Our Team
Lydia Perakis
Founder & CEO
Dance & Fitness
She/her
Lydia Perakis is a dancer, personal trainer and educator from the Greek island of Crete and the founder of ESTIA. A triple Libra at heart, she’s endlessly inspired by art, storytelling, and the magic that happens when people come together.
Her movement practice is rooted in curiosity, care, and a trauma-informed approach. Over the years, Lydia has taught and trained movers of all kinds, from first-timers to professional dancers and athletes, across studios, schools, and fitness spaces in NYC. She holds a BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, is a certified personal trainer, a registered yoga teacher, and a licensed Kettlebell coach. Her approach is deeply influenced by somatic work, mentorship, and over a decade of experience as a professional dancer and performer herself.
As an artist, Lydia has shared her own work at venues including the Danspace Project, the Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center, the Queens Dance Festival alongside other organizations. She has performed in projects by various choreographers including Jeremy Nelson, Christina Robson, Luis Lara Malvacías, Elizabeth Dishman, DanceAction/Carmen Caceres, and Sarah Mitchell, collaborating on everything from stage works and films to installations and music videos.
Since 2022, she has been producing multidisciplinary art events that create space for connection and collaboration among artists of all backgrounds and have welcomed over 2,000 patrons through their doors.
Beyond the studio, Lydia has spent years working behind the scenes in performance production in spaces like New York Live Arts, Center for Performance Research, and Soho Playhouse, as well as assisting large-scale artists in realizing their visions. She is excited to continue weaving together her love for movement, community, and creation, building a home for all of it here at ESTIA!
Marketing & Operations Manager
Dance
Alisha Khatwani
She/her
Alisha Khatwani is a creator, educator, digital artist, and dancer from Austin, Texas, now based in New York City. She is passionate about building spaces where artists feel connected to themselves and the world around them. In 2024, she co-founded AGORA, a community-driven initiative that curates performances, film screenings, and collaborative opportunities for emerging artists. She also serves as Marketing Director with Wandering Avian Dance Experience (WADE), leading outreach, designing marketing materials, and engaging audiences through thoughtful communication.
As a performer, Alisha has danced repertory by Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, Andrea Miller, and Gallim Dance, with appearances at New York Live Arts, Radio City Music Hall, the Battery Dance Festival, and internationally at B12 Berlin. She is equally dedicated to education, having taught, choreographed, and assisted in schools and community programs across Austin and New York, as well as through an internship with the American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. She values creating inclusive and supportive learning environments where movement empowers students, sparks creativity, and builds confidence.
Alisha earned her BFA in Dance with a minor in Digital Art & Design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is excited to begin her journey with ESTIA House of Movement as Marketing & Operations Manager. She is also an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Alisha looks forward to bringing her passions for teaching, community, and creating into her role while supporting ESTIA’s mission of cultivating meaningful and collaborative spaces for artists.
Myrtil Demasse
Fitness
She/her
Myrtil Demasse is a certified Pilates and Group Fitness Instructor based in New York City. Originally from France, she brings to her teaching a unique blend of athletic precision, mindful awareness, and creative flow. With nearly twenty years of experience in Track & Field, Myrtil’s approach to Pilates is deeply rooted in movement efficiency, strength, and body intelligence.
She received her Core Mat I and II certifications from Power Pilates NYC and her Group Fitness Instructor certification from NASM. Currently, she continues to train toward a comprehensive Pilates certification, expanding her understanding of functional movement and mind-body connection.
Solange Rodrigues
Dance
She/her
Solange Rodrigues is a Brooklyn based professional dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher, currently dancing with Brooklyn based dance company, The Pocket Fuel Groovers. For the past two years she was also dancing with Harlem based company Kr3t’s, and teaching at Brooklyn Ballet. In 2025, she made her debut as an ensemble dancer in "The Woods", an immersive concert experience by Ballet Collective in collaboration with indie rock band San Fermin. Solange was born and raised in Rochester, and is a graduate of SUNY Purchase College, Class of 2020, with a BFA in dance, and a Concentration in Composition. Solange was a recipient of the Baryshnikov Artist Residency for the Spring 24’ season, as well as the 2022 NYS Choreographers Initiative by the NYS Dance Force, in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts.
She often returns to her hometown of Rochester, NY where she spent several years teaching hip hop, contemporary and ballet at various schools and studios throughout the city. Solange has grown a passion for theater through choreographing multiple high school productions including Byron-Bergen’s Hairspray (2023), Beauty and The Beast (2024), Honk! (2025), The Little Mermaid (2026). She also choreographed The Spongebob Musical (2025) through Lincoln Center Theater’s Education and Community Engagement Department.
Nick Alselmo
Dance
He/him
Nick Alselmo is a graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in contemporary dance. He has shown work throughout New York City since 2015. In addition to starting his own company called The Pocket Fuel Groovers in 2020, Nick freelances as a performer and has worked with Abarukas, Johnnie Cruise Mercer/The RED ProjectNYC, Emotions Physical Theatre, Danse Theatre Surreality, Susannah Yugler and The New York City Children’s Theater.
The Pocket Fuel Groovers are a company of New York City based dancers founded by Nick Alselmo in 2020. Their movement is influenced by contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, house, funk dance styles and martial arts. By combining these disciplines with elements of theater, DJ-ing, team sport exercises and ideologies, they aim to push the boundaries of what is possible in a performance and communal setting. They have performed at Arts on Site, Abrons Arts Center, The Brick Theater, Triskelion Arts, Center for Performance Research, The Tank and much more.
Caroline Cevasco
Dance
She/her
Caroline Cevasco (she/her) began her training in New Jersey, studying ballet, Horton, and Graham, with summers at Ballet Hispanico, The Ailey School, and the Taylor School. She completed her BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she developed her practice in both live performance and on-camera work. She has performed works by Tania Pérez-Salas, Paul Taylor, and Crystal Pite, and will be featured in Madame Gandhi’s upcoming music video, “Rise!” She is currently an apprentice with the Sean Curran Dance Company and is excited to share her love of movement at ESTIA.
Morgen Littlejohn
Fitness
She/They
Morgen Littlejohn (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based movement artist, facilitator, and educator whose creative practice explores memory, ritual, and imagination. Raised in Virginia, they are grounded by their Southern roots.
Classically trained in ballet, modern (Horton, Graham, Cunningham, Hawkins), and contemporary dance at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia, Morgen earned a B.A. from Barnard College, where they focused on improvisation and composition. In addition to freelance dance and theatre work, they perform as a recurring company member with Trainor Dance and are currently completing a Comprehensive Pilates Certification with BASI Pilates. With more than five years of experience in youth development, Morgen has facilitated spaces for students ranging from toddlers to young adults to explore their inner worlds and create more inclusive ones.
Their movement practice is process-driven and rooted in storytelling, with an interest in the body as an archive, dance as a form of social connection, and world-building as a liberatory practice. Through wonder, whimsy, and play, Morgen seeks to rehearse more expansive and loving ways of being.
Lucia Gagliardone
Dance
She/her
Lucia Gagliardone is a Vermont-born dance artist and educator who currently teaches at Peridance and Gibney, performs with Emergent Improvisation (Troy Ogilvie), and works as a Community Actionist in Gibney’s Hands are for Holding program. Lucia has extensive dance education experience, valuing creativity, collaboration, and empathy. Previously, she taught dance at Urbanity Dance Company (Boston) and Tiny Dancers (Washington, DC), teaching ballet, creative movement, modern dance, and improvisation. She also founded and led the Bowdoin Modern Dance Collective, an inclusive movement lab for students of all experiences and abilities.
Fitness
He/him
Addison James (A.J.) David
Addison James (A.J.) David is a dancer, collaborator, and movement educator. Raised in Virginia, he earned a BFA in Dance from George Mason University and is an NASM Certified Personal Trainer. His approach to fitness is influenced by his dance training, emphasizing the joy and liberation found through movement.
A.J. currently dances with Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo, performing classical and contemporary ballets around the world en pointe. While in school he had the joy of dancing in works by Christina Robson, Doug Varone, Robert Battle, and Robyn Mineko Williams. Additionally, he has created several works on the Mason Dance Company and with his artistic collaborator Sky Vitetta.
While his love for movement started with dancing, his passion for fitness was sparked by what dancers needed outside of the studio. His areas of focus are injury prevention, strength training, and mobility work. A.J. utilizes his sport specific knowledge in combination with functional training to help people from all different walks of life move with confidence.
Gabriela Gonzalez
Social Media Manager
She/her
Gabriela Gonzalez (She/her) Is a Social Media Manager and Content Creator with a background in visual arts and design recently relocated in New York from London. Over the last 5 years she developed a strong sense for crafting cohesive brand aesthetics and amplifying brand's voices helping brands connect with their audience through engaging video content and thrive in the digital space.
Her hands-on experience as an editor and copywriter for numerous brands for clients in fashion, entertainment and jewelry to name a few, helped her craft engaging stories and visuals that connect with diverse audiences. Additionally, her experience working as a content creator/model has given her insight into brand presentation, visual storytelling, and consumer engagement.
Come Move With Us
These are the people who will be in the room with you. Professional, passionate, and genuinely happy you are here. The best way to get to know them is to show up.
Your first single class is 50% off. Use code READYTOMOVE at checkout.
