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YDI is unique in offering students direct mentorship with working professional dancers.

Rather than camp counselors, students are paired with mentors who have studied dance in higher education, and are now working in the field as performers, choreographers, organizers, and educators. Mentors provide oversight and safety by living in the dormitory with the students and accompanying them to classes, meals and all evening and weekend activities. Students meet with their mentors one-on-one during daily lunch-time check-ins, and in small groups during nightly hall meetings.

Mentors

Emilia Bruno, Director of the YDI Mentorship Program

Originally from Lake Zurich, IL, Emilia Bruno (they/them) is an Italian-American, queer movement artist and educator based in College Park, MD. Their performance credits include Shapiro & Smith Dance, Zenon Dance Company, Slo Dance Company, as well as recent collaborations with Charlotte Richardson-Deppe, Tristan Koepke, Kendra Portier/BANDportier, Mary Kate Ford, Brit Falcon/Falcon Dance, and Rebecca Steinberg. Emilia is a core collaborator with Tristan Koepke, regularly creating and performing new works over the last two years. In addition to their performance work, Emilia works as an arts administrator for Mariclare Hulbert Consulting, supporting the communication, marketing, and public relations efforts of nationally renown dance artists and organizations. Emilia’s relationship with the Bates Dance Festival began in 2018 as a mentor for the Young Dancer’s Intensive. They have held this role for four summers and are thrilled to be returning this year as the Director of Mentorship. Working with this program continues to nourish and deepen a dedication to non-competitive, supportive learning environments for aspiring artists and LGBTQIA+ youth. Emilia received their BFA in Dance and BS in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and will soon begin their graduate studies as an MFA candidate in Dance at the University of Maryland, College Park in the fall of 2024.

Aryanna Allen

Aryanna Allen (she/they) is an Atlanta-based movement artist originally from Charlotte, NC. Holding a B.A. in Dance and Movement Studies from Emory University, Aryanna’s professional career began within the Emory Dance Company, where she performed works by choreographers such as Dafi Altabeb, Kendra Portier, George Staib, and Gregory Catellier. Her freelance career has led her to perform and choreograph for programs like Alabama Dance Festival, Dance Canvas, Modern Atlanta Dance Festival, and the Fall for Fall Dance Festival. 

Currently, Aryanna collaborates with local companies and artists Kit Modus, Monica Hogan Danceworks, Leo Briggs, and Patsy Collins. They serve as Administrative Director for Lyrric Jackson Dance Company and work as a Research Assistant for T. Lang Dance. Aryanna leads classes in modern, contemporary, jazz, ballet, and tap at Dance Foundry and Druid Hills Dance Center.

Kai A. Cole

Kai A. Cole is a Jamaican dance artist and dance educator based in Kingston, Jamaica. Her journey in dance really began at age 14 at BEAM Jamaica, and has now yielded multiple years of training, performance and professional experience in a variety of classical, contemporary and Afro-Caribbean Folk forms.

In 2023, Kai graduated from the Edna Manley College School of Dance, with a BFA (Hons) in Dance Performance and Choreography. She now teaches dance “full-time…part-time” at various institutions across Kingston.

With a persistent desire to train and perform, she seeks out all opportunities to move, appearing in numerous freelance projects (BREATHE, Fuel), and participating in classes and intensives with Plié for the Arts Jamaica, CDT Jamaica, Backhaus Dance and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.

Kai’s favourite things about dance are its ability to calm her spirit and her mind, and the community it has afforded her with like-minded individuals who share a passion and love for the arts.

Laila J. Franklin

Laila J. Franklin is a multidisciplinary dance artist based in Massachusett and Pawtucket land | Boston, MA. Her work explores kinetic imagination through the juxtaposition of virtuosic and intimate performances. She is interested in meta-commentary, deconstruction, and bits, approaching themes surrounding the human experience with complexity, nuance, curiosity, and humor. Her work extends from lineages of traditional and experimental Black, queer dance makers, with a particular interest in the collision of postmodernist creation frameworks and story ballet.

Laila’s work has been commissioned by Brown University and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and presented by Public Space One, Loculus Collective’s Sideways Door Festival, and Movement Research at The Judson Church. Her credits as a performer include projects with Ruckus Dance, Haus of Pvmnt, Miguel Gutierrez, Dr. Christopher-Rasheem McMillan, Jennifer Kayle, Melinda Jean Myers, and Stephanie Miracle. She was recently featured as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” of 2024. Laila holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Iowa, a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance from The Boston Conservatory, and is a proud alumna of the dance department of Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC.

Madeline (Mads) Mellinger

Madeline (Mads) Mellinger (she/her) is a postpartum doula and dance artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised on a multigenerational goat dairy farm in Pennsylvania, Madeline’s work in both the doula and dance world is focused on community and the pursuit of collaboration and reciprocity. She is currently working with Jennifer Monson / iLAND Dance on their latest project, “move thing.” Mads’ most joyful moments are found in a sweaty dance class with friends, looking for the perfect rock at a beautiful body of water, preparing a delicious meal for people she loves, and getting settled into the perfect camping spot.

Wynton Rice

Wynton Rice is a native Rochesterian who has been performing internationally with the Garth Fagan Dance Company for 14 years.  He has also worked with other Rochester-based contemporary dance companies including  BIODANCE and Frazeefeet dance company.

Wynton has taught at the Garth Fagan Dance School, including dance fundamentals classes for teens and adults, and taught dance for grades K-8 at Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School in Rochester.  In addition to teaching and serving as an artist-in-residence for schools, he taught a jazz fusion class at the National Youth Dance Theater in New South Wales, Australia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in dance from Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA. Wynton is currently teaching at the Aquinas Institute in Rochester N.Y and at the Hochstein school where he serves as  dance department chair.