SADC Virtual Major Dance Concert: May 8 Choreographers

From May 7-9, 2020, SADC will be embarking on its first virtual dance concert. The concert will be running for three nights, each night featuring eight different choreographers. On May 8, the featured Choreographers will be Imani Rose Arnett, Morgan Amirah Burns, Isabelle Dayton, Taína Lyons, Sarah Lutzky, Moeka Minami, Imani Monét Moss, and Daniel Padierna. 

Imani Rose Arnett:

Imani Rose Arnett was born and raised in Chicago, IL where she began her dance training at the age of 12. She studied classical ballet, modern techniques such as horton and graham, contemporary, latin, and jazz at the Chicago Multicultural Dance Center. During her training at CMDC, she was given the exciting opportunity to learn from Homer Hans Bryant, Ingrid Silva, Alicia Graf-Mack, Martin Ortiz Tapia, and Arthur Mitchell. While a member of her studio’s youth ensemble, she performed with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Dallas Black Dance Theater, NYFW campaigns, Tedx Talks, and televised fashion commercials. She has spent summers training at CMDC and Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. While completing her BFA at NYU, she has performed in works by Wayne Mcgregor, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE A Dance Company, James C. Martin, Elizabeth Coker, and various student choreographers. She has focused on developing her artistry in many of the dance department concerts, and is intent on continuing to explore this passion after graduating. Now in her final year at NYU, she is planning on graduating with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Child & Adolescent Mental Health.Imani Arnett 

Morgan Amirah Burns: 

Morgan Amirah Burns hails from Atlanta, GA where she trained at Mclendon Performing Arts Institute before she began her training at City Gate Dance Theater. For her high school years, she attended DeKalb School of the Arts, majoring in dance. In her senior year of high school, she danced with Atlanta Ballet. Her interests include improvisational performances, movement research, and composition. Morgan has also studied at The American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Toscana Dance Hub, and the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. Recently, she performed an expert of Roy Assaf’s “Girls” in the Florence Dance Festival.  At NYU, she has danced the works of Studio Wayne McGregor, Eleanor Lacky, Vittoria Ferrari de Sapetto, and Jim Martin. Morgan is currently in her final year as a BFA candidate at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where she is a member of the Second Avenue Dance Company. 

Isabelle Dayton:

Isabelle Dayton, born and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois, is in her final year pursuing a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts. She began dancing at the age of two and has studied ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip-hop.  With Extensions Dance Company in Chicago, she had the opportunity to perform works by Lizzie MacKenzie, Adam Barruch, Miguel Perez, Anna Long, Taylor Mitchell and Garth Johnson. Isabelle has supplemented her dance training with programs offered by Hubbard Street, River North, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Sidra Bell, Tisch Berlin and B12. At NYU, Isabelle has had the privilege of performing many works, most notably by Sidra Bell, Wayne McGregor, Lar Lubovitch, James Martin, Doug Nielsen, and Ori Flomin. She choreographed a piece this year called symposium and is honored that it has been selected to be shown at Choreofest and at the Second Avenue Dance Company Major Concert.

Taína Lyons: 

Taína Lyons grew up in San Pedro, California where she started her dance training at the San Pedro Ballet School at the age of four. About six months later, she started her professional dance training at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, eventually being mentored by Debbie Allen herself. She has a diversified dance background; her core classes being Ballet (pointe), Modern (w/ techniques in Graham, Dunham, and Horton) and Jazz/Contemporary along with training in Tap, Flamenco, Salsa, Hip-Hop/Krumping, and African. She has spent six summers on scholarship attending Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s intensive, as well as one summer on scholarship at Alonzo King Lines Ballet. While attending NYU Tisch Dance she has performed in guest works by Ron K. Brown, Wayne McGregor, and Lar Lubovitch and has gone on to choreograph and perform a solo titled “No Te Veo” and a collaborative piece titled “Continuum”. In the Spring of 2019 she also had the pleasure of studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic at the HAMU school. She is currently finishing up her third and final year at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a major in Dance and a minor in Spanish.

Sarah Lutzky:

Sarah Lutzky grew up dancing in Los Angeles, CA. She received the majority of her training from Degas Dance Studio in Encino, CA, where she trained under the artistic direction of Anacia Weiskittel. There, she had the pleasure of receiving dance training in classical ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, jazz funk, lyrical, musical theatre, and hip hop. She furthered her training at pre-professional summer intensives around the country including BodyTraffic, Northwest Dance Project, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Alvin Ailey. Sarah is currently in her last year as a dance major at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, studying under Jeremy Nelson, Betsy Choker, Giada Ferrone, Pamela Pietro, Jolinda Menendez, Cherylyn Lavagnino, Sean Curran and many others. At NYU, she has worked with a variety of New York City based artists such as Dianne Madden, Sidra Bell, Netta Yerushalmy, David Dorfman, Danielle Agami, MK Abadoo, Kendra Portier, Davide Di Pretoro, Nigel Campbell, Jasmine Hearn and Helen Simoneau.

Moeka Minami:

Moeka Minami was born in Tokyo, Japan. In 2002, her family moved to Singapore where she began her dance training at Cheng Ballet Academy, under the direction of Hsienfa and Yaling Cheng. There, she had many opportunities to perform throughout southeast Asia. Moeka is currently in her final year at New York University where she will receive a BFA in dance and a minor in child and adolescent mental health studies. During her time at NYU, she had the opportunity to perform works by Ronald K Brown and Pamela Pietro. She also performed in the off-broadway production of “Oklahoma!”. After graduation, Moeka looks forward to pursuing a career in dance and continuing to explore her craft.

Imani Monét Moss: 

Imani Monét is a senior earning her BFA in Dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a double minor in Africana Studies and Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, she began dancing at the age of two. At 14, Imani began her training at The Chicago High School for the Arts where she spent summers with The Ailey School, Alonzo King LINES, Joffrey Ballet, and River North. Since moving to New York to continue her dance studies at Tisch School of the Arts, she has performed with Jeremy Nelson, Jim Martin, Luis Lara Malvacias, Tigger Benford, Martha Partridge, Sean Curran, Ronald K. Brown, and Sidra Bell as well as numerous student choreographers. Imani has also choreographed two contemporary modern works and studied abroad in Berlin, Germany during the Summer of 2019. She has been featured twice in Dance Spirit Magazine both as a writer and model since beginning her journey at New York University. Imani identifies as an Arts Activist who believes in the power of the arts through social justice and activism within a global scale. In 2019, she received a NYU President’s Service Award for her leadership and role in NYU’s community after founding Dancers of Color Alliance in Tisch’s Dance department.

Daniel Padierna (MFA): 

Daniel Padierna, Artistic Director of Padierna Dance Project, received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Education at Montclair State University (MSU) and is now pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Padierna has performed works from a diverse group of choreographers including Fredrick Earl Mosley, Antony Tudor, Jose Limon, Gregory Dolbashian, Rennie Harris, Camille A. Brown, and Larry Keigwin. His choreography has recently been produced at Bryant Park, 14th Street Y, Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, Brooklyn High School of the Arts, Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts as well as numerous high school dance programs within the tri-state area. Padierna was selected to choreograph for the 2019 Young Choreographer’s Festival at Symphony Space, NYC as well as presented at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) as one of New Jersey’s top emerging choreographers in 2018 and 2019.