Fall Dance

Department of Theatre and Dance 

Daniel Gurskis, Dean, College of the Arts

Kathleen Kelley, Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance 

Artistic and Cast Biographies 

Catherine Bebout (Animation Creator ) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice integrates printmaking, animation, and installation. Through her work with Ekotopia Animation Studio, her animated short The Elements was selected as a Semi-Finalist in the 2023 New York Animation Festival. Ekotopia Animation Studio, founded by Catherine and Animation Technical Director Alexis Orfan, explores the intersection of art, science, and technology through animation and experimental printmaking. Catherine received an Individual Artist Fellowship in Printmaking from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholarship to India, where her solo exhibition, sponsored by the U.S. Consulate, toured nationally. Bebout’s international and national exhibitions include venues in China, Canada, New Zealand, and across the U.S. Her work is represented in major collections, including the New York Public Library. Beaux-Arts Museum, Antwerp and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC. 

Miranda Boodhesher (Costume Design) is a Guyanese-American costume designer and educator based in Brooklyn, NY.  She received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and fine-tuned her skills as a costume apprentice at The Juilliard School. Miranda has worked with The Public Theater, The New Group, Atlantic Theater Company, Music Academy of the West, Minnesota Opera, Manhattan Classic Company, Montclair State University, Hunts Point Children's Shakespeare Ensemble, Lees-McRae Summer Theatre, Quantum Theatre, and Circus Smirkus. She also works as a costume teacher and in-house designer at Saint Ann’s School and is an adjunct professor at Montclair State University.  She is a proud member of USA 829 and Design Action.

Derek Crescenti (Choreographer) is a creative artist whose work is shaped by his experiences as a performer in New York City and Seattle. He had the great pleasure of working with Donald Byrd's Spectrum Dance Theater, touring both nationally and internationally before working as a freelance artist performing with David Parker/The Bang Group, The Chase Brock Experience, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Keigwin + Company, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Megan Williams Dance Projects, Robert Mark Dance, and with the repertory company 10 Hairy Legs. Derek's interest in re-performance inspires his work as a rehearsal associate and stager, having worked with Donald Byrd on his commissions for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (Greenwood) and at ACT Theatre (A Christmas Carol). He teaches Byrd Contemporary Technique—or The Byrd Method—and has staged Mr. Byrd's works at Barnard College (The Theater of Needless Talents), DeSales University (OCCURRENCE), and Spectrum Dance Theater, where he reconstructs Mr. Byrd's works on the current ensemble. As an associate choreographer for Larry Keigwin, his work has included assisting on commissions for the Paul Taylor Dance Company (Drum Circle) and the Vail Dance Festival (Rhapsody), and staging Mr. Keigwin's choreography on Ormao Dance Company (Cruise Control) in Colorado Springs, CO. Derek has presented original works at the Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange's SpringUP Dance Festival, Men in Dance Choreographer's Showcase, Miller Symphony Hall in collaboration with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle International Dance Festival, Ten Tiny Dances at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, PA, and the University of Washington's Chamber Dance Company. A member of Impact Dance Adjudicators, his teaching and adjudication work spans multiple arts festivals and competitions, and he has served on the faculty at DeSales University, the University of Washington, and The Taylor School of Paul Taylor Dance Company. Derek holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Dance from the University of Washington and is an Assistant Professor of Dance in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University.

Karen Gayle (Rehearsal Director) from Toronto, Karen began her formal training in the Claude Watson Arts Program and received her degree from the Toronto Metropolitan University. She moved to New York to study at The Ailey School where she fell in love with the Horton technique. She is currently a faculty member at Montclair State University, The Ailey School, The Joffrey Ballet School, The Juilliard School and Steps on Broadway and a returning guest artist for the Martha Graham School (NY), Fosse/Verdon Legacy Training Program (NY), EMIA (NY) Academy for Performing Arts, (NJ), Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, (PA), Techniche de Danza (Rome), and Earl Haig Performing Arts School (Toronto). Choreography commissions: The Ailey School (Junior Division), Steps Conservatory/Academy, General Mischief Dance Theatre, The Harvard Ballet Company, Steps Repertory Ensemble, The Boston Tea Party Opera, Steffi Nossen, Marymount Manhattan College, Montclair State University, Joffrey Ballet Intensive, Inside/Out Festival at Jacob’s Pillow. Her latest project, Fitted Skin, a dance short making its festival debut, has enjoyed screenings with NYIFA, New York Short Film Festival, NYCineFest, Rhode Island International FF, Detroit Dance City Festival & Prague Dance Film Festival. 

Marlene Hamm (Costume Design) Marlene Olson Hamm is a dance costumer based out of Rahway, NJ.  One of her upcoming projects is designing her first Off Broadway show, called Gotta Dance, produced by American Dance Machine.  Marlene has designed 8 pieces for Montclair State University throughout the years collaborating with choreographers Derek Crescenti, Hollis + Nattie, Andre Tyson, Jessie DiMauro Marks, Maxine Steinman, and Doug Varone.  She has most recently worked with American Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nashville Ballet and New York City Ballet.  She spends the summers as the costume director for the Vail Dance Festival collaborating with choreographers such as Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Caili Quan, Ephrat Asherie, Robert Battle and Melissa Toogood.  Marlene has also designed costumes for Merce Cunningham Revivals as part of the festival.  One of her longest collaborators is with Tom Gold Dance, focusing on recycled materials.  Her T.V. Work includes the wardrobe supervisor for P.B.S.’ 50th Anniversary of Great Performances, and she can be seen in Disney Plus’ series On Pointe.  

Nick Kolin’s (Lighting Design) work includes collaborations with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Trisha Brown Dance Company, New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute, English National Ballet, Daniil Simpkin’s Intensio, Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature, Dance Heginbotham, DanceBrazil, Cincinnati Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, NY City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival, and Lincoln Center Festival among many others. Nick is also Lighting Director and resident lighting designer for the Philadelphia Ballet, with designs for recent new works by Angel Corella, Matthew Neenan, and Juliano Nunes. Nick is also resident lighting designer for Philadanco!, with designs for over twenty works in the company’s repertory.  Nick is an Assistant Professor and Head of Lighting in the Department of Theatre and Dance, Montclair State University with an MFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts and is a proud member of USA829. www.nickkolin.com

Jessica DiMauro Marks (Choreographer) is a modern dance choreographer invested in creating work that is rich in physicality and deeply communicative. Ms. DiMauro Marks holds an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University and a BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. She has taught and choreographed works extensively for both pre-professional and professional dance companies throughout the US. Ms. DiMauro’s company, DiMauro Dance, has been selected to perform at numerous curated festivals including Dance Conversations at The Flea, WHITE WAVE's WAVE RISING Series, SOLO DUO and DUMBO Dance Festivals, The T: Dance, Watch, Reflect, Greenspace Blooms, The HATCH presenting series, CT Meets NY, Queens Arts Express and New Dance Downtown. Ms. DiMauro Marks has self-produced many seasons for her Company, including I'm not done yet. at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery (2018), METROPOLIS at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center (2015), Unraveled at the Merce Cunningham Studio (2011) and Confetti: A Collection of Works by Jessica DiMauro at The Producers’ Club Theaters (2003). Ms. DiMauro Marks was awarded an Arts Alive Artist Grant from ArtsWestchester for her evening length work entitled com-mu-ni-ty. Her choreography was also seen at the 2004 International NYC Fringe Festival in Granola! The Musical at The Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. Jessica has been teaching Modern Technique and setting choreography at Montclair State University for nineteen years. This year's Fall Dance marks her twentieth work for the students of the Dance Department at MSU. She is on faculty at Marymount Manhattan College, and also acts as Artistic Director for the Steffi Nossen School of Dance, a modern dance organization active for over 89 years in White Plains, NY. She is a frequent guest artist for workshops and intensives throughout the tri-state area including the Martha Graham School and Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts. In 2013, Ms. DiMauro Marks was proud to be among the first few students to be certified in May O’Donnell Technique. Jessica is also a Certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher. dimaurodance.org 

Tori Opitz (Lighting Design)  is excited to be a collaborator on this show. Previous MSU design credits include lighting designer on Mad Forest directed by Danica Selem, as well as lighting designer for Spring Dance 2025 and Senior Dance Projects Fall 2024 directed by Christian von Howard, as well as Jump the Turnstile 2024 and Intonation 2024 with Maxine Steinman’s Creative Collaboration class.

Alexis Orfan (Projection Editor) is a BFA graduate in Animation/Illustration from Montclair State University and currently works as a freelance artist and educator, teaching High School Art at Rahway Public Schools. Since 2019, she has collaborated with Professor Catherine Bebout in founding Ekotopia Animation Studios and now serves as Director of Animation and Media for the ongoing "Art and Science" collaboration project at MSU. Her artwork has been featured in group exhibitions in New York City with the Art Groove Collective (2024–2025), and her mixed-media work can be found on Instagram at @alexisorfanart 

Maxine Steinman (Artistic Director/Choreographer) has presented her choreography in numerous festivals and venues such as Joyce Soho, The 92ndStreet Y Harkness Dance Festival, the Westfest Dance Festival, the American Dance Guild Festival, DUMBO, the Battery Dance Festival, Making Moves Festival, Outlet Dance Festival, Liberty Dance Festival, Lila Dance Festival, as well as others. She performed and choreographed in Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Lebanon and Cyprus.  Jack Anderson and Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times have called her choreography “ingenious” and a “jewel,” and twice she was awarded grants from the O'Donnell-Green Foundation for Music and Dance.  She also received a New Jersey regrant award (2022), a Dance NJ award (2023), and a NJ State Council for the Arts award (2025).  Over the past 25 years, Maxine has created works at Montclair State University, Hofstra University, Fordham Ailey BFA Program, Marymount Manhattan College, the Ailey School, Institute del Teatre, and University of Colima. In addition, she was an Artist-in-Residence at The Church in Mount Vision, NY at Casa Uno in Costa Rica.  A soloist with the Eleo Pomare Dance Company for 12 years, Maxine has also performed with Denishawn Repertory Dancers, Mafata Dance Company, Robin Becker, Regina Larkin, Sue Bernhard, Spiritdance, Danceimprints, and in the LINKs project with the José Limón Dance Company, among others. She is a re-stageer of the Limón’s A Choreographic Offering, and was a guest artist with the Limón Dance Company for their 80th Anniversary at the Joyce Theater this October.  Maxine holds a BFA in dance (Adelphi University), an MA in Dance and Dance Education (Teachers College Columbia University), and an MFA in Dance/Performance (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts).  Maxine has taught at Hofstra University, Marymount Manhattan College, The Ailey School, Institut del Theatre, Centro Andaluz de Danza, Institut del Teatre, Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts, the Limón Institute, Peridance and Montclair State University, among others in the US and abroad, and is currently Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the BFA Dance Division at Montclair State University. 

Maleek Washington (Choreographer) is a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist. A native New Yorker from the Bronx, he began his dance training at Harlem School of the Arts, Broadway Dance Center, and the Laguardia High School for the Performing Arts, and attended The Boston Conservatory on full scholarship. He began his professional career with CityDance Ensemble in Washington DC, before returning to NYC to collaborate with McArthur Genius Awardee Kyle Abraham as a part of Abraham.In.Motion (@aimbykyleabraham) for 4 seasons. He then became the first African-American male to perform in the critically acclaimed immersive show Sleep No More (Punch Drunk). Maleek choreographed for rap legend Nas’ 2022 “Big Nas Masterclass” commercial and video, assisted choreography for Spike Lee’s Mont Blanc commercial, and has performed for Sia, Phish, Rihanna, and NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar LIVE. He has been a member of Camille A. Brown and Dancers for 8 seasons and was an assistant choreographer for Porgy & Bess (Grammy Winner) and Fire Shut Up In My Bones at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC. His performance talents have been recognized nationally at prestigious venues including The White House, The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, The Joyce Theater, and the Apollo Theater. He has been commissioned to present works by renowned organizations both nationally and internationally, and is a highly sought after teaching artist. Maleek is honored to be a 2022 Princess Grace Award Winner in Choreography, a 2021 Bessie Nominee as an Emerging Choreographer, and is a Co-curator of the 2019 Bronx APAP Dance Festival at Hostos. Maleek performed in the financial district in the new immersive show “Life & Trust”. Currently Maleek has been working in theater choreographing “Choir Boy” at University of North Carolina school of the arts and “More than Anything” at the Apollo. 

Alexandra Valentino is a junior at Montclair State University. She is majoring in Theater Design, Technology, and Management with a concentration in Stage Management. Fall Dance (2025) will be her debut as a Production Stage Manager. She has worked on many other productions at Montclair as an Assistant Stage Manager, including Fall Dance (2023), Marie Antoinette, and Stupid F*cking Bird. She is very excited to have been a part of this production and has loved collaborating with this amazing production team! 

Lily Weigand (Lighting Design) Lily is SO excited to be one of the lighting designers for the Fall Dance 2025 main stage production. Lily is a Junior Design, Technology, and Management Major with a concentration in Audio/Lighting. Her credits include Assistant Lighting Designer for Stupid Fucking Bird (2025) Associate Sound Designer for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (2025) and Oklahoma (2025), Sound Engineer for Pride and Prejudice (2024), Head Electrician for Spring Dance 2025 and Fall Dance 2024, Assistant Head Electrician for Sophisticated Ladies (2024) Senior Project Lighting Designer (2024), Audio Technician for Spring Awakening (2023) and Marie Antoinette (2024), Board Operator for Spring Dance 2024, Fall Dance 2023, and Anna in the Tropics (2023).  Her upcoming projects are working as the Sound Designer for The Elementary Spacetime Show (2026) and as the Head Electrician for The Passage (2026).   She adores working in dance!