Show 2 Artists
Show 2 - Saturday November 14th
3:00 pm
KAILEY FRAER & LILY STAIB
Kailey Fraer is a student, creator, performer, and teacher from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2025, she graduated from Slippery Rock University with a BFA in Dance. While studying at SRU, she had the opportunity to work closely with faculty, fellow students, and guest choreographers. Within her time as a student, she was cast in Teena Marie Custer’s The Shade, Cameron McKinney’s Strange Attractor, Nathan Trice’s Their Speech is Silver, Their Silence is Gold, and Martha Graham’s Steps in the Street set by Elizabeth Auclaire. Kailey had the privilege of performing at the Joyce Theater as part of the University Partners Showcase in 2023. Her intensive education includes Orsolina28, Dance Italia, and Springboard X. Currently, Kailey is a Company Member with The Movement Project(TMP), a Cleveland-based modern/contemporary dance company. With the company Kailey performs, choreographs, teaches, aids in community outreach, and manages the social media. An important factor in Kailey's dance career is that she is also a yoga teacher. After earning her RYT-200, Kailey began teaching class to the community. She believes that yoga and dance are deeply intertwined and inform her movement. Kailey also enjoys crocheting, reading, hiking, and being a cat mom - all outlets that nurture her creativity.
Lily Staib is a Pittsburgh native who is currently based in Columbus, Ohio. She grew up dancing competitively with the Thomas Dance Studio in Bridgeville, PA where she competed for 13 years in all styles of dance. She graduated from Slippery Rock University (SRU), Summa Cum Laude, with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography in 2025, and was awarded the 2025 Outstanding BFA Award. While at SRU, she danced in guest artist work by Teena Marie Custer, Hélène Simoneau, Nathan Trice, and Cammeron McKinney. Her intensive credits include, Orsolina28 with FLOCK, Dance Italia, Springboard Danse, Point Park University, and WhirlWind Dance. Lily currently trains with WhirlWind Dance, is a judge for Rising Star Talent Productions, and teaches ballet and contemporary at local studios.
RENEE CLIPPINGER
Renee Clippinger is a movement artist based in Akron, Ohio. She has been dancing since the age of three, starting her training at Midwest School of Ballet in Amherst, Ohio, where her choreographic journey began at 14. Renee is a graduate of The University of Akron, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a business cognate and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her work has been presented at Cleveland Dance Fest, CONVERGENCE: Cleveland Dance Project’s Community Collaborative Show, Summit Artspace, Akron Soul Train, the American College Dance Association Conference, Going Dutch: Tiny Encounters, New Albany Dance Festival, Seen: CLE, Pearl Arts Movement’s: Charrette, Micro Theatre CLE, and PULSE EXPRESSION Vol. 1. Recently, she choreographed the music videos for Posture’s new album. She currently works as a freelance choreographer and teacher while pursuing her PhD in Psychology with a focus in movement research and the brain at The University of Akron.
Photo Credit: Kelly Hough
BALLET LEGATO
Ballet Legato is proud to introduce artistic and innovative repertoire from classical to contemporary works while connecting with our community and familiarizing them with the depth and relevance of dance as an art form; presenting accessible performances of the highest quality while enriching the lives of the artists and audiences with a range of significant, ever-evolving dance. Dance brings people together and bridges generations. We want our performances and appearances to contribute to this togetherness – we see them as a way to give back to society and an expression of the individuality we each bring to the Northeast Ohio communities.
DRIFT DANCE COLLECTIVE
Drift Dance Collective is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in northeast Ohio. Members Emily Baird, Gabrielle Croes, Madi Hunt, Claire Smrekar, and Maria Witt-Kelly first met as students in The College of Wooster Dance Company. After embarking on separate career paths, they reconnected years later and formed Drift as part of their desire to keep dancing together. Our mission is to promote artistry at all stages of life through innovative choreography, community outreach, and multimedia performance. As a collective, we function as a place for ideas, using dance as a way to tell stories and find meaning through movement. In our broader community, we strive to create accessible environments that promote curiosity, exploration, and appreciation for dance as an art form. To date we have completed four original dance films, performed live at the 2026 OhioDance Festival Professional Concert, offered classes in modern technique and repertory to students of the College of Wooster and the Five Colleges of Ohio, and presented at the Summa Health Sports Symposium on the topic of physical therapy considerations for dancers. After receiving a Space Connect Residency through The Movement Project and participating as a Dance Film Artist in 2025, we are thrilled to be performing live as a part of Cleveland Dance Fest this year.
ELIZABETH SCHANZ AND DANCERS
Elizabeth Schanz is a Cleveland-based dancer and choreographer. She is a freelance artist and company member with SOĀR Contemporary. Elizabeth is a Michigan native from West Bloomfield. Previously, Elizabeth performed as a featured dancer in La Traviata, the opening performance of the 2024 Detroit Opera House season. She holds a B.A. in Dance and Multimedia Journalism with a minor in History at Grand Valley State University and was in the Frederik Meijer Honors College. The other dancers in the group --- Eva Anderson, Ruth Bieber-Stanley, Hallie Haycook, Joelle Meilink --- are Cleveland-based artists.
MASON ALEXANDER
Mason Alexander is a Cleveland, OH-based freelance dancer and emerging choreographer with an upbringing in ballet and professional roots in modern and contemporary dance. He spent six seasons with Inlet Dance Theatre, a modern dance theatre company in Cleveland, developing his skills as a modern dancer and nontraditional partner. Mason has also worked with Christina Lindhout & Artists, Dancing Wheels Company, North Pointe Ballet, and Dominic Moore-Dunson's national tour of The Remember Balloons. As his choreographic journey is at its beginning, the distinction of Mason's work is an ongoing discovery. His personal and choreographic movement influences stem from Erick Hawkins' style of modern dance release technique, Pilobolus-based nontraditional partnering, United Kingdom-based company Motionhouse's style of dance-circus movement and acrobatic partnering, and others. He envisions high-level athleticism, captivating storytelling, and translatable movement for all audiences. Mason's continuous goal in his own dancing and in working with others is to expand each individual's awareness of their own capacities. The human body is fascinating and capable of far more than many of us are aware of, and Mason loves opening dancer's eyes to that through his work.
Photo Credit: Dawn Wilson
DR. JASWANDI PITALE, ARTH ARTS AND WELLBEING
Dr. Jaswandi Pitale is a Bharatanatyam dancer, researcher, and founder of ARTh – Arts & Wellbeing. She began her training in Bharatanatyam at the age of seven and continues to study in the Thanjavur tradition under Smt. Lata Rajesh. With a PhD in biomechanics from The Ohio State University, Jaswandi’s research has explored Indian classical dance and the role of rhythmic auditory feedback in motor learning. Her artistic practice brings this scientific perspective into conversation with the embodied knowledge, rhythm, and expressive traditions of Indian classical dance. ARTh is a movement-based wellness initiative rooted in traditional dance practices and informed by research in biomechanics, neuroscience, and rehabilitation science. Through ARTh, Jaswandi designs accessible, culturally grounded movement experiences that engage the body, mind, and senses, supporting balance, coordination, memory, confidence, and overall quality of life. Through performance, research, and community engagement, Jaswandi seeks to build bridges between traditional artistic practices and contemporary movement science, while expanding how and where dance can be experienced across ages and abilities.
PERENNIAL MOVEMENT GROUP
Perennial Movement Group, directed by Chloe Napoletano and Sarah Ramey, offers dance classes and performance opportunities in Columbus, Ohio, and Athens, Ohio for people of all ages and movement abilities that cultivate creativity, health and community involvement. PMG’s performance ensemble in Columbus is composed of people who began dancing later in life and former professional dancers, all of whom contribute to the creation of original work performed at venues from senior living facilities to professional theaters. In Athens, the ensemble has an intergenerational focus, and creates original work featuring members of the Athens community and Ohio University students. Past PMG performances include The Cleveland Dance Festival, City Dance Showcase, Ohio Dance Festival and Ohio University. PMG has received funding from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, and The Ohio State University. Learn more at perennialmovementgroup.com.
Photo Credit: James Hamilton