Meet Cora’s Team

The Co-Directors

shannon hummel
(SHE/HER)

FoundEr & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR—professional company choreographer & director

Shannon Hummel (she/her) is a choreographer, educator, and celebrated advocate for dance access. Her company, Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance, is best known for mounting her intimate, accessible works in community spaces and places where access to professional dance is limited. Beyond those spaces, she has also been presented by BAM/Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Museum of Art, NYLA/New York Live Arts, among other celebrated venues. She has been a "Top 10 Critics Pick for Dance” by The New York Times, where her work has been praised throughout her career, as “poignant, funny and remarkably assured and perceptive; vivid and true; quirkily, sweetly private and delightful” and “a rare gem”. Hummel has taught and created dances in countless colleges and universities but also loves the intimacy of small studios for young dancers. She taught and developed programs for youth artists at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange and Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, NY for 12 years before establishing two equity-driven dance education centers - Cora Dance Brooklyn in NYC (2009) and Cora Dance Alleghany in Alleghany County, VA (2020). She has been a speaker at American Dance Festival NY-Intensive, American College Dance Association, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Movement Research, New York Live Arts, and the Poverty Studies Program of Washington & Lee University; among others. She served on faculty at Queensborough College and her alma mater James Madison University, where she was The School of Theatre and Dance Distinguished Alumni in 2000. She was named a 2011 Extraordinary Woman of Brooklyn by District Attorney Charles Hynes; acknowledged in 2020 by the New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards for Service to the Field for her work with Cora Dance Brooklyn; and received significant support from the National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York State Council on the Arts. While Hummel’s focus for the past 25 years has been strongly rooted in choreography and education, she has recently enjoyed “dabbling” in performance again, in diverse projects including speaking in live improvisations as “the voice in your head” in Charles Atlas’ Mathematics of Consciousness at Pioneer Works in NYC; grooving to Bowie at the PAC NYC Perelman Performing Arts Center in The 20 Years Project by Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri; donning four prom gowns a night co-emceeing the annual Red Hook Community Prom alongside Keon Washington; and singing a little harmony with vocalists Annabel Cole and Jose Joaquin Garcia. She is a mama and god-mama who lives in Clifton Forge, VA, anchoring her creative work there as well as in Brooklyn, NY. She loves to wander the roads that take her between these places and to other spots beyond that offer her a chance to keep sharing dance with others. 

NIKKI ASSANTI
(SHE/HER)

associate DIRECTOR—cora dance brooklyn Program head

Nikki Assanti is a dance artist, administrator, and yoga instructor. Nikki is Associate Director of Cora Dance, leading the Cora Dance Brooklyn team. In her role, she dances for Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance's professional company, teaches all levels of Modern Dance and dance for Seniors, and directs the Modern Cora Youth Companies in addition to working to oversee the work of the CDB administrative team and production team. Nikki is the founder and lead choreographer of Nikki and The Noise, a Brooklyn-based dance company. Her choreographic work with Nikki and The Noise has been shown in NYC venues such as The Cherry Lane Theatre, Cora Dance, Creative Cultural Center at St. Veronica’s Church, Gallim Dance, Green Space, and Triskelion Arts. Nikki has performed in works by Brit Falcon, Digital Movement Dance, JACKS, Joanna Mendl Shaw, Raja Feather Kelly, and Shannon Hummel. Nikki also teaches on faculty at Open Arts Studio. She has been a guest artist and speaker at multiple universities including University of Florida and University of Southern Maine. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Florida, and is a 200 hour registered yoga instructor. Nikki has held many roles over 9 years at Cora in administration, productions, performance, and teaching and is proud to serve as an Associate Director for the 2024–2025 Season.

ammara shafqat
(SHE/HER)

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR—Cora Dance Alleghany program head

Ammara Shafqat is a dance educator, performer, and arts administrator from Harrisonburg, VA, who has worked professionally throughout the state as well as in New York City. She holds a BA in Dance from James Madison University, where she was a member of JMU’s pre-professional touring company, the Virginia Repertory Dance Company, as well as serving as the Co-Director of JMU’s Associate Dance Ensemble for first-year dance majors. At JMU, she worked with globally recognized artists Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion, Rubén Graciani, Kiki Lucas, and Matt Pardo, among other choreographers. Ammara's work extends beyond her growing body of credits as a performer and teacher to include arts advocacy, production, administration, and community engagement. She is currently a dance faculty member at Cora Dance Alleghany and several independent studios and schools in the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands regions of VA. Ammara tours internationally as a company manager and assistant with The Blanket and historic post-modern dance icon Lucinda Childs and her company. In addition to dancing with the professional company, Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance, since 2022, she has served as the Youth Advancement & Programs Manager and Youth Company Director for both Cora campuses—NYC (Cora Dance Brooklyn) and Virginia (Cora Dance Alleghany)—and moved into an Artistic Associate role in 2023. Now in her 4th season working with the organization as an administrator and artist, Ammara is proud to take on the role of Associate Director in 2024–2025, heading the Cora Dance Alleghany team, deepening education and access work in the Alleghany Highlands region while continuing to dance with the professional company.

Administrative and Artistic Team

hans bilger
(he/him)

company COMPOSER

Hans Bilger is a musician, sound engineer, and biologist from Brooklyn, New York. The eldest child of a classical singer and a science writer, he spent his childhood playing American folk and country gospel in a family band. In the summers, he went to jazz camp, collected insects, and dissected mice at his aunt’s cancer research lab. These experiences informed his later musical and scientific studies with mentors including Greg Cohen (Ornette Coleman, Laurie Anderson), Paul Kowert (Punch Brothers), Axel Scherka (Staatskapelle Berlin), J.A. Granelli (Mose Allison), Nabil Arbaain (Arabic Music Institute Berlin), Richard Prum (Yale University), Julia Clarke (UT Austin), Mike Ryan (UT Austin), and Mirjam Knörnschild (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin).

After completing his B.S. at Yale University in 2016, Bilger moved to Austin, Texas, where he became a sought-after sideman and session bassist. His debut solo album, Meridian, was released in 2019 by Good Child Music. Bilger has been composer-in-residence for Brooklyn-based dance company Cora Dance since 2017. In 2020, he moved to Berlin, where he continues to perform in the jazz, folk, experimental, and Middle Eastern music scenes.

Bilger began his training as a sound engineer and music producer at the Fred Plaut Recording Studio at the Yale School of Music, assisting in solo/chamber music, symphonic, and big band recordings. He has also worked as an audio engineer at the American podcast network Panoply Media. In 2023, he and composer Eli Greenhoe launched Miniwagon, a music and media production company.

Bilger remains deeply fascinated by the natural world. He holds a PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Texas at Austin, where his dissertation focused on the evolution of the voice in frogs, bats, and humans. He has published scientific papers on musical structure in birdsong and the anatomy of the avian voice box. He is currently a Visiting Scientist at Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science.

sofia McClarnon
(SHE/HER)

CDB FACULTY

Sofia is an alumna of Marymount Manhattan College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and a Concentration in Classical Ballet. She has been performing, teaching, and studying dance on a professional level for many years. In college, Sofia studied with and performed pieces by a multitude of well-known choreographers including Katie Langan, Adam Barruch, Chase Brock, Trebien Pollard, and Fredrick Earl Mosley. Sofia is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Dancer Movement Corp: Reimagining Dance for People with Disabilities. In addition to teaching Level 1 Creative Movement for Cora Dance Brooklyn, she also leads enrichment classes for students with mixed abilities through Cora Dance Brooklyn at PS15's after-school program in Red Hook. Sofia teaches in many places around the NYC area, bringing the joy of dance to both children and adults. Sofia has a passion for teaching all people and is excited to return for a third season of dancing with the Cora Dance Brooklyn team!

eleanor crawford
(she/they)

advancement & DEVELOPMENT manager

Eleanor Crawford is a choreographer, educator and arts administrator invested in making dance accessible for all. Eleanor grew up dancing at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX) where they have stayed involved in the alumni community. Eleanor graduated from Hampshire College with a focus in choreography, cultural studies, and youth studies. Eleanor’s passion for supporting young people has manifested in many years of teaching and administrative work in arts education spaces, summer camps, and special education schools. She has shown her choreographic work at BAX, the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, Atland, Triskelion Arts, Anchor House of Artists, and virtually through skewl, as well as at Vienna Union Hall as a Bearnstow Young Artist Intern in 2024.

Nicole frye
(she/her)

cda summer intern

Born in West Virginia and raised in Virginia, Nicole Frye is a recent graduate of Alleghany High School with a deep passion for the arts. Her creative interests include art, photography, videography, graphic design, and dance—mediums that have shaped her personal and academic journey. She has earned recognition in several state-level art competitions and contributed to public murals throughout her community. As a CDA Intern, she is excited to be part of Cora Dance Alleghany this summer. She looks forward to gaining hands-on experience in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where creativity and community come together. Through this opportunity, she hopes to grow both professionally and personally while contributing to meaningful projects that inspire and uplift others through movement and artistic expression.

josÉ joaquÍn garcÍa
(he/him)

CDB faculty

José Joaquín García was born and raised in Alphabet City on Manhattan's Lower East Side where he learned his passion for singing and developed the incredible sense of urgency that is palpable when he steps up to the microphone.  Jose has graced the stage with the Pregones Theatre Company since 1986 as a singing actor performing original musical theater works. He appeared with Marc Anthony and Ednita Nazario on Broadway in Paul Simon’s "The Capeman", understudying for Ruben Blades.

One of the most versatile singers in New York City, Jose transitions seamlessly from rock, roll, rhythm & blues to a wide array of Latin styles to European works he has classically trained to sing. He performed Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe with San Francisco’s Zaccho Dance Theatre in October 2016. He has performed with the Lehman College Orchestra and the Boricua College Chorus as a tenor soloist in works by Mozart, Handel and Mendelssohn. He and his group Rubi Theatre Company have frequently collaborated with Dan Zanes, most notably on Catch That Train, which won the 2006 Grammy for Musical Album for Children, and 2008’s ¡Nueva York!, which won the Independent Music Award for Best Children’s Music Album. Jose will also be heard on an upcoming Leadbelly tribute album on Smithsonian records, to be released in April. He is the co-founder and Lead Vocalist of Rubi, Brooklyn’s premier rock & roll neoyorquino band. This is his third year as a faculty member for Cora Dance.

CHRIS HAMMETT
(he/HIM)

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Chris Hammett brings over 25 years' experience to Cora as a theater producer and non-profit arts administrator. He was co-founder and managing director of Falconworks Theater Company from 1997 until 2022. In that role he led the company's financial management, fundraising, compliance, and HR functions, as well as helping develop and manage programming including Falconworks' award-winning Off the Hook playwriting program for young people and developing the groundbreaking Police-Teen Theater Project. Chris also has nearly 25 years experience in the financial industry in marketing, product management, and compliance. A native of Ohio, he still dreams of home. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Kenyon College, and a master's degree in teaching from the University of Chicago.

ross honaker
(he/they)

dancer

Ross Honaker, an Appalachian native of Lewisburg, WV, began studying dance in high school with a local youth performance group like CYC. This experience was pivotal in the pursuit of his passions and spurred him to complete first a BFA in Dance and Choreography at Virginia Commonwealth University and then an AAS in Massage Therapy at Queensborough Community College. Before adding the focus of healthcare, Ross developed his dance career in NYC where he studied and performed with world class artists and companies including Doug Varone and Dancers, David Dorfman Dance, and the Limón Company. He also enjoyed a short international dance career with Arch8, an Amsterdam-based company. With the pandemic Ross came back to his roots in Appalachia, opened a massage therapy clinic, and is thrilled to share his love of dance through teaching and performing throughout these beautiful mountains we call home! This is his second season as part of Cora Dance.

lisa jonas
(SHE/HER)

CDA programs manager

Lisa Jonas was born and raised in Carson City, Michigan, and relocated to Clifton Forge, VA in 2009. She earned a BAA from Central Michigan University and went on to work for a decade as a Human Resource Executive. She also has 9 years of experience as a nonprofit Programs Manager. She and her husband spend time attending their two children's soccer games, swim meets, basketball games, and cross-country meets. Lisa was introduced to Cora Dance Alleghany (CDA) when her daughter joined CDA in 2022. She looks forward to her new journey with CDA and ensuring every child has a chance to dance. 

MykIE laidlow
(He/him)

CDA Teaching assistant, production assistant

Mykal Laidlow is a graduate of Cora Dance Brooklyn, where he studied dance for nine years. He was a member of the CYC/Cora Youth Company for four seasons, a dancer with the professional Apprentice Company for two seasons, and a Production Intern and Production Associate for two seasons. Mykie relocated to Clifton Forge, VA from Red Hook, Brooklyn in 2020 and has worked as a Production Associate and volunteer for CDA and professional company productions. This is is his first season working, not only in production, but as a teaching assistant to Founder, Shannon Hummel, at Boys’ Home in Alleghany County. Mykie is a student at Mountain Gateway Community College in Clifton Forge, pursuing a General Studies degree.

Carli mareneck
(SHE/HER)

dancer

Carli Mareneck of Lewisburg, WV, holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Utah. She was a founding member of Trillium Performing Arts Collective, based in Lewisburg, WV, where she worked for over 30 years to broaden community involvement with modern dance through her teaching, choreography, and performances. Her work has been featured regionally and as an adjunct performer with the Dance Exchange in Washington, DC. Known for performance works that incorporate striking visual art through costuming and props, Carli has been a featured choreographer for FestivALL in Charleston, WV, and for the West Virginia Dance Company for over a decade. In addition to her work as a dance professional, Carli teaches workshops on Learning through the Arts and Mindfulness for public schools, conferences, and teacher trainings. She is a teaching artist for Carnegie Hall and recipient of the Mary B Nickell Grant for Arts and Education (2013-2017) and the Greenbrier County Health Alliance Grant since 2016. Carli remains an active and respected leader and teacher in West Virginia, valued for her integrity and commitment to promoting healthful living and creative expression through mindfulness and the arts. She has been a longtime creative partner with Shannon Hummel and Cora Dance and is excited to be dancing in her first season with the company.

junie marsh
(SHE/HER)

dancer, faculty

Junie is a Caribbean-born, California-raised, dancer, teaching artist, wife, and mother. She holds a BFA in dance choreography from Arizona State University. She spent over 15 years teaching classes in NYC, including ballet, modern, movement therapy, ballroom, and breathwork. She is the business owner of Enhance Your Dance, sharing private lessons in wedding choreography and connection for couples. Her career as a performer gave her the opportunity to work with companies such as Delfos Danza Contemporanea of Mazatlan, Pilobolus Dance Theater, Kennedy Dancers, Kathleen Dyer with KDNY, and tour abroad with Vissi Dance Theater. She had the privilege of working as both an educator and artist at Cora Dance dating back to 2016.  She now lives in Tampa, Florida and is honored to reunite with the Cora family as a facilitator in the newest collaboration of The Crossroads Project.

Sarah McCullough
(SHE/HER)

Company Management Assistant/Collaborating Artist

Sarah McCullough is a Minneapolis-based movement enthusiast, freelance performer, and educator in contemporary forms originally from Virginia, Sarah attended James Madison University as a Madison Achievement Scholar and earned her BA in Dance and Mathematics. Since relocating to Minnesota in 2018, she has had the pleasure of performing in works choreographed by Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Berit Ahlgren, Carl Flink, Helen Hatch, Marisol Herling, Mathew Janczewski, Taja Will, and more. She has toured with Minneapolis-based dance companies Black Label Movement and ARENA DANCES to the greater Minnesota area, Florida, and New York. She has recently joined Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance as a Company Management Assistant and collaborating Dance Artist. She is a highly collaborative artist who is passionate about aliveness in performance and seeks to perform works that center humanity, complexity, and play. She currently teaches contemporary classes at Zenon Dance School, Hothouse, and Minnesota Dance Theater. Sarah has offered classes at the Limón Twin Cities Intensive, ARENA DANCES' Instinct Intensive, The University of Winchester (UK), North Carolina State University, and several high school dance programs throughout the Twin Cities. She is also a 200-hour accredited yoga teacher and offers a holistic approach to mindful movement as a personal and artistic practice.

tyler renfroe
(He/him)

Production Manager

Tyler Renfroe (he/him) is a dancer, production manager, and certified yoga instructor from Bradenton, FL. Tyler received his BFA in Dance from the University of Florida in 2019 and moved to Brooklyn to continue performing and producing dance in New York City. Tyler has performed with companies such as Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Digital Movement Dance, and Nikki & the Noise, as well as choreographers such as Juel D. Lane, Joanna Mendel Shaw, Dante Puleio, Jennifer Archibald, Elizabeth Johnson, and Trent D. Williams Jr. Tyler also has a passion for the technical and production elements of dance, and has used that passion to stage manage for Rush Johnston, Kaleid Dance Collective, Nikki and the Noise, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Kinetics With Karley, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, and the University of Florida’s School of Theatre and Dance. Tyler has been the Production Manager for Cora Dance and Brooklyn Arts Exchange since 2023, while also serving as the Facilities Associate for BAX and receiving his 200-hour yoga certification to teach at CorePower Yoga.

Tiffany shull
(she/her)

CDA volunteer parent liaison

Tiffany Shull was born and raised in Alleghany County. Tiffany is the proud mom of her twins, Jack and Faith, and has been married to her husband Richard for 19 years. She is an active Cross Country, Swim, and Dance mom! Tiffany’s family is her world. She graduated from Alleghany High School, went to work in retail management, and now works in the paper industry, where she has spent the last 15 years. Tiffany was introduced to Cora Dance in 2021 and fell in love with the program. She knew Cora Dance Alleghany became a place she wanted to be a part of with dance being open to every child no matter their family’s circumstances. She is excited for this year at CDA!

keon washington
(he/him)

artistic associate

Keon Washington is a New York City native, who has been dancing and performing for twelve years. Once he gained an interest in dance, he began training in Hip Hop and other styles with some of the best teachers in New York City, such as Robert Cecil Brooks III, Amanda Pope, and the late Maurice C. Dean. Throughout high school and post-graduation Keon began realizing his love of training dancers as well as performing. To further cultivate his skill set as a teacher, dancer and choreographer, he began working alongside his mentor Amanda Pope as a teaching assistant at Lower Manhattan Arts Academy, Harlem School of the Arts, Amanda Pope Dance Company and Chimera Concept dance team. Keon has taught at the Harlem School of the Arts, Aubrey Lynch-Extra Essential Arts (AL-EEArts), among others. He has been a beloved teaching artist for Cora since 2016 and was a dancer with Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance from 2016–2018. In 2021, Keon became Cora’s first Associate Director, working alongside Artistic Director, Shannon Hummel, in re-establishing balanced programming organization-wide during the build-back from COVID and creating a new structure of artistic leadership by forming a council of Artistic Associates to help guide the organization into the next quarter century. In 2023, Keon stepped into the role of Artistic Associate, returning to dancing in the professional company Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance; serving as founding director of CDB’s Cora Youth Company-Hip Hop; teaching all levels of CDB in-studio and off-site hip hop classes; and working with the other Associates to plan for the organization’s future. Keon is now in his 9th season with Cora Dance.