Brandon Goldstein

Brandon Goldstein is 20 and a junior at New York University studying Economics and Psychology. He was born and raised in San Jose, California, where he took Russian folk dance classes at Firebird Dance Studio outside of school for about 11 years. Starting at 6 years old, Brandon has been performing at Russian centers, festivals, and homes for the elderly. He even won an international dance competition in Spain with Firebird's Armenian all-boys group dance in July 2019. With Firebird closing due to COVID and Brandon's move to New York, he hopes to continue developing his passion for dancing through Dance to Unite. He also hopes to share his ideas about how dance can bring people together and create everlasting positive relationships with people from all over the world.

trisha senthilkumar

Trisha Senthilkumar is 19 and a junior at NYU studying Global Public Health and Biology on a premed track. She can speak 5 languages and has been able to form many deep connections with people of different backgrounds. As an aspiring physician, her goal is to work with underserved diverse patient populations, a passion inspired by being an EMT in Brooklyn. She was born in India but raised in New Jersey. She joined a competitive dance team in middle school and has been performing many different styles at competitions and shows. Her favorite experience has been dancing during half-time at the Brooklyn Nets basketball game at Madison Square Garden. Since she was 4, she has been using dance as a vehicle for creative self-expression while connecting to herself and others. She has been teaching dance to children with special needs for 4 years throughout high school and helping them develop self-confidence brings her joy. After moving to New York, she has been looking for a way to continue this passion and was hence excited to come across the inclusive community fostered by Dance To Unite!

aritree bal

Aritree Bal is a senior at NYU studying Applied Psychology. She has been dancing since she was five years old and feels as though dance is her true passion in life. She specializes in an Indian classical dance form called Kathak and has experience in other dance forms such as contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, and more. She also has experience performing, choreographing, and touring internationally as a soloist. Aritree’s calling in life is to create positive change through the arts. She is grateful to be a part of Dance to Unite to do just that!

Geena Kim

Geena is a junior at Columbia University studying biology and dance. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, she found a rich appreciation for diversity and community building when she moved to the US in 8th grade to attend school in Connecticut. Since moving to New York, volunteering with Dance to Unite has been one of the most meaningful experiences for her. She is grateful to have found a community of people who are driven by the same passion to foster a tight-knit community grounded in positive values. She joined the Dance to Unite team last year as an intern and has since progressed to a member of the staff as a TikTok manager while continuing teaching as a co-lead teacher in CPC PS 2. She is thrilled to be giving back to the dance community by teaching the future generation not only the steps but to see the big picture, appreciate cultural diversity, and communicate with one another through the universal language.

Vivian Han

Vivian Han is a sophomore at New York University majoring in social work. She began her journey in ballet at a young age back home in Shanghai, China. Even when she travels to other countries for school, she still dances with her friends casually as a hobby. She believes using dance as a medium to work with kids will be an extremely rewarding process! Helping to implement Dance to Unite values through the practice of dance will build a solid ground for our future generations! Therefore brings so much meaning to her work here.

Julia Lapaj

Julia’s love for dance began at a really young age when she joined a traditional Polish dance group called VERA Dance Ensemble. She has since trained in all styles of dance, and was a founding member of Inside Out Dance Crew, a hip hop dance group in Chicago. Dance has always been a favorite form of expression for Julia, and she feels that movement can heal and bridge divides. She is now going into her last semester of college at Fordham University, and hopes to be a member of Dance to Unite for a long time to come!

Madeleine Gable

Madeleine Gable is a first-year student at NYU on the pre-health track. She is from California and loves to dance. She has performed in and choreographed for multiple shows during high school and loves working with children. She is super excited to be interning at Dance To Unite this semester and can’t wait to continue to grow as a dancer and a teacher!

Rena Hackel

Rena is a freshman at NYU Stern and has been dancing since she was two. She has tried many styles of dance including ballet, hip hop, lyrical, and tap.

DANIEL ROCHA

Currently living, dancing, and exploring in NYC, Daniel Ricardo Rocha Cartagena (he/him/his) is an enthusiastic investigator of the created universe. In May of 2021, he graduated from New York University’s (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts Dance BFA Program.

Having also completed a minor in physics with a concentration in astronomical phenomena, his passion for understanding the world around him helps drive his artistic pursuits.

Moreover, his Colombian family's cultural inclination to music and dance served to demonstrate the visceral expressiveness of movement with rhythm. The movement forms he has accumulated in his practice include classical and contemporary ballet, experimental dance, hip-hop, breaking, contact improvisation, contemporary floorwork, Latin social dance forms, musical theater jazz, and a myriad of improvisational and compositional methods.

He has performed works by Sunhi Willa Keller, Shamel Pitts, Olivia Passarelli, Sophie Gray-Gaillard, Rena Butler, Grace Yi-Li Tong, Catherine Messina, Nini Dongnier, and many more.

In the Fall of 2021 he joined the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company as an apprentice under Artistic Director Igal Perry, in January of 2022 joined the Roxey Ballet Company as a full-time company artist and Community Engagement Coordinator, and in January of 2023, joined five two Dance.

He most recently has begun to work as a dance-artist with One Day Dance Company, Sonia Plumb Dance Company, Drye/Marinaro Dance Company, and continues to ride the flow through new collaborations and artistic ventures as a freelance craftsperson.

As a teacher, he aims to create an atmosphere of wonder and curiosity where everyone can learn from each other and discover new ways of movement.

kayla Sirefman

Kayla found Dance to Unite online and immediately knew it was something she was interested in. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she’s been drawn to the dance world from a young age, and has danced various styles from ballet to hip hop. For her, dance is all about community, which is why she was drawn to Dance to Unite. She believes that dance should be about forming close relationships while exploring different cultures and styles.

Camilla Philips

Camilla is a high school student from New York. She began tap dancing at 5 years old at a studio that specializes in tap and musical theater. From there she started to explore different styles of dance. Her love for dance and different art styles has grown with her. She is still currently tap dancing anytime she has the opportunity. Being a part of Dance to Unite has been wonderful for Camilla because she gets to teach others to be kind and respectful through something she loves to do.

Nandita Kalra

Nandita Kalra is a senior in high school. She is from New Jersey and has been dancing since she was 11 years old. She loves ballet and contemporary styles of dance and working with children. A personal passion of hers is making dance a more inclusive art form and she is excited to be a part of a community that fosters inclusivity like Dance to Unite. She hopes to continue dancing for fun in college while on a pre-health path and being a part of Dance to Unite for years to come.