Meet our Fall
Teaching Artists

Kevin A. Smith is thrilled to be teaching with TADA! New York City credits include; AMAS Romeo & Bernadette; Theater 2020 A Little Night Music; Three Act Theater Next to Normal.  National Tours: Miss Nelson is Missing, Miss Nelson Has A Field Day, Stinky Cheese Man, The Little Engine That Could.  Regional credits: Northern Stage The Sound of Music, Mamma Mia; McLeod Summer Playhouse Gypsy, The Drowsy Chaperone, 9 to 5, Into the Woods, Sister Act, Singin’ in the Rain, Bring It On, Hairsray, Spamalot, The Sound of Music, Chicago and Annie.  Dartmouth College Into the Woods, Cabaret, Urinetown, Columbia University, Ragtime.

Music Director

Belinda

Belinda A. Sáenz is an NYC-based multidisciplinary performer and instructional specialist who is thrilled to collaborate as a teaching artist with New York City Center, Disney Theatrical Group, Lincoln Center Education, and TADA! Youth Theater. She served as adjunct faculty at NYU Steinhardt’s Dance Education program for three amazing years. Belinda’s most recent performances are with Bessie Award-winning Joya Powell’s Movement of the People Dance Company and Callaloo Kids. She has appeared at Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, The Kennedy Center, Aaron Davis Hall, United Palace Theatre, and Queens Theatre, and has worked with choreographers Martie Barylick, Sean Curran, Deborah Damast, Diane Duggan, Rocker Verastique, among many others. Sáenz is native of the Juárez-El Paso border area where she performed intensively and taught in the private and public sectors for over 15 years before moving to NYC in 2012. Besides the USA, she has studied, taught, and/or performed in Mexico, England, and Eastern-Central Europe. Sáenz holds an MA in Dance Education (Institute Honors/Western Scholarship) from NYU, an MEd as Instructional Specialist in Bilingual Education & BFA in Music Theatre/Dance (Magna Cum Laude & University Honors Certificate) from The University of Texas at El Paso. BelindaSaenz.org

Director/Choreographer

Elizabeth Callahan is an actor, director and comedian from the North Shore of Massachusetts. She received a double B.A in English and Theatre with a concentration on Shakespeare Studies from the University of Vermont. In Vermont, she was very involved with immigrant populations in rural communities and worked with them to learn English through dramatic storytelling and theatre. She has also worked with Autism Speaks as a Teaching Artist. Elizabeth has performed with The Vermont Shakespeare Company, and has helped develop many other small summer Shakespeare troupes in Massachusetts. In New York City, she performs Sketch, Improv and Musical comedy at The People’s Improv Theatre and has also directed for Fringe NYC.

Director/Choreographer

Christal Saloman graduated St. John’s University with a BA in Biology with aspirations to become a medical doctor. Soon after graduation she discovered her love for the performing arts and decided to take a leap into studying Musical Theatre at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She has since performed on regional stages in shows such as Annie, Sister Act, Cinderella, and A Christmas Carol. She is excited to work with talented kiddos who want to learn all about acting, singing, and dancing at such an early age, unlike herself.

Director/Choreographer

Michael Finke is a New York-based composer, lyricist, and librettist. He has had songs, concerts, and full productions of his work performed at Lincoln Center, the Czech National Symphony, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Joe’s Pub, The Laurie Beechman Theater, NYU, Don’t Tell Mama, Off Broadway at St. Luke’s, NYMF, L.A.’s Rockwell: Table & Stage, the Christmas Day telecast on ABC, and many more. He is a member of ASCAP, the Dramatist Guild, and is the winner of the 2015 New Voices Project with Disney Imagineering and New Musicals Inc. He has been a musical director for the Lovewell Institute since 2007, having music directed Lovewell workshops in Ohio, New York, Florida, Kansas, Nevada, Sweden, and Italy.

Music Director 

Kim Jinhyoung is a storyteller based out of New York. Kim composed the music for the musical Sheman (Seoul Youth Art Institute residency) which  premiered in Seoul, South Korea in 2017. He also composed the music for the play Wonderhuman. Kim is writing highly-anticipated musical comedy Two Nights and Three Days with Marcus Perkins. Kim’s works have been performed at major venues in New York and New Jersey, including Joe’s Pub, Feinstein’s/54 Below and Two River Theatre. This October, Refresh, his 20-minute musical written with Marcus was performed as part of Hall Pass, Without Walls Festival, presented by La Jolla Play House. Kim has received his M.F.A. in the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in May 2019. [email protected]

Music Director

Gabriela Gross (Ensemble and Alumni Manager) is a recent graduate of Wagner College with a degree in Theatre Performance and Speech. Gabi pursued a career in Musical Theatre. Some of her favorite credits include, Rusty in Footloose, Diana Morales in A Chorus Line and Catherine in Proof. While exploring her other passion, youth development and education, she worked at an achievement gap program in Newport, RI. She was teaching 3rd grade at Success Academy Union Square before coming to work at TADA! full time. Gabi is also an alumnus of TADA!’S resident youth ensemble. After undergrad, Gabi continued to be a part of TADA! Over the years, she has stepped into many roles. Including, Assistant Stage Manager, Wardrobe Supervisor, House Manager, Assistant to the Choreographer and Assistant Director. 

Director/Choreographer &
Ensemble & Alumni Manager

Chris Bell is originally from San Antonio, Texas. He attended Case Western Reserve University (MFA, Contemporary Dance), Lamar University (BS Dance & BS Geology) and was a 4-time full scholarship recipient to the American Dance Festival. He currently makes work with Raja Fether Kelly as a member of the feath3r theory, is a principal dancer for Eryc Taylor Dance and is a frequent collaborator with (and former choreographic assistant to) Mark Dendy. In addition to TADA! Youth Theater, he teaches for ETD Outreach, Marquis Studios, and Marble Collegiate Church, where he is also the resident choreographer. His company @chrisbelldances has presented work in 4 out of 5 boroughs (including evening length works at Dixon Place and Gibney Dance Center), 3 States, and Mexico. 

Director/Choreographer 


Katy Knowles

Katy Knowles holds a Masters of Arts in Educational Theatre for Colleges and Communities from New York University.  Some of her career highlights as an arts administrator include Event Coordinator for NYU’s Educational Theatre Forum on Site-Specific Theatre, Assistant Camp Director at Acting Up Performing Arts Camps, Theatre Facilities Manager at Davis Center for the Performing Arts and Stage Management Intern at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. In addition to her administrative work she has extensive experience as an Educator, Director and Choreographer. As a theatre director and teaching artist, Katy spent many years teaching classes and workshops in musical theatre, acting and dance at Manatee High School, Lakewood Ranch High School, Greensboro Performing Arts, and Mary McDowell Friends School. Some of her favorite shows as a Director and Choreographer are Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game, Anything Goes and The Drowsy Chaperone. Katy also holds a Bachelor in Arts in Acting from Greensboro College and an Associate in Arts in Musical Theatre from Florida School of the Arts.

Director/Choreographer &
Director of Education

Stephanie Wells is a music director and a music/ musical theater educator. She has been teaching and music directing for over 20 years. She received her BA in Musical Theater Performance from Columbia College Chicago. In Chicago, she began music directing, playing/touring/recording with bands and started her teaching career at Old Town School of Folk Music. After moving to NYC, she worked as a music director at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU (NYC, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai campuses) and The New School with Elizabeth Swados. For several years, she was adjunct faculty at Kingsborough College where she taught Musical Theater and served as the resident Music Director for the Theater Department. She has worked extensively for 15 years with students with TADA Youth Theater. Recently, she has worked as a faculty music director for The Performing Arts Project as well as serving as the Associate Music Director for the Texas State University Musical Theater BFA program. She has music directed over 30 musicals nationally and internationally.

Music Director 

Close menu
×