Current Collaborators
Marissa Aucoin
Marissa Aucoin, MFA, is a passionate artist committed to providing accessible dance education and performance opportunities for both dancers and non-dancers alike. Currently Marissa teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Raritan Valley Community College, at Yvonne’s School of Dance, and for several community arts organizations including ReThink Theatrical. Professionally, she serves as the artistic director of, mla | Format Dance, and movement director of IdyllShift. For more information please visit www.marissaaucoin.org.
Elanna Etemad
Elanna Etemad
Elanna Etemad is a dancer, choreographer, musician, and teacher. She started learning music and dance at a very young age and went on to further pursue those passions in college. Elanna has been performing and choreographing for student concerts at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, NJ for the past several years. As an Alumna of RVCC and soon-to-be graduate of Rutgers University, she hopes to continue her education to obtain a graduate degree in dance and teach at the collegiate level.
Photo Credit: Justin Jajalla @Jajalla_Photography
Past Collaborators
Tabitha Edwards
Tabitha Edwards fell in love with dance at the age of four, and has been dancing ever since. Trained in many different styles, Tabitha enjoys sharing her love of dance through teaching. Tabitha has an Associate’s degree in LA-Dance from MCC. She has performed with, and choreographed for, the Middlesex County College Dance Ensemble, as well as local companies: Artistic Visions Dance Company, Main Street Theatre Company, and the Rahway Arts and Business Partnership. She has performed at Highland Park's Arts in the Park, the Koresh Showcase in Philadelphia, Dance NJ’s Show Up and Dance, and at OSPAC for the FreeSpace Summer Season Performance.
Emily Stecher
Emily Stecher is currently a student at Raritan Valley Community College. Her time at the college has given her the opportunity to both present her own choreographed works and perform works set by esteemed choreographers, including Loretta Fois, Sabatino Verlezza, Stephanie Beauchamp, Lisa Grimes, Randy James, Barbara Angeline, and Kimani Fowlin, among others. Emily has represented RVCC at various conferences including the Northeast region, and New England region American College Dance Festivals, and has been a member of the college’s touring performances group, The Raritan Valley Dance Ensemble since 2013. Already having obtained her Associate Degree of Fine Arts in Dance from RVCC Emily has shifted her studies to exercise science to supplement her dance teaching repetoire. It is her intention to open a sports facility offering classes in dance and cheerleading. The ultimate goal of her teaching is to educate these young athletes how to implement proper performance technique to keep them moving for years to come.
Jennifer Wrede
Raised in Pittstown, New Jersey, Jennifer Wrede began her training in ballet, tap and jazz at the age of three with various studios near her hometown. It was not until her senior year of high school that she decided to pursue dance seriously as a long term career. She then continued training with a high school
vocational dance program under the direction of Ruthanne Lanni, and then proceeded to graduate with an Associate’s Degree in the Fine Arts from Raritan Valley Community College. Her current studies were then continued at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University and are now expecting to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 2020. While dancing with Reframe Dance Theatre, Wrede continues to pursue her own voice as a choreographer, developing new work as a freelance artist and collaborating with colleagues.
Background Photo Credit: Taryn Scozzari