Wendy Osserman grew up in New York City where she was able to study many dance forms including ballet, modern, flamenco, African, and jazz.  She studied modern dance with Martha Graham, José Limón, Betty Jones, Helen Tamiris, Daniel Nagrin, Muriel Manings, and Valerie Bettis and  choreography with Louis Horst, Anna Sokolow, Bessie Schönberg, Robert Dunn, and Martha Myers. Wendy received her BA from Smith College where she majored in Theater, and her MA from the Gallatin School, New York University.  As a soloist with the Hellenic Chorodrama, she performed in ancient amphi-theaters throughout Greece. Osserman created a dance school and festival on the island of Paros in the early seventies when she also performed her work in London, Paris and Athens. She started her own company in 1976 after performing as a soloist with Kei Takei, Valerie Bettis, Alice Condodina, and Frances Alenikoff. Her choreography has been commissioned by many American colleges and dance companies including North Carolina School of the Arts, Brooklyn College and Pat McKeown & Dancers in Pittsburgh.  Wendy has taught modern dance,  improvisation, composition, jazz, and ballet at the New School, Rutgers University, Camden, and at the College of Staten Island, CUNY.  She has been a teaching artist in NY, NJ and Connecticut public schools  for over twenty years. Wendy was awarded participation in the Field's Independent Artist Challenge Program; she received the Lawrence S. Epstein Choreography Award and the Gallatin Arts Festival Award.  A vice-president of the American Dance Guild, Wendy conceived and co-chaired “The Art of Dancing with EveryBODY” a  conference at Hunter College.  Wendy appears regularly with The Theater Within directed by Joe Raiola and founded by Alec Rubin.

“Wendy Osserman is an engaging actor and dancer who moves with elfin lightness.”
Jennifer Dunning, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Charis Haines is originally from the beautiful beach town of Carpinteria City, California.  She graduated, summa cum laude in 2004, from the University of California Santa Barbara with a BFA in Dance.  Ms. Haines received the Alice Condodina Performance Award upon graduation.   Since moving to New York State, Charis has performed professionally with the Silver-Brown Dance Company and tonight is thrilled to make her return debut with the Wendy Osserman Dance Company!

Cori Kresge started dancing at the age of three at the Annelise Von Ottengen School of Dance in Cincinnati, Ohio. She now studies dance and composition at S.U.N.Y. Purchase. She has had the opportunity to perform dance works by Merce Cunningham, Ofelia Loret de Mola, and members of the Purchase faculty. She recently returned from a 3 month stay in Indonesia, where she studied Balinese traditional dance. Cori has been dancing and creating with Wendy for 2 wonderful years.


Ofelia Loret de Mola was born and raised in Yucatán, México. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance (Magna cum Laude) and an MFA specializing in Choreography from Purchase College. Since 2002, she has been dancing with the Wendy Osserman Dance Company, Aszure & Artists,  and other New York City choreographers. She is a certified Pilates instructor and a faculty member at Ballet Academy East. Ofelia has also taught at Purchase College, PS 18, Tappan Zee Dance Group, and in México. In 2003, she founded danscores by Ofelia Loret de Mola, and presented her work at the Alvin Ailey studios, Cunningham Studio, the d.u.m.b.o. Dance Festival 2004 and 2005, The COOL NY Festival 2005, The Frying Pan, Fielday 2005 at Pier 63 and HERE Arts Center, among other venues. As a member of ArtistAccess, she has been featured in CNN International, Dance Magazine, The Daily News, Telemundo, and El Diario, La Prensa. Internationally, Ofelia’s choreography has been performed in Burgos, Spain and in México.

Victoria Lundell (Assistant to the Choreographer) has had a diverse dance career as a member  of  two world renowned companies, Mark Morris Dance Group and The Parsons Dance Company.  She can be seen in the dance films, “Falling Down Stairs”  with Yo-Yo Ma, and the Danmarks Radio Production of “The Parsons Dance Company.”  Vicky also dances in the works of Ruth Davidson-Hahn, Anita Cheng, Aszure Barton, JoAnna Mendl-Shaw, and David Matiano. She joined WODC in 1997, and she would like to thank Wendy for her endless reserve of fresh approaches and for her inclusive atmosphere in the making of dances. Vicky also maintains a private practice in personal fitness training and is fulfilling another dream by renovating a barn with her visionary partner, Chris Bailey. She thanks her family for their love and support through all her crazy years of dancing.

Emily Quant  enjoys dancing with Wendy Osserman.  Since graduating from SUNY Purchase (BFA), she has performed with Sue Bernhard, Nelly van Bommel (nøa dance), Jessica Danser's Dansfolk, Eagleager, Laura Flowers, Peter Kyle, Noel MacDuffie and Aya Shibahara.  Emily began training in her hometown of Port Byron with Elizabeth Wilmot-Bishop.  She hopes that you enjoy her life as much as she does.

Aya Shibahara was born in Japan and came to New York in 2000.  She has performed with various choreographers including Bessie-winning Noemie Lafrance (Sens Production “Descent” 2002, 2003),  Earl Mosley (Diversity of Dance), AMDat, and with the magician Marco Tempest.  She has shown her own work in New York and Japan.  The collaborative work “re”, for which Aya choreographed and performed, was named “Fringest Show” of the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival. Currently she is working with the Wendy Osserman Dance Company and The Opera and Dance Chamber Theater.


Justin Ternullo received his BFA from Purchase College.  He first collaborated with Wendy Osserman Dance as a technical consultant.  He is pleased to now get the chance to work with Wendy as a dancer.