American Repertory Ballet

Archives: People

Annie Johnson

Annie Johnson began her early training at Ballet Technique, under the direction of Julie Caprio, in Hamilton, NJ.  She then attended Butler University, graduating cum laude in 2015 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance performances, as well as studying strategic communications. In the summer of 2014 she toured Eastern Europe with members of Butler Ballet to teach and perform at various schools in Poland, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. After graduation, Johnson joined American Repertory Ballet as a trainee and became a member of ARB2 in 2017, and then was promoted to the company in 2018. Since joining ARB, Johnson has performed various roles in productions such as Kirk Peterson’s Carmen, Beauty and The Beast, and Lombardi Variations; Jose Limon’s There is a Time; Paul Taylor’s Airs; Septime Weber’s Fluctuating Hemlines; Riccardo De Nigris’ Beyond the Normal; Trey McIntyre’s Blue Until June; Amy Seiwert’s World, Interrupted and Sight Line; Ryoko Tanaka’s Saudade; Claire Davison’s Bewitched; Da’Von Doane’s Kaleidoscope Mind, Oberon in Ethan Stiefel’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Myrtha in Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle.

Jessica Totaro

Jessica Totaro is a Contemporary and Choreography Skills teaching artist from Asbury Park, NJ.  She received her BFA in dance from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Movement Arts Project; a student-based, educational dance company based in Brielle, NJ that focuses on preparing students who want to further their education at a collegiate level. Jessica is currently a teaching artist for Derling Dance Arts, 10 Hairy Legs and Dance New Jersey’s Young Audiences. Jessica was featured in Dance Studio Life Magazine for her choreography methods and program. She continues to teach master classes and choreograph throughout the tri-state area at various studios and performing arts schools. Her teaching method is to not dictate but guide each dancer deeper into their own creative ability and communicate authentically through movement.

Rachel Stanislawczyk

Rachel Stanislawczyk is a graduate of Rutgers University, where she earned her Ed.M in Dance Education with a K-12 teaching certification, and Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned her B.F.A in Dance and Choreography. Rachel is the Director and Founder of the Dance for Parkinson’s Program at American Repertory Ballet: a program for people diagnosed with PD and their caregivers. As Director, she has presented at The Parkinson’s Foundation’s Moving Day NJ, Dr. Jill M. Giordano Farmer’s PD Education Conference, The American Parkinson’s Disease Association’s Annual Spring Conference, and The Parkinson’s Alliance’s 5K Team Parkinson Run. In 2017, Stanislawczyk progressed from an intern to a lead teacher of the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) Dance for PD® program, where she taught classes at MMDG, New York University, and Ballet Academy East. Currently, Stanislawczyk is a full-time dance educator at Abraham Clark High School, and performs professionally with Rock Dance Collective.

Rachel Abrams

Rachel Abrams joined ARB’s staff in 2019. She earned her Master’s degree in Dance Education from New York University in 2013, following her magna cum laude graduation from Barnard College in 2008 as a dance major. She joined ARB from Nimbus Dance in Jersey City, where she served as Grant Writer and Assistant Director of Development. She also worked as an administrator for the Dance to Learn residency program at Dance New Jersey/Young Audiences Arts for Learning. Rachel previously worked at the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as the Interim AIE Coordinator, as the Director of Education at Lustig Dance Theatre in New Brunswick, as a research assistant to dance historian Jennifer Homans, and as an intern in the Education Department at New York City Ballet. She began training in ballet at the age of 5 and also explored modern, tap, musical theater, and gymnastics. Rachel is dedicated to sharing with others her passion for dance and the impact of the performing arts through advocacy and writing.

Valerie Amiss

Valerie Amiss began her training at age eight under Sue Millington at the Regency Ballet. She continued her instruction with Victor Moreno and Alexei Yudenich, and at age 12 joined the Pennsylvania Ballet School. At age 15, Ms. Amiss spent a summer studying in Saratoga Springs, NY with members of New York City Ballet, including Peter Martins, Heather Watts, and Jock Soto. She was nominated for the prestigious Princess Grace Award in 1994, and in 1995 performed at the Algur H. Meadows Award Ceremony to honor choreographer Paul Taylor. In the summer of that same year, she also performed with the Chautauqua Ballet Company, directed by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride, and, in 1997, performed at the St. Bart’s Music Festival.

Ms. Amiss joined Pennsylvania Ballet as an apprentice in 1992. She became a member of the corps de ballet in 1993 and was promoted to soloist in 1999. In the summer of that year, she also represented the company at the Sintra Festival in Portugal. And in 2005, Ms. Amiss not only performed at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, where she danced featured roles in Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, but also performed Matthew Neenan’s 11:11 and Carmina Burana at New York City Center. Additionally, she had the honor of performing twice at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as well as with Susan Jaffe and Nicole Hlinka for a Rock School benefit.

Ms. Amiss has performed numerous principal roles in the Balanchine repertoire, including Titania and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Odette in Swan Lake Act II, and the Sugarplum Fairy and Dew Drop in The Nutcracker. As well, she danced featured roles in such works as Giselle, Paul Taylor’s Company B, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum and Swan Lake, Janek Schergen’s The Sleeping Beauty, Alvin Ailey’s The River, Jerome Robbins’ In the Night and The Concert, and George Balanchine’s Rubies, The Four Temperaments, Western Symphony, Agon, Scotch Symphony, Bugaku, and Serenade, among others.

Ms. Amiss has taught ballet and pointe classes at summer sessions for the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet. As well, she has been a guest instructor at schools throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. For seven years after her retirement from the stage, she was co-ballet mistress for the Academy of Ballet NJ in West Berlin, NJ. Ms. Amiss had the pleasure of teaching ballet to aspiring figure skaters in Aston, Pennsylvania. She was a senior lecturer at the University of the Arts, where she taught several ballet classes, and a guest lecturer at Drexel University where she was asked to speak about Balanchine repertoire for the Philadelphia Museum Of Dance at the Barnes Museum., Ms. Amiss has been a faculty member of The School of Pennsylvania Ballet where she teaches all levels including a beginner ballet at Croft Farms in Cherry hill N.j She also teaches for the Princeton Ballet School in both the Cranbury and Princeton locations.

In 2018,Ms. Amiss was asked by Pennsylvania Ballet outreach program to teach classes for children with Down syndrome. She has taught several ballet classes for children with special needs at St. Katherine Day School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania and currently teaches Audrey’s class for children of all abilities at the Princeton Ballet School.

Ms. Amiss retired from Pennsylvania Ballet in June 2007. She resides in Mantua, NJ with her husband, former Pennsylvania Ballet Soloist Edward Cieslak, and their son Adam and daughter Lily.

Dan Bauer

Dan Bauer has been working in marketing and public relations for over 20 years. His recent credits include Aladdin Ullah’s Dishwasher Dreams at Castillo Theatre, Yehuda Hyman’s The Mar Vista at The Pershing Square Signature Theatre, Mac Wellman’s A Chronicle of the Madness of Small Worlds, and The Jewish King Lear at Metropolitan Playhouse. For many years, Dan was director of public relations at McCarter Theatre Center and served as producer for Smart Talk Connected Conversations working with a long list of distinguished speakers including Julie Andrews, Debbie Reynolds, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Phylicia Rashad. Dan is a Board member of the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion.

Phone: 732.249.1254 ext. 23

Email: [email protected]

Shari Nyce

Shari Nyce starting her training as a dancer. She was a Principle ballet dancer with several east coast companies. She then found her true love in modern dance. She worked in NYC with Keith Young’s dance company. Nyce decided to move west and continue her dance career doing company work but also film, television, commercial, and video. After working with Twlya Tharp, Nyce decided to try her hand at choreography. As well as doing her own work, she continued working with companies such as Hysterica Dance and working in the Hollywood scene.