Founder & Artistic Director
Amy Gately, a dancer, choreographer, and teacher of contemporary modern dance, founded RTMD in New York City in 1981 as a contemporary modern dance company, and brought RTMD to Atlanta in 1984, where she established the company as an integral filament in the fiber of the Atlanta Arts community. Mrs. Gately received an Emmy Award for her role in creating an award-winning story - 'Two Left Feet," produced by TBS. As artistic director, she collaborates with artists to incorporate other art forms into innovative dance works. RTMD turns the shapes and abstractions of our daily lives into choreographic motion. This unique approach, blending dance, music, visual arts, poetry, and sculpture inspires innovative works that challenge our audiences with rich and complex experiences. Room To Move Dance has been a part of the Atlanta arts scene since 1985.
Company Members
Malachi Aldridge is an Atlanta-raised dancer, choreographer and rapper whose work focuses on the interplay of societal archetypes and behavioral hierarchies with the individual’s subjective, psychic experience. He first began training in classical ballet under the direction of instructors Amanda Neeley and Peter Doll. He furthered his ballet training with Daet Rodriguez at the Georgia Ballet and he began to study modern dance under the instruction of Brandon Ellis. In 2019, Malachi joined RTMD where he performs and choreographs with the guidance of Amy Gately. He, also, travels internationally where he teaches dance workshops in cities including Alexandria, Egypt and Monterrey, Mexico. His credits include Basilio, Albrecht and an assortment of modern and contemporary pieces choreographed by Amy Gately, Brandon Ellis and Meaghan Novoa, among others.
Sheryl Houston began her love affair with dance at Severance Dance Studio in Chattanooga, TN. She graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication – Radio, Television and Film. Sheryl was employed as a dance instructor, choreographer and camp director with American All-Star, a dance/drill team company based out of Mandeville, Louisiana. She subsequently performed with Hip Hop ConnXion and Contagious Entertainment in Atlanta. Sheryl continues to find opportunities to express herself through various forms of dance and movement and has found a home with Room To Move Dance. She is RTMD’s Administrator and Rehearsal Director and is a certified STOTT Pilates Instructor.
Faith Im, dancer, dance educator and choreographer, has served as Director of Dance since 2016 and is now Associate Professor at Shorter University. Her artistic interests and inspirations come from convictions on societal issues, personal revelations and a desire for movement exploration. Faith has extensive and varied freelance performance experience, especially in modern dance; she has performed in internationally-platformed media, the American Pacific Dance Festival and for TEDx, among others. Faith was a dance scholarship recipient in both her graduate program, University of Hawaii, where she received a Master of Fine Arts in Dance, and undergraduate program at Middle Tennessee State University.
Moriah Jones is an Atlanta-based dancer and choreographer. She is graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of South Florida in May of 2023 with a BFA in Modern Dance. She received a talent grant and the Oscar Family Dance Scholarship for excellent choreography at USF. Dance is a driving force in Moriah’s life, and she is very passionate about the relationship dance has with everyday improvisation, as well as how the body relates to gravity. Not only is she a passionate mover but she also enjoys teaching both dance and Pilates. Moriah is a new addition to RTMD and is looking forward to continuing to dance with the company.
Jacqueline Lopez, born and raised in West Palm Beach, FL, has spent the majority of her life fueling the passion that envelopes her being, her passion to dance. Jacqueline serves as Adjust Professor of Dance at Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA), offering courses in jazz technique, jazz pedagogy, tap, Co-director PBA's dance ensemble and Jazz and Tap Coordinator for the dance department. She continues sharing her artistry through choreography and master class series throughout the Southeast. Jaqueline is a member of the National Dance Education Organization. Locally, she teaches at Motus and enjoys dancing with Room To Move Dance. Jacqueline is a wife, mother, grandmother and an author of a children's musical book titled "My Meals Are Singing".
Gauri Nagpal began her dance journey with training in Bharatnatyam and Indian folk dance. She discovered her love for Modern through the dance program at Emory University, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She currently works in the tech industry and is creative director of Moksha Dance, an Indian fusion dance troupe. This is her third season with Room to Move Dance.
Crysten Parker, born and raised in New Jersey, has spent her early years studying gymnastics, jazz, ballet, aerial techniques and tap. She received her B.B.A. in Accountancy and Business Law from CUNY Baruch College then began her career in corporate finance. Crysten has a deep desire to learn and continuously seeks to bridge the movements and lessons from her life experiences. Due to her love for health and wellness, she is National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a certified Asthanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher. In 2017 she rekindled her passion for dance when she discovered Room To Move Dance.
Selena Rizova is a Bulgarian-born artist, creator, and performer who was raised in Las Vegas, NV. At an early age, she began her ballet training and went on to study at the Houston Ballet Academy. Selena then redirected her energy and talents toward her studies and now holds a BFA in Dance Choreography & Performance and a BA in English Literature from UNLV. She has traveled and performed internationally for various dance programs, including the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, IBStage in Barcelona, and KNSU in Seoul. Selena has recently moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she continues to pursue her passions of movement, poetry, and the visual arts and continuously finds new ways to weave them together.
Megan Tames raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin, began dancing at a very early age. She attended Valdosta State University to receive her B.F.A. in Dance graduating Summa Cum Laude. While at Valdosta State, she had the opportunity to perform at the American College Dance Association, the Modern Atlanta Dance Festival and the Peach State Summer Theatre. Megan now resides in Atlanta, Georgia sharing her love of dance, teaching ages three to adult in all dance and fitness genres. She also dances with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Company, is a tour competition judge for ANDC Dance Machine/Boogie Fever and is a Certified Barre and Rebounding Instructor. She is very excited to be a part of the Room To Move Dance family.
Claire Woodard, dancer, artist and educator, is an Adjunct Professor of Dance at East Tennessee State University where she has taught modern, jazz, improvisation and aerial dance. For the last fourteen years, she performed as a member of Mountain Movers, a modern dance company in Johnson City, TN. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Converse College and a Master of Education from Milligan University. When Claire’s not teaching, she enjoys making art and being a mom to her three young boys.
Collaborating Artists
Robert Een, composer, cellist, singer and performing artist, is the recipient of an Obie Award for music composition and two New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Awards for music composition and sustained achievement. He tours worldwide and is known for unique orchestrations and use of extended techniques for voice and cello. Mr. Een has recorded sixteen albums of genre-defying original music. He composes for film, theater, dance and the concert stage.
Isabella Asratyan, motion graphics, textile designer and digital artist, is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. Isabella Asratyan emigrated to United States in 1989 as a refugee. For the last twenty years she has worked as a Broadcast/Motion Designer and Art Director for CNN, LAPTV, Weather Channel and ESPN. Working in graphic and motion design, as well as her continued work with silk painting, tapestry weaving and digital painting, has provided her the opportunity to hone her sense of color, balance, motion and composition. Her work is featured in collections in France, Germany, Peru, Russia, Armenia and United States.