Summer Faculty

Davis Robertson (Artistic Director)

DAVIS ROBERTSON is a co-founder and Artistic Director of New York Dance Project, a nonprofit dance company with a unique model that challenges dancers and audiences in a diverse repertory that includes classic ballet, modern, contemporary, and cutting-edge new work. Robertson is also a repetiteur for The Gerald Arpino Foundation, and the former Artistic Director of the Joffrey Ballet School. He also co-founded Russian Ballet International and worked with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow to establish Bolshoi Academy summer programs in Italy and Australia, and to recruit students to Moscow.

Robertson, who started as a break dancer, became a principal with the Joffrey Ballet, where his roles included the Cavalier in Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker, George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, Petruchio in John Cranko’s Taming of the Shrew, Death in Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table and David Parson’s Caught. His portrayal of the Faun in the Joffrey’s reconstruction of Vaslav Nijinsky’s L’Après-Midi D’un Faune prompted the Chicago Sun-Times dance critic to write, “Robertson gives the finest performance I’ve seen, including that of Rudolf Nureyev for whom the Joffrey re-created this masterpiece in 1979.”

Robertson also danced principal roles for the Metropolitan Opera, Lar Lubovitch, David Parsons, and Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out on Broadway. In addition to his work on stage, he has appeared in major motion pictures and television hits such as Law and Order, Dance Moms, The Company, and Save the Last Dance.

A versatile choreographer, he has created works for The Joffrey Ballet, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Milwaukee Ballet, VSA Arts at the Kennedy Center, and Giordano Dance Company, among many others. He was selected to choreograph for the graduating class of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy featuring Joy Womack, and his article on contemporary dance pedagogy was presented and published by the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in the proceedings of the 2012 conference on contemporary dance in Moscow.

Robertson also directed the Joffrey Ballet Concert Group, the pre-professional company founded by Robert Joffrey in 1981. He has mentored hundreds of aspiring dance students into the professional dance world, with the support of emerging and established contemporary choreographers such as Karole Armitage, Africa Guzman, Roger C. Jeffrey, Larry Keigwin, Gabrielle Lamb, Brian McSween, and Dwight Rhoden. A sought-after teacher both nationally and internationally, his teaching credits include The Juilliard School, New York Theater Ballet, STEPS on Broadway, SUNY Purchase Conservatory, Joffrey Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet and the Florida Ballet.

Linda Gelinas

LINDA GELINAS is a rehearsal director for New York Dance Project. She was formerly a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and has been recognized in the Metropolitan Opera archives, as having danced the most principal roles in the history of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. She performed with Edward Villella and Dancers, The Eglevsky Ballet, Alexander Godunov and Friends, The Pavlova Celebration Tour, The Nureyev-Joffrey Ballet Tribute to Nijinsky, The Boston Repertory Company, and more. Performing works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille, Edward Villella, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Christopher Wheeldon, Mark Morris, Doug Varone, Alvin Ailey, Carmen De Lavallade, Bob Fosse, Robert LaFosse, Sean Curran among others.

Ms. Gelinas teaches company class at the Metropolitan Opera, is on the faculty at the Juilliard School, Steps on Broadway, the School at Steps and is a teacher and choreographer for the Hong Kong International Summer Program. She teaches company class for both Armitage Gone! Dance and Mordance. She also choreographed and taught for both the Miami City Ballet and the Joffrey Summer Intensives and was ballet mistress for the Festival Company at the Chautauqua Institution, under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. She has taught at New York University, Indiana University, the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Manhattan Youth Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, Ballet Arts, and Columbia Performing Arts Center. Ms. Gelinas has been a guest teacher at multiple schools throughout the USA.

She was the resident choreographer, and movement coach for the Marcello Giordani Young Artist Program and the Opera Children’s Chorus at the Crested Butte Music Festival. There, she choreographed Carmen, Magic Flute, L’Elisir d’Amore, Hansel and Gretel, Barber of Seville and Pirates of Penzance.

Ms. Gelinas received her formal training at the Joffrey Ballet School and the Boston Ballet School. She is also a certified Pilates instructor and a graduate of the New York Film Academy.

Tyler Gilstrap

Tyler Gilstrap is a rehearsal director for New York Dance Project. She earned her BFA in Dance from Southern Methodist University. She was a founding member of Battleworks Dance Company (2001-2010), under the direction of Robert Battle. In 2014, she was the associate choreographer for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. She was also the assistant choreographer for the film; ‘Love And Other Drugs’ and for the Italian San Remo TV Award. She has choreographed music videos for such artist as Andrew McMahon, Son Lux, Skyes, FireHorse and SENIT. In 2012, she started her own performance group called TunanuT. TunanuT has created and performed for such events as the Panorama Music festival, Big Data 2015 tour, (Un)Scene art show, Ballroom Marfa, The Feast, and The Windmill Factory. As a dancer, she has been featured in such films as ‘Across the Universe’, ‘The Wackness,’ and the Italian TV show ‘Amici.’ She has been a guest artist with the Bavarian State Opera, Irish Modern Dance Theater, Azure Barton, New York Theater Ballet, Corbin Dances, and Amy Marshall Dance Company. As a teacher, Tyler has taught improv, contemporary, and modern dance in Russia, Romania, Germany, Hungary, Italy and throughout the USA. She also has been on faculty at Montclair State University, Joffrey Ballet School and Peridance Capezio.

www.tylergilstrap.com

Kelby Brown

KELBY BROWN received his professional training from the School of American Ballet, (the official school of the New York City Ballet). Kelby has performed with Los Angeles Ballet, Pacific NW Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, State Ballet of Missouri and Ballet Chicago. His other credits include the Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center, Cirque du Soleil, Los Angeles Opera and Celine Dion’s Las Vegas Spectacular, “A New Day”.

Some of Mr. Brown’s teaching credits include: American Ballet Theater,(where he is a certified teacher under the ABT National Training Curriculum, Primary through level 5), Alvin Ailey, State Ballet of Missouri, Ballet Chicago, Joffrey Ballet, PACE University and Broadway Dance Center.

Trinette Singleton

TRINETTE SINGLETON began her professional career with New York’s Joffrey Ballet in 1965, having received her early training with Harriet A. James in her home state of Massachusetts. She has toured throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, performing in ballets by notable choreographers such as Joffrey, Arpino, Ashton, Balanchine, Cranko, DeMille, Jooss, and Tudor. She was thrust into national prominence in 1967, appearing in the multi-media ballet, Astarte, created for her by Robert Joffrey. Following her performing years, Ms. Singleton became Ballet Mistress/Teacher for the Joffrey Ballet, as well as Administrative Assistant to Robert Joffrey. She later joined the Faculty and Advisory Board of the Joffrey Ballet School, where she still teaches. She joined Ballet Theatre Pennslvania as Ballet Mistess/Choreographer in 1990, and acted as BTP Artistic Director in 1994. In 1995, she formed Bravo!Dance with Nana Badrena, a faculty member of The Joffrey Ballet School. She also taught in the BFA Program at The New School University in NYC, in 1999. Currently, Singleton is co-artistic director of Repertory Dance Theatre in Allentown, and also serves as a faculty member in the DeSales University Department of Performing and Fine Arts. She has been artistic director of The Joffrey Texas Workshop in San Antonio since 2006, and serves as guest teacher for The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. She staged Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi for ARB and choreographed Capriccios (2012) and Dreams Interrupted (2014) on the company.

Gabrielle Lamb

GABRIELLE LAMB, winner of a 2014 Princess Grace Award for Choreography, is a New York City-based choreographer and dancer.  Born in Savannah, Georgia, she was trained at the Boston Ballet School and joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal in 2000, earning her soloist promotion in 2003.  At the invitation of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon she moved to New York City in 2009 to join his company Morphoses.

Ms. Lamb, who began choreographing in 2005, has won the National Choreographic Competition of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2009 as well as, in 2013, First Prizes in Milwaukee Ballet’s Genesis International Choreographic Competition and Western Michigan University’s National Choreographic Competition.  She was named winner of the Banff Centre’s 2014-15 Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award; and in 2014 she was honored with a New York City Center Choreography Fellowship.  Most recently she was awarded the S&R Foundation’s Washington Award Grand Prize for 2018.

Her movement style and theatricality have been profoundly influenced by the choreographers whose work she danced during her performing career, including George Balanchine, Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, and Shen Wei. Since moving to New York she has also created leading roles in new works by contemporary artists such as Pontus Lidberg, Luca Veggetti, Matthew Neenan, Adam Barruch, Shannon Gillen, and Emery Lecrone.

Maleek Washington

MALEEK WASHINGTON, a native New Yorker from the Bronx, is a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist.

He began his dance training at Harlem School of the Arts, Broadway Dance Center, and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. Maleek attended The Boston Conservatory on a full scholarship before beginning his professional career with CityDance Ensemble (Washington DC). While there, he worked with Paul Taylor, Kate Weare, and Alex Noeral, and as a SpringBoard Danse (Montreal) participant. Washington also worked with Jose Navas and Rubberband. Upon his return to New York City, Washington collaborated with McArthur Genius awardee, Kyle Abraham, and his company Abraham.In.Motion for four seasons before becoming the first African-American male to perform in the critically acclaimed immersive show Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More. He has also performed for musical sensations, such as Sia, Phish, and with Rhianna in her immersive AntiDiary Campaign.

Washington’s performance and commercial choreographic talent has been recognized nationally at prestigious venues such as The White House, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Jacob’s Pillow, and internationally in Australia, Jordan, Mexico, and Sweden. In addition to his performance career, Washington is a sought after national and international teaching artist at the Joffrey Ballet School, LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Broadway Dance Center, and Brent Street in Australia.

With multidisciplinary, experiential performance works that investigate the people, practices, and spaces shaping Washington’s black identity, he was proud to present his art in 2017 at the Boston Dance Festival, Pepatian and BAAD!, Periapsis Dance and Music Noesis, and at the legendary Movement Research at Judson Church in Spring 2018. Washington is also a 2017-18 Dancing While Black top 10 choreographic finalists. Alongside his creative work, Washington has entered his second season with Camille A. Brown and Dancers in collaboration for her work Ink that premiered at the Kennedy Center in December 2017.

Recently Maleek was a part of the ensemble for NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar staring John Legend as Jesus. He just finished performing at the 2018 Ted Talk Conference in Vancouver British Columbia in Camille A.Brown’s New Second Line and performed with ASAP Rocky’s testing album release installation at Sotheby’s NYC.

Roger Jeffrey