Grace Deane is a dancer, artist and teacher based in New York City. She grew up in New Rochelle, New York, surrounded by a family of dancers. It was at the University of Wisconsin in Madison that Grace first was drawn to make work using dance as the primary medium. At UW-Madison, Grace had many wonderful opportunities to work with faculty and guest artists such as Bill T Jones, Pamela Petrio, Joe Goode, and Danielle Russo. For Grace, the need to communicate through art led her to dance.  After graduating in 2015 with a BS in Dance and a double major in Math, Grace completed her Pilates certification from Movement Insights Pilates under Collette Stewart. She then returned to New York where she has been living, teaching, and choreographing since 2016. 

Prior to coming to TAPCo, she has choreographed four musicals at New Rochelle High School. Grace was thrilled to be a part of the 2018 summer Devices workshop. Her solo work ‘nayeh’ which uses original song, text and movement. Since returning to the east coast Grace has been shown professional work New York City and across America. Grace is an AGDEP scholar who holds a Masters of Art in Dance Education from Hunter College. 

Dance Courses

Richard Lugo grew up in Westchester, NY, where he began his training in martial arts at the age of four. He ventured into high school musical theater and developed a passion for dance, regularly studying Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Tap. Rich continued his education at Colorado State University, graduating in May 2009 with a BA in Dance. While training in Modern and Ballet, he served as an on-scholarship member of the CSU Tour Dance Company under Chung-Fu Chang for two years, performing in productions at CSU, regionally, and at festivals. Rich also choreographed numerous pieces while studying, three of which were presented by faculty on the main stage and on tour. He has worked with a roster of guest artists including Diavolo Dance Theatre. Upon graduation, Rich moved to New York City to begin his journey as the founder and artistic director of his dance film company, DANSPIEK. He has also proudly served the Bronx community as a full-time high school Dance teacher for the NYC Department of Education since 2015. Through his curriculum he has built a strong sense of community with his students. They perform together in pre-professional dance concerts, and student work has also been presented at the Bronx Borough Arts Festival across multiple seasons. Rich continues to explore dance as a storytelling medium and inspire young artists to express themselves through movement. 

Dance Courses