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 was raised in Palmer, Alaska where she was first enrolled into dance at the age of 3. During her training, her genre range quickly grew to encompass ballet, pointe, jazz, jazz drill, broadway jazz, lyrical, modern, and tap. At the age of 11, she was invited to join her studio's traveling competition team which allowed her to compete and perform at multiple intensives, competitions, cruise ships, the Holiday Bowl, and at Disney. At age 18, she moved to Durango to receive her Bachelor degree in Exercise Physiology, minoring in psychology. She currently works with patients as a technician at a physical therapy clinic and understands the importance of both the strengthening and preventative care in young dancers. She is very excited to be a part of the dance world.
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.
MAGGIE JUNG
Guest Artist
Maggie Jung is Fort Collins based dancer, choreographer, and teacher with training in ballet, modern, jazz, gymnastics, and breakdancing. She is going into her 8th season with IMPACT Dance Company, a contemporary dance/theatre company in Northern Colorado that focuses on human-driven story telling through dance, voice, and multi-media experiences. Maggie also works as a Sensory Scientist at New Belgium Brewery and is an avid yogi and novice rock climber. She studied dance and Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts at the University of Oregon and Colorado State University, trained at EDGE Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles post-college, and loves taking any opportunity to better her craft through classes and workshops. Maggie is thrilled to be teaching at Bella Dance Studio and can’t wait to meet everyone!
SAM DONAHUE
Guest Artist
My name is Samantha Donohue, however I prefer to go by Sam! My journey with dance began at a young age. As far back as I can remember, I was always dancing everywhere I could. Although, I began formally training at 14 years old! I found my dance home, Release Dance Academy in Levittown, PA. I trained in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Musical Theater and Hip-hop. At that time I also began to travel and take additional classes at Broadway dance center and Millennium Philadelphia. I was completely submerged in dance- I loved it and I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In 2012 I was hired by SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment to work my first professional job as an in costume and face character. I worked as a performer for 2 years and as the dance captain my 3rd year. Closing out my time there with a move to Los Angeles, CA!
Once I arrived in LA- I hit the ground running, training in heels, hip-hop, Jazz, jazz funk, ballet and contemporary. I began Assisting Michelle “Jersey” Maniscalco within my first week in LA and continued to for several years. In later years I began assisting Dave Scott for various classes and projects. I’ve had the privilege to dance for artist and companies such as; Oakley, Tayla Parks, Disney, MKTO, meUndies, and more. I’ve been able to work behind the scenes as skeleton crew or assistant for projects such as Sony, So you think you can dance, Pharrell and more. From 2017- 2018 I danced for Academy of Villains, which introduced me to Krump. I fell in love with the movement so quickly. I loved the rawness, the freedom to be unconventional and the gritty, aggressive, and powerful movement which creates such a beautiful movement masterpiece. Krump really shaped my dance in a way of being more confident and authentic to me. It opened my mind to play with extreme elegance and extreme aggression in one space. Through Krump I have booked jobs as a freestyler, battled in tournaments, built a world wide training program, made everlasting friendships and have been featured in the Washington post.
In the beginning of 2022, I moved out of LA as I was presented with new opportunities on the East Coast. Since leaving LA , I have been traveling almost every week sharing my love for dance, through teaching on conventions, studio workshops, choreographing and judging competitions. I still actively train in both freestyle and contemporary/Jazz technique. I am still actively battling and performing as opportunities arise. I believe in always evolving as a student and teacher. Dance has saved me in so many ways and I only hope to share that love with any human of any age who wants to learn, grow and experience Dance!
DANI SCARAFIOTTI-ROSADO
Originator/Creator
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.