MICHELLE DUBOIS DALTON After graduating from UMass, Amherst with a BFA in Dance in 1996, Michelle has been performing and teaching in the Boston area and on the NorthShore. She has studied with former Doris Humphrey company member, Ina Hahn in Rockport, Ma. with the Windhover Dance Company performing in several of Humphrey's original works including "Day on Earth" and "New Dance." She is currently dancing with the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble at BostonCollege, Dead Fall Dance directed by Judith Wombwell in Andover Ma., and Deborah Abel Dance Company. She teaches at the Andover School of Ballet where she has been for 15 years. She lives in Andover, MA with her husband, 3 children, dog, and chickens.
Born and raised in Boston Massachusetts. JOE GONZALEZ Started his dancing at the age of 13 at the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts then became an honorable academics dance major at the Boston Arts Academy, attending the National and Regional High School Dance Festival. Joe’s diverse discovery in many styles from Hip hop to Ballet has developed him as a thinker through the arts and academics thus becoming a choreographer. Joe has attended summer programs such as Boston Conservatory summer intensive, American Dance Festival, SpringBroad Montreal and Bates Dance Festival on scholarships. Performed Master works of Alvin Ailey American dance Theatre, Anna Sokowlo, Ronald K. Brown, Paul Taylor, Sean Curran, Nathan Trice, Pedro Ruiz Jr., and Jose Limon, RubberBand Dance Group, Alwin Nikolas and many more. Joe received his BFA at the Boston Conservatory and has attended many of the Conservatory students and faculties performances and has traveled USA, Canada, and to Scotland with Anna Myer and Dancers and other companies to perform. He has choreographed more then10 original works performed in national stages. Director and lead choreographer of One Luv Dance Company, Joe is also currently dancing with the ‘A” Major Dance Company, Anna Myer and Dancers, Prometheus Dance, BalletRox and is teaching alongside them within the community centers and other community dance schools.
MERLI V. GUERRA is a professional dancer and interdisciplinary artist with a background in ballet, modern, and classical Odissi technique. She holds a B.A. in Dance and Studio Art from Mount Holyoke College, and is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Luminarium Dance Company in Cambridge. Merli is also a member of Nataraj Dancers (Amherst), a classical Indian dance company with whom she studied in India in 2007 and performed in Japan in 2009. Since founding Luminarium in 2010, Merli’s award-winning films, art installations, and choreographic works have been selected for venues across New England, among them the Rhodywood Filmmakers Showcase, Boston Center for the Arts, Seacoast Fringe Festival, and Mobius Alternative Arts Space. Her interests lie in the layering of video projection with live performance, and in setting the visual arts into motion, viewable at www.merliguerra.com. Merli is thrilled to be returning to India with Deborah Abel Dance Company, and to be combining her love of Indian and Western movement through such deeply inspired choreography.
ALEXIS CHEN JOHNSON, a dancer with the Deborah Abel Dance Company, grew up in Bangladesh and India until the age of sixteen. She studied Bharatanatyam with Leela Samson at Sri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra in New Delhi. Under Leela Samson’s tutelage, Alexis completed her arangetram (2-hour solo debut performance) at the age of sixteen. Once in America, Alexis decided that, rather than switching to a new teacher or “guru” of Bharatanatyam, she would continue her study of dance in a quintessentially Western style – modern dance. She was a dance major at Wesleyan University where she studied modern dance technique, choreography, improvisation, Laban Movement Analysis and dance education. Alexis then became a dance teacher at Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, USA. After a decade-long hiatus from intensive dancing, during which Alexis became a mother of three children and launched a Presentation Skills consulting practice, Alexis is delighted to be a member of the Deborah Abel Dance Company, where modern dance is deeply influenced by Indian art and culture.
MARK KRANZ graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in May 2010 with a Bachelors Degree in Dance and a minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He gained a great interest in choreography and a love for modern dance from Susan Levine and Jeff Curtis, professors from the University. Mark also has a history of theatrical performance, including UNL's international award-winning performance of The Most Happy Fella. Mark moved to Massachusetts to pursue a professional dance career and currently performs with Luminarium Dance Company and Sokolow Now! in addition to Deborah Abel Dance. He has had the unique opportunity to present his own choreography alongside the great talents of the organist Peter Krasinski. Mark would like to thank Deborah and the cast for welcoming him into this wonderful community of art and looks forward to the future.
WENDY LAWSON was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, where her formative dance training included Hawaiian, Ballet and Modern (Graham and Limon techniques). She danced throughout college, then moved to the Boston area where she and her husband raised three beautiful daughters. She continued to find opportunities to dance and perform, many times with her growing family accompanying her on stage. She is a member of the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble, performing and working with Fr. Robert VerEecke, artistic director, since 1985, and has managed the Jr. Company for the annual Christmas production since 1995. Wendy first studied with Deborah Abel in 1988. Then her daughters had the fortune of studying with Deborah. Her dancing relationship with Deborah was rekindled in 2006, bringing her to perform in The World Is Breathing (2007), The Beauty Road (2009) and now, Calling To You. To Deborah and the beautiful dancers in this cast: You helped me stretch my wings beyond anything I could imagine! Dancing with you is a joy! To my dear family: You grace my life abundantly! I dedicate my performances to you in the name of Love.
Hadassah Segal is a professional modern dancer, trained at the Jose Limon Institute and the Paul Taylor School in New York. She earned a BA cum laude in Jewish History from Barnard College (1990), and an MFA in Dance from the Ohio State University (2000). Hadassah has taught modern dance and allied disciplines at the Limon Institute, Ohio State, Emory University, and a sports’ school in Denmark. She has been teaching Boys’ Modern Dance and Body/Mind at Gann Academy since 2003. She is also a certified Gyrotonic trainer who teaches independently in the Cambridge/Somerville area. Hadassah would like to thank Deborah and Lee, and fellow dancers and musicians, for sharing their inspiring vision and process.
HENOCH SPINOLA is a native of Cape Verde Islands. He began his classical training with Jose Mateo's Ballet Theatre, graduating from the Young Dancers Program in 2006, to become a full company member in 2007. He spent one year at the Hartt School, where he danced with Full Force Dance Company, a local contemporary dance company run by Katie Stevenson-Nolet. Henoch has also received training in traditional Malian dance with Sedo Coulibaly of Mali and modern technique with Lacina Coulibaly of Burkina Faso. In 2010, Henoch left Jose Mateo’s company to dance with Teatrul de Sibiu of Romania for one season. He is currently working with Prometheus dance.
TONY TUCKER is a dancer, choreographer, performer and educator. After discovering a new love for dance while attending Boston University's summer dance program "Reach" he joined forces with J.S. Fusement and started training more passionately in hip hop, Haitian folklore and jazz dance. He soon became a member of J.S. Extension, the performing company and was seen all over Massachusetts as a talented local artist. Under the direction of Jeffrey Louizia, Tony continued to perform and guest teach at workshops, conventions and assist with master classes all over New England. Besides dancing with Bosoma, Mr. Tucker is also a proud member of Modern Dyscomfort, a Boston based modern dance company under the direction of Ricardo Foster Jr, as well as a member of The Braintree Ballet Company/Dance Studio of Braintree where he trains with Melissa Kelley Clark and Ricardo Machado. He performs as a soloist for the Braintree Ballet Company. Tony continues his education by attending classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, modern and pas de deux. He is a dedicated dancer and a talented choreographer. As a teacher he is adored by students all over Massachusetts and continues to share his gift of dance and love of the art form in every way he can.
CHRISTINE VOZELLA has danced for over 25 years, in both Boston and Boulder, CO. She has performed with a number of companies, including Dance Prism, Christien Polos Dance Theater, Perla Joy Furr, Danelle Helander, and Frequent Flyers, an aerial dance company. Christine currently performs with Encore Dance Ensemble and Hopkinton's Enter Stage Left Community Theater. She has taught creative movement and modern dance for children and teens. Having gained inspiration from her young students, and courage from her friends and family, Christine has recently choreographed "And the Angels Sigh", and "Just Ducky" for Encore Dance Ensemble. She currently studies with Kristin Beckwith, Yo-el Cassell, and Deborah Abel.