ARTISTIC DIRECTOR- MJ Canzonieri is a BFA Dance Graduate at Mason Gross School of the Arts. They have studied choreography from choreographers such as Melanie George, Ani Javian, John Evans, Gerald Casel, Barbara Angeline, Yo-el Cassel, Pam Tanowitz, Thang Dao, Ani Javian, Omar Roman De Jesus, Bradly Beakes in a restaging of ‘A Choreographic Offering’ by Josè Limòn, and a restaging of ‘Steps in the Street’ by Martha Graham set by Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch. They interned with the José Limón Dance Foundation in the Summer of 2024. As well as interned for ACDA 2025. MJ has also studied abroad at the Academia Dell'Arte Summer 2025 dance program in Arezzo, Italy. MJ’s works have been presented in NYC, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania at festivals such as Spark Theatre Festival NYC, APHERD Regional Dance Gala, River Dance Festival, Dance Bloc NYC 2025, our very own Canzonieri Dance Collective Choreographer Showcase, Art House FOCUS college spotlight showcase, and Creative Performances Fast Forward Series at Dixon Place Theater. MJ has also been dancing with Bart.Co Dance Company was founded by Leigha Bartko in 2023. 

COMPANY MEMBER- Leigha Bartko: is a New Jersey-based dance artist. She went to college for a BFA in dance at Rutgers University. During this time, she had the chance to work with many artists: John Evans, Ani Javian, Kim Elliot, Katy Pyle, Andre Zachery, Kun-Yang Lin, Anne Parichon, and Barbra Angaline. She furthers her education through many different intensives, such as  Bates Dance Festival, Mignolo Dance Center Intensives, Gaga Lab, Think Fast with Madi Hicks, Vim Vigor Dance Intensive, and David Dorfman Dance Summer. Leigha was awarded the Margery J.Turner Choreography Award through Rutgers University. They have been able to perform new and old group work all over the tri-state area. Leigha currently dances, teaches Pilates, and choreographs; they also have a space fellowship with the studio, Washington Rock Dance, for their new upcoming works for their company, “Bart.Co Dance”, a woman-run dance company. Using personal experiences, political issues, and human rights issues as a source to create reflective work. Our most notable performance, 2025 Fringe Arts Festival 'Through The Eyes Of a Woman,' the company's first evening-length.

COMPANY MEMBER AND ASSISTANT- London Gould: is a junior B.F.A. Dance major at Rutgers Mason Gross. Originally from Dallas, Texas, he trained at Dallas Ballet Center for 15 years and performed with the pre-professional Dallas Ballet Company for 6 years. He was a soloist in Chip Abbott’s “Billion Dollar Baby,” and has performed in works by DeAngelo Blanchard, John Evans, and Johnathan Campbell. Recently, he worked alongside Phil Chan as a rehearsal assistant for the piece “America/Beautiful”. He also studied at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where he was mentored by Kate Walker and Omar Humphrey.

COMPANY MEMBER- Sarah Kristensen: is a student at Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, with a minor in Holistic Wellness. Sarah is a passionate lover of dance, as well as many other athletic and artistic forms. She trained at CaRu Entertainment Dance Complex, Mercer County Community College, Martin Center for Dance, Brigham Young University dance intensive in 2021-2022, Flair Dance Company as a featured soloist 2024-2025, The Collaborative Training, and many open studios in New York City. Sarah has performed in many works by featured choreographers at MGSA, including DeAngelo Blanchard, John Evans, Evelyn Wang, Phil Chan, and more. Along with this, she is actively pursuing her dreams as a dance teacher at Vibe Dance Academy and other studios, a yoga instructor substitute, part-time model, and performing with Canzioneri Dance Collective (CDC). Sarah’s long-term goals include performing professionally with CDC and other companies, opening her own yoga and pilates studio, as well as continuing her modeling goals post-graduation. 

COMPANY MEMBER- K Sainato: is a dancer and choreographer from Long Island, New York. They received their BFA in dance from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts. They have worked with artists such as Pam Tanowitz, Bradley Beakes of the Limón Dance Company, Kimani Fowlin, Omar Román de Jesus, Thang Dao, Camden Loeser, and Ani Javian. K has performed at Spark Theater Festival, Dance Bloc NYC, ArtHouse Productions, River Dance Festival, and APHERD Regional Dance Festival. They have studied at Accademia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy, with artists such as Yo-El Cassel and Helena Fernandino, and has done an intensive with the David Dorfman Dance Company. They are also certified as a yoga teacher through Lila Flow Yoga’s 200-hour teacher training program. K hopes to continue their career in performance and choreography, with a focus on intentional joy within their work.

COMPANY MEMBER- Lily Penn-Virot: is currently working towards her BFA in Dance at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Lily has been training in dance around 14 years outside of her time at Mason Gross and continues to train by taking classes in the city and performing in dance videos done in collaboration with other artists like Nia Alexis Matos. She has trained in modern, contemporary, ballet, musical theater, and a little hip-hop and street jazz. She has performed in many works including a restaging of Jose Limon’s “A Choreographic Offering” and a restaging of the piece “Steps in the Street” by Martha Graham. She has performed in other works created by Pam Tanowitz, DeAngelo Blanchard, Evelyn Wang, and John Evans. She has been in two works by MJ Canzoneri thus far, those being “Lack Thereof” and “Fragmentations.” She even had her first NYC debut at Dixon place with MJ Canzoneri and went back to perform "Fragmentations" with the company. She will continue her studies and is always ready to perform.  

COMPANY MEMBER- Sophia Nicholas: is a dancer, choreographer, and Pilates instructor from Clark, NJ. She began her dance training at the age of three at Center for Dance Education in ballet, modern, lyrical, tap, jazz, and hip-hop. Sophia attended the Academy for Performing Arts to continue deepening her dance training through high school. In May 2026, she graduated from Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts with her BFA in dance and a concentration in science. Some of Sophia‘s biggest goals are to dance for the NBA, NFL, cruise lines, music videos, and more. Currently, Sophia is dancing at Six Flags Great Adventure and is excited to be joining the Canzonieri Dance Collective!

Marae is a third-year BFA dance major at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. While at Mason Gross, she has performed in a re-staging of “A Choreographic Offering” by José Limón, as well as original works by DeAngelo Blanchard, Kimani Fowlin in partnership with Okai Musik, and John Evans. Outside of school, she has taught students ranging from 2-18 years old. In addition to their BFA degree, Marae is pursuing a master’s degree in dance education. She has been dancing for 16 years prior to the start of her professional studies and also looks forward to completing a Pilates certification program before she graduates. This fall, Marae will be continuing her training in Italy at Academia Dell’Arte. 

COMPANY MEMBER- Willa O’Connor: (they, she) is a fourth year BFA dance major at Mason Gross School of the Arts. Willa has performed works by Rosie Herrera, Danae and Dionysios, Eveyln Wang, Ricky Evans, Omar Roman De Jesus, Pam Tanowitz, John Evans, and Kimani Fowlin. She has studied abroad at the Camping festival in Lyon, France, as well as the Dance Italia Advanced Training Program in Luca, Italy. With a strong passion for choreography, Willa has had their work presented in festivals such as the Hoboken Dance Fest, En Plain Air: Featuring Dancers of the Met, and the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought’s Teen Screen Fest. In 2023, she received a Youth Climate Action Micro-Grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies for the production of a dance film titled: 44°. Willa is also the 2026 recipient of the Hanya Holmes Award for outstanding talent in dance at Rutgers University. Apart from dance, Willa is a graduate of High Tech High School with a concentration in acting. They are a working Polestar Pilates comprehensive instructor as well as costume designer and sewing instructor.

COMPANY MEMBER- Jaya Dave: is a rising junior B.F.A. Dance major at Rutgers University Mason Gross, where she trains in many contemporary dance forms. At Mason Gross, she has had the opportunity to perform in work by Jose Limon, Doug Varone, Martha Graham, and Baye and Asa. Jaya has trained pre-professionally for 16 years, furthering her training at the Ailey School, American Dance Festival, and Movement Research. She has performed in a pre-professional company, Rock Dance Collective ll and performed professionally for Cleo Mack in Freespace Dance and Friends 2024 and 2025. Jaya is a 2024 recipient of the New Jersey Governor's Award in Arts Education as well as an honorable mention for the 2024 National Honor Society in Dance Arts Award. She has a passion for teaching as well as advocating for equitable access to art education. In addition to a BFA, she is working to receive an EDM in dance education and a minor in Arts Leadership. 

COMPANY MEMBER- Grey Chernoff: (they/them) is a Junior BFA Dance Major at Mason Gross School of the Arts. They are a part of the Dance Science Concentration and plan to minor in Psychology. Post-graduation, they are hoping to become a physical therapist for performing artists. They were a participant in Movement Research’s MELT and Earl Mosely’s Institute of the Arts intensives. Grey has performed in works by Pam Tanowitz, DeAngelo Blanchard and re-stagings of “A Choreographic Offering” by José Limón and “State of Heads” by Donna Uchizono.

Cristian Louro is a junior-year BFA dance major and EdM tracking at Mason Gross School of the Arts. While his time at Mason Gross, he has performed in a re-staging of “Mass” By Doug Varone and a re-staging of “Fanfare for Rutgers” by Pamela Tanoitz as well as an original work by DeAngelo Blanchard. Before coming to Mason Gross. Cristian has performed an off-Broadway version of “Nice Work if You Can Get It”. He was also a finalist in the celebration of music. He has also performed in New York City at Dixon Place. Also, he had directed/edited a Dance film called “7 minutes”. Cristian wants to share his passion for dance with the world every chance he gets 

COMPANY MEMBER- Olivia Williams is an NJ-based dancer who has received training from Princeton Ballet School, Martin Center for Dance, & Watson-Johnson Dance Theatre. Her teachers include Douglas Martin, Mary Barton, Maria Youskevitch, Kirk Peterson, Erika Mero, Carolyn Watson-Johnson, Mary Pat Robertson, & Pamela Levy. Olivia is currently studying dance at Rutgers University - Mason Gross School of the Arts. She has had the privilege of performing work choreographed by Frederick Earl Mosley, Alycia Perrin, Pam Tanowitz, Evelyn Wang, & John Evans. She has choreographed her own work: “WHERE DO WE GO…FROM HERE?” (2025), “FROM HERE…TO WHERE?” (2026), and co-choreographing “Nebulous” (2026) with Rose Litzinger. Olivia has performed at a multitude of places, including performing at Dixon Place, ArtHouse Productions, APHERD Regional Dance Festival, & River Dance Festival.