University of Florida Faculty

Xan Burley was based in Brooklyn, NY until 2018 where she performed and toured with Doug Varone and Dancers from 2012-17. She has had the pleasure of working with Jeanine Durning, Shannon Gillen, Angie Hauser, Shannon Hummel, Tami Stronach, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, among others. Xan’s co-creative research with her partner Alex Springer has been presented by venues such as Movement Research, Danspace Project, Center for Performance Research, Joe’s Pub, the 92Y, and the American Dance Festival. They have received opportunities such as the University Settlement Artist Residency, Jacob’s Pillow Research Fellowship, and Mertz Gilmore Late Stage Production Grant. Their process-oriented, site-responsive research is rooted in progressive movement development, compositional improvisation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Burley has held teaching positions at institutions such as the Bates Dance Festival, University of Maryland, SUNY Purchase, Wesleyan University, and Smith College, where she received her MFA in Dance and Choreography. www.xanandalex.com

Anna Carapellotti is a dancer, educator, and scholar. She earned her PhD in 2022 from Queen’s University Belfast and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. Her doctoral dissertation evaluated the multidimensional impact of dancing with Parkinson’s, and a portion of her PhD research was conducted as a 2019-20 Fulbright Scholar sponsored by the Netherland-America Foundation. She is currently a Lecturer at the University of Florida in the Center for Arts in Medicine, where she plans to develop her research in both dance in health and health in dance.

With a background in classical ballet, Anna has danced and staged many selections from the major classical repertoire, including Swan Lake, Giselle, and Paquita. She has also performed in contemporary and neoclassical works such as George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, Raymonda Variations, Serenade, and Who Cares? She has more than 15 years of dance teaching experience; she has worked in youth dance since 2009 and facilitated community-based dance classes for people living with Parkinson's since 2018. Both her Parkinson's dance group and her pre-professional students have won prizes at international art competitions.

Rujeko Dumbutshena is a Zimbabwean-born dancer, pedagogue, and performer who specializes in neo-traditional and contemporary African dance. She just began her role as an Assistant Professor of West African Dance at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She recently held the same position at the University of Washington in Seattle. She holds an MFA in dance from the University of New Mexico. She has been on faculty at the Central New Mexico Community College, the University of New Mexico, and Sarah Lawrence College. Rujeko has participated in artist residencies at Williams College and the University of Rochester. At Duke University, she is part of the “Afro Feminist Performance Routes” cohort of Black dance artists. For 16 years, Rujeko directed African music and dance camps: Camp Mabina, Camp Tumbuka, and Bantu Camp, and has since been guest teaching at African drum and dance conferences across the United States. She was an original ensemble member in Bill T. Jones’ Off-Broadway and Broadway musical production of FELA! She conducts her scholarly research on the interplay of gender and power in ritual performances.

Photo by Gregory Evans (www.LathePhotography.com)

Isa García-Rose was a principal dancer with Dance Alive National Ballet, dancing a variety of classical, contemporary, and character roles throughout the company’s repertoire, including Balanchine works. Cuban-born, Isa studied and performed with Ballet Concerto in Miami, Florida, received her BFA in Theatre and Dance Performance from the University of Florida, and her MFA in Dance from FSU. She has taught master classes and intensives throughout the Southeast, at Florida State University, Orcas Island, and has been faculty with James Madison University’s London Dance intensive since 2008. She has performed as a member of Demetrius Klein Dance Company and a guest artist with a UF production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (choreography by Alberto Alonso) in US and international venues (Russia). Isa also performed regularly at Hippodrome State Theatre (Just So Stories, The Canta Danca Dancer, Dracula, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream). She also served as Associate Director of The Shadow Dance Theatre, an experimental company of actors and dancers at UF founded by her beloved Ric Rose. Isa is currently a Master Lecturer in Dance, teaching Ballet, Pointe, Pilates, and setting choreography at UF. She is a certified STOTT PILATES instructor.

Hoang Nguyen is a dancer, choreographer, and arts educator with roots between Florida, USA, and Hue, Vietnam. With training in House, Hip Hop, and Contemporary practice, Hoang has taught, curated, and presented work globally in a variety of contexts, including: Artist in Residence at Atlas B2 Center for Media, Arts & Performance (USA) and choreographer for smokepoint(s) show and exhibition; co-curator for Lakuh, a Southeast Asian arts exhibition at the Brunei Energy Hub presented by Curious Playgrounds; dancer for Apocalypse Practice, choreographed by Miguel Gutierrez; and guest teaching artist for One Dance Collective (Australia). In 2025, Hoang joined collaborator Dieu-Thao Duong as a co-Director and Supporting Artist for Hop Collective. Most recently, this group premiered ê, with love in Nha Trang, Vietnam for Lèm dì dị Contemporary Arts Festival in September of 2025. Hoang holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance from the University of Florida.

Onye P. Ozuzu served as the dean of the UF College of the Arts from 2018-2024.  Ozuzu earned her Master of Fine Arts in dance and choreography and a Bachelor of Arts in English literature at Florida State University. A dance administrator, performing artist, choreographer, educator, and researcher, Ozuzu has been presenting dance works since 1997. Her work has focused on the body as technology and explored the intersectionality between many movement forms. This hallmark of her practice has translated to her decade of work as an academic administrator, where she has been known for pragmatic and transformational systems redesign in the integration of pluralistic cultural, viewpoint, and practice diversity in arts research, creative endeavor, and teaching.  In her time at the University of Florida highlights of her work in and with the college have been the cultivation of collaborative and participatory mechanisms for defining and executing college-wide initiatives, mission focused strategic hiring of innovative and “change-making” faculty, growing research and philanthropic support for the college, launching the Center for Art, Migration and Entrepreneurship, and facilitating the college’s robust AI and Art initiatives.

Augusto Soledade, a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow, is the Founder, Artistic Director, and choreographer for Augusto Soledade Brazzdance, and serves as an Associate Professor in Dance and Dance Area Coordinator at the University of Florida.

In the fall of 2018, Mr. Soledade was nominated for the USArtist Fellowship. In 2016, he was awarded the Miami Dade Choreographer’s Fellowship for the seventh time by Miami Dade Cultural Affairs. In 2012, he was awarded the prestigious Knight Arts Challenge Grant. Also in 2012, he was awarded for the second consecutive time the 2012 Individual Artist Fellowship from the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.

He received his M.F.A in Dance from SUNY Brockport in 1998. Soledade, a native of Bahia, Brazil, started his dance training at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, in a program with a strong modern dance emphasis, and has trained with Garth Fagan and Clyde Morgan. He also holds a degree in journalism from the Federal University of Bahia.

Alex Springer is a co-creator, performer, teacher, and video artist. His choreography with partner Xan Burley has been presented at the American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Center for Performance Research, Danspace Project, and the 92Y, among others. He has taught at Gibney Dance, Bates Dance Festival, University of Maryland, Purchase College, Wesleyan University, Smith College, and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Florida. He was a member of Doug Varone and Dancers from 2007-17 and has also performed for Alexandra Beller, Jeanine Durning, Adriane Fang, Angie Hauser, Heidi Henderson, Donnell Oakley, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, among others. During his tenure with Varone, he acted as the rehearsal director and company manager, and still serves as the company's archivist and répétiteur. He received an MFA from Smith College and a BFA from the University of Michigan. www.xanandalex.com

Christa Sylla is a dedicated educator and visionary, specializing in African and Afro-Diasporic dance traditions. With a career spanning over two decades, she has contributed to the development of World Dance Studies curricula at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and contributes to the Afro-Diaspora Dance Practices curricula at the University of Florida. Acknowledged by the Department of State's Florida Folklife Society and featured in TEDx Jacksonville, Ms. Sylla has consistently earned recognition for artistic excellence and community impact. Guided by principles of justice, cultural integrity, and embodied knowledge, she is committed to nurturing cultural pluralism and advancing the role of dance as a medium for social transformation.

Brianna Taylor is a dance artist and educator, yoga instructor and bodyworker based in Florida and Oregon. She founded Confluence Performance Project in 2014, and opened Confluence Arts Center in Scotts Mills, OR in 2022 in collaboration with her family. Her work has been presented in NYC, the Bay Area, around NC, Boulder, CO; Portland, OR; Washington, DC; Paris, France; and Lausanne, Switzerland, where she’s also collaborated and performed with many amazing artists. Brianna has been guiding dance, yoga and creative experiences for people of all ages since 2003. She is currently a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Florida, and has previously taught at FSCJ, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Charlotte, Elon University and Salem College.