History
Founder
Dancers
Board
Collaborators
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Dancer Bios
Company Members
Alyson Dolan (Rehearsal Director) loves to move! As a dancer, teacher and choreographer originally from Melbourne, FL, she received her BFA in Dance from Florida State University in 2008. While attending Florida State, Alyson had the pleasure of working with such notable faculty members and renowned choreographers as Lynda Davis, Gerri Houlihan, Dan Wagoner and Jawole Zollar, just to name a few. In 2007, she attended the FSU in New York program where she interned with Monica Bill Barnes & Company. Alyson has performed during APAP and Dance Harlem as a member of Millicent Johnnie & Company, Solar Powered Dance Festival 2008 and in a commercial for TDK in Amsterdam. She has shown her own work at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, in various concerts at Florida State, and most recently at St Petersburg College, Booker High School and with Fuzión Dance Artists in Sarasota. Post graduation, Alyson backpacked through Europe creating her own dance-inspired study abroad, specifically in the Netherlands where she took class at The Henry Jurrien Foundation with students and teachers from all over the world. After moving back to Florida she began performing with Fuzión Dance Artists in February 2009. She also teaches dance at Booker High School, St Petersburg College and throughout the community as a trained “Teaching Artist”. The opportunity to share her love of dance with the community is always something Alyson looks forward to, as well as continuing her growth as an artist.
Carolina Garcia is a high school and college graduate of the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. She moved to New York City in 1997 where she joined the Urban Bush Women dance company under the direction of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. With UBW Carolina toured nationally and internationally. In NYC, she taught for the 92nd Street Y, City Center and the Lincoln Center Institute. She taught as adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a semester and after re-locating to the San Francisco bay area she taught children’s creative movement classes at the Berkeley YMCA, Cuban Rhythms, a rhythmic workout, for adults and Rhythm and Motion in SF. Since moving to the Tampa Bay area in 2003, she has taught and choreographed at USF, the Dance Educators Organization Conference and Four Days of Dance at HCC Ybor, the New Place Multicultural Arts Center, St. Pete Community College, Blake Magnet High School, Fuzión Dance Artists, Sarasota and the Prodigy program. She is currently a resident teacher and guest choreographer for Revolutions Dance, Dunedin, and a teaching artist for VSA, Florida. She is a full time mom to nine year old, Kateri and one year old, Braulio, and with her husband, Carlos, she is in the process of launching a dance ministry, On Tempo with Living Waters.
Ashley Duncan Hassler is a native of Pensacola, FL, and is thankful to be in her fifth season performing with Fuzión Dance Artists. She is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a degree in Dance Education and has also studied at Florida State University and the Laban Centre in London. While living in Tampa, she had opportunities to dance with Moving Current and Dance, Music, Design as well as teach at USF's Summerplay. Ashley currently serves as co-director of the Dance Department at Electa Lee Magnet Middle School in Bradenton where she teaches a variety of dance styles and choreography. She is proud to be a new mother and looks forward to sharing the joy of dance with her son.
Angela Rauter has had a life long love affair with dance beginning with ballet at the age of five. Since then she has come to know and love many different forms of dance including jazz, African, modern techniques including Horton, Limon, and Duncan; flamenco, salsa, and Middle-Eastern, to name a few. She studied at Pinellas County Center for the Performing Arts, Alvin Ailey, SUNY Purchase and the Jose Limón Institute. Professionally she danced with EBA Dance Theatre, the Ellen SInopoli Company, Eva Dean Dance, Jenny Roche and Vanessa Paige. Dedicated to the health and happiness of her fellow human beings, she teaches Pilates and yoga. She is a licensed massage therapist in both New York and Florida and is currently studying for her masters in Chinese medicine and acupuncture. She is honored to be spending her fourth season with Fuzión Dance Artists.
Jahrel Thompson started dancing ballroom in 1997 in his senior year at Riverview High School in Sarasota. Shortly after he began teaching at Wilson's Dance Sport and at Purple Tiger for Wilson Barrera and Margaret Burns. In 2002, he attended the New World School of the Arts College in Miami for training in ballet and contemporary dance. During his time there he worked with several choreographers and companies including Fredrick Bratcher and Co., Momentum Dance, Katie Marlow’s Danceation, and Sobepac. In 2006, he continued his training with Billie Fajardo and later performed for Celebrity Cruise Lines. He then returned to Sarasota and has performed with the West Coast Civic Ballet, Players Theatre, and now in his fourth season with Fuzión.
Rolando Cabrera was born in Queens, NY, and raised in East Orange, NJ. "I knew dancing was in me when I was introduced to the style of dance called 'poppin' ". He started dancing at a late age, yet as his desire to learn more increased he learned a considerable amount in a short time. During his move to Florida in November of 2004, he met a street crew called Emblem who taught him break dancing. While finishing high school in Florida, Rolando took dance classes to train his body and develop his range of dancing, and realized how quickly he absorbed different styles. Under the direction of Kathleen Candales of Higher Ground Performing Arts, he continued to learn and develop his instrument as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. "I thank her so much for what she has done for me and how she led me to meet Mrs. Wilmott. I feel very fortunate to be part of Fuzión. I love to dance and I pray that it never ends.”
Mary Richardson, born 1987 originally from Niceville, FL, began dancing at age 3. She found a love for modern dance at Santa Fe Community College where she first trained with Kristin O'Neal. She then received her Bachelors in Fine Arts in Dance Performance at the University of Florida in Spring 2011. Mary has performed works from Shapiro and Smith, Neta Pulvermacher from The Neta Dance Company, Kristin O'Neal, Mark Dendy and Jose Limon. After graduation she married and moved to Sarasota, FL to pursue a professional career in dance. Mary joined Fuzion Dance Artists in Summer 2011.
Project-Based
Marlee Weinberg recently graduated from Bates College where she majored in sociology and minored in dance. Upon graduation, Marlee was awarded the highest honor in dance by receiving the 2010 Marcy Plavin Award. During the last four years she has participated in a number of dance festivals including the Bates Dance Festival, Florida Dance Festival and the American College Dance Festival. She has also had the honor of working with notable artists such as Sarah McCormick, Danny Buraczeski, Heather McArdle, Kelly Lynch and Tania Isaac. Marlee just joined Fuzión Dance and is excited about her future discoveries and accomplishments in the world of dance.
Megan Lindsay recently moved to Florida from Chicago where she taught, performed, choreographed, directed and produced dance for the last 9 years. After earning a BS in Dance Performance with honors from Ball State University she went to Chicago to earn an MA in Dance/Movement Therapy from Columbia College Chicago. After grad school Megan joined Perceptual Motion Dance Company- a multi-generation modern dance company- and co-created Rebound Dance, NPF, a dance festival production company. She taught as an adjunct professor of dance at Indiana University Northwest, directed the IU Northwest Student Dance Company, and was the resident choreographer for the department of performing arts for six years. Most recently Megan worked as a teaching artist for River North Chicago Dance Company’s educational outreach program. Megan currently teaches at A Better Place Dance Studio and with Sarasota Ballet’s Dance: The Next Generation program and Studio 20. Megan is delighted to be working with Fuzion Dance Artist’s this season!
Apprentices
Dhakeria Cunningham is an actress, dancer, writer who has spent the bulk of her young life performing. She studied dance from grade school through college, taking a keen interest in liturgical dance. She received her BFA in acting from Howard University in Washington, DC. While studying acting she danced with various dance teams and had the distinguished pleasure of taking classes with the late Dr. Sherrill Berryman-Johnson along with the staff of the Dance department at Howard. She was last seen in Sarasota at the Players theatre in "Anything Goes" and "A Christmas Carol."
Caitlin McMullen started apprenticing with Fuzión in August 2010 already having danced with the company in various community performances during previous years. Caitlin started moving at an early age with gymnastics and yoga, then later through Tai Chi Chuan in high school, and finally started training in dance shortly before college. While in school she studied primarily with Leymis Bolaños-Wilmott. She graduated from New College of Florida in May 2010 with a special area of concentration in Interdisciplinary Performance and is now interning with New Music New College. She is thrilled about dancing with Fuzión and hopes to continue integrating dance into her life.
Wendy Rucci began her dancing career at the young age of three. She was classically trained in ballet at Ballet Regent South in Jacksonville, Florida and continued her training through middle school and high school at Lavilla School of the Arts and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts where she discovered a love for modern. She trained under Dr. Phillis Penney, Melissa Mitchell and Rhonda Stampalia and has worked with numerous choreographers such as Ronen Koresh, Cleo Parker Robinson, Edgar Zendejas, and Fabrice Lemire. She now resides in Sarasota Florida where she is studying at New College of Florida. Her area of concentration is Performance Studies with an emphasis on movement. She is continuing her study of dance with Fuzión Dance Artists as an apprentice.
Fuzión 2 is a student based training ground for dancers that provides opportunities to take class with professionals weekly, gain arts administrative skills, and perform.
Ebony Bass, Booker High School - VPA Dance Senior
Amanda Stambrosky , Booker High School - VPA Dance Senior
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