PARADIGM the wheaton college dance company presents
Andrea Taylor, artistic director
april 16 & 17, 2026 7:30 p.m. april 18, 2026 2:00 p.m. weber theatre, watson fine arts wheaton college, norton, massachusetts
guest artists Syd Alves ’25 • Nat Gibbs ’25 • Leticia Guerrero Ellie Guerin ’23 • Tori Mattie ’22 • Eve Poliskey ’24 Emerson Stout ’25 • Mary Swansburg ’22
Paraíso Latino
artistic director Andrea Taylor Andrea started dancing with her parents at age 0. Her early training was in ethnic and creative dance with her mother, Marianne Taylor, and Ruth Wheeler, co-director and founder of the Boston-based Dance Collective. Until age 17, she trained in gymnastics, Scottish dance, and finally modern/jazz/blues with Ann Brown Allen in Cambridge. At 23, after receiving her BFA in Dance from UMass Amherst, she began her professional career in contemporary dance forms. She danced with jazz and modern choreographers and companies, including Prometheus Dance Company, with which she travelled and performed internationally. Andy’s teaching career started at 9 years old in international dance and continues today in modern and jazz contemporary forms as well as international folkloric forms. She travels and teaches nationally and internationally as a teacher and is honored to have been teaching here at Wheaton since 2009. She is the artistic director of contemporary companies, Wheaton College Dance Co. and Back Pocket Dancers, as well as international groups, Mladost Folk Ensemble and Boston Scottish Country Dancers. Dance is a satisfying, overwhelming, strengthening, challenging, freeing discipline that applies to and enhances every day of life. Learning history, stress relief and self awareness are just some benefits of dance.
This performance includes use of bright lights and strobe effects throughout the program. Please take precautionary measures as needed. Pieces including strobes are marked with this symbol:
Songs heavily utalizing explicit lyrics will be indicated with this symbol:
exl Any audio or video recording of this production is prohibited
PARADIGM the wheaton college dance company presents
Andrea Taylor, artistic director
Phoenix Clarke, student production manager Cassandra Heleen, rehearsal director
the company Addie Busacco ’26, co-captain Cassandra Heleen ’26, co-captain Emma Baran ’27, events/logistics planner Summer Ramos ’27, social media coordinator Leah Corne ’28, company deputy Ayva Crosby ’26 Natalie Chapman ’27 Isabel Desrosiers ’27 Reese Gordon ’28 Emily Mellow ’28 Kiera Tramble ’29 Alayna Ellis ’29 Atlas Curran-Barker ’27, apprentice
program
Title (Music)
Choreographer (Lighting Design)
Teenage Wasteland (Baba O’Riley by The Who)
Tori Mattie (Max Ponticelli)
Emma Baran, Addie Busacco, Leah Corne, Alayna Ellis, Reese Gordon, Emily Mellow Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
Unchained Melody (Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers)
Eve Poliskey (Declan Kennedy ’27 & Cameron Desharnais ’27)
Emma Baran, Leah Corne, Ayva Crosby, Isabel Desrosiers, Reese Gordon, Emily Mellow Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
Bad Company (Papaoutai by Stromae)
Addie Busacco (Phoenix Clarke ’27 & Molly Mararian ’29)
Emma Baran, Addie Busacco, Natalie Chapman, Leah Corne, Ayva Crosby, Isabel Desrosiers, Alayna Ellis, Emily Mellow, Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
Giselle’s Friends (Giselle Act 1: Galop General by Adolphe Adam)
Leticia Guerrero (Amelie Shephard ’28 & Ethan Popick ’26)
Addie Busacco, Natalie Chapman, Alayna Ellis, Reese Gordon, Emily Mellow, Summer Ramos
El Perdedor (El Perdedor by Enrique Iglesias)
Geovana Herrera & Issac Jean (Angel Garcia, Jr. ’28 & Addie Black ’29)
Paraíso Latino: Carmen Almonte, Isaac Jean, Geovana Herrera, Victoria Helena Pereira, Emmanuel Reyes, Anali Taveras
Take it In, Bring it All (The Unspeakable World by Adi Goldstein ft. Alan Watts; Huldra by Gidge)
Mary Swansburg (Max Ponticelli)
Addie Busacco, Leah Corne, Reese Gordon, Emily Mellow, Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
program
Title (Music)
American Teenager (American Teenager by Ethel Cain)
Choreographer (Lighting Design)
Reese Gordon (Skye Lyons ’26 & Charlotte Mahoney ’29)
Emma Baran, Addie Busacco, Natalie Chapman, Leah Corne, Isabel Desrosiers, Alayna Ellis, Reese Gordon, Emily Mellow, Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
We Are the Champions (We Are the Champions by Queen)
Summer Ramos (Max Ponticelli)
Emma Baran, Leah Corne, Ayva Crosby, Isabel Desrosiers, Reese Gordon, Emily Mellow Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
INTERMISSION My Moon, My Man (My Moon, My Man by Feist)
Syd Alves (Jennalee Miller ’27 & Colin Bourget ’26)
Addie Busacco, Ayva Crosby, Natalie Chapman, Alayna Ellis, Reese Gordon, Summer Ramos
Mirror in the Sky (Landslide by Fleetwood Mac)
Addie Busacco (Ben Zaborski ’26) Addie Busacco
We Were Younger Yesterday (Cinnamon Girl by Lana Del Rey; Ribs by Lorde)
Ellie Guerin (Ben Zaborski ’26)
Emma Baran, Addie Busacco, Natalie Chapman, Leah Corne, Isabel Desrosiers, Alayna Ellis, Reese Gordon, Emily Mellow, Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
Romeo & Juliet (Kissing You by Craig Armstrong; Man of the House by Rachel Zegler)
Emily Mellow (Morgan Andrade ’26 & Matt Velez ’27)
Emma Baran, Addie Busacco, Natalie Chapman, Leah Corne, Alayna Ellis, Reese Gordon Emily Mellow, Kiera Tramble
program
Title (Music)
Sliver Springs (Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac)
Choreographer (Lighting Design)
Emerson Stout (Atlas Curran-Barker)
Emma Baran, Addie Busacco, Natalie Chapman, Leah Corne, Isabel Desrosiers, Emily Mellow, Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
exl
All Eyes on Me (All Eyes on Me by Bo Burnham)
Cassandra Heleen (Atlas Curran-Barker)
Cassandra Heleen Filmed by Kevin Heleen and Faith Morely; Edited by Kevin Heleen
Wild Blue (Cowboy Take Me Away by Fire Swimmers)
Nat Gibbs (Atlas Curran-Barker)
Addie Busacco, Ayva Crosby, Natalie Chapman, Alayna Ellis, Summer Ramos, Kiera Tramble
guest artists Paraíso Latino is Wheaton College’s first and only Latin dance team, founded in 2008. They perform a variety of styles that pertain to the Latin and Hispanic cultures. . Members: Carmen Almonte ’26, Geovana Herrera ’29, Isaac Jean ’26, Victoria Helena Pereira ’27, Emmanuel Reyes ’29, Anali Taveras ’28
guest choreographers Syd Alves, class of 2025, is from Swansea Massachusetts. She has been dancing since the age of 3 with training in ballet, jazz, tap, modern, hip hop, musical theater, and a variety of cultural dances. At Wheaton, she double majored in secondary education and English with a minor in dance. Syd was a member of both the WC Dance Company and Tap Out Loud; she was TOL’s treasurer, Co-Director, and Senior Advisor, and Social Media and Communications Coordinator as well as Co-Captain for the Company. She currently works as a 9th grade English teacher in Fall River, MA. Getting the opportunity to dance again and set this piece on the Company was a lot of fun, and she can’t wait to see it on stage.
Nat Gibbs, class of 2025, is from Seaside, California. They previously danced for 18 years with SpectorDance before moving to Motion Pacific, and have trained in ballet, contemporary, tap, hip-hop, jazz, musical theatre, and modern. They graduated from Wheaton with a degree in biology and minors in dance and Hispanic studies. During their time there, they were Co-Captain of the Dance Company for two years and a member of Tap Out Loud. They are so excited to have had the opportunity to choreograph for these wonderful dancers and can’t wait to see the amazing places they go! Elleanor “Ellie” Guerin is a 2023 Wheaton graduate from Cumberland, Rhode Island. She trained with the Academy of Tap, Jazz, Ballet, and Hip Hop from 2003–2019 studying tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary. In 2016, Ellie completed her dance teacher certification through the Dance Teacher’s Club of Boston. At Wheaton, Ellie was a psychology major with minors in education and philosophy. She was a four year Company member and one of the Dance Company’s Co-Captains as well as a member of Tap Out Loud. Ellie is currently a 6th grade special education teacher with continuing education from Rhode Island College. Ellie is beyond excited to showcase her piece of such incredible dancers. Leticia Guerrero a native of Venezuela, trained at the Keyla Ermecheo Ballet School in Caracas. She has performed with numerous companies including Festival Ballet Providence, Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Michigan Ballet, Charleston Ballet Theatre, and José Mateo’s Ballet Theatre, among others. She has performed principal roles in works by choreographers such as Gianni DiMarco, Viktor Plotnikov, and Eldar Aliev, and has danced repertoire by George Balanchine. She was recognized for representing Venezuela internationally with “projection, dignity, and beauty,” and received a Citizens Citation from former Providence Mayor David Cicilline for her dedication to the art of dance. A dedicated educator and ballet coach, Ms. Guerrero has taught and choreographed throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. She has also played an active role in staging ballets, working closely with choreographers in the rehearsal process. She is currently an Artistic Coach, Ballet Teacher, and Competition Ensemble Lead at Ballet RI and Elite Academy of Dance, and has been a member of the Wheaton College Dance Company faculty for the past 16 years. Tori Mattie, class of 2022, is from North Haven, Connecticut. She began dancing at age 5 and was trained in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theater, lyrical, and hip hop. At Wheaton, she majored in English and theatre with a concentration in dance. Tori was a member of the Wheaton College Dance Company and Tap Out Loud for 4 years and spent her senior year as Co-Captain of the Dance Company and Co-Director of Tap. After graduation, Tori spent two seasons dancing with Garet&Co, a professional contemporary dance company based in CT, and currently, she teaches at Dance Central and Old Lyme Dance Center. Tori is so grateful for the opportunity to set this piece on such an incredibly talented and hard-working company of dancers.
Eve Poliskey began dancing at age 3 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and trained at Cape Ann Center for Dance in Beverly. She has performed at Lincoln Center and studied works by Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham. Eve graduated from Wheaton College in 2024 with a degree in psychology and public health. She has since worked as a summer choreographer for a musical in Manchester-by-the-Sea, and returned to performing in 2025 with DanceWorks Boston. She is grateful to continue sharing her love of dance with Wheaton again, and meet new company members. Emerson Stout, class of 2025, is from Scituate, Massachusetts. They began dancing at age 3 and trained in ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatics, lyrical, and hip-hop, while simultaneously competing in dance for 11 years. Emerson was a member of the Wheaton College Dance Company and Tap Out Loud for 4 years, while serving as Co-Captain of the Dance Company and Senior Advisor for Tap their senior year, and as Secretary for Tap their Junior year. Now, Emerson is the tap instructor at South Shore Dance Ensemble, teaching ballet, jazz, and tap to children ages 5-18. Emerson is extremely grateful for the time and energy this wonderful company put into making their vision come to life and the chance to work with such a talented group of dancers. Mary Swansburg is a freelance artist from Groton, Massachusetts. She began her training at L’Ecole de Ballet, where she studied ballet, contemporary, jazz, and tap. She performed regularly for 10 years with the Concord-based ballet company, Dance Prism, and became an apprentice company member in 2016. Mary graduated from Wheaton in 2022, where she was a member of the Dance Company and Tap Out Loud before becoming a Dance Co captain in her senior year. After graduating, Mary relocated to Chicago to continue her dance career with Winifred Haun & Dancers and Chicago Movement Collective, and has worked with choreographers such as Jacqueline Burnette, Regina Perry-Carr, Sarita Smith Childs, and Imani English. Mary has been grateful to set several works at Wheaton over the years, and had the opportunity to set works for Winifred Haun & Dancers and Chicago Movement Collective, the latter of which was featured in Chicago Live! At Navy Pier in 2025. Mary was thrilled to return to Wheaton this spring and extends a heartfelt thank you to the company for all of their hard work in bringing this piece to life!
student choreographers Addie Busacco, class of 2026, is from Allamuchy, New Jersey, and is currently pursuing a major in psychology, is one of the Co-Captains of Wheaton College Dance Company, and is also a member of Tap Out Loud. This marks her fourth year with the Dance Company, where she is thrilled to bring another original choreography to the Wheaton stage. Addie began dancing at the age of two, and she has since trained in many styles of dance, including ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, hip-hop, tap, and musical theater at the North Jersey School of Dance Arts and the New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet. Addie is beyond excited to perform alongside
such a talented group of dancers and is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share her choreography with the company! She wants to thank her family, her friends, the theater tech crew, and all of the company members for supporting her throughout her years at Wheaton and for bringing the show to life! Reese Gordon, a class of 2028 dean’s list environmental science student, was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. She began dancing 17 years ago at a local YMCA, moving to 9 years in competition dancing before joining New England Dance Ensemble as a pre-professional ballet student. She has been a Dance Company member for 3 semesters, studying ballet, lyrical, modern, contemporary, jazz, etc. Reese is dedicating her first choreographed piece with Dance Company this year to her best friend, Gabrielle Lazzar, who has conquered some of the toughest battles with unwavering resilience. She is so excited to display her passion for movement to the audience with the help of her fellow members of the Company! Cassandra Heleen, class of 2026, is from Middleboro, Massachusetts. She is a double major in biology and English and is Captain of the Dance Company, as well as one of the Senior Advisors of Tap Out Loud. She grew up dancing at Erica’s Dance Academy, where she trained for 16 years in styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, lyrical, hip hop, musical theatre, and acro. This is her 4th year in the Company and 20th year dancing. She is so excited to take on new roles during this show and watch such talented dancers and wonderful people shine bright on the Weber stage! Emily Mellow, class of 2028, is from Falmouth, Maine. She is a creative writing and elementary education double major. Emily grew up dancing at a local studio in Maine, where she studied ballet, jazz, and tap, and she’s been dancing for as long as she can remember. This is her first time choreographing for the company, and she’s enjoyed the process of teaching her piece to the dancers. Summer Ramos, class of 2027, is from Fairhaven, Massachusetts. She is a psychology major with a public health minor and is the current social media coordinator for the Dance Company. She danced for 4 years before coming to Wheaton, at Cheryl McCormack Academy of Dance, where she trained in tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and lyrical. This is her 3rd year with the Company, and she has enjoyed every minute of it. She is so grateful for the people who have made this year possible and so proud to be choreographing for this amazing group of dancers. She is so excited for everyone to see this show, as well as all the hard work and time we have dedicated to the art of dance!
technical credits Technical Director/Projection Design Stage Manager
Max Ponticelli Phoenix Clarke ’27
Assistant Stage Managers
Addie Black ’29 Cassandra Heleen ’26
Light Board Operator
Ben Zaborski ’26
Sound Board Operator
Katelyn Spader ’27
Lighting Designers
Max Ponticelli Morgan Andrade ‘26, Addie Black ‘29 Colin Bourget ‘26, Phoenix Clarke ‘27 Atlas Curran-Barker ’27, Cameron Desharnais ‘27 Angel Garcia, Jr. ‘28, Declan Kennedy ‘27 Skye Lyons ‘26, Molly Magarian ‘29 Charlotte Mahoney ‘29, Jennalee Miller ‘27 Ethan Popick ‘26, Amelie Shephard ‘28 Matt Velez ‘27, Ben Zaborski ’26
theatre staff Associate Director, Arts Events Publicity & Graphic Designer Technical Coordinator for the Arts Box Office/Front of House
Jessica F. Kuszaj Kristina Kalogeras Carmen Almonte ’26 Eli Cowie’26 Bessie Reina Figueroa ’26 Maggie Gould ’26 Aslan Gustafson ’27 Rose Gifford ’28
special thanks The Company would like to extend their sincere thanks to all those who devoted their time and talent to this performance. We would also like to thank all of our guest artists, choreographers and our amazing tech crew for their contributions. Thank you all for making this show a success! —The Company Phoenix Clarke Max Ponticelli Jessica Kuszaj Andrea Taylor Leticia Guerrero Amy Burns Paraíso Latino Shelby Smiley Rachel Swansburg Atlas Curran-Barker Kevin Heleen Faith Morely Student technical and box office crew