EDD YOUTH ENSEMBLE
ARTISTIC DIRECTION

Get to know our EDDYE directors.

DIRECTORS

  • EDDYE Artistic Director

    Eisenhower Dance Detroit Artistic Director, Stephanie Pizzo, joined the company as a founding member in 1991. At various points in her dance career with EDD, she served as Resident Choreographer, Associate Artistic Director, and Co-Artistic Director. Ms. Pizzo now leads the company into her 6th season as Artistic Director. She focuses on collaborating with the highest quality national and international artists and creating strong ties within the metro Detroit community through the art of dance. Her recent dance for film work, The Five Tangos, inspired by the music of Astor Piazzolla and created in collaboration with the Detroit Institute of Art and Zazu Creative Studio, featured each contemporary tango danced in an iconic Detroit location.

    Ms. Pizzo also believes in educational programming and youth mentorship as key tools to develop community connection. She works to use the art of contemporary dance both as a means to present beautiful, athletic, and engaging repertory and as a vehicle to reflect on and explore issues of social significance. She has set her choreography at Illinois State University, Texas A & M University, and Wesleyan University, along with having staged numerous works by Laurie Eisenhower on companies and universities throughout the United States. Her work has been presented in Tel Aviv as part of Eisenhower Dance Detroit’s production of The Light Show, at international dance festivals in Poland, and most recently on the Inside/Out Stage at Jacob’s Pillow. A native of Clinton Township, Michigan, Ms. Pizzo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Oakland University. In 2009, she received a Distinguished Alumni or “MaTilDa” award from the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. She served as a special lecturer in dance at Oakland University for 12 years. Ms. Pizzo set new choreography for Texas Christian University and Texas A & M University in February, 2022.

  • Assistant Artistic Director

    Christina Tasco, BHS, MES, is the Chief Financial Officer of Eisenhower Dance Detroitand danced professionally with the company from 1997-2004.  During her time with EDD, she has held various positions within the organization including Company Member, Teaching Artist, Student Company Director as well as Director of Education and Outreach, where she managed the company’s Rochester studio and helped to open and direct two additional locations in Birmingham and West Bloomfield.  Today, Ms. Tasco continues to work for EDD both administratively and as a teaching artist/choreographer.

    Throughout her career, Ms. Tasco has taught numerous master classes and residencies across the state and country.  She has choreographed for and taught within a variety of studios, school districts, universities and special events including various fundraisers, musicals, and after school programs.

    In addition to her position at Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Ms. Tasco is a special lecturer at Oakland University where she has been on faculty since 2002.  She teaches several technique courses as well as Kinesiology, Dance History and Appreciation, and Dance Production.  At the university, she received the Most Inspirational Professor award in both 2014 and 2015 and was nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award in 2016.  In 2018, Christina received the Order of the Plume for igniting “inspiration within the students.”

  • EDD Director of Operations

    Ms. Chirio-Humenay graduated with a BA in Dance from Oakland University and joined EDD as a company dancer in 2012. From 2012-2020, she had the pleasure of touring, teaching, and performing with EDD. In 2018, through EDD’s Beyond the Stage Initiative, she was promoted to Company Manager and currently serves as EDD’s Director of Operations. Wearing many hats within the organization, Ms. Chirio-Humenay teaches at The School of EDD and directs several of the projects and programming EDD has to offer including the annual intensives: NewDANCEfest, The EDD Intensive, and the Winter Intensive. She is responsible for national booking and coordination of in-studio workshops, known as The EDD Experience, as well as educational and choreographic residency programs for school systems from elementary to college level. Ms. Chirio-Humenay also manages EDD’s EducatEDD programs which provide high quality educational materials and resources from knowledgeable and experienced professionals to the public and the dance community. A few of these programs include EDD’s monthly Pro-Tips, High School Dance Table Talks, and most recently An Insider’s Guide to Contemporary Dance online course.

  • Isabella Marina Varon is a professional dancer and dance educator based in Detroit, Michigan. She has been a company artist with Eisenhower Dance Detroit since 2023, where she has worked closely with and performed works by a diverse range of choreographers, including Maxine Doyle, Tess Voelker, Yoshito Sakuraba, Christian Denice, Tamisha A. Guy, Rauf Yasit and James Gregg, Joshua Peugh, and Norbert De La Cruz III.

    Most recently, Isabella performed principal roles in Rinaldo, directed by Louisa Proske at the Detroit Opera House, as well as in works by Sharon Eyal at Springboard Danse and Scott Jennings at the b12 Festival in Berlin.

    Isabella earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College in 2020, with a concentration in ballet. Her training includes prestigious summer programs with American Ballet Theatre and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

    Beyond performance, Isabella is passionate about dance education and mentorship. She regularly teaches ballet and contemporary techniques to pre-professional students across the Metro-Detroit area and provides college preparation guidance for aspiring dance majors. Her teaching experience spans colleges, intensives, and festivals nationwide. Isabella is currently on faculty at Viva Dance Company and Spotlight Dance Works. She is also the Off-Ice Training Director at the Detroit Skating Club and was the Associate Artistic Director of Young Dancers Initiative from 2022 to 2025.

  • Originally from Miami, Florida, Meagan Cubides began her formal dance training at the Miami City Ballet School and later attended New World School of the Arts High School. In 2019, she graduated from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, where she had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Francesca Harper, Jamar Roberts, Adam Barruch, and Sidra Bell, among others.

    During college, Meagan danced professionally with Ballet Hispánico Dos during their 2017–2018 season. She also trained at renowned summer programs including Arts Umbrella Dance, Bodytraffic, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Ballet Austin.

    Following graduation, Meagan danced with Visceral Dance Chicago for four seasons. She is currently in her third season with Eisenhower Dance Detroit and also serves as a teaching artist for the School of Eisenhower. In addition to her performance career, Meagan is a certified personal trainer at the Detroit Athletic Club. 

  • Katy Hall graduated from Oakland University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She received the MaTilDa Award for Outstanding Student Service through the Music, Theatre, and Dance program at O.U. She has also choreographed several pieces for O.U.’s dance company, Oakland Dance Theatre. Ms. Hall is a CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) dance alum and has choreographed many pieces for the dance program at Churchill High School since her graduation in 2003. In 2014, she attended the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum conference where she received her certification. She has been teaching for the School of Eisenhower Dance Detroit since 2006 and also serves as the Special Events Coordinator, Youth America Grand Prix Director, and Student Ambassador Program Director.

  • Emily “EmM” Moreira is originally from Richmond, Virginia and a graduate of James Madison University, where she earned her degree in Dance. During her time at JMU, she held various leadership roles and worked with numerous renowned artists and companies including, Lucinda Childs, Norbert De La Cruz III, DanceWorks Chicago, Ballet Hispánico, and Eisenhower Dance Detroit. EmM also studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, where she performed a work by Rubén Graciani at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. She has trained at various workshops and intensives with organizations such as L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Whirlwind Dance, National High School Dance Festival, American College Dance Association, and Eisenhower Dance Detroit.

    After graduating, EmM began her professional dance career learning and performing original works by Stephanie Martinez, Norbert De La Cruz III, and Yusha Sorzano. Most recently, she appeared as a dancer in Carmen with the Charlottesville Opera. A former ImmersEDD Intern, EmM is incredibly excited to be joining Eisenhower Dance Detroit for her first season! 

Past Guest Choreographers:

2023-24

Seyong Kim
Judy Milner
Meagan Cubides

2022-23

Áine Dorman
Lillie Hamilton
Alex Hlavaty

2021-22

Jonathan Jackson
Kaitlin Arena **Recipient of the RDA Emerging Choreographer Award and Scholarship
Madeline Aldana
Alex Hlavaty