Cassie Morales (she/her)
Cassie is a proud New Jersey native who brings her passion for dance, writing, and community impact to her role at Dancing Classrooms.
A graduate of Wesleyan University with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Master’s equivalent from The Graduate Center at CUNY, Cassie has consistently demonstrated academic excellence, maintaining high GPAs and earning the prestigious White Fellowship for her work in political science.
Most recently serving as Grants Officer at The Door – A Center of Alternatives, Inc., Cassie managed multiple high-stakes projects and successfully secured an average of $750,000 in funding annually. Her expertise spans grant writing, donor relations, and event management, skills she developed through her rich academic background and professional experiences.
Her unique blend of academic achievement, fundraising success, and artistic passion makes her a valuable asset in her work supporting youth development through dance education.
A Message from Executive Director, Nancy Kleaver
Thank you for your trust, generosity, and belief in the power of dance to transform lives.
Dear Dancing Classrooms Community,
With a full heart, I am writing to share that I will be moving on from my role as the Executive Director of Dancing Classrooms at the end of September, 2024 and supporting the organization as a consultant through the end of the year.
Reflecting on the past nearly five years, I am filled with pride and gratitude for our journey together. We have navigated unthinkable changes and challenges as an arts organization and emerged even more responsive to the communities we serve in our city and across the nation. Dancing Classrooms remains the largest provider of dance education to NYC Public Schools. We have expanded our program offerings to include younger children, more Students With Disabilities, and new forms of social dance from around the globe. We have welcomed a new and diverse generation of board directors and made strides to ensure that our curricula are gender-inclusive and culturally responsive. None of this would have been possible without our incredible staff, Teaching Artists, Board, partners, and supporters like you, whom I have had the privilege to collaborate with daily. Now is the right time for new leadership to move the work forward.
I am excited to announce that our excellent Deputy Director, Eve Wolff, will be stepping into the role of Acting Executive Director upon my departure. Eve, who joined Dancing Classrooms only a couple of months after me, is deeply knowledgeable about our work and the arts education field and a resourceful and confident nonprofit leader. I have no doubt that she will guide the team with the same dedication and intelligence that we have seen from her throughout her tenure. Please join me in congratulating Eve and supporting her in the months ahead as she takes on this new position. (Learn more about Eve!)
One of my initial motivations for joining Dancing Classrooms (DC) was to get closer to the joy and connection I observed in their student dancers during my years working as an arts education professional in NYC. I had only one semester with DC under my belt before the pandemic interrupted that, but only briefly. I was amazed to see how resilient and uplifting the art of social dancing remained, even when we could not touch. The faces of young people and their families would light up as our Teaching Artists zoomed into their homes, a testament to the unique power of the Dancing Classrooms model. An unexpected reward of my time here has been getting to know our programs’ alumni, who have transferred the skills they developed as young social dancers into their lives as collaborative leaders, innovative artists, and engaged citizens. I look forward to continuing to support and celebrate their journeys as they flourish in their professional and creative pursuits.
As I step away, I carry with me the profound joy and connection that first drew me to this organization. I look forward to returning to my consulting practice, where I will bring the energy and insights I have gained here to continue supporting the arts and culture sector and working to improve the lives of NYC children. No matter where I go, I will be a fierce advocate for our vision of a world that values social dance as foundational to every child’s well-being and joy and to celebrate the beauty of diversity and our shared humanity through my own creative practice.
Thank you for your trust, generosity, and belief in the power of dance to transform lives. Dancing Classrooms will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I am excited to see what the future holds for this extraordinary organization.
With deep gratitude,
Five years of collaborative leadership and defiant joy. ? ??
Brava, Dancing Classrooms’ incoming Acting
Executive Director Eve Wolff! ?? ??
Fara Faidzan (she/her/they/them)
Fara Faidzan (She/Her/They/Them) was born in Malaysia and moved to New York to pursue a degree in acting. With over a decade of experience in acting and drumming, and a strong passion for community engagement, she is now exploring the field of arts administration.
Fara Faidzan began her journey in the Malaysian theatre scene before moving to the U.S. to further her studies in the field. She earned a BA in Theatre Performance with a minor in Drama Therapy from Marymount Manhattan College. During her time in college, she served as a theatre student representative and Box Office Manager, where she discovered her passion for arts administration.
She interned with Performing Arts Mosaic (PAM), an organization dedicated to providing a stage for underrepresented communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fara hosted online shows for PAM on Instagram Live, ensuring that artists continued to have a platform. This experience solidified her commitment to community service and engagement.
While Fara continues to play drums in local NYC bands and puppeteer with the Filipino American artist collective MARICAMA, she also aims to pursue a master’s degree in Arts Management/Administration. As for dance, she loves taking K-pop dance classes at ILOVEDANCE—join her if you can!
Silvia Guerrero (she/her)
Watch to learn more about Miss Silvia:
Silvia Guerrero (she/her)
Senior Teaching Artist
Silvia Guerrero is a Brazilian native and has been teaching with Dancing Classrooms since 2005. She was trained in the Dulaine Method by Pierre Dulaine himself, and successfully mastered it throughout the years with diverse residencies. She has led residencies in elementary and middle schools across New York City and New Jersey in both public and private schools. She was also on the Dancing Classrooms Academy Teaching Artist faculty from 2009 to 2011. Silvia has participated with schools in The Colors of The Rainbow Team Match regularly, and has won the Challenge Trophy twice. Beyond Dancing Classrooms, Silvia has taught Ballet, Jazz, Flamenco, tap and musical theater as after school activities in South America and the USA since 1994. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of New Jersey City University with a Bachelors Degree in Arts and History. She is also a graduate of University “Barao de Maua” in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a Teaching Degree in History, Geography and Political Science. Silvia’s goal is to provide quality dance education for children of all ages. Her focus is not only on technique, but also on the creativity and enjoyment of all students.
Dance Break!
Mary McCatty (she/her)
A lifelong dancer, Mary has spent her career teaching, choreographing and performing all over the world, and first joined Dancing Classrooms as a Teaching Artist in 2005.
Mary brings years of experience in teaching, choreographing and performing all over the world to her work with Dancing Classrooms. As a performer, she was a Radio City Rockette, appeared on Broadway in The Best Little —house Goes Public, Sophisticated Ladies at the Kennedy Center, My One and Only with Tommy Tune, Jesus Christ Superstar, Can Can, Guys and Dolls, many Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades, and performed in musicals across the USA and internationally.
Mary’s choreography has been seen on stages around the globe, having worked on a variety of projects and musicals for adults and young people, including a production of Steel Pier, in which she won a Rising Star Award for Outstanding Choreography. Her dance teaching career has given her years of wonderful opportunities to impart the joy of dance to her students. Three of her favorite places to teach include Marymount College in Manhattan, Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance in NYC, and Dancing Classrooms.
Mary has been a team member atDancing Classrooms for over 16 years, originally trained by Pierre Dulaine as a Teaching Artist before serving as an Educational Liaison, and currently implements residencies and programs as Senior Manager, Program Operations.
Eve Wolff (she/her)
Eve has spent over 20 years in the NYC performing arts and arts education sectors, working in fundraising, programs, and administration and serving seven years on the Board of Directors of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable.
Eve first joined Dancing Classrooms as Deputy Director in February 2020, and spearheaded the transformation of programming in the early days of the pandemic, including the creation of our virtual and hybrid Dancing Classrooms: Homeroom Edition, helping to ensure thousands of students continued to receive the benefits of social dance, even during times of isolation. As Deputy Director, she oversaw the formation of multiple strategic partnerships and the expansion of programs to include after-school, summer, and K-3rd grade.
Before joining Dancing Classrooms, Eve worked at leading NYC arts and culture fundraising consulting firm Advance NYC as a Senior Project Director. There, she supported nonprofit clients, including ArtsConnection, Harmony Program, Hi-Arts, the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and SBI / A. Philip Randolph High School. Before joining Advance NYC Eve spent years in the NYC performing arts and arts education sectors, including serving as the Director of Programming at Young Audiences New York. She recently ended her second term as a member of the Board of Directors of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, where she continues to serve on their Development Committee. In addition, Eve previously served as a member of the School Leadership Team at early childhood school PS 242 in Queens, and on the National Guild for Community Arts Education’s members council.
She volunteers her time with Science Olympiad, Scouts, choir, and other activities at her children’s schools and community, where her baking skills, choral singing, and expertise in fundraising and face painting are in high demand. Eve holds a BFA in Drama from the Playwrights Horizons Theater School at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership & Management from Leadership Fellows New York at Baruch College. She was a proud NYU Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar and spent years bringing her stage management, performance, and educator skills to volunteer community and arts programs around the globe, including in Brazil, Ghana, Ireland, and across the US. Having grown up primarily in NYC, where she was an avid young dancer and performer (including studying under Ellen Robbins at Dance Theatre Workshop for over a decade), Eve is passionate about bringing the joy and freedom that can be found in the arts to each young person’s educational experience.
Eva Carrozza (she/her)
Watch to learn more about Miss Eva:
Eva Carrozza (she/her)
Manager of DC National Network & Institute, Senior Teaching Artist
Eva Carrozza has studied and taught Argentine Tango, Lindy Hop, and Ballroom dancing extensively before joining Dancing Classrooms as a Teaching Artist in 2004. At Dancing Classrooms, she has taught Elementary, Middle, and High School students both in- and out-of-school, including serving as a Faculty Teaching Artist for Dancing Clasroom’s Weekend Academy program. She has supported the development and revisions of our Social Ballroom, Middle School, and Homeroom Edition curriculums and co-led training for multiple cohorts of Teaching Artists across the DC National Network. Eva has also taught and performed a variety of famous partner dances in clubs around the world, including La Belle Epoque, Milonga Rosa, La Nacional, Swing 46, 92nd Y, Lafayette Grill, and also outdoors at South Street Seaport, and Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center.
Dance Break!
The 2020 Mad Hot Ball Went Virtual!
The safety of the Dancing Classrooms community remained our top priority as we navigated through the effects of the pandemic. In light of that, we hosted our annual gala virtually on September 23rd, 2020.
The Virtual Mad Hot Ball was Dancing Classrooms’ largest fundraising event of the year.
We thank our generous donors and ticket holders for their continued support in this unprecedented time.
More Information and Watch the Video