production of Andy Blankenbuehler’s Bandstand at the Papermill Playhouse. He has since been the Dance Captain for the Broadway revivals of Cats as well as Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (both of which cover every male track in the show). Recently, he Tapped on the FX hit mini-series Fosse/Verdon as USO Bob. He then returned to London to be the Assistant Choreographer for the most recent Cats film as well as performed in the principal ensemble. Whenever he’s not performing on stage or screen, he is constantly working on his own choreographic career, performing several of his works across NYC. He is sought out internationally as a versatile teacher and mentor. Most recently, he originated the role of Tiger (u/s Riff) in Ivo van Hove’s West Side Story. Corey’s passion for arts empowerment and collaboration is the driving force behind co-founding the initiative.

junior year and took on the position of Captain of the UAlbany Dance Team her senior year of college. Jenna continues to study dance with several master teachers as a way to continue to provide the most up-to-date and relevant information to her students.

Being an Albany native, giving back to the Capital Region and educating young artists is something she has looked forward to doing for years. She is eager is pass on her knowledge to each student who crosses her path.

Conservatory. Mary's career includes dancing at The Metropolitan Opera and encompasses performances as a principal guest artist for Ohio Dance Theatre and Granite State Ballet, and as a soloist with Ballet Artists of Cincinnati, Maryland Ballet, Lexington Ballet, and Charleston Ballet.  She performed in numerous off-Broadway musicals and plays 

A seasoned educator, Mary has been on faculty at Broadway Dance Center, The Ballet Hispanico School, Barnard College, and The New School University. She is currently on faculty at Ballet Academy East and the world famous Steps on Broadway. Notably, Mary directed nine ballet classroom music recordings with Roper Records, covering creative movement through advanced ballet. She is a featured instructor in two DVDs for RizBiz Productions, namely "Budding Ballerinas" and "From Tights to Tutus." Mary's creativity shines through in her creation of "The Magical World of Ballet" DVD in collaboration with Roper, tailored for young dancers, teachers, and parents.

In addition to her dance Mary is certified in Pilates mat and Progressing Ballet Technique. As a master pointe shoe fitter with over three decades of experience, Mary has worked closely with dancers from prestigious companies like ABT, The Royal Ballet, and NYCB. Noteworthy engagements include delivering pointe shoe lectures at esteemed summer programs for ABT/JKO, Dance Theatre of Harlem, NYSSSA, and Oklahoma Summer Arts in Quartz.

Mary's influence extends beyond the studio; she served as a panelist on pointe shoes alongside Misty Copeland, coached Julia Stiles for her role in the film "Save the Last Dance," and assisted NYCB principal dancer Jenifer Ringer with pointe shoes for Oprah Winfrey's television appearance. Her expertise is highlighted in the last video project by the late master teacher David Howard, titled "I'll Be Seeing You" on Vimeo. In 2015, Mary launched her YouTube channel, "Dancewithmary NYC," offering monthly segments where she shares her pointe shoe expertise.

Continuing to push boundaries, Mary's latest venture involves collaborating with Metropolitan Opera Ballet pianist Steven Mitchell on music for his music app, Balletrax. As a featured master teacher for adult beginners on Dancio.com, Mary invites enthusiasts to experience her virtual ballet classes.  She is a contributing writer at danceinforma.com for their USA, UK, and AUS editions.

teaching dance. Sarah is a 2017 graduate of DeSales University, located in Center Valley, PA, where she received a BA in Dance. During her time at DeSales University, she trained under Trinette Singleton, Julia Mayo, Angela Grossman, Timothy Cowart, and Tara Madsen Robbins. While studying dance at DeSales University, she taught pre-ballet and creative movement classes for the Conservatory of Dance at DeSales University, under the direction of Trinette Singleton. She was also a member of the 2017 DeSales University Dance Touring Company, and while in this company she performed and taught dance classes at local public and charter schools. She had the opportunity to perform in numerous dance concerts in the Lehigh Valley, which included the Rivers Merge Dance Festival (2015), the DeSales University Dance Ensemble Concert (2016), and the Riverside Festival for the Arts (2016). Her first professional choreographic work, Aube a la Nuit, a contemporary ballet piece, premiered in the production of Illuminate: The Emerging Choreographers Concert (2016), held at DeSales University. Upon graduation, she joined the faculty of Berkshire Dance Theatre and taught all levels of ballet, jazz, tap, pointe, and children’s programming. She also served as a faculty member for Studio North Dance Arts from 2019-2020, where she taught all levels of ballet technique. From 2020-2022, she worked as a faculty member for Barbara’s School of the Dance and taught all levels of ballet, musical theatre, contemporary, and pointe. While at Barbara’s School of the Dance, she developed a new ballet and pre-pointe curriculum, which included additional pre- pointe workshops to help dancers achieve their goals for dancing on pointe. Sarah has spent the last two summers choreographing musicals for Saratoga Children’s Theatre, located in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her most recent productions include Sister Act JR (2022) and Legally Blonde JR (2023). Sarah served as a faculty member for CDAI in the Spring of 2022, where she taught lyrical and jazz. She is currently teaching all levels of ballet technique at Mary Ann Fortune’s Dance Studio. Sarah is ecstatic to be a part of Capital District Arts Initiative and cannot wait to share her love and passion for dance with the students and faculty.

has Musical directed at Park Playhouse and at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. Lisa has vocal studios in NYC and Albany and is the voice teacher of many of today’s young Broadway Stars. Lisa’s students have performed in more than 40 Broadway Shows and National Tours. Her proudest accomplishment is her four children, Julia, Charlie, Emily & George - all who have appeared in Broadway or Off-Broadway shows, Radio City Music Hall and National Tours.

at CDAI, Sammy is so excited to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for the performing arts, guiding students on their journeys to becoming confident, intelligent, and versatile performers.