Kristen Duffy Young, Director – Contemporary

Kristen Duffy Young received an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College, and a BA in Dance and BBA in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  She holds certifications as a Movement Analyst (CMA) from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York and Mat Pilates Instructor from the Kane School of Core Integration. Her early dance training was through the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) intensive program in classical ballet.

In addition to directing and choreographing for the COF Dance Project, Kristen is an Adjunct Professor at Emmanuel College where she teaches courses in ballet, dance history, and somatics.  She is a co-director of Accumulation Dance Company and her choreography has been presented throughout New England and New York.  She has danced professionally with Accumulation Dance, Bosoma Dance Company, Weber Dance, and Influx Dance, and is serving as President of the Massachusetts Dance Education Organization.

As an educator, Kristen believes in the artistic potential of every student, and emphasizes creative expression as well as movement efficiency in her classes and rehearsals. Her creative work centers on themes of the human experience and is influenced by her studies in Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, yoga, the Alexander Technique, and classical ballet and modern/contemporary dance.

Deborah Kosiorek – Hip-hop

Deborah Kosiorek began her dance training in her hometown of Milford, Connecticut at the Lee Lund Studio of Dance and has been dancing ever since.  Upon matriculating to Fordham University in 2000, she became a founding member of Expressions DanceAlliance, instructing and performing in Hip Hop and Modern dance while simultaneously choreographing for and performing with Fordham’s nationally ranked dance team, Ram Rhythm.  While living in New York, Deborah performed with the high-energy Hip Hop/Jazz-fusion dance company Adrenaline, under the direction of choreographer John Paolillo (AKA “Johnnie P”), and choreographed the Andrew Lippa musical The Wild Party for the theater troupe Mimes and Mummers.  Deborah moved to Boston in 2007 and soon thereafter joined Static Noyze Dance Company, a nationally recognized Hip Hop dance company featured on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC).  She is currently a performing member of Static Noyze and a visiting professor of Hip Hop dance at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts.

Kelly McAuley – Tap, Jazz

Kelly McAuley received a BA from Oklahoma City University and a MS from Boston University. Kelly comes from a family where dancing is more than just dancing—it’s always been way of life. She traces her dancing lineage through her mother who is an accomplished dancer and teacher along with her grandparents and great uncle, the late Gene Kelly. Kelly has performed locally with BU on TAP, in various regional productions throughout the country and on-screen in feature-length film Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. In addition, her choreography has received accolades throughout the southern US. In the studio, Kelly believes in challenging dancers to become both organized, creative individuals as well as skilled technicians. Above everything, she believes that dance should be fun for and accessible to all.

Carla Otero, Assistant Director – Ballet, Latin

Carla Otero began her classical ballet training at the Conservatory of Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico under the tutelage of the Carlota Carrera. As she advanced in her pre-professional training she had the pleasure of working with renowned ballet teachers from Latin America and abroad. As a student, Carla received scholarships to attend the summer intensives at The Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet and the 42nd Bartholin International Ballet Seminar of the Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark). During these summers she trained under the guidance of Fernando Bujones, Laura Alonso and Martin James among others.

At age sixteen, Carla joined the company of Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico under the guidance of Artistic Director, Lolita San Miguel where she danced in the great classics of Giselle, Swan Lake, La Fille Mal Gardee, Copellia, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker. In addition to her classical repertoire, Carla has danced in numerous modern and contemporary works by Jesus Miranda, Carlos Cabrera, Maria Julia Landa, Alberto Mendez and Kristen Duffy-Young. After being with the company for two years, she decided to move to Boston and pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Relations at Simmons College. During her time as an undergraduate student, Carla was actively involved as a dancer in the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Dance Project since it’s inception in 2006, and as a ballet instructor for LEAP (Lifelong Exercise and Activities Program) at Simmons College.

After graduating in 2010, Carla became an instructor for the COF Dance Project and is now the Assistant Director for the project. She has been invited as a guest artist to perform in the premiere of Anastasia and to dance in Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano Pas de Deux with Chambersburg Ballet Theater in Pennsylvania. Carla remains active as a dancer and choreographer and trains throughout the Boston and Cambridge areas. She also is resident ballet instructor for two studios in Massachusetts where her students have won awards at competitions throughout New England. On March 2016, Carla launched her blog series “In the Studio” where she actively publishes articles about dance on her website carlaotero.com. Most recently, Carla was elected to the executive board of the Massachusetts Dance Education Organization (MaDEO) as treasurer.

With over twenty years of experience in dance and ten years teaching, Carla loves to impart her knowledge for movement to all levels and ages and work closely to develop each individual’s strengths to their highest potential.

Kara Fili – Afro-contemporary, West African

For more than ten years Kara has worked to make dance an accessible form of expression, discovery and wellness through teaching for such organizations as Express Yourself, Inc., The Dance Complex, The Boston Ballet, Colleges of The Fenway and Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción. Along with teaching, she leads the Accessible Dance Initiative at The Dance Complex in Cambridge and is earning her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College. She is a performing member of Benkadi Drum & Dance and Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion and also creates and performs independently. To her, dance is like a big bowl of pasta on a Sunday… what could be better!

Anh Le – Hip-hop

Anh Le is a proud alumnus of the COF Dance Project where he began dancing for since 2010. He received his BS in Health Psychology and MA in Teaching from MPCHS University and Simmons College respectively. He was highly influenced by Korean pop music (K-pop) which prompted him to begin dancing during his teenage years. Although he has no formal training in dance, Anh believes that dancers can be self-developed. A majority of his dance experience comes from going to community dance workshops and observing dance through the media. He began choreographing for the COF Dance Project in 2013 and has not stopped since. As an educator, he finds great joy in seeing his students grow through every class rehearsal and develop into the artists they wish to become.