BIOGRAPHIES

Marie-Christine Giordano (founder) grew up in the French-speaking town of Fribourg, Switzerland. Though drawn to dance as a child, her formal dance training began late with Beatrix Consuelo in Geneva, and with Marika Besabrasova in Monte-Carlo. In 1987, a Swiss scholarship facilitated her study of modern dance in New York City at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Soon after, she was granted a Merit Scholarship from the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. With the Martha Graham Dance Company, Ms. Giordano performed in the ballet Panorama at City Center and on tour internationally. Ms. Giordano premiered several of her own pieces at the Martha Graham Center, and in 1993, she was sent to represent the school at the Vienna International Dance Festival, where she performed her own choreographed solos. In 1996, she was commissioned to choreograph and perform an opening solo for Jean Cocteau’s play The Human Voice at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, NYC. Becoming increasingly interested in presenting her own works, Marie-Christine founded her company in 1998. The group has appeared at St. Mark’s Church, 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, BAX (Brooklyn Arts Exchange), the Swiss Institute, and other venues, as well as in Europe. With headquarters in Brooklyn, Ms. Giordano maintains a daily teaching schedule, offering an outreach dance program to public school children and classes to professionals and nonprofessionals. The Swiss native continues to love being in New York, settled in “a place where dance moves the world’s people to meet.”

Itsuki Otaki is originally from Tokyo, Japan. She began her ballet training at the age 3 with Yoshiko Tokumura. Itsuki then studied at the Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Academy and performed the role of “Clara” in the Nutcracker with the Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theater in 2002. In 2003, Ituski was certified by the Royal Academy of Dance, by passing all of the vocational graded examinations. After moving to Barcelona, Spain, she danced as an understudy with Ballet de Sante Coloma de Gramenet David Campos, performing in ballets such as Don quixote, Nutcracker among others. Itsuki then moved to Milan, Italy, and began her contemporary dance training. While there, she studied with Etoile from Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Roberto Fascilla. Itsuki has been coached by Ms. Giordano since May 2008. She joined the company in January 2009.

Jessica Myers (apprentice) began her dance training at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts. After graduating she furthered her training at the Boston Conservatory. At the Conservatory she performed in Psalm, Dances for Isadora by Jose Limon and Steps in the Street by Martha Graham and earned a BFA. She is very excited to be involved in the Marie-Christine Giordano Dance!

Cecilia Daninthe (apprentice) is originally from Guadeloupe (Caribbean). She began her dance training in Guadeloupe at CDEC Lena Blou where she danced with Trilogie Lenablou Company after graduation. She is a versatile dancer who trained in Jazz, Modern and TechniÕKa. She participated on a touring of the musical ÒLa rue ZabymÓ around the Caribbean. In NYC, she studied at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and she has worked and performed with Liberata Dance Theater. She has been training and working with Marie-Christine Giordano Dance since February 2010.

Contributors 2009
Gifts in cash and in kind

Angels

Balz Eggimann & Elizabeth Eggimann Jtwros

Producers Circle

Kelvin L. Davis & Paul Davis

Leadership Circle

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

VIDEOGRAF

Benefactors

Ariane Braillard
Brooklyn Arts Council — JP Morgan Chase Regrant Program
Penn Intermodal Leasing, Inc.
Chef Claude Solliard
Marc Fox, CPA

Patrons

Davidoff of Geneva (CT) Inc.
Michael frenchman and Karen Crowe
James Neely and Rebecca Blackwell
Eddy Foundation
Len Irish
Kervorkian Mastering, Inc.
André Monney
Marie Nicolet
O’Keefe Productions, Inc.
Toby Old
Jamie Phillips
Colette Bertagna
Consulate General of Switzerland
Danielle Nicolet & Peter Marti
JF and Monique Giordano

Friends

Law Offices of Nicholas A. Penkovsky, P.C.
Simone Giostra and Partners, Inc.
Kurt McRobert
J.D. Talasek
AKST & AKST
H.Giordano

Donors

DJ Mc Donald
Jennifer Pendleton
Roberto Villanueva
Yadira Garcia
Deborah Pendleton
Joseph Roberson
Jo-Anne Chasnow