WBC ALUMNI

WBC graduates have gone on to study dance at the best conservatories and universities including:

NYU's Tisch School of the Arts
Julliard College
SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Point Park University
​Boston Conservatory
Skidmore College

​​Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance
Mercyhurst College
Bates College
​Butler University
​Alvin Ailey Program at Fordham College
Marymount Manhattan College
​Goucher College

Notable Alumni:

We prepare our students to enter the professional dance world in any capacity they desire. Our alumni have gone on to have successful careers in dance performance, choreography, administration and more!

Beth Gill

NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Bessie Award Winner

Beth Gill is an emerging choreographer who makes contemporary dance and performance in New York City. She received a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of The Arts (2003). Her work has been commissioned by The Chocolate Factory Theater, The Kitchen, Dance Theater Workshop and New York Live Arts, as well as performed internationally. Gill is a 2012 Foundation for Contemporary Art Fellowship recipient, a New York City Center Choreography Fellow for 2012-2013, and received a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award in 2015. Gill received a New York State Dance and Performance “Bessie" Special Juried Award, and Outstanding Emerging Choreographer Award (2011). Dance Magazine named her one of the top 25 artists to watch and TimeOut New York called her most recent work Electric Midwife one of the best dances of the year. Gill is one of seven choreographers profiled in Michael Blackwood’s documentary New York Dance: States of Performance. Her work will soon be part of the growing catalog of dance online presented through On The Boards TV. Beth has been a guest artist at Barnard College, Eugene Lang College the New School for Liberal Arts and Arizona State University. Gill's work has been written about in the in The New York Times (2015 | 2011), The Dance Enthusiast, and Dancer's Turn.  From "Beth Gill: The Elusive 'Why'," in Dancer's Turn: ​She [Beth] would go on to study ballet under Rose-Marie Menes--formerly of the Ballet Russe--at the Westchester Ballet Center in Yorktown Heights, New York and make her first dance when she was just thirteen. 'Rose-Marie was a traditionalist,' says Gill. 'She was extremely proud of her own lineage inside the ballet world, but she also created an environment where we were exposed to other kinds of dance. I studied Bharatanatyam, tap and jazz in her school.' Tami Horowitz, a dancer trained in Limon, introduced Gill to modern dance at age ten through her Limon-based classes for young students at the Westchester school. Gill credits Horowitz for integrating creative movement exercises into her classes.

Adira Amram

SUNY Purchase, Adira Amram & The Experience

​Adira Amram is a multidisciplinary performer based in NYC. She is a comedian, singer/songwriter, dancer, choreographer and writer. She is most often seen performing with her award winning comedic dance music group Adira Amram & The Experience. She is frequent collaborator of Kid Koala in addition to performing with other artists including Ophira Eisenberg, Broad City, Arden Myrin and Kristen Schaal. She released her first record Hot Jams For Teens on North Street Records. Her music videos have been featured on funnyordie.com huffingtonpost.com and ucbcomedy.com. adiraamram.com 

Jennifer Ruggiero

SUNY Purchase, The Pilates Movement

Jennifer Ruggiero was accepted into the Joffrey Ballet's Pre-Professional Program as a trainee at the age of 16, and later earned a BFA in Dance Performance at SUNY Purchase. While at Purchase, Jennifer continued to perform with Dance Theatre in Westchester. Jennifer’s teaching experience began at SUNY Purchase with the Purchase Dance Corp. She also returned to WBC's resident dance company, Dance Theatre in Westchester, as a rehearsal director for "The Nutcracker," as well as staging a few ballets over the years. After graduating from Purchase, she moved to NYC to pursue a career in dance. She was a company member of DePersis and Dancers, and also danced for Nayo Takasaki and Nina Stein White, among others. In 2000, Jennifer completed her pilates training under Romana Kryzanowska, a Master teacher trained by Joseph Pilates. She taught Pilates and was the Program Director of Brooke Siler’s re:AB Pilates for five years. She has also taught at Peridance, Drago’s Gym, The Pilates Studio, Equinox, New York Health and Racquet, and Casa Day Spa. Her love of movement and teaching inspired her to open The Pilates Movement, a successful Pilates Studio located on the Upper East Side in NYC in 2006. Jennifer has also completed her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training at ISHTA Yoga under the direction of Alan Finger, as well as Restorative Yoga teacher training with Judith Hanson Lasater.

Rena Bernardini

Boston Conservatory, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, The Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Fort Wayne Ballet

Rena Bernardini is currently an apprentice with Indiana's Fort Wayne Ballet. She studied ballet at The Boston Conservatory and at the Rambert School of Ballet in London. After graduating, Rena joined the Ballet Theatre of Maryland as a trainee. Rena enjoys using dance as a means of community outreach and has traveled to Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica with Juntos Collective to teach and perform. 

Susan Shils

NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet

Susan Shils studied dance at Westchester Ballet Center and performed with the Company back in the 80’s from ages 9-18. She went on to graduate from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in drama. She worked for American Ballet Theater in their offices at 890 Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera House. Susan then earned her Massage License in the state of NY from the Swedish Institute for Massage Therapy. She was a substitute for ABT's massage therapist, and later worked at West Side Dance Physical Therapy, the in-house PT for New York City Ballet, for 13 years. During that time, she worked with numerous professional dancers, from first year apprentices to veteran prima ballerinas, and everyone in between. Her ballet background and love of dance helped her appreciate what the dancers were experiencing. She went on tour with NYCB, acting as triage for about 80 dancers to get them on the stage so they could perform their best. Susan currently works privately as a massage therapist in NY and NJ. She recently started taking ballet again after not dancing for about 20+ years and is loving it.  

Chelsea Goding

​Butler University, Harlem Arts Festival, Gallim Dance

Chelsea Goding co-founded the Harlem Arts Festival (HAF), a multidisciplinary performing and visual arts festival presented annually in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, NY, in 2010. She served as HAF’s Director of Marketing from 2010-2016, overseeing all promotional efforts including web, social media, and print design and communication. She was previously the Interim Director of Education at New York City Center (2015), where she connected over 10,000 K-12 and college students, teachers, teaching artists, and senior citizens with world-renowned dance and musical theater performances. Chelsea has also held the positions of Education Manager (2012-2015), and Education Associate (2011-2012) at New York City Center. As Company Manager of Gallim Dance (2008-2011) she coordinated national and international tours, and oversaw the daily operations of the company. Chelsea was the Presenting Intern at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (2008), and the Arts and Business Council of New York Multicultural Intern at Queens Theater in the Park (2007). She was selected for New York Foundation for the Arts’ Emerging Leaders Boot Camp (2014-2015), and holds a BS in Arts Administration, BA in Spanish, and minor in Visual Arts from Butler University. Chelsea is currently an instructor and the Studio Director at S Factor New York.