The Dancers

Company | Elisa Monte | Tiffany Rea-Fisher | The Dancers

Maria Ambrose (dancer) grew up in Meredith, NH and began her dance training at age four with Sally Downs.  She furthered her training at Lakes Region Dance and Edra Toth’s Academy of Ballet as well as performed with the Boston Dance Company. Maria attended George Mason University on an Academic Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude in May 2011, receiving a BFA in Dance as well as an award for Excellence in Performance. While at George Mason she performed in works by Elisa Monte, David Parsons, Doug Varone, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Patrick Corbin, Christopher D’Amboise, Susan Shields, Robert Battle, and Ohad Narahin.  Maria has also performed with LevyDance in their 2012 NYC tour of “Romp”. She joined EMD as an apprentice in September 2011 and is thrilled to now be dancing with the company full time. 

Riccardo Battaglia (dancer) started dancing at age 8 at the "Scuola d'Arte New Step"in Pescara, Italy. He won the International Expression Competitions in 2008-2010 in Florence and the Tip Tap Show in 2007, 2009 & 2010 in Rome. He moved to New York when he was 19 and starting training at the Ailey School as a Scholarship student. He performed twice at the "Ailey at the Apollo" at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, with Earl Mosley's "Hearts of Men", and with Hope Boykin Dance and Thang Dao Dance Company. His other performance credits include works by Alvin Ailey, Darrell Moultrie, Joyce Trisler, Nathan Trice and Jennifer Archibald. He's now member of Elisa Monte Dance.

 Clymene Baugher (dancer), originally from Jacksonville, Florida, graduated with a BFA in Dance and with an Honors Award for Distinction in Choreography from The Ailey School/Fordham University in 2002. During her time at The Ailey School, under the direction of Denise Jefferson and Ana-Marie Forsythe, she performed with the BFA student dancers, in Memoria with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and worked with numerous guest artists. She also apprenticed with the Sean Curran Company. Mary Clymene then spent several years teaching dance at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida and performed with and served as resident choreographer for Voci Dance in Orlando, Florida, while earning her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. Mary Clymene graduated with a MA in Mental Health Counseling from Rollins College in 2006 and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of New York in private practice.  Ms. Baugher returned to Florida for three weeks this year as a Guest Artist/Choreographer for Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, LaVilla School of the Arts, and St. Augustine High School and received the “Shining Star” Alumni Spotlight Performance Award. Clymene is proud to be celebrating her third year with EMD.




Lisa Borres (apprentice)  Born and raised in Staten Island, New York, Lisa Borres graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.  She later received her B.F.A in Dance at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, where she has performed works by Martha Graham, Pascal Rioult, Shannon Gillen, and Steven Pier as well as works brought to the American College Dance Festival. Since graduating, Lisa has performed with LEVYDance and MATYCHAK.  She is currently dancing with Lydia Johnson Dance and Mazzini Dance Collective. She has apprenticed and performed with Elisa Monte Dance since 2011.

Joe Celej (dancer) is a New York City based artist holding a BFA in dance performance from SUNY at Buffalo.  His concert dance credits include Priscilla Nathan-Murphy, Nina Buisson Contemporary Move, The Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, and is currently in his seventh year with the internationally touring/acclaimed Elisa Monte Dance.  Commercial/Industrial credits include Levi Strauss and Company, Wal-mart, and the city of Houston.  Joe’s choreographic experience includes the creation of six original works for the Houston Met as its Resident Choreographer, the Pink Ribbons Project, the Big Range Dance Festival, Zodiaque Dance Company (resident company of SUNY at Buffalo), Dance Harlem, Dumbo Dance Festival, Cool NY Dance Festival, Solar One Solar Powered Dance Series, Dance Gallery, In-Sight Summer Suite, and co-produced Build Me Up! at The Tank.  Joe continues his relationship with the Houston Met as a guest choreographer/teacher and member of their advisory board, and was an honoree at the Met’s recent 15^th Anniversary Concert.  As a part of the Elisa Monte Dance Choreographic Initiative, Joe has enjoyed collaborating and creating works for the past four EMD seasons, including his Joyce Theater choreographic premiere,…the heart…  With over ten years of teaching experience, Joe is a master teacher throughout the United States and Europe.  He has been a guest teacher/choreographer at a variety of educational institutions including SUNY at Buffalo, Rice University, Salve Regina University, The High School for Performing and Visual Arts Houston (HSPVA), Episcopal High School, and the Hetrick-Martin Institute.  Joe is a recipient of a 2010 Presidential Scholar Teacher Recognition Award from the US Department of Education and a Zodiaque 35^th Distinguished Alumni Award from SUNY at Buffalo.  Joe would like to thank his friends, family, and the entire EMD family!  Joe would also like to extend a special thanks to the Junior Board and Carolyn Dillworth for believing in and supporting his work!

 Mindy Lai (dancer) began training in her country of origin, Taiwan. She attended Chon-Wen Performing Arts School in Taiwan. In the United States she joined Victoria Ballet Theatre in Victoria, Texas and has received apprenticeships from Sierra Nevada Ballet in Reno, Nevada and Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in New York, New York. Mindy is trained in Ballet, Graham, Horton, Jazz, Limon, Tap, Taylor, and West African. She has also performed works by: Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, Camille Brown, Sean Curran, Thang Dao, Darrell Moltrie, Jennifer Muller, Scott Rink, Paul Taylor, and Joyce Trisler. Mindy received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in Dance from Fordham University and The Ailey School. Currently she is also a member of VON USSAR danceworks, and is excited to be performing onstage with Elisa Monte Dance this season!

Justin Lynch (dancer) is from Kingston, Jamaica. In addition to his work with Elisa Monte, he has danced with Naganuma Dance, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Company Stefanie Batten Bland, and Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre. Other choreographers with whom he has worked include Lydia Johnson and Sunhwa Chung, and his work as a dancer has included collaborations with members of the Grammy-nominated Brazilian Girls and the Ahn Trio. Justin also has a law degree from Columbia Law School, and trained as a pianist at the Royal College of Music in London and at Boston University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Music. (photo by SeBiArt)

Lisa Peluso (dancer) was born and bred in New Jersey where she graduated summa cum laude from Montcalir State University with a BFA in dance. While attending MSU, she was invited into the company in residence, Donna Scro/Freespace Dance and performed extensively with the company until 2007. Lisa was a scholarship apprentice/understudy for Jennifer Muller/The Works for several years and has additionally performed with Flexicurve, project: Smith and KDNY. Lisa's choreography has been commissioned by several dance companies throughout NJ. Some of her favorite choreographic venues include the International Dance Festival in Hawaii, the 2010 American College Dance Festival Gala concert in Virginia, Bryant Park and the Merce Cunningham theater. Her most recent collaboration, project: Smith & Peluso, is a solo-duet company directed by herself and duet partner Nicole Smith. Project:Smith & Peluso showcased their work at the Fringe Festival in Scotland in 2010 to international rave reviews. Lisa enjoys adjunct dance faculty positions at several colleges in NJ and is currently pursuing her graduate degree in dance education at Rutgers University.

Prentice Whitlow (dancer) received subsequent training at the Richmond Ballet before graduating in 2009 from George Mason University with a BFA in Dance, coupled with the distinguished Excellence in Performance Award. He has performed with The Mark Morris Dance Group, Alwin Nikolais Dance Theater and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company where he performed and originated roles in the works of Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Karole Armitage, John Jasperse and Carolyn Carlson. He has also performed with Dissonance Dance Theater, Karen Reedy Dance and Dance Iquail, as well as internationally with Signe Fabricius. He is excited and grateful to perform with EMD for a third season.