Alexandra Pobiedzinski
Executive Director
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Alexandra Pobiedzinski is founder and Artistic Director of danceETHOS Performance Company (www.danceETHOS.com). An active performer, choreographer and teaching artist, she is Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange, combining her passion for the arts with her marketing and
public relations skills to cultivate a professional dance scene in the Lehigh Valley. Alex graduated Summa Cum Laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa from Muhlenberg College, where she earned her B.A. in dance and media communication.
In addition, she is adjunct faculty at Cedar Crest College and choreographs for the CCC MERAKI Dance Company. Her choreography has been featured at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, American College Dance Festival, SpringUP Dance Festival, Dance EXposure, Green Space in Queens and the Ailey Citigroup Theater in Manhattan. She offers master classes throughout the tri-state area and continues to work with various companies and artists in the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
Sarah Carlson
Treasurer & Media Director
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Sarah Carlson is the Founder & Artistic Director of DanceLink, a Lehigh Valley based company which seeks to bridge people, ideas & understanding through the power of movement. Sarah danced professionally for 10 years in NYC with numerous companies including Alexandra Beller/Dances, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Clare Byrne Dance, Paul Mosley Dance and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. As an independent choreographer, her own work has been presented throughout the US at venues such as the Joyce Soho in NYC, On the Boards in Seattle, and The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard as well as in Benin, Africa. Sarah is a co-director of the Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange & the editor of the Lehigh Valley Dance in Review.
Sarah has taught dance at Lehigh University, Muhlenberg College, DeSales University, Cedar Crest College, the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Washington. In 2007, she completed a Fulbright Grant studying Vodou ritual dance in Benin, Africa furthering an on-going inquiry into sacred dance forms. In 2008, Sarah founded DanceLink to promote community and to use the wisdom of the body to unpack the big questions, often spiritual in nature. Sarah received a BA in French and European Studies from Connecticut College and an MFA in Dance from the University of Washington.
Jessica Marino
Development and Project Management
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Jessica Anne Marino (B.A. Dance, Point Park University) is a Pittsburgh based arts administrator, educator, and performing artist. Originally from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, her training started at Schubert School of Dance Arts and was part of the first graduating class of the Lehigh Valley Performing Arts Charter High School. Jessica maintains deep roots in her hometown and passionately activates for growth of community dance opportunities as Co-Director of Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange (LVDE). After 5 years as artist manager with River City Artists Management, in 2017 Marino founded JAMpress Management,
a brand which fosters bringing ideas to the spotlight and provides support services for the performing arts industry with a focus on dance.Miss Marino is a collaborator with STAYCEE PEARL dance project (SPdp), Shana Simmons Dance, and active free-lance dancer. In 2014, Jessica (choreographer/dancer) collaborated with Joanna Dauner (designer), Emre Karagozler (engineer), and Shana Simmons (dancer) on cube[d], a project supported by Disney Research Pittsburgh. Past professional performances includes work with; EVOLVE Productions/Continuum Dance Theater, Jamie Erin Murphy, Jasmine Hearn, Maree ReMalia, Attack Theater, Kathleen Bibalo-Nasti, Michael Walsh, Michele Van Doeren, Riva Strauss, Alyce Finwall, Beth Jucovy, Sarah Carlson, Gina Mento, and Monarch Dance Company. Jessica is an adjunct faculty member at University of Pittsburgh and on the creative team of the Center for Theater Arts (CTA).
