Lou Antonini, Artistic Director

Lou Antonini’s career includes work as a profressional dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director. His work has been displayed at several cultural venues throughout the metro area for over two decades including the Adams Morgan Day Festival, Artomatic, Arts on Foot, Church Street Theater, Dance for Life, Dance is the Answer, Dance Project, DCAC, DC International Improvisation Festival, DIFFA, Georgetown University, Glen Echo Dance Festival, GW Marvin Center, Joe's Movement Emporium, JOM In Concert, Happennings at the Harmon, Monday Night at the National, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Space 7:10, The Dinner Party, The Torpedo Factory Art Center, The Warehouse Theater, and the Washington's Children Museum.

His performance experience includes the American Dance Ensemble, the Pennsylvania Opera Company, Michelle Ava & Co, and Public Television. Notable artists he worked with include Margaret Devaney, Susan Gillis, JoAnn Fregalette-Jansen, Kenneth Johnson, Duncan Nobel, Nikolas Petrov, Don Redlich, Douglas Risner, Judith Steele, Ronnald Tassone, Dan Wagoner and Joan Woodbury. Lou has choreographed for college dance programs, including Georgetown University and West Virginia University and was resident choreographer for the Fredericksburg Theater Company where his credits include Cabaret, Mame, Oklahoma, The Fantastiks, and The Music Man. His work has also been showcased by the WV Department of Culture and History. Additionally, he has adjudicated the Maryland Governors School of the Arts Scholarship Program, and through the National Dance Association, performed at national conventions for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. As a teacher, Lou worked with Allegheny College, Georgetown University, and the Joy of Motion Dance Center, where he has trained amatuer and professional dancers performing nationally and abroad for a span of fourteen years. Lou studied at the Point Park College Conservatory of the Performing Arts and received his BA in Dance from West Virginia University under a full performance scholarship.

Barb Blauhut, Operations

Barb has been working with Lou Antonini since 1998. She attended George Washington University on a Presidential Arts Scholarship in Dance and graduated with a BA in Dance and Psychology. She received her MA in Cultural Management from City University of London. She has performed and trained with many dance companies locally and around the world including Word Dance Theater, Artefacts, Mark Dendy Dance Theater, Latvian Folk Dance Group, The George Washington University Dance Company and Dance Expressions. Her training includes New York University's Summer Dance Intensive, Florida Dance Festival, American College Dance Festival, The Place in London, and Joy of Motion Dance Center in Washington DC. Barb is currently Director of Special Events for WETA.

Lillian Cho, Rehearsal Director

Lillian participated in an apprenticeship program while in high school with the modern dance company, Dance Alloy, in Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated from Rice University in Houston, TX in 1996 with a BA in Psychology and Sociology. As a member of Rice Dance Theater, she studied under Linda Phenix, Nita Lindley, and Christine Lidvall. Also at Rice University, she choreographed several pieces that were presented at Rice Dance Theater concerts, the American College Dance Festival, and the Rice University Women's Conference. Upon graduating from Rice, she began studying and performing with Lou Antonini in Washington DC. In addition to dancing and directing rehearsals, her choreography has been presented in DanceAntonini performances and is part of the company repertory. Lillian has worked with artists Summer Beasley, Tzveta Kassabova, Mary Szegda, and Ed Tyler and performed with edhead Productions. She also studies Pilates.

Bria Jahrling

Bria received her BA in Dance from James Madison University in 2011.  She began dancing when she was four years old at the Mid-Maryland Performing Arts Center in Frederick, MD, where she was in MMPAC's student repertory company Dance FX from 2000-2007.  She began teaching children's tap and jazz classes in 2004. At James Madison University she worked with Shane O’Hara, Gesel Mason, Daniel Burkholder, Vincent Thomas, and other guest artists.  She attended the Mid-Atlantic American College Dance Festival and White Mountain Summer Dance Festival, as well as JMU's London Contemporary Dance and Performance Summer Intensive where she worked with Sonia Rafferty and Jamie Dryburgh of the Laban Centre, Ric Rose of the University of Florida, and various master instructors from studios throughout London. While in school, Bria taught advanced-level tap classes at In Motion Studio of Dance of Harrisonburg, VA.  She is a certified Group Fitness Instructor and teaches group exercise classes at Valley Fitness of Middletown, MD, where she also does personal training and administration.  She also teaches all levels of tap classes at Project C Studios in Westminster, MD.

Sarah Jenny

Sarah was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she began dancing at the age of three at Dancentre. Since her dancing debut she has studied at the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival and the North Carolina Governors School. Sarah attended Elon University, where she continued dancing and received a BA in Dance with a minor in Business Administration and Communications. Sarah has tutored with Chuck Davis of the African American Dance Ensemble, Leslie Scott of BodyArt, and Lauren Kearns of Kearns Dance Ensemble.  Sarah also works as an Arts Administrator in the Operations Department at Strathmore. 

Holly Jones

Holly holds a MA in Dance Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BFA in Dance Performance from East Carolina University. She has taught and danced professionally in California, Virginia, and North Carolina. Holly was a company member of the John Gamble Dance Theatre, 2B Tribe with Barry Stoneking, and has performed in the Greensboro Fringe Festival.  Notable teachers she studied with include Jan Van Dyke, BJ Sullivan, Ron Brown, and Heidi Latsky.

Betsy Loikow

Betsy is a native of DC who began dancing  at age four with the late Linda Verrill. She studied ballet and modern under Rima Faber and performed with The Primary Movers Performance Company, participating in the company’s 1996 tour of Russia. She continued dancing at the Washington School of Ballet. She also studied with Gesel Mason and Adrienne Clancy of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and with Beth Davis, Laura Schandelmeier and Robert Smith of the Beth Davis in Good Company. She performed in D.J. Foster’s 1997 children’s video “Time to Dance.”  She attended the Holton-Arms School and danced under Mauria Peckham with the school dance group Orchesis, presenting original choreography at the Washington Area Independent Schools Dance Festival. She continued dancing and choreographing with student-led dance group FlyPeople in college and graduated with a BA in Film and Political Science from Vassar College. She is a founding member of the Glade Dance Collective in DC. 

Leah Curran Moon

Leah began training in ballet, jazz and tap at the age of five at the Joyce Winters School of Dance in Rochester, NY.  She performed and competed regionally in Western New York until moving to Cleveland, OH where she studied at the Fine Arts Association and Morgenstern Dance Studios.  While completing her undergraduate work, Leah danced extensively at Kent State University and performed with the Kent Dance Ensemble and Red Balloon Dance Theater.  Since moving to Washington for graduate school, Leah has studied with Daniel Burkholder, Deborah Riley, Danilo Rivera and Maida Withers, and has performed works by Gesel Mason, Adrienne Clancy, DR Dance and Glade Dance Collective.  She has also shown her own work at the Phillips Collection and the Katzen Center for the Arts.  This is Leah's first season dancing with DanceAntonini.

Katie O’Connell

Katie is a local dance educator who grew up studying dance in Maryland. She gained a strong background in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern before pursuing a Bar in Dance from Elon University under the direction of Lauren Kearns. From there she continued in her dance training adding African Dance, Rhythm Tap, Improvisation, and Choreography. Her first choreographic project at Elon was adjudicated at the American College Dance Festival at the University of Mississippi.  While at Elon she performed choreography of Rebecca Hutchins, Jane Wellford, Nina Wheeler and attended class with Chuck Davis.  In addition to teaching dance in the area, Katie has also attended various Teacher Training Workshops and Intensives with Martie Barylick and Tina Curran through the Dance Education Laboratory in New York and with ClancyWorks in Baltimore. She hopes to one day pursue a career in Dance Therapy.

Mary Szegda

Mary has been a DC resident since 1999. She is a Registered Dance Movement Therapist with advanced standing (ADTR), a guild certified teacher of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, a licensed massage therapist, an infant massage instructor and a licensed professional counselor.  She holds a diploma in Dance Pedagogy from The Hartford Conservatory and a BA in Fine Arts Dance from Eastern Connecticut State University.  Her work has been shown at The Clarice Center for The Performing Arts, The Margaret Doubler Performance Space, Jack Guidone Theatre, and The Dinner Party. She has studied with many teachers but her work and artistic commitment has been shaped strongly by Ed Tyler, Mim Rosen and Lou Antonini. 

Ashley vonClausburg

Ashley graduated with a BA in Dance and International Studies, magna cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  She was a NCAA, Division I athlete on UNCG’s dance team and choreographer for a number of musicals including Oklahoma, Lies & Legends, and A Chorus Line. Notable artists she worked with include Jan Van Dyke and BJ Sullivan. In 2011, she was the dance and movement instructor for the International Music Institute Festival and choreographer of the Distinguished Young Women of Maryland program.

Hilary White

Hilary, originally from Pennsylvania, is a local dance professional and arts administrator. Hilary began dancing as a child, and has a strong foundation in ballet, jazz and tap. She started studying modern dance at Dickinson College, under Amy Ginsburg. She received her MA in Dance at the American niversity where she studied under Ed Tyler, Peter DiMuro, Daniel Burkholder and Sherrie Barr. Hilary has taught at Dickinson College, Arlington Center for Dance, and the CityDance Center and co-founded an annual summer intensive dance camp.

Leslie Zucker

Leslie started dancing at age 6 in the first and only dance class offered in her home town of Flagstaff, Arizona.  There she studied ballet until age 17, taking five certification exams by Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet.  Throughout the next few decades, Leslie lived and traveled throughout Europe, Latin America and Africa where she dabbled in local dance forms, particularly Latin Ballroom dancing.  She has performed locally in works choreographed and directed by Rafael Perdomo and Daniel Burkholder. She also choreographed and performed a solo at the Dinner Party, that was a travelogue of her cross-cultural experiences and artistic collaboration with composer Eric Shimelonis.  Leslie regularly practices Five Rhythms and Contact Improvisation for fun and fitness. Leslie has a BA in Spanish from Northern Arizona University and a MA in International and Intercultural Management from the School of International Training Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont.  From 2007-2009 she was the Director of Programming for Dance/USA.