E-BOARD

MIA BATTISTELLA

Co-President

Year: Senior

Major: History, Government, and Spanish

Hometown: Summitt, NJ

Mia has been dancing for 18 years, and trained in styles including modern, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, and ballet at Dance Innovations in Chatham, NJ. Outside of Rise, Mia is a member of Best Buddies, Cornell Historical Society, and Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity. She is looking forward to an incredible fourth and final year with Rise!

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EVELYN ZIAEE

Show Coordinator

Year: Sophomore
Major: Chemical Engineering
Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Evelyn is so excited for her second year on Rise! She has been dancing for 10 years and began her training at the Center of Creative Arts and Professional Dance Center in Saint Louis, MO, studying and competing tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and lyrical. In high school, she had the opportunity to choreograph multiple pieces for the annual Dance Show, and can’t wait to choreograph for Rise this year! At Cornell, Evelyn also dances with and is the PR chair for On Tap Dance Troupe. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and spending time with family and friends. Evelyn is beyond grateful for her Rise family and can’t wait to see what this year has in store!

CLAIRE YU

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair

Year: Sophomore
Major: Computer Science and Cognitive Science
Hometown: Marin County, CA

Claire is a freshman in the college of arts and science and has been dancing for 13 years. She grew up training in ballet with Marin Dance Theatre up until she was 14 and then joined her high school’s advanced dance group. There she studied Horton technique and dabbled in styles from salsa to hip hop. She also performed in CHOREO series, the College Preparatory School’s student led dance show, and in her senior year co-directed the show. In this role, she choreographed several pieces in styles such as contemporary and jazz. She is so happy to have joined the Rise family this year!

FRANCESCA MARINO

Co-President

Year: Senior

Major: Biological Sciences
Hometown: Rochester, NY

Francesca has been dancing for 15 years with a majority of her training at Deborah Mackay School of Dance in Webster, New York. Her favorite styles are jazz and contemporary, and she has also trained in ballet, tap, lyrical, hip hop, and musical theatre. Outside of Rise, she works in a reproductive biology lab at the vet school. In her free time, she loves to bake, listen to new music, and hang out with her dog and two cats.

SARA METTNER

Public Relations Chair

Year: Sophomore
Major: Mathematics
Hometown: Madison, WI

Sara has been dancing for 13 years and has been dancing competitively for six years at Move Out Loud Dance studio in Madison, Wisconsin. She has trained in ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and acrobatic dance. In addition to dancing at her studio, she was a lead instructor for acrobatic dance classes and a teaching assistant in ballet and jazz classes. Sara is excited for her second year as a part of the Rise family!

ANGELINA LANDOLFI

Social Chair

Year: Senior
Major: Nutritional Science
Hometown: New Haven, CT

Angelina is a senior studying nutritional sciences in CALS. She began dancing when she was 3 and is primarily trained in classical ballet. Since joining Rise she has had the pleasure to try other dance styles and has become a big fan of contemporary and jazz. Aside from dancing (and studying) she also enjoys going on runs, reading, cooking, and spending time with her friends. Rise has been Angelina's favorite thing about her years at Cornell and she is so grateful for her time with this group. She love the family with all her heart and is so excited for one last run with her favorite people.

GABBY PECCORARO

Vice President

Year: Junior

Major: Computer Science
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Gabriella has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has been trained in primarily ballet, but loves modern, jazz, and contemporary. One of Gabriella’s favorite dance experiences was the summer she spent at the American Ballet Theatre in New York City, where she got to take classes with and taught by professional dancers of all backgrounds. She knew she couldn’t give up her love for dance in college, so she is very happy to be a part of the Rise family!

AVA BRIGANDO

Treasurer

Year: Sophomore
Major: Applied Economics and Management
Hometown: Rockland County, NY

Ava is very excited to be a part of Rise! She has been dancing for 15 years in the styles of classical ballet and jazz at Coupé Theatre Studio in Nanuet, NY. Since the age of 9, Ava has danced in her studio's production of The Nutcracker and her favorite role was the Sugar Plum Fairy. Outside of dance, Ava enjoys watching movies, going for walks, and playing board games.

BRITTANY RAKHMONOVA

Secretary

Year: Sophomore

Major: Anthropology (Pre-Med Track)

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Brittany is a sophomore on Rise and has been dancing since she was 4 years old! She is primarily trained in Russian ballet, but enjoys other dance styles like lyrical, contemporary, and acro. When Brittany is not dancing, she is either doing research at an ecology and evolutionary biology lab at Cornell, or she is hanging out with her friends and family! Brittany loves Rise so, so much.

MAYA ABROL

Year: Senior

Major: Fashion Design and Management

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Maya has been dancing for 18 years and she is so grateful to spend her 4th and final year with Rise. She started dancing at the Ballet Academy of Texas at age 4 and continued to the age of 14 where she was trained in ballet, tap, modern, and jazz. Later, she danced on her high school drill team, the Parish Rosettes, where she was a lieutenant responsible for choreography, organizational leadership, empowerment, and more. At Cornell, Maya is a research assistant in the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection, an archival resource on campus. In her free time, Maya likes to do hot yoga, watch reality TV, and read fantasy novels.

NICOLE CIOFFI

Year: Senior
Major: Government

Hometown: Staten Island, NY

Nicole was a competitive dancer at Dance Factory for 16 years before coming to Cornell. She trained in the styles of lyrical, contemporary, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. She joined her high school's competitive dance team her freshman year, and followed through until graduating. As a soloist, Nicole has won scholarships, titles, and competitions from the young age of 6 years old with her first solo ever. Her major is Government, and she is hoping to attend law school after graduation. In her free time, Nicole enjoys spending time with friends, trying new foods, watching hockey, and exploring Ithaca! Apart from Rise, she also dances on campus as Competition Captain of the Cornell University Dance Team, and also with Shadows Dance Troupe. She enjoys learning new choreography and has choreographed pieces of her own in the styles of lyrical, contemporary, and jazz. Nicole has so much love for her Rise family, and she is looking forward to sharing the stage with them!

DANIELA GRAFFEO

Year: Senior
Major: Human Development

Hometown: Acton, MA

Daniela has been dancing for 16 years, started competing at age 7, and spent the majority of her time dancing and competing with Acton-Boxborough Dance Center. She’s trained in jazz, tap, musical theater, ballet, modern, hip hop, and (recently) pom. She has choreographed her own solos several times, along with choreographing for multiple theater productions throughout high school (including a Disney pilot musical), so she can’t wait to choreograph for Rise this semester. She was also a gymnast for 16 years! Other than Rise, she is in other dance groups on campus such as On Tap and the Cornell University Dance Team. She is also a member of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. She is so happy to be a part of the Rise community!

LUCY NELSON

Year: Senior

Major: Industrial and Labor Relations

Hometown: Harpswell, ME

Lucy is a Senior majoring in Industrial and Labor Relations. She has been dancing for 17 years, training primarily in ballet, tap, and jazz, but with experience in modern as well. She danced with the Maine State Ballet for most of her life, and eventually as a part of their professional company. At the Maine State Ballet, Lucy was instructed in the Balanchine technique, and was fortunate to be able to perform Balanchine's choreography under the direction of Linda MacArthur Miele. Over the course of her time with the Maine State Ballet, Lucy performed in The Nutcracker, Firebird, Don Quixote, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, and many other productions. Her favorite part about dancing is performing and being able to dance with her closest friends.

LAUREN UNGER

Year: Senior
Major: Human Biology Health and Society
Hometown: Monroe, CT

Lauren began dancing at the age of four at The Dance Workshop in Monroe, CT, where she also competed for 10 years. There, she trained in various styles, including contemporary, tap, modern, jazz, ballet, and lyrical. At Cornell, she also dances with On Tap Dance Troupe and is a member of HEART and PATCH.

SARAH VAFIADIS

Year: Senior

Major: Environmental Engineering

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Sarah has been dancing for 16 years. She began her dance training at Beyond Dance and Bay Ridge Ballet, where she trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, and tap. She was also a member of the Staten Island Tech Dance Team and had the opportunity to choreograph for a student-created musical her senior year. At Cornell, she is also a member of the Cornell University Dance Team. Sarah is so excited for her third year on Rise and so grateful for her Rise family! <3

VIOLETA EGAN

Year: Sophomore

Major: Environmental Engineering

Hometown: Rockland, NY

Violeta is very excited for her second year on Rise! She has been dancing for 15 years in the styles of classical ballet, contemporary jazz, hip hop, and jazz at Coupé Theatre Studio in Nanuet, NY. Since the age of 10, Violeta has danced in her studio's production of The Nutcracker Ballet, with her favorite role being the Dew Drop Fairy. She has also trained for 12 years in Bulgarian folk dance at the Hristo Botev Bulgarian School in New York, NY. Aside from Rise, Violeta is a part of the Engineers in Action Project Team at Cornell. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time outside.

CARLY HERMANN

Year: Junior

Major: Psychology

Hometown: New York, NY

Carly has been dancing for twelve years. She attended Dance Workshop in New York, New York where she learned ballet, jazz, and lyrical. She also competed with Dance Workshop for four years. This past summer, Carly returned to Dance Workshop to teach younger dancers. When Carly is not dancing or studying, she loves to draw, run, go for walks, watch TV/movies, and spend time with her friends and family. In addition to being a dancer on Rise, Carly is a writer and staff member for the Cornell Daily Sun, a volunteer at the Language Resource Center, and a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority. Carly loves being a member of the Rise family!

NEAVE MCCONNELL

Year: Sophomore
Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Hometown: Naperville, IL

Neave is a sophomore in the college of engineering. She joined Rise last year and loves being part of a dance group that feels like family. Neave has been dancing for over sixteen years. She previously danced competitively in contemporary, lyrical, and jazz although she has also trained in ballet and modern. During high school she continued to compete as a member of her school’s dance team. She also spent four years on Orchesis, her high school’s performance group where she not only danced but also choreographed. Outside of Rise, Neave is part of Cornell’s taekwondo team as well as the Cornell Mars Rover Project team.

EMMA STEINBERGER

Year: Sophomore
Major: Physics
Hometown: New Hope, PA

Emma is a freshmen majoring in physics. She has been dancing since she was 2 years old and has been trained in many styles of dance, with her favorites being lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and tap. She has competed at regional and national dance competitions for 8 years, and those are some of her favorite dance memories. She loves being apart of the Rise Family and being able to continue her passion for dance!

NAOMI COHEN

Year: Freshman
Major: Global and Public Health Sciences
Hometown: Bolton, MA

Naomi has been dancing since she was three years old and joined her studios competition team in high school. At her studio, she trained in jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, and ballet. Her major is global and public health sciences, and she is on the pre-med track, planning to attend medical school in the future. When she isn't dancing, Naomi loves to spend time with friends, explore the outdoors, bake fun recipes, and listen to music. She is so excited to be a part of the Rise family!

LEAH CONDON

Year: Freshman
Major: Chemistry
Hometown: Canton, MA

Leah is so excited to continue dancing in college as a part of Rise. She has been dancing for 15 years, and has taken classes in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, pointe, contemporary, and modern. Last year she taught a musical theatre class at her studio, and has also choreographed for some of her high school’s musicals. She plans to study chemistry at Cornell. Outside of Rise, she does sketch comedy with The Skits and sings in the chorale.

RUBY GOODMAN

Year: Freshman
Major: Global Development
Hometown: New York, NY

This is Ruby's first year on Rise, and she is excited to dance with the group. Ruby has been dancing since age 4 at Downtown Dance Factory in New York City, leading her to perform at WNBA games at Barclays Center. She has trained in multiple genres like jazz, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, and musical theatre. Ruby started to pick up choreographing in middle school through her school's dance program; she has been putting on shows with her friends ever since. Ruby came to Cornell to study Global Development. Outside of Rise, she is part of the Cornell Fashion Collection, Cornell Fashion Industry Network, writer for Cornell Daily Sun, and sits on the Chabad board. Ruby is also a Yoga Sculpt instructor and teaches at Blossom Yoga in Ithaca! Ruby wasn't going to continue her dance journey in college, but once she found Rise, she knew she had to!

CLAIRE GRAYBEAL

Year: Freshman
Major: Animal Science
Hometown: Lancaster, PA

Claire started dancing at the age of 3 and has been continuing dancing for the past 15 years with a focus on lyrical, contemporary, jazz, ballet, and tap styles. She competitively danced for 10 years (ages 8-18) with her local dance studio (Willow Street Dance Steps). During her time competing, she did numerous solos, duets, and group dances ranging in various styles. Claire is so excited to join the Rise family and continue dancing in college.

EMMA MCDERMOTT

Year: Freshman
Major: Cognitive Science
Hometown: Riverside, CT

Emma is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has been dancing since the age of four and is trained in a variety of styles, including jazz, contemporary, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, and ballet. Throughout high school, Emma taught an adaptive dance class, where she shared her love of dance by teaching ballet and hip-hop to children with autism. Dance has always been a central part of her life, and she is thrilled to continue pursuing it at Cornell and grateful to be part of the Rise family.

CHRISTEE SESSA

Year: Freshman
Major: Hotel Administration
Hometown: Long Island, NY

Christee has been dancing for 11 years, training in lyrical, contemporary, jazz, and ballet at Elite Dance Studio on Long Island. She joined her high school’s varsity dance team as a freshman and was selected as captain her senior year. In this role, she collaborated closely with her coach to choreograph pom and jazz routines performed during halftime at home football and basketball games. Beyond her varsity experience, Christee served as president of her high school’s dance club and was a dedicated member of the school’s dance ensemble for 7 years, where she explored new styles and student-led choreography. She is honored and super excited to be part of the incredible Rise family!