Amy Marshall
Artistic Director / Choreographer

Amy Marshall spent her early performing career based in New York City and dancing around the world with the companies of Paul Taylor and David Parsons, H. T. Chen and Dancers, Cortez and Company and many more. Born in Kyoto, Japan, she possesses an innate curiosity and passion for cultural history. The essence of her art is dance as metaphor for life’s experiences. After a decade of performing professionally, Ms. Marshall established the Amy Marshall Dance Company in 2000. Her motivation to test the physical boundaries of dance through her work established the unique character of her choreography. Trained at Goucher College with a double major in Dance and Theater, Ms. Marshall has become a renowned choreographer in her own right. Her repertoire has been set on professional companies and universities across the nation. In addition, Ms. Marshall serves as a mentor to dancers and choreographers through her work on numerous panels including American College Dance Festival, North Carolina School of the Arts “Arts Exchange”, and South Carolina Dance Association. She is also an Associate Professor of Dance of Hofstra University. Ms. Marshall sees dance as both the embodiment of life’s complexity and the pure elation it imparts to the world.

Chad Levy
Executive Director

Chad Levy was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. At an early age, Chad found a love for the arts through his work in television, film, and musical theater. One of his earliest achievements was his performance in the world-renowned film, “Dirty Dancing” in 1986 with stars, Patrick Swayze and Cynthia Rhodes. His background as a competitive gymnast, diver, and martial artist led him to even greater aspirations. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from North Carolina School of the Arts and moved to New York City in 1998 where he was danced with the Taylor 2 Dance Company. After touring nationally with Taylor 2 for three years, Chad left the company in 2001 to join Amy Marshall and her company full-time as the Executive Director and principal dancer. He has been a guest artist and teacher with the New England Academy of Dance, Olga Dunn Dance Company, and the American Academy of Ballet. Chad has served as a panelist for organizations including, the North Carolina School of the Arts “Arts Exchange”, DANZJAM Conventions, and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) to speak about the importance of dance and the performing arts.

Dancers
Alexandra Karigan

Alexandra Karigan was raised in Dallas, Texas where she began her dance training at Dallas Dance Academy, the official school of Texas Ballet Theater. In May 2007, Alexandra graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University. While attending SMU, she showcased her original choreography in multiple concerts as well as danced works by Martha Graham, George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Marius Petipa, Anna Sokolow, and Alison Chase. Alexandra joined AMDC in August 2007.

Louis Acquisto

Louis Acquisto was raised in St. Louis, Missouri where he studied at the Center of Creative Arts (C.O.C.A). He graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2009 with a B.F.A. in dance performance and a minor in Religious Studies. While attending SMU he performed works by Paul Taylor, Eleo Pomare, Alvin Ailey, and Alison Chase. Louis joined the AMDC for their tour of Poland in the summer of 2009.

Kelly McCormick Bangs

Kelly McCormick Bangs grew up in Kokomo, Indiana where she began her formal dance training at the age of seven. She is a distinguished graduate of Indiana University with a B.S. in Kinesiology-Dance and a minor in theatre. While attending IU, Kelly performed the works of Ben Munisteri, Elizabeth Limons Shea, Laura Poole, Bill Evans, Paul Taylor, and Martha Wittman to name a few. She has had the opportunity to work with many dance companies and individual artists since arriving in New York City in the spring of 2009, but AMDC has a special place in her heart, standing out in terms of caliber and character among them all. Kelly joined AMDC in summer of 2010.

Kimberly Lyons

Kimberly Lyons was raised in Plano, TX where she began her dance training under Anna-Marie Ewert-Pittman at Gotta Dance. While there, she was a member of the Plano Metropolitan Ballet from 2000-2006. While in college, Kimberly was asked to perform at the 2008 commencement ceremony, and the 2010 Plano Dance Festival as a guest artist. In May 2010, she graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BFA in Dance Performance. While attending SMU, she performed works by Jose’ Limon, Martha Graham, Nathan Montoya, Maurice Bejart, Paul Taylor, and Robert Battle. Kimberly joined AMDC in August 2010.

Shannon MacDowell

Shannon MacDowell was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. Since moving to New York, she has had the pleasure of working with IsadoraNOW, Glitterati Dance Company, Meagan Woods and Company, Tze Chun Dance Company, and Nimbus Contemporary Ballet. While earning her BFA from Rutgers University, Ms. MacDowell’s dance film, White Flash, Black Rain, was shown at the Wayne Sables International Film Festival in the UK. She also earned the Margery J Turner Award for Choreography and her piece, Timeless, Here, made its New York premier at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre fall of 2009. Ms. MacDowell joined AMDC in August of 2010.

Zac Hammer

Zac Hammer (Guest Artist) began his dance training at age ten with Charlotte Wendel and Densil Adams. During his early training, he apprenticed with Ballet Oklahoma, under the direction of Bryan Pitts. In 2007, Zac graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in dance performance from Southern Methodist University, where his original choreography was produced as part of the Mainstage Season throughout his tenure. While at SMU he danced works by Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, William Forsythe, Agnes DeMille and Alison Chase. He has been cast in numerous industrials, and is a nationally recognized teacher of ballet, modern, and jazz. For the past three years Zac toured both abroad and domestically with the world-renowned dance company, Parsons Dance, and this fall he joined the New York City cast of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Currently he is a member of the Nicholas Andre Dance Company, Amy Marshall Dance Company, and dre.dance. He continues to dance, teach and choreograph throughout the country.

Alison Cook

Alison Cook (Guest Artist) began her dance studies in Connecticut at The Lee Lund Studio of Dance before earning a BFA in Dance from The Boston Conservatory where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was awarded The Ruth Sandholm Scholorship Award under the direction of Yasuko Tokunaga. As a member of The Boston Conservatory Dance Theater Alison performed lead roles in works by Monica Leevy, Jose Limon, Paul Taylor, and Martha Graham. She has performed musical theater works as well, including Pippin. Alison was a member of Taylor 2, performing and teaching internationally from 2002-2008. She has performed with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, David Dorfman Dance, Infinity Dance Theater, and KM & Co. Alison has worked with choreographers Naomi Goldberg Haas, Val Suarez, Milton Myers, and Gabriola Polar. Recently she has worked and performed with Carolina Ballet Theater, Collective Body Dance Lab, Ballet Verite, The Thang Dao Dance Company, Trainor Dance, Marinov Dance, C. Eule Dance, as well as Zvidance. She enjoys teaching dance to people of all ages and abilities, and is currently on faculty of The Joffrey Ballet School, Dance In Grandma Attic, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Alison recently choreographed Pelican Dream on the dancers of Carolina Ballet Theater and the students of Summer Works 2010. She also enjoys modeling. Ali’s heart is filled with love and joy dancing with The Amy Marshall Dance Company and would like to thank each person on the team for their support.

Staff