Elizabeth Kurylo
Elizabeth was born in France where she began her dance career. In the 90’s, she left the profession to pursue a degree in physical therapy at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, NJ. She never really stopped dancing and choreographing while being a therapist, but now that she is retired, she is free to focus all her energy and renewed passion into creating new works with dancers from the Upper Valley community. She is dedicated to help dance artists develop their creative potential and to make dance accessible to all audience. The ChoreoLab residency and Junction Dance Festival are her brainchilds.
Mary Chris DeBelina
MC is a dance artist, living in Montpelier, VT. MC holds a BA in biology and dance from Dartmouth College and an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College. She has trained at Children’s Creative Dance Theater at the University of Utah and at Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn in Dance for Parkinson’s, rounding out her dance teaching as she says “from ages 0-100.” In addition to teaching, she creates her own work, performs with local artists and the Juventas New Music Ensemble. MC is also on the board of directors for Phantom Theater and the Vermont Dance Alliance, as well as being a mother of four. When she and her family aren’t dancing, they can be found hiking up mountains or folding mountains of laundry.
Edward P Childs
Edward has served on a number of non-profit boards during his 35 years in Vermont, including the Montessori School (Norwich), the Upper Valley Music Center and the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont. He currently represents the town of Corinth on the board of E.C. Fiber. Edward composes music in his spare time. His sister and daughter are internationally acclaimed dance artists.
Joan Allen
Joan has been dancing since childhood, specializing in classical ballet and traditional English and American dance. More recently, she’s added Scottish and Baroque dance. She also enjoys choral singing and has appeared in musical theater productions. Joan has a vast experience writing grants and is pleased to contribute to TJDF. Her profession is natural resource conservation. Joan is pleased to be joining the JDF Board in 2021.
Ruth Mayer
Ruth Mayer is a former soloist of the American Ballet Theatre. As a resident of the Upper Valley since 1990, she taught at the Lebanon Ballet School and White River Ballet Academy, and choreographed and performed with the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble and Revels North among others. She is currently teaching ballet at her studio in Thetford, VT.
Chloe Schafer
Chloe A. Schafer (she/her) is a dance artist, scholar, teacher, and arts administrator based in New York, with lasting ties to Vermont. She researches, teaches, and creates dance with the hope of softening the edges of our collective imagination and proposing alternative realities full of whimsy, focus, humor, and care. Chloe was one of the 2023 ChoreoLab TJDF residents and is excited to return and help organize this year’s festival. Chloe received her M.F.A.in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College and holds a B.A. in Dance and B.S. in Anthropology from the University of Vermont.