Judge
Linda Giancaspro is a nationwide master teacher and adjudicator both virtually and through guest appearances: Dance Masters of America, Dance Educators of America, the National Association of Dance & Affiliated Artists, Dance America/Dance Olympus, Infinity Dance Challenge, and Magic City’s Dance World of Miami Beach. She has been honored with an invitation to teach for the Cecchetti Council of America in Washington, D.C. and has taught for prestigious locations such as Broadway Dance Center, Carnegie Hall Studios, City Center Studios, Peri Dance, the New Dance Group and 20 year staff member of St. John’s University. Giancaspro is Ballet Mistress Emeritus of the New England Ballet Company of Bridgeport, CT.
Judge
Kristen Wegman grew up dancing in the Rochester area. She received her early dance training at Michelle Bushner School of Dance/Perington Dance Company under director Michelle Bushner and Pittsford Dance Studio under director Brenda Bobby. Here she has had the opportunity to be in the works of Tony Bellissimo, Ivan Koumaev, James Washington, Duncan Cooper, Brittany Markle and Dennis Caspary. Kristen earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance at The College at Brockport State University. At the college, she had the opportunity to work closely with and be in the works of Britt Falcon under Falcon Dance, Juanita Suarez, Stevie Oakes, Jennifer Weber and Darwin Prioleau. Kristen also was a part of the Brockport Dance Team, serving as a captain, was a member of Chamber Ballet Brockport and also participated in Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble. Recently, Kristen participated in a virtual evening length work for the Virtual Rochester Fringe Festival with Frazee Feet Dance under director Zachary Frazee. Prior to studying dance at the college Kristen has also had the opportunity to perform in The Rochester Fringe Festival at The School of the Arts, The Vison of Sound Festival, The Gay Men’s Choir at Hochstein School of Music and has been a dancer for The Rochester Lancer Dancers. Kristen has been teaching all throughout Rochester and Buffalo since 2014 and has recently expanded to teaching virtually throughout the East Coast. Now, she is Co-owner of a new studio in the Rochester Area, Studio K Dance+Fitness where she continues to share her love for dance to her students and the ones she comes across along the way.
Judge
Kayleigh Elizabeth Danowski, originally from northeast Ohio, received her training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School Graduate Program and additionally from summer programs at Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Jacob’s Pillow. Kayleigh joined Montgomery Ballet and Albany Berkshire Ballet, dancing in Paula Weber’s Carmina Burana and as the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker. Most recently she danced with Ballet Quad Cities, performing as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Dancing with the New York State Ballet, Kayleigh has performed the title role in The Snow Queen Ballet, the role of Michaela in Carmen and performed in NYSB’s original productions of Carmina Burana and Dracula, appearing as the Countess in Mozart’s the Marriage of Figaro, and performing in Mozart’s Requiem, as well as performing regularly as the Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker. She is in her second season with the New York State Ballet.
Hip-Hop Convention Teacher
Whether on stage before an audience or grooving on the kitchen floor, Alexandra has always expressed herself through the art of dance. Alexandra trained and competed in many forms of dance including tap, jazz, ballet and contemporary - but has built an excellence in hip-hop. Alexandra’s hip-hop experience has allowed her to travel across Canada teaching workshops, and choreographing award-winning routines. Her studio and crew have competed in competitions such as Bring.Your.Own.Beat, Hit The Floor, and World Of Dance, and most recently took home back-to-back 1st Place Showdown Championships for Shock Dance Challenge and MOVE Dance Competition 2022. She currently choreographs street-jazz style routines for The Greg Frewin Theatre in Niagara Falls Canada, while performing nightly in the Las Vegas style show for over 15 years. She has traveled the States to perform on television programs including Good Morning America, The Today Show, Wendy Williams, Breakfast Television and Penn and Teller’s Fool Us, to name a few. She’s had the opportunity to work countless stages around the world including Shanghai, Beijing, the United Kingdom, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York City - and recently was honored to have performed in the Bahama’s on Disney’s Cruise Line. Alex looks forward to continuing touring and teaching workshops, while meeting new talents the industry has to offer!
Judge
Dominic grew up in Getzville, NY. He started Dancing at the age of nine, studying at Spezios Dance Dynamics for 10 years under the instruction of Michelle Spezio Ferm, Bill Thomas, Kelly Burwick and many others. Dominic has also worked with choreographers such as Duncan Cooper, James Washington, Andy Pellick, Aj Deneka, and Brice Mousset. During his time at Spezio’s, Dominic was an assistant teacher and choreographed many routines for the studio. He has participated in various performances, competitions, and intensives such as The Joffrey Ballet summer intensive, The School at Jacob’s pillow summer intensive, and The New York City Dance Alliance summer intensive. After graduating high school, Dominic moved to New York City to pursue dance at The Ailey School through the independent program, and trained under teachers such as Milton Meyers, Guillermo Asca, Hollie Wright, Michael Leon Thomas, and Marianne Bachmann. Dominic strives to take what has been shared with him to help other students find a healthy outlet through dance, to find their own voice, how to approach new material and thought processes, to explore different energies within movement, and continues to express how important it is to find infinite possibilities of the body and mind.
