Emily Ackin-O'Mahoney (Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Modern, Hip Hop, Pointe) BFA Dance Education (University of the Arts). She has studied with Ronen Koresh, Scott Jovovich, and Christine Cox. Emily grew up in Kansas City, Missouri training at Ibsen Dance Theatre, supplemented by Joffrey San Antonio, Missouri Fine Arts Academy, and Stephens College Summer Dance Program. She was a member of the award-winning North Kansas City High School Dance Team for three years and two-time UDA All-Star recipient. She assisted with preparation and execution of the National High School Dance Festival held in Philadelphia in March 2012. Emily has been an instructor with Universal Dance Association and is currently a dance teacher throughout the Philadelphia area. She loves teaching jazz, tap, ballet, and creative movement at Darlington! While she is in the studio, she aims to continuously encourage her dancers. She believes in respect, honesty, hard work, and not giving up.
Leslie Bush (Dance Choreography, Contemporary, Ballet) Leslie Bush is a Philadelphia based dance and visual artist. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in dance choreography and performance from Temple University in 2017, and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a focus in contemporary dance from Indiana University in 2012. Leslie has presented her improvisational work throughout the Philadelphia and New York
region, most notably in the Philadelphia Fringe, and Art in Odd Places Festivals. Her dance films have shown as official selections in national and international film festivals—most recently in the 2022 Dance Camera Istanbul Festival. Leslie’s most recent production, Exo-skin-esphere, a collaboration between Rowan University dance and theater students, and robotics engineering faculty and graduate students, will premiere in December 2022 as a part of the RUTD MainStage season. Leslie was a 2018 recipient of a Small But Mighty Arts professional development grant, and in 2019 participated in an art and new media residency at ThoughtWork Arts. That same year, Leslie was invited to be a movement expert and consultant for motion capture research at Drexel University. She was awarded an Illuminate the Arts Grant in 2021 and 2022 by the Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy for her contributions to the field. Her ongoing creative research into dance and interactive technology is frequently included in colloquiums, publications, and workshops. Leslie’s writing can be found in The Dancer Citizen and on thINKingDANCE.net.
Abigail DiGravio (Ballet, Tap, Modern, Contemporary) is from Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She recently graduated from Slippery Rock University with a Bachelor of Art in Dance as well as Early Childhood Education with a minor in Special Education. As a performer and student choreographer, Abigail has worked closely with the Garnet Valley Performing Arts Association. Throughout the years, she has been granted the roles of Understudy of Dainty June from Gypsy, Delores from Gypsy, Martha from High School Musical, and a featured dancer in multiple musicals. In addition to musical theater, Abigail has had the opportunity to choreograph and perform in more contemporary styles for different courses and concerts at SRU since 2020. She worked with Jesse Factor in the reconstruction and performance of Martha Graham technique which was performed in Swope Music Hall in 2019. She also performed in a piece choreographed by Anna DeRubeis based on her research of The Nutcrackers Final Bow in Yellowface. Most Recently, Abigail has been constructing research of her own regarding The Teaching of Authenticity in Dance: Finding one's self within Physical movement.
Michaela Henry (Musical Theatre) Michaela is from Springfield PA, and is a soon to be graduate of Baldwin Wallace University in Arts Management & Stage Management. In her college years, she has had many wonderful experiences in theatre and arts education including serving as a stage manager for the Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre program and stage manager for Upper Darby Summer Stage's Children's Theatre program. She is so excited to be working at Darlington this summer, and cannot wait to meet lots of new teaching artists and students!