Faculty and Staff

David Mullen, Department Chair, has been teaching at Grossmont College since 1998. He holds a B.A. degree in teaching of dance from UC Irvine and an M.F.A., with an emphasis in choreography, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The majority of David’s experience is in theater dance, having performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in industrials, national tours, and videos. He has also performed with Ballet Pacifica, and the San Francisco-based post-modern dance company, High Risk Group. In addition to choreographing for annual faculty dance concerts, he has also choreographed a variety of musicals and plays including Annie, Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, The Club, The Fantasticks, Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, West Side Story, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Wizard of Oz, Working, Young Frankenstein, The Lorax, Zombie Prom and The Minneola Twins. Other guest artist/teaching credits include annual CAHPERD workshops (1997, 2001), and Cal Poly Pomona. David teaches Jazz technique, Modern technique, Introduction to Dance, Musical Theater Dance, Improvisation, and Studio Workshop classes in Jazz and Modern Dance. Dave also co-directs the department’s annual student and faculty dance concerts and is director of the Grossmont College Dance Company.

Melissa Adao - B.A, M.A. in Dance - is known for her energetic performances and her continuous passion to become a better dancer and educator. She began training at the age of 17 and since then, has soared into an amazing journey of hip hop, jazz and modern dance experiences. Melissa’s professional dance background includes Unity Dance Ensemble, Urban FX, EKetc and Super Galactic Beat Manipulators. Representation through Bloc Dance and Choreography has opened opportunities for her to work with artists like Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Andy Dick, Athena Cage, No Doubt and Nickelodeon’s "Taina".

She earned her B.A. in Dance from San Diego State University and her M.A. from California State University, Long Beach. She is now a dance instructor at California State University, San Marcos, Mesa College and Grossmont Community College. She enjoys sharing the love and passion for dance with her students and is blessed to be a part of their journey. She impresses the importance of educating the cultural and historical significance of our past in order to preserve our future dance community.

Aside from teaching and performing, she is also the Founder and CEO of Outreach Through Dance, a production company that produces dance showcases and events to benefit various charities and organizations in the San Diego community. OTD’s yearly event “Dance For A Wish” raises money to adopt a child’s wish from Make-A-Wish, San Diego. She wants to use her gift of dance to benefit the community, positively educate those who seek to know the art and culture, and expose to others the amazing impact hip hop can bring to one’s life.

Kristin Arcidiacono has been teaching in San Diego for over 20 years. She holds a Masters Degree in Education and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance. She has performed with Strictly Jazz Dance Company and Jazz Unlimited Dance Company in San Diego and toured Europe as a Jazz and Musical Theater dancer with various dance companies. Kristin also performed in a German television documentary on Jazz Dance. She has acted and danced in several television commercials, and has worked with local T.V. personalities on Industrials and charity events with her choreography endeavors. She was Dance Captain for the Cashai Dancers during their weekly performances in San Diego and on tour for several years. Kristin has choreographed for the Dance Departments at UCSD, San Diego Ballet, Stage 7, Peninsula Dance Arts, Mesa College, City College and Grossmont College. She is currently on the Faculty at UCSD, City, Mesa and Grossmont Colleges and teaches Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Musical Theater Dance.

Nancy Boskin-Mullen, Adjunct Associate Professor, teaches Tap, Ballroom Dance, Musical Theater Dance and Introduction to Dance at Grossmont College. She enjoyed a nomadic career as a professional dancer and choreographer which spanned three decades and three continents. She attended UCLA, where she received a B.A. in World Arts and Cultures with a concentration in dance, and an M.A. in Dance. She has been on faculty at several colleges in Los Angeles and San Diego, instructing a variety of classes including Jazz, Tap, Modern, Swing Dance, World Dance, Ballroom Dance, Latin American Dance and Choreography. She has also instructed lecture courses in Global Modern Dance, Dance Appreciation, Field Studies, and Movement as Cultural Behavior. Nancy is the director of the California Rhythm Project tap dance company. Together with her husband David Mullen, she also co-choreographs the Spring musical for the La Jolla High School drama department, has taught jazz and tap to musical theater students at the Coronado School of the Arts, and has served as a guest mentor for the Arts for Learning Teacher Training Intensive.

Aulani Chun received both a BA and MA in dance from CSU Long Beach.  She has professionally performed as a principle dancer in the musical Kismet in various cities across the US.  Aulani performed in A Chorus Line, and a national touring company of The King and I starring Yul Brynner.  In addition, she has performed in several television shows and movies.  Aulani has taught dance for California State University, Los Angeles, California State University-Long Beach, University of California-Irvine, Cal Arts and San Diego Mesa College.  Ms. Chun will be teaching Pilates I/II at Grossmont College for the Fall 2020 semester.

Lesa M. Green took her first steps in dance class at the age of two in New York. Over the years, she has trained in Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop and Modern. Some of her performance credits include MTV, Super Bowl Pre-Game Show, company dancer for bKSoul, choreographer for local colleges and schools, dancer for The Lollipop Girls Burlesque and competitor on America's Got Talent. You may have even seen her in movies--"Bring it On" and "Traffic"--as well as TV shows such as "Veronica Mars".

Lesa has her B.A. in Dance from UCSD, trained at The Ailey School in NYC and has her M.S. in Physical Education from Azusa Pacific University. Her love for kinesiology and belief in positive body image have led her in her journey as a certified personal trainer, registered yoga instructor (200hr E-RYT & Aerial Yoga) and proud owner/creator of The MIX Technique® (her Ballet basics infused barre, Horton Modern, Yoga boot camp workout class format). Her Contemporary Jazz style is a fusion of all of her favorite things--Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Tap, Hip Hop and Yoga--creating a movement that is athletic as well as graceful, yet hard-hitting. Lesa believes that everyone can greatly benefit from dance, yoga and fitness.

Sylvia Morales has danced all her life. Her extensive training and professional experience began with ballet and has since included other forms – modern, jazz, classical Spanish and flamenco. Sylvia had the honor of performing as a youth in the children's ensemble during The Bolshoi Ballet Company tour to her home city and as a corps dancer during the first two seasons of the California Ballet Company. She has performed as a soloist and ensemble dancer throughout the United States at major theaters such as Lincoln Center in New York City, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Civic Theater and Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego. As a soloist and choreographer Sylvia performed in prestigious venues including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Colorado Dance Festival, Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival and with The San Diego Symphony. She was a featured dancer with the Los Angeles Opera Company, the American Opera Center in New York City and Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas, Venezuela. Sylvia is also a member of Screen Actor’s Guild. She has performed and choreographed solo and ensemble projects for commercial film and television. She has taught dance for many years in the public and private sectors including master classes at major dance festivals and for university and public school arts programs. Sylvia has worked as an arts coordinator creating curriculum, teaching classes to students and teachers including improvisation-choreography, dance technique, appreciation and history. She coaches and directs students, teachers and other professionals in successful performance practices. Sylvia also completed a comprehensive teacher-training course in pilates. Ms. Morales currently teaches at the college level, choreographs solo and ensemble works and for special occasions performs original pieces and improvisations. Sylvia has taught ballet for the Grossmont College Dance Department since Spring 2008. Ms. Morales has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from The Juilliard School in New York City and a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance performance and choreography from UCLA.

Katelyn Ryan

Ballet II

Ballet III

Ballet IV

Studio Workshop - Ballet II

Studio Workshop - Pointe I/II/III

Gina Bolles Sorensen (MFA, E-RYT) is one part dance educator, one part choreographer, and one part yogini. As the Co-Artistic Director of somebodies dance theater (somebodiesdancetheater.com), her choreography has been presented to critical acclaim in New York, San Francisco, Houston, Minneapolis, Mexico, and Israel among others. Awards include Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Dance Production at the SD International Fringe Festival and the SD Young Choreographers Prize. She has published original research on imagery in dance learning in the Journal of Dance Education, has been the recipient of two grants to study classical Indian dance in India, and was awarded a National Artist Teacher Fellowship from the Boston Arts Academy Center for Arts in Education. In 2018, she was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus award in Dance from the University of Oregon. She has recently enjoyed creating commissioned works for San Diego Dance Theater, Bellingham Repertory Dance (WA), and Moving Current Dance Collective (FL), and performing herself in works by Jesse Zaritt, for youTurn Arts, and Yolande Snaith. She serves on the dance faculties at Grossmont College and the Coronado School of the Arts, teaches yoga through her online website www.YogaNatyamOnline.com, and co-teaches SubtleBodyBigDance at San Diego Dance Theater.

Kyle Sorensen

Kyle Sorensen has been making dances for over 12 years. Known for creating work that emphasizes collaborative processes, dynamic physicality, and embodied presence, his choreography has been exhibited and awarded special honors in both national and international venues, including the Tanzsommer Festival in Austria. Most recently, Kyle was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study contemporary dance and choreographic processes in Israel for 2013-14. In the Fall of 2013, he was commissioned to choreograph a piece for the 15th annual Trolley Dances produced by San Diego Dance Theater. Kyle has danced professionally in Los Angeles, Oregon, Washington, and San Diego for choreographers including Yolande Snaith, Joe Alter, Jean Isaacs, Elfi Schaefer-Schafroth, and Alicia Peterson Baskel, as well as performed in works by Tere O’Connor, Susan Marshall, and Gabe Masson. Kyle has studied the Gaga technique developed by Ohad Naharin of the Batsheva Dance Company, as well as choreographic practices with Bebe Miller, K.J. Holmes, and Nina Martin, and dance-for-the-camera with Ellen Bromberg. Kyle has taught full courses in Contemporary Dance and Hip Hop Dance at the University of California San Diego and San Diego City College, as well as master classes at Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC), Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, NC), and Southwestern College (Chula Vista, CA). He served as the Assistant Choreographer to Yolande Snaith for the University of California San Diego’s devised theater work, “Sexual Selection: Darwin and Shakespeare Ponder Love.” Kyle has a MFA in Dance Theatre from the University of California San Diego, where he was awarded the Achievement Award in Teaching, and a BA in Dance at the University of Oregon, where he was recognized with the Dance Achievement Award in Recognition of Undergraduate Excellence as a Developing Artist. Kyle is currently Co-Artistic Director of somebodies dance theater in San Diego and on faculty at Grossmont College, the University of California San Diego, San Diego City College, and Southwestern College.  

Debi Toth-Ward holds a BFA in Performing Arts from Johnson State College in Vermont and an MA from San Diego State University, where she was awarded the 1998 alumnus of the year. Debi’s choreography has been presented in New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, and recently in the “Other Side” festival in Seattle. In 1996, Debi was selected by the San Diego Union as one of the top ten choreographers to be watched. She has an extensive performing career as will. She was a member of the Throne Dance Theater in New York, where she appeared with Dave Brubeck and sons. In San Diego she has been seen with Three’s Company, Patricia Sandback and Dancers, and was a founding member of Malashock Dance, where she assisted the director for nine years.  Debi presented work in the 2016 San Diego Fringe Festival.  In 2017 she presented a work in the annual San Diego Trolley Dances and her piece was voted that year's "best of dance". She was asked to stage this piece again in 2018 for Jean Isaacs' San Diego Dance Theater's "20th Anniversary Best of Trolley Dances". Debi has taught children of all ages, several college residencies nationally, and is on the faculty at Grossmont College and City College.