Dancers

Alex Graban is thrilled to join Columbus Modern Dance Company this season! He is a recent high school graduate with a tremendous love for the arts. He began dancing at age 3 at New Albany Ballet Company, training in ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, and tap. In 2014, Alex was given an opportunity to compete in the YAGP New York City Finals. Alongside dance, Alex has also been involved in musical theatre, onstage and off. At Weathervane playhouse, WYART, and Granville High School, he has performed in countless shows including Cats, A Chorus Line, In The Heights, The Full Monty, and many more. Offstage, he has worked with theatrical lighting, sound, stage management, teaching, and choreography. He has choreographed for New Albany Ballet Company, WYART, and Granville High School. Alex would like to thank his friends and family for the endless support!

Corinne Tansky (Apprentice) is a dancer from Powell, Ohio who attends Olentangy High School. She has been dancing since she was 7 years old, beginning her dance journey at Footsteps Family Dance Center and continuing her training at Diversion Dance Collective through 2021.  Influential teachers who instilled Corinne’s love of the modern genre included Trezon Dancy, Ellen Werksman, and Kenneth Brown. Corinne currently studies ballet, modern, jazz and tap at Dublin Dance Center and Gymnastics and is thrilled to join CoMo as an apprentice this year.  The future looks “funny” for Corinne, as she hopes to be a comedienne or entertainer, incorporating her love of dance along the way. She is grateful to her family and friends for all of the love and support!

Kimberly Taylor is from Morgantown, WV.  She realized her love for dance when she joined the modern dance team in High School.  She went on to minor in dance at West Virginia University where she also got her Masters in Early Childhood Education.  She danced six years with the WVU modern dance group “Orchesis” where she studied under Kathrine Wedibush.  She especially enjoyed her training in improvisation. During her college years she spent several summers at Walt Disney World doing characters and parades. After college she moved to Columbus to start her teaching career with Columbus City Schools.  She occasionally traveled to Pittsburgh for the next five years to perform with the modern dance group Sirens, headed by Jennifer Thomas.  She spent four years teaching and doing several competitions with a ballroom dance company here in Columbus. She is currently in her 6th season dancing with The Movement Mission here in Dublin.  She joined CoMo with our 2018-2019 Season, starting with our fall performance "Formation: Dance Inspired by Public Art."

Laura Comana Puscas (Executive & Artistic Director) was trained in St. Louis, MO by Todd Weeks and Jennifer Reilly of MADCO. While attending the University of Notre Dame, Laura completed the Saint Mary’s College Dance Minor program along with additional study in Notre Dame’s Film, Television, and Theater department. On campus, Laura founded ND TransPose Dance Collective, culminating in her senior project at the Snite Museum of Art. In 2011, Laura earned a BBA in marketing from Mendoza College of Business, graduating Magna Cum Laude. After moving to Columbus in 2011, Laura served as a committee member and commissioned artist for the Locality 2012 Bus Tour Dance Festival, part of the city’s bicentennial celebration. In Fall 2012, she co-founded the Columbus Modern (CoMo) Dance Company with Kelsey Morozow Burbrink. In December 2015, CoMo transitioned to a nonprofit corporation and was granted 501(c)3 status. Laura has set her choreography on the company with “Object” (2012), “Raven” (2013), “Please Advise” (2015), “Coffee Blues” (2016, Ten Tiny Dances®), "Dirt" (2019), along with restaging guest choreographer works, and choreographing for private event bookings. Laura enjoys teaching the weekly CoMo Adult Modern Dance Class for adults of all levels and creating choreography for the class. In November 2018, Laura danced as the soloist in CoMo's restaging of Martha Graham’s “Heretic.” In February 2020, Laura was honored to return as a guest choreographer to Saint Mary's College to set a piece on the Dance Ensemble Workshop current students & SMC alumni dancers. During the day, Laura directs digital web operations for the Bath & Body Works website.