Our Faculty
— Faculty —
KAI’s unique team has an innate understanding of the creative process, as they have all led successful careers within the artistic community.
We strive to employ faculty across a broad range of disciplines and, additionally, every KAI faculty member has an incredibly strong background in performance and are still actively involved in that community. We think of all of them as descendants of the masters of technique, and as such they are passing on first-hand knowledge to our students.
Ballet
Modern
Jazz/Contemporary
Theater Jazz
Ballroom
Acting/Voice
Amanda danced with the New York City Ballet for 15 years. She worked in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and the National Tour, and was selected to be the swing performer in the original Broadway cast of Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away.
John danced for American Ballet Theatre before joining Twyla Tharp Dance, and performing on Broadway in Tharp's Movin’ Out. His performance earned him numerous awards of recognition, including a Tony nomination. John was in other Broadway productions including Guys and Dolls, The Times They Are-A Changin’, and Come Fly Away.
Born in Miami, Florida, Craig Salstein began his training at the Ballet Academy of Miami at the age of eight and continued his training with the Miami City Ballet. In 1995, he was the Grand Champion of Ed McMahon’s Star Search.
Salstein joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in 2000 and joined the main company in April 2002, and in 2007 was promoted to soloist. He is also one of a set of triplets. Salstein’s repertory with the Company includes Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the Bronze Idol and the Head Fakir in La Bayadère, Birbanto in Le Corsaire, Gamache in Don Quixote, Puck in The Dream, the first sailor in ancy Free, the peasant pas de deux and Hillarion in Giselle, the Champion Roper in Rodeo, the Neapolitan Dance inSwan Lake, Eros and in Sylvia, the Devil in Three Virgins and a Devil and leading roles in Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes, Gong, In The Upper Room, Sinfonietta and Symphonic Variations. He was an ensemble member and dance captain of the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel on Broadway. Salstein was the associate choreographer to Justin Peck for the upcoming West Side Story movie directed by Steve Spielberg.
Mr. Bowman has danced with the New York City Ballet, Twyla Tharp Dance and both the Fort Worth and Kansas City Ballets, toured internationally and performed on Broadway in “Movin’ Out”, the hit TwylaTharp/Billy Joel musical. Off- Broadway credits include Martha Clarke’s “The Garden Of Earthly Delights”, the four-actor ensemble comedy “Shut Up, Sit Down and Eat” and “The Tragedy of John” at Theater Row as well as multiple summer-stock musicals at Casa Mañana, North Shore Music Theater, the Ogunquit Playhouse and the Cape Playhouse.
As a repetiteur, Mr. Bowman stages three Twyla Tharp works, previously setting them on the Nashville Ballet, the Washington Ballet, Company C, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Wayne State and the Trinity-Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Although not the most prolific choreographer, he has created works for multiple schools and regional companies, most notably co-choreographing “Indoor Fireworks” with the founder and artistic director of Company C Contemporary Ballet, Charles D. Anderson. Mr. Bowman also writes and records instrumental music and plays in small venues across NYC both as a hobby and as a means to continue to perform onstage.
Ashley began his professional career with the Limon Dance Company, and also performed with also performed with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Helen Simoneau Danse, VIA Dance Collaborative, and Zullo/Raw Movement. Lindsey is currently the director of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Summer Dance program.
Eriko is a Japanese performer and choreographer. Over the years, she has worked for several productions, such as Nick Cave's "The Let Go"(dance captain), Nona Hendryx's ''Refrigerated Dreams'', John Adams ''Confirmed Dance'' presented by Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bregenzer Frühling, Holland Dance Festival, ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival. Commercial work includes Danone Nations Cup World Finals, Japanese music legend Eikichi Yazawa concert tour with performance and choreography as well as Audemars Piguet. She is currently adjunct professor at NYU, Francesca Harper Project’s associate director. In 2022, She is the associate choreographer for the musical "The Bodyguard".
Tadej was a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Company for 19 years, and spent 15 years with Battery Dance Company. Tadej has taught extensively in the US, EU, Far East Asia, India and Brazil, and is a member of the faculty at the Martha Graham School.
Alexia Waites is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer based in New York. Alexia received her BFA from the Pace University Commercial Dance Program. Most recently, Alexia was in the CATS North American Tour directed by Kim Craven, Throughout her career, Alexia has worked with choreographers including Alexandra Damiani, Steven Blandino, Karla Garcia, Scott Jovovich, Chip Abbott, and Josh Bergasse among others.
Deidre Rogan began her dance training in Fort Myers, FL under Melinda Roy, Roberto Munoz, and Cheryl Copeland. Deidre graduated with honors from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance in 2015. She is a Young Arts scholarship winner, performed as a United States Arts Ambassador for President Barack Obama during the Opening Ceremony of the Hannover Messe, and was the Associate Choreographer under Choreographer Hope Boykin for City Center Encores Off-Center production of Promenade in 2019. Deidre danced with Ailey II from 2014-16 and with Parsons Dance from 2016-22. This is Deidre’s first season with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Croix is currently a member of Parsons Dance in NYC, and has worked and studied under Emmy award winning choreographers Mandy Moore and Josh Bergasse, as well as Scott Jovovich, Suzi Taylor, Jess Hendricks, and Rhonda Miller.
Danielle is a dancer, musical theater performer, and choreographer based in NYC. She was in the ensemble of the Dirty Dancing national tour (u/s Baby, Lisa, Elizabeth) and had featured roles in National Pastime and My Fair Lady, both under the direction of Tony nominee Hunter Foster and Waitress’s Lorin Latarro. She now is honored to frequently tour with Stars of American Ballet.
Tyler Hanes is an actor/singer/ dancer/ choreographer best known for his work on the Broadway stage. He has appeared in 10 Broadway shows including A Chorus Line, On The Town, Hairspray, Sweet Charity, The Boy From Oz, Oklahoma!, and as Rum Tum Tugger in the recent revival of Cats. Off-Broadway, he starred in Stephen Sondheim’s A Bed and A Chair: A New York Love Affair, Juno, American Dance Machine for the 21st Century, Only Gold and toured nationally with the first national tour of Fosse. Onscreen, he has appeared on Pose, The Good Fight, Elementary, the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar!, The Blacklist, 30 Rock, Ms. Guidance, Scenario, and as Jerry Orbach in the Emmy Award winning Fosse/Verdon on FX. As a choreographer, some credits include Kristin Chenoweth: For The Girls on Broadway, Dancing with the Stars, Kristin Chenoweth’s Some Lessons Learned World Tour,The American Country Awards, and El Chico De Oz in Lima, Peru.
Natasha Clark was born and raised in Utah and has more than 10 years of experience as a competitive Latin Ballroom Dancer. She is an accomplished dancer who started training at the age of 14 at the prestigious Center Stage Perform Arts Studio in Orem, Utah. Throughout her studio training, Natasha quickly became passionate about Latin dancing and achieved a Latin Ballroom United States Championship title at the age of 18. While attending Utah Valley University, Natasha became the youngest college instructor and dance captain for two European dance tours. Natasha has been cast as a dance model for stock and video photography for numerous national ads, including Zantrex-3, Buick Auto Show, Tower Records, and E-Diets, and was a sponsored talent entertainer at the 2002 Utah Winter Olympics Athlete Party, sponsored by Coca Cola. After moving to New York City in 2005, Natasha auditioned for “So You Think You Can Dance” and was selected as one of the top 10 dancers to audition in Las Vegas. Natasha is a passionate and dedicated dance teacher, trainer, and choreographer for all levels of Latin ballroom dancers.
Dan Faber is proud to be the Vocal Coach for KAI! Dan is a Voice Teacher, Vocal Coach, Singer, and AEA/SAG Actor, based in New York City. He became a certified voice teacher in 2012 when he graduated with highest honors from the University of Delaware with his Bachelors in Vocal Music Education and is currently continuing his education with the world renowned Institute for Vocal Advancement (IVA). Dan is the primary voice teacher for his studio, Dan Faber Vocal Studio, and is an associate voice teacher with Emily Kristen Morris Vocal Studio and Broadway From Home. He was also recently the Vocal Coach for season 2 of “Only Murders In The Building” on Hulu. Dan has performed in a variety of styles on some of the greatest stages in New York, Boston, LA, Seattle, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Melbourne, Munich, and over 200 other towns and cities, nationally and internationally.
Vin Berardi has been a director, acting instructor/teaching artist, and performer for over 25 years. As a teacher, he's run many programs and intensives throughout the NY/NJ area at camps, schools, acting and modeling agencies, and privately. Some of his students have gone on to Broadway, network television, and major motion pictures. As a director, he’s mounted new works at multiple regional theatres throughout the northeast and in New York City. As an actor, you probably remember his roles on the reality dating show Change of Heart, the talk show Rachel Ray, and the game show Headgames. He has his own theatre company, My Theatre Company, for which he's directed and produced multiple original shows, his own comedy website, and is the co-creator and host of The Trilogy Podcast, the only podcast on earth devoted to movie trilogies.