dancers

Amanda, originally from Boynton Beach, Florida, is a passionate dancer and artist. Her journey began at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts during high school, where she nurtured her talent. She was recognized as a Youngarts Winner in Jazz Dance in 2015 and 2016. Amanda attended New World School of the Arts where she had numerous performance opportunities, most notably being part of a select group chosen to perform in the Merce Cunningham Centennial at the prestigious 92Y in New York City. After graduating with a BFA in dance from NWSA in 2019, Amanda joined the Ballet Arts Dance Company in West Palm Beach, FL. She furthered her expertise by obtaining her Cuban Methodology Ballet Certification and Classical Pilates certification.
Throughout her pre-professional and professional career, Amanda has had the privilege of preforming works by renowned choreographers such as Aszure Barton, Darrell Moultrie, Didy Veldman, Jae Man Joo, Jose Limon, Paul Taylor, Robert Battle, Matthew Neenan, Merce Cunningham, and Eduardo Vilaro. Additionally, she attended The School of Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Ballet and Contemporary program in 2019. In 2023, she performed alongside the Limon Dance Company and toured with Dance Now! Miami to Italy, performing with Opus Ballet. Amanda has danced with Dance Now! Miami since 2021.

Alexander was born and raised in Miami, Florida. His dance journey began, at 17, when he attended the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive in Miami, Florida. There, he trained under instructors who specialized in various styles such as ballet, modern, jazz and tap. He then continued his training at The Academy of Arts and Minds Charter under the tutelage of Hannah Baumgarten and Karin Bejerano. After high school, Alex attended the New World School of the Arts College. While at NWSA, he performed in a variety of works ranging from residential choreographers, such as Peter London, to guest choreographers, like Eduardo Vilaro. In addition to performing, Alex has also been exploring his choreographic style and has had works produced for student showcases at NWSA. After graduating from NWSA, he focused on finding his original artistic style and began to explore more training in hip hop, contemporary and jazz funk. Currently, Alex is teaching and continuing to explore movements that feel natural to his way of being while also making a return to the world of concert dance. Alex joined Dance NOW! Miami in March of 2024.

Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Anneliese received her fundamental training in classical ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary at Next Step Dance Studio under the instruction of Terri Sinani. She attended numerous workshops and conventions with the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters and Dance Masters of Wisconsin, and the Salzburg International Ballet Academy’s Summer Intensive.
Anneliese graduated magna cum laude from Mercyhurst University with her B.F.A. in Dance and a minor in Arts Administration. There she trained under the direction of Lesley Bories-Scalise, Matthew Christensen, Tauna Hunter, Danielle Kaiser, Jennifer McNamara, C. Noelle Partusch, Mark and Solveig Santillano. While with The Mercyhurst Dancers, she had the privilege of appearing in over twenty classical and contemporary works with chorographers such as Catherine Meredith of Kent State University, Steve Rooks of the Martha Graham Company, and Michael Gleason of Mercyhurst University.
Additionally, Anneliese performed with the Mercyhurst Dance Team, completed an internship with the Mercyhurst Summer Dance Experience and attended the American College Dance Association. Professionally, she has performed with SoMar Dance Works, the Scottish Youth Dance Organization, the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, and DannsED of the University of Edinburgh.
Anneliese recently obtained her MSc in Dance Science and Education, graduating with merit from the University of Edinburgh, under the direction of Dr. Wendy Timmons and Heather Rikic.
Anneliese joined Dance NOW! Miami in the 2023/24 season. She serves as master teacher for DNM’s educational programming and also works annually for the Ailey Summer Camp at the Arsht Center.

Austin Duclos was born and raised in Winfield, Pennsylvania and started dancing at the age fourteen. He received his early training at Enterline’s Dance Center under the instruction of Alicia Enterline-Little. He continued his ballet training at Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Austin attended Mercyhurst University on scholarship where he earned his B.F.A. in Dance, a minor in English Literature and graduated with honors, Summa Cum Laude. There he trained under Tauna Hunter of Ballet West, Jennifer McNamara and Matthew Christensen of Nashville Ballet, and Lesley Bories-Scalise of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Austin continued to expand his dance technique to include contemporary and commercial jazz under the instruction of Danielle Kaiser, and modern dance, under the instruction of Mark and Solveig Santillano. Austin had the privilege of training with John White of Nacional Ballet de Cuba, and his daughter Melinda Pendleton, Bryan Koulman of Milwaukee Ballet, Linda Karash Mintzer of New York City Ballet, and Steve Rooks of Martha Graham Dance Company. He has been highlighted with SoMar Dance Works and has made guest appearances in principal roles as the Cavalier in The Nutcracker and as the Prince in Cinderella. Austin has been showcased with The Mercyhurst Dancers in their classical repertoire and has been featured in over twenty original choreographic works. Austin joined Dance Now! Miami in 2021 and has since performed with DNM in a blended cast with the Limón Dance Company and toured in Italy, dancing alongside Opus Ballet.

David Harris, an international dance artist, began his training at the age of 17 with the Central Ohio Youth Ballet, where he first discovered his passion for ballet. He went on to earn a degree in Ballet Performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), studying under renowned faculty including Qi Jiang, Michael Tevlin, Deirdre Carberry, André Megerdichian, and Judith Mikita. During his time at CCM, he had the opportunity to work with distinguished guest artists such as Pablo Francisco Ruvalcaba Tovar of The Limón Company and Karen Russo Burke of Dayton Ballet. At CCM, Harris performed a range of repertory spanning classical and modern works, including José Limón’s A Choreographic Offering, Basilio in Don Quixote, and one of the Stepsisters in Cinderella, among others.
David joined Dance NOW! Miami in 2019 for its 20th Anniversary Season. As Part of Dance NOW! Miami, he has performed with The Limón Company in the restaging of The Waldstein Sonata in both 2022 and 2023, and has toured internationally with Dança em Diálogos in Cascais, Portugal, and Opus Ballet in Florence, Italy.
Beyond Dance NOW! Miami, Harris collaborates widely across the South Florida arts community. He has worked with the South Florida Gay Men’s Chorus since 2021 and joined the Florida Grand Opera in 2025. That same year, he appeared in the Mastercard-sponsored fan edit of Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra, directed by Parris Goebel and featuring Gaga herself.
Active as a dancer, educator, and drag artist, Harris continues to expand and redefine what it means to be an artist, merging his classical foundation with a dynamic contemporary voice within the South Florida arts scene.

Sophie was born and raised in Hong Kong, started ballet and contemporary dance training at ages 2 and 16. She was Art Ambassador for the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (2011-2017). At HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, she earned a scholarship to attend a summer intensive at Taipei National University of the Arts. She graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a B.F.A in Contemporary Dance, representing the academy and Hong Kong Dance Company at the 2019 International Youth Dance Festival in Macau.
Sophie has worked with artists like Maria Torija, Emmanuelle, Christina Mertzani, Marso Riviere, Leila McMillan and Nadja Saidakova. Post-graduation, she performed with the Taiwan Ballet Company, Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, West Kowloon Dance Crew of “The Dance We Made” in collaboration with British dance company Casson & Friends and in the production “Unspoken” by Zoo Allies Limited x Good Show Club. Her choreography was featured in ViuTV’s “King Maker V” (2023).
Sophie attained Registered Teacher Status with the Royal Academy of Dance and a Teacher Certificate in Modern Jazz from The Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing. She is committed to dance, continually exploring and innovating in her career.

Kora Besteman, originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, began her dance training at Grand Rapids Ballet under the direction of Mindy Mosolygo, Attila Mosolygo, and Dawnell Dryja. After moving to Miami at age 13, she attended New World School of the Arts High School, where she trained in ballet, contemporary, Horton, Taylor, and Graham techniques. She also trained with Miami Youth Ballet under Marielena Mencia and Jennifer Kronenberg.

Kora graduated from the University of Florida in 2026 with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Mass Communications. During her time at UF, she served as President of the Dance Student Council and coordinated the department's mentorship program. She had the privilege of studying under Alex Springer, Xan Burley, Augusto Soledade, Elizabeth Johnson, and Isa Garcia Rose, and performed works by Doug Varone, Branndi Nicole Lewis, and Millicent Johnnie. She has also trained with the Limón Dance Company under the direction of Dante Puleio and regularly attends the Bates Dance Festival as a member of the administrative team.
In addition to her performance career, Kora is a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor teaching throughout South Florida. She joined Dance NOW! Miami in 2026.

John Trunfio graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in May of 2020 with a BFA in Dance and minors in East Asian Civilization and History. In June of 2022, he graduated from Drexel University with a MS in Arts Administration and Museum Leadership.
The following year, John completed JV2 in England where he refined his physical theatre skills. He is also a certified aerial hoop/ lyra instructor. At NYU, he performed works by Wayne McGregor, Sidra Bell, Jim Martin, Ryan Mason, and Emilie Camacho.
After graduating, John worked on projects with the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation, Yu.S.Artistry, Elizabeth Burr Dance, Vive Khamsingsavath, TheatreZone, and was also a junior artist with the Ajkun Ballet Theatre.
John was a former company dancer with the Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, Hanna Q Dance Company, WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company, and Artichoke Dance Company. Recently, he was a cast dancer on Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess. John joined Dance Now! Miami in 2026.