The 2024 MAD Festival Panel of Adjudictors

Dana Tan Soon Burgess - Dana is an American choreographer and dancer and founder of his namesake dance company which is based in Washington, DC. In May 2016, Burgess was named the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. His work has tended to focus on the "hyphenated person" - someone who is of mixed ethnic or cultural heritage - as well as issues of belonging and societal acceptance. He serves as a cultural envoy for the U.S. State Department, an appointment he uses to promote international cultural dialogue through "the global language of dance". Throughout his career, Burgess has performed, taught, and choreographed around the world.  https://dtsbdc.org/

Danika Pramik-Holdaway - Danika is the Artistic Director of the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet. She began her dance training at Marin Ballet, studying under Mikko Nissinen, Margaret Swarthout, and Cynthia Lucas. She continued her studies with intensive programs at Ballet Met, The Joffrey Ballet School, and the Rosella Hightower International School of Dance in Cannes, France. She received her B.A. in dance and pre-med from Barnard College, Columbia University, graduating cum laude. Since joining SDCYB in 2006, she has directed and choreographed Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, Coppélia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and SDCYB's 70th Anniversary production of The Sleeping Beauty. https://www.sdcyb.org/danikapramikholdaway

Jeanne Mam-Luft - Jeanne is the Artistic and Executive Director of Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers, which she founded as MamLuft&Co. Dance in 2007. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Texas Woman’s University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University. Mam-Luft studied at both American Dance Festival and Bates Dance Festival on full scholarships, as well as Carnegie Mellon’s acclaimed School of Drama, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and Point Park University.  https://www.mutualdance.org/archive/2023-2024/about/