ELLEN SINOPOLI
Artistic Director
ELLEN SINOPOLI founded the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company (ESDC) in 1991, after settling in the Capital Region from Boston and NYC. Under her direction, ESDC has become one of the premier dance companies in Upstate NY. The Company employs a steady roster of professional modern dancers to bring dance to traditional and non-traditional venues. ESDC dancers are a muse for Sinopoli’s creative process and are applauded for their consistent excellence and artistry, their movement imaginings, and deep professionalism. Ellen Sinopoli and her dancers have created over 100 new works with her many artistic collaborations and projects serving as a conduit to bring together talented artists (both regional and national) from varied genres that include visual artists, sculptors, architects, composers and musicians, poets and storytellers, videographers, photographers and physicists.
Beyond her role as Artistic Director and choreographer, Ellen is also noted for her talents as a master teacher and for her efforts to educate young people about dance. She was Coordinator of Dance Programming at Russell Sage College for 25 years until her retirement in 2020. She has taught at Siena College, Skidmore College, Union College, Albany Berkshire Ballet, Saratoga City Ballet and Guilderland Ballet, among others.
Ellen and ESDC were featured in the March 2019 issue of HERLIFE Magazine. In 2016, Ellen was one of thirteen women featured in the Time Union’s Women@Work magazine highlighting women in the arts. Ellen has appeared on “Schenectady Today”, WAMC’s Roundtable and WMHT’s Local Artist interviews for PBS’ Fall Arts Festival, WMHT’s “Our Town Troy”, WMHT’s AHA series and pre concert interviews on the Sanctuary for Independent Media’s radio station 105.3 FM. In 2002, she received the “Educator of Excellence” award from WTEN, an affiliate of ABC. She was one of the 100 “Women of Excellence” honored by the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2000 and was a recipient of the 2000 Arts Awards from the Albany/ Schenectady League of Arts in the Capital Region of NYS.
KAITLYN COMBS
KAITLYN COMBS is an alum of the Hartt School, where she graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance Performance and a Minor in Psychology. There, she worked with several esteemed choreographers such as Hope Boykin, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Pascal Rioult, and Tamisha Guy, as well as Hartt faculty members Katie Stevinson-Nollet and Stephen Pier. She also performed various modern works, including José Limón’s Suite From a Choreographic Offering and Miki Orihara’s premiere arrangement of Martha Graham’s Canticle for Innocent Comedians. Kaitlyn even performed Martha Graham’s Primitive Mysteries at The Joyce Theater. She is originally from Maineville, OH, where she studied at the Ballet Tech of Ohio under Claudia Barrett and Ka-Ron Brown Lehman and danced in numerous Cincinnati Ballet productions as a child. In 2019, her move to the east coast began at the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory. Kaitlyn joined the company in 2024.
EMILY GUNTER
EMILY GUNTER is an alumna of Skidmore College where she received her BA in Dance and Classics. She has performed works by Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Stephen Petronio, Doug Varone, and Ronald K. Brown, as well as Skidmore faculty Denise Warner Limoli, Mary Harney, Debra J. Fernandez, and Erika Pujič. In 2019, she presented original choreography inspired by Ovid’s myth of Pygmalion at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum alongside a curated selection of sculptures from the Tang’s permanent collections. She has presented new choreography at Engine in Biddeford, ME and most recently, at the Art Society of Kingston, taking inspiration from Greek and Roman mythological heroines. She is originally from Hartford, CT and is an avid tap dancer. She is a dance instructor for Skidmore College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Art in Motion Dance Academy, as well as Administrative Assistant to the Artistic Director and an Arts in Education Coordinator for ESDC. Emily joined the company in 2020.
KYRA PITTS
KYRA PITTS, raised in the Capital Region, began her dance journey at local studios. She showcased her young talent performing with the New York City Ballet at SPAC, The Great Russian Nutcracker by Moscow Ballet at The Palace Theater, and ESDC’s own Egg Kids Project. Transitioning to New York City at fourteen, she trained at the Joffrey Ballet School and graduated from the Jazz & Contemporary Trainee Program under the direction of Angelica Stiskin and Michael Waldrop. In collaboration with Joffrey, she graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Music, Dance & Theater from New Jersey City University. Kyra has worked with esteemed artists such as Yin Yue, Yoshito Sakuraba, Billy Griffin, Jason Luks, Adrian Lee, Amélie Bénard, and Michael Peña. She has even performed in New York Fashion Week for Marc Jacobs in collaboration with Karole Armitage. Notably, she made her television debut on ESPN+ while performing at the FISU World University Games Opening Ceremony held in Lake Placid. Kyra joined the company in 2023.
LIV BUTOWSKY
Liv Butowsky is a multidisciplinary performance artist from New Paltz, NY. Her training comes from former New York City Ballet dancers and the Chicago Joffrey, L’Ecole Superieure de Danse de Cannes, the School of American Ballet, Skidmore College, and Earthdance. She has performed original works by Nilas Martins, Peter Naumann, George Balanchine, Erika Pujic, and Hana van der Kolk. She has been commissioned for choreographic work for Bibiana Med and Angela Beallor at the Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center, and writing projects for WordxWord and Edith Wharton’s The Mount. For the past decade she has been a freelance student of dance as a tool for connection with self, community, and beyond. She currently teaches Contemporary Poetry at Skidmore College and joined ESDC in 2024.
FRANCES TEPPNER
FRANCES TEPPNER graduated from Jacksonville University with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Psychology. During her time at Jacksonville University she trained with and performed the choreographic works of faculty members Lana Heylock, Yidi Lin, and Katherine Levitz and performed modern dance works choreographed by guest artists Jens Bjerregaard, Yoshito Sakuraba, Doug Varone, and Norbert De La Cruz III. While in Jacksonville she trained under Jacksonville Dance Theater founders Katie McCaughan and Rebecca Levy and performed dance works under contract with Jacksonville Dance Theater. Frances is originally from Central Florida and joined the company in 2024.
SARA SENECAL
SARA SENECAL holds an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University and a BA in Dance and minor in Education from the University at Buffalo. Along with dancing for ESDC Sara has presented her own choreography at many locations across NYS such as WAXWorks Brooklyn, The Poet’s Den in Harlem, Byrdcliffe Theatre in Woodstock, The Carrier Theater in Syracuse, and The Egg PAC as the choreographer for ESDC’s Egg Kids Project. Sara is one of the 2024 recipients of the New York State Choreographers Initiative, a funding opportunity administered by The New York State DanceForce and the New York State Council on the Arts. In 2018, she was the winner of Nacre’s “So You Think You Can Choreograph” Showcase in Saratoga Springs. Sara joined Russell Sage College as faculty in 2017 and serves as coordinator of dance programming. She is originally from Schenectady, NY where she studied at Merritt Dance Center under Mara and Marlene Merritt. Sara has been with the ESDC since 2010 and is an Arts in Education Coordinator for the company.