DTSB&Co Dancers

Click photo to view biography
Connie Fink
Connie Fink, Managing Director and Educational Principal
Photo credit: Mary Noble Ours
high res version: b/w
Connie Fink received her Master's of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Maryland, College Park. She has danced for numerous companies and choreographers in the Washington, D.C. and New York City areas, including City Dance Ensemble, Mason/Rhynes Productions, Doug Varone, Dan Wagoner, Meriam Rosen and Ed Tyler. She currently teaches at The George Washington University and Episcopal High School. Ms. Fink is a wellness consultant and holds certifications in personal training, pilates, yoga, kettlebells and TRX. She has toured extensively with the company and has received critical acclaim and two Metro DC Dance Awards for her performances.

Kelly Southall
Kelly Southall, Associate Artistic Director
Photo credit: Jeffrey Watts
high res version: b/w color
Kelly Southall graduated with honors from Ohio University, earning a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography. He performed in works by Sean Curran, Azaguno, African Dance and Percussion Ensemble and the Shelter Repertory Dance Theater. Southall's choreography has been performed at the American College Dance Festival and at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He won the 2001 US Midwest Championships in Traditional Irish Dance.  Southall is a faculty member at The George Washington University and coordinates the DTSB&Co. Asian American Dance Program.  
Ricardo Alvarez
Ricardo Alvarez
high res version: b/w
Ricardo Alvarez is a graduate of Indiana University with a BFA in Graphic Design and a BA in Creative Studies in Dance and Technology, with honors. In 2005 he was the recipient of the Battenhouse Award for Outstanding Performance in Contemporary Dance by the National Society of Arts and Letters, Bloomington Chapter. He also attended the American Dance Festival on scholarship in 2006. Alvarez also received a fellowship through the Hispanic Scholarship Fund/McNamara Family Grant for his work in dance and technology. In 2005, he had the pleasure of presenting his studies in video dance collaborations at the National Dance Education Conference in Buffalo, NY. His dance for camera work has been featured nationally in numerous galleries and film festivals.
Christin Arthur
Christin Arthur
Photo credit: Laura McDonald
high res version: b/w color
Christin Authur was born into a military family at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was raised on the Presidio of San Francisco, California and Fort Douglas, Utah. She began her ballet training at the age of five in Salt Lake City, Utah and embarked upon her path toward a professional dance career with the Ballet West Academy at the University of Utah at age 10. Under the tutelage of Sharee Lane she danced principal roles in Ballet West Academy programs and corps de ballet roles with Ballet West that included The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and A Mid-Summer Nights Dream. Christin also participated in summer programs at the New Zealand School of Dance, the Hong Kong International Ballet School, Jacob’s Pillow and the Berlin State Ballet School. Christin continued her studies at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C.. Upon graduation from the Kirov Academy in 2002 she joined the Universal Ballet Company in Seoul, South Korea. She danced roles in Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Shim Chung and soloist roles in Colors and Paganini Rhapsody; both original works by Brian Yoo. Early in 2008, she performed a guest principal role in an original contemporary piece created by Rick McCullough of Florida State University, and staged by the Columbia Classical Ballet, under Radenko Pavlovich. Most recently Christin has performed in Montreal, Quebec with Les Grands Ballet De Canadien in their 2008-2011 production of the Nutcracker, as well as the South Carolina Contemporary Dance Company. Throughout her training and career she has studied Pilates, Yoga, and GYROTONIC® She is now a certified GYROTONIC® and Pilates instructor.
Yeonjin Cho
Yeonjin Cho
Photo credit: Jeff Watts
high res version: b/w color
Yeonjin Cho was born in Pusan, South Korea and started taking ballet at age 13. She continued her dance training at Duck-won Performing Arts High School and Chung-Ang University. After graduating Cho performed as a guest artist in a Korea National Ballet production of "The Nutcracker", choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich. In 2002 Cho joined the Korea National Ballet and a year later she transitioned to the Canada National Ballet School. She completed her professional training in 2006 at the 'Academie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace' de Monaco under the direction of Marika Besobrasova. Cho moved to Los Angeles, CA where she started her freelance dance career. She performed with City Ballet of Los Angeles, Pasadena Dance Theater,  and Monet Ballet.  Cho taught at Lee Ballet Academy and has been certified as a Bikram Yoga instructor. Currently, Cho is living in Washington DC pursuing an MFA in Dance at George Washington University.
Katia Chupashko
Katia Chupashko
Photo credit: Jeff Watts
high res version: b/w color
Katia Chupashko graduated with honors from The George Washington University where she majored in Business and Dance. She has participated in company teaching residencies at Georgetown and George Washington University and has had the honor to tour internationally with the company.
Sarah Halzack
Sarah Halzack
Photo credit: Jeff Watts
high res version: b/w color
Sarah Halzack graduated from The George Washington University with degrees in Journalism and Dance. She has performed with The Maida Withers Dance Construction Company and The Sonia Plumb Dance Company and was an intern at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Halzack is also a member of Unevenlane Dance Company, directed by Mary Lane.
Felipe Oyarzun
Felipe Oyarzun
Photo credit: Jeff Watts
high res version: b/w color
Felipe Oyarzunl is from Santiago, Chile.  He began dancing at the age of 12 and has since received Chile's Best Dancer Inter-American Circle of Dance Professionals Award, First Place standard mode in Ballroom dance and the Best All Around Group in Hip Hop.  Oyarzun also ran his own folkloric company in Santiago which toured extensively. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Dance with honors from the University of Chile. Oyarzun has danced in various choreographies which have led to multiple tours in Chile and abroad.
Ben Sanders
Ben Sanders
Photo credit: Laura McDonald
high res version: b/w color
Ben Sanders (Apprentice) is a Theatre and Dance major at The George Washington University where he is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Sanders trained with Dawn Glass in Pennsylvania and has danced as a featured dancer with the Acts of Kindness Theatre Company in shows such as Cats, Peter Pan, and Hairspray
Tati Valle-Riestra
Tati Valle-Riestra
Photo credit: Jeff Watts
high res version: b/w color
Tati (Maria Del Carmen) Valle-Riestra was originally trained in Latin America where she danced with various contemporary dance and dance theater companies such as Retazos, Humanizarte, Pata de Cabra and Integro.  She has toured Europe and Latin America extensively and is critically acclaimed throughout Latin and South America.