company member of The David Storey Dance Works.He has danced in commercials for Time-Life, music videos for the group Fela-Antoine, was a featured dancer on the television show Soul Alive and appeared in videos for the Theater Dance Workshop.
Bill began his dance training with the legendary jazz master Luigi. He also received a comprehensive jazz education through his studies with Frank Hatchet, Christopher Chadman, Bill Hastings, Richard Pierlon, David Storey and Natasha Barron. Equally comfortable in ballet, Bill was a student of Gabriella Darvash, David Howard, Lisa Lockwood, Dorothy Lister and
Becky Radway, Guest Artist & Modern Faculty: Becky Radway’s rich choreography, described as “quirky and enjoyable” by The Dance Enthusiast and “profoundly interesting” by iDanz Critix Corner, delights audiences with quick, detailed phrases, intimate partnering, and engaging themes. She has taught and set new work in the past on MiXt Co. (Greenwich, CT), DragonFly Dance Experiment (Annapolis, MD), Lock Haven University (Lock Haven, PA), Evolve Dance (Tarrytown, NY), Greenwich Academy (Greenwich, CT), Arundel High School (Anne Arundel, MD), and Oldfields School (Gambrillis, MD). Radway is currently collaborating on a trio of dance-horror films as part of fat pigeon alongside Carlton Cyrus Ward (Third Rail Projects and Phantom Limb) and Joel Marsh Garland (Orange is the New Black). Their first installment, 219 Gates, was released in late 2013 and received a Claw Award for Best Editing at the 2014 Terror Film Festival and will be screened as part of the 2016 Philadelphia Screendance Festival this February.
In addition to developing her own work, Becky has performed professionally with the Kevin Wynn Collection, Heidi Latsky Dance, Ezra Caldwell, Incidents Physical Theater, MariaColacoDance, and Leanne Schmidt and Company. She holds a BA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD
In addition to developing her own work, Becky has performed professionally with the Kevin Wynn Collection, Heidi Latsky Dance, Ezra Caldwell, Incidents Physical Theater, MariaColacoDance, and Leanne Schmidt and Company. She holds a BA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD