Many dance majors go on to perform, but others have used their Bachelor of Fine Arts to create their own companies or schools or go into health professions such as physical therapy.
Did you know that Adelphi’s Department of Dance is one of the nation’s first collegiate dance programs? Over the years, dance legends, including Paul Taylor, Frank Augustyn, Norman Walker and Carmen de Lavallade, have taught here, and our students have followed in their footsteps: Our 2024 Commencement speaker and honorary doctoral degree recipient was none other than dance alum Eduardo Vilaro ’85, CEO and artistic director of Ballet Hispánico.
Today, our students continue to learn from talented faculty members with extensive experience, now under the direction of associate professor and chair Orion Duckstein, who performed for 11 years with the renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company before joining Adelphi, initially as an assistant professor. In addition to dance classes and performing, dance majors must also complete a solid academic course load and gain the ability to write well, communicate and think rationally.
Many students enter the program with their sights set on performing with a modern dance company, but some go on to dance on Broadway, in musical theater, or on tour as backup dancers for top artists. Others decide to teach, choreograph, move into costume or lighting design, or even leave the performing arts altogether, perhaps using their knowledge of how the human body works to go into such fields as nursing or physical therapy—careers their academic studies have prepared them to pursue.
Here, Duckstein talks about some of the career paths our alumni have taken.
Spotlight on Performing
Kenneth Michael Murray ’15
Many dance alumni have gone on to successful careers as performers. Within a year of graduation, Kenneth Michael Murray ’15 went on to tour with the Amy Marshall Dance Company. He then did an international tour of Anastasia and performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, at the Met Gala and in Cirque du Soleil’s PARAMOUR on Broadway. Murray is currently on the North American tour of Moulin Rouge, which also made a stop on Broadway.
Hana Delong ’12
Hana Delong ’12 has been one of the lead dancers at the Dallas Black Dance Theatre since 2015 and now works as the company’s rehearsal director. She has also danced lead roles for noted downtown choreographers, including Doug Varone, Hope Boykin, and Christopher L. Huggins and Ulysses Dove, for whom she danced in Vespers, an opportunity that Duckstein likens to a ballet dancer performing in Swan Lake. Delong was also nominated for a Princess Grace Award in 2017, a huge honor in the dance community.
Frida Molina ’23
Frida Molina ’23 performed with rapper Lil’ Kim at Rock the Bells, opened for Janet Jackson’s Together Again tour in 2023 and has appeared in music videos by several hip-hop artists. She also teaches children and teenagers at Next Step Broadway in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The Business Side of Dance
Some dancers find their footing creating and running their own dance companies or dance schools.
Melissa Riker ’96, a dance major and graduate of Adelphi’s Honors College, is artistic director and choreographer of Kinesis Project dance theatre. Laura Sisco Niggles ’10 teaches children and adults at Creative Edge Studio in Montauk, New York, which she founded in 2015.
Laura Marciano ’12, named an Adelphi 10 Under 10 for 2022, majored in dance and minored in business to pursue her dream of opening a dance studio. She taught dance classes while a student, performed with Dance Visions NY after graduating, and made her dream a reality when she opened Laura’s Dance & Fitness Studio in Huntington, New York, in 2013.
Marlee Fleisher ’21
Marlee Fleisher ’21 started her own dance company, Meat Market Productions, based in Dallas, Texas. She conceives the pieces and hires the dancers and musicians to bring those pieces to life. She works closely with her dancers on their choreography, helping them perfect their technique.
Turning to Healing
Nicholas Bartolotti ’15
Nicholas Bartolotti ’15 and Valerie Corpuz ’23 experienced being treated by physical therapists who they felt didn’t understand how to work with dancers; they are now pursuing careers in physical therapy themselves. Bartolotti is studying for his doctorate in physical therapy (DPT), while Corpuz has been working at a physical therapy practice and plans to pursue a DPT.