Born in Markham, Ontario, Canada, Michaella is a Canada-based freelance contemporary dance artist. Whilst obtaining her BFA from the Juilliard School in 2024, she created Contemporary Dance Lab, envisioning a forward-thinking contemporary dance training intensive that could push forward generational thought within a dance studio. In her performance career, Michaella has danced for Sharon Eyal as a guest artist, Dance Aspen during their winter 24-25 season, and most recently for Ballet Edmonton for their 2025-2026 season under the direction of Kirsten Wicklund. She currently works as a freelance dance artist around Canada performing, choreographing and producing work.

Of Filipino descent, Briana Del Mundo is a Canadian dance artist and choreographer based in New York. Her work spans dance, film, fashion, and live performance, allowing her to explore movement through different creative disciplines and collaborations.  Briana received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School and has since performed with Ballet BC, GALLIM Dance, and The Metropolitan Opera.  Her work has extended into film, fashion, and music, including movement direction for Brooklyn-based designer Delfina Balda. Her collaborations across fashion and media have included features in Vogue Photo and the CALIA Inspire campaign by Dick’s Sporting Goods, as well as work with Max Mara x The Glass House.  At the core of Briana’s work is a belief in intentionality, curiosity, and meaningful impact. She values the ability of movement to create connections and hopes to contribute to the communities around her through collaboration. She is the executive producer and a teacher for Contemporary Dance Lab, a program dedicated to creating space for younger dancers to explore and develop their practice and artistry.

Emily Okamoto (she/her) is from Irvine, California and graduated with a BFA in dance at the Juilliard School (2026). Emily began her training at Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy under the direction of Dmitri and Jennifer Kulev. She later joined Westside Dance Project under the direction of Jessie Riley, Megan Guise and Krystal Matsuyama-Tsai. In addition to numerous leadership positions, Emily is the founder and president of Juilliard Asian Student Alliance. She directed and produced the school’s first Asian and Pacific Islander production. Emily was a selected choreographer for Choreographers and Composers (2024) and Choreographic Honors (2024). She has choreographed a number of award-winning solos for high school students and has taught ballet, contemporary and improvisation classes for beginner and advanced students for over five years.  Emily is currently dancing with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, as well as MorDance company based in Dobbs Ferry. She is grateful to have joined Michaella's team to help cultivate the vision of Contemporary Dance Lab.