BIOGRAPHY
Ashley is an award winning performer, choreographer, director, and filmmaker who is based in NYC. She is a proud graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (B.F.A. in Dance, B.A. in English and American Literature) and the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance in Austria.
As a performer, Ashley splits her time between the concert, commercial and musical theater worlds. She has performed with Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Ne-Yo, Lady Sovereign and Shakira and at events for for X-Box, Wii, Rite Aid, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, The American Heart Association, Shoemania, Bose Headphones, Ray Ban, and Cirque du Soleil. She has worked with choreographers Susan Marshall, Jill Johnson, William Forsythe, Andrea Miller, Sidra Bell, Andy Blankenbuehler, Jen Jancuska, and Jeffry Denman, and has trod the boards for many regional and off-broadway musicals, including An American in Paris, Newsies, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, A Funny Thing...Forum, and White Christmas.
Choreographic credits include special events for the Walt Disney Company, Dorothy Parker: The Musical, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, benefits for The Trevor Project and Planned Parenthood, An American in Paris, Newsies, How Did We Get Here? : The Story of The Donner Party, Fairy Tale Christmas, West Side Story, You Me I We, Once Uponzi Time, and a numerous concert dance presentations.
When she is not writing or choreographing, Ashley teaches at Peridance NYC, Broadway Dance Center, and various conventions across the country. She is also the founder of Marinelli Moving Pictures, a videography and film editing business which specializes in performance recording and dance film.
CLASS DESCRIPTION
As a professional dancer with 15 years of experience in the theatrical, commercial and concert dance scenes, Ashley’s class focuses on stylistic versatility, individuality and a strong technical foundation.
Class begins with a 30-minute, jazz-based warm up that emphasizes breath, strength and connection. It continues with several across the floor structured improvisational exercises (where the point is discovery and exploration, rather than “results”) and concludes with 45 minutes of choreography which combines elements of jazz, contemporary, modern, floor work, street styles and improvisation.
If any filming occurs during class, it will only occur once, at the very end of the session. Participation is optional, but everyone is welcome to dance.