Our People
2023/2024
Lisa Valeri,
Artistic Director
Lisa Marie Valeri was born into a family on the move. Criss-crossing from California to Puerto Rico, Texas to the heartland of Ohio, Lisa always carried the dreams of a dancer. Early on, she trained at the Dayton Ballet with passionate teachers who valued all forms of dance and personal expression. At the University of Georgia, she found fertile ground for all of her interests, including dance, horticulture, Italian language and literature along with an arts community willing to give space to anyone with an idea.
Lisa moved to Nashville and later joined Epiphany, a contemporary dance company that produced concerts, tours, and video work and held a residency at Christ Church Cathedral for 15 years. In 2014 Lisa assumed the role of Epiphany’s Artistic Director, re-imagining the company as Epiphany Dance Partners when she completed the Periscope program with the Arts & Business Council of Nashville.
The re-launch won a cash award and the overwhelming support of the audience with a heartfelt message of the quest for connection through dance.
Grateful for years of experience and creation with the trust of many beautiful dancers and collaborators, Lisa is taking this season of great change and reflection to launch her own company, di Mossa. It is the synthesis of her past work, an enduring passion for beauty and meaning, and that ever-present push to keep moving.
Photo: Kisa Kavass
Ashlyn Hall
Ashlyn Hall, an advisor to the board, previously served as di Mossa’s Board Secretary from the company’s inception in 2020 until summer 2024. Ashlyn danced with Lisa Valeri for over a decade, first in Epiphany Dance Partners and then di Mossa. She has performed extensively in Middle TN and the Southeast at events like Nashville Fringe Festival, Celebrate Nashville, Kindling Arts Fest, the Tennessee Association of Dance Gala and Nashville Ballet's Emergence.
An alumna of Belmont University, Ashlyn graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Spanish and minors in Dance and Journalism, later joining the dance faculty at Belmont. In addition to teaching, she choreographed original work for the Belmont University Dance Company's annual production Mixed Bill and re-staged repertory by Debbie Belue and Lisa Valeri. Among other Nashville-area dance schools, Ashlyn taught for many years at Rejoice School of Ballet, where she partnered with Gerald Watson (Nashville Ballet) to assistant direct RSB's annual classical ballets from 2015-2017. She has also served as an administrator and fundraiser for the school.
Beyond Nashville, Ashlyn spent a few years in the San Francisco Bay Area curating and organizing a quarterly artist showcase for LEVYdance; expanding her teaching practice at Alonzo King LINES Ballet's community programs, Bay Area Children's Theatre, Berkeley City Ballet, and Adda Clevenger School; and performing dance theatre work with Stephanie Unger & Artists.
Ashlyn is currently pursuing an MFA in Dance at the University of North Carolina Geensboro.
Photo: Ben Hoback
Allison Hardee
Two things have been persistent passions in Allison’s life: movement and learning. She began her dance training at five years old and developed an undeniable love for the art form and its many styles at her home studio in Columbia, TN. Allison continued her growth as a dancer at Belmont University while completing her Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with minors in education and dance. She was a member of the Belmont Dance Company, giving her numerous opportunities to perform pieces created by the talented Debbie Belue and Maggie Pelton.
Allison has continued to seek opportunities to learn about herself as a mover and grow in her dance knowledge through numerous avenues: participating in the Gus Giordano Dance School summer intensive, attending educational dance conferences, becoming certified to teach beginner Horton technique through the Ailey School, and dancing around Nashville in freelance projects alongside her work with di Mossa. Most recently, Allison's curiosity took her to Calgary, AB, Canada where she was part of the year long professional training program at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks under the direction of Jamie Freeman Cormack and Ingrid Díaz Céspedes, deepening her groove and musicality as a rooted jazz artist.
In addition to her dance work, Allison loves sharing her passion for dance and learning as an instructor and choreographer. She teaches modern and jazz at Belmont University as well as ballet and tap at Rejoice School of Ballet. She has also assisted with Rejoice's annual spring production for multiple seasons, including as rehearsal director in 2024.
Photo: Claire Thomas
Molly Haslag
Molly Haslag began formal dance training in her hometown of Jefferson City, Missouri at the age of 4. In 2017, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science in Dance and a Bachelor of Social Work. Upon graduation, Molly accepted a position as a company dancer with the Dancing Wheels Company and School in Cleveland, Ohio. During her four seasons with the company, she enjoyed both national and international touring and performing works by choreographers such as Marc Brew, David Dorfman, Catherine Meredith, Dianne McIntyre, James Morrow, David Rousseve, and Mark Tomasic. Beyond her work at Dancing Wheels, Molly also danced and choreographed as a freelance artist with Levity Dance and Physical Theatre, The Cleveland Dance Project, and MorrisonDance. Outside of performing, Molly earned her Teacher Certification in Physically Integrated Dance and was a regular teacher for Dancing Wheels’ company classes, within the company’s school and outreach programming for individuals with and without disabilities, and at several studios in the Greater Cleveland area.
Since moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2021, Molly has enjoyed doing freelance work with Satellite Dance, Found Movement Group, and additional independent projects, performing as a company dancer with di Mossa, Nashville Dance Collective, X Contemporary Dance, and Project Awake, and continuing to share her love of dance to people of all abilities as a teacher at MOVE Inclusive Dance. Outside of dance, Molly earned her Master of Social Work from Cleveland State University in 2021 and is currently employed as a Licensed Master Social Worker at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
Photo: Mark Horning
Matthew Robinson
Matthew J. Robinson began his dance training in the Appalachian foothills of Southwest Virginia around 10 years ago. He has a diverse background of movement experience including modern, ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, and 10 years of Si Lum Kung-Fu. Matthew started his professional career with The West Virginia Dance Company and Roanoke Ballet Theatre while studying to receive his BFA from Radford University (Radford, VA). After graduating, he moved to Cleveland, OH to tour with The Dancing Wheels Company around the Northeast, South, and Midwest U.S., including performances at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York and Cleveland’s own Playhouse Square. While in Cleveland, Matthew choreographed for and worked with The Cleveland Dance Project Company, held principal roles at North Pointe Ballet such as The Cavalier (Nutcracker) and The Scarecrow (Wizard of Oz), and vibed with his modern dance roots alongside MorrisonDance.
After making the leap from Ohio to Tennessee with his partner, Matthew is excited to be grooving with di Mossa as a company dancer and to continue advocating for and bringing concert dance performance, choreography, and education to Middle Tennessee and beyond.
McKelynn Barber
McKelynn Barber is a deeply curious movement artist who uses dance as a means to explore and navigate the world around her. Through modern dance, she has blossomed as a mover and found her creative voice which is amplified through performing and choreographing. McKelynn is a graduate of Utah Tech University in Saint George, Utah where she had the opportunity to participate in numerous collaborative works, volunteer at community events, and perform in a variety of concerts including traditional and non-traditional dance spaces. She believes dance should be integrated into underserved communities which has been embodied through engaging in a variety of community-centered dance projects.
After graduating McKelynn served with the AmeriCorps program AritstYear for two years in rural North Carolina. In this position, she choreographed and executed multiple dance recitals and integrated dance through an anthropological lens with students at an elementary school. In addition to teaching, McKelynn has worked administratively in dance through interning at Jacob's Pillow in the Community Engagement department. This past year McKelynn danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company's second company in Dayton, Ohio performing for students across all grade levels in the surrounding area and was an assistant to the company director.
McKelynn recently moved to Nashville to fulfill the role of the Tennessee Program Coordinator for ArtistYear. When not doing arts administration or dancing with di Mossa you can find McKelynn sharing her love of dance through volunteering and teaching adult dance classes.
Marisa Pace
Marisa began dancing at age 4 at a local studio in small town Minnesota. She trained in all styles recreationally until she was introduced to classical ballet at age 12 and fell in love. She attended her first summer intensive at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and couldn’t get enough so when she got home her family started exploring more training options. The following year she left home to stay with a host family and attend Master Ballet Academy’s pre professional day program in Arizona. From there her ballet adventures have taken her all over from a summer at Next Generation Ballet in Florida, to another summer in Canada at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, to some time with FM Ballet in North Dakota, to a year and a half living with another host family in North Carolina studying at the Cary Ballet Conservatory.
She graduated in 2020 and moved to Florida to dance with Tampa City Ballet during Covid before moving to Nashville and connecting with di Mossa in 2023. She has performed in many different ballets including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Dracula, Graduation Ball, excerpts from La Bayadere, and has performed in many contemporary pieces throughout the years. She has attended YAGP and competed at ADC IBC. One of her favorite performances was when she was chosen to perform her contemporary solo at the RDA MidStates gala. She is so excited to be continuing her dance career here in Nashville working with di Mossa as well as keeping up with her ballet training.
Photo: Marilyn Elezabeth Photography
Our Board
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Kimberly began her dance training in New Jersey at the age of 3. She studied dance in college at Duke University, where she was president of the dance club and participated in the American Dance Festival. She then studied the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus under the direction of Louise Crofton and performed with the Tuscaloosa Community Dancers. Following that, she danced for two years in California and Washington State. She moved to Nashville in 2001 and joined the Epiphany modern dance company in 2002. She performed up until the birth of her first child and has danced periodically thereafter. She believes Pilates is "magic" and found a new freedom and joy in movement in studying African dance.
Epiphany provided a dance community to welcome Kimberly to Nashville and also introduced her to a cherished now over two decade long friendship with di Mossa's director, Lisa Valeri. Kimberly has been delighted by the growth of the arts in the Nashville area and the success of di Mossa in particular and looks forward to being a part of efforts to empower dance to touch the lives of our community.
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Mary Michael Marlo has been moving most of her life. Beginning in Florida as a company member of Ballet Pensacola to Los Angeles, CA where she reignited her love of ballet. In between, she danced throughout her studies at Southern Methodist University and was a founding member of The Turner Project in New York City, performing in off-Broadway productions of Out of Water. In New York, she honed her modern, jazz, musical theater and Fosse techniques while also discovering a passion for Pilates. She had the distinct honor of performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the California Contemporary Ballet Theater.
Mary Michael has relished the opportunity to build tight knit dance communities wherever she has called home and welcomes the opportunity to play an active role on the di Mossa board in furthering the connection of this dance community in Nashville.