Meet the instructors

Elisa-Marie Alaio is a native of Brooklyn, NY and a graduate from Point Park University's dance conservatory with a focus in modern/jazz dance. Elisa has performed and choreographed all over the city with FireWALL Dance Theater, Texture Contemporary Ballet, Red City Live Entertainment, and Continuum Dance Theater. She is also a former company member with Geometry, a contemporary dance company based in Los Angeles under the direction of Mackenzie Martin. Her greatest accomplishment is being the Artistic Director of local Pittsburgh dance company, FireWALL Dance Theater. She has cultivated and created 8 full length shows that have performed at their resident theater, Carnegie Stage, and NYC which has become a second home for the company. Ms. Alaio is a faculty member at FireWALL Dance Theater and Wexford Dance Academy. She teaches technique, modern, contemporary, jazz, heels, burlesque and conditioning. Ms. Alaio is the creator of a pre-professional program, FireWALL Junior, designed for young dancers eager to train in all styles and challenge themselves as young artists. Elisa is very passionate about teaching and creating art and is happy to share that desire in this beautiful city!

Hope Anthony is a dancer, singer, actor, and educator from Pittsburgh (Montour HS ‘11). She is a proud Actors’ Equity Association member, represented by The Talent Group Agency, and an alumna of Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts (‘15). Recently seen on stage in "A Midsummer Night's Dream in Harlem," "A Christmas Story," and "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. You can find her on screen in UPMC's NFL Superbowl commercial “Are You Covered?”, eating ice cream in Nestlé DrumstickⓇ’s Anniversary Video, scolding a goat in an Aspirant LLC commercial, and repping her city for Visit Pittsburgh. Next up: "Merrily We Roll Along" at the New Hazlett Theater (Dance Captain under Alex Manalo).

Isabella Bergamin is a Pittsburgh based dance artist, yogi, and aerialist. She received her BFA in Dance from Point Park University, her yoga instructor certification through Yoga Alliance, and studies aerial arts at the Iron City Circus. She is originally from Westchester, New York, where she studied under Rose-Marie Menes. Isabella has danced with various project-based companies in Pittsburgh, including the Pillow Project, founded by Pearlann Porter and The Blanket, founded by Matt Pardo and Caitlin Scranton. She has also dedicated her time in Pittsburgh working as a field organizer for various nonprofits and political campaigns, pushing for criminal justice reform and other progressive policies and candidates. Whether she’s exploring creative concepts, mentoring young movers, or volunteering in the activist community, Isabella strives to infuse yoga philosophy in all of her work.

Chrisala M Brown, is a cultural teaching artist, choreographer and performer, who brings a strong respect and appreciation of the incorporation of the music and dance of West Africa and the Diaspora.

She is a research facilitator for the REACT Study since its pilot days, gets their participants moving with steps from the African diaspora and connecting with their bodies in ways that encourage a healthy lifestyle.

She also connects to her all-ages community through stage performances, workshops and teaching residencies.

Lydia Clinton is a Bay Area native where she studied dance at Grace Dance Academy and attended the LINES Ballet Summer Program. After graduating high school, she went to Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA to pursue a BA in Modern Dance. During college, she also attended the American Dance Festival on scholarship and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. When she returned to the Bay Area, Lydia worked with a number of dance companies such as PUSH Dance Company, Zaccho Dance Theatre, Lauren Simpson Dance, Kristin Damrow & Company, Capacitor, and Cat Call Choir (her singing debut). Lydia also had the pleasure of working with Berkeley Playhouse in "In the Heights" as well as teaching jazz and contemporary at many studios in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco.

Mita Ghosal is a choreographer and educator living in Pittsburgh, PA. She has been a dedicated practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga since 2004. In 2006-2007 she was blessed with the opportunity to study yoga in Mysore with the late-founder of Ashtanga Yoga, Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois. She holds both 200 and 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training Certifications from Yoga Works in Los Angeles and studied the application of developmental patterning to yoga asana with Lisa Clark through her Body Mind Centering & Yoga Teacher Training Program. She is also a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute in NYC. Stayed tuned for the debut of her new evening length work Lost on a Loom set to premiere at KST’s Alloy Studios in November of this year!

Peter Kope is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Attack Theatre. Peter began his dance career working with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. He also toured internationally with Jacob Pillow’s “Men Dancers: The Ted Shawn Legacy.” Prior to founding Attack Theatre with his partner, Michele de la Reza, Peter danced with Pittsburgh-based Dance Alloy (Mark Taylor, Artistic Director) and NYC-based Perks DanceMusicTheatre (Rebecca Stenn, Artistic Director), creating and touring new works throughout the US with both companies for seven years. Together with Michele de la Reza, Peter is the recipient of three Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowships and the Hardie Educator of the Year award.

Peter’s work with Attack Theatre led the company to honors of “Best Dance Company” (Pittsburgh City Paper 2007-2011, 2016), “Best Dance Performance” (Post-Gazette 2006, 2010, 2011), and the National Dance Project touring award for Games of Steel. Peter is on faculty at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music, where Attack Theatre is the dance company in residence.

Originally from New Castle, PA, Miranda Nichols attended Marymount Manhattan College and graduated with a BFA in Dance with a dual major in English Literature. Miranda first performed with Attack Theatre in 2018, and has worked on a number of projects with the company, most recently Translations and Art Transports Us. She was a company member with West Virginia Dance Company during their 2019-2020 season and performed in Fame Notions with New York based choreographer Gillian Walsh. In addition to performing, Miranda enjoys teaching dance at a variety of local studios, and loves sharing movement with children and teens of all levels and abilities. 

Michele de la Reza is Co-Founder and Acting Artistic/Executive Director of Attack Theatre. Prior to founding Attack Theatre with her partner, Peter Kope, Michele danced with Pittsburgh based Dance Alloy (Mark Taylor, Artistic Director) and was a founding company member of NYC based Perks DanceMusicTheatre (Rebecca Stenn, Artistic Director), creating and touring new works throughout the US with both companies for seven years. Together with Peter, Michele is the recipient of three Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowships and the Hardie Educator of the Year award. As an advocate of kinesthetic learning strategies in the classroom, Michele is the guiding force behind Attack Theatre’s robust arts education programming, which includes residencies and performances for students and professional development for teachers and administrators. Michele received her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and a Master’s of Science in Developmental Movement from the University of Pittsburgh. She is an Associate Teaching Professor of Dance at Carnegie Mellon University.

Ethan Gwynn is a performer and educator specializing in various forms of dance disciplines. He was born in State College, Pennsylvania where he began his dance training at the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania under the guidance of Andrea Hill and Lane Grosser. He continued his training at both the Certificate Program of the Alvin Ailey American Dance School and the French Ballet Academy. Ethan has continued to perform with companies such as Project 44, Tanz Theater, Bloodline Dance Theater, Pennsylvania Dance Workshop, American Liberty Ballet Company, and Mystic Dance. Ethan has also worked with artists such as Matthew Rushing, Nicholas Vilenueve, Nai Ni Chen, Renee Robbinson, and Leonie Stein. Recently, Ethan finished his fourth season working with the Nai Ni Chen Dance company.

Bhavya Ram is a local Pittsburgh dancer/choreographer. She has been dancing since the age of 3 and teaching Bollywood & Bollyfusion to kids and adults in Pittsburgh for the last 3 years. Her style includes blending elements of various Indian styles such as folk and kathak with other different western styles such as hip-hop and contemporary to create a distinct fusion dance style.

Marc Spaulding is an educator, choreographer and dance artist whose passion, integrity and professionalism characterize his works.

Spaulding began his formal dance training at the prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., under the direction of Lynn Welters. He later earned a B.F.A. in dance (ballet performance) from the University of the Arts and completed his M.F.A. in dance at University of California, Irvine.

With more than 20 years of professional dance experience, Spaulding has had a very diverse career. His noteworthy concert and theatrical credits include: Dreamgirls first national tour, Equus - Broadway revival, PHILADANCO (The Philadelphia Dance Company), West Side Story International tour, Donald Byrd/The Group, Broadway’s Gypsy of the Year Competition, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Memphis (Musical Theatre West) and Endless Shock (Japanese musical series tour).His television and film credits include: Nissan North America commercial, Euphoria, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Timeless, Hairspray feature film, ABC's Dancing with The Stars, NBC's Today Show, Saturday Night Live and the 81st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Spaulding has taught at: Orange County School of the Arts, Millennium Dance Complex - Los Angeles, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), The Jikei Group of Colleges in Japan, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, University of the Arts, Collage Dance Collective and the International Association of Blacks in Dance conference. He is enthusiastic about sharing his wisdom with the next generation of dance artists. 

A Pittsburgh native, Sarah attended Point Park University and graduated with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Theatre. After graduating she moved to New York City, where she worked with the NYC Metropolitan Opera, Doug Varone, Jessica Taylor of DamageDance, Awakening Movement, ZviDance, Caleb Teicher & Company, Lorena Egan, Michael Mindlin, Gibney Dance GRIT, and Shining Light. Other credits include: National Tour of The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Starlight Express, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and West Side Story as Anybodys. In addition to extensive theatrical training, Sarah is dedicated to teaching and sharing movement studies to all levels through dance, Pilates & other somatic movement explorations. Sarah began dancing with Attack Theatre in 2016.