2024 Summer Intensive Dance

Frank Dellapolla performed principal and soloist roles as a guest artist with companies across the US and internationally, including Chicago City Ballet, Universal Ballet (Korea), The Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco and Santa Fe Ballet Companies, Cynthia Gregory and Friends (NYC and South American tour), The Kozlov’s “International Stars of the US Ballet” (performing Balanchine and De Mille at the Kremlin), The NJ Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet and many other ballet companies across the US, Japan, South America and Europe.  Taught all ballet levels extensively in NYC and in Japan.  Member Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Actors Equity Association (AEA).  

David Fernandez is an award-winning contemporary ballet choreographer, dance filmmaker, and master teacher from NYC.

David is the visionary behind the choreography “Vitruvian Man,” a captivating masterpiece that has garnered over a million views on YouTube. His artistic brilliance is evident in this creation, where he seamlessly merges classical aesthetics with contemporary elements, showcasing a distinctive and original approach to choreography.

David’s well-known choreography, Five Variations on a Theme, was created for New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Joaquin De Luz. The work premiered as part of the acclaimed Kings of the Dance tour. Joaquin’s commanding performance received standing ovations in NYC, LA, London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Kiev, and Odessa. Other notable choreography commissions include pieces created for leading dancers of the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Kings of the Dance Tour, Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, Youth America Grand Prix Gala Concert, and many others.  

Following his passion for teaching and creating, he will travel to Kenya to choreograph “Dance on a Dream,” a dance film for Ghetto Classics Dance, Karachogo, in Nairobi. Ghetto Classics is the sole arts education organization in Korogocho. Based in the slum for the past 12 years, it provides music and dance education to over 500 children and youth.

Also, he will collaborate with Sing for Hope and travel to India to teach and choreograph at the Shanti Bhavan Nonprofit organization. Shanti Bhavan is a home & school in rural Tamil Nadu, India, for the region’s most disadvantaged children. Shanti Bhavan is featured in Netflix’s Daughters of Destiny.

David received his dance training at the Royal Academy of Dance in Mexico City. Under the direction of Tita Ortega, he moved to the United States after receiving a scholarship to Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. He graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Technique under the direction of Elisabeth Boitsov.

David’s performance experience ranges from TV, movies, musicals, opera, and ballet. One of David’s career highlights was performing with Mikhail Baryshnikov in the play “The Doctor and the Patient.”

David is an award-winning dance-filmmaker: his latest dance-on-film accomplishments include the Los Angeles Olympus Film Festival Award for Best Public Service Announcement. David’s award-winning short, Moving Though It — Phases of an Emergency Through Dance, uses a revolutionary approach of making a public service announcement through dance. Ideated and directed by David Fernandez, the NYC Emergency Management and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City commissioned and sponsored the project. 

Other film festival achievements include: 

• White Shirt, Black Tie, Black Pants XXS, Director, and Choreographer. The short premiered at the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center in 2012; 
• Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear, Director and Choreographer. Premiered at the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center in 2007;
• Icarus APR, Director, and Choreographer. Premiered at the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center in 2009.

David teaches dance and creates choreography for ballet companies and international summer programs:

• Washington Ballet
• New Jersey Ballet 
• Carolina Ballet
• I HeartDance NYC
• American Repertory Ballet, Princeton
• Opera Grand Rapids-Pirates of Penzance 
• Harvard Ballet Company
• Vassar College
• Hamilton College
• Columbia Repertory Ballet
• Bedford Middle School 
• Palermo Ballet Summer Intensive- Italy 
• New Zealand School of Dance
• Academia de Danza Franck- México 

David is the Associate Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of Ohman Ballet. He was recently named Ballet Master and Resident Choreographer of Ghetto Classics Dance in Nairobi, Kenya.

This year, he will collaborate with Sing for Hope as a choreographer at Shanti Bhavan in Bangalore, India.

Njelama Dacas Johnson originally hails from Brooklyn, New York but now resides in New Jersey after earning her Ed.M in K-12 Dance Education and her BFA in Dance Performance from Rutgers University.  During that time, she was privileged enough to perform works by Keith Thompson, David Parker (The Bang Group), Kendra Portier, Marina Collard and Summation Dance.

Njelama was a 2019 ABT Project Plié scholarship recipient and completed the Nation Training Curriculumfor levels Pre-Primary-3.  She previously directed the Rutgers Summer Dance Camp & Conservatory and studied abroad at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, United Kingdom.

Andrea Wachholtz was introduced to dance at the young age of three at Albee School of Dance, in Brooklyn, NY, under the direction of Fred and Nana Albee. They gave Andrea her inspiration and first formal training. Years later, she received a full scholarship to the school of The Feld Ballet Company. From there, Andrea went on to graduate Adelphi University with a BFA degree and immediately began touring with The Empire State Ballet Company. Over the years, Andrea performed with such companies as Xing Ballet Company, Royal Dance Theatre, Mime Internationale, Buffalo City Ballet, Staten Island Ballet, Some Dance Company, Ballet Deviare and Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Select institutions where Andrea has taught: The Arts in Education Institute, Performing Arts High School, Poly Prep Country Day School, Summit Gymnastics and Paragon Gymnastics, just to name a few.

She has coached and trained many students who went on to attend American Ballet Theater’s JKO school, ABT summer programs, LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, as well as many prestigious college and university dance programs.

Andrea opened and ran her own studio, Andrea in Motion inc., successfully, for ten years.

She is a certified teacher with American Ballet Theater, a judge for regional and national dance competitions, as well as, a guest teacher and coach.

Andrea is currently the Dance Arts Administrator at the Middletown Arts Center in New Jersey. She also provides studio consulting, teacher training workshops and workshop training sessions for assistant teachers.

She is committed to her continued growth, injury prevention, and the development of exciting new programming.