Our Staff

Kelly Armbrust holds degrees in both dance and dance/movement therapy and has engaged with dance both artistically and therapeutically for much of her life. As a teacher, her approach blends the traditional and technical with more contemporary and somatic practices, always holding the dual intention of training dancers while supporting her students’ growth as human beings. She believes that dance can connect us more deeply to ourselves and our world, and strives to awaken a growing curiosity and authenticity in her students. She currently teaches modern dance at Open Door Integrative Wellness (in WRJ), homeschools her daughter and grows a lot of food. She feels strongly that we should all be dancing more….and that dancing and embodiment practices are forms of activism! For the more present we learn to be in our bodies, the more we can create positive change in our world.

Conrad Bender has been a production designer and technical director in the Philadelphia area for the past 25+ years. Conrad has designed scenery and/or lighting for numerous dance and theater artists and companies in the Philadelphia area. Conrad is currently the Senior Technical Director at MC3, where he is responsible for production design and logistics management for a wide variety of corporate events. A founding member of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival (now FringeArts), Conrad was the Technical Director of the Festival for the first 12 years, and continued as a production consultant with the festival for several years after that. Conrad has managed many other festivals, including Dance Affiliates’ Next Move Festival, Movement Theatre International’s Clown-Theatre Congress, Philadelphia Dance Alliance’s Transit Dances Festival, and Philadelphia Dance Project’s Packard Building Festival. Because of his minor knowledge of Mandarin, Conrad accompanied Philadelphia artists to the International Sister Cities Arts Festival in Tienjin, China on two separate occasions.

Bethany Formica has been a professional modern dancer, teacher, and choreographer for the past 25 years. She is currently a performer with Cardell Dance Theatre, guest choreographer for West Chester University Dance Co., teacher at Bryn Mawr College, and the owner of Sawdust Siren, a custom woodworking company specializing in creating objects for the home from reclaimed/repurposed wood. Bethany graduated with a BFA in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 1994. She has a major interest in partnering, upside down, flip and floor work, teaching how to use one’s upper body as articulately as the lower body, often using elements from Capoeira and Yoga. Bethany spent 10 years in New York City, performing with various groups. She has also performed internationally with Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre and Koncentrat in Poland, Melina Martin (Argentina), and Sylvain Emard (Montreal), among others. Bethany has taught dance, theater, and vocal master classes and residencies throughout the United States as well as internationally in the Czech Republic, Sweden, Italy, Ireland, Dominican Republic, Poland, and England.

Bob Merrill is a composer, producer, and audio engineer. He began playing piano at five years old, and has played bass and piano professionally for nearly 50 years. He can be found playing jazz at local venues, private engagements with area musicians, or silent films at Dartmouth and other venues around the state. He now makes his home in Wilder, Vermont. For Yoh Theatre, he has played for American Divas, Scrooge, Mamma Mia, and As You Like It.