Faculty
Alan Danielson (School Director) has been teaching and directing classes at the Limón Institute since 1991. His company, Dance by Alan Danielson, has performed throughout the North and South America and Europe, and his choreography has been commissioned by many professional and student companies. He is an internationally acclaimed Master Teacher of Dance and Music, and has been on faculty at New York University and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. A professional musician before he began dancing, he has worked as a composer, conductor and dance accompanist. He also teaches Music for Dancers, Accompaniment for Musicians, and Teaching Methodology. www.alan@alandanielson.com
Kathryn Alter hails from Juneau, Alaska. After attending Interlochen Arts Academy, she went on to graduate from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance with the highest honors in 2001. Ms. Alter is a founding member of Riedel Dance Theater, and has worked with Alan Danielson and Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theater. Her choreography has been presented in New York City at a variety of venues including the Limón Studio, Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theater, the DUMBO Arts Festival, and SUNY Purchase. She has been a member of the Limón Dance Company since 2003.
Sue Bernhard’s dances have been shown in the USA, Canada, and Poland. She is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and SUNY Purchase, and has taught at numerous colleges and studios. She has created pieces for Convergence Dance Co., CCDT, Long Island University, North Carolina School of the Arts, Meredith College, and others. With award-winning videographer Penny Ward, Sue has created several video/dance collaborations. Their work, “Boundaries and Exposures,” was featured at the International Conference on Dance and Technology. Sue is Artistic Director of DanceWorks. She performed internationally with the Limón Dance Company, and for ten years with Annabelle Gamson/Dance Solos.
Becky Brown is originally from England. She completed her dance training at the Laban Centre, London, and went on to be a member of Transitions Dance Company, and then continued her training in Canada. Becky has been a member of Loop Dance Company since 1997 and has worked as a freelance teacher, choreographer and dancer with various independent UK and US dance artists. Becky has also taught at University level, on Dance Degree and Performing Arts Degree courses in the UK. Becky trained in the Limón technique on the Professional Studies Program and the Limón Teachers Program at the Limón Institute in New York City.
Raphaël Boumaïla is a graduate of the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Lyon. Before coming to the United States, he performed throughout France with Red Note/Andy Degroat Company. In 1994, he became a charter member of the Limón West Dance Project in San Jose, CA, and joined the Limón Dance Company in 1998. He has performed duet concerts with Nina Watt in the United States and abroad.
Geraldine Cardiel was born and raised in Mexico City. She holds a Certificate in Modern Dance from The Americas University in Mexico. From 2000-2002, she received grants from the Mexican Foundation for Culture and Arts (FONCA) and the Limón Institute to study and present her choreography in New York City. Ms. Cardiel’s choreography has been produced in New York by Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, Joyce Soho Presents, DanceNow Festival, The Local Produce Festival, Joyce SoHo, and Dance New Amsterdam. She has also participated in the Celebrate Mexico Now festivals in New York City from 2004-2007. Additionally, she has received several international awards in both Mexico City’s XXIV Premio INBA/UAM Contemporary Choreography Competition (2003) and the Masdanza International Choreography Festival in the Canary Islands (2005). She is currently on faculty at the Limón Institute and Montclair State University, and is a guest teacher at international festivals.
Katie Diamond’s training and early professional performance career began in the world of ballet and ended with a near four-year hiatus from formal dance training. Katie returned to dance at California Institute of the Arts, where she earned her BFA and was selected to study abroad at London Contemporary Dance School. Katie first performed with the Limón Dance Company in 2005. She has also performed with Mark Morris Dance Group, the Met Opera, Cornfield Dance, Daniel Charon, Pam Tanowitz, Colin Connor, Jonathan Fredrickson, Jessica Gaynor; and in 2009 toured a solo concert to universities nationally and abroad. She is on faculty at the Limón Institute and guest teaches at various universities, festivals, and schools. Katie holds a 200-hr Yoga teacher certification through YogaWorks.
Roxane D’Orléans Juste, a native of Montreal, Canada, has been a member of the Limón Dance Company since 1983 and is also the Associate Artistic Director. She has also performed with the Eleo Pomare Dance Company and Annabelle Gamson Dance Solos. Ms. D’Orléans Juste’s choreography has been presented by Toronto Danceworks, Shoenberg Dancycle, Dia Center for the Arts, L’Agora de la Danse, The Yard, and the Museé du Quebec. She was honored with the Canadian Dance Award, Le Prix Jacqueline Lemieux (1980), and is the recipient of several grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Foundation for Creation in Fine Arts. An active master teacher, she also stages José Limón’s choreography for companies and ensembles around the world.
Daniel Fetecua Soto, a native of Bogotá, Colombia, has performed with DFUN (Danzas Folcloricas Universidad Nacional) and PSOAS Contemporary Dance Company in Colombia. He holds a BFA from Folkwang-hochschule, Germany, and has appeared as a guest artist in Pina Bausch’s masterpieces, Rite of Spring and Tannhaeuser. Mr. Fetecua has also worked with La Fura dels Baus, Kuo Chu Wu and won a Salsa Award in the European Salsa Championship in 2004. His company, Pajarillo Pintao, founded in 2003, is currently touring in Germany and Italy. Mr. Fetecua wishes to thank dance professors and mentors, Libby Nye and Lutz Förster.
Ryoko Kudo has been a principal dancer with the Limón Dance Company since 2001. She worked with Martha Graham Dance Ensemble, Rae Ballard Dance Company, and Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company after graduating from The Boston Conservatory. Ryoko has taught at high schools and universities across the US and holds workshops in LA and collaborates with Dance Project New York to bring the NY dance scene to Japan. Ryoko’s class will explore intricate movement based on the principles of the Limón Technique, coordinating breath and weight in terms of falling, rebounding, and suspending. Focusing on body alignment, use of space, time and energy, dancers will be challenged to achieve greater dynamic range of movement and rich coloring of human expression with clear intention and musicality.
Jim May is a teacher, choreographer and performer who embraces the Humphrey/Limón tradition. A soloist with the Company for many years, Mr. May has been on the faculties of SUNY Purchase, The Juilliard School and Princeton University. He is the recipient of a 1996 Fulbright Award to research the work of Limón and Anna Sokolow in Mexico and the U.S., and a 1999 Bessie award for lifetime achievement in dance performance. His choreography has been performed by Players’ Project, Dance Conduit, Dance Forum Taipei, Peridance Ensemble, and Thoughts in Motion. He teaches internationally as a guest artist and regularly for the Limón Institute at Peridance.
Risa Steinberg is internationally known as a solo artist, teacher, and director of the works of José Limón. Born in New York, and trained at the High School of Performing Arts and The Juilliard School, she was invited by Limón to join his company, where she danced for 11 years. Cited by the Village Voice critic Deborah Jowitt as “One of our great modern dancers,” Ms. Steinberg has performed as a guest artist with the companies of Bill Cratty, Daniel Lewis, Annabelle Gamson, Anna Sokolow, Danzahoy of Caracas, American Repertory Dance Company of Los Angeles, Colin Connor, Wally Cardona, and Séan Curran. She has reconstructed Limón works for companies around the world, working with such artists as Rudolph Nureyev, Frank Augustyn, and Karen Kain. She is presently a guest faculty member of The Juilliard School, and continues to teach extensively throughout the world.
Maxine Steinman has danced with Eleo Pomare, Denishawn Repertory Dancers, Mafata Dance Company, Robin Becker, Regina Larkin, Sue Bernhard, Spiritdance, and in lecture demonstrations with the Limón Dance Company. In 1994, with a sponsorship from the American Consulate in São Paulo , Brazil , Maxine performed a section of Limón’s Dances for Isadora under the direction of Carla Maxwell. She has been invited to Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Cyprus to teach, choreograph and perform and has also taught and presented her choreography throughout the New York area . Maxine holds a BFA in dance from Adelphi University and an MA degree in dance education from Teachers College Columbia University
Sarah Wagner, a native of Scranton, PA, graduated magna cum laude from Bucknell University in May 2001 with a major in management and a minor in dance. While at Bucknell, she received a summer research grant to study Chinese dance and aesthetics in China, and co-choreographed a piece with Danna Frangione for the dance major students at Tsoying High School in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Sarah currently dances with Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company and has also had the pleasure of working with Randy James Dance Works, Dodge Dance Company and Alan Danielson Dance.