Cassie Mills

Yoga

Cassie is a Brooklyn-based yogi who specializes in power vinyasa, in or outside of a heated room. Her focus is using her passion and skill set to bring yoga into settings that help to grow and share the community. Cassie graduated from Hampshire College in 2011, with a degree in dance and performance art. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Brooklyn, where she performed in myriad experimental dance works and designed costumes for women-based dance companies like Valleto. 

In 2019 she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Yoga To The People. Since then, she has taught yoga as much as physically possible. She loves working with people, breathing deep, sweating, and manipulating her body, mind and spirit in helpful ways. Teaching others how to celebrate themselves through asana and physical awareness is what brings her joy and stability. Cassie’s classes are exploratory, energetic, and grounding. She bases her sequencing on a theme of her choice and/or the overall vibe of the room. She composes her sequences with thematic choreography centered around purpose and focus. Her sequencing is fluid, surprising, and (in her opinion) fun.  

Cassie works to meet each yogi where they are on their yoga path. She works with her students to use anatomy, physical alignment, breath, and focus to build postures from the ground up. She loves loud playlists that combine multiple genres and have a flow, even if not in a traditional way. And, of course, she will never practice a savasana for less than five minutes. She ends class giving the system time to digest the benefits of practice and giving the mind/emotions time to work towards a moment of peace.

JoDe Romano

Flamenco

JoDe Romano "La Chispa" was a guest teaching artist & graduate of the High School for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas where she was featured in the Houston Grand Opera's Carmen. She also performed in the Franco Zeffirelli original production of Carmen, starring Placido Domingo and Maria Benitez at the Metropolitan Opera, attended by president Clinton, which was broadcast for PBS's Live From Lincoln Center and toured Japan with the Three Tenors. For over 20 years, Ms. Romano lived, studied, and performed Spanish dance in Spain and Japan, was soloist and choreographer for the José Greco Dance Company at The Joyce Theater, the Town Hall New York City, and toured the US and Spain. She was also a dancer in The Charo Show in Las Vegas with Jerry Lewis, Joel Grey and others, and taught a castanet workout on the Dr. Oz Show. JoDe Romano choreographed the Broadway Workshop production of Rita Hayworth-Hollywood Goddess, numerous Zarzuelas, and the mixed media dramatic presentation, Picasso's Guernica, at The Thalia Theater in New York. Ms. Romano has taught at Alvin Ailey and NYC public schools. Currently, Ms. Romano conducts Spanish dance and castanet classes at the 92Y Harkness Dance Center and is a graduate of the 92Y Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) program. She has been a guest teacher at Hunter College and co-developed and taught a DEL workshop at the 92Y. Ms. Romano also taught a master class and workshop at NYU for NYSDEA and at Fall for Dance at NY City Center. She teaches at Steps on Broadway, Ballet Hispánico, the Joffrey Ballet trainees, and Joffrey summer intensive NYC, along with other locations throughout the NY metropolitan area. Ms. Romano holds a teaching license from the Bureau of Provisionary School Supervision (BPSS) under the NY Department of Education. She has completed a series of instructional DVDs on castanet and flamenco movement techniques and produced and played castanets on her "Spanish Classical Piano and Castanets" CD. Ms. Romano is grateful to have choreographed and designed the costumes for La Jota Dolores on her NYC Ballet Hispánico pre-professional students' performance for the Tina Ramirez memorial at the 92Y/92NY.

Victoria Vargas

Ballet Fitness & Beginner Ballet

Victoria Vargas is the creator of The 5th Position Method and has over 40 years of experience as a professional dancer. She is dedicated to training teachers in the discipline of teaching Ballet through kinesiology. In 2019, she was invited to be Ballet Master for China’s annual Famous Teacher Award, and in 2020, she was awarded Outstanding Teacher by the Hong Kong Ballet Group. In addition to her many accolades as a teacher, she is the creator of The 5th Position Method, a recognized floor barre concept among professional ballet dancers and by the new emerging generation of dancers. It is an awakening to body awareness in the use of neurological codes that the human body has to be able to execute movements in a coordinated and effortless way. As a professional ballet instructor, she offers a high level of dance and fitness practice. She communicates with students in a caring and safe environment, helping them reach their full potential while fostering a healthy attitude toward all elements of dance practice. In the words of Ms. Vargas, "teaching is the greatest personal reward." She has been privileged to have taught established companies as well as young aspiring dancers internationally

Anthony Rue

Hip-Hop

AntBoogie is the founder and leader of one of the most commercially successful dance groups, The Amount Boyz. AntBoogie was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and transcended the boundaries of the inner city and its woes, beginning his dance training starting at the early age of 10, at the National Dance Institute. After training at the institute throughout his elementary years Anthony then moved on to attend New York City's acclaimed "Fame" school, Fiorello Laguardia High School of the Performing Arts. While training and excelling in classically trained dance, the exposure to funk and soul classics by his mother and the rise of Hip-Hop music and the dance that followed the movement still had a profound influence on him, and was ultimately where his passion for the art form lay.

After founding the Amount Boyz with best friend Adrian Wiltshire and a group of other close friends, it was not long before he was combining the technique and precision he had gained in his years of classical study, with the new emerging style of Hip-Hop dance taking hold of youth throughout the inner city.

A combination of his natural ability, learned skill, and determination gained Anthony Rue II aka AntBoogie and the rest of the Amount Boyz recognition from the dance world and commercial industry as a whole. Some of his credits include working with Madonna, Jay-Z , P. Diddy, Omarion, Alicia Keys, Mario, 3LW , and Ryan Leslie. He has also worked on the movies Honey, Dream Girls, Walk Hard, and Notorious B.I.G.

AntBoogie has been teaching since 2000. In 2012 he launched Urban Dance League (UDL), a professional sports league of organized street-dance competitions, classes, and showcases. UDL presents professional dancing in the same arena as the professional sports and athletic world. Anthony Rue II aka AntBoogie believes "Dancers are Athletes." More information on UDL can be found on urbandanceleague.com.

Aubrey Cheek

Beginner Tap

Aubrey Cheek is originally from Florida, attended Oklahoma City University as a dance performance major, and graduated summa cum laude from Pace University with a degree in Arts and Entertainment Management. Aubrey has performed in numerous professional theatre productions including “42nd Street” (Fulton, Fireside) and “Cats” (Interlakes). She choreographed “Sister Act” (Interlakes). In NYC, she was part of Pre-Production for “Funny Girl” Broadway (with tap choreographer Ayodele Casel), and performed in “In The Groove” (choreographed by Dormeshia), and in “Gypsy of the Year” (choreographed by Chaz Wolcott).

Aubrey is an alumna of the Tap Program at the prestigious School at Jacob’s Pillow (directed by Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia). She was a student in the Dance Lab NY Broadway Choreography Intensive (directed by Josh Prince and Valerie Salgado). Aubrey was a scholarship student in the Gus Giordano Dance School College/Pro Intensive. Aubrey continues to train at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center, where she has also assisted. She has presented work in several NYC choreography showcases. Aubrey travels to teach and set choreography on young dancers around the United States. Aubrey deeply believes that dance can change lives. She is passionate about sharing what she loves and connecting with others through dance!