BackgroundMy dance training began around age 5 at the Santa Rosa Dance Center in California. From early on, tap has been my primary dance form, but I have also trained in hip-hop, jazz, ballet, modern, and contemporary. Most recently, I have continued my tap training under the mentorship of Katherine Kramer.
During my college years at Johns Hopkins University, I founded a tap dance group called Listen Up Tap and served as its president for four years. I was also very active in The Eclectics, an all-style dance group, as a dancer, choreographer, and executive board member. I received the Homewood Arts Certificate in Dance during my senior year. My college dance experience helped me to develop my artistry and my leadership skills: I grew my capacity to collaborate and innovate, manage teams, and produce events. Since moving to Madison, Wisconsin in 2014, I have had the wonderful opportunity to teach dance, both with studio affiliations and independently. Most of this experience is with teaching tap dance to adults. I am teaching a Fall 2022 class with TNW Ensemble Theater (formerly known as TAPIT/new works). |
Film still from "Hearsay," presented by Facing Blue
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Photography by Maureen Hagen
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Breakthrough Dance CompanyI serve as a Co-Director for Breakthrough Dance Company. A welcoming & inclusive group, Breakthrough brings together adults of all dance backgrounds. We work collaboratively to develop as dancers, grow as choreographers, and connect with our local community through performances and other events.
I joined the company at its founding in 2015, and stepped into the co-director position in 2016. Initially associated with Express Yourself! Dance Studio in downtown Madison, I helped Breakthrough transition to become an independently managed dance group. |
Selection of Recent Projects
Photography by Katherine Kramer
A Breath of Fresh Art, held in 2020 and 2021 at Primrose Retreat & Studio, showcased visual & performing artists. The 2020 event was a fundraiser benefiting the Southwest Wisconsin Area Progressives in their efforts to get out the vote. My principal roles were as a co-organizer, along with Katherine Kramer and Glenn Reynolds, and as a performer.
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Artwork by Mandy Basich Kron
In 2019, Breakthrough Dance Company hosted Bridges, our third annual year-end showcase. This event highlighted our own dance works as well as pieces by guest artists. As a co-director, my responsibilities included developing our artistic vision, overseeing logistics, and managing the budget. I also contributed choreography and performed in several pieces.
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A recent example of my choreography is Worlds Apart, which debuted at Art Fair on the Square in July 2019. In this contemporary piece, I experimented with contrasting tempos and the balance between order & chaos. Grounded in the theme of connectivity, I aimed to tell a story of disparate groups coming together in support and solidarity. In the fall of 2020, I reimagined Worlds Apart for video, and the piece was included in Breakthrough's virtual dance showcase, Transforming.
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last updated September 2022
"Great dancers are not great because of their technique;
they are great because of their passion."
they are great because of their passion."
- MARTHA GRAHAM
