PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHIES

Alexa Kruchten is from Chicago, Illinois. She is a proud graduate from Point Park University with a BA in Jazz and a minor in business. While at Point Park, she trained and worked with Kiesha Lalama, Garfield Lemonius, Jason McDole, Matthew Powell, Kiki Lucas, and Kimberly Anderson. She was the president of Point Park's Hip Hop Club, Impulse, where she organized weekly classes and performance opportunities throughout the community. Alexa is currently a member and choreographer of BOOM CRACK! Dance Company, a hip hop company led under the founder and artistic direction of Trae Turner. She also teaches weekly teen and adult classes throughout the city and suburbs. Alexa has a passion for teaching and watching her students grow in their art form!  

Ali Woerner (She/Her) is the Founder and Artistic Director of Take Root, professional company-in-residence at Oakland University where she is Associate Professor of Dance. She received her MFA from the University of Michigan and BFA from Oklahoma City University. Woerner has performed, choreographed and taught all over the world; including Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan, Berlin and Korea. Take Root just returned from their residency at the Tanz Tangente in Berlin, Germany where they taught classes, created a new work and performed a full-length concert. The company has also performed at the New Dance for Asia International Festival/Seoul, South Korea, Incheon Yeonsu International Dance Festival/Incheon, Korea, Uferstudios/Berlin, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Detroit Institute of Arts, National Theater of Costa Rica, Red Bull House of Art/Detroit, TEDx, Detroit Dance City Festival, RADfest, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, The Music Hall Center for Performing Arts Detroit, Hamlin Field House Theater/Chicago, Northwestern University, Ohio University and at The University of Costa Rica. Woerner is the founder and director of Take Root’s Dance for Parkinson’s Disease Program, offering four weekly classes throughout South East Michigan, guest lectures for the Graduate Neuro Interventions course, leads in-services for physical therapists throughout southeast MI., was a guest host for the national Parkinson’s Movement Disorder webinar, speaker for the Parkinson’s Disease Symposium, Michigan Parkinson’s Facilitator’s Conference, Women in Dance Conference and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. www.takerootdance.com 

Amy Cadwallader - Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer

MFA, Dance

Amy Cadwallader is a dancer, choreographer, pole dancer, performer, improviser, and educator currently living in Ann Arbor, MI. As Artistic Director of Dance Uprising, Amy has invested in dance education with community classes for young children at the Ypsilanti District Library, Ann Arbor Public Schools, and creative movement classes for babies and toddlers. Amy has presented work this year with Shape // Matter Showcase, Sutte Dance, The Main Event, at Purdue University, and with The Precipitants. She has also performed with Terpsichore Collective, The Ann Arbor Aviary, and The Precipitants.

Andrew Cribbett, originally from Thomasboro, Illinois, received a full scholarship to The Washington Ballet in Washington D.C. He then attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts to finish his senior year of high school. He joined Eisenhower Dance Detroit in 2011 and retired as a company dancer and Rehearsal Director in 2021. While dancing with the company, Mr. Cribbett toured nationally and internationally both teaching and performing in venues as far as Tel Aviv, Israel. He also had the great pleasure of performing original works by Nicolo Fonte, Gina Patterson, Darrell Grand Moutrie, Edgar Zendejas, Joshua Peugh, Ron De Jesus, among many others. His choreography has received recognition for Top 12 placement at YAGP for solos, small groups, and ensembles. Over the years, Mr. Cribbett has taught and choreographed for several local studios including The School of Eisenhower Dance Detroit and also trains elite level figure skaters in Junior Ice Dance. He is also pursuing a degree in Nursing concurrent with his role of Assistant Artistic Director. 

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Moving into its 33rd season as a professional contemporary dance repertory company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit gives life to the work of nationally and internationally known choreographers along with that of its founding artistic director, Laurie Eisenhower, and current artistic director, Stephanie Pizzo. This year, Ms. Pizzo leads EDD into its 7th season under her artistic guidance following Ms. Eisenhower's retirement in 2017. The company continues its artistic mission through collaborations with artists across genres including film directors, composers, visual designers, and musicians. Recent collaborators have included film creative Zachariah Hagy and electro-pop violin band, Nuclassica. EDD also engages in collaborations with arts organizations including the Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, the Rackham Symphony Choir, Detroit Opera, the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, The Toledo Opera, and the Detroit Institute of Arts to name a few. Since its inception, Eisenhower Dance Detroit has grown from a small pick-up company into an eleven dancer roster employing seven professional company dancers and four apprentices. These artists have joined the EDD family from regions across the country. As the company’s mission states, Eisenhower Dance Detroit strives “to be a professional repertory company that, through outstanding performances and educational services, strives to deepen the understanding and appreciation of contemporary dance regionally, nationally, and internationally and to reflect on and explore issues of social significance.” Ms. Pizzo continues to expand the company’s innovative style and artistic vision while still honoring the legacy of Eisenhower Dance Detroit’s founder.  Considered one of the finest contemporary dance companies in the Midwest, EDD has been hailed for its artistry from sources including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Hour Magazine, and Detroit Free Press. Eisenhower Dance Detroit presents an annual Detroit Metro performance series and tours nationally and internationally. In 2015, 2017, and 2018, EDD was featured at the Ladek Zdroj International Dance Festival in Poland and Tel Aviv, Israel. In 2019, the company performed to a standing ovation at the iconic dance mecca, Jacob’s Pillow, in Beckett, Massachusetts. The company has performed works by choreographers Hope Boykin, Marc Brew, Tamisha Guy, Norbert De La Cruz III, Maleek Washington, James Grieg and Rauf Yasif, Micaela Taylor, Nicolo Fonte, Edgar Zendejas, Lar Lubovitch, Ron de Jesus, and Darrell Grand Moultrie, to namea few. This season, EDD welcomes Joshua Peugh and Tess Voelker for choreographic residencies with the company. EDD has also produced several evening-length touring productions including “ARC”, a dramatic and highly visual look at labeling and stereotyping; “The Rite of Spring” set to Igor Stravinsky’s iconic score; and “The Light Show” which pairs four choreographers with four lighting designers for a visually stunning evening of dance. During the pandemic, EDD pivoted to offering virtual dance experiences highlighted by a major dance for film collaboration with the Detroit Institute of Art and Zazu Productions. “The Five Tangos,” an original production first conceived for the stage, was scheduled to premiere at the DIA in November 2020. The collaborators reimagined the project for film and utilized four iconic metro Detroit locations for the setting of each tango.  The film premiered online in December, 2021 and was selected as the winner of BEST EXPERIMENTAL film, 2022 Dancecentric Film Festival (Florida); semi-finalist, 2022 Inspired Dance Film Festival (Australia); and featured online in Dance Magazine’s “Friday Film Break.”

Barbara Selinger, choreographer, performer and educator, is Artistic Director of Detroit Dance Collective, a company she co-founded in 1980. She has choreographed and performed since 1973, creating more than 100 major works for DDC and other companies. Barbara is the only Michigan dance artist awarded six Creative Artist Grants from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs to create, perform and produce her work. Barbara’s choreography, celebrated for its humanity and ability to stimulate the senses through visually striking images, has been presented throughout Michigan and in Detroit, Chicago, New York City and Toronto. Barbara has more than 30 years experience in higher education where she mentors students pursuing a career in the arts, and conducts numerous dance/arts classes in schools grades K-12. Her academic achievements include M.Ed. in Dance - Wayne State University and B.A. - Anna Maria College. She has been awarded the prestigious Arts Achievement Award from Wayne State University and Teacher of the Year Award from the Michigan Dance Association, selected as one of 3 artists for the Governor’s People’s Choice Award for outstanding Michigan artist in 2005, honored by the cities of Farmington and Dearborn for her artistry and commitment to community arts programming, and is the 2015 recipient of Michigan Youth Arts Touchstone Award as VSA educator of the year. Barbara has been recently awarded the 70 Over Seventy Lifetime Achievement Award by Hannan Center, Detroit. More information regarding Ms. Selinger may be found at http://www.ddcdances.org/artistic-director.html

Carolyn Pampalone Rabbers is the Executive Artistic Director and founder of CPR Dance: Inhale Movement. She received her MFA at the University of the Arts and graduated as the Presidential Scholar with a BFA from Western Michigan University. Carolyn has danced in NYC, Miami, LA and Michigan dancing and acting both on stage and on camera. Her dance-based works have been featured nationally and internationally, have been a finalist for Maggie Allessee’s Choreography Competition, and awarded support in a KADI grant of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. She can be seen as ‘Abby’ in Moondance (2020) and has performed for Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers, Coldplay, Omi, Starbucks, Jockey Bra, Kaplan University, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Diavolo EdCo, Mariana Olivera, Clairobscur, LACDC, Nickerson-Rossi Dance, and Vox Lumiere.

Carolyn teaches adjunctly at Grand Valley State University,  Western Michigan University, and at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. She has also taught for The Gabriella Foundation, honored by Michelle Obama in 2015. She is certified as an ABT NTC instructor in Pre-Primary through Level VII & Partnering. She also holds certifications in PBT, ISTD Contemporary, Reiki and Yoga.

Carrie Brueck Morris is currently Associate Professor of Dance and Dance Curriculum Coordinator at Grand Valley State University. Originally from Minnesota, she graduated from Kenyon College with a B.A. in Dance and earned her M.F.A. in Dance at Temple University. Prior to her time in Michigan, Ms. Morris taught at Western Kentucky University, University of Southern Mississippi, and Temple University. She has been fortunate to perform with choreographers such as Lou Antonini, Marianela Boán, and Meghan Durham Wall, performing in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. Carrie has also produced her own choreography professionally in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Tulsa, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Civitavecchia, Italy.  

Celia Benvenutti (b.1988) is an Afro-Puerto Rican dance artist, native Detroiter, Howard University alumna and Certified Dunham Technique Instructor. She has been studying dance for over 25 years under the tutelage of master teacher and certified Dunham technique instructor Penny Godboldo, former head of the department of dance at Marygrove College in Detroit, MI.

Benvenutti’s background includes extensive training in the Dunham Technique, classical ballet, modern (Horton and Graham), jazz, traditional African, Afro-Cuban, Haitian and Puerto Rican Folklore. Celia was principal dancer in Taurus Broadhurst Dance: A Contemporary African Company located in Washington D.C. from 2012-2016. In 2020, she was awarded a local choreographic residency by Collective Sweat Detroit and the Gilda Snowden Emerging Artist Award for dance and choreography through the Kresge Foundation. She is currently a member of Ozzie Rivera’s RicanStruction, a Detroit Puerto Rican folkloric dance troupe. She is also part time dance faculty at Wayne State University and a teaching artist for Living Arts, a non profit arts organization located in the heart of Southwest Detroit. Her artistic goals focus on facilitating and encouraging liberation of the mind, body , and spirit through dance.

Dr. RAS Mikey Courtney is an Emmy award winning dance professional whose life mission is to spread universal understanding to communities and cultures across the globe through the arts. Dr. RAS is co-founder and CEO of Fore I’m a Versatile Entertainer (F.I.V.E.) LLC.  He holds a B.F.A. in Dance from UARTS in Philadelphia, an MA in Ethnochoreology and Ph.D. in Arts Practice Research from University of Limerick in Ireland, where he was an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Scholar and guest lecturer at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Dr RAS’ doctoral research and written thesis, entitled Bridging Horizons: Embodied Cultural Understanding through the Development and Presentation of Ethio-Modern Dance, examines RAS' practice as method and embodiment as a central theoretical theme. He has facilitated a student/staff exchange between the University of Limerick and Addis Ababa University. Professionally Dr. RAS has collaborated with artists and companies from around the world, including Pilobolus, Raven-Symoné, Major Lazer, The Marley Family, AfroFlow, the African Union and more. He directed the choreography for the Emmy Award winning “One Nation-Detroit (2020)” music video. Currently, as assistant professor of Dance at Wayne State University, Dr. RAS continues to explore movement as cultural knowledge within communities globally. 

“I nurture my gifts of artistic expression to share my experiences of movement with our global community. Movement is life and I am a Lifist.”

Detroit Native, Edgar L. Page (he/him/brotha), comes from legacies celebrating the African  Diaspora and Black Modern Dance traditions. He earned his BA in Dance from Western  Michigan University as a concurrent MLK and Wade H. McCree Scholar followed by a season  with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Second Company. He was a principal dancer with the  Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, touring domestically and internationally for a decade.  With graceful prowess, Mr. Page shifted his focus in 2018, establishing Edgar L. Page: Feel the  Movement, an award winning, intersectional, multigenerational movement arts initiative. Page  was a 2020 Dance/USA DILT mentee, received the 2021 Denver Mayor’s Award for Excellence in  Arts and Culture for Innovation, and is currently a National Center for Choreography at the  University of Akron (NCCAkron) Fellow. In addition to his role as co-facilitator with the  Intercultural Leadership Institute, Mr. Page serves as Assistant Professor of Dance at Grand  Valley State University. He is a current Hollins University MFA candidate and was recently named  an Alex Dube Scholar. 

Emily Anderson is a life-long performer and creator, having devoted her professional career to arts marketing and higher education recruitment. She enjoys programming the perfect season, finding unique ways to reach audiences, and connecting with students who are considering an education in the arts. She believes in the power of the arts to teach empathy, creativity, and confidence, and is grateful for the opportunity to work at her alma mater, Central Michigan University. 

Emily Hill is a dancer and dance educator from Metro-Detroit, Michigan who has been performing, choreographing, and teaching for most of her life. She graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Education and obtained her Michigan Teacher’s Certification in dance. Emily has taught in a multitude of dance settings including community dance organizations, recreational dance programs, and dance studios. She currently teaches both recreational and competitive classes, and directs the pre-competitive teams at Manda's Rhythm and Dance. Emily also has experience teaching in schools such as Arts Academy in the Woods, Detroit School of the Arts, Farmington High School, and North Farmington High School. She was previously an assistant dance instructor at Farmington High School where she assisted Toi Banks in all of the dance classes including working with the Harrison Dance Company. Emily is currently dancing professionally with Suttle Dance Company. She also has obtained her RYT-200 hour certification and is currently teaching yoga locally. Emily loves to combine her passion for dance into her yoga practice by focusing on alignment and unique movement transitions. 

Eric Blovits

Company Artist: BAIRA MVMNT PHLOSPHY

Eric Blovits is a Detroit/Ann Arbor-based dance artist and educator. He is passionate about creating and performing physical dance-theater, floorwork, and improvisational practices. He received his BFA in Dance from Wayne State University, where he was able to train under the likes of Meg Paul, Biba Bell, Shaina and Bryan Baira, Jessica Rajko and more. Eric has worked with BAIRA MVMNT PHLOSPHY since 2018 and currently teaches BAIRA Fundamentals in Detroit. Eric is also a member of the breaking crew B.A.D. and he continues to develop and define his unique and dynamic movement aesthetic.

 Gloria Ahlijah (Sitso) is an instructor, dancer and choreographer hailing from Ghana, West Africa. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in fine arts in Dance at the esteemed University of Michigan. Prior to this, she accomplished her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Ghana, School of Performing Arts. Gloria has undergone comprehensive training in various dance forms, including West African Traditional Dance, African Contemporary Dance, Kizomba, and Afrobeat. As a facilitator, she conducts workshops aimed at helping individuals connect with their bodies and minds through the art of movement. Her choreographies possess a unique essence as they strive to amplify the voices of the voiceless and share stories that resonate with people from all walks of life. Gloria's passion lies in exploring the evolution and assimilation of African dance in the Diaspora and how these dances play a vital role in forging a strong connection and identity for Black Americans with Africa. Recently, she has found immense pride and pleasure in delving into the study of the Germain Acogny technique and its profound impact on Contemporary African Dance. She aspires to become a professor in dance and a choreographer, drawing inspiration from this technique to further enrich her artistic expression.

Gregory Patterson, Associate Professor, Chair of Dance Department, and Artistic Director of Patterson Rhythm Pace Dance Company, has been teaching at Oakland University since 1991.  After graduating from the University of Michigan’s graduate program, Professor Patterson developed a noteworthy career in dance performance, teaching and choreography.  Dancing professionally for over thirty-five years, he has been a member of Harbinger Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Ann Arbor Dance Works, Rigmarole Dance Company, and he has performed as a guest artist with both the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Doug Elkins Dance Company from New York. 

Professor Patterson has taught, choreographed and performed in Greece as part of the University of Detroit and Oakland University’s Classical Theatre Study Program.  In 1997, Professor Patterson’s signature piece Who’s the Boss, an excerpt from a larger work, was performed in Russia as part of an Eisenhower Dance Ensemble (EDE) appearance with the Pushkin Ballet.  As a company member of EDE, Professor Patterson also performed with the company while in Russia and assisted Laurie Eisenhower (Artistic Director) with setting an original work on the Pushkin Ballet dancers. Professor Patterson’s performing career has also taken him on tours of Mexico, Germany, and Canada.

As a choreographer, Professor Patterson established his dance company in the summer of 2000, when his choreography was chosen as a finalist for the Leo Choreography competition at the Jazz Dance World Congress in Buffalo, NY. Since then, his dance company, Patterson Rhythm Pace (PRP), has been both a vehicle and an inspiration for his new work.  PRP has steadily gained recognition for its evening performances of original works and collaborative projects with other local artists.  In 2001, Professor Patterson received the Maggie Allesse New Choreography Award for his work Traffic.   In addition, his choreography has been commissioned by many companies including, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Bal-Chi Dance Company of Chicago, Orchesis Dance Company at Western Michigan University, Michigan Dance Collective Dance Company of Traverse City, and the University Performing Dancers at Bowling Green State University, not to mention several dance studios throughout Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.  In 2004, Professor Patterson choreographed Strauss’s Die Fledermaus for the Michigan Opera Theatre, a company he has also performed with in the past. Professor Patterson’s love for musical theatre has led him to choreograph productions for Bowling Green State University, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre, and many other regional high schools and theaters.  He was very honored to be invited to remount, Rainbow Round My Shoulder, on a regional dance company. This dance was originally choreographed and created by internationally renowned choreographer, Donald McKayle. 

In addition to teaching, performing, and choreographing, Professor Patterson is a certified Master Pilates instructor.  In 2007, he developed the conditioning track at Oakland University which is currently a required part of the curriculum for dance majors.

In 2009, Professor Patterson received the Travis Professorship Award, which aided his dance company to premiere his work in New York at the Citibank Ailey Theatre in 2010.  

Currently, Professor Patterson is the immediate former Chair of the Michigan Dance Council, a state wide organization that advocates for dance. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for both Eisenhower Dance Detroit and the Michigan Dance Council.

Hannah Andersen (MFA, BFA, NCPT, FMT) is Assistant Professor of Teaching, Dance, at Wayne State University where her work intersects dance science, dancer wellness, arts education, pedagogy, and technique. She teaches theory and practice courses in the BS/BFA Dance Programs, MA Teaching Artistry Program, and directs the Pilates Mentorship Program supporting theatre and dance students in obtaining Pilates teacher certifications. Hannah is most driven by helping others understand how to move well. Andersen received the 2017 “Doug Risner Prize for Emerging Dance Researchers” and is published in the Journal of Dance Education and Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices. Current research collaborations on dance-specific movement screenings with the Eugene Applebaum Physical Therapy Program at Wayne State University have taken her to national and international conferences. 

Hannah has taught in most every context imaginable from after-school programs, summer camps, high schools, and fitness centers to community colleges, dance companies, universities, and boutique Pilates studios. She has served on teaching faculty at Whatcom Community College, University of Oregon, and Western Washington University, and received prestigious awards and from University of Oregon, National Dance Education Organization, and most recently the 2022 ‘Sue Nine Award for Faculty Excellence’ in the Theatre and Dance Department at Wayne State University. She is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization, Dance Science and Somatics Educators, and International Association of Dance Medicine and Science and currently serves on the American College Dance Association National Board. She spent three seasons performing and choreographing with Bellingham Repertory Dance (WA, USA), has been spotted performing on stages and in fields in NYC, NC, WA, OR, AK, and more. She currently holds residencies and teaches Pilates and dance workshops through Hannah Andersen Dance.

Hannah Seidel (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Dance at Grand Valley State University and serves on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Dance Council. Previously she has taught at SUNY Purchase, SUNY Brockport, and summer intensives at Interlochen Center for the Arts and New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts. New York City performance credits include work with Gibney Dance, Mariah Maloney, David Appel, and Tiffany Mills. Hannah received her BA from Pomona College, MFA from SUNY Brockport, and studied Dance/Movement Therapy through the 92NY in New York City for three years. In addition to New York City and Midwest regional venues, Hannah’s choreography has been commissioned by the Vision of Sound concert series, shown at Midwest RAD Fest, invited into the Michigan Dance Festival Gala Concert, and presented at conferences held by the Society for Freshwater Science and the Dance Studies Association.

Heather Trommer-Beardslee , MFA, MA, is the Coordinator of the Central Michigan University Dance Program and Artistic Director of the University Theatre Dance Company. Her dance works have been performed nationally and internationally and her choreography has been featured in several dance films that have been selected for screenings at national and international film festivals. Recent choreography projects include jazz and tap dance for a performance in Nagoya, Japan with the Mishiro Dance Company, interdisciplinary projects bridging the gap between biology and the performing arts, and an educational opera based on the anatomy of the human vocal folds. 

She has had articles published in the Journal of Dance Education, Teaching Artist Journal, and Dance Education in Practice and she is currently under contract to write a book titled, Consent Practices in Performing Arts Education. Most recently, her book, Removing the Educational Silos: Models of Interdisciplinary and Multi-disciplinary Education was published by Intellect / University of Chicago Press.

Heather is an arts administrator with significant experience in performing arts management. For ten years, she worked for the Emmy-Award winning, Chicago-based dance company, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project as their Booking Manager and Executive Director. She managed development campaigns, booked national and international performance tours, developed and managed public relations and marketing initiatives and managed the administrative office. Heather used many of these experiences and her work as a manager and teacher at two dance studios in writing her textbook, Dance Production and Management (Princeton Book Company, 2013). 

James Wallace is a regionally and nationally acclaimed choreographer and teacher, originally from Hutchinson, Kansas. He studied ballet at Friends University and continued his training at Arizona State University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in dance performance and choreography.  He has danced professionally for the San Diego Opera, Kim Robards Dance, David Taylor Dance Theatre, City Ballet of San Diego, and Company C Contemporary Ballet of San Francisco and has danced in works by Twyla Tharp, Lynn Taylor-Corbet, Tom Ruud, Charles Moulton, Patrick Corbin, Paul Taylor, and George Balanchine. After a full career, Mr. Wallace returned to school completing his MFA in ballet at University of Utah where he was awarded a full teaching assistantship.

While apprenticing at Colorado Ballet, he choreographed two major works, Carmina Burana and Inversion, which received excellent reviews. He was Choreographer in Residence and Artistic Director for David Taylor Dance Theatre (later renamed Dawson|Wallace Dance Project), and has created works for American National Ballet, Boulder Ballet, and Ballet Nouveau Colorado (now Wonderbound). The Ballet Builders award for new choreography was given to James by New Choreographers on Point and his piece, Suspect Lines, received a New York City premiere. He has also worked with Boulder Ballet as a resident choreographer, company class teacher and coach and his television credits include the MTV series “Made”, where he was cast in the role of Artistic Director. Additional research interests include screendance, which was fostered by Ellen Bromberg at University of Utah. He has been fortunate to also study with Katrina McPherson and has attended workshops by Thierry De Mey and Silvina Szperling. His film, Maelstrom, was awarded 3rd place for “Best Film Edit” at the Red Rock ScreenDance Festival.

While living in Denver Mr. Wallace was appointed as a Denver City Commissioner by Mayor Michael Hancock and served 2 years on the Commission on Cultural Affairs. During that time the commission provided a strategic vision and future platform for arts, culture and creativity in the City that became IMAGINE 2020 - Denver’s Cultural Plan, a call to action to city agencies, cultural institutions, businesses, civic leaders, neighborhood- and community- based organizations and residents to ensure arts and culture are at the heart of Denver. 

Most recently, Mr. Wallace has enjoyed his time as an Instructor of Dance at Colorado Mesa University, Colorado State University, and Central Utah Ballet. He is currently part of the dance faculty at Central Michigan University where he teaches Ballet Technique, Modern Dance Technique, Dance Composition, and Screendance. Mr. Wallace has been lauded as a “daring and original dancemaker” (Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News) and his choreography has been described as “vibrant, innovative and richly diverse – one of the brightest new choreographers on the horizon” (Glenn Giffin, The Denver Post).

Jasmine Mejia is a New York City native, choreographer, and teaching artist. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance and Co-Director of H2 Dance Company at Hope College. She received an MFA degree in Dance with a concentration in Pedagogy from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University, and graduated from Long Island High School for the Arts. Jasmine has performed at Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center as well as toured the states and performed abroad in Bulgaria, London, and Sweden as a company member of Von Howard Project, MADArt Creative, LMproject, and Jamal Jackson Dance Company. She has also worked with artists’ including Stefanie Batten Bland, Ronald K. Brown, Elizabeth Corbett, Leah Cox, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Her choreography has been featured Off-Broadway and across the country at festivals, residencies, and events. Jasmine’s current research is focused on developing her teaching practice and movement method, Rhythmic Motion, as well as expanding her creative palette through screendance. 

Jessica Rajko is the Associate Chair of the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University. As an artist/scholar, she works at the intersection of dance and computing. She has presented and performed in collaborative artworks nationally and internationally, including OT301 (Amsterdam), Scotiabank Nuit Blanche festival (Toronto), and The Joyce Theatre (NYC).  Her artwork has been commissioned by Currents New Media Festival, Breaking Ground Dance Festival, Mesa Arts Center, and Phoenix Art Museum. Jessica has been invited to present her research at several transdisciplinary institutional programs such as Harvard’s Digital Futures Consortium, UPenn’s Price Lab for Digital Humanities, and Univ. New Mexico’s ART Lab. Rajko has published in the Journal of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, Politics of the Machine proceedings by the British Computer Society, and the International Conference of Movement and Computing proceedings by ACM Multimedia, along with several chapter contributions in dance, human-computer interaction, and digital humanities. 

Jill Grundstrom is the Artistic Director, Assistant Department Head, and an Assistant Professor in Northern Michigan University’s Department of Theatre and Dance. She holds a B.S. from NMU in Secondary Education with majors in English and French, a M.A. in Dance Education from New York University, and an Ed.S. from NMU in Educational Leadership. Jill is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Dance Education with a concentration in Movement Science at Columbia University. She is certified in the Luigi Jazz Technique, American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum, is a Certified FLX Conditioning Specialist, and a Hamrick Method Master Trainer. Jill has choreographed over 30 full-length musical and dance productions in New York City, Los Angeles, Italy, and in the Upper Peninsula, including a full-length, original ballet, East of the Sun, West of the Moon (NMU). She also choreographed an independent feature-length film, Our State Fair. She has previously worked with Superior Arts Youth Theatre, the National Dance Education Organization, American Ballet Theatre, and Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. Jill’s current research is focused on the bio-psycho-social aspects of injury recovery in collegiate dancers. Related interests include leadership preparation and practice in dance and dance education.

Joori Jung is the Founder of ArtLab J and Artistic Director and Choreographer of  ArtLab J. Originally from Seoul, Korea, she received her B.A (2006) and M.A in dance  from Kyung Hee University in 2008. She toured internationally with the Seoul Dance  Theatre and danced with Eun Mi Ahn, Sujeong Kim, . She danced with various dance  companies in Korea before moving to New York in 2009. She then joined Time Lapse  Dance and Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre and began her own choreographic work in  New York. In 2012, she moved to Detroit to achieve her goal to expand contemporary  dance as well as the arts community in Detroit and decided to establish ArtLab J in  2012. 

Through ArtLab J, she produces and directs the international Detroit Dance City  Festival. Jung is also the curator of many other ‘lab’ projects, including the local  choreography showcase Detroit Dance Race, collaboration concert Detroit Revival  Project, Moving with Detroit networking group, and is the publisher of the annual  Moving With Detroit Dance Resource Magazine. 

Jung has also been a 2014 Ted Fellow, and the Detroit Dance City Festival was a 2014 Knight Arts Challenge winner. Under Jung’s direction, ArtLab J co-curate dance  programming for the Detroit Institute of Arts to supplement the special exhibit on  dance 2016. 

Her work has been presented at the 2014 TedX at Detroit Opera House, 313 to the 212 at Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Summer Stage at Grand Circus Park,  Ann Arbor Art Fair, Friday Night Live at Detroit Institute of Arts, The Current  Sessions (NYC), Dumbo Dance Festival(NYC), Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Mix @ the  Max, APAP(NYC), Sidewalk Festival of Performing Arts, New Dance for Asia(South  Korea), Zawirowania Dance Festival(Poland) and more. Jung’s story has appeared in  Detroit Free Press, Dance Teacher Magazine, Crain Business, Creative Exchange,  ModelDMedia, Yonhap News and more.

Karina Johnson started ballet training at the age of four in Irvine, California. She attended American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and American Academy of Ballet summer intensives throughout her years of training, as well as competed in the Youth of America Grand Prix competition for five consecutive years. Starting in 2007, Karina pursued a degree at The University of Utah while guesting and touring with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. Graduating in 2010 with a BFA in Ballet Performance, she proceeded to dance professionally with Ballet West, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, and The Sacramento Ballet. Some favorite ballets she had the privilege to perform were Ron Cunningham’s The Great Gatsby, Trey McIntyre’s Wild Sweet Love, George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, and Marius Petipa’s Swan Lake. In 2015, Karina helped found the dancer-run company Capital Dance Project, choreographing, performing, and organizing their summer performance series. After 8 years of dancing professionally, and 5 more of helping run a project-based company, she decided it was time to pass on her love and knowledge of dance to the next generation... bringing her to NMU!

Kayt MacMaster is a dancer, choreographer, educator and scholar. Born and raised in rural northeastern Michigan, she spent her early career in New York City dancing with artists such as K.J. Holmes, Johanna Stephens Meyer, Pat Catterson, Yoshiko Chuma, Stacy Grossfield, Julie Atlas Muz, Tuva Hildebrand, Molly Mingey, and Bread and Puppet Theater. Her choreography has been presented nationally and internationally at venues including Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Dixon Place, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, MARSH and The Space Station (St. Louis), RADFest (Kalamazoo, MI), and the Dagara Music and Arts Center in Medie, Ghana. MacMaster has worked collaboratively with Duende School of Ensemble Physical Theatre in Greece, OBRA Theater Company in France, and Saakumu Dance Troupe in Ghana, West Africa. She earned an M.F.A. in dance with a minor in heritage studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she performed in works choreographed by Tere O’Connor, Cynthia Oliver, Sara Hook and Rachel Rizzuto. MacMaster is the current Director of Dance at Alma College and continues to develop and tour site-specific solo performances in addition to choreographing works for student and professional dancers.

Kylie Vinitski, originally from Livonia, MI graduated from Western Michigan University in April 2019 with her BFA in Dance. At Western, she had the privilege of working with choreographers Jeremy Blair, Monique Haley, and Joshua Manculich, and dancing in Kate Skarpetowska’s Tidal Intersections and Aszure Barton’s Happy Little Things (Waiting on a Gruff Cloud of Wanting). Fall 2019, Kylie moved to Chicago to dance on scholarship at Hubbard Street’s Lou Conte Dance Studio where she worked with Shannon Alvis under the mentorship of Ethan Kirshbaum. Kylie relocated to Metro-Detroit in 2021 where she now dances professionally with both Contexture Dance Detroit and ArtlabJ performing both locally around the Metro-Detroit area as well as internationally. Kylie toured Europe with Artlabj this past Fall at the 2022 Tanzhafen Festival in Linz, Austria. Kylie has choreographed for Michigan State University's Orchesis Dance Society, Grand Valley State University's Elite Dance Club, and Suttle Dance Company. Kylie has had the honor to choreograph for Churchill High School’s CAPA dance program where her choreography was chosen to perform in the 2022 Oakland Dance Festival College Showcase. Last summer, Kylie won the 2022 Emerging Choreographers Project competition and created a new work on the dancers of Young Dancer’s Initiative in Ann Arbor. Most recently, Kylie began a graduate program at Wayne State University to receive her MA as a Dance Teaching Artist. Kylie is thrilled to be joining CXD for her 8th season.  

Kelley began dancing at the age 4 at the American Dance Academy. She furthered her training all four years of high school while being a member of the Varsity Pom/Dance Team, as well as the dance program, where she performed in numerous school events. During this time, she was offered to attend the World Jazz Congress in Chicago where she was able to take from instructors such as Frank Hatchett, Gus Giordano, Joe Tremaine, and many others. After high school, Kelley continued her dance studies at Marygrove College under the direction of Jordeen Ivanov-Ericson, Penny Godboldo, Babara Selinger, and Susan Panek. She graduated in 2011 with a BFA in Dance Performance, along with a minor in Business. Kelley has had the opportunity to train with the River North Dance Company of Chicago, as well as perform works for artists including Pattie Obey, Ray Mercer, Kim Bears-Bailey and Kevin Iega-Jeff. She has also been casted as a performer in the Dreamworks Production of “Holiday Shrektacular” at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. From 2014-2017, Kelley also performed as a member of Pure Existence Dance Company from 2015-2017. Currently, Kelley is a dance instructor for local studios, teaching both recreational and competitive dance. She has recently completed her 4th season as the Head Coach for the Pom/Dance team at West Bloomfield High School, after being the Assistant Coach for 7 years prior. Kelley is also going on her twelfth season as a member of the Detroit Tigers Energy Squad, using her enthusiasm and rhythm to pump up the crowd. 

Lisa R. LaMarre Wilmot, M.A. Dance Teaching Artistry, Wayne State University (2018), B.A. Dance, Presidential Scholar, Western Michigan University (2005), enriches dialogs between the complex identities of artist, researcher, and teacher. Her expertise includes dance company artistic direction, integrated and special education dance art education curriculum, and dance for the community. Her work has been presented at conferences nationally and in Canada, and her research on “The Role of Teaching Artists in Postsecondary Education...” can be found in the Journal of Dance Education.

LaMarre continues to test the boundaries of performance-based responsive artwork working to bring dance into the realm of everyday life. Artwork created with LaMarre and Dancers has focused on the utility of the human body in response to sites and sounds of the community. She has created over 100 original live art performances, 6 dance films, and was a 2018 Kresge LiveArts Panelist. Her work has been produced for Wayne State University, Grand Valley State University, Oakland University, ArtPrize7, Defibrillator Gallery, DDCdances, People Dancing, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit Contemporary, Detroit Institute of Arts, N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Detroit Music Hall, Sidewalk Detroit, ArtPeers, Multikulti, What You Will Festival, WNUR, Hatch Arts, Pubic Pool, Chicago Calling, Rapid Pulse, Access Arts, and numerous public and private spaces nationally. Lisa was a seed grant recipient for ArtPrize 7 premiering “They Were Displaced...And Again” curated by res345 at The Rumsey Street Project. Her community engagements also include work for Michigan Arts Access (formally VSA Michigan) where she shares dance making with special education classrooms. She is a member of both Michigan Dance Council and National Dance Education Organization.

Liz Schmidt is the Owner and Artistic Director of Spotlight Dance Works in Chesterfield, Michigan, established 2000. During her tenure at SDW, her pre-professional training program has grown to the honorable status of “Top 20 Studios” in North America as named by Dance Spirit Magazine in 2011. One year later this achievement was followed by Liz‘s selection as Dance Teacher Magazine 2012 Dance Teacher of the Year Award. Liz was also a 2012 and 2013 finalist in the Capezio ACE Awards for Choreographic Excellence and was recently named by Wayne State University as the 2012-2013 recipient of the Arts Achievement Award in dance. Since receiving her Bachelor of Science in dance from Wayne State University in 2004, Liz has served on the faculty at Wayne State University and University of Michigan. Liz joined The Dance SESSIONS as full faculty in 2007 and has also enjoyed guest teaching and mentoring positions at many workshops and studios throughout the United States and Canada. Liz’s students have been accepted into the most prestigious fine arts programs across North America including; The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase College, New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts, Marymount Manhattan College, Canada’s Arts Umbrella Post Secondary Program, and Hubbard Street Dance Pre-Professional Program to name a few. As a performer, Liz has had the privilege of dancing in many Detroit based dance companies including Gravity Dance Company, Detroit Dance Collective, Shifting Sol and Take Root. In the spring of 2016, Liz earned the title of Mother to her beautiful, smart and silly daughter, Kara Violet.

Lilly Menendez started dancing at Sheryl’s School of Dance at the age of 3. She has been dancing with ArtLab J since 2014 and at age 16 was a part of ArtLab J II. Lilly started teaching jazz, tap, and ballet at the age of 17. She then went on to teach jazz, hiphop, contemporary, acro, and lyrical to ages 10-18. After graduating high school, she joined the Detroit Pistons Dancers for 2 seasons (2019-2021). She has also had experience in music videos and backup dancing with NayLuma and Lizzie Blazquez. She then went on to study at Broadway Dance Center for their Professional Semester mentored by Sheila Barker (2022). Lilly has also been a part of the BDC choreography lab, dancing for Mason Lee and Matty Mahoski. She is so excited to be a part of the ArtLab family and teaching Kpop and Jazz at ArtLab J Detroit and ArtLab J Troy.

Matthew Farmer is currently the Chair of the Dance Department at Hope College and the Dorothy Wiley DeLong Endowed Professor of Dance. He is the Co-Artistic Director of R.G. Dance Productions, Co-Artistic Director of H2 Dance Co., Co-Author of the book Introductory Modern Dance: A Teaching Manual, and currently finishing his second book Teaching Dance Improvisation: A Beginner’s Guide. Matthew received his MFA from the University of Michigan in Dance Performance and Choreography, and his BA in Theatre and Dance from Hope College.   Matthew was a company member of The Peter Sparling Dance Co., and company member and Associate Director of LehrerDance.  He has had the pleasure of working with Avi Kaiser, Sergio Antonino, and Matthew Thornton, as well as performing works by Merce Cunningham, Laura Dean, Doug Varone and many others. He has performed in the United States, Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. His teaching credits include directorships, professorships, and residencies at multiple colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad, as well as a faculty member and judge for multiple regional and national dance conventions and competitions.  Farmer’s choreography spans the field of dance, and can be seen on college campuses, professional dance companies, international festivals, theaters companies, competitive dance teams, and musical theater venues throughout the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, France, and Ecuador. 

Phil Simmons holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Georgia and is the Director of Musical Theatre at Eastern Michigan University.  His favorite roles include fellow-Oklahoman Will Rogers in The Will Rogers Follies, Hysterium in the Broadway First National Tour of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opposite comic great Rip Taylor, Anselmo opposite Tony winner and Academy Award nominee Ron Holgate in the Broadway First National Tour of The Man of La Mancha, and Ozzie in the International Tour of Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town.  During the 15 years that he was a working actor/singer/dancer in New York City, he also became a casting assistant for six different theatres and production companies.  This experience has given him another expertise in audition prep and casting.  As a card-carrying Equity Actor, Phil’s passion lies in training young performers not only in the foundational techniques and methods of acting, singing, and dancing but in the practical, day-to-day side of thriving in the unpredictable and uber-competitive Musical Theatre world.

Robin Wilson (she, her, hers), currently Professor of Dance at the University of Michigan, is a Choreographer, performer, improviser, vocalist, educator, & activist. A founding member of New York’s Urban Bush Women with an MFA in Choreography from Temple University, Wilson's work explores the influences of the African Diaspora in historical and contemporary dance/culture, public scholarship, and social justice through community engagement, and most recently, documenting the oral histories of black dancers in Harlem during the Black Arts Movement of the early 1970s. 

Wilson’s choreography has been presented by Detroit Dance City Festival, Midwest RAD Festival, the Detroit’s Carr Center for the Arts, BAADASS! Women’s Dance Festival, Michigan Dance Festival, New Orleans Dance Festival, the National Theatre of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, Athens, Greece as well as the Kentucky Arts Council, Zone Dance Center, Southfiield, Michigan and Lexington Children’s Theatre.

Currently performing with the New England-based dance company INSPIRIT: A Dance Company in the evening-length work What We Ask Of Flesh, Wilson also curated Fragments of Bone: An Evening of Dance, Memory and Mythmaking at the Carr Center Performance Space in December 2022, and collaborated with Detroit bassist Marion Hayden and visual artist M. Saffell Gardner as vocalist and movement artist in the project Ancestral Haiku in both Detroit and Ann Arbor.  In September 2020, she premiered her solo Shattered Globes: For Tamara 2020 at Detroit Dance City Festival with subsequent performances at the Michigan Dance Festival and Midwest RAD Festival in early 2021.

Wilson’s choreography has been presented by the Detroit Dance City Festival, Midwest RAD Festival, the Detroit’s Carr Center for the Arts, BAADASS! Women’s Dance Festival, Michigan Dance Festival, New Orleans Dance Festival, the National Theatre of Ghana in Accra, Ghana and in Athens, Greece. Her teaching includes artist residencies and master classes at Mercyhurst University, Ohio University, Queensborough Community College, Brown University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of California Los Angeles, Savannah College of Art and Design, the Ohio State University, Plymouth State University, Western Michigan University, Northern Colorado State University, Duke University, Arizona State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Paramaribo, Suriname. The former director of UM’s First-Year Touring Company, Wilson currently co-directs University of Michigan’s annual MPulse Summer Dance Institute.

In 1992, Wilson received a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award as a former member of Urban Bush Women for her collective work on the company’s dances River Songs (1984) and Praise House (1990). She continues to perform and collaborate with artists across cultures, bridging communities through dance and scholarship and activism.

 SAMANTHA SHELTON    received her professional training from the Joffrey Ballet in New York and in Michigan with Rose Marie Floyd. She also studied in London with Anita Young (Royal Ballet) and at the Cecchetti International program in England. Most recently, she was appointed to the American Ballet Theatre Board of Examiners and will be traveling to various schools across the nation to examine for the ABT NTC and teach master classes. She has been invited to guest teach at  Houston Ballet and Duke University, as part of the partnership between the ABT Studio Company and Duke University. For the past twenty years, she has been on the ballet faculty for American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive,  formerly directed by Melissa Allen Bowman and currently directed by Kate Lydon, setting ABT repertoire and choreographing new ballets for the final performances.  She has also traveled the country as an adjudicator for the ABT National Audition Tour, selecting dancers for training programs in New York, Texas, California, Florida and Alabama.  Samantha taught at the ABT programs at the University of Alabama, directed by Carla Stallings, Universoty of Texas-Austin, directed by Wes Chapman, and the Detroit Opera House/Wayne State University, directed by Alaine Haubert.  She has choreographed and taught  for the professional ballet  programs at Houston Ballet,  Walnut Hill School in Boston, Ballet Tennessee, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Duke University, and Interlochen  Arts Academy and taught company class for Complexions, Ballet Hispanico and Grand Rapids Ballet.  Samantha received her first professional offer at 17, and has performed extensively in both classical and contemporary ballets.  Classical roles include the Grand Pas from Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Giselle and Raymonda. In her guest artist performances, she has partnered with Craig Salstein (of ABT), Arch Higgins (New York City Ballet) and Christopher Stowell (San Francisco Ballet) among many others. Samantha holds an M.F.A in Dance from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded a Rackham Thesis grant, and a B.A. in Political Science also from the University of Michigan. She has also done graduate work at New York University in Performing Arts Administration with internships in development, PR and marketing at Carnegie Hall and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.   For six years, she served on the  University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance Alumni Society Board of Governors and in May 2012 spent three weeks in Taiwan, teaching and presenting a piece of choreography for Tainan University. She has also held professorships at several colleges and universities,  most recently as an associate professor at Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. She is certified through the American Ballet Theatre National Curriculum Training Program and in has co-taught the ABT NTC with Harriet Clark, at the Detroit Opera House.  

Shirley Ann Bryant (Artistic Director) a native Detroiter, graduated from Detroit Northern High School. She has a BA in Computer Science from Marygrove College. She is the founder of Body Rhythm Dance Theatre and Body Rhythm Aerobics (2004). 

Shirley was introduced to modern dance at the age of 10. Training includes Modern, Jazz, African and Dunham dance techniques. She studied under local artist Jacqueline Hillsman, BaBa Ali Abdullah, Ma Ma Fabio Manzira, Carole Morisseau, Jeri Sterrett, Greg Curry, and Crystal White-Cade. She has performed in plays and festivals throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area. Her dance experience includes Afro-Dance Workshop (1979-1982), Experimental Movement (1980-1982) artistic director Jacquelyn Hillsman, International African Cultural Arts Exchange Center (1991-1994) artistic director Ali Abdullah, Detroit City Dance Company (1995 - 1996) artistic director Carole Morisseau and Jazz & Spirit Dance Theatre of Detroit (1997-1998, 2002) artistic director Jeri Sterrett. She has worked as an IT Specialist since 1987. She was a 2014 Knight Foundation award winner for her Detroit's musical, Black Bottom's Paradise a Musical.

Sloan Lemberg is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor based in Michigan. She is a recent graduate of Michigan State University, where she was given the opportunity to choreograph many productions, and was awarded the title “Outstanding Senior in Dance” this past Spring. She was also the Executive Director of MSU’s Orchesis Dance Company, where she was a member for four years. Sloan participated in Brighton Dance Festival for two summers as an intern, as well as Detroit Dance Exchange as a choreographer and performer. Additionally, she worked as the Assistant Choreographer for Pensacola Opera’s production of Carousel, under the direction of one of her mentors. Sloan is currently a dance instructor and freelance performer and choreographer, and she’s eager to be a part of Oakland Dance Festival this Fall. She aims to invoke imagination in her students, and she encourages them to take creative risks! 

Sylvia Suttle began her dance studies in Regensburg, Germany at the Tanzschule Krippner wit Eva Eger primarily focusing on Modern Dance and Choreography. Mrs. Suttle has worked with Robert Wechsler, Director, Choreographer, and Dancer with Palindrome and Motion Composer in 2007; studied with Andrew Palermo, company and owner and Director of Dre. Dance in 2009 and Portia Field-Anderson, Instructor and Choreographer at Oakland Community College. She also joined the Full Circle Dance Company, directed by Diane Mancinelli from 2011 to 2012. In early 2013 Mrs. Suttle founded Suttle Dance Company in the metro Detroit area.

She has choreographed works that were performed in Germany for the University of Regensburg and in Michigan for the Berman Center for the Performing Arts, Henry Ford College ( Full Circle Dance Company), Oakland Dance Festival (ODF) American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA), Sidewalk Festival, Dally in the Alley, Dance at Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, NewDANCEFest with Eisenhower Choreography Showcase, Regeneration, Assemble, and Women’s Work with Kristi Faulkner Dance, 2015-2016 Best of The 17th Detroit Dance Race, Summer Stage & Detroit Dance City Festival - Detroit Dance Races hosted by Artlabj, Koresh Dance Company Black box in Philadelphia, and Going Dutch Festival in Elgin, Illinois. Her work was recently performed with Detroit Symphony Orchestra and a Residency at Michigan State University.

Her choreography “Obscure Sorrows”(2017) and “Seeking”(2018) both placed 2nd overall at Youth America Grand Prix and both were performed at the New York Finals Youth America Grand Prix Finals(2017-2018). Recently Mrs. Suttle won a Bronze (3rd Place) Choreographer Award and Gold (1st place) Ensemble Award with"Moment of Tangency" from Indianapolis City Ballet and ADC IBC – Youth International Ballet Competition.

Terk Lewis (Mansfield, OH) began his formal ballet training at the age of 17 with Tony Calucci at The Dance Extension in Columbus, OH. He then went on to earn his BFA in Dance from Western Michigan University. While attending WMU he performed in works by Antony Tudor, Frank Chaves and Ron DeJesus, among others. He then went on to join Eisenhower Dance Detroit where he performed in works by Laurie Eisenhower, Stephanie Pizzo, Eddy Ocampo, and Joel Hall. Lewis went on to join Complexions Contemporary Ballet under Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. While with the company for seven years he had the opportunity to perform works by both directors, as well as Jae Man Joo, William Forsyth and Marcelo Gomes. Lewis became an artist in residence with the company in 2017. Lewis went on to dance in “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” on NBC (Choreographed by Camille Brown) and perform in “Peter Pan” and “Rock of Ages” at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. He also appeared in the dance short film “Sc7nario”, promo material for the “Jesus Christ Superstar” National Tour (Choreographed by Drew McOnie) and “Cross Me” by Ed Sheeran. He has also done industrial work for Hanes, Hyundai (Choreographed by Andrew Wingart), FujiFilm, V Magazine and Nickelodeon. Most recently, Lewis danced in the Lin Manuel Miranda Feature Film “In The Heights” (Choreographed. Y Chris Scott), at the Met Gala (Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler), in the Musical Series “Up Here” on Hulu (Choreographed by Sonya Tayeh), and at Radio City Music Hall for NBC (Choreographed by Shannon Lewis).

As a choreographer, Lewis assisted Jae Man Joo while creating “circular” for Ailey 2 and also assisted Jill Johnson on choreographing the opera “Crossing” that premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He has choreographed his own commissioned works for The National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, Steps Professional Performance Workshops, Bryant Park NYC, The Steps Conservatory, The Joffrey Ballet School, Black Boys Dance Too, and Western Michigan University.

Lewis has taught at Steps On Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, Complexions Contemporary Ballet Academy (NYC, Atlanta, Detroit), The Joffrey Ballet School, Harlem School of The Arts, New York City Dance Alliance, The Alvin Ailey Extension Program, Debbie Allen Dance Academy's On Pointe intensive, The American College Dance Festival, Plie For The Arts (Jamaica), Atmosphere Dance Events (Ukraine), Vilnius Cultural Center (Lithuania), Marymount Manhattan University, and Western Michigan University.

@TerkLewis

Thayer Jonutz performed as a fulltime company member with Repertory Dance Theatre before moving to Michigan, immersing himself in both historical and contemporary works.  Some notable choreographers that he has worked with are Douglass Dunn, Zvi Gotheiner, Daniel Nagrin, Bill Evans, Scott Rink, and Susan Hadley.  He has his MFA dance degree from the University of Michigan where he furthered his professional career performing with the Peter Sparling Dance Company. Jonutz began his professorship position at Oakland University in 2009 and has taught Modern dance technique, improvisation, composition, dance pedagogy, partnering and is the director of the student Repertory Dance Company.  

Thayer has guest performed and collaborated with a lot of companies during his time in Michigan.  These include Patterson Rhythm Pace Dance Company, Rustic Groove, Agua Dulce Dance Theater, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble and Rebudal Dance.  Thayer has also co-founded three professional dance companies which have served as building blocks to his current ventures.  Mise en Place Dance, soduo, and Take Root enjoyed much success pushing the boundaries of technology and dance and performing in festivals in New York, unconventional spaces in Detroit, and a handful of international opportunities.  

Thayer is a comprehensively trained McEntire Pilates instructor.  Since gaining this life altering knowledge in 2013, Thayer has worked with a fascinating body of clients.  They have ranged from children to seniors, physical problems to neurological, chronic to acute pain, and novice to expert athlete.  This experience has enriched Thayer’s skill as a teacher, as a creative and as an overall human.  

Never satisfied, in response to the Pandemic shutdown, Thayer was inspired to fight for another University Degree.  Feeling called to become better equipped for lifelong caregiving for his Autistic twin boys, Thayer graduated with an Oakland University Accelerated Nursing Degree December of 2022.  He now works in what he calls, “the perfect trifecta”-Dance Professor, Pilates Instructor, and NICU Nurse.  

As an educator and artist Thayer has been and still believes strongly in a variety of influences.  Always open to new collaborative relationships, Thayer strives to continually stretch as well as challenge his comfort zone.  His current multiyear creative process on the solo concert Hammer and Nail has pushed Thayer outside the typical modern dance aesthetic and has merged acting, vocalization, sound engineering and integrative props to tell his Pandemic survival narrative.  Thayer is honored to have an excerpt of Hammer and Nail chosen as a finalist for this year’s Maggie Allessee Choreography Award.     

Krisilyn Frazier, also known as Tony, is a skilled artist with a Master's in Fine Performing and Communication Arts from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Michigan. Tony's passion for dance extends beyond traditional styles and incorporates new media technology into her artistic practices. She specializes in Documentary Film, Film Production, and Camera Aesthetics for various dance styles, including Contemporary, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Afro-Beats. 

Tony is a lecturer at the University of Michigan and teaches in the Humanities Department at Washtenaw Community College. She is passionate about teaching Hip-Hop History, Film and Dance Production, Dance and Social Justice, and Cultural World Dance Forms. Tony has also taught at various national events, including the New Orleans African Dance Festival at Tulane University and the International Contortion Convention in Las Vegas. She has conducted outreach programs in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Public School Systems as a Teaching Artist. 

Tony has performed in various events and festivals. She was a featured talent in a performance at the Target Fireworks Celebration in Detroit, Michigan, where she opened for well-known artists such as Brandy, Kanye West, JC Chasez (N Synce artist), and Cassidy. Tony was also featured on the tour of R and B artist Houstin at the Detroit “Hip Hop” Auto Show. Gospel vocalist Aretha Franklin praised one of Tony's guest dancer performances as "soulful." 

In 2018, Tony released her first dance documentary called "A Call To Action: The Holocaust," which was viewed at multiple film festivals and won several awards. In the summer of 2020, Tony released an experimental music video called "Justice In Motion," which addressed the issues of racism, discrimination, and the effects of police brutality in America. She also partnered with Survivors Speak to fight inequality and racism through protesting, organizing, and acting as a Master of Ceremonies.

As a documentarian and activist, Tony continues to merge dance and film to bring awareness to social justice and inequality. In 2020, she started creating cross-disciplinary film works such as virtual and augmented reality with visual arts. Her latest VR work, "Hollow Ground," focuses on mental health and has allowed her the opportunity to present the 360 short in New York and throughout the Midwest. 

Trae Turner is regarded as one of the most distinguished and accomplished Hip Hop choreographer in the Mid West, with over 20 years of experience in the commercial dance and entertainment industry, specializing in dancer training and development, artistic direction, mentorship, and Hip Hop Culture education.

Trae choreographed for Ciara, Fat Joe, Kam, Jess Godwin, Yemi Marie, Simone Bisous, and many more.  He is the Founder & Artistic Director of BOOM CRACK! Dance Company, established in 2009; BOOM BOX Dance Company, established in 2012; and BANG BANG Dance Company, established in 2019.  He is also adjunct faculty at Columbia Dance College.

Trae was voted in 2013 by Art Intercepts as the 3rd best teacher in Chicago.  His classes reached the highest student enrollment numbers in the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago/Lou Conte 43-year history.  He was awarded Dance Chicago's "Best Choreography Award" in 2012, and "Best Choreography Performance Award" in 2013.  He has also Produced and Creative Directed full-length theatrical productions in 2015-2023.