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The Dancers
Chris Ellis Photography
Hilary Thomas (Artistic Director) grew up in Pasadena and trained with The Pasadena Dance Theatre under the direction of Philip and Charles Fuller and Cynthia Young. She earned degrees in dance and psychology from Santa Clara University and continued her dance training with the Joffrey Ballet. Hilary also danced with Western Ballet in Mountain View and Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company in Los Angeles . In 1999 Hilary created Lineage Dance, a contemporary dance company dedicated to raising support and awareness for nonprofit organizations and to making the arts accessible to all. Since that time, Lineage Dance has presented over 300 performances and raised nearly $200,000 dollars for charitable, educational and nonprofit organizations across the country. In 2010 the company opened the Lineage Performing Arts Center in Old Pasadena as a community hub designed to encourage community awareness through the arts. Hilary has earned various awards for her artistic work in the community: the Beverly Hills Outlook selected her as one of top choreographers of 2004 and 2005, she received the “Gold Crown Award” from the Pasadena Arts Council in 2006, and was nominated by “THE” Magazine as one of Pasadena’s top 50 creative artists in 2011.
Caterina Mercante (Associate Director) started dancing at the age of 3. She began her training in ballet and jazz with Sabrina and Suzanne Childers in the San Francisco Bay Area. She continued training and performing in Italy with Gruppo Stabile Udinese, under the direction of Elisabetta Ceron and Antonella Cumin, where she was introduced to contemporary ballet and modern dance. From 1996-2000 she trained in jazz, modern, tap and ballet with Fran Atlas-Lara, David Popalisky, and Audrey King. In June 2000 she received a B.A. in Theatre Arts with emphasis in Dance and a B.A. in Italian Literature from Santa Clara University. Caterina has been teaching dance at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada since 2002, and has been dancing with Lineage Dance since 2000. In 2005 Caterina became the Associate Director of Lineage Dance and remains 1 of the 2 founding members still dancing with the company. Since 2007, she has been the coordinator for the Pasadena Dance Festival.
Mario Barberio
Brittany Daniels began dancing ballet at the age of eight and later studied hip-hop, jazz, modern, and ballroom at the age of 14. She completed Cecchetti examinations 1-5 and earned international honors for her last examination. Some summer dance intensives she attended are Cecchetti USA (nominated for an award in her division), American Ballet Theater, Ballet Magnificat! (full scholarship), and LINES Ballet (scholarship). She was awarded the most promising dancer in her home city, Temecula, California, by ODC modern dance company, as well as offered a full scholarship to their dance intensive. She was offered an apprenticeship to the modern company, PGK Dance Project when she was 18. She traveled and danced in Washington D.C., New York, Italy, and Cuba with Dunamix Dance Project. She was honored with many opportunities to perform, serve, and teach dance at places that served underprivileged children, abused children, individuals with HIV/AIDS, and individuals who are homeless. Currently, Brittany leads the dance program at Maranatha High School in Pasadena. Brittany joined Lineage in 2018.
Michelle Kolb was born in Baltimore, MD. She began studying dance at the age of 6 at the Sudbrook Arts Center. She later attended the Baltimore School for the Arts under the direction of Norma Pera. At this high school she had the opportunity to work with many guest choreographers including Hinton Battle, Mireille Briane, Ron Cunningham, and Lisa de Ribere. While in Baltimore, Michelle performed with Annapolis Ballet, Baltimore Ballet and Harbor City Ballet. She later continued her studies at the S.U.N.Y Purchase Conservatory. Her professors included Rosanna Seravalli, Bettijane Sills, and Gayle Young. The highlight of those four years for her was her Senior thesis performance in which Alan Barnes of The Frankfurt Ballet created a new work on her entitled “KiKisdu.” In 2001 after moving to Los Angeles Michelle danced with Meh-Tropolis Dance Theater for three years, under the direction of Sarah Harkness. Michelle has been a member of Lineage Dance since 2007.
Molly Mattei, a native of Elgin, IL, graduated with a BFA in dance from Western Michigan University, magna cum laude. She has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with Philadanco Dance Company, the Dance Theater Workshop in New York City, and her choreography was selected to appear in Western Michigan University’s Winter Concert of Dance in 2005. She performed as a dancer and aerial artist for Royal Caribbean International touring Asia and the Caribbean, and served as an assistant rehearsal director to Dianne McIntyre at the American Dance Festival at Duke University. In Los Angeles, Molly has performed with Winifred R. Harris’ Between Lines, Faux Pas Dance Company, Intersection Dance Project and Ptero Dance Theatre. Molly’s Los Angeles choreographic debut, “Damn the Man” was nominated for a Lester Horton Award, and she currently heads the dance program at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada. Molly joined Lineage dance in 2010.
Ericalynn Priolo was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in South Florida. She received her early training at Dreyfoos School of the Arts and attended various dance programs such as Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive, the Ailey Extension International Dance Exchange, and Dance Makers Choreographic workshop in Toronto, Canada. Ericalynn received her BFA in Dance from New World School of the Arts, Miami, Florida. Here she was able to perform works choreographed by Peter London, Gerard Ebitz, Darshan Bhuller and Robert Battle. Priolo was also honored to perform Robert Battles "Battlefield" in the Czech Republic and Peter London's "Frida" in Puerto Rico. Ericaynn has been teaching various classes for Lineage since 2012, including their Dance for Joy program. She has also been a faculty member at The Buckley School since 2018. Ericalynn Priolo is so grateful to be a part of the Lineage family.
Teya Wolvington began dancing at the age of twelve when she moved from Portland, Oregon to Santa Fe, New Mexico. After training in both ballet and modern for six years, she attended the Modern Dance Department at the University of Utah. Upon receiving a B.F.A. in 2005, she moved to Los Angeles and has been dancing professionally ever since. She was a member of Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company for six seasons and has been dancing with Lineage since 2008. Teya is now the proud owner of Core Connection Los Angeles, a private gym located at LPAC, where she does personal core fitness training. She is truly honored to be part of the Lineage family.
Meghann Zenor was born and raised in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. She was a company member with Pacific Dance Ensemble in Newport, Oregon for eight years. Meghann graduated with a BFA in Dance and a BS in Communications from Stephens College in Columbia, MO. Upon graduation, Meghann moved to New York City where she worked in commercial production and performed with a variety of modern dance companies. Meghann moved to Los Angeles in 2004. She’s currently a full time mom and sneaks off to be an Art Director a few times a year. Meghann has been dancing with Lineage since 2007.
Jonathan Kim graduated in 2017 from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor’s in Dance. He performed “august,” a piece by Colin Connor and Debra Noble, at the 2016 American College Dance Association National Festival and the inaugural Jacob’s Pillow American College Dance Association Gala Highlights at the 2016 Inside/Out Festival. He worked with Lineage Dance Company, SJDanceCo, Kelly Alvarez and Artists, Embark Dance Theatre, and most recently performed with SALT Contemporary Dance for their 6th season while directing the SALT Pro Training Program. He performed works by Doris Humphrey, Donald McKayle, Gustavo Ramirez-Sansano, Brendan Duggan, Penny Saunders, Nicholas Palmquist, Hilary Thomas, and Joni McDonald. After guesting in Repertory Dance Theatre’s 2018 fall concert SPIRIT, he became a company member in 2019. Jonathan continues to guest with Lineage Dance Company and has toured with them to New York, Montana, and various places around California.
Marco Tacandong is a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Jacksonville, Florida who is trained in modern, contemporary and hip hop styles.
He received his B.A. in Dance from Jacksonville Univeristy and current-
ly resides in Los Angeles, CA. He is signed to Go 2 Talent Agency and
also teaches hip-hop at Top Billing Entertainment Performance Academy
in Glendora, CA. He was a part of Snowglobe Perspective’s Snowtorious,
WreckLess Dance Crew, Nancy Evans Dance Theatre, Florida State College
at Jacksonville’s danceWORKS repertory company, and was a dance director
at a high school in San Gabriel. Marco is glad to be part of the Lineage family.
