Who We Are
SKIP COSTA is the National Director & Owner of NEW YORK LOS ANGELES DANCE CONVENTIONS & COMPETITIONS (NYLA DANCE) as well as the Founder and Artistic Director of SKIP COSTA.COREmovementPROJECT.NYC, NYLA DANCE National Youth Performance Project, the Southeast Dance Festival, and the off-Broadway theater experience ROCK STARS NYC combining live rock music and dance. He has been a featured dancer with Mark Dendy Dance (Choreographer of Broadway’s TABOO), David Rousseve/REALITY, The Kennedy Center’s Washington Opera, The New Orleans Ballet Association, Maida Withers DCC and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. He has choreographed Off & Off-Off Broadway dance projects at Times Square Theater, The Tribeca Playhouse, The Richard Ellner Theater, and the American Theater of Actors as well as for the American Dance Guild, The Elan Awards(honoring Jerry Mitchell and Anne Reinking), DRA, Urban Artworks 7, DancenowNYC, Jennifer Muller/The Works HATCH Series, DUMBO Arts Festival, RedEye Theater(MN), New Dance Group, Coming Together, University Settlement, 92nd Street Y, The Best of BDC, and various NYC studio showcases.
He has taught & lectured for numerous high schools, colleges, & universities within the US and has taught/performed with his dance company within the US, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe. In Manhattan, he was on permanent faculty at Broadway Dance Center, Steps, Peridance Center, Ballet Arts, NDG, and Dance Space(now Gina Gibney Dance). He has also served as Acting Director of the Uptown Performance Series at The Bridge For Dance, which was highlighted by The New York Times.
During the summer, he teaches in NYC as well as directs the Southeast InterARTS(tm) Festival in Louisiana for young professionals. He has also directed/choreographed/produced an independent dance video “Dancing Alone”.
Currently is on the dance faculty at Southeastern Louisiana University and serves on the National Board of Directors for ACDA. He has an MFA in Dance & Choreography from The George Washington University.
Ashley was also casted with Elite Casino Marketing in Biloxi, MS as a performer at the Hard Rock Casino for their 2016 summer vaudeville show called “Show Risqué”. Ashley is a graduate from Southeastern Louisiana University where she was also a dance instructor teaching several college dance courses. Ashley is also a member of Dance Educators of America.
work in the commercial Dance world performing on national Tv shows, commercials, music videos and live stage performances with arstists such as Flo Rida, Pitbull, JLo, Marc Anthony, One Driection, Keith Urban, Ke$ha and J Balvin to name a few.
She is thankful to have had the experience to perform for large audiences on shows like Ellen, The Voice, The Today Show, Teen Choice Awards, Conan Obrian, and Premios. These experiences have made
it exciting for her to share her expertise with young dancers interested in turning their hard work and passion into a career, She is currently teaching fitness classes while guest teaching/choreographing part time.
Charity Baroni was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and thrived in the entertainment industry as a professional background dancer and performed and toured with artists such as Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift all around the world. She has and also performed in music videos with Beyoncé, live performances with Flo Rida, the Grammies with Katy Perry, and more.
She learned and experienced a lot during her time in LA and journeyed back home to Nashville to share her professional experiences in her teaching and mentoring other dancers. Through all of her experiences she has learned how to hold onto truth, boldness, light and fun and does this especially when sharing her passion of dance and life with others!
Kirk Gagnon holds a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College and danced in the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble and the American Dance Company (New York). Film credits include *Lolita, *National Lampoon’s *Dirty Movie *and *Another Dirty Movie. *Stage: Claude in *Hair*, *A Few Good Men Dancin *(New Victory Theatre, Off-Broadway), A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Funny Girl, Billy Elliot and the* Marigny Opera Ballet*. Music Video: *Counting Stars *by One Republic, *Add Ends *by When Saints Go Machine. Winner of 2003/2004 Dance Grand Prix d’Italia and Prague. Choreographer of *The Entertainer *at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Kirk currently travels internationally performing with New Orleans-based *America’s Got Talent* finalist, Lightwire Theater and at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, his hometown.
CRYSTAL SCHAYOT is a multi-talented artist, originally from New Orleans, whose first and foremost passion is dance, but is also an avid visual artist and certified instructor, photographer, dance costume designer, model, film and stage actress, and pageant coach! She has been dancing for over 20 years, 10 of which competitively and as a dance educator/choreographer. She has earned numerous high scoring and overall awards for performance and choreography and was crowned Pro Miss NYLA Dance 2014 and Miss New Orleans National Model USA 2010-12. As a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, she has continued to support and work with the Dance Performance Project and the theatre honor’s society, Alpha Psi Omega. As a versatile performer and educator, she specializes in musical theatre/jazz, hip hop, and contemporary, but also has extended training in tap, ballet/pointe, lyrical, modern, and even some ballroom.
Aside from Southeast Louisiana, she has trained, taught, and performed in major cities such as Mobile, Little Rock, Panama City Beach, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Houston, New York City, and even internationally in London, Madrid, Dublin, and Cozumel. She is a core member of the international non-profit organization, The Breakthrough Outreach & Performance Company and the artistic director for The Wicked Little Voodoo Dolls performance group and the PRISM Dance Productions YouTube Channel. In order to continue inspiring, motivating and creating, she will be opening her own inter-arts studio in Southeast Louisiana.