Meet Cora’s Team

Co-Directors

NIKKI ASSANTI
(SHE/HER)

Director of Cora DAnce Brooklyn

Nikki Assanti is a dance artist, administrator, yoga instructor, and the Director of Cora Dance Brooklyn. 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 Director of Cora Dance Brooklyn for the 2025–2026 Season.

shannon hummel
(SHE/HER)

FoundEr, Director of professional company & Mobile Programs

Shannon Hummel is a choreographer, educator, and nationally recognized advocate for equitable access to dance. As the Founding Cora Dance, Hummel has spent nearly 30 years creating emotionally resonant choreography and developing equity-driven education programs. Her professional company, Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance, is known for bringing elegant, accessible performance into community spaces where dance is often limitied, while also being presented at major venues such as BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Brooklyn Museum, New York Live Arts (NYLA), among others. Described by The New York Times as “poignant, funny, and remarkably assured and perceptive,” “a rare gem,” and “vivid and true,” as well as being a Top 10 Critics Pick for Dance, she has received numerous accolades, including a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award Citation for Service to the Field of Dance in 2019 and being named an Extraordinary Woman of Brooklyn by District Attorney Charles Hynes in 2011. She has taught and developed dance programs across the country—from major universities like James Madison University (her alma mater, where she was named Distinguished Alumni of the School of Theatre and Dance in 2000) to youth studios. She spent a decade shaping young artists and programming at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Poly Prep Country Day School and Queensborough College in NYC and has been a guest speaker and panelist for organizations such as the American Dance Festival NY-Intensive, American College Dance Association, Movement Research, New York Live Arts, BAX, and the Poverty Studies Program at Washington & Lee University among others. In 2009, she founded Cora Dance Brooklyn, followed by Cora Dance Alleghany in 2020—youth arts centers dedicated to providing high-quality, pay-what-you-can dance education in communities facing barriers to access. Under her artistic leadership, Cora has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Virginia Commission for the Arts, among other support. Hummel currently splits her time between Clifton Forge, VA and Brooklyn, NY, anchoring her creative life in both rural and urban settings. She is a mama and godmama, a wanderer at heart, and someone who continues to find joy and purpose in sharing dance across every landscape and community she can.

ammara shafqat
(SHE/HER)

director of cora dance alleghany

Ammara Shafqat is a dance educator, performer, arts administrator, and the Director of Cora Dance Alleghany. She is from Harrisonburg, VA and 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 Director of Cora Dance Alleghany in 2025–2026, 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)

SH/CD 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.

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 & SH/CD 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.

kaitlyn hawkins
(she/her)

SH/cd production & company manager

Kaitlyn Hawkins is a freelance Stage Manager, Dance Artist, and Choreographer, dually based in Brooklyn and Minneapolis. She has Stage Managed with Arena Dances and Sparkle Theatricals and has worked as a Production Assistant for Honeyworks, Hatch Dance, and Company SBB. As a performer, she has worked with TU Dance, Shapiro & Smith, Black Label Movement, Doma Dance, Honeyworks, and Contempo Physical. She has been a part of the Candybox Dance Festival and Movers Make and has self-produced shows in both Minneapolis and NYC. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and holds degrees in Dance and Health & Wellbeing Sciences.

ross honaker
(he/they)

SH/CD 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. 

Sarah McCullough
(SHE/HER)

SH/CD Company Management Assistant

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)

CDB 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)

sh/cd dancer

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 10th season with Cora Dance.