|
Founded in 2014, Alive Dance Collective is a Boston-local contemporary dance group composed of full time humans and part time dancers. We believe dance builds a stronger, more inclusive community in which movement permeates the lives of everyone involved. Our members’ backgrounds in dance therapy, yoga, occupational therapy, education, and physical therapy create more accessible and diverse engagements to bridge intersecting communities through deep involvement in the art of dance. We partner with local non-profits, community organizations, and other artists to nurture new ideas through workshops, exchanges, conversations, performances and other events. “They do so many cool moves!” - Elsie, age 6 |
Meet The Collective
Brenna Banister (she/her)Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer, Early Childhood Educator, ASL Learner, Embroidery Novice |
Member Since 2014 |
Brenna Banister is a dance administrator, choreographer, and performer living in Roxbury, MA. She began dancing at the age of 5 and fell in love with the art form when a move to VT put her under the direction of Jacque-Lynn Mackay and Rebecca McGregor. She moved to Boston to attend Boston University and graduated in 2012 with a BS in Early Childhood Education. Since 2014 Brenna has been the founder and Artistic Director for Alive Dance Collective. During her time with Alive she has produced five full length shows, choreographed countless pieces, and connected with local organizations to bring dance to a wider community. Her choreography has been presented in Massachusetts and beyond, including in NACHMO Boston, The Dance Complex's aMaSSiT Program, Jose Matteo’s Dance for World Community and The Southern Vermont Dance Festival. In 2018, Brenna became NACHMO Boston’s Regional Director. In collaboration with Monkeyhouse, she has helped NACHMO Boston grow to include mentorship opportunities, live performance and dance on film options, and space for over 30 choreographers to participate each year. When not dancing, Brenna works as a preschool teacher, enjoys kayaking and hiking with her partner and dog, embroiders fun gifts, and tries to increase her American Sign Language skills.
Alexandria Nunweiler (she/her)Director of Development, Choreographer, Dance Educator, Crocheter, Baker, Thrill Seeker |
Member Since 2019 |
Alexandria Nunweiler is a contemporary choreographer, performer and educator based in the greater Boston, MA area. She grew up dancing under the direction of her mother at the Dance Theatre of Greenville (DTG) in South Carolina. Her movement, described by Dance Informa as “grace with power,” stems from an authentic place rooted in community, history and daily life. Alexandria’s work has been featured up and down the east coast in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, BOOM Charlotte, NACHMO Boston and the first ever Equinox Dance Festival. She currently serves as Alive’s Director of Development, a founding member of The Click Collective and in an ongoing collaboration with Ashlea Sovetts. She holds her BA in Dance from Winthrop University and her MSc from Hult International Business School.
Audrey Hatas (she/her)Member, Choreographer, Endurance Athlete, Adventure Seeker, Dog Mom, Physical Therapist, Bookworm |
Member Since 2014 |
Audrey Hatas has been dancing since age 3 (earlier if you count living room solos to the CATS soundtrack), beginning her formal training at Accent on Dance in Waukesha, WI where she danced with the competitive company for 8 years. While in college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she performed and choreographed with UW Dance Elite and OPTIMA Dance. Since moving to Boston in 2010, Audrey has danced and with Onstage Dance Company, Intimations Dance, and Heartbeat: A Modern Dance Rock Concert ("The Sun") at OBERON. She has presented ballet, contemporary pointe, and modern choreography with Onstage and presented work for NACHMO Boston 2014, 2015 and 2020. Audrey currently teaches contemporary and lyrical classes at Alton Street Dance in Arlington, MA. Outside of the studio, she works as a neurologic physical therapist. She is happiest when in motion and loves racing marathons and long course triathlons and hiking the 4000 footers of New Hampshire with her husband and dog. She is grateful to Alive for the opportunity to continue to grow as a dancer and choreographer and to share the joy of movement with such great artists and people.
Katie Berman (she/her)Member, Choreographer, Arts Administrator, Dog Mom, Sleep Enthusiast |
Member Since 2024 |
Katherine Berman was born in 1997 in Miami, FL. She began her dance training in 2001 at the European School of Performing Arts in Daytona Beach, FL. With ESPA, she had the opportunity to perform in the 2014 Shanghai, China International Arts Festival as part of the first American youth company invited to the festival. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies and a minor in entrepreneurship at the University of South Florida. She has performed work by Dr. Merry Lynn Morris for the Performing Arts Medicine Association conference, as well as work by Michael Foley. In June 2019, Katie traveled to Paris through USF Study Abroad and had the opportunity to work with several choreographers including Clint Lutes and his Dance with Parkinson's group, Da Po Pa, Julien Desplantez, Heidi Weiss, Papson Sylla, and Wanjiru Kamuyu. In August 2020, Katie moved to Washington DC for her MA in arts management from American University. While there, she also became involved in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) dance community through Dance Place and performed as a guest dancer with Heart Stuck Bernie in "Many Extra Only More" (2023).
Katrina Conte (she/her)Member, Choreographer, Food Lover, Cat Mom, Adventure Seeker |
Member Since 2021 |
Katrina Conte is a dance artist and choreographer. She was raised in Mt Pocono PA, where she attended the Lehigh Valley Charter HS for the Arts. From there, Katrina graduated with her BFA in Dance with a minor in Technical Theater from Ball State University. During her time there she had the opportunity to work with Sidra Bell, Jamy Meek, Shen Wei Dance Arts, and Noa Shadur. Katrina also has a passion for light design. She designed multiple dance shows at Ball State, participated in the American College Theater Festival, and interned at the American Dance Festival. During these opportunities, she worked as a crew member for Terri O'Conner, Rosie Herrera Dance Theater, Paul Taylor, Pilobolus, and Shen Wei Dance Arts. Katrina recently moved to Boston excited to share her passion for dance with the city! She currently is dancing with Alive, a trainee with Kairos Dance Theater, a dancer with The Click, in residency with Luminarium Dance and the performing arts intern at the Boston Center for the Arts. She is so excited to be creating work again and performing alongside these inspiring humans/artists.
Lila Klaus (she/her)Member, Choreographer, Educator, Nature Lover |
Member Since 2022 |
Lila Ruth Klaus hails from Washington DC. While training and performing in DC, she was able to perform in venues such as The Kennedy Center, The White House, and The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. She received a scholarship from the Trawick foundation in 2008, and was a member of the Joy of Motion Youth Dance Ensemble, which received the Metro DC Dance Award for Best Youth Performance in 2013. She has performed and presented her choreography at Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine; the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina; Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Sitka, Alaska; the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Hibernian Hall in Dorchester; Arts at the Armory in Somerville; The Foundry in Cambridge; and Salem Arts Festival in Salem, Massachusetts. She received her BA in Dance with a concentration in Theology from Bard College in 2018 where she performed in the works of Trisha Brown both at the Richard B. Fisher Center and in New York City, during the Bard College/Trisha Brown Dance Company partnership. In 2017, her solo The Weight of Our Bones was accepted into the American College Dance Festival Northeast Gala. Lila was a part of The Dance Complex's 2022 aMaSSiT cohort. She currently works as an educator at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, and has served as the Dance Arts Mentor at the URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy for multiple summers.
Marina VilleneuveMember, Writer, Cat Mom, Amateur Gymnast, Cookie Seeker, Romance Language Enthusiast |
Member Since 2024 |
Marina Villeneuve is a dancer, amateur gymnast and investigative journalist living in Cambridge, MA. She began dancing in kindergarten, and competed in lyrical and jazz for Broadway Dance Academy in Tewksbury, MA until high school. She most recently performed contemporary, floorwork and heels pieces with Troy Dance Factory in Albany, N.Y. under the direction of Nadine Medina and Dorrie Boice. She has danced and choreographed pieces as a member of Vivid Motion Dance Company in Portland, Maine. She enjoys taking ballet, contemporary, tango, heels, hip-hop and jazz classes all around Massachusetts. She is also a member of Tess Saoirse Liddy Dance Company and EveryBODY Gymnastics. She speaks Spanish, and is learning French and Italian. In her spare time, she plays piano and guitar and watches Colombian telenovelas.
Morgan Nolte (she/her)Member, Choreographer, Sewer, Memorizer of Useless Facts |
Member Since 2017 |
Morgan Nolte started dancing at the age of five at Evelyn Ott School of Dance in Norfolk, VA, where she studied ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical and danced competitively with the Charisma Performing Company. After high school, she set out to study Spanish and Linguistics at New York University, where she continued her dance education at college and at Broadway Dance Center. She moved to Madrid in 2009 to teach English, where she learned that dance is a universal language, taking classes in ballet and contemporary. She now lives in Arlington with her boyfriend, cat, and dog, and currently works as a Director of Product Management at EF Educational Tours.
Paige Befeler (she/they) |
Member Since 2024 |
Member, Performer, Writer, Cozy Gamer, Drag Race Enthusiast
Paige began dancing at age 2 with tiny tap shoes and a love for the stage. She grew up dancing at Orange County Song and Dance in her home state of California and continued her training at The Performing Arts Center closer to home in Van Nuys, focusing on jazz, tap and ballet. Paige was a member of Wellesley College Dancers at her alma mater where she graduated with a Comparative Literature BA and performed in Shakespeare plays, musicals, and devised Zoom performances. Paige currently lives in Somerville with her partner, Larissa and cat, Leo, where she works from home as a Political Media Associate (of all things!). Working remotely (and seasonally with election cycles) allows Paige to pursue her passions of acting, dancing and writing. She currently volunteers as a work-study assistant for The Click, takes class at Boston Dance Studios, and is in the process of editing her fantasy novel she hopes to see published soon (ask her about it!). Dance has always been a part of Paige's life, and she is excited to be embarking on this new dance journey with Alive!
Shira Weiss (they/them) |
Member Since 2023 |
Member, Theater Artist, Photographer, Educator, Animal Lover, Ice Cream Eater
Shira Weiss is a Boston-based dancer, choreographer, theatre artist, photographer, and educator dedicated to creating art at the intersection of queerness and Judaism. Originally from Orlando, FL, they fell in love with dance and theatre at a very early age and have been creating ever since. They grew up dancing with their home studio’s performance and ballet companies and went on to train in musical theatre at Triple Arts and contemporary dance with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. Shira co-wrote and co-directed an original, interview-based, digital interactive play called How to Survive a Pandemic that won the Lux, Veritas, Virtus Award at the Research and Creative Endeavor, Innovation, Scholarship, and Entrepreneurship Expo (RISE). They served as a Theatre Education co-op at both Actors’ Shakespeare Project and Gann Academy during their time at Northeastern University, eventually earning their BA in Theatre. Shira currently dances with Lila Ruth Klaus and Alive Dance Collective and works as an educator at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, MA.
Taylor Nolte (she/her)Member, Murder Mystery Aficionado, Madrileña at Heart
|
Member Since 2019 |
Taylor started dancing at age 3 at Evelyn Ott School of Dance in Norfolk,VA. She practiced ballet, tap, jazz, and lyrical competitively up through high school. Also during high school Taylor taught ballet and tap to preschool and kindergarten children and choreographed for recitals. After completing a Masters in Elementary Education from James Madison University she moved to Madrid, Spain where she taught for three years. In 2019, a few years after returning to the US, Taylor joined the Alive Dance Collective and has been very happily learning from and creating with the group ever since. Taylor currently works in operations at EF Education First and, yes, Morgan is her sister and, yes, they have had very similar paths. Other passions include but are not limited to: Agatha Christie novels, baking, starting sewing projects and not finishing them, Coca-Cola, and buying jackets that have no appropriate season in New England.
Tova Teperow (she/her)Member, Choreographer, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Jill-of-all-Crafts, Dog Mom |
Member Since 2014 |
Tova Teperow began her dance training at the age of 7 in her hometown of Newton, Massachusetts, where she studied ballet and other dance styles through high school under the direction of the late Paulette Harwood. She then went on to the University of Vermont where she studied Human Development and fell in love with contemporary dance and choreography as a 4-year member of Orchesis Dance Company. After returning to the Boston area in 2011, Tova danced and choreographed for Onstage Dance Company, performed in the ensemble of "Heartbeat: A Modern Dance Rock Concert", and in 2014 was a founding member of Alive Dance Collective. Dancing with Alive has been one of the most enriching and creatively fulfilling adventures of her life. Most recently, Tova presented her own original choreography “Lost in the Colors” at NACHMO 2022 with Alive dancers. Outside of dance, Tova has a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University and currently works as a school occupational therapist for students ages 7-14 with visual impairments and multiple disabilities. When not being an OT, dancing, or snuggling with her adorable Maltipoo, Tova loves to try any art or craft she can get her hands on, dabble on the piano, and see as many places as she can.
Interested in dancing with our collective? Find more information here!
