MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHERS
Choreographer Bios
Meet our Teachers & Choreographers from past & present who are part of our amazing A.D.P. Community
BRIDIE CLARK
Founder & Artistic Director
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Bridie Clark has been in the performing arts industry for over 25 years. She trained at the National Theatre Ballet School in Melbourne, Australia under the previous Artistic Director of Beverly J. Fry graduating in 2010 with an Advance Diploma in Dance (CUA5011) she often returned to the National to teach and perform in various performances while working within the industry in Melbourne until 2014. Bridie has been working with other dancers and choreographers from around the world for over 10 years.
In 2014 Bridie moved to New York City after receiving a scholarship to AMDA, another opportunity arose for her to further her career in New York through Peridance Capezio Center where she graduated there independent studies with High Honors in 2017 while performed and working with various artists such as famous Tap dancers Jason Samuel-Smith, Ballerina Misty Copeland, Sue Samuels' Jazz Roots Dance Company as well as The Colombian Dance Company of New York and many others. Bridie has performed in various shows, galas, musicals, films, productions in Australia and United States including Cats, 42nd Street, The King & I, Cabaret, Still Waiting in The Wings and The Water Stinger Bridie was also requested to be a featured dancer in the Phoblographer LLC and Canon photoshoot in 2018. Bridie has trained many dancers over the years and many have become successful artists and performers within the industry and she continues educating all dancers and performers on how to make it with in the industry. The Australian Dancers Project was founded on the principle to give dancers and performers an opportunity to experience what it is like as a professional artist as well as offering dancers and performers a chance to learn about the industry from professionals within the industry.
ASHLEY GROTTOLI
Ashley Grottoli has coached countless students across the globe for over 23 years; launching many successful careers in dance and theatre. A graduate from York University with a degree in commerce and honours in marketing, she went on to join a team of masters students conducting branding research for Uniqlo and won several awards for their groundbreaking insights. Ashley grew up learning from the critically acclaimed Joann Chapman for over 10 years and competed across North America, featuring on TV shows such as Showstoppers National Championships. She even went on to win Miss Dance of America at Dance Masters of America in New York City at the age of 16. Ashley was given contracts for cheerleading and even awarded a spot at the Hula Bowl. Her teaching has taken her as far as Cuba and South Korea, and she featured on So You Think You Can Dance Australia, season 3. Her choreography credits include the Victorian Government and Carols by Candlelight. Her contributions to Wendy Samantha Productions in 2019 was awarded 5 stars by Theatre People and Travel Victoria. Her passion to help teachers develop their teaching skills has lead her to conduct teacher training workshops with individual studios in order to help them produce safe, strong and focused dancers on a larger scale with tremendous results. In 2017 Ms. Grottoli was nominated for teaching excellence from the Australian Independent Dance Teacher Awards based on her teaching philosophy to teach habits; not steps. Most recently, Ms Grottoli acquired her American Yoga Association teaching accreditation which has added yet another layer of anatomical understanding and unique teaching and breathing techniques to her comprehensive and challenging classes. Ms. Grottoli believes that correctness, balance and grace can only be achieved by equipping each student with the tools necessary to be successful through coveted and globally renowned teaching techniques.
AUSTRALIA
SANKALP SHARMA
India
Originally from Argentina, Anabella Lenzu is a dancer, choreographer, writer, and teacher with over 30 years of experience working in Argentina, Chile, Italy, and the USA.
Lenzu directs her own company, Anabella Lenzu/DanceDrama (ALDD), which since 2006 has presented 390 performances, created 14 choreographic works, and performed at 100 venues, presenting thought-provoking and historically conscious dance-theater in NYC.
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As a choreographer, she has been commissioned all over the world for opera, TV programs, theatre productions, and by many dance companies. She has produced and directed several award-winning short dance films and screened her work in over 50 festivals both nationally and internationally, including London, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
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Lenzu founded her own dance school L’Atelier Centro Creativo de Danza in 1994 in Argentina, and as an educator for more than 30 years, she has been teaching in more than 50 institutions, including universities, professional dance studios, companies, festivals, and symposiums in the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, London, and Italy.
Lenzu has written for various dance and art magazines, and published her first book in 2013, entitled Unveiling Motion and Emotion. The book contains writings in Spanish and English on the importance of dance, community, choreography, and dance pedagogy.
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Currently, Lenzu conducts classes at NYU Gallatin, School of Visual Arts, Wagner College, and Peridance Center. http://www.AnabellaLenzu.com
HARPER BANKS
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AUSTRALIA
Harper was born in Mildura, Victoria, and started dancing age 5. She made the 600km move to Melbourne at age 16 to train full time at the National Theatre Ballet School while completing her VCE studies via Distance Education. In 2018. during her final year at the National, Harper attended the Joffrey Ballet School's summer intensive in New York City on a scholarship. Harper has just completed her first season with Oklahoma City Ballet as a trainee, where she got to perform in the company's production of the Nutcracker, and outreach programs such as Firebird and Swan Lake Act II. Harper has returned to Australia due to the pandemic that has turned our worlds upside down, but is very grateful to have work as a ballet teacher and working with The Australian Dancers Project during this time.
Anabella Lenzu
New York City 2021 Workshop Collaboration
2021 Guest Choreographer
Sankalp Sharma is originally from Jaipur, Rajasthan India, and started dancing at the age 14. His training includes Terence Lewis Company India, Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Peridance Capezio Center. He is trained in different forms of dance like Contemporary, Modern (Graham Technique , Horton technique, Simonson), Ballet. He is a diploma holder in Contemporary dance from Terence lewis dance company where he started his first professional dance training and Professional dance Career. He moved to NYC in 2015 for his further training in Martha Graham School. After studying Graham technique for one year he took a transfer to Peridance Capezio center to explore different ways of movement and contemporary Dance. In NYC he is been performing and choreographing a lot of Bollywood dance shows with different companies like Junoon Performing Arts, Moksha Arts, AATMA etc. and Performed for different choreographers like Yuka Kawazu (ballet), Mathew James (contemporary)
