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Orville Matherson
as "Ricky Myers"

Actor and Producer, Orville Matherson is a graduate of DeVry University and holds a Bachelors Degree in Finance. After working in the financial sector in Chicago and New York City for many years, he decided to return to his first love, acting.

Matherson obtained formal training from American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), Stella Adler Conservatory and Michael Howard Conservatory to further develop his acting career. Since then he has performed in a wide range of roles on stage and screen.

Onstage, he has appeared in Love’s Labor’s Lost, Machinal directed by Jesse Berger, Blue Orange, directed by Larry Singer, Edward the Second at The American Theater of Actors and Hamlet with The Hudson Shakespeare Company. Screen credits include Law and Order SVU and Ed.

Matherson's acting experience and business acumen makes him uniquely qualified to assume the triple roles of leading man, Executive Producer and Director for A Dance For Grace.

Nancy Alvarez-Pellegrini
as "Jerri"

Nancy Alvarez-Pellegrini is active in several aspects of the entertainment industry including film, television, print and music videos. Her television credits include As The World Turns, All My Children, RESCUE ME, Six Degrees, Damages, Nurse Jackie, as well as being recently seen in the lead role of ‘Jerri’ Female Parole Officer in the independent film A Dance For Grace.

Nancy is also a model and has starred in music video's with Neo and Nelly. Her film credits include Music and Lyrics, Spiderman 2&3, Starship Dave, War of the Worlds.

The native New Yorker trained at THE NEW YORK CONSERVATORY FOR DRAMTIC ARTS: SCHOOL FOR FILM AND TELEVSION.

Doug Sines
as "Mason"

This former member of the U.S. Navy got his start in acting in 1996 by going to an open call, after dreaming for years of being involved in the world of entertainment. He appeared as an extra in films such as World Trade Center and The Brave One, gradually moving on to appearances in Law & Order, Convictions, and Judge David Young.

Despite his television appearances however, Sines sites film as his true calling. He appeared in the independent feature Run It, which won the top prize at the Philafilm Festival in Philadelphia.

He has also enjoyed his forays into student films including Jett by Sean Connell and Romance, a short by Reid Connell. He was also seen in Stick Up Kids, directed by Hawthorne James. Doug plays Mason, the cop who is determined to see Rick back behind bars at all costs.

Ted Spencer
as "Principal Harris"

Ted Spencer started acting at a very young age, first inspired at about age seven by seeing the child actor who played "Winthrop Paroo" in "The Music Man" on Broadway. Since that time, Ted became enthusiastically involved in plays, skits, puppet shows and ventriloquism, writing original scripts and stories, singing and other performing arts.

As a teenager, Ted shifted interest toward music, at the expense of some of his involvement with drama, but his theatrical side lived on in his love of comic impersonations, character voices and informal play-acting to entertain friends and family. When time came to choose a career path, Ted embarked on a long and very successful career as a recording engineer and producer, working along the way with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, and David Bowie among dozens of other music stars.

But theater and film never strayed very far from Ted's life as his music work evolved to include recordings for numerous Broadway shows, feature films and documentaries, including the scores of Academy Award nominees "Metropolitan", "American Splendor", and "Sound And Fury" and two winners of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award.

As an adult, Ted jump-started his acting career by studying formally (and informally, reading stacks of acting books) for two years before applying for roles in film. Ted was quickly accepted, and to date has had featured or starring roles in dozens of feature films, shorts and voice narrations. Ted has also written several feature and short film scripts, including a full-length horror feature shot in 2008 that will be completed in late 2009. Ted also acted in the film and oversaw the casting process.

Along the way, Ted greatly expanded his music recording facility to include a comprehensive array of Digital Filmmaking and editing tools, and will shoot his first film as writer/director in early 2010.

Susan Lahout
as "Grace"

Susan’s character holds the namesake for the movie’s title. She has a wide range of experience in the acting field, as A DANCE FOR GRACE is Susan’s fourth film. The others include Getting Away with Murder, Flower and Sacco.

Theatre performances include Darwin’s Revenge, My Fair Lady, Nuts and Crackers, Peter and the Wolf, Harvey(at the Weathervane Theatre) and countless others. She has also written and hosted Sportsfanpodcasts.com and hosted and produced Health Beat, and For Your Information, both series, as well as hosted several web casts, such as A Town Divided School Crisis in the North Country.

She has trained with Marsha Turner, attended Acting for film-Peter Miner, Actors Connection NYC and also loves to sing, play tennis, swim and snow & water ski. Susan has also studied dance at First Call NYC and Littleton Arts Center, had vocal training at David Sabella Mills and has attended
Catholic University to study Theatre & Public Performance, to name a few.

Karen Mayo
as "Rita"

A model of many fields including fashion and runway, Karen has been featured in Canoe and Kayak Magazine, Eclipse Magazine, Sci-Fi 2001 Calendar, and The 13 Colonies (book by Robert Shuster).

Karen also exercised her modeling skills on the Home Shopping Network,Makes & Models Magazine, the cat walks took her from bridal show runways to charity event stages.

Karen has showcased her talents in films such as Weekend At Bernie's II, Samantha, and The Profit.

Karen has trained at Weist Barron, NY as well as TVI Studios New York and Ellen Meade Studios in Sarasota, Florida.

In addition, Karen enjoys journalism, news & sports reporting. In her spare time, Karen loves to cook, roler skate, horseback ride, bartend and do photography.

Marie Holst
as "Coreen"

Marie Holst began her career as a tap dancer at the age of four and then went on to sing on the radio at age seven. She spent most of her life singing, dancing and acting on stage. As an adult, she studied in Manhattan with Ann Jackson, Sandy Dennis and Herbert Bergoff, among others. She also studied acting for camera at Colliers Casting and TVI Studies. As a proud member of the SCREEN ACTORS GUILD, and >ACTORS EQUITY ASSOCIATION, she worked extensively “Off Broadway”, regionally and with touring companies.

Some of her favorite roles are Sara Goode in ‘Sisters Rozensweig’, Vera Charles in ‘Mame’, Adelaid in ‘Guys and Dolls’, Rosie Brice in ‘Funny Girl’, Mamita in ‘Gigi’, Kate Jerome in ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ and most recently ‘Sister Mary Regina in ‘Nunsense’.

Marie has numerous TV and FILM Credits, and is honored to have worked with such luminaries such as Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Melanie Griffith, Steven Segal and F. Murray Abraham. She was seen on TV’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ and several episodes of ‘Square One’ on Public Television. She was extremely happy to have had he pleasure to work with the ever so talented cast and crew of “A Dance For Grace”. Marie credits her husband, Bill and their five children for their never ending support over the years.

Yarcadova Lewinson
as "Earl"

A native of Clarendon, Jamaica, Yarc moved to Florida at the age of 3. After growing up in a rough neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, he became the first Lewinson to graduate college on a basketball scholarship. When a knee injury ended his dreams of a professional basketball career, acting became his new passion.

Moving to New York, he has been trained at The School for Film and Television and at The Jason Bennett Actors’ Workshop. Yarc's latest credits include leading roles onstage in Othello and Henry V111 at Shakespeare Saturdays, and a featured role in  Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna. He also plays the leading role of Larry Davis in A & E’s The Fugitive Chronicles.

Most recently, Yarc had the lead in a national Rocawear commercial with Jay Z, which was directed by Spike Lee and aired on BET, MTV and ESPN. As Earl, Ricky’s longtime friend from the “hood,” Yarc’s character serves as a constant reminder of Ricky’s checkered past.

MELPO
as "Natasha" and Choreographer

In her own words, MELPO is “Addicted to music and passionate about the art of dance.” Born in Greece and raised in Sweden, she was mesmerized by the world of dance and music even as a child. She is a member of the Swedish dance crew, SKILLZ-Dance Will Never Die and the international dance crew
D&T-To Di World.

Although she is inspired by many different dance forms, her primary focus is on hip hop, house music and dancehall. She counts herself fortunate to have been associated with many different music videos, live events and promotions around the world as a dancer and choreographer. As such, her name has been linked to such illustrious brands as Puma (Finland), Nokia,MTV, Adidas, The International Reggae World Music Awards (IRAWMA),
The Asylum Dance Club (Jamaica) and KORA (Africa).

She has choreographed and danced for the likes of Lady Saw, Million Stylez, and Avalonand served as opening act for Ryan Leslie and Fabolous.
She has also taught classes and workshops in Sweden, Ukraine, Spain and New York City.

MELPO served an integral role in this film and behind the scenes as lead choreographer for the dance moves performed by the lead dancers/actors, and also appears in the film as Natasha, another of the dancers “Dancing for Grace”.

Alex Mallari, Jr
as "Alex"

Canadian Alex Mallari is relatively new to the world of acting, although his desire to perform dates back to his childhood.

He finally took the plunge in 2008 and was eventually successful in landing an agent in his native Toronto. He was instantly cast in several student films and shorts, and followed this up with a coveted spot in a commercial for the Much Music Video Awards.

He has subsequently been seen in Tona’s music video Street of Dreams and in the production Novel- I Am which has been seen on MTV, BET and elsewhere.  Now making his feature film debut in A Dance For Grace, he is determined to work hard at his craft in order to tackle a wide array of roles well into the future.

Adam French
as "Syrin"

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and also known as “Syrin”, Adam not only has a twin brother, but also has 16 other brothers and sisters. Adam’s mom, Verna, noticed that he had a talent for dance at the early age of 4, and would ask him to perform dance moves from Michael Jackson’s videos for her friends. Sadly, Adam lost his mother at the tender age of 8. To help him through this loss, Adam found comfort in dancing, imagining that he was still performing for his mother.

In an effort to break from his shyness as a teenager, Adam found a club where he and his twin brother would showcase their dance moves. From there, Adam was asked to teach Dancehall moves to others, and then he formed the 4 person dance crew called: “William’s Alliances”. As more dancers became interested in joining, the crew eventually grew into the “Ground Zero Dancers”, who have won every dance battle they entered in college campuses and clubs in New York.

Adam has choreographed and performed in Ire Jam, Reggae Awards, and Sybrite. He was also a backup dancer/choreographer for the reggae pop artists, 77Klash. He has hosted several party events, including 2008 ‘Dancehall Queen’. Adam currently teaches Dancehall in Manhattan and Harlem.

Adam is the Assistant Choreographer for the Dancehall sequences in his first motion feature film, ‘A Dance For Grace’. You will also see Adam portray, “Syrin”, one of the main dancers in the movie.

Francisca Griffiths
as "Francine"

Born and raised in Sweden, Francisca Griffiths is of South American descent. Inspired by performers such as Michael Jackson, she discovered at an early age that she had a deep passion for dance.

Known by her peers as “Franci”, she has traveled all over the world to learn about different dance cultures over the years, and one of her favorite styles of dance-originating in Jamaica-is Reggae Dancehall. For her, therefore, her role in A Dance For Grace was like “coming home.”

She has choreographed and performed in several major live shows and videos. Her credits include fashion shows in Sweden for Adidas, Nalen, MNO, Nordic and Open Street Styles. She has also appeared in the Million Stylez Music Video, The Solna Festival, Viva Stockholm, The Gringot Dancehall Cruise, MTV Sunday Service, The Wave, MTV Sunday, Sounds of NY, Breaking the Walls (Spain), and The World Puma Games (Finland).

She has performed at several Reggae Awards Shows and appeared with Jamaican dancehall DJ Lady Saw as well. She plays Francine, one of the hot female dancers doing her part to save Grace.

Brett Canfield
as "Adam"

Born and raised in Milford CT, actor and dancer Brett Canfield is a certified graduate of ACES New Haven Educational Center for the Arts.

While A Dance For Grace marks his professional acting debut, his dance experience is extensive and spans several genres ranging from classical ballet and hip hop to contemporary dance, modern, African, jazz, lyrical, tap, tumbling and, most recently, dancehall.

He has trained at some of the most respected studios in the country, including Connecticut Dance Conservatory, Broadway Dance Center, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and The Joffrey Ballet. His performance credits include the The Nut Cracker (New England Ballet), Nut/Cracked (David Parker and The Bang Group), Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2006, and Bridgeport Downtown Cabaret in which he appeared as a soloist.

He has also appeared aboard the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in their acclaimed show. Aside from performing, Brett also teaches dance at the Connecticut Dance Conservatory and Danse Elite. He plays Adam, another gifted student passionately dancing to save Grace.

Matt Ruiz
as "Matt"

Originally a native of California, Matt moved to New York to pursue his dream of excelling in the performing arts.

Currently he is honing his dance skills at New Dance Group and cementing his acting abilities at Michael Howard Studios. Using his singing voice to great advantage, he has appeared in Oklahoma, The King and I, Bye Bye Birdie, The Wizard of Oz and The Fantasticks. He has competed with his students in the U.S. in many Ballroom Competitions.

He is also a professional choreographer and ballroom dance instructor, but is also skilled in hip hop, salsa, ballet and jazz.  He has appeared on the cover of Time Out NY Magazine and is hoping to parlay his trio of disciplines- singing, acting and dancing, into appearances on Broadway and in films. He plays the role of Matt, one of the high school teens determined to use his talent to save Grace.

Irene Deros
as "Kerry"

Irene Deros hails from the island of Montreal, Canada, where she danced in the clubs to develop her underground dance skills, while placing her focus on a future in co-op marketing.

In pursuit of this career, she attended and graduated from The John Molson School of Business. After working in business for a short time, she discovered that it wasn't for her, and that her real passion was in dance. She then decided to audition for and was accepted to the Contemporary Dance program at Concordia University.

Instead, however, Irene’s enthusiasm drove her to take her skills and pursue her craft in the dance capitol of the world----'New York City', where she now resides.

Irene trained at The Hip Hop Dance Conservatory and continues to improve her technique at Dance New Amsterdam and Broadway Dance Center, in several different genres, and under many talented instructors. Irene’s performance in “A Dance For Grace” marks her movie debut, and she is thrilled to be surrounded with such talent. She is very excited in having the opportunity to help bring Dancehall to the forefront.