Dance Faculty

Alyson Cartagena (EdD) directs the Dance Program at Río Hondo College. Dr. Cartagena’s training includes the American Dance Festival, International Ballet Competition, Ballet Aspen/Ballet West, Harvard University, two consecutive scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet, Florida State University (BFA in Dance), the University of California, Irvine (MFA in Dance: Choreographic Emphasis), and Brandman University (EdD). She is also certified in Integrated Movement Studies from Loyola Marymount University. Cartagena danced and toured professionally with Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth (TX) for four years and Loretta Livingston and Dancers (CA) for ten years

MA in Dance (University of Hawaii) Lisa has danced and choreographed for Compaq Computers (Sting’s World Tour), Shell Oil, Dr. Pepper, Ford, Chevis Regal (w/ EGOT awardee Marvin Hamlisch), AT&T, Mobil Oil, American Express, etc. Television credits: ABC’s Lost, MTV’s DanceLife, NBC’s Jake and the Fatman, ABC’s Life Goes On, NBC’s The Little People. Commercials: Walgreens, RC Cola, Gloria Vanderbilt, Macy’s, 7-11, Disney Travel. Theatrical choreography: A Chorus Line, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Aladdin,A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grease. Company work: New York Motion, Ken Molina Dance Company. Hawaiian dance: Al Harrington Show, the Brothers Cazimero. Lisa teaches at Río Hondo College, Glendale College, Studio School, and Millennium Dance Complex.

MFA (University of California, Irvine), BA (University of California, Santa Cruz), Certification in Yoga. Ms. Lopez is co-director of the Río Hondo Dance Collective and her work was selected for the American College Dance Association Gala Concert (2016) at Cal State LA. She has danced professionally with Loretta Livingston and Dancers and other Los Angeles based choreographers; Keith Glassman, Oguri, Kristen Smiarowski and Meg Wolfe. She teaches yoga, Pilates and dance at Río Hondo College and Santiago Canyon College.

MFA World Arts and Cultures/Dance (UCLA), BFA (Bennington College). Carol McDowell is a BESSIE and Lester Horton Award winning interdisciplinary dance artist, collaborator, and lighting designer. Her work has been presented at Highways, Pieter, Skirball, Anatomy Riot, Platinum Oasis, The Kitchen, DTW, PS 122, and abroad.  A member of the Encounter with Mariel Carranza, she has performed in works by Jmy James Kidd, Alexx Shilling, Victoria Marks, Cid Pearlman, Barbara Dilley, Karen Finley, Pooh Kaye, Tim Miller, John Bernd, Poppo, and Kei Takei. McDowell co-directed Crazy Space and co-founded max10 performance lab in LA , and the Mariposa Collective in Boulder, Colorado.