Company
Betsi Graves, founder and director of Urbanity Dance, is originally from Orlando, Florida and holds a BA from Boston College. Her dance training includes studies in ballet, jazz, and modern dance at Studio 5d under the direction of Gaymarie Tomlinson and Orlando Ballet. At the age of 17, she was selected by Mia Michaels to tour across the U.S. on full scholarship with LA Undergound. She has taught ballet and jazz at Harvard University, Boston College, and several Boston-area dance schools; and is currently on faculty at Boston Ballet, Regis College, and Urbanity Dance. As a choreographer, Ms. Graves has won national choreography awards and judged for dance competitions throughout New England. Her choreography has recently garnered grant support from Massachusetts Cultural Council, the City of Boston and Boston Dance Alliance. She is an alumna of Jacob’s Pillow Choreographer’s Lab (2006) and Green Street Studios Emerging Artists Program (2008). She currently dances for Karen Murphy-Fitch’s Falling Flight Project and in fall 2008 danced as a street performer for Theatre Mama and Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza. Her choreography has been reviewed as “soulful and inspiring,” “unique and full of energy,” and “gutsy and culturally poignant.” Recent projects included Urbanity Dance’s The Story of Stuff (November, 2010), Contemporary Theatre of Boston’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (June, 2010) and Urbanity’s Between the Lines (November, 2011) an interactive dance journey and collaboration with artists in Boston’s SOWA district. In 2011, Graves’ choreography was featured at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Women in Dance at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre (December, 2011), Endicott College, Plymouth State University, Boston College, EarthDance and Mass MOCA. Commissions in 2011-2012 include an African Opera, “Missa Luba” for UMASS (December, 2011), Women in Dance (Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, New York City, January 2012), and the Dance Gallery Festival (Houston, TX and Alvin Ailey Citigroup, NYC, December 2011). Get more dirt on Betsi.
Kathleen Pantos
Associate Director
Kathleen Pantos is a highly-sought contemporary dance educator and performer, well-known for inspiring youth to advance both technically and creatively. Pantos began her training in dance at a young age at a local studio; she then furthered her artistry in college at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She was honored to work with both Battleworks and Koresh Dance. She graduated in 2008, with an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance, under Director of Dance Amanda Whitworth. While at Plymouth State University, Pantos was awarded the prestigious Senior Dance Achievement Award. Pantos currently dances professionally with Tributary Dance in New Hampshire (2011) and Urbanity Dance in Boston (2008-2011). In 2011, she was promoted to Associate Director of Urbanity Dance, Boston's leading contemporary dance company. Highlights from her career as a professional dancer include touring as far as Houston, Texas, performing at Jacob's Pillow, photographing with Lois Greenfield, and choreographing for Urbanity Dance's VERSUS (May 2010) and MIXTAPE (April 2011). Upcoming endeavors include directing Urbanity's Apprentice Program (an audition-only program for conservatory students), assisting choreography for UMASS' Missa Lubba, and performing at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre in New York City (October-December, 2011). Kathleen is thrilled to share her passion for dance with her students and creating with such dedicated dancers. She is grateful to be back for Urbanity’s fourth season.
Carolyn Breton
Carolyn Breton began her dance training at Lisa Pilato Dance Center in her hometown of Dracut, MA. She continued her studies at the University of the Arts and went on to receive her BFA from the Boston Conservatory under the direction of Yasuko Tokunaga. She has performed works by Alwin Nikolais, Manfred Fishbeck, and as a featured soloist in Jose Limon’s The Winged and There is a Time. In her senior year Carolyn assistant choreographed “Music Man Jr.” in Arlington, MA under the guidance of Boston Conservatory ballet faculty Denise Pons. She choreographed Roger’s & Hammerstein’s “Allegro” for the Lyric Stage Company summer program in 2011. Carolyn was also a chosen choreographer for Boston Conservatory’s “SpringWorks” premiering The Chase in spring 2010. Along with performing with Urbanity, she teaches dance and choreographs in Massachusetts. Carolyn is grateful for the opportunity to perform with Urbanity in venues such as Jacob's Pillow and Ailey Citigroup Theatre and thankful to be working with talented, creative artists.
Lisa Cole
Lisa Cole began her dance training in Georgia, with Good Moves Dance Consort, under the direction of Annette Lewis. As a member of The Consort, she performed in the Modern Atlanta Dance Festival, Inman Park Dance Festival, Decatur Arts Festival and with Full-Radius Dance. She has attended summer programs with the José Limón and Paul Taylor dance companies, the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp and Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Traditions, where she had the pleasure of working with esteemed choreographers Aszure Barton, Helen Pickett and Tero Saarinen. In 2006, Lisa performed as a guest artist with the Limón Dance Company in College Park, Maryland, and participated in The Missa Brevis Project in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2011 Lisa graduated cum laude from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in dance. During her time at The Conservatory she had the privilege of performing José Limón’s Missa Brevis and Psalm, in which she performed the role of “The Expiatory Figure.” She also performed featured roles in Von choreographed by Jim Viera, Muñecos choreographed by Gianni Di Marco and Mechanical Organ choreographed by Alwin Nikolais. In 2010 Lisa was selected to participate in The Boston Conservatory’s Opening Note Gala, where she performed Alwin Nikolais’s celebrated work, Tensile Involvement, restaged by Alberto del Saz. During her senior year at The Conservatory, Lisa worked closely with Jennifer Scanlon as an assistant and rehearsal director for the reconstruction of José Limón’s masterwork Psalm.
Melenie Diarbekirian
Melenie Diarbekirian is a native of Maynard, Massachusetts. She began her formal dance training at the Acton School of Ballet under the artistic direction of founders Kathryn Anderson and Chip Morris. While there, she was also a member of the Commonwealth Ballet Company where she performed in many performances of The Nutcracker dancing the roles of Spanish, Arabian, Snowflake and Dew Drop Fairy. Melenie received her BFA in Dance from the Boston Conservatory in May of 2011. There, she performed works by dance icons Jose Limon, Anna Sokolow, and Alwin Nikolais and was also featured in world premieres of Thang Dao, Gianni DiMarco, and Jim Viera. Most recently, Melenie performed with Reagle Music Theatre in the dance ensemble of Oklahoma!, where she danced the original Agnes De Mille choreography restaged by Gemze de Lappe. Melenie also dances with Luminarium Dance Company and is excited to be a part of Urbanity.
Colleen Edwards
Colleen Edwards hails from Boulder Colorado where she began her dancing career. She performed in Classical ballets such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, and The Nutcracker with the Boulder Ballet, her roles over the years included, Doll, Marzipan, Snow, Flowers, Chinese, and Party girl. Colleen joined the Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet (LSC) as a junior company member when the company started; she performed with LSC premiers such as, Love Crimes, and toured with the company. When Colleen was 17 years old she choreographed and produced her first full length show that she also danced in, Oasis. Colleen attended the Boston Conservatory and performed in many reparatory pieces including Limon’s Missa Brevis, Fokine’s Les Sylphide, and Tudor’s Dark Elegies. Colleen received her BFA from the Conservatory in 2008. Since graduating Colleen has performed in the Washington DC Dance Festival, and in High School Musical 2 while in New York. Colleen spent a year performing in Louisiana with the Baton Rouge Ballet Theater as a soloist in their Nutcracker: Tale from the Bayou, and as the Winter Fairy in Cinderella.
Tabitha Liversidge
Hailing from Andover MA, Tabitha Liversidge began her training at the Andover School of Ballet. After realizing that dancing was her lifelong dream, she continued her training in the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio’s Boston Youth Moves and the Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program. Tabitha recently received her BFA in Modern Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. There she had the pleasure of performing works by great artists including Bob Fosse (Steam Heat), Louis Johnson (Forces of Rhythm), and Merrian Soto (Historias), as well as being one of the first college groups to perform Martha Graham’s “Panorama” within a Graham Company program. She was a part of the University’s Choreography Emphasis Program and received the Dance Faculty Recognition Award for Excellence in Dance. Tabitha has been a member of the Windhover Dance Company in Rockport MA performing works by Doris Humphrey. She currently dances with Judith Wombwell in Andover and 40 Steps Dance Company in Nahant. This is Tabitha’s third season with Urbanity.
Nicole Pavone
Nicole Pavone is a Rochester, New York native who graduated from the University at Buffalo with a B.A. in Dance and minor in Technical Theatre Design. Nicole studied under the teachings of Thomas Ralabate, William E. Thomas, and Jeanne Fornarola with a concentration in Jazz Dance. She performed with University at Buffalo’s Zodiaque Dance Company and was a set and design assistant to Lynne Koscielniak on Neglia Ballet's Performance of the 2009 Nutcracker. Relocating to Boston in 2009, Nicole began performing with Urbanity Dance, as well as making appearances with Prometheus Dance Company, Dancers Inc., Boston Contemporary Theatre (Dancer and Assistant to Elizabeth Graves in A Midsummer Night's Dream), and Production Value for DebMed. Nicole has been privileged to perform with Urbanity Dance for three seasons, including a soloist role in the Urbanity Production of The Story of Stuff (Factobot) and performing at Jacob's Pillow's Summer Dance Festival 2011.
Erica Toedt
