Fran Beaumont
Fran Beaumont, originally from Richmond, Virginia began her training with the School of the Richmond Ballet. After graduating from Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, with a focus on dance, she continued her education in England at The Hammond School where she studied dance and choreography. In 2016, she graduated with a Level 6 Degree from Trinity College in Professional Dance and received her teaching certificate in Pilates. Fran has trained with Jasmine Grace, Starrene Foster, Jane Elliott, David Needham, Anthea Garratt, Alison Hughes, Tara Penick, Arnott Mader, Lee Johnston, Antonia Barron, and Christine Eccleston-Tuohy. She currently works as a stagehand with the Richmond Ballet and choreographs for Appomattox Governors School. Fran joined Starr Foster Dance in 2016.
ANGELA PALMISANO
ANGELA PALMISANO (Dancer), originally from Baltimore, Maryland, has been dancing since the age of two. She has had the pleasure of training at the prestigious George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson, Maryland for high school and also in the Department of Dance and Choreography at Virginia Commonwealth University. Angela is a private event planner in Williamsburg, Virginia and joined SFD in 2014.
SHANNON COMERFORD
Shannon Comerford, who grew up in Amelia, VA, got her start dancing at Joy’s School of Dance. She continued her dance education at Radford University and graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance in 2015. While at Radford, she performed in many main stage productions, as well as at the New York Jazz Choreography Project and served as an apprentice for d a n a h b e l l a DanceWorks. Since graduating, Shannon has danced as a guest dancer for local RVA and DMV artists and was a company member with RVA Dance Collective for several years. Through her time with the company she worked with several notable choreographers including Eric Rivera, Miguel Perez, LaWanda Raines, Vicki Fink and Kelly Bartnik. In addition to performing Shannon has a huge passion for choreography and teaching. She loves creating and continuing to help nurture and cultivate other dancers’ journeys. Shannon joined SFD in 2022.
MOLLY HUEY
Molly Huey, originally from Pennsylvania, is a dance artist, videographer, and media artist, among other things. They perform, choreograph, teach, capture, create, and recreate often. Molly has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance, specializing in performance and choreography, and a Bachelor of Arts in communication, graduating from Slippery Rock University in 2019. A few highlights include performing on the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Stage with ACDA selected works, at the Joyce Theater in New York for the University Partner’s Showcase, the New Hazlett Theater in Pittsburgh for PearlArt’s 3600 Seconds of Solos, at Dixon Place in New York for WhiteWave’s SoloDuo Festival, at Schenley Park for Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s Open Air series, in Brooklyn Bridge Park with Currents (take.6), and in Philadelphia for the Koresh Artist Showcase. They look forward to exploring more stages. Molly started dancing with Starr Foster Dance in 2022.
MADISON ERNSTES
Madison Ernstes, born in China and raised in Richmond, Virginia, began her dance training at Dancers’ Studio and later danced competitively at Dance Destination. She continued her dance journey at the University of Richmond where she served as both a member of and company captain for the Department of Theatre and Dance’s company, University Dancers. She was also a member of the Department’s Electrics Crew. Additionally, she choreographed two original dance works that premiered in University Dancers’ Annual Concerts. After graduating with a BA in Dance and BS in Biology in 2020, Madison attended Radford University and received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in May 2023. She is currently working with Fox Rehabilitation in Richmond, VA. Madison joined SFD in 2023.
Mosca Mavrophilipos-Flint
Mosca Mavrophilipos-Flint graduated from VCU in 2006. There she studied Theater Education and Dance Performance and Choreography. In 2008, Mosca became a certified yoga instructor through Integral Yoga and taught at the University of Richmond, Yogaville and for educators in Henrico County. She has also taught Theater and English to secondary learners before stepping out of the field to focus on her family. Today she and her husband share three wonderful children and she has had the privilege to return to her passions as a dancer for Starr Foster Dance.
ADJUSTING TO THE DARK
GUEST PERFORMERS
Cassidy Kinney
Cassidy Kinney grew up in Wisconsin, where she trained at North Shore Dance Studio for 15 years. Following a summer at Interlochen Center for the Arts, she pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, graduating from George Mason University in 2016. After graduation, she taught dance while interning at the Kennedy Center, kickstarting her love of managing performances and events. Cassidy then moved to New York where she managed tours of performance companies like Ballet Hispanico, Farruquito, Hong Kong Ballet, and Pilobolus. This work allowed for many adventures on the road, even to Norway and Dubai. In a classic pandemic pivot, Cassidy found an adjacent passion in planning corporate events that give back to local nonprofits. She is loving getting to make a difference, while also finding her way back to the stage with SFD!
Olivia Gotsch
Olivia Gotsch, born and raised in Chicago, began her dance training at Hyde Park School of Dance and spent summers at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. In 2023, she graduated from Vassar College, where she studied anthropology and performed with Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre (VRDT) for four years, working with choreographers such as Desmond Richardson, Jennifer Archibald, Amy Hall Garner, Mike Tyus, Adam Weinert, Yoshito Sakuraba, and Kirven Douthit-Boyd. While at Vassar, she served as assistant to the director of VRDT for three years and staged several original choreographic works on members of the company. This is her first performance with SFD.
Julia Straka
Julia Straka started dancing not long after she could walk. She took community classes at the Virginia School of the Arts, and later trained under Mari Mori at Central Virginia Ballet. A journalism and dance major in college, she studied abroad at the Paris Marais Dance School, where she was introduced to Martha Graham technique and continued her classical ballet training. She also danced with the University Dancers company at University of Richmond. She currently lives in Downtown Richmond and works as a content writer in the real estate industry.
Roya Baker-Vahdani
Roya Baker-Vahdani began her dance training at the age of 3 with Dance Fremont in Seattle, Washington under the direction of Artistic Directors Vivian Little and Mary Reardon, dancing for them until the age of 17. In 2018-2020 Roya trained under Artistic Director Megan Philipp at State Street Ballet Professional Training Program in Santa Barbara, California. In 2020 – 2021 she danced for Columbia Classical Ballet in Columbia, South Carolina under the direction of Radenko Pavlovich. Roya moved to Richmond, VA in 2021 to join Stavana Ballet where she danced under Artistic Director Shannon Hunter McConville for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons. Since leaving Stavna Ballet, Roya has been focusing on freelance dance and completing her AA degree after which she plans to pursue a degree in Psychology.
Janelle Ragland
Janelle Ragland, from Lynchburg Virginia, is a dancer and an International Social Justice Studies major, with a focus on Nonprofit Organization and Management, at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has immersed herself in the dance world for 16 years, training at LeeAnne Ashley Studio of Dance in Bedford, VA and with various companies across the East Coast in all genres of dance. Starr Foster Dance is excited to have her on their team as an intern for the 2023/2024 Season and a guest performer in Adjusting to the Dark.
