Faculty

Jillian Peterson is from Baltimore, MD. Jillian graduated from Slippery Rock University with a BA in dance. In the summer of 2008, Jillian traveled to India to study south Indian dance form Bharatanatyam with master guru Revathi Ramachandran. Jillian has had many notable performances in Washington D.C. while being a member of the company ReVision Dance Company, the resident Modern Company of DancePlace. She performs with the acclaimed Bollywood dance company AATMA Performing Arts and toured internationally with their show “Mystic India: The World Tour”. In 2016, Jillian performed with the YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox at Radio City Music Hall.  Recently, Jillian has choreographed pieces for universities including Georgetown University and Ohio Northern University.

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.