MEET YOUR PASSION GUIDES
CALLI ROTHBERG
Calli is the owner and fearless leader of PASSION. She was raised in Beacon since the age of 5 and trained at Hudson River Performing Arts Center throughout her childhood. She then went on to become the captain of the Binghamton University Dance Team thinking that after her last senior performance she my never have the opportunity to step foot on stage again. Thankfully that was not the case and she ended up dancing with DanceWorksNYC for a year and The Bad Girls Club in Charleston, SC for nearly two years.
Her passion for dance and building strong relationships has always been at her core. She is thrilled to fill her hometown with the magic of dance and movement by her adult peers.
You’ll find Calli teaching Heels and Twerk classes at Passion as her desire to express and teach sensuality and sexuality is at the forefront of her dance career today.
TAYLOR LYONS
Taylor’s love for moving her body began at the age of four with her first dance class. After studying all types of dance for fourteen years she brought her love for dance to high school students in the Hudson Valley. Taylor has taught and choreographed performances for competitive dance teams and clubs in high schools since 2013. Taylor completed her 200-hr yoga teacher training in 2017. After finding her love for teaching movement classes she went on to complete the Spinning® and JumpSport Fitness instructor trainings. When Taylor isn’t being schooled by her teenage niece in what’s cool these days she is working for a technology company.
CHRISTINA KILBANE
Chris was born dancing out of the womb! Raised in Ohio, she started playing around and training in tap, jazz, and ballet when she was a toddler, and continued this journey into her adolescence. In 2010 Chris moved to Salt Lake City and strangely enough fell head over heels (literally) in love with Brazilian music and dance. Chris joined a samba school, Samba Fogo, where she studied, instructed, and performed with the group for the next seven years. Chris eventually moved east and began teaching in the Charlottesville, Richmond, DC area and has now transplanted herself to the Hudson Valley!
Chris is a huge proponent of making dance accessible, and spreading joy and connection through community movement!
ZANYELL GARMON
Zanyell has been dancing with hoops since 2014. Hoop dance brought her to life. It gave her a way to be in her body and feel beautiful and free. She moved into multiple embodiment practices from there. She is a 500-hour certified yoga instructor and performs with hoops, fans, and fire. She teaches to share this practice that gives her so much joy and allows her to be present in her body.
LAUREN MAGARELLI
Lauren has been dancing since she started ballet at 5 years old. Lauren danced with the Catskill Ballet Theater growing up and studied under Anne Hebard and David Howard. She also danced with the Buffalo City Ballet while getting her BFA at Buffalo University. She performed in Europe and studied with the Cunninham company in London, as well as returned to NYC to perform off Broadway in Cabaret Shows. Lauren started a dance program in a middle school in NYC and then taught Contemporary ballet at the Spence school for 10 years. Lauren is so excited to return to teaching ballet after a 6 year break from opening BeBhakti Yoga Center in Beacon.
STEPHANIE DeCAPRIO
Stephanie started learning to shuffle in 2020 with no idea that it would change her life entirely. Shuffling became a lifestyle that allowed her to express herself, improve her mental and physical health, join a beautiful new community, get fit in a fun way, and become more confident than ever! She is passionate about sharing this dance style and what it can do for the mind, body, and soul.
When Stephanie isn’t shuffling, she is enjoying life as a mom of two and working her own business as a virtual assistant.
MARILYN MITCHELL
Marilyn Mitchell is an artist and an RN originally from NY, though she has lived in France, Massachusetts, Illinois and California. She became a Certified Nia Technique Instructor in 2000 and got her Black Belt in 2008. She has taught Nia to adults, high school students, seniors, and Veterans. She moved to the Hudson Valley area in 2021.
ASHLEA BONDS
Ashlea has participated in the fitness field the majority of her life. Raised by a Texas high school football coach and an occupational therapist, Ashlea learned at an early age the importance of discipline and teamwork which has contributed to her excelling in athletics and academics. After a successful collegiate career in women's volleyball, she has advanced into the fitness industry. As a nationally certified group fitness instructor, Bonds' contagious energy and desire to help her community makes her a driving force in today's fitness world.
• AFAA certified group exercise instructor
• Licensed Zumba Basic 1 & 2, Toning and Gold instructor
• Licensed BollyX instructor
• Shape Up NYC Fitness instructor
• New York Urban Professional volleyball participant
• Collegiate Volleyball player
KELLY ZITKA
Kelly Zitka is originally from Dallas, Texas, where she trained at Dance Industry Performing Arts Center. She received her BFA in Dance at Southern Methodist University, and went on to travel the world dancing with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines. She toured with Odyssey Dance Theatre’s production of Thriller, and was most recently seen in A.D. Players' production of West Side Story. She loves to teach students of all ages and skill levels, and is beyond thrilled to be a part of the team at Passion!
DEE YERGO
Dee Yergo is the Founder and Creatrix of the groundbreaking Yoga Eros curriculum which supports students to expand their emotional resilience while leveraging the power of sensual energy for vitality, creativity and overall well-being. For the last decade, Dee has been working at the intersection of yoga, meditation, sacred sensuality, birth, energy work, trauma-informed healing, personal development and transformation work in the catharsis model. She is the Founder of Prana Prenatal Yoga in New York where she trained and mentored dozens of birth professionals, yoga/meditation teachers, mental health professionals and professional life coaches.
Dee is a graduate of the esteemed Conquering Lion Yoga program in New York City which melded Patanjali’s classic teachings of yoga with Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug tradition and Q’ero Shamanism. Dee has completed all three training levels of the International School of Temple Arts. She has also been closely mentored by master teachers and gurus and received several sacred initiations from lineage holders across various traditions.
Dee is known for sharing esoteric wisdom with diverse student populations both nationally and internationally offering tools and methodology that is simple, accessible and actionable. She is passionate about the idea of bringing healthy and conscious sensuality into the mainstream, using yoga as an access point and vehicle for the sacred life force energy of eros.
KORY GELLER
Kory Geller is a former dancer and choreographer who lives in Beacon, NY. He performed at the Guggenheim, Symphony Space, Judson Church, Ogunquit Playhouse, McCarter Theater, and on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He also danced with Dance Lab New York and The Chase Brock Experience, in workshops for Frozen and Waitress, and taught at Rider University, Molloy College (CAP21), and McCarter Theater. Passionate about youth empowerment, he currently serves as Community Engagement Coordinator and Professional Development Facilitator for GLSEN Mid-Hudson/GLSEN, and volunteers with The Trevor Project. Kory is also a freelance creative consultant, and in his free time, loves walking his dog Ninoy.