About Dani Altiere
Dani has been working as an Artist in Residence for over 40 years! She has worked in Edmonton, Calgary, New York City, Austria and Chicago as a professional Writer/Director/Choreographer/Performer/Teacher creating performances with tens of thousands of children in both general ed. and special needs. She has trained in multiple forms of Dance, Theater, Gymnastics, Hoop and is ever expanding her repertoire. She has specialized education in Early Childhood, Behavior Management and Brain Gym. Dani's gift is a striking balance of Artist, Educator and Entertainer. She ensures her students find a supportive environment, where-in they can feel comfortable enough to take the risks necessary to discover their own Artist with-in. Dani has recently added a a select group of fellow teaching artists to deliver her material and philosophy to even more students.
" I have seen the impact the Performing Arts can make in a student's life and I'm excited to share that with your school!"
Dani offers many different residencies in Dance, Drama and Gymnastics. She teaches all ages, but spends most of her time in Elementary and Jr. High schools. Whatever you can imagine in Performing Arts programming Dani can make a reality! Her experience as a professional entertainer, director and choreographer in New York City for 12 years, has given her a personal understanding of the professional model of production from first rehearsal to final performance. All residencies contain, excellent instruction delivered in a safe, inclusive, and non-competitive environment.
Most often the residence is a one or two week event with a culminating sharing on the final day, but there are one day or 30 minute events for special occasions. Dani loves to customize her units to meet your students particular needs. She can adapt her material for physical, or behavioral needs as well as E.S.L.. Dani can speak a little German, Spanish & French as well as knows some A.S.L...
(resume & biography at the bottom of this page)
Resume:
Dani Altiere
danialtiere@yahoo.ca www.danialtiereinc.com
Writer/Director/Choreographer
The Enchanted ToyShoppe Bershire Dance Theater, Vt. 1991
Moonlight,Music and Magic Timbers Dinner Theater, Pa. 1993
Too Many Princesses West Side Dance Project, N.Y.C. 1994
The Magic Paintbrush West Side Dance Project,N.Y.C. 1995
The Kid’s Fringe Fringe Theatre Prod., Edmonton 2001
The Search for the Sun Youth Singer’s of Calgary,AB. 2005
Creatures Great and Small Meyokumin Elentary, Edmonton 2005
The Forgotten Youth Singer’s of Calgary,AB. 2006
Summer School Youth Singer’s of Calgary, AB. 2007
The Enchanted Elevator Festival Place , Sherwood Park 2007
Hip Hop Aesop Minchau Elementary, Edmonton 2007
Winter Princeton Elementary, Edmonton 2009
Director/Choreographer
Monkey Business American Family Theater, N.Y.C. 1997
Poor Veronica Queens Family Theater, N.Y.C. 1998
How to Eat Like A Kid TADA! In-School program, N.Y.C. 2000
Sleepover TADA! In-School Program, N.Y.C. 2000
Choreographer
B.O.T.C.H TADA! Theater Co., N.Y.C. 1992 & 1995
Wide Awake Jake TADA! Theater Co., N.Y.C. 1994
Little House of Cookies TADA! Theater Co., N.Y.C. 1995 & 2001
Everything About School, almost TADA! Theater Co., N.Y.C. 1998 & 2002
Everything About Camp, almost TADA! Theater Co., N.Y.C. 2000
Alice TADA! Theater Co., N.Y.C. 2003
Resident Choreographer Celebrations Dinner Theatre, Edmonton 1997 - 2002
Much Ado About Nothing Theatre Prospero, Edmonton 2008
World Beat Hip-Hop Edmonton Public Schools 2009
Classical Hip Hop Edmonton Public Schools 2010
Poetry in Motion Edmonton Public Schools 2012
Adventures in Acrobatics Edmonton Public Schools 2013
7 Habits in Motion Edmonton Public Schools 2014
Decades Edmonton Public Schools 2015
Dani Altiere, biography and career highlights
I grew up in Chicago, where I took daily dance lessons and often participated in community theater productions. While in High School (1979) I worked as a teaching assistant at my dance school and began choreographing in community theater productions. I took classes in Ballet and Jazz with Gus Giordano and Lou Conti of Hubbard St. Dance Co.. (1982) Then I took a year off and backpacked across Europe where I ended up teaching dance classes in Austria, learning German along the way. (1983). I created week-long arts programs in music, art, dance & drama for the Girl Scouts of America. (1984 - 85) I moved to Vermont where I worked at Bennington College’s Early Childhood Center and received training with experts in Early Childhood, renown in their fields. There I developed my programs for the wee ones, and was honored when asked to guest lecture at both Bennington College and North Adams State College ( 1988) in how to teach movement to 3 - 5 year olds. I got my first Equity job with Oldcastle Theater Co. in Bennington, choreographing “Nunsense“ (1987). I co-founded Oldcastle’s Youth Theater with Frank Latson (1988) and began training young people in musical theater. I also worked at Bennington School, a residential facility that housed emotional and learning disabled teens (1986 - 89). There I received training in Behavior Modification, a skill that would prove beneficial throughout my later career. I received specialized training in Art and Drama therapy. I wrote my first full length play for Berkshire Dance Studio, ” The Enchanted Toy Shoppe” (1989). I moved to New York City and became resident choreographer and Director of Education at TADA! Theater Co. (1980). TADA! is a not for profit, Off-Broadway theater company that produces original musicals for family audiences. They have a professional company of actors aged 8-18. They also have an educational dept. and have been named New York’s number one training ground in Musical Theater for kids by the Chancellor of Education. I worked with TADA! For 12 years in many capacities including: choreographing many of their main stage shows, teaching classes where I developed several scripts to teach by; and working as an artist in residence in public and private schools. While in New York, I trained at, taught and choreographed for West Side Dance Project. I developed several scripts for their children’s program while honing my skills as a dancer and teamed up with my husband as composer on our first ever full length musical,” Too Many Princesses“ (1992). I danced for Flying Tiara Repertory, American Heritage Dance Co. a company who reproduce the works of Isadora Duncan and il Guilari di Piazza, an Italian folk dance troupe. I acted, directed and choreographed for several educational, Off-Broadway and regional productions. I was in Manhattan on Sept. 11th and will always be affected by it. I was honored by the New York Times to be chosen as an artist for a healing project through Young Audiences New York that sent artists of all mediums into the schools most affected by 9/11 to create projects of healing and moving on (2002). I worked as an Artist in Residence for Young Audiences where I developed programs in Dance and Drama for E.S.L., autistic, emotionally disabled and severely handicapped populations from Pre-K. through High School. Since moving to Edmonton (2004), I’ve been involved in many projects including dance studios, dinner theaters, public and private schools, day cares, summer camps, museums, libraries, the Fringe, and a multitude of independent projects. I’ve taught for multiple years at McEwen College in the Outreach Program teaching Theater and Dance and at U. of A. in the Recreation dept. teaching Ballet and Hip-Hop. Currently, I work as Artist in Residence in more than 25 schools a year offering programs in Theater and Dance. I have been a repeat speaker at Greater Edmonton Teacher’s Conference Association and a presenter at Alberta Teacher‘s Association. During my summers I’ve been writing, directing and choreographing original musicals for a variety of summer camps and creating future residencies.
