Dances by Isadora Boston

Kelli joined Dances by Isadora in 1996 under the tutelage of Patricia Adams. She is now Co-Director of Dances by Isadora Boston and choreographs new work for the company both in the style of Duncan and through a contemporary lens. Kelli has also performed with choreographers Marcus Schulkind, David Parker, Sara Rudner, Ruth Birnberg, Brian Crabtree, Daniel McCusker, Caitlin Corbett and in her own work. Her choreography has been presented at Dance Umbrella, Dance Now Boston and Soaking Wet in NYC. She has choreographed numerous shows at The New Repertory Theatre, The Huntington, American Repertory Theatre, and Actors’ Shakespeare Project among others. Kelli is currently on the performing arts faculty at Milton Academy.

Sandra is Co-Director of Dances by Isadora Boston and spearheads our teaching and performing activities in the Boston/New England area. Sandra began her exploration of the Duncan work at the Boston Conservatory with Dances by Isadora co-founder Catherine Gallant.  Sandra joined Dances by Isadora upon completing her BFA at the Conservatory, training with Duncan master teachers Patricia Adams and Sylvia Gold.  She has also performed with Daniel McCusker and Dancers, Lorraine Chapman the Company and Kelli Edwards.  Sandra is a 200 hr YTT certified yoga instructor and  teaches dance and yoga at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in Quincy, MA. When she is not dancing, she serves as Director of Operations for Institutes and Lifelong Learning Programs at the Boston University Questrom School of Business.

Irene has been dancing in the Boston area most of her life. Over the years she has had the honor of performing with many wonderful choreographers including Caitlin Corbett, Marcus Schulkind, Daniel McCusker, Brian Crabtree, Lorraine Chapman The Company, Kelli Edwards, Back Porch Dance Company, Jody Weber, and most recently Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion. She is delighted to be learning the work of Isadora Duncan and performing with these beautiful women. 

Alison Ball has been dancing in the Boston area since her relocation here in 1996. She happily worked with Patt Adams soon after arriving and after a long hiatus, she returns to work with the beautiful Dances by Isadora dancers. She has also danced with Daniel McCusker, Brian Crabtree, Caitlin Corbett, Kelli Edwards, Audra Carabetta, Marjorie Morgan, Debra Bluth, and Joan Green. She holds an MFA from George Washington University and currently works as a physical therapy assistant.

Colleen Quinn teaches movement, music and theatre arts at Inly School in Scituate. She holds an MFA in Performance and Choreography from Smith College where she was introduced to the Isadora Duncan technique by the incomparable Gemze deLappe. Colleen is a frequent choreographer at TheaterPlus!, BowMassey Labs, Inly Players and Bridgewater State University. Most recently, Colleen performed in the original musical, The Pony Express, and can be heard on the cast album, available everywhere! Colleen is thrilled to be able to revive, recreate and reinvent Isadora Duncan’s work and is so grateful to do so with such lovely and talented company members.

Maya Slocum began her studies with the Jose Mateo Ballet Theater and performed for several years in the company’s production of The Nutcracker. Later she studied ballet under Cosmin and Melinda Marculetiu with the International Ballet Academy of Norwell. She has performed with David Parker and The Bang Group in Boston, and was a member of the Vassar Repertory Dance Theater at Vassar College. She was introduced to Duncan's work as a student of Kelli Edwards’ and is honored to continue learning and performing this work with Dances By Isadora Boston.

Joelle Garfi holds an MFA from Smith College. In Boston she has danced and collaborated with many choreographers, including Caitlin Corbet, Brian Crabtree, Daniel McCusker and Marcus Schulkind. As a member of the Harvard Summer Dance Center, Joelle studied and danced in the works of Donald Byrd, Sean Curran, David Dorfman and Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane. Currently Joelle owns and teaches at her pilates studio in Brookline, MA. Joelle is delighted to have the opportunity to learn the dances of Isadora Duncan with such a lovely and talented group of dancers.

Jillian MacLaughlin is a Boston-based dance performance artist, choreographer and educator from the seacoast of New Hampshire. Jillian graduated Magna Cum Laude from Roger Williams University with a BA in Dance and Performance Studies. During her time in the RWU Dance Theatre, she worked with an array of professional guest artists and spent the fall of 2018 studying in London, England. In the fall of 2019, she choreographed her senior thesis work entitled “Overshoot”, an abstract movement research surrounding the world’s climate crisis and its societal implications.  After graduating in 2020, Jillian began teaching students of all ages across the New England area. She has had the pleasure of dancing for Natalie Johnson Dance, Amy Stacy Curtis, Eliza Malecki, and Lorraine Chapman the Company. In 2022 she established Rose Woods Dance Collaborative, a comedy centered modern dance theater collective co-directed by Jenna Gross. RWDC strives to delve into social commentary through pantomime inspired movement with a whimsical and jocose approach. The primary focus of their choreographic work is to make serious topics into jokes and to take jokes seriously.  When Jillian is not dancing she can be found making a mean cup of coffee at a local café, singing at the top of her lungs or enjoying the company of her cat companion Milo.

Jenna Gross is a dancer, choreographer, and multi-media artist from Westford, MA. They received their BA in Dance and Performance with a minor in Graphic Design Communications from Roger Williams University. Jenna has worked with Lorriane Chapman (LCTC), Catherine Siller, Eliza Malecki, Natalie Johnson Dance, Providence Ballet Theatre. Their current research and practice revolves around kinesthetically sound movement and exploring dynamic partnering. Their passion for comedy intertwines within their practice by discovering quirky movements and poking fun at the prestige of dance.  Jenna is also the codirector of Rose Woods Dance Collaborative, a performance art-focused dance theatre company, along side Jillian MacLaughlin. Their work approaches social commentary through pantomime-inspired comedy and absurdism. The main focus of their choreographic work is to make serious topics into jokes and to take jokes seriously. When Jenna is not dancing she can be found knitting, creating ceramic pieces, or acquiring another craft hobby.

Jennifer Binversie began her dance training at the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance and continued on scholarship at the Virginia School of the Arts, later graduating from the Alabama School of Fine Arts under the direction of David Keener. Her summers were spent studying at various dance intensives, most notably Interlochen Center for the Arts, Milwaukee Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Upon graduating from the University of Hartford- Hartt School, with a dance pedagogy degree and minors in entrepreneurial studies and performing arts management, Binversie began dancing overseas in the South Pacific aboard Holland America Cruise Line. Upon returning to the US, Binversie headed the dance department at a private boarding high school in downeast Maine, where she developed a new curriculum for the dancers that included abstract movement. She has performed in works by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, and Isadora Duncan. Binversie is also an active company member of Dances by Isadora, performing classical Duncan technique, and Rosewood Dance Collaborative, a contemporary movement company. Binversie has also performed with NACHMO Boston and Malden Dance Mile. She has taught dance at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and Boston Ballet where her choreography was presented on the international stage. Binversie has completed educational teacher trainings at  the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Boston Ballet’s Adaptive Dance Teacher Training, where she has consistently been a guest presenter. Binversie holds her Masters Degree in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management from Colorado State University and is excited to be part of the Duncan lineage.

Cara Grady holds a BA in Dance and Performance Studies and a minor in Global Communication from Roger Williams University. While at university, she studied Bartenieff Fundamentals, Laban Movement, Cunningham Technique, Contact Improvisation, and many somatic movement practices.  She has worked with Shawn Ahern, Mike Tyus, Nattie Trogdon, Hollis Bartlett, and Nicole Gallo. Cara spent a semester in London researching movement and current performances. While there she worked with Renaud Wiser and Stephen Pelton. During her time a Roger Williams she choreographed two pieces and a solo work.  She joined Dances by Isadora in her first year post graduation and she teaches dance within the Merrimack Valley.

Julia Keldsen is a recent graduate of Roger Williams University (RWU). She graduated with a dual degree in Anthropology-Sociology and Dance and Performance studies. In the fall of 2023, Julia studied abroad in London with the RWU dance program where she worked with many amazing dancers/choreographers such as Renaud Wiser and Stephan Pelton. During her last year at RWU, Julia worked with artists Claudia-Lynn Rightmire and Heavy Boots,  directed Layne Willis and Anna Tse. Julia is happy to now be a part of Dances by Isadora Boston.