Thomas Gant
Executive Director
Thomas Gant is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, educator, and arts leader, currently serving as Executive Director of Contemporary West Dance Theatre. A graduate of the Southern New Jersey Academy of Performing Arts under the direction and mentorship of David Kloss, he has also trained with distinguished artists including Althea Leslie, Nancy Page, and Christopher Fleming.
Mr. Gant is a principal dancer with Brandywine Ballet Theatre and continues to freelance as a professional dancer, performing with companies and independent artists throughout the Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey region. He has also performed with Opus 1 Contemporary Dance Company, Dance Del Bello, and Ballet Fleming. He has cultivated an international artistic relationship with Tainan City Ballet and Chung Hwa Arts High School in Taiwan, where he has choreographed and taught. He also serves as the regisseur and répétiteur of the choreography and repertoire of David Kloss, preserving and staging his celebrated works for future generations.
A dedicated educator, Mr. Gant teaches throughout New Jersey and Philadelphia, inspiring dancers of all ages through his commitment to artistic excellence, technical precision, and creative expression.
Mr. Gant’s achievements have been recognized throughout his career. As a student, he received the New Jersey Governor’s Award for the Arts, honoring his exceptional artistic achievement. He later became the first recipient of the National Dance Education Organization’s Award for Artistic Excellence and Leadership in the Field of Dance, recognizing his outstanding contributions to dance education and mentorship.
As both an artist and administrator, Mr. Gant is committed to advancing the performing arts through visionary leadership, innovative programming, and a passion for developing the next generation of dancers and artists.
Meredith Rainey
ASSOCIATE Artistic DIRECTOR
Meredith Rainey is a choreographer whose work explores the human condition through movement that is emotionally grounded and architecturally precise. A former soloist with Pennsylvania Ballet and founding member of Ballet X, Rainey began choreographing while still dancing, eventually shifting his focus fully to creation and mentorship. In July 2024, his latest work premiered at the Kennedy Center, marking a significant milestone in a choreographic career that has spanned two decades. His works have been commissioned by companies including Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Hubbard Street 2, Ballet X, Philadelphia Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, and Incolballet. He has received major support from institutions such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the William Penn Foundation, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, and The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. Rainey has held numerous residencies including Performance Garage’s DanceVisions (2023– 24), MOtiVE Brooklyn (2021), and the Swarthmore Project (2006, 2010). His early recognition includes the 2002 Hubbard Street 2 Choreographic Competition and the 2011 A.W.A.R.D. Show! Philadelphia. He is a three-time Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship recipient and was honored with the Independence Foundation Artist Fellowship and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation “Artist as Catalyst” Grant. In addition to his choreographic work, Meredith is committed to teaching and mentoring. He has taught at Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Drexel University, and University of the Arts, where he was awarded a Dance Fellowship and Life Experience Scholarship in 2018. His work continues to shape contemporary ballet and concert dance with clarity, integrity, and purpose.
Chandra Norris-Thorne
Assistant ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Sumayah McRae
CWDT Conservatory Director
Sumayah McRae is from Queens, NY. She fell in love with dance at Bernice Johnson’s Cultural Arts center. She is a graduate of LaGuardia H.S. of Performing Arts, known as “The Fame School”. She continued her training as a scholarship student at Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She earned her B.F.A. from The Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy.
Sumayah performed in concert dance companies such as, Fred Benjamin Dance, Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, BattleWorks and The Parsons Dance Co. While at Parsons, Sumayah was privileged to perform David Parsons Signature Solo “Caught”. She also performed Caught with David Parsons in a rare duet at The Joyce Theatre’s Anniversary Gala. She assisted Mr. Parsons while he choreographed “Shining Star” on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. She also taught and set his piece “The Envelope” on the Carte Blanche Dance Co. in Norway. Sumayah performed in Broadway’s 1st National Tours of Disney’s The Lion King and Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple. In The Color Purple, Sumayah played Olivia and was a Dance Captain. She also performed on Broadway in a tribute for The Wiz with several original cast members. She has also performed excerpt tributes of Hamilton, Chicago, West Side Story and Phantom of the Opera for E Plus Productions.
Sumayah has been a featured dancer with CHER for over 13 years performing in her Las Vegas residencies at Caesar’s Palace, The Park MGM, & MGM National Harbor in D.C. She has also performed in music videos and on her international and domestic tours, Dressed to Kill, Classic Cher, and Here We Go Again Tours. Sumayah has also accompanied Cher on private performances around the world.
She has performed on the BET awards with Toni Braxton. Her tv credits include, The Voice, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve w/ Dick Clark, Dancing with the Stars, America’s Got Talent, The Today Show, Good morning America, Billboard Music Awards, and The Oprah Show with Cher & Tina Turner. She also performed at The Met Gala with Cher. In Las Vegas, Sumayah was the Assistant Choreographer for the Donnie & Marie Christmas Tour. She also performed in Vegas The Show at Planet Hollywood. Sumayah was on faculty teaching for LaGuardia H.S. of P.A., Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech, and she taught and choreographed for The Joffrey Ballet School NYC Summer. She has also judged and taught for dance competitions such as Dancers INC, Sheer Elite, LV Dance Experience, ViewPoint and Regional Dance America.
Most recently, Sumayah is honored and excited to have been appointed Ballet Mistress and Coach for Contemporary West Dance Theatre and Conservatory under Founder and Artistic Director Bernard Gaddis.
Ava Stantion
Rehearsal Director
Born in New Jersey and raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Ava Stanton began dancing at the age of two. She began seriously training at age seven, gaining experience at her home studios, Doylestown Dance Center, Budzynski Ballet Theater, and, finally, Bucks County School of the Performing Arts, while supplementing with intensives and master classes at Philadelphia Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Ailey School, and Drexel. She is trained in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and contemporary and adores teaching and choreographing for all ages.
After graduating high school in 2021, she went on to the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program. At The Ailey School, she was able to dive deeper into the world of modern dance and work with a range of prestigious teachers and choreographers such as Ronni Favors, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Carolyn Dorfman, Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, Jacqulyn Buglisi, and Hollie Wright. She also had the opportunity to perform Mr. Ailey’s “Memoria” with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater during their City Center seasons in her Junior and Senior years.
As of May 2025, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program. Ava joined Contemporary West Dance Theater in 2025 as a Company Artist.
Mayra Munoz
Rehearsal Director
Mayra Munoz is a native of Las Vegas, this is her first season with Contemporary West Dance Theatre. Munoz is trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and contemporary dance from the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre. There, she performed alongside NBT’s company dancers in numerous ballets and with Cirque du Soleil artists in A Choreographer’s Showcase. She attended and graduated from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2022 with her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography. During her time at the University she worked with choreographers Cathy Allen, Louis Kavouras, Dolly Kelepcz, Ari Mayzick, Christopher Huggins.
EDDIE OTERO
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Emerita
Eddie began at Ballet Folklorico de Puerto Rico. He received scholarships to Harkness Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Mr.Otero has performed with the Ailey Company at the Metropolitan Opera House in “Memoria” and their City Center season later that year. Mr.Otero danced with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble in Denver, CO; Detroit City Dance Company, Danny Sloan Dance Company and with the Rod Rodgers Dance Company. Mr. Otero has also performed in West Side Story, A Chorus Line, Annie Get Your Gun, On Your Toes, Song and Dance, Starlight Express, Pirates of Penzance, Gypsy, Dreamgirls, Chicago the musical; Cats in Hamburg and Japan Tour of Fosse. He has choreographed and played the role of the MC in Cabaret, A Chorus Line, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Mr.Otero has taught at Nevada Ballet School. Mr. Otero is honored to be a part of this amazing Dance Company. Thank you for their beauty, grace and Divine Blessings.
CHARMAINE HUNTER
CO-FOUNDER
Charmaine began her formal dance training at the Hartford Ballet School. After a year, Charmaine moved to New York to study with founder Arthur Mitchell of the Dance Theatre of Harlem while continuing her formal education at the Professional Children’s School. She rose through the ranks quickly from apprentice to corp-de-ballet, eventually becoming principal dancer and one of the company’s ballerinas. She electrified audiences with her performances in a broad spectrum of roles.
She is best known for her role as The Firebird, choreographed by John Taras and Medea, choreographed by Michael Smuin. In 1988, as principal dancer, Charmaine was invited to perform in the former Soviet Union as part of the United States Cultural Exchange Initiative. During this historic visit, Charmaine and the Dance Theatre of Harlem were inducted into the prestigious Kirov Museum, featuring Charmaine as one of the featured dancers representing as cultural ambassador to the United States.
