Company

MARC NUÑEZ (Founder / Co-Director) (he/him)  is a queer Filipinx-American, NYC-based Choreographer, Dancer, and Movement Director. Professionally, Marc has danced for Rihanna, Todrick Hall, Donald McKayle's Etude Ensemble, Mike Esperanza's BARE Dance Company, Entity Contemporary Dance, and played roles in musicals including Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan (international tour), Disney's Newsies, and Cabaret. 

Marc has choreographed Nymphia Wind in Bananas? off-broadway at Town Hall in 2025 and her Cultural Olympiad in Paris 2024 , Lysistrata Jones (Marymount Manhattan College, 2025), The Wizard of Oz (Media Theatre), and showcased at the 2025 U.S. Open, 2019 New York Fashion Week, and more. Marc is founder and director of Gotham Dance Theater (est. 2015), adjunct faculty at Marymount Manhattan College, and a popular dance and fitness instructor at Mark Morris Dance Center, Crunch Fitness, and other studios throughout New York City. 

Marc attended the University of California, Irvine (Dance Performance BFA, Excellence in Choreography), is a member of Actors Equity, and represented by CESD Talent Agency. For more about Marc, visit marcnunez.com or @_marcnunez.

DAVONNA BATT (Founding Dancer / Co-Director) (she/her) is excited to be taking on the role of Co-Director with GDT this year! Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Davonna fell in love with dance at an early age. She received a B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Arizona with Honors, Summa Cum Laude, and with great pleasure has immersed herself in several styles of dance while studying under many exceptional artists. Since moving to New York in 2014, she has danced in and collaborated with several companies and artists including ALMA NYC, Gotham Dance Theater, Amanda + James, and of bones dance. ​In addition, she's had the opportunity to tour nationally with DAMAGEDANCE and internationally with Sarah Berges Dance. Along the way, Davonna discovered a love for teaching, and continues to find absolute joy in encouraging dancers, and movers of all ages to discover power, control, and expression in their bodies and minds. Additionally, she is certified to teach The MELT Method. For more about Davonna, visit @d_moves. 

ANNIKA WONG (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer and artist who has worked in theatre, immersive theatrical experiences, and film in NYC. She is currently dancing with The Dynasties (dir. Preston Mui), Gotham Dance Theater (dir. Marc Nuñez) and is performing this summer with BalletCollective in their newest production, The Woods, directed and choreographed by Troy Schumacher. She is a 2022 graduate of the Peridance Certificate Program. AnnikaWongNYC.com 

AMANDA LOWE (she/her) is a professional dancer and educator based in NYC.  Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Amanda grew up at Encore Dance Center and attended the Governor’s School for the Arts throughout high school.  She then moved to New York City where she studied at Pace University, earning a B.F.A in Commercial Dance with a minor in Arts and Entertainment Management.

She has assisted and worked with choreographers Karla Garcia, Josh Bergasse, and Chip Abbott over the years. Amanda has performed works for Steven Blandino, Chloe Arnold, Gotham Dance Theater, Vetanda Dance Collective, Virginia Musical Theatre, and RWS Entertainment Group, as well as appeared on television for the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Country Network as a backup dancer for BMI Recording Country Artist, Celeste Kellogg.  Amanda currently manages a fitness studio in NYC and is an adjudicator and teacher for Dance Educators of America. For more about Amanda, visit @amanda.s.lowe.

CELINNA HABER (she/her) Celinna (she/her) is a dancer and healthcare professional born and raised in NYC. She studied dance and biology at Radford University. Celinna is a dance artist for Gotham Dance Theater and Synchronous. Along with being a dance professional, Celinna is a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. 

DAVARRIA FORD (he/him) is a Black, queer dance artist. Born in Hayward, California, he began dancing at a young age for fun and was originally self taught. Davarria earned his B.F.A. in Dance from San Jose State University in 2022, where he honed his craft even more through the University Dance Theater pre-professional company. Davarria has been fortunate enough to work with many renowned choreographers such as Kyle Abraham, and Doug Varone to name a few, as well as performing around the Bay Area with modern company Seymour::dancecollective and Syndicate, a competitive hiphop team. Davarria relocated to New York City recently and continues to spread his love for dance with both Gotham Dance Theater and Camille A. Brown and dancers. His journey is rooted in a constant pursuit of growth as he aims to inspire change within his community, fueling his passion by learning from others while sharing his knowledge and love for movement.

EMILY HART LOPEZ (she/her) is a professional dancer, actor, and educator based in NYC. She is graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a B.F.A in Dance. Her work ranges from concert to company work, choreographing, latin dance, immersive theater, commercial work, cultural dance styles. Credits include: Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy” Promo 2024, Telemundo Upfronts, Tito Puente Jr., New York Live Arts, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, ABC’s Dirty Dancing (remake), “The Best You Can” (Tribeca Film Festival), Grace Kelly, Alterra Productions, Rumbamena, Gotham Dance Theater, Flint Rep, Designated Movement Company,  Sonalee Vyas Dance Company, and more. 

Recent highlights include dancing in a promotional Times Square flashmob for Hell’s Kitchen (Broadway) with choreography by Camille A. Brown & singing flashmob for Kristin Chenoweth’s Roundabout Theatre Gala. 

Emily’s current passion is latin fusion & artistic production (@hartheals). For more about Emily, visit EmilyHartLopez.com. 

JESSICA WATKINS (she/her) graduated with her BFA in dance at Marymount Manhattan College (MMC), majoring in dance, concentrating in choreography, and minoring in business management. Jessica is a current company Member with Joyce King Dance company, as well as an artist with Threads of Truth Dance Company. She performed in MMC’s Mainstage over 4 years working with Adesola Osakalumi, Nathan Trice, and Caleb Teicher, and in the film, An Eclectic Dance to Music in Time by Jacolby Satterwhite - premiering at the opening of David Gueffen Hall in Lincoln Center. She is a recipient of BODYTRAFFIC’s Summer and Winter Program - 2024 full scholarship, working with Tanisha Guy and Martha Nichols and awarded Bates Dance Festival scholarship - 2020. She has taught and choreographed at MMC for Dancers at Work and later invited to present at NYU Tisch/Hofstra University Choreo seminar. Additional teaching - open classes at Rhythm and Pulse in Virginia. Jessica is also a pro-roller dancer presently working with the Missile Team of Brooklyn and Paris. In addition, she has interned with the Urban Bush Women's Office Administrative Team.

NADIA KHAYRALLAH (Choreographer) (they/them) is a dance artist, educator, writer, administrator, and (dis)content creator. They graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Dance and Psychology in 2017. They have worked as a company member with Parijata Performance Projects, Gotham Dance Theater, Jonah Bokaer Choreography, and Artists by Any Other Name. They have presented choreographic work through Pageant, Arab American National Museum, Time & Space Limited, Little Island NYC, Dixon Place, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Queens College Arts Festival, Screendance Miami, YallaPunk, and New York Arab Festival, and New York Fashion Week and more. They have published writing with thINKingDANCE, In Dance, Dance Enthusiast, the Huffington Post, Sukoon Magazine, and Reductress. Nadia is Programs and Advocacy Coordinator at Dance/NYC and a teaching artist.

SARA LAVALLEY (she/her) Hailing from California, Sara discovered her passion for dance from watching MTV music videos in her living room. She began her training in hip hop and went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at San Jose State University, before completing her Master of Fine Arts in Dance at Mills College and just received her second Master’s Degree in Secondary Education.  She’s danced with incredible dance companies like Megill and Company, De-cipher Dance, ArcTangent Dance, Aleño Dance Project, and is now currently in her 2nd season with Gotham Dance Theater. With a knack for teaching, honed over years in California and now as a dance educator in New York, Sara continues to share her passion and love of dance with the next generations while pushing the boundaries of her own artistry. 

SARINA GONZALEZ (she/her) is a Latina dancer and artist from New York.  She graduated from NYU Tisch with a BFA in Dance and minor in math.  Throughout her career, she has had the pleasure of collaborating with many artists including Al Blackstone, Dylan Pearce, John Heginbotham, and more.  Her favorite credits include working on Netflix's Umbrella Academy promo, Oklahoma! at St. Ann's Warehouse, and Broadway Bares 28.  Sarina was most recently seen performing in the 92NY's Theater for Young Audiences for her third season.  

SERENA CARELLA (she/her) is a 22-year old professional dancer based in New York City. She was born and raised in Cerignola (Italy),  where she first started her dance career at the age of 4 years old.

Throughout her experience she had the chance to deepen her embodiment of different styles of dance such as Modern, Contemporary, Horton, Ballet, Graham, Tip Tap, Dunham, Caribbean, West African and many more. Since then, she has cultivated a preference towards modern and contemporary dance, which are the styles that inspires her the most as a dancer and artist. 

Following her participation in the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi, she was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where she completed her training as part of The Ailey School Scholarship Program, graduating with the class of 2024. She is currently working as a freelance dancer, collaborating with multiple companies and projects.

STEPHANIE SHIN (she/her) is a Korean American dancer, choreographer, producer, and arts administrator originally from Ames, Iowa. As a dancer, she has performed work by Brandon Coleman, Kinesis Project, Marc Nuñez/Gotham Dance Theater, and more. Stephanie founded Synchronous, a creative lab and performance collective. In May 2024, Synchronous became the first movement artist in residence at Twenty Summers in Provincetown, MA. Stephanie has also presented work at the AAPI We Belong Here festival presented by J Chen Project and has created films with artists like Middle Sattre. Stephanie is a LMCC Creative Engagement grant recipient and a 2024 inaugural 14 Street Y Dance Artist in Residence. In addition to working as a freelance artist, she produces and curates The Craft: Performances & Cocktails, a performance series in an informal bar setting, and works for Asian American Arts Alliance (A4).

CAMERON KAY (she/her) is a New York based dancer and choreographer, as well as the director of the new movement collective “Cosmos”. She works mostly in contemporary fusion art, and loves playing with juxtaposing movement aesthetics, darker tones, and a gnarled sense of intrigue and curiosity. Choreography credits include The Battery Dance Festival, Uptown Rising Bridge for Dance, Anthology, Brooklyn Art Haus, The Chain Theatre, WAXworks at Triskelion, American College Dance Association's Regional Conference, and The Red Pavilion.