Angelica Vessella
Academic Background
Angelica Vessella (Gel) holds an MFA in Theatre/Performance and Society and a B.S in Health Education from Rhode Island College. Angelica teaches jazz, tap, modern, dance for musical theater and choreography in the Department of Dance at RIC. She is also the artistic director of the Vessella Dance Project, which was founded in 1998 to support professional dance and theater performance with multi-disciplinary choreograph. She is interested in creating work that speaks to the social climate of the day.
Vessella's additional credits include performances at Jacob's Pillow with Paula Hunter and several performances in New York City with Marta Renzi and the Project Dance Company; modern dance choreographic commissions for the Community College of Rhode Island, Providence College, University of Rhode Island and several commissions for the Rhode Island College Dance Company. She has studied and worked with wide variety of artists including Elizabeth Streb, Lucinda Childs, Danny Buraczeski, Deborah Hay and Ralph Lemon.
Vessella has also choreographed Rhode Island College's Musical Theatre productions of
The Who's Tommy,
Lysistrata,
The Pirates of Penzance,
Sweet Charity,
Damn Yankees, and
No, No, Nanette. Vessella provided rehearsal direction for the renowned jazz dance choreographer, Danny Buraczeski, and his adaptation of Jack Cole's historical work,
Happy Endings Every Time; a collaborative project with dancers from Rhode Island College, Brown University, Roger Williams, and Providence College and sponsored by Dance USA. Angelica also choreographed
Red Noses at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre in Pawtucket in 2005 as well as musical theater productions
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and
Little Women at the University of Rhode Island.
In 2002 Angelica was the recipient of the RIC Alumni Honor Roll Award for ongoing excellence in the field of dance, she was named one of the Most Influential Artists of Rhode Island in 2002 (
Rhode Island Phoenix), and was awarded the Antonio Cirino Fellowship in the Arts from the Rhode Island Foundation for two consecutive years (2006,2007). Upon graduating with her MFA '07, Vessella received the Rita and London Lloyd Scholarship Award in Theatre.
Courses Taught
Managing Dir (includes 322)
Rehearsal Director
Rehearsal Director (Managing)
Rehearsal Director - Fall
DANC 112 Introductory Jazz
DANC 114 Introductory Tapdance
DANC 212 Intermediate Jazz
DANC 214 Intermediate Tap Dance
DANC 304 Choreography I
DANC 321 Dance For Musical Theatre
DANC 322 Repertory Performance
DANC 450 Topics
DANC 492 Independent Performance Dance
DANC 550 Topics
