Gianna Neal (director): Throughout her middle and high school years, Gianna was an active member of Muhlenberg Community Dance Center. Since graduating with a B.A. in Theatre from Muhlenberg College in 2015, Gianna has worked with children of all ages in the arts throughout the Lehigh Valley. For the past eight years, she has served as theatre director and choreographer for Northampton Area High School. Additionally, she has directed and choreographed at Saucon Valley Middle School and Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, where she also served as a drama and dance instructor for ages 6 through 18. In 2017, Gianna developed and ran the dance curriculum at the Allentown YMCA for children pre-K through high school, and she has been a dance instructor at various dance studios in the area. While at Muhlenberg, she helped teach MCDC classes, including Creative Movement. Gianna began working professionally onstage and in TV/film early in her career, and throughout her four years at Muhlenberg, performed in both departmental and MSMT productions. Gianna is currently the Office Manager for the Theatre & Dance Department at Muhlenberg, but will be transitioning to the Director of MCDC position to stay at home full-time with her 15 month old twins.
Natalie Gotter (faculty mentor) is a dance performer, choreographer, instructor, filmmaker and researcher interested in social perceptions of the physical form and how relationships through movement provide insight into the individual. She received her MFA in Modern Dance with emphasis on Gender Studies and Screendance Certification from the University of Utah. Her work has been presented at the Dance in the Desert Festival, Utah Dance Film Festival (recipient of 2019 Audience Choice award), Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival, and commissioned and presented by companies in New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Minneapolis. She has performed with Tsunami Dance Company, MotionVivid Dance Company, and was a featured dancer in the Alwin Nikolais Centennial Celebration in 2011.
Heidi Cruz-Austin (faculty mentor) has studied at the School of American Ballet and The Pennsylvania Ballet, where she received an apprenticeship in 1994 and joined the Company as a member of the Corps de Ballet in 1995. She has danced numerous featured roles for various choreographers, including Val Caniparoli, Ben Stevenson, Alvin Ailey, Margo Sappington, Christopher d’Amboise, and Matthew Neenan. She has also had featured roles in many George Balanchine ballets. Heidi has also danced with the Philadelphia-based company Ballet X and has performed as a guest artist through the United States and Europe.
As a choreographer, she was a winner in the 2003 Ballet Builders showcase in New York City and has been commissioned to create works for Muhlenberg College, Franklin and Marshall College, Bryn Mawr College, and Repertory Dance Theatre. She was a recipient of the 2004-2005 New Edge Residency at the Community Education Center of Philadelphia and a 2008 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She is currently a Co-Director of a Trenton-based Contemporary Ballet company called, DanceSpora, which is the resident dance company of the Passage Theater Company in Trenton, NJ.
Student Instructors
- Liliana Demoya
- Nicola Ferro
- Emma Giordano
- Lily Knowles
- Hannah Levinson
- Samantha Torrillo
- Hannah Warren
- Hannah Watanabe
