Who We Are

Executive Leadership

Alexandra Nowakowski (She/Her)

President & CEO

Letitia Hays (She/Her)

Chief Operating Officer

Ivy Chow (She/Her)

Executive Director, CityDance Studios

Program Leadership

Asanga Domask (She/Her)

Director of Student Services, Conservatory

Sarah J. Ewing (She/Her)

Head of Programming/Director, Contemporary Training, Conservatory

Kaitlin Madzelan (She/Her)

Director of Education, Studios & Faculty

Marianna Rozanova

Ballet Program Director, Falls Church, Conservatory

Marianna Rozanova is an accomplished ballet professional with an extensive career as both a Ballerina and master instructor. She began her ballet training at the age of 9 at the esteemed Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, studying under legendary mentor Natalia Dudinskaya, and receiving additional instruction from Konstantin Sergeev, Irina Gensler, and Galina Novitskaya. After graduating in 1985, Ms. Rozanova danced as a Prima Ballerina with the Mikhailovsky Theatre for 12 years, performing lead roles in both classical and contemporary repertoires. With more than 25 years of teaching experience, Ms. Rozanova is recognized for her expertise in the Vaganova Method and her ability to train dancers at every level—from beginner to pre-professional. From 2017 to 2022, she served as Senior Lead Instructor at the Kirov Academy in Washington, D.C., where many of her students achieved top honors at prestigious competitions, including the International Ballet Competition (ADC IBC) and Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) semifinals. Ms. Rozanova was named Outstanding Teacher at the 2022 Youth America Grand Prix. Most recently, Ms. Rozanova served as Academy Director at Alchemy Ballet. Under her leadership as Academy Director, Alchemy Ballet was honored with the 2025 YAGP Outstanding School Award.

Colleen Queen (She/Her)

Director of Programs, Studios & Faculty

Programming

Anna Canova (She/Her)

Program Manager, Conservatory

Alicia Canterna

Associate Director, Pre-Professional Conservatory Program

Alicia Canterna is a seasoned professional in the world of Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance.

Cristina Vasilis (She/Her)

Senior Manager, Day Program & Competitions, Conservatory

Jocelyn Hartman (She/Her)

Program Assistant, Studios & Faculty

Katie Creed (She/Her)

Program Administrator & Social Media Coordinator, Studios & Faculty

Marie McNair (She/Her)

Program Specialist, Studios & Faculty, Conservatory

Molly Hohlt

Director, Ballet Program, Conservatory

Rotita “Ro” Cunningham (She/Her)

Program Development Specialist & Costume Manager, Conservatory

Stanislav Issaev

Ballet Master, Conservatory

Robert J. Priore (He/Him)

Choreographer-in-Residence, Conservatory

Robert J. Priore is a queer artist who is committed to exploring the ever-evolving issues that exist within the LGBTQIA+ community. Currently he is most interested in exploring movement generated as an exploration of the duality between queer joy and sadness and how they truly are two sides of the same coin. He founded his contemporary dance company PrioreDance in the fall of 2016. Additionally he is very proud to be a founding member of Washington based Company | E. Robert also serves as the Choreographer-In-Residence for the CityDance Conservatory as well as an Ignite Artist. Robert studied dance at Point Park University. Since 2016 Robert has been named an outstanding fellow in the arts in the District of Columbia. Additionally he has been awarded a Projects, Events and Festivals Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities since 2018 to create original evening length works. Robert was commissioned to create a work for the Mark Twain Prize Award Ceremony, which was nationally televised on PBS mid-November 2018. Robert was awarded the Pola Nirenska Memorial Award in 2019 for outstanding contribution to art in the District of Columbia. In Fall of 2021, Robert became the Director of Dance at The Madeira School, as well as adjunct faculty at George Mason University. Robert's choreographic work has been seen in almost thirty countries, and continues to hope to see his work throughout the US and the world! Most recently Robert was awarded the Washington Award by S&R Evermay for his outstanding contributions to dance in Washington DC. In 2024 alongside long time friend and collaborator Robert launched a dual city contemporary dance company Compania Medusa with Magali Dominique Zato. Follow Robert on his journey through instagram @Robbiedanzar & @companiamedusa.

Zoe Zitner (She/Her)

Dance Team Assistant, Studios & Faculty

Operations & Administration

Sabrina Clarke (She/Her)

Program Manager, Studios

Jessica Denson (she/her)

Registrar, Conservatory

Kathleen Timm (She/Her)

Sr. Manager, Business Operations

Natalie Palumbo (She/Her)

Front Desk Manager, Conservatory

Katherine Weaver

Marketing Associate, Conservatory

Katherine Weaver, B.A. McGill University, is excited to join the CityDance team as Development and Social Media Assistant. As a former collegiate and international level sailor, Katherine holds a great appreciation for the environment CityDance Conservatory provides young people in their journey towards mastery and performance at the highest levels of dance. She brings a love for the arts as well as proven experience in fundraising and external communications.

CityDance Board

Kay Kendall, Chair

Dawn Hendricks

Vivek Jain

Barbara Liotta

Scott Logan

Shane Mulhern

Nancy Tartt

Karen Thomas

Enrique Zaldivar

Alexandra Nowakowski, President & CEO

Conservatory Founding Artistic Director

Lorraine Audeoud Spiegler

Executive Leadership

Program Leadership

Programming

Operations & Administration

Locations

Administrative Office