EDUCATION

Mary-Kate Schmidt is the Director of the Axelrod Performing Arts Academy.  Mary-Kate graduated from Fairfield University where she double-majored in Music and Journalism. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Montclair State University with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. After half a decade at Random House, Mary-Kate left the publishing industry to pursue her true passion of working in arts education.

For over a decade, Mary-Kate served as director, music director, and choreographer at St. John Vianney High School. During her tenure, her productions were nominated for several local theater awards, including a Basie nomination for “Best Musical Direction” for their production of The Sound of Music. She was also the founder and director of the show choir, Lancer Harmonies.

Mary-Kate grew up surrounded by musical theater and dance from a young age and was fortunate enough to be a part of some of the best arts education programs. She is passionate about providing students with the same high-quality education that she received.

A founding member of AXCBT, Olivia graduated from Ailey/Fordham with a B.F.A. in Dance and English (2018). She previously danced with Ballet Hispanico's BHdos and has performed works by Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Colby Damon, Graham Lustig, and Riccardo de Nigris. She has performed at Lincoln Center and the historic Apollo Theater. Olivia has presented and performed choreographic works at Asbury Park Dance Festival, Ailey Citigroup Theatre, Dixon Place, Rider University, The Tank NYC, and Bell Works.

Lindsay Jorgensen has danced with Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater and Buglisi Dance Theatre since 2019. She graduated summa cum laude with honorable mention in Dance from the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Dance Program, double majoring in Dance and English. She has performed at Lincoln Center and Asbury Park Dance Festival, and has performed choreography by Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Robert Battle, Patrick Delcroix, Riccardo de Nigris, and Gabrielle Lamb. Lindsay’s choreography has been shown at Bell Works and Ailey Citigroup Theatre.

Alyssa Harris graduated from Adelphi University with a BFA in Dance. She has worked with choreographers Frank Augustyn, Orion Duckstein, Adelheid B. Strelick, and Jennifer Kreichman. Alyssa joined AXCBT in 2021 and has performed soloist roles such as Tea in AXCBT’s The Nutcracker Rocks.