MEET THE teachers
Roni, a native of Israel, began his career with the renowned Batsheva Dance Company of Tel Aviv. Immigrating to the U.S. in 1983, he studied in New York with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater prior to settling in Philadelphia, where he performed with Shimon Braun’s acclaimed “Waves” Jazz Dance Company. After performing internationally, his interest shifted toward choreography, and he founded the Koresh Dance Company in 1991. Shortly after, in 1993, he opened the Koresh School of Dance, serving as a residence for his company and a training center for the Philadelphia dance community. In addition to receiving numerous grants, Roni is a recipient of several choreographic fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, the PEW Charitable Trusts, and the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts. Roni regularly travels to conduct master classes, set choreography, conduct residencies, and showcase his company throughout the country.
Ronen “Roni” Koresh
Adult School—Advanced Contemporary Modern
After studying at the North Carolina School of the Arts and Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Melissa obtained her Certificate of Dance from The University of the Arts in 1993. Following graduation, she obtained a scholarship to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. Melissa has been dancing with Koresh Dance Company since its inception in 1991 and is the company’s Assistant Artistic Director. At the Koresh School of Dance, she teaches her unique style that blends Modern Jazz and Luigi technique. Additionally, Melissa is the Artistic Director and Choreographer for the Koresh Youth Ensemble. Her work has been performed locally at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Philadelphia Youth Dance Festival, Annenberg Center, Drexel University’s Mandell Theater, and PeriDance Capezio Center in New York City, among other places. She frequently travels around the country to perform, teach master classes, and set choreography on students.
Photo by Sammi Pfieffer
Melissa Rector
Children School—Jazz 3
Adult School—Int. Contemporary Modern
Private Lessons in Contemporary Modern, Jazz
Fang-Ju, born and raised in Taiwan, came to the United States to further her study of dance. She earned an Associate Degree of Dance in Australia from Queensland University of Technology Academy of Arts/Dance, and received her BFA in Dance Education from the University of the Arts. She is trained in a wide variety of dance styles and stagecraft. Fang-Ju joined Koresh Dance Company in 1998 and currently travels to perform and teach across the U.S.
Photo by Gabriel Bienczycki
Fang-Ju Chou Gant
Adult School—Ballet
Children School - Ballet 3
Private Lessons in Ballet
New Jersey. Having waited until sixteen to begin taking technique classes, Greg fought to catch up to his peers. This began a process of self-exploration that continued through his time at Rowan University. Under the guidance of Paule Turner and Melanie Stewart, Greg sought clarity in his approach to choreography. Using every resource available, Greg pioneered original programs that helped define his movement style and launch his teaching career. While at Rowan, Greg was the first student to present an original evening length dance work and develop a unique internship using the Franklin Method to facilitate a group therapy model. He was elected the president of Rowan’s Contemporary Dance Company, and has been awarded the Bryna G. Goldhaft Medallion for Dance Excellence in 2012 upon his completion of his B.A. in Health and Exercise Science.
Greg has earned numerous choreography awards for his original concepts and style. His students are lovers of the creation process and deliver rich story-driven pieces on stage. In class, the development of personal growth remains paramount. Greg challenges individuals to try all things and learn from every experience. Classes are heavily influenced by his Yoga background, Nan Giordano’s NGCP, Luigi, Bob Fosse, Ronen Koresh, and Melissa Rector. Performance credits include works by Diane Sharp (SHARP Dance Co.), Joe Cotler, Jim Bunting, Asya Zlatina, and Michael Nickerson-Rossi (NRD), among others. Greg is currently a freelance performer in Philadelphia, the Artistic Director of his family’s studio “Dance Class” in Clementon, NJ, and a passionate teaching artist with the Koresh School of Dance.
Photo by Sammi Pfieffer
Greg Anmuth
Adult School— Contemporary & Commercial Jazz
Ryan earned his MFA in contemporary choreography and classical pedagogy from Temple University (2016) and his BFA in jazz/theatre dance from the University of the Arts (2005) in Philadelphia. He has held faculty appointments at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, Temple University’s Musical Theatre Department, Montgomery County Community College’s Dance Department, Rowan University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, The Ngoma School’s summer danceLab, and Circadium College for Circus Arts. In addition Ryan has been a guest lecturer at the University of Maryland for ACDA discussing topics such as Jazz studies and Queerness/representation in dance. He tours the United States as a Director and dance Adjudicator for Starbound National Talent Competition. Highlights from Ryan’s classical repertoire include performances of Grand Pas Classique, The Flower Festival of Genzzano, and excerpts from Raymonda and Giselle. Ryan specializes in the Vaganova method of classical pedagogy, Jazz and modern techniques, and Contemporary choreography.
Ryan Tuerk
Children/Adult School— Modern 3, Introduction & Intermediate Ballet
Private Lessons in Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, and Ballet
Tori Vincent is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana currently residing in Philadelphia. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Louisiana in 2018, while working professionally with various artists throughout Lafayette. Her work with the Atlanta, Georgia dance community includes projects and performances with Zoetic Dance Ensemble and Fly on a Wall, as well as traveling to Italy in 2018 to attend the Staibdance Summer Intensive and directing NACHMO (National Choreography Month) Atlanta 2020. She is currently dancing with AMMDC (Anne-Marie Mulgrew and Dancers Co) and Melissa Rector of Koresh Dance Company. Tori is also instructing Pilates, completing a RYT-200 yoga teacher training, recently co-found GRATon40 Art Collective, and exploring new personal compositions. Her most recent work, InOutWard, was showcased in the 51st Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers’ InHale Performance Series in Philadelphia and the unKEMpT Dance Festival in NYC. Influences on her personal work involve the roles we play in our individual and societal health, alongside behaviors created by our milieu.
Tori Vincent
Children School—Ballet 1, Jazz 1, Hippity Hop, and Hip Hop 1
Private Lessons - Contemporary, Modern, Ballet, Hip Hop, Pilates
Samantha Sam began her dance training at The Rock School for Dance Education under the leadership of Bojan & Stephanie Spassoff, where she was awarded a merit scholarship to train in their professional division. Throughout her years at the Rock School, she was given opportunities to perform, student teach, and compete in the Youth America Grand Prix. She was closely trained and mentored by Eva Greiner Szabo, co-founder of the Gyori Ballet & dancer with the Hungarian National Ballet, and Natalya Lushina Zeiger, soloist of The Bolshoi Ballet. During her 7 years at the Rock School, she was trained professionally in classical ballet, pointe, variations, and pas de deux.
After receiving offers to study at the Kirov Ballet Academy, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, and Ballet Austin, Samantha went on to study at the Ellison Ballet in NYC. There, she received training in a Vaganova-based curriculum from Jolanta Valeikaite, Edward Ellison, Olga Pavlova, and Evgenia Singur. In addition to the ballet training she received, she studied repertoire under Maina Gielgud, character dance under Vladimir Dvorovenko, and contemporary dance under Cody Berkeley. She currently teaches ballet at the Koresh School of Dance and various studios within Philadelphia.
Samantha Sam
Children School—Pre-Ballet
Abigail Mosier (she/her) is a dance artist, choreographer, dance educator, writer, and model based in Philadelphia, PA. Abigail holds a BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts with minors in Business and Creative Writing. Alongside her degree, Abigail has four teaching certifications: Pilates Matwork, Applied Stretching Theory & Practice, The Franklin Method®: Pelvic Floor Fascia, and The Franklin Method®: The Art and Science of the Plié.
Abigail has performed in works by Melissa Rector, Shana Simmons, Katie Vickers, Albert Quesada, Netta Yerushalmy, Curt Haworth, Bill T. Jones, Jessie Zaritt, Katie Swords-Thurman, Mark Caserta, Mikey Morado, Shayla-Vie Jenkins, and Tommie-Waheed Evans. She has also worked closely under the mentorship of Jaka Pearl Porter and Shannon Murphy. Additionally, Abigail has studied through the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy where she participated in several artist residencies and curated site-specific, collaborative, experimental performance art installations across Florence, Naples, Rome, and Tuscany. Abigail has also researched in Barcelona, Spain alongside various movement, sound, and somatic artists in residency spaces such as Fabra i Coats, L’animal a L’esquena, and the Institut del Theatre which accumulated to a performance in the Barcelona Tangent Festival.
Abigail Mosier
Private Lessons in Tap, Contemporary/Modern, Ballet, Musical Theatre, and The Franklin Method
Eva was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. She was accepted into the Hungarian National Ballet Institute in 1970, graduating with honors as part of the genesis of the Gyori Ballet. Retiring from the Gyori Ballet in 1988, she took her teaching diploma and her family to Philadelphia. She is currently teaching ballet at the Rock School for Dance Education and Koresh School of Dance. You can view Eva’s profile in the Marquis Who’s Who in America book, 2010.
Photo by Sammi Pfieffer
Eva Szabo
Children School— Ballet 2, Ballet 4, Pointe 1 & 2
Adult School—Ballet
Private Lessons in Ballet, Pointe
Michelle Figueiredo "Chellie Fig" is a former Captain of the Sixers Dancers and has performed across China on an NBA China tour numerous times. She has danced back-up with artists such as Nico & Vinz, Pharrell Williams, Vanilla Ice, and more. She received a BA in Dance Performance from ARB's Princeton Ballet School and continues to train at Millennium Dance Complex and Broadway Dance Center.
Michelle "Chellie Fig" Figueiredo
Adult School—Commercial Hip Hop
Private Lessons in Hip Hop
Workshop— Heels
Thomas is a graduate of Southern New Jersey Academy of Performing Arts under the direction of David Kloss. He has also studied with Ronen Koresh and Melissa Rector of Koresh Dance Company, as well as with Delphine Del Bello, David Kloss, Nancy Page, and Christopher Fleming, among others. Mr. Gant works as a freelance artist, balancing dancing, teaching, and choreography. He has danced with Opus 1 Contemporary Company, Dance Del Bello, BalletFleming, and Brandywine Ballet. He has developed an international relationship choreographing and teaching for Tainan City Ballet as well as Chung Hwa Arts High School in Taiwan. Mr. Gant has also been appointed the regisseur of David Kloss’s repertoire. Mr.Gant is a Koresh Dance Company board member and the newest addition to our Koresh School of Dance team.
Thomas Gant Jr.
Private Lessons in Ballet
Cheryl Francaviglia began training at Standing Ovation School of Dance where she attended national dance conventions and competitions studying under choreographers such as Joe Tremaine, Sheila Barker, Joe Lanteri, Wade Robson, and Tyce Diorio. She graduated from Rowan University with a BFA in Education and Child Drama, along with a Dance Concentration. During her time at Rowan, she was Captain of the RU Dance Team, performer for Rowan’s Dance Company, and in 2009 Cheryl was awarded the Dr. Joseph Robinette Theatre and Dance Medallion. She continued her dance training performing with Reading Phillies Dance Team and studying at the Koresh School of Dance. She has taught and choreographed for various studios, where she is continually recognized and awarded for her entertaining choreography. Cheryl is currently a first grade school teacher and participates in dance projects throughout the area such as Fringe Arts and Koresh Artist Showcase Series.
Photo by Sammi Pfieffer
Cheryl Francaviglia
Children School—Modern 2, and Jazz 2
Private Lessons in Modern, Jazz, and Tap
Callie trained at Jody Phillips Dance Company in Kansas City before moving on to study dance with a concentration in Jazz at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. While at school, she was privileged to perform in many choreographic works including pieces by Ronen Koresh, Larry Keigwin, James Gregg, Jim Cooney, Adam Hougland, Mark Burrell, and Kiesha Lalama. Along with performances at school, Callie has danced back up for Weird Al Yankovic at the Benedum Center and at Hershey Park's Music Box Theatre where she was able to work with Broadway's own, Chip Abbott. Callie joined Koresh Dance Company in 2018.
Callie Hocter
Adult School - Stretch & Strengthening
Jim Bunting graduated from the University of the Arts in 1995, receiving his BFA in Dance. During this time, he became a founding member of the Koresh Dance Company and went on to dance professionally for an eight-year tenure with the company. Jim then developed as a choreographer and teacher and has over 25 years of experience teaching and choreographing dance in the greater Philadelphia area. As a choreographer, Jim has had the pleasure of creating works for Koresh Dance Company, Pennsylvania Ballet's Shut Up and Dance at the Forrest Theater, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, The University of The Arts, and Drexel University. In 1999, Jim received a Fellowship Grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for original choreography. His 25 years of experience teaching contemporary has allowed him to serve as a mentor and educator for both children and adults. Jim currently choreographs on youths performing for the pre-professional dance companies in residence at Gwendolyn Bye Dance Center and Haverford Dance Center and in addendum has taught Master Classes for the dance departments at the University of the Arts, St. Bonaventure University in New York, the University of Colorado, The Roswell Dance Theater in Atlanta, The College of Charleston, Dance Davidson in Charlotte NC and Eastern University. Additionally, Jim has been on the faculty as an adjunct professor of jazz dance at Drexel University since 2007 and is currently at Temple University. He started the Jim Bunting Dance Company in 2014 with the first full-length production of “The Shaman’s Dream” which premiered at the Mandell Theater in Philadelphia. The company has performed at the Capitale in NYC for the School of Visual Arts Annual Holiday Party, the Philadelphia Art Museum's "Friday After 5 Series", Kun Yang Lin’s “InHale Performance Series” , “The 2016 Henri David’s Halloween The Ball”, “The Koresh Artist Showcase”, “The Koresh Come Together Festival”, “The Philadelphia Fringe Festival” and “The Philly Raw Artists at the Trocadero”
Jim Bunting
Private Lessons in wedding choreography
Vanessa is from Ontario, Canada, and graduated from York University’s BFA dance program in 2018. She performed in multiple festivals and dance projects in Toronto and was part of the York Dance Ensemble for two consecutive years. She has also been training in tap for 24 years, and it’s one of her favorite styles. Recently, she has trained with the KlaXson Dance School (Montreal) and participated in The Lady Hoofer’s (Philadelphia) advanced winter class series in early 2024.