Sara Rivera is an EdM candidate in Dance Education at the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University. Sara completed her full-time clinical internship teaching grades 10-12 at Trenton Central High School-Visual and Performing Arts in Trenton, NJ. Currently, she is working through a half-year internship to complete a unit plan. The unit plan focuses on lessons surrounding social justice and health/wellness topics through a non-western dance form aligned for 6th-8th grade students. Sara is also currently on the faculty at Stewart Johnson Dance Academy, where she trains aspiring artists from 6th-12th grade. She teaches contemporary dance utilizing advanced concepts of dance performance, improvisation, and choreography.

In 2020, Sara graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. She made Dean’s List for all eight semesters. For her academic and artistic excellence, Sara was awarded the Florence Schnepf Domeshek Memorial Merit Scholarship. She is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and has been inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. During her BFA studies, Sara was a performer and teaching artist for 9th-12th grade students in the student-led touring company hosted by Mason Gross, University DanceWorks. She also had the pleasure of partaking in various works including those choreographed by Pam Tanowitz, John Evans, Bill T. Jones, Chien-Ying Wang, Yin Yue, Alexandra Beller, Lar Lubovitch, and Randy James. Throughout her studies, Sara performed at various venues in New Jersey and New York City, including The Joyce Theater and The International Creative Dance Seminar in Beijing, China. Prior to Rutgers, Sara received her foundational training at Stewart Johnson Dance Academy in Hamilton, NJ, where she studied contemporary, musical theatre, jazz, hip-hop, ballet, and tap sparking her passion and love for the art of dance performance and dance education.

Claudia Soga a New Jersey native, will be obtaining her Masters in Dance Education May 2021 from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education New Brunswick, NJ. In her graduate studies, Claudia fulfilled her part-time clinical field work at North Plainfield High School in North Plainfield, NJ and Grace Wilday Junior High School in Roselle, NJ. Claudia completed her full-time student teaching at Elizabeth Avenue School and Hillcrest Elementary in Franklin Township, NJ.

Claudia is on faculty at Ballet Forte Wings Conservatory in Chester, NJ teaching Modern and Contemporary techniques to students ages 12-18 years-old. She is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and has been inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. Claudia graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.F.A in Dance Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University in, 2020. While at Rutgers, Claudia has performed in works of Alexandra Beller, Ani-Javian, Chien Ying-Wang, and Randy James. Claudia served as a peer mentor, and was a member of the Rutgers University Dance Works company.

In building her artistry, Claudia trained internationally at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona in Sitges, Spain and Academia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy during Summer Programs. Prior to her admissions to Rutgers, Claudia studied at Raritan Valley Community College under the direction of Loretta Fois, as well as continued her outside training under the mentorship of Andrea Kramer. Claudia’s teaching philosophy aims to cultivate a positive learning environment that encourages students to express and embrace their individuality through movement based pedagogy.