Madelyn CANAJ
Madelyn (LaLonde) Canaj is a native Houstonian and graduate of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA). Her experience at HSPVA inspired her to pursue further training at the State University of New York at Purchase College, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Conservatory of Dance and a minor in Arts Management. During her time at SUNY Purchase, Madelyn performed works by renowned choreographers including Merce Cunningham, Dylan Crossman, Norbert De La Cruz III, Brian Enos, Taryn Kaschock Russell, and Tiffany Rea-Fisher.
Following graduation, Madelyn joined Elisa Monte Dance under the artistic direction of Tiffany Rea-Fisher, beginning as an Apprentice before being promoted to Company Dancer. In 2021, she became a founding Company Member of EMERGE125 and is currently in her ninth season with the company.
With EMERGE125, Madelyn has toured nationally and internationally, performing throughout New York, Washington, D.C., Canada, and on a 10-city tour of Alaska. Her performance credits include Bryant Park, El Museo del Barrio, The New Victory Theater, National Sawdust, The Flea Theater, and Carnegie Hall, where she performed with the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Musicians in the world premiere of Migrate by Jackson A. Waters. Additional career highlights include ensemble roles with Classical Theatre of Harlem in The Bacchae (2019), Twelfth Night (2022), and Memnon (2025). In 2023, Madelyn served as Associate Choreographer alongside Rea-Fisher for The Public Theater’s musical adaptation of The Tempest at the Delacorte Theater as part of the Public Works program. She also assisted Rea-Fisher in setting Tilted Arc at Marymount Manhattan College (2025) and at the Credence Dance Festival in Skopje, Macedonia (2026), in association with the Faculty of Music Art at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius.
Madelyn is a Teaching Artist with EMERGE125’s educational outreach partners, including the Stars of Tomorrow Project, Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts, P.S. 481, and Trinity School. She has also taught at EMERGE125’s annual Emerging Artist Summer Series and served as Dance Faculty and School Administrator at Lake Placid School of Dance from 2018–2023.
Madelyn continues to expand her work as a performer, educator, and choreographic collaborator, bringing her passion for movement to each new opportunity.