MLD Welcomes New Dance Teacher

December 13, 2023

Moving Light Dance is pleased to announce the arrival of Carissa Bellando to our team! Carissa comes to us from New York and holds a MFA in Contemporary Dance from Case Western Reserve University and a BA in Theatre and Speech with a concentration in Musical Theatre and a minor in Dance from Wagner College. She is also a Registered Vinyasa and Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RYT, RPYT) as well as certified Zumba Instructor.

Carissa performed professionally for thirteen years in Concert Dance and Musical Theatre throughout the US, Taiwan, and at sea with Norwegian Cruise Line and Aida Cruises before moving into teaching and choreographing full-time. Some of her favorite performance roles include Tumblebrutus in Cats, the Carpet in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Die Hexe (The Witch) in Es War Einmal (Once Upon a Time).

Carissa has taught and choreographed in the US and Germany for colleges, conservatories, theaters, dance companies, and numerous studios. Before moving to Vermont, she was an Adjunct Professor at her alma mater, Wagner College, for four and a half years. There Carissa choreographed five original full-length dance concerts and multiple musicals while teaching multiple levels of Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Ballet, Pointe, Tumbling, and Choreography/Composition.

Carissa’s passion for dance and love of sharing her knowledge through teaching can be seen in each of her classes. She believes that a true technical basis, in any genre of dance, is the key to learning and executing advanced movement. It is her goal to help her students hone their skills and progress in a way that best suits them, at any age or level, for each student is unique and every body beautiful.