Undertoe Dance Project

Dana Fisch is an honors graduate of Oklahoma City University and holds a degree in Dance Management. Dana has worked regionally and for various New York City companies, not only as a choreographer, but also as a performer, arts administrator, technician, and master teacher. She spent nearly four years as Company Member and Company Manager for Push Factor Dance Company and is currently Dance Captain and Principle Dancer for New Jersey Tap Dance Ensemble. She has performed thrice in the annual Tap Extravaganza (Flo-Bert Awards); in New York City's annual tap festival Tap City; as a featured artist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Annual International Dance Festivals; and at the World's Fair in Seville, Spain. New York City choreography credits include: Push Factor Dance Company, The Capital Mall (Off-Broadway), DanceNow Harlem, New Dance Group Exchange, House of the Roses (a volunteer organization), Oasis (chashama) and Undertoe Dance Project (Founder & Director). Dana has also been a master teacher and judge for DanzJam and NJ Elite Competitions and Conventions.

Brandy Blaha was born and raised in Michigan, and moved to New York City in the summer of 2007. Before moving to New York she received her Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts in Dance from Wayne State University in Detroit. While at WSU Brandy was honored to participate in many faculty and guest artist repertory pieces with such artists as Urban Bush Women, Melissa Allen, Bridgeman and Packer, Jan Van Dyke, Jeffery Rebudal, and Joshua Hilberman. Currently, Brandy is a member of C3 Tap Cooperative as well as Undertoe Dance Project based in New York City. She has performed in concerts such as the American Tap Dance Foundations "Tap and Song", "On Tap" at Joes Pub and "Broadway Underground" at BB Kings in Time Square. Most recently, Brandy was selected to perform in new choreographic works by Jason Samuels Smith, Brenda Bufalino, Michelle Dorrance, Jared Grimes and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards in the American Tap Dance Foundation's "Take it to the Stage" performance series.

Maresa D'Amore-Morrison, a Boston native, started her formal training at 9 years old with the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble (BLDE), under the direction of Fr. Robert VerEecke SJ, of which she is currently still a member. A recent graduate from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, under the direction of Denise Jefferson and Ana Marie Forsythe, she has worked with many notable choreographers such as Nora Chipaumire, Doug Varone, Hope Boykin, Ronald K. Brown, Nathan Trice, and Matthew Rushing, among many others. Maresa currently works with Urban Bush Women as a member of the apprentice ensemble, under the direction of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and comedian Adira Amram. She is also on faculty at the Ailey School and this is her second season with Undertoe Dance Project.

Jenn Eisenberg is thrilled to be a member of Undertoe for her second season. She holds a BA in Dance Education from Marymount Manhattan College and has performed regionally in various musical theater productions in the tri-state area. She also dances with Le Masquerade, a musical theater based company. Jenn is passionate about helping to foster a love of the arts in young people and facilitating classes and workshops that use dance to build the individual. She enjoys reaching a variety of communities and has taught at Peace Corps sites in Peru, as well as throughout the U.S. Jenn works with National Dance Institute, teaching dance to public school children around NYC and is a lead teaching artist with House of the Roses Volunteer Dance Company, teaching in homeless shelters. She feels blessed to be doing what she loves.

Lauren Green graduated with a BFA in dance from SUNY University at Buffalo, where she was a member of the Zodiaque Dance Company. A Northern Virginia native, Lauren trained at the Center for Ballet Arts with Debra and Bennett Savage. She works seasonally with Marilyn York as a member of NOVA jazz dance company, Dancin' Unlimited.

Nicole Ohr is a 2008 Hofstra University graduate with a BA in Dance and in Psychology. While at Hofstra University, she trained in ballet, modern and tap dance and performed professionally choreographed pieces by artists such as Lakai Worrell (hiphop), Amy Marshall, Rosalind Newman, Karla Wolfangle (modern), Anita Feldman and Olivia Rosenkrantz (tap). Since graduating, Nicole continues her training with Barbara Duffy, Jared Grimes and Andrew Nemr. Currently, she is performing as a professional tap dancer in Undertoe Dance Project (tap dance captain) and Mazel Toes Tap Dance Crew. She has had opportunity to perform professional works by Brenda Buffalino, Michelle Dorrance and Jared Grimes and has also had the opportunity to perform in Broadway Underground at B.B. Kings (choreography by Jared Grimes) and the Main Event at Symphony Space (Mazel Toes Tap Dance Crew). She is part of the work-study program for the American Tap Dance Foundation and is a Dance Instructor (various styles) throughout Long Island and the NYC area. Nicole is excited about continuing her second year with the company.

Ericka Richcrick is originally from York, PA where she began her dance training in a small jazz and tap school. After realizing that dancing was her calling, she continued her training at well-known schools such as Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Point Park College. She has since danced with several professional ballet and modern companies, as well as the Manchester Wolves 2008 Pro Arena Football Dance Team. Since moving to New York City, Ericka has found two companies that she loves and is excited to be in her second season with both- Ballet for Young Audiences and Undertoe Dance Project.

Arleigh Rothenberg began dancing at the age of 7 and has experience in a multitude of dance genres. While attending Ithaca College, she founded the Ithaca College Tap Dance Club, and conceived and co-directed the Finger Lakes Tap Dance Festival. Performance credits include pieces by Dr. Harold Cromer, Ernest "Brownie" Brown and Reggio McLaughlin, Michelle Dorrance, Derick Grant, Jason Samuels Smith, and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards. She has performed at the world famous Apollo Theatre in "Taste of Broadway", Joe's Pub, and Symphony Space, amongst other prominent locations. Arleigh is a member of Mazel Toes, C3 Tap Co-Operative, Boston Tap Company, The Mann Arts Dance Group, and Undertoe Dance Project. She can currently be found teaching at a variety of schools in the tri-state area, and is a professor of dance at Wagner College. Arleigh holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Television-Radio with a concentration in Video Production from Ithaca College.

Lacey Sasso was raised in Kansas City, MO and has been dancing since the age of four. She attended Missouri State University where she earned a B.F.A. in dance performance with a minor in psychology. While attending MSU she was a member of Inertia Dance Company (which taught creative movement to elementary students while focusing on and promoting literacy); had the privilege of working with guest artists such as Susan Dodge, Lisa Fusillo, Shirley Ririe, and Amy Marshall; and performed at American College Dance Festival. Lacey has performed internationally at the 19th Congress on Dance Research in Larnaka, Cyprus and at the first Congress on Dance Pedagogy in Bogota, Colombia. Since moving to New York City, Lacey has worked with Push Factor Dance Company and is pleased and excited to be working with Undertoe Dance Project again.

Kimberly Schafer is excited to be a part of Undertoe. She graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in Dance Performance. Since then she has been performing around the US with various musical theatre shows. She had the honor of traveling with the National Tour of "42nd Street", choreographed by Randy Skinner. Most recently she performed in "Funny Girl" at the Westchester Broadway Theatre as Polly/Jenny and for the past three years she has been a performer in Broadway Bares in NY, a Jerry Mitchell benefit show. Favorite Credits: "Cabaret" (Texas), "Crazy for You" (Mitzi), "Victor, Victoria" (Norma Cassidy), and "Singin in the Rain" (Girl in the Green Dress).

Allison Sproat is a 2009 Hofstra University graduate with a BA in Dance and a Minor in Community Health. While at Hofstra, she trained with numerous notable choreographers such as Lance Westergard, Amy Marshall, Larry Keigwin, Martha Clarke, Robin Becker, Maxine Steinman and Edward Winslow. She also had the opportunity to understudy for Mr. Winslow's company Incidents Physical Theater and had the pleasure of dancing in various repertories from guest artists and faculty including Heidi Latsky, Rachel List, Judith Moss, Karla Wolfangle (modern) Anita Feldman, Olivia Rosenkrantz (tap) Lakai Worrell (hip-hop). Allison performed in many student-run productions and performed works with Judith Moss at the UW-Madison 80th Anniversary in Madison, Wisconsin and The American Dance Guild Performance Festival in NYC. Born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania, she grew up with a background in music and theater and performed in many competitions and musicals throughout the tri-state area. Allison is excited to continue her performance career by beginning her first year with Undertoe Dance!

Kelly Williams is a Douglas Anderson School Of The Arts graduate, holds a bachelors degree in Dance from Florida State University, and an associates degree in Modern Dance from Florida School of the Performing Arts. Some of Kelly's performance credits include Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project, Anheuser-Bush, Walt Disney World, the documentary film "Every Little Step", Push Factor Dance Company, Demetrius Klein Dance Company, Funny Girl, Dames at Sea, Lil Abner, Song & Dance, Camelot, & Grease. Kelly has instructed & choreographed at multiple arts education facilities throughout the New England & Southeastern United States. She has also adjudicated, guest taught, & crewed for numerous dance competitions & conventions across the United States. For the latest updates on Kelly go to http://www.kellypwilliams.com.

Jennifer E. Blankenship recently graduated with her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from Texas Woman's University. Originally from Pennsylvania, Jennifer graduated Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from Slippery Rock University in May 2005. At Texas Woman's University, Jennifer served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and previously served as the Video Lab Coordinator where she found an interest in dance filmmaking. She was also a member of DanceWorks, a DFW community outreach-based company, and the Kinetic Artists Collective, a network of independent choreographers in the metroplex. Her interest lies in the choreographic process as well as in space, rhythm, and the physicality of movement. She is the artistic director of the DDCC, a youth company based in St. Marys, PA. New to the city of New York, Jennifer is looking to explore the NYC dance scene as a modern dance choreographer.

Lauren Newby graduated with a BA in Dance from DeSales University in 2005. She trained primarily in ballet and modern, but stayed current in jazz and tap as well, while focusing intently on teaching and dance education. Since then, she's dedicated her time to teaching and choreographing in many different genres for ages 2 to 18. She currently teaches at Lois Allen School of Dance in Clark, NJ, On The Move Performing Arts Center in Butler, NJ, and over the summer is the Head of the Dance Department and Dean of Girls at Camp Ballibay for the Fine and Performing Arts in Camptown, PA. She's choreographed many musicals both for Camp Ballibay and for New Jersey schools including "Guys and Dolls", "Annie Junior", and "Oklahoma". Lauren is ecstatic to be starting her professional performance career with Undertoe!