Bella Faculty
SAMANTHA PURDY
Owner/Director
Samantha Purdy grew up in beautiful Durango, Colorado and
began dancing at the age of 8. She studied in Durango and performed on a competitive team in the tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop and ballet styles. She studied under Frances Rosser Taylor, Toni McClanahan, and mostly Dani Scarafiotti. In 2009 Dani began Bella Dance Studio in Durango, and Samantha and many other girls followed her. There, Samantha became enchanted with contemporary and modern styles and attended conventions and competitions all over the western United States. Her team attended conventions such as Nuvo, Jump, The Pulse, NYCDA, Starstruck, Hollywood Vibe, West Coast Dance Explosion, and many more. She won many awards competitively and trained vigorously for a total of 11 years.
Upon graduation from high school she decided to remain in
Durango, go to school at Fort Lewis College, and teach for Bella Dance Studio. After attending Fort Lewis college for one year and teaching at Bella, she decided to re-invest in her technical training. She was accepted to CSU in 2012 and has worked hand in hand with many professors there: Jane Slusarski- Harris, Chung-fu Chang, Carol Roderick, Sayaka Ruggles, Richard Wacko, Quen Chen, Judy Bejarano, and Lisa Morgan. In 2013, she was
accepted to the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Pre-Professional Program and studied under Antonio Brown, Tammy Dyke, Erica Pujik, Robert Sutherland, and Linda Kent. Through the program she got to perform excerpts from Rodeo, and a Battleworks piece. She graduated from CSU in December of 2015.
Samantha is back in Durango after spending some time teaching and dancing professionally in Los Angeles.
It fills her heart with joy to be back in her home town, in her home studio, and inspire young dancers and awaken them to the gift of their own creativity and beauty.
Clara Burnett
Teacher/Company Assistant
Clara Burnett was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska, where she began her dance training at the age of 3 at Sonja’s Studio of Performing Arts. Over the years, her repertoire expanded to encompass various styles of dance including ballet, pointe, jazz, jazz drill, broadway jazz, lyrical, modern, and tap. At age 11, she earned a spot on the traveling competition team, affording her the opportunity to showcase her talent at competitions, out of state intensives, Carnival Cruise Lines, the Holiday Bowl, and Disney. She enjoyed participating in the Alaskan Nutcracker as a part of the corps, eventually landing a spot as Snow Queen in 2016. Upon turning 18, Clara relocated to Durango to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Psychology. With over 20 years of dance expertise and 5 years of experience as a technician in the physical therapy setting, she recognizes the significance of both strength-building and preventative care in young dancers. Eager to contribute to Durango’s dance community, Clara is thrilled to be part of the vibrant world of dance.
EMILY LAVENGOOD
Guest Artist
Emily Lavengood was born and raised in Durango, Colorado. Emily danced throughout her entire life in Colorado at the local dance studio, Dance in the Rockies, after her senior year she took a year to choreograph for studios in the Four Corners Region and then she moved to Los Angles in pursuit of her dreams. Over the next few years Lavengood trained at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, building strong relationships with Industry professionals and creating skillsets to help her both in front of and behind the camera. After graduating from AMDA, Lavengood was signed with Go2Talent Agency and began working professionally in the dance, acting and modeling industries in the greater Los Angeles area. She continued her dance training as an Apprentice under Joe Malone and his esteemed faculty at the Performing Arts Center. Emily has had the honor to train with some of the greats of the dance world, learning and perfecting her technique and skill set in acting, dancing, and singing. Lavengood continues to train in dance, her first love, and continues to perfect and teach foundational technique in jazz, ballet, and contemporary to help create a generation of well educated and well rounded dancers. Lavengood has danced professionally for the AMA award show, Dancing with the Stars National Tour, and countless artists. She continues to work as a dancer/choreographer/actress/model and has recently been climbing the ladder to becoming a Director. Lavengood has worked with some of the most incredible artists as a Director or part of the director team; such as, Doja Cat, Arianna Grande, John Mayer, Giveon, Foo Fighters, Beyonce, JLo, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, the Kardashians, Anderson.Paak, Doechii, Chloe, and many many more. She has worked with brands such as PRADA, KOHLS, the Oscars, Amazon, Sony, and the ABC Network. Emily continues to teach and train dancers and performers, helping them harness their uniqueness to help them shine and grow in confidence. The knowledge she has gained over the years has helped her have an incredible artistic and creative eye behind the camera and has given her the edge of knowing what to do in front of the camera. She will continue to work as a Director/Choreographer/Dancer/Teacher/Actress and Model throughout Los Angeles and Southern California, bringing as much knowledge as she can to the younger aspiring generation. One of her missions in life is to inspire and guide in an industry that seems so secluded, she is determined to be the light.
Paul Busch
Guest Artist
Paulio Sovari is a Romanian born, currently states-based photographer, dancer and teacher whose past engagements include graduating from the Juilliard School, dancing with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and photographing and dancing for Staatsballett Berlin and Oper Graz. He currently frames and is developing his photographic archives from his tenure in Europe, whilst teaching ballet classes for the Dayton Ballet School. You can discover his work at PaulioSovari on IG and come autumn 2024 at his website, www.sovariphotography.com.
Paul is very excited to be returning to Bella Dance.
DANI SCARAFIOTTI-ROSADO
Originator/Creator/Guest Artist
Bella Dance Studio Inc. was opened January 5th, 2009 by Director Dani Scarafiotti-Rosado. Dani started dancing at the age of 6 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She trained extensively in jazz and ballet at Prince Ballet, Inc. At the age of 18 she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where she studied Dance with concentration on choreography at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In 2000 Dani received her BA in Dance from UNLV.
Dani has received extensive training in ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, modern and contemporary movement. She has studied under Endelesia Prince, Cathy Roe, Sam Watson, Louis Kavourous, the Erik Hawkins Company, Margot Mink Colbert, Ernesta Corvino, Victoria Dale, and Cathy Allen. She has performed with Prince State Ballet, the UNLV Peforming Ensemble, UNLV Dance Company, Studio 54 and the MGM Grand. She has traveled to Paris, France to perform with the Universal Dance Association and to Edinburgh, Scotland to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Dani has been teaching dance in Durango since 2002.
She began her teaching career in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1998. After graduating from UNLV she moved to Durango, Colorado where she began teaching ballet, jazz, hip hop and lyrical classes. Dani has received various awards and recognition for choreography on both regional and national levels. Her students have also received various awards on both the regional and national levels.