Undertoe Dance Project

Dana Fisch is an honors graduate of Oklahoma City University with a degree in Dance Management allowing her to work in all aspects of dance and non-profit management. Her previous dance company experience includes five seasons as a Principle Dancer and Dance Captain of New Jersey Tap Dance Ensemble, four as a Jazz Dancer and Company Manager in Push Factor Dance Company, and two seasons with Mazel Toes Tap Company. While dancing for these companies and Undertoe, she had the opportunity to perform in prestigious venues such as The Cotton Club, The Pearl Theater, The 92nd Street Y, Webster Hall and NJPAC, in The International Dance Festival, DanceNow Harlem, The Downtown Dance Festival, FIGMENT and alongside the NJ Symphony Orchestra, the Princeton Symphony and the NJ Ballet. Some of her previous choreography credits include: Push Factor Dance Company, Off-Broadway rock opera The Capital Mall, Cabaret @ The Cave, DanceNow Harlem, New Dance Group Exchange, House of the Roses (a volunteer organization), and Oasis (chashama). As a teacher, Fisch has taught regular classes at local studios in Kansas, Oklahoma and New Jersey, was the resident tap instructor for DanzJam (Conventions & Competitions), was a teaching artist for NJ Elite Dance Competitions & Conventions and has taught master classes around the nation.

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.

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.

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.

Megan Newell was born and raised on Long Island New York. She began exploring various dance forms since the age of three at Vic D’Amore Dance Studio (Deer Park). While dancing through high school she performed at her local community theater Creative Ministries in shows such as FAME and Aladdin. In 2006 her Modern and Ballet training deepened while attending Adelphi University where she graduated cum laude with a BFA in Dance (2010). At Adelphi, she had the privilege of working with various artists such as Pascal Rekoert, Tracy R. Kofford, Aszure Barton, Doug Varone, Danny Grossman, Leda Meredith, Sharon Wong and Frank Augustyn. Megan is currently teaching dance at American Studio of Performing Arts and is very excited about her first season with Undertoe Dance Project.

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).

Alexia Roldan was born and raised in Staten Island, New York. She started her dance training at the age of six studying tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary and modern. She is a graduate of Moore Catholic High School's Performing Arts Institute as a dance major. As a dancer, she has performed as a soloist and ensemble member in musicals, dance concerts, jazz concerts, Christmas shows and many more. She was honored by Brian Friedman at the Pulse National Dance Convention with a Pulse scholarship. She has also received scholarships from Lydia’s School of Dance and Liv2Dance Studio. She was a featured choreographer at Moore Catholic High School and College of Staten Island Dance Club, was featured in a music video by Gia Bella and was a dancer for Microsoft Kinect Dance Party in Times Square. Currently dancing and choreographing at Liv2Dance Studio, Alexia has also been an assistant to the founder Ms. Kari Williams at national dance conventions and master workshops. She is also attending college as a psychology major and continuing her dance education and she is extremely excited to be a part of Undertoe.

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!

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, and Shirley Ririe and also 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 graduation, Lacey moved to New York City where she worked with Push Factor Dance Company and Undertoe Dance Project. Lacey currently splits her time between New York City and Boston, where she works with PB&J Dance Company and S I X O N E S E V E N Dance Collective. She is excited to be in her third season with Undertoe Dance Project!