DIRECTOR'S SPOTLIGHT
ROSANNE RENDA & COLLEEN CROSS
Owners & Artistic Directors of
Infinite Motion Performing Arts Academy
Colleen and Rosanne have been business partners and co-artistic directors for over 25 years in Bergen County. Together, they have created and developed the Academy and have received the following accolades:
Their dancers have performed in Disney, Universal Studios, The Joyce Theatre, Peridance in New York City, the Prudential Center for the NJ Devils' and MSG for the NY Knicks' games, and were featured on the Today Show in a “Whatʼs Happening In New Jersey” segment in 2009. At the regional and national level, their dance companies have won innumerable awards at competitions in the tri-state area.
Colleen and Rosanne have prepared their students to become college dance majors, college dance team members and professional dancers. At the other end of the dancer spectrum, they are the co-founders of “Youth in Motion", a program they developed specifically for daycare facilities as a way to introduce children to dance and physical fitness. From toddlers in tutus to college dance majors to adult programs and performances, Colleen and Rosanne have created a performing arts academy that trains and nurtures all levels and all ages.
Colleen and Rosanneʼs vision is that EVERY child has the ability to succeed beyond measure. A core belief system where community, integrity, family, teamwork and hard work is the key to success.
PROFESSIONAL
FACULTY
She is experienced in teaching dancers of all ages and levels, and uses innovative ideas to keep the classes and routines interesting. She has created and nurtured a comprehensive adult program, offering classes in Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet and Hip Hop. Adult dance students are given the opportunity each season to perform. In 2009, Colleen choreographed Crazy for You for The Academy of Holy Angels High School in Demarest, NJ, which earned her a nomination for best choreography of a musical with the Helen Hayes High School Theatre Awards. Colleen produces and directs shows in the tri-state area working along with top dance companies
and vocalists.
Rosanne created and launched an innovative pre-school program for her studio in northern New Jersey which gained recognition throughout the area. In previous years, her choreography has been selected to be showcased at the world renowned Joyce Theatre in Manhattan. With over 25 years of experience teaching pre-schoolers, Rosanne has extensive knowledge in movement for early childhood development. Rosanne’s achievements lend themselves to her success as a performer, teacher and mentor for her students.
From one of the many dance competitions she attended, Starpower Dance Competition selected Michele for a Power Pak Dance Tour in Las Vegas, NV and Branson, MO at the age of 14. Michele has been teaching children of all ages since she began college teaching jazz, hip hop, musical theater, and ballet. Furthermore, Michele enjoys being the dance instructor for Rockland Center for the Arts Summer Day Camp since 2008. At the camp, she has worked with girls and boys ages 5 through 12. Also in 2008, Michele was asked to choreograph for the theater production of "Godspell" at Bergen Community College. Since 2012, Michele teaches Body Toning at a local Senior Center. She is also a licensed Zumba Instructor for adults. Seasonal workshops are held here at the Academy. Michele is a lead teacher for Youth in Motion, Dance for Daycare and continues to teach for local daycare facilities for the Academy's external programs. Michele is a licensed Zumba and Zumbini instructor.
Colleen has also performed with Ballet Internationale and Geoffrey Doig Marx’s, The Mantis Project. She has been teaching dance for 14 years at studios in NH, NJ, and NY. She has taught students as young 18 months old, specializing in pre-school and Mommy and Me classes. Colleen also teaches ballet, pointe, tap, jazz and contemporary.
Colleen was a member of SynthesisDANCE under the direction of Tracie Stanfield for nine years. While with the company, she was lucky enough to perform at venues such as Symphony Space, The Duke Theater, SoNo Arts Festival, Di Capo Opera Theater, Brooklyn Dance Festival, Salvatore Capezio Theater, The International Dance Festival NYC, and The Grier Gala, among many others.
Colleen was also a guest artist with The New England Dance Ensemble for over ten years. She would join the company for their yearly production of The Nutcracker, dancing roles such as Snow Queen, Dew Drop Fairy, and Arabian. She was also in their production of Coppelia as a Mazurka Soloist and Dawn. Colleen has been a member of the Infinite Motion faculty for 4 years. Currently she is the head of the ballet program for all company dancers. She is looking forward to another exciting year with this amazing team!
While at Montclair, Victoria had the opportunity to perform works by Stacey Tookey, Alwin Nikolais, Martha Graham, Earl Mosely, Nancy Lushington and Charles Wiedman.
Victoria joined FreeSpace Dance Company in 2018 where she performs in New York City and New Jersey. She loves sharing her love of dance and educating future dancers.
Bekah is a member of several contemporary collectives including cloude.nyc,, the Derek Mitchell Dance Company, and BEings Dance. She has performed in countless festivals including Pushing Progress, the Giving Tree, and Brooklyn Dance Festival. Bekah has been featured as a dancer on the Today Show and in national commercials for K Factor Plus Resistance Bands. She has also performed as a dancer with touring acapella group “Rockapella,” and in John Brown’s production of “Requiem for a Young Man” in Orlando, FL.
Bekah has presented choreography at Symphony Space, the Peridance Salvatore Capezio Theatre, and the Highline Ballroom. Most recently she set work for the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival where her work was reviewed by the Boston Globe. Bekah also works for a flash mob company as a resident choreographer.
Presently, Bekah teaches dance at Broadway Dance Center in their Children & Teens Program as well as several local dance studios. Additionally, she currently has new professional works in progress. Through performance and choreography, Bekah has developed a passion for teaching and sharing, and hopes to spread creativity and light with everyone she gets the chance to connect with.
As well as having a solo career, he is very grateful to be working with the Beat Club Crew. He and Beat Club Crew have begun to make a name for themselves throughout the professional dance world. Although Kha-lin's career is on a professional track, he believes it is also necessary to give back to the community through charitable events. He aspires to one day tour the world while inspiring others to dance and express themselves. Kha-lin is thrilled to be a part of our IMPAA team!
At Hofstra, Alicia is preparing to perform in her Spring Dance concert in works created by Yoshito Sakuraba and Livia Vanaver. She will also be debuting 2 of her own choreographic pieces in Hofstra Student Repertory and Danceworks shows next month.
Natalie is so excited to be back at Infinite Motion to share her passion of dance and experience as a student-athlete.
Claudia danced competitively growing up and studied at the Academy of
Visual and Performing Arts in Hackensack, NJ. They received their BFA in Acting with a minor in Musical Theatre and Dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2017. Since then, they have worked with the North Carolina Theatre for Young Audiences, the Megan Doyle Dance Company, 92Y Musical Theatre, Passaic Prep Players, and have originated roles and choreography throughout the tri-state area. They were featured on Making the Impact: A Dance Competition Podcast’s episode on Mental Health for Competitive Dancers as well as Dance Ed Tips’ “DETalk” on having a mindset that is open to accepting feedback.
Throughout her 13 years of performing, Abby’s most cherished credits include Saturday Night Fever (Engeman Theatre), Sweet Charity (Matt Steffens), Dashboard Dramas (Rochester Fringe Festival), Sweet Charity (Parker Esse), Company (Trey Compton), and debuting the Regional Premier of Women on the Verge… (Brett Smock). Abby has choreographed for Musicals, Music Videos, and Competitive dance teams. Her favorite choreography projects include; Bring It On (Musical), Dogfight (Musical) and Social Anxiety (Music Video). Abby has had the pleasure to work alongside Broadway Choreographers, Music Directors, Casting Directors, Agents and Performers.
Recent productions include Chicago (Liz and Dance Captain), American Psycho (Choreographer, West Coast Premiere), Grease (Cha-Cha and Dance Captain), How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (Choreographer), and High Society (Mavis and principal dancer). Chloe travels across the US to set choreography for studios and companies for both the competition and concert stages. She is a judge and member of Impact Dance Adjudicators.
Taylor is a Professional Tap Dancer with Rithem Dance Company (Ryan Lohoff) & Tap Sounds Underground (Gregg Russell), where she travels the country performing in shows with Tap Sounds Underground, and pursues video work and performance opportunities with Rithem Dance Co. Under representation of Movement Talent agency, she continues to pursue new performance opportunities in all styles of dance. You can see Taylor's award winning choreography around the LA area in local choreography showcases, or around the country across competition stages. Catch Taylor teaching at GROOVE Dance Convention, "For The Soul" Dance Convention, & Guest Faculty at Tap Into The Network! With Taylor's uniquely feminine Tap style, her goal is to make as many dancers as possible love tap dance, and see it in a fresh new light!
Working on projects for artists such as Don Diablo and Katy Perry, to being a member of CLOUDE.NYC (founded and run by Emily Greenwell) and tedted Performance Group (founded and run by Teddy Tedholm), Niki's pulls from different realms/ideas of movement and career experience to teach his students the art of performance and expression, onstage or on camera.
Prioritizing safety, inclusion, and positive education, Niki always aims to create and facilitate a safe space where students feel comfortable challenging themselves physically and mentally, but also where they can explore themselves and the world around them through a creative perspective. He helps others find their voice as an artist, but more importantly as a human.
Dancing and training at BDC for years, Niki is grateful to join as faculty and share with the Broadway Dance Center Children and Teen Program.
In 2020, Isabella was announced as an Honorable Mention for the NHSDA in the National Dance Education Organization and was also a recipient of the NJGAAE Student Award for Artistic Excellence and Leadership. In 2021 she was announced as a State Level Winner and awarded for Artistic Merit for her student choreography. Isabella is currently attending Montclair State University studying for her B.A. in Studio Teaching and Business. Miss. Izzy is ecstatic to work with some new faces this season!
During college, she trained at the Doug Varone and Dancers Summer Intensive, served as the assistant director of the Fredonia Dance Ensemble, taught at two local dance studios, choreographed for the Fredonia Dance Team, and served as president of the Student Dance Organization. She is so excited to join the IMPAA team, and can’t wait to get started!
Susie was assistant choreographer to HAMILTON's Jon Rua in the new show "Freedom Riders". Susie also has a huge passion for teaching. She has taught & judged for Dance Masters of America, Embrace Dance Convention, Dancers Inc., PeriDance Capezio Arts Center, Monroe Dance Academy, Miller Marley School of Dance, & Dance Stop NJ. With her classes, every student is encouraged to find their artistic voice, and to tell their own story. By creating a warm, safe and encouraging environment dancers can be fearless and move from a space of love and devotion to dance.
As a teacher she believes class should be a place to have fun and grow in a safe and positive environment. She strives to provide an experience that is challenging and enjoyable to all with a focus on individual attention in order to nurture each student’s unique talent and abilities. She also holds her ACE Group Fitness and 200HR yoga certifications and teaches barre and yoga classes to adults in NYC.
Veronica relocated back to northern New Jersey for a job opportunity and to be closer to family and friends. She teaches at 3Cheers Pro Studio where she focused on teaching hip hop and technique for their newly created competition team. She is newly married and currently lives in Allendale with her husband and new puppy Nala. Veronica encourages her students to experience the art of dance and become confident throughout movement!
Serena has choreographed numerous works for stage and camera including an evening length contemporary ballet, musical productions, and various music and concept videos. She has also taught various styles of dance to children of all ages.
Heather went on to graduate college with several degrees and certifications in dance. She has taught and choreographed recreational and competitive programs for many institutions all over the tri-state area, as well as the Midwest including Dance Dimensions, William Paterson University Dance With Me Bayonne and County College of Morris just to name a few. She also acts as a judge for regional dance competitions such as Dance Champs Elite, Triple S Dance Competition and Road to Broadway Mini Dance Competition, to mention a few.
Heather is trained in jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, and modern dance. She has worked with artists and talent including Diana Castore, Cheryl Mack, Michael Uthoff, James Robey and Alicia Graf Mack (current dance director at The Juilliard School), to name a few. She is a current member of the #Taplife Company, working closely with director of the company, former TapDog, Anthony Lo Cascio. Not liking to fall into one category, she considers herself an independent dance artist.
In addition to teaching and choreographing dance in the studio scene, Heather is also a certified fitness trainer. She works in high intensity interval training (HIIT) fitness pro- grams based in dance foundations. She also lends her voice as a professional MC/Host for shows, parties, and dance competitions.
While Heather enjoys dancing, performing, and hosting, her real passion is teaching and educating. She is often caught saying that being “Miss Heather” is her favorite and most important job. Her goal is to always bring quality dance education to any student who wants it, all while spreading the joy of dance artistry.
Rashaan has worked extensively with students in the tri-state area teaching and choreographing. His work has been seen on many competition stages, as well as, in the pre-professional world. His unique style is quite versatile. His movement style is the perfect blend of old and new school hip hop styles with an emphasis on technique, musicality and flow.
During the day, Christina is an adjunct dance professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University and produces MSU's Annual Theatre Night Awards Ceremony. She is thrilled to be able to share her love of dance with the students at Infinite Motion.