MEET OUR DANCERS

ARIANNA STENDARDO

Arianna Stendardo grew up in the city of Monza, Italy where she discovered her love of modern dance and a passion for the performing arts at the young age of five. She began training in classical and modern dance at Hdemia Danza di Monza while in primary school, taking it and a new love for the theater with her to study at Scuola del Musical (SDM) in Milan for secondary school. Throughout her time in school, Arianna performed in several musicals, the world-famous "9 to 5" being her final showcase at SDM- where she also acted as assistant choreographer- while also having sung alongside jazz and pop musicians alike in locals cafes and clubs in Monza. Upon graduating in 2019, she took flight to New York City, where she studied and graduated from The Ailey School’s Professional Division Certificate Program with new knowledge and understanding of the world of modern dance. She has had the pleasure of working with such choreographers and directors as Sue Samuels, Nathan Trice, Simona Rodano, Hollie Wright, Paul Gamble, Tiffany Carson, and more. Arianna made her off-Broadway debut acting in“Frankenstein the Musical”, produced by Be Bold! Productions at The Players Theater. She worked again with the production company in “A Christmas Carol” as an actress and dancer. Arianna is currently a member of Anne Parichon-Buoncore’s APDANCE Inc., Teresa Fellion's BodyStories, Nathan Trice’s RITUALS and Clymene Aldinger’s CLYMOVE.

GRETA ROLANDI

Greta Rolandi is originally from Genoa, Italy. She began formal dance training at age 4 with Il Gatto Danzante , founded and directed by Roberta Conte. From the ages of 8 to 11, she attended with La Nuova Alacritas, directed by Maura Rizzo and later began professional training in Milan at the Accademia Ucraina Di Balletto, founded and directed by Caterina Calvino Prina. Greta further trained in modern and contemporary dance with M.A.S (Music, Arts e Show) directed by Massimo Perugini. She moved to New York to pursue training in the Independent Study Program and the Certificate Program at The Ailey School.Greta has performed works by Massimo Perugini, Ivan Testini, Simone Nolasco, Ciro Venosa, Daniela Borghini, Macha Del Prete and Melanie Futorian, among others. She has attended summer intensives at Parson Dance, Peastum, Lago di Garda, Alessandria, and Rapallo in Danza, Bari. She is a graduate of The Ailey School Certificate Program, class of 2022 and plans to continue her higher education while pursuing a career in a modern/contemporary repertory company. Greta is now happy to be part of APDANCE Inc.

AZURA RAMSAY

Azura Ramsay is an NYC-based dancer originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her formal dance training at Baltimore School for the Arts where she performed repertoire by Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Barry Hughson, among others. She received her B.F.A. in Dance, concentrating in Modern, from Marymount Manhattan College and has since become an active member of the NYC dance community. Most recently she has performed with Jacotayl Dance, Benjamin Briones Contemporary Ballet, and 7Midnights Physical Research. Besides performing, Azura is also a program coordinator for Ballroom Basix, a non-profit that provides dance lessons to public school students. She is now happy to be part of APDANCE Inc.

ASHLEY CASSETTA

Ashley Cassetta graduated Summa Cum Laude from Florida State University in 2020, receiving her BFA in Dance. She studied the Niokali, Bartenieff, Horton, Dunham, Cunningham, Klein and Alexander techniques, as well Cecchetti, Vaganova and Russian ballet techniques during her undergraduate education. She has completed intensive study programs with Hubbard Street Dance, Gaga dancers, Parsons Dance and San Francisco Conservatory.. Ashley has extensive choreographic experience, beginning at the young age of 12 when she co-founded, directed and produced a student choreography show at her hometown studio, continuing through her undergraduate education where she choreographed for her BFA spring concert, and FSU School of Theater’s production How to Keep a Guy for 10 Days (this production was discontinued due to the pandemic). Ashley attended the Arts in NYC program in fall of 2019 where she interned in the Career Center at the Actors Fund. She is currently a Balanced Body Certified Pilates Reformer instructor, teaching at New York Pilates. She is currently a company member with Animus Movement, AP Dance Inc, a Guest Artist with Connecticut Ballet, and a contracted company member with Rogue Wave Dance.

TSUBASA NISHIOKA

Tsubasa was born in Japan. At age 7, he started classical ballet taught by Atsuko Yamada and he also started modern dance at age 9. At age 15, he started contemporary dance taught by Fumihito Shimizu. He was awarded for some competitions such as, 1st place in Chiba Selected Junior and New Comer Performance for both sections, 3rd place in the Saitama Dance Competition, 3rd place in the Dance Competition in Sendai and 2nd place in the NBA National Ballet Competition. He has performed as a soloist for “Water Flow” in Japan and in USA choreographed by the famous choreographer Fumihito Shimizu. He also has performed “Director Selection” with NBA Ballet Dance Company in Japan. In 2017, he was accepted to The Ailey School for a year program and he received scholarship in 2018. He performed “Battlefield” choreographed by Robert Battle and Elisa Clark in Ailey Sprit Gala 2018 with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center. He has also worked for various choreographers such as Jiemin Yang, Matthew Westerby, Winston Brown, Manuel Vignoulle, Mitzi Adams, Darshan Bhuller, Omar Roman de Jesus and Marcus Jarrell Wills. He is currently member of Vashti Dance Company, i KADA Dance Company, Yu.S Artistry, Accent Dance and J CHEN PROJCT. He is happy to be part of APDANCE Inc.

LAUREN-FRANCES WOOD

Lauren-Frances "LF" Wood is from Little Rock, Arkansas. She moved to New York to attend Fordham University and dance at The Ailey School as part of their joint college program. She graduated with a BFA in Dance and a mathematics minor. Upon graduation, she apprenticed for a year with Jon Lehrer Dance Company while working on a dance film, Inklings, with New Zealand based choreographer Loughlan Prior. Inklings won FilmHaus Berlin’s 2022 ‘Best Dance Film’ Award and was recognized at Lonely Wolf International Film Festival 2022 as 2nd ‘Best Dance Film’, the 5th ‘Most Watched Film’ and selected as one of the jury’s favorites. LF has choreographed and performed original and duo works for Artist After Hours(now Forza) as well as made her own dance film ‘Between Here and There’. She recently performed for Mikhail Ilyin as part of his master’s thesis. She has worked with and performed works by Connie Shiau, Jesse Obremski, Manuel Vignoulle, Rena Butler, Darshan Bhuller, Jessica Castro and Redha Medjellekh. Outside of performing you could find LF teaching dance or swim, at the gym working out, tutoring math, or shopping at target. LF is excited to be part of APDance and its growing community.

CELIA TORREY

Celia Torrey began her experience with dance at the age of three at D’Valda and Sirico Dance and Music Center in Fairfield, Connecticut, and later at Main Street Ballet in Woodbury, Connecticut. At the age of twelve, Celia joined Brass City Ballet in Middlebury, Connecticut, where she studied under teachers and choreographers Elizabeth Fisk and Christine Harris and performed in multiple ballet and contemporary works. Upon graduating in 2015, Celia started training at The Boston Conservatory. In her time at the Conservatory, she trained with teachers such as Adriana Suarez, Tai Jimenez, Marissa Parmenter, Kurt Douglas, and Brian McGinnis, and worked with many acclaimed choreographers including Tommie Waheed Evans, Uri Sands, Roderick George, and Darrell Moultrie. Celia graduated from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance in May of 2019. She is currently a freelance dancer in New York City, most recently performing with Velvet City Dance at TADA Theater in October of 2022. She also teaches after-school dance and theater classes at public and private schools around Manhattan with DramaZone. Celia is thrilled to be a part of the community at APDance.

MARIA CARMEN FALIVENE

Maria Carmen Falivene is from Salerno, Italy. She started dance at a very early age, attending "Artestudio " where she trained in ballet, contemporary and modern dance. In 2019 Maria Carmen moved to New York City to enroll in the Certificate program at "The Ailey School". During her training she had the pleasure to work with choreographers such as Milton Myers, Max Luna III, Janice Rosario, Levi Marsaman, Hollie Wright, Caterina Rago and Theresa Ruth Howard. She has participated in intensives at The Ailey school, Philadanco, Martha Graham school. As a member of the Ailey Student Performance Group, she has learned Ailey repertory works under the direction of Mr. Freddie Moore.

Maria Carmen is a 2023 graduate of The Ailey School Certificate Program. Maria Carmen is dancing for modern companies

ANNE APRICHON-BUONCORE

My name is Anne Parichon-Buoncore. I was born and raised in France, where I discovered my love for dance at an early age. I studied under Polish instructor Karina Vlaneska at a local ballet conservatory near Paris, France.

After high school, I began exploring different styles of dance. I entered the Academie Internationale de Danse in Paris on scholarship, where I graduated in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz Dance with an additional focus in Street Dance. I then moved to New York City to study at the Martha Graham School’s Independent Program. During this time, I obtained a scholarship from Jennifer Muller/The Works.

I have worked professionally with Allan McCormick, Antonello Tudisco, Carrie Ahern, Charlotte Colmant, Dances by Isadora/Catherine Gallant (Battery Dance Festival 2023), Henry Holmes, JENNIFERCHINdance, and Variety Pack Collective. I am a current company member with Dances by Isadora and carrie ahern DANCE. I am a recipient of the 2021 Global Shorts Special Mention Award for my dance video, “Blur In Perception.” I was also a Quarter Finalist in the 2022 Serbest International Film Festival.

In addition to performing, I have over ten years of experience teaching dance. I have developed her own technique in sharing dance with movers of all ages and abilities. I have taught Hip Hop, Modern, Zumba, and Floor Barre at Move On Dance Center and Performing Center Austria in Vienna, Austria. Additionally, I am trained in Early Childhood Dance, and I hold the Discover Dance Foundations Certificate.

Currently, I serve as a Teaching Artist for Dancewave, where I teach Hip Hop and Afro-Caribbean Dance. My classes are part of Dancewave’s community programs, which offer dance classes throughout New York City’s public-school system. I have had the opportunity to teach and choreograph in many schools throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx.

Beyond performing and teaching, I am also passionate about creating dance works. I am the founder and artistic director of APDANCE Inc., where I created twenty-five short dance works between 2020-2021. In 2022, I presented my first live, evening-length dance performance titled “All Truths Pure” at the Holy Trinity Church in New York, NY. I performed a Work-in-Progress solo piece, “Runaway Dance,” in March 2023 as part of Spark Theatre Festival at the TADA! Youth Theater in Manhattan.

APDANCE Inc. has also allowed me to cultivate my passion for teaching. I am currently collaborating with Lyceum Kennedy French American School in order to provide dance classes - in French and English - to students as part of a residency/after-school dance program which APDANCE Inc. helped develop. I have also opened my company dance classes to adults and dance professionals throughout New York City.

Through performance, teaching and choreography, I strive to share my love of dance with others.

Photo Credit - 530 Photography