Alexandra-Evangelia Stavrou began performing as a four year old in New Jersey, dancing, singing and playing the piano (often at the same time!) at community and family gatherings, and later in school and local productions. In her teens she joined a young people’s musical theatre group playing in movie houses before encountering Modern Dance for the first time. (Her first choreographed piece took place inside a piano).She went on to have a rich and varied career as performer, choreographer and composer. She has performed in New York City, throughout the US, Greece, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in venues ranging from NYC streets, the Brooklyn Academy, City Center, the Kennedy Center, the Felt Forum, La Mama, the Asia Society, the Center for World Music. to churches, studios, lofts clubs.and festivals. After earning a BFA in Dance -Theatre from NYU (“Tisch”) School of the Arts, Alexandra danced with Anna Halprin.,Yvonne Rainer and David Gordon, Myrna Renaud, Catlin Cobb and Michelle Berne.

Continuing to create dance/music/theatre solos, Alexandra was named a “Clark Center Choreographer” in 1973, and was a consultant in Mixed Media and Choreography for the NY State Council on the Arts. She took part in the innovative “Downtown” scene as dancer, piano player and vocalist, performing with Jeanne Lee, Jay Clayton, Garrett List, and choreographing jazz structured dances for the “The New York Sound Explosion,”. She composed the music/ dances and acted in “Gogol”at the Public Theatre and was an original cast member of the Glass/Wilson opera “Einstein on the Beach”.

Reared with traditional Greek dance and music, Alexandra went on to train and perform with artists from Indonesia, West Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. For 8 years she was a member of the NYC- based Haitian dance troupe ‘Shango”, which performed dances from the Voudon ceremonies and was a member of the Balinese American Dance Theatre As a Hospital Audiences (HAI) workshop artist in dance/music, she taught in mental health centers, nursing homes and shelters throughout the city. She has given lecture-demonstrations on dance/music and culture, at the Pratt Institute, the New School, NYU, York College, Indiana University, California Institute of the Arts, and UCLA..

She has performed her solos in New York City, Goddard College,VT, Taos, NM, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Greece, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Believing that dance is for everyone, and that the New York dance audience could be widened, Alexandra gave a free solo concert, sponsored by the Third Street Music Settlement The whole neighborhood was invited- and came! Laundry workers, shop keepers, recent immigrants, assorted dancers, toddlers, old folks, and a a large contingent of people from the HAI workshops, bused in from the Bronx.

In 1982 wanting to experience yet a wider audience, Alexandra was invited to Papua New Guinea “(like no place you’ve never seen”) by the National Theatre Company, and remained for two years, collaborating with local artists on cross cultural productions, teaching and learning from high school students throughout the country, choreographing for the opening of the ‘Raun Raun Tieta’ and dancing in remote tribal villages. Alexandra then went on to New Zealand and for 7 years, taught, choreographed and performed In Napier and played keyboards and composed for “Spartan Wave” in theatres, and festivals throughout the North Island.

Returning to her native NJ, Alexandra was welcomed by the amazing Shirley, to CMDE, a place of kindness and generosity, whose values aligned with hers. She became a teacher in the ‘Moving into Knowledge program in 1997, teaching English to bilingual children through dance, and currently teaches dance to autistic high schoolers. She has performed her solos at the Puffin and at Bergen Community College and in CMDE concerts. She also appeared as “the Dancing Clown” in the Verismo OPera’s production of’ Pagliacci’, in Douglas Dunn’s site pieces, and Clare Porter’s works. She looks forward to working again with Francesca Silvano in their mother/daughter duet, and misses Juan Carlos who choreographed a solo for her, and she, too soon later, in memory of him. And thanks Elissa deeply for everything she does for the staff and CMDE.