Guest Speakers

Diane McIntyre

Guest speaker on Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 11:45am-12:45pm.

Guest artist, Diane McIntyre will be teaching and sharing her dance journey. McIntyre’s special interest in history and culture as it relates to dance has led to many projects for her in the areas of concert dance, theatre, film and television. After receiving her BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University, she founded Sounds in Motion. Later, she choreographed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson, Dance Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance, and college dance groups. She also worked in theatre for Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional productions, and London, England.
Full bio below:

Marika Molnar, PT, Lac.

Guest speaker on Sunday April 29, 2012, from 11:00am-12:00pm.

Dance wellness has evolved over the past 30 years as the collaboration between dancers, dance educators and medical professionals grows.  Please join Marika Molnar PT, LAc as she discusses her unique perspective of the history of dance wellness and shares her advice on balancing your health and your art
Full bio below:

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Festival Presenters Bios

A performer, choreographer and feminist scholar, Ann Cooper Albright is Professor of Dance and Theater at Oberlin College.  Combining her interests in dancing and cultural theory, she is involved in teaching a variety of dance, performance studies and gender studies courses which seek to engage students in both practices and theories of the body.  She is the author of Modern Gestures:  Abraham Walkowitz Draws Isadora Duncan Dancing (2010); Traces of Light:  Absence and Presence in the Work of Loie Fuller (2007); Choreographing Difference:  the Body and Identity in Contemporary Dance (1997) and co-editor of Moving History/Dancing Cultures(2001) and Taken By Surprise:  Improvisation in Dance and Mind (2003), all from Wesleyan University Press. Encounters with Contact Improvisation (2010) is her latest adventure in writing and dancing and dancing and writing – with others! Her work has been funded (among others) by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Camargo Foundation, and the Ohio Council for the Arts.  Ann is the founding director of Girls in Motion, an after school program for middle school girls at Langston Middle School in Oberlin, Ohio, and co-director (with Ann Dils) of a web-based teaching initiative entitled:  Accelerated Motion:  Towards a New Dance Literacy in America, which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and NITLE.

Catherine Batcheller, M.A. (focus on Dance in Education and Community) Originally from Maine, Catherine has had an international career as a Principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet (Germany) and the Birmingham Royal Ballet (England).  In addition, she has performed on Broadway and on television in principal roles.  In 2000, she co-founded and co-directed Configuration Dance, a professional company showcasing leading dancers and both leading and upcoming choreographers in contemporary ballets, commissioned works and excerpts from the classics. Her teaching experience is extensive, and she is a sought after master teacher.  Catherine has been an invited guest teacher for Boston Ballet, Walnut Hill, Portland Ballet, Alberta Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, and the North Carolina School of the Arts, to name a few, and her choreography has been performed in many of these prestigious schools.  Former students have gone on to dance at Alvin Ailey, Purchase University and the School of American Ballet and Boston Ballet. Catherine is currently the Dean of Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy.

Marika Baxter, MSPT, Marika has worked in performing arts medicine since 2003 beginning her career at Westside Dance Physical Therapy in New York, NY. During her time at Westside Dance, she had the opportunity to work with the dancers of The New York City Ballet and The School of American Ballet. She also developed and led adolescent wellness workshops across the country, and co-authored an article in the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science entitled Acetabular Labral Tears in the Dancer: A Literature Review. Marika came to OSU Sports Medicine in 2008 and currently serves as Director of OSU Sports Medicine’s Program for Performing Arts Medicine (PAM). She currently chairs the Medicine & the Arts Roundtable at OSU Medical Center and serves on the Medicine & the Arts board.  Locally, she is a board member of Ohio Dance and contributes to the Ohio Dance newsletter and annual festival.  Marika serves on the IADMS Education Committee, chairing the Studio Teacher’s Network and is also a peer reviewer for the IADMS Annual Meeting.  She is also a member of the APTA and the Performing Arts Special Interest Group.

The PAM program provides care for BalletMet, BalletMet Academy, OSU Department of Dance and touring companies in Columbus. With the PAM team, Marika teaches dance wellness programs throughout the community and is active in mentoring students in dance medicine and wellness. She is pursuing her manual therapy certification through The North American Institute for Orthopaedic Manual Therapy, and her Pilates certification through Balanced Body University.

Kelly H. Berick has directed the dance program at Firestone High School in Akron for 15 years. She performed professionally with modern dance troupe Wrenn Cook and Friends and has taught dance in public schools in SC, PA, and OH. She has served on the faculties of Columbia College, Temple University, The University of Akron, and Cuyahoga Community College. She has presented at National Dance Education Association’s national conference in 2009 and 2010, and she served on Ohio’s Arts Standards Writing Team from 2001-2003. She was named Ohio’s Dance Educator of the Year in 2001 by the Ohio Association of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance. Berick received a BA in Dance at Columbia College, a M.Ed. in Dance at Temple University, and Ohio licensure at the University of Akron.

Suzan Bradford Kounta Dancer, instructor, choreographer of traditional West African dance. Mrs. Bradford-Kounta is the creative director for Thiossane West African Dance Institute. For 15 years she had a position with the YWCA of Columbus, where she developed, implemented and coordinated an African dance program for youth. Mrs. Bradford-Kounta’s teaching venues have included community centers, several state universities, state institutions, treatment programs, public and private schools, special populations, conferences and local venues such as BalletMet, Chocolate Nutcracker, SAVE Awards and First Night Columbus. Mrs. Bradford-Kounta developed and implemented staff training for Columbus Public School on intergrating the arts in the classroom and has completed training through the Greater Columbus Arts Council, in incorporating the academic standards in its school based arts programs. Bradford- Kounta has been an Adjunct Faculty member at Antioch College for five years and returns bi-annually to Senegal, West Africa to continue studying the traditions of this art form. Currently, Suzan serves as Adjunct Faculty The Ohio State University Department of Dance and is the first General Manager of the newly renovated historic Lincoln Theater.

Cherelle Brown’s dance journey began her freshman year of high school and led her to become a member of Thiossane West African Dance Institute in 2009. She studied her craft under the tutelage of Alfred Dove, Darlene Szuhay-Zigmont, and Suzan Bradford-Kounta. With a thirst for performing and love of dance, she participated in numerous dance classes and workshops and became involved in community shows and events. Utilizing this training and experience, Cherelle has gone on to instruct in various styles including modern, jazz, liturgical, and hip-hop. Cherelle has been an assistant instructor at CDance Company for the Arts, worked with the younger members of the Thiossane family, and has put on workshops and assisted with choreography at various studios and churches around the city of Columbus including CDance, Footsteps Family Dance Center, and Nia Performing Arts. To date, Cherelle has been blessed and privileged to work with many talented artists and hopes to help spread her knowledge, joy, and love of dance to all.

Loren E. Bucek teaches 26 robust fifth graders at Columbus City Schools’ Easthaven Elementary School. Her interdisciplinary-based classroom offers an innovative approach to elementary school instruction.  As a Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) educator, she enjoys membership in the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, and currently serves on the dance content standards writing teams for both the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards and the Ohio Department of Education. Bucek also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Dance Education (JODE).
Bucek’s early career as a dancer and independent choreographer led her to work with Ohio dance companies – Dancentral, BalletMet and ZIVILI. She was co-founder of Columbus-based, Moving Art Company and a dedicated member of the Alliance for Dance and Movement Arts (ADMA), OhioDance, and the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education. During this time, Bucek chaired the Ohio Arts Council Dance Panel and served on numerous panels, boards of directors and committees including: Greater Columbus Arts Council Artists in Schools, OhioDance, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, BalletMet, Congress on Research in Dance and The National Dance Education Organization.  As a Columbus City Schools dance educator in grades K-8, Bucek co-founded Duxberry Park Arts IMPACT ES and taught at Art IMPACT Middle School (AIMS) and Indianola Informal ES. These educational laboratories offered Bucek ample time to hone her dance teaching skills, collaborate with colleagues across disciplines, create dance curriculum, and recognize that children’s lives could be deeply affected through dance study, especially through interdisciplinary instruction. While living in New York City, Bucek worked as Director of the M. Ed. program in dance education at Columbia University Teachers College and later as Education Director of the Tisch Center for the Arts at the 92nd Street Y. On this international playground, she co-created dance education partnerships, programs and curriculum with world-renown dance artists and choreographers on their quest to improve dance instruction and programming.

Gerard Charles, BalletMet’s Artistic Director since 2001, having served as Interim Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director for the previous three seasons. Mr. Charles was born in Folkestone, England, and trained at the Royal Ballet School in London. In addition to numerous guest appearances, he danced professionally for Ballet International in London, Milwaukee Ballet and BalletMet. Upon retiring from the stage, he served as Ballet Master for BalletMet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. He then returned to BalletMet as Ballet Master and Associate Artistic Director, serving as an advisor to the Artistic Director and as coach and teacher for Company dancers. Mr. Charles has choreographed and staged works internationally and received an NEA Choreographic Fellowship. Audiences have been delighted with his BalletMet productions of Alice in Wonderland, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Coppelia, The
Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin.

Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld’s special love, besides kids, is “creative education” – integrating the arts with every aspect of the curriculum, with an emphasis on movement and writing. She received an MA in Elementary Education from the University of New York. She is on the staff of the Leo Yassenoff Jewish Center’s Early Childhood Program, Days of Creation Arts Program, leads OSU’s Hillel Foundation International Folk Dance program, and was the poetry component of the DepARTures program with the Columbus Museum of Art and Columbus Public Schools. Mimi also teaches “Art Across the Curriculum” at Otterbein College each summer, and presents for the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s summer children’s programs.

Her 1966 children’s novel, ‘’The House at 12 Rose Street,’’ was adapted for a TV special in 1980.  A recent collection of essays, ‘’Teaching By Heart,’’ was published in 2001 by Redleaf Press. A third edition of her text ‘’Creative Experiences for Young Children’’ was published in 2002. The NAEYC published a collection of her essays, ‘’Teaching in the Key of Life’’ (1993). Her latest book is “Celebrating Young Children and Their Teachers,” published jointly by Redleaf Press and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in 2007.

Noelle Chun’s performance and choreography has been presented across the Mid-Atlantic through her own independent work, with the improvisational trio Like You Mean It, and through site-specific events with Foreground Dance. Past projects have been supported by grants and fellowships from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and Ohio Arts Council. Noelle considers collaboration and improvisation to be at the base of every creative process, where movers and thinkers actively contribute and make direct decisions inside of the process that engender spontaneous, subtle, and ruminative works. She has served on faculty at The Ohio State University and Ohio Wesleyan University, teaching improvisation and technique courses. Currently she spends her time delving into practices and experiments at Feverhead. She holds a BA in Anthropology and Theatre Arts from Beloit College in Wisconsin, and an MFA in Dance from OSU.

Hope Davis AT, MS Hope Davis is a certified athletic trainer (ATC) specializing in dance medicine, manual therapy, functional training for performing artists and Pilates-based rehabilitation. Ms. Davis is part of our Program for Performing Arts Medicine specialty at OSU Sports Medicine. She is the primary athletic trainer for BalletMet Columbus and The Ohio State University’s Department of Dance.

Hope has provided backstage coverage to numerous dance companies and Broadway shows. She is also involved in numerous Outreach programs pertaining to dance education, pre-pointe screens, onsite treatments and lecture series.  Ms. Davis has presented on issues related to dancer rehabilitation and health and has authored numerous articles and papers pertaining to dance medicine some published in Dance Magazine and American College of Sports Medicine. She attended The University of Akron where she received her dual undergraduate degrees in Dance and Athletic Training/Sports Medicine. She earned her Master of Science in Exercise Physiology at Akron while serving as the head athletic trainer for The University of Akron’s Dance Department.  Hope is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, and Ohio Dance. Ms. Davis is currently pursuing her certification in Pilates.

Jeri Deckard Gatch, originally from Bloomington, Indiana is a Modern Dance teacher, choreographer, and performer. She earned her BS in Kinesiology from Indiana University, and her MFA in Performance and Choreography from Temple University, where she also taught for 2 years. Jeri was adjunct faculty at Virginia Commo nwealth University in both the Dance and Theater Departments. Since moving back to the Mid-West, Jeri has worked through the Contemporary Dance Theater, Growth In Motion, taught in schools through the Artlinks program, performed with several local choreographers, and guest teaches. Jeri choreographed for a workshop at the Playhouse In the Park, lead pre-school Creative Movement, and has been commissioned by colleges in OH, KY, and IL to set new works on their companies.

Dr. Melanye Dixon has written the first comprehensive study on the development of  Black Ballet dancers in Philadelphia. Her research  profiles the work of pioneering ballet pedagogue Marion Cuyjet, who nurtured notable dancers such as Judith Jamison, China White, and Delores Browne. Dixon is the author of Marion Cuyjet and Her Judimar School of Dance: Training Ballerinas in Black Philadelphia, 1948-1971, published by Mellen Press, July 2011.

Ashley Doyle-Lucas, PhD, earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance from University of Utah in 2005, Doctorate in Nutrition in Sport and Disease from Virginia Tech, VA  in 2010, and is currently in the Dietetics Program at The Ohio State University, OH.Ashley began her training in classical ballet in Washington state, however she graduated high school from the HARID conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida.  She completed her BFA in ballet performance at the University of Utah and danced professionally with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and later, The Richmond Ballet.  Following her dancing career she attended Virginia Tech where she completed her PhD in Nutrition in Sport and Disease.  Her research focused on energy metabolism and the overall health of female athletes, in particular ballet dancers. Her manuscripts are published in the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science. Ashley is now a lecturer in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State University and teaches both ballet and nutrition to dancers across the state of Ohio.  She also develops and implements nutrition education programs for adults at the local YMCAs.  Ashley is currently completing the requirements necessary to become a registered dietitian.  She is a member of IADMS, ADA, and ACSM.

Ambre Emory-Maier, is the Director of Education for BalletMet Columbus and the former Director of Education for North Carolina Dance Theatre. Ambre completed her MA in Dance Reconstruction and Directing from City University of New York and holds a BA in Communications from SUNY Geneseo. Previously, she was a faculty member and Assistant Chairperson in the University of Hartford/Hartford Ballet’s Dance Division. She toured the U.S. as principal dancer with Polite Society, a vintage ballroom dance company. Ambre is nationally certified by The Yoga Alliance ® to teach Hatha yoga at the 500 hour level.

Joyelle Fobbs is a graduate of the University of Michigan and an MFA candidate in dance at the Ohio State University. Her MFA thesis deals with the history of black ballet companies and their dancers. Joyelle is a STOTTPilates® and ABT National Curriculum certified instructor and continues to conduct research on injury prevention for dancers. Joyelle is currently a contemporary dance artist for The Moving Architects of Chicago, and has also toured throughout the U.S. and Europe as a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company and Ensemble. Additionally, she has been featured as a soloist in works by Alonzo King, Arthur Mitchell, and Martha Graham, and performed with various regional companies such as the Michigan Opera Theatre and Dayton Ballet.

Tina Gehres’ dance interests and expertise are in recreational, ethnic and vernacular dance. She has studied with ethnic teachers of Eastern and Western Europe, US and Canada and since 1986, vintage teachers including Richard Powers, Elizabeth Aldrich, Michelle Nadel of Paris, Frantisek Bonus of Prague. She is the artistic director of Times Past Vintage Dancers of Columbus, with a repertoire from 1790 to 1930s.; a choreographer and performer for Selo, a Croatian ensemble of music and dance; and a member of Mixed Bag International Folk Dance Music and Vatra Ziva a Balkan music band.

Diane Ghiloni PTA, received her Bachelor of Science from Ohio University 1984 with specialized studies in Business and Dance.  In 1996, she graduated with an Associate’s degree in Allied Health from Central Ohio Technical College.  She is the past recipient of The American Physical Therapy Association Advanced Proficiency for the PTA in Musculoskeletal injuries. Diane has taught competitive dance and floor gymnastics from 1984-1994 and her special interests include dance and gymnastic injuries, injury prevention education, spine rehab and aquatic rehabilitation.

John Giffin is a Professor Emeritus Department of Dance at The Ohio State University. He has received Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council and the Greater Columbus Arts
Council for his creative work which includes five full-evening pieces, a commission from Rhythm in Shoes and a coproduction with the Contemporary American Theatre Company in Columbus. He has danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal, Agnes DeMille’s Heritage Dance Theatre and Brigadoon in NYC and toured internationally with the Wuppertal Dance Theater directed by Pina Bausch. Giffin currently serves as Vice President for the OhioDance Board of Trustees.

Maria Glimcher was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. Ms. Glimcher graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She has danced with Syncopated Inc., Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico, Columbus Dance Theatre, and made a guest appearance with BalletMet. In addition to her professional career, Ms. Glimcher teaches and choreographs for Otterbein College and The Ohio State University. She is the proud mother of two children and has taught modern, jazz, and ballet at BalletMet for 10 years.

Jen Groseth is starting her second year at Ball State University as an Assistant Professor of Lighting and Sound Design.  She has a Masters Degree in both Lighting and Sound Design from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.  Before Ball State, Jen worked at Tarleton State University in Texas and at Oberlin College in Ohio.  In between theater jobs, Jen designs and builds straw bale structures, is a student of green building practices, and is also a trained luthier.   Jen is also a proud mom of an amazing four-legged family.

Lindsay Harmon-Matthews PT, DPT Lindsay was a member of the pre-professional Canton Ballet Company. While a student at Ohio University, she was the first to complete the Somatic Studies Minor from the School of Dance in 2006, studying dance technique, Pilates, Bartenieff Fundamentals and Laban Movement Analysis. She enjoys working with others recovering from orthopedic injuries, including young athletes and active adults.

Ruby Harper is the Grants and Services Director for the Greater Columbus Arts Council. Responsible for the city of Columbus grant programs, Mrs. Harper works closely with the arts and culture community. Mrs. Harper currently serves on the Emerging Leaders Council for the Americans for the Arts and as an Advisory Committee member for Wild Goose Creative in Columbus, OH. She served as President of the Board of  Trustees for the Little Theatre Off Broadway (LTOB) located in Grove City, OH until 2009; Lead Central Regional Representative for the Ohio Community Theatre Association until 2011; and Volunteer Coordinator for Emerald City Players in Dublin, OH until 2010. She also served on the Steering Committee for the young professionals group for the American Red Cross of Columbus (Friends of the Red Cross).  A transplant from California, where she was a dance instructor, she continues to teach dance classes to children ages 6-12 in the areas of tap, jazz, ballet and hip-hop and work with local organizations creating choreography for their productions.  Mrs. Harper has an Associate degree with an emphasis in Accounting, a Certificate in Corporate Community Involvement from Boston College and is a trained meeting facilitator.  Her work experience has given her exposure to a variety of industries, sectors and operational functions which include corporate/non-profit work environments, human resources and recruiting, investor relations, community relations, marketing and promotion, office management and grant-making.

Susan Honer is an independently-producing artist and hails from Southwest Virginia. She currently resides in Dayton, Ohio where she teaches Pilates and dance in the community. She is assistant choreographer and company member of MamLuft&Co. Dance in Cincinnati. Susan received her Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Hollins University/American Dance Festival and her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and English from Hollins University. Susan’s work has been seen in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut, Wisconsin, New York, and Austria. She co-directs Distance Dances, a blog and video-based dance collaboration with fellow dance artist Gina T’ai. Last year, Susan premiered choreography with MamLuft&Co. Dance on the 2011 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Visit www.susanhoner.com for more information.

Demetrius Klein has presented over eighty works on the stages of major venues regionally, nationally and internationally.  His work has been described by Deborah Jowitt of the Village Voice as “Fully wrought and interpreted, beautifully phrased, precisely weighted and brilliantly executed.” Mr. Klein has received three choreographic fellowships from the state of Florida, The Hector Ubertalli Award for Artistic Excellence from the Palm Beach County Council for the Arts, 1995-1997 National Endowment for the Arts Choreographic Fellowship, and was named 1998-1999 Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.  His work has been commissioned by The Wexner Center, Jacobs Pillow, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, The Florida- Brazil Festival, Danza Del Lobo, Minnesota Dance Alliance, Southern Ballet Theater, Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Ballet Florida, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and The Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. The Demetrius Klein Dance Company has also appeared with Mikhail Baryshnikov and The White Oak Dance Project in an evening length dance concert titled, Ocean Dance 2000 in Hollywood, Florida.  Since 2009, Demetrius Klein Dance Company has been relocated to Hamilton, Ohio.  Where Klein accepted the position of Resident Choreographer for The Miami Valley Ballet Theatre. He is Director of performance companies for Encore Talent Productions.  Mr. Klein co-produced Dialogues in Dance in collaboration with Jeanne Mam-Luft.  The Demetrius Klein Dance Company performed with Choreographers without Companies, Dance Under the Stars and Dance Cincinnati (2011).

Marlene Leber has been teaching, choreographing, and performing in the greater Cleveland area for over thirty years. As well versed in musical theater as modern dance, her choreography has been seen on the stages of Mentor High School, Kent State University, Lake Erie College, Cleveland State University, The School of Fine Arts, Shaker Heights High School, Hawken High School, Cleveland School of the Arts, and Hathaway Brown School where she has co-directed the dance program for the past 19 years. Marlene has performed extensively throughout the Cleveland area both in contemporary and Musical Theater venues, but her true love has always been modern dance. As an original member of Cleveland’s Repertory Project and Dance Theater Collective she has had the privilege of performing works by Bill Evans, Gina Gibney, Kathryn Karipides, Amy Dowling, Susan Van Pelt Petrie, David Dorfman, Jennifer Keller, and Douglas Neilsen, to name a few. In 2003, Marlene and colleague Jennifer Burnett presented their duet Resolve at Cleveland Public Theater as a part of the Food For Thought showcase directed by Gina Gibney, and in 2005 Marlene was the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Dance Education Award in the state of Ohio from Ohiodance. In 2011, she served on the writing team for dance content standards for the state of Ohio. Marlene holds a BFA in dance from Lake Erie College and is a certified movement analyst in the Bill Evans technique.

CoCo Loupe holds a BFA & MFA in Dance/Choreography. In the past 20 years she has been an ADF freak-a-zoid, and indie dance group dreamer, pick-up performer and a university educator. Her work has been performed all over the place but not everywhere. She lives in Columbus, OH and likes it. She works on websites everyday and makes dances when she can. She is a member of CAW: creative arts of women, OhioDance, THEY MIGHT BE DANCERS and helps run a new dance/arts space in Columbus, OH called FEVERHEAD.

Tiffany Marulli PT, DPT OSU Sports Medicine Program for Performing Arts

Michelle Matthews PT, DPT has an extensive background in all forms of dance, especially classical ballet. She has over 20 years of performance experience and has danced professionally for the past 6 years with multiple ballet companies in the southeast. Michelle trained with schools such as the Joffrey Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre and Virginia School of the Arts. She has taught dance for all skill and age levels. As a physical therapist, she enjoys working with dancers and athletes to promote solid biomechanical movement for the prevention of injuries and the return to peak performance.
Michelle also enjoys working with orthopedic injuries that range from common overuse injuries to more complex recovery rehabilitation. Manual therapy and movement analysis are her specialties.  Michelle is an active member of APTA, IADMS and OhioDance.

Dianne McIntyre, dancer/choreographer/director/teacher received a 2009 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from State University of New York Purchase College, the American Dance Festival 2008 Balasaraswati/Joy Ann Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching, and a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship for Choreography.  In May 2009 she performed in FLY: Five First Ladies of Dance presented by 651 Arts in Brooklyn, NY with Germaine Acogny, Carmen de Lavallade, Bebe Miller, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.  Her distinctive body of work features an idiosyncratic use of live music, a dynamic movement style, and important choreographic explorations inspired by narrative and history.  In the 1970’s McIntyre emerged, among African Americans, as new a voice in the front line of modern dance.  In 21st century she continues to expand that voice uniting theatrical nuances with her dance.  Her recent work draws upon social issues, memories, effects of race and ethnicity, and individual profiles sometimes springing from offerings by the professional or student-company and other times from her interviews and research.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, McIntyre studied dance with Elaine Gibbs and Virginia Dryansky.  She received a BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University under Helen Alkire and studied with Vickie Blaine, James Payton, Lucy Venable and guest artists Anna Sokolow and Viola Farber.  Moving to New York City in 1970, she danced with Gus Solomons Company/Dance for two years.  Then, supported by Clark Center director Louise Roberts, McIntyre began her company of dancers and musicians.  From 1972 to 1988, she directed her company and school, Sounds in Motion, in Harlem, New York City.

McIntyre’s dance/music company Sounds in Motion toured extensively in the 1970s and 80s and ran a popular studio in Harlem where she mentored numerous individuals who became cutting-edge dance artists like:  the original company of Urban Bush Women; Marlies Yearby, choreographer of Rent; Aziza, founder of Def Dance Jam Workshop; many dancers, youth educators, choreographers, university dance professors and those in related fields.

In 1988 Dianne McIntyre dissolved Sounds in Motion to pursue an independent choreographic career.   With successive companies she has continued memorable dance/music projects with Olu Dara, Lester Bowie, Don Pullen, Hannibal and others.  Her dance works have also been set on Alvin American Dance Theater and Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Ensemble, Philadanco, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, Dancing Wheels, GroundWorks Dance Theater and numerous college groups.  She has been a guest teacher at countless university programs. For theatre her work has appeared on Broadway, London’s West End, Off-Broadway, (New York Public Theater and Negro Ensemble Co) and 20 regional theatres.

McIntyre’s choreography has also appeared on the large and small screen: in the feature film Beloved and in Langston Hughes: The Dreamkeeper and for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf on television.  In addition, she choreographed HBO’s award-winning Miss Evers’ Boys for which she received an Emmy nomination.

Teressa Wylie McWilliams, Professional credits include Mary Riley/Dance Captain in the World Premiere of Jekyll and Hyde at the Alley Theatre, the First National Tours of Sophisticated Ladies and My Fair Lady, and numerous regional theatre works including Cassie in A Chorus Line, Mrs. Potiphar in Joseph…Dreamcoat, Mme. Renaud/Monique in La Cage aux Folles, and Lorraine Fleming in 42nd Street. Teressa has worked in the U.S., Japan, and the U.S.S.R. with such personalities as Jerry Mitchell, Tommy Tune, Frank Wildhorn, Linda Eder, Hinton Battle, Gregg Burge, Greg Graham and Laurie Beechman. Teressa’s choreography has been viewed in over eighty productions of both musical theater and concert dance in regional, summer stock, and university venues including Music Theatre of Wichita, The Human Race Theatre, West Virginia Public Theatre, The Opera House, and Central Piedmont Summer Theatre. She has received three Kennedy Center Meritorious Achievement Awards for her choreography in Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel and Babes in Arms. Her choreography in modern/jazz won her recognition as recipient of the Artist Fellowship in Choreography from Kansas Arts Commission. Choreographic credits include Hairspray, A Chorus Line, Thoroughly Modern Millie, West Side Story, Caroline, or Change, The Pajama Game, Oklahoma, Aida, Cabaret, Nine, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel, Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, Funny Girl, On a Clear Day, and numerous concert dance works. Prior to WSU, McWilliams was on faculty at Wichita State University, Sam Houston State University, and Central Piedmont Community College. Teressa is a member of Actors Equity Association and holds a BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts and an MFA from Sam Houston State University. She is the Coordinator/Associate Professor of Dance at Wright State University.

Kathryn Mihelick is former Dance Coordinator at Kent State University and Founder of Leaven Dance Company. She performed with Orchesis Ensemble, Heidt Touring Company, Indianapolis Starlight Musicals, and was resident choreographer for Porthouse Theatre. A scholar of sacred /liturgical dance, she has lectured and performed in the U.S, Europe, Asia, and Australia; and in 2008 was designated a “Living Legacy” by the International Sacred Dance Guild. Other awards include OhioDance’s Outstanding Contribution to the Dance Artform and Akron Arts Alliance’s Outstanding Artist in Dance. She serves on the Advisory Board of the KSU School o f Theatre and Dance, and has assisted in the development of Arts Education competency Expectations for the Ohio Department of Education.

Marika Molnar, PT, Lac, President and Founder Marika is a graduate of Columbia University, where she obtained her graduate certificate in physical therapy. She also holds a masters degree in dance education from New York University, a certificate in nutrition from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and holds a masters in acupuncture from Tristate College of Acupuncture.

In 1980 Ms Molnar was the first physical therapist to be hired on-site at a professional ballet company to care for the dancers of the New York City Ballet. She is presently the director of physical therapy services to the New York City Ballet and also director of physical therapy services to the School of American Ballet in New York. Ms Molnar is active professionally in a number of endeavors. These activities include clinical advisor to PhysicalMind Institute, rehabilitation editor of the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, and member of the Development Committee of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). Her previous IADMS committee work includes being a board member from 1994-1999, president from 1999-2001 and Chair of the Education committee from 2001-2003. Ms Molnar has lectured nationally and internationally for the past 28 years and has published in peer reviewed publications and also book publications related to rehabilitation of dance injuries.”

Marissa Beth Nesbit, MFA, is currently a doctoral student in art education at  The Ohio State University with research interests in dance curriculum, teacher education, professional development, and arts integration. She was formerly the Director of Dance Education at the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she led professional development workshops in arts integration for teachers in schools throughout the southeast and taught courses on arts integration and movement for actors. She has served as a guest artist at many schools where she developed collaborative mentoring relationships with teachers for the creation of innovative curriculum integrating dance with other content areas, and previously led residencies with a team of teaching artists as Director of Education and Outreach at the North Carolina Dance Theater. Marissa earned her MFA in dance from Texas Woman’s University and BA in psychobiology from Pitzer College.

Mariah Nierman PT, DPT, AT Mariah’s experience includes on and off-field care for a variety of sports. She danced for 15 years until college where her focus turned to the medical side and helping dancers stay healthy. Her final practicum while in school was in dance medicine at OSU Sports Medicine where she has continued to work for the past 2 years being part of the Program for Performing Arts Medicine. She has furthered her training by completing the Dance Medicine Practicum with Westside Dance PT, providers for the New York City Ballet. She has experience seeing a variety of orthopedic patients in the clinical setting and is part of the Hip Task Force focusing on optimizing recovery after hip labral repair. Along with general orthopedic patients, she treats dancers in the clinic, assists in backstage coverage, has presented a variety of dance wellness workshops and provides on-site care at OSU Department of Dance. She has a special interest in the adolescent and pre-professional dancer and how to prevent injury and promote dance wellness.

Jimmy Orrante was a recipient of a 2005 Princess Grace Choreography Award. Now in his 17th season with BalletMet, the Los Angeles native has choreographed several works including Emergence in 2007, his first full-length ballet in 2009, The Great Gatsby, and Coming Into View last season. He attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Performing Arts and North Carolina School of the Arts. He attended the International Summer Workshop in Hungary; danced with Memphis Ballet, Nevada Dance Theatre and Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, and is on faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. A recipient of the Violetta Boft Award, he has performed with L.A.’s Dance Kaleidoscope, England’s Northern Ballet Theatre and Dance St. Louis. He and his wife, former dancer Sonia Welker, have a son, Isaac, and daughters Aiyana and Imara.
Jenna Papai, has studied dance at Columbus Dance International, Columbus Dance Theater, BalletMet Columbus and privately with Becky Hoag.  She has performed with the Columbus Tap Project, Hoof’n Rhythms, and is currently a member of Selo Croatian Folk Ensemble and Living Traditions Carpatho-Rusyn Folk Ensemble. Jenna teaches tap for Shuffles Productions, BalletMet Columbus, and The Dance Extension, and performed in New York’s “Tappy Holidays” for the three consecutive seasons.  Jenna is also a proud and recent graduate from The Ohio State University.

Nancy Pistone became an Arts Consultant for the Ohio Department of Education in June, 2002. She began her career in arts education as an art teacher in the Mentor and Mayfield areas of Ohio. Following her teaching experience, she relocated to Pennsylvania and served as Pittsburgh’s Coordinator of Cultural Resources linking arts organizations and visual and performing artists to public school programs. While in Pittsburgh, she also served for seven years as a supervisor in the Division of Arts Education for the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Nancy has worked on several leading arts education initiatives. These efforts have focused on program development and the impact of the arts on student learning and achievement. She had a key role in the Arts PROPEL action research project dedicated to developing model programs that combined assessment and instruction in various arts disciplines. She also served on the planning, task development, and steering committees for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Arts Assessment. As the director of a multi-year curriculum reform project, she coordinated the efforts of selected school sites to develop and demonstrate the role of the arts in unifying the high school curriculum.

In addition to her program development work, Nancy has served as consultant and evaluator to numerous cultural and education organizations and foundations such as the College Board, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the University of Pittsburgh, the Heinz Endowments, and the Bushnell Performing Arts Center.

She is the co-author of Taking Full Measure: Rethinking Assessment in the Arts. Her most recent publication, Envisioning Arts Assessment, was produced by the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) as a guide for school districts and states interested in developing large-scale arts assessments.

Kora Radella is a guest artist on the dance faculty at Kenyon College. She has taught at Kenyon College since the fall of 2004. Previously she taught at Georgia College and State University, from 2000-2004. She has also taught at Kent State Stark, the University of Georgia, and at numerous studios. Radella has an extensive repertory of work that has been performed in Belgium, England, The Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S.A. Radella’s honors include the Ineke Sluiter Prize for choreography in Amsterdam, and a fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation to pursue post-M.F.A. research in choreography, in Brussels from 1994-1995. Her work has been funded by such organizations as the Anjersfonds, Prins Bernard Fonds and Theater Onderzoek Grant in Amsterdam, Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques in Brussels, the Abteiling Kulturelles des Kantons Basel-Landschaft grant in Basel, Switerzerland, an Illinois Arts Council Grant, and the Ingenuity Festival. Radella is the artistic director of Double-Edge Dance, a company she co-founded in 1993 with composer/performer Ross Feller.

Andrea Shearer is Dance Division Director at Kent State University, has taught at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and was Ballet Mistress with the Canton Ballet. She also performed with DanceCircus and Milwaukee Operetta Carnival, and is Associate Director of Leaven Dance Company. Twice nominated and once a finalist for KSU’s Distinguished Teaching Award, she was also selected as the first
recipient of Kent State’s “Outstanding Advisor” Award for her role with the Kent Dance Association. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Sacred Dance Guild and for OhioDance, and is an evaluator for the national Association of Schools of Dance.

David Shimotakahara Groundworks Artistic Director has been a member of the Atlanta Ballet, Boston Repertory Ballet, Kathryn Posin Dance Company, and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. He performed with Ohio Ballet under the direction of Heinz Poll from 1983-1999. He also served as Rehearsal Assistant for Ohio Ballet from 1989-1999. From 1989-1997 Mr.Shimotakahara founded and was Director of New Steps. This acclaimed dance project offered a variety of programs that stimulated the creation and growth of new choreography in Northeast Ohio. Mr. Shimotakahara has choreographed for opera and theater with The Cleveland Opera, Great Lakes Theater Festival and The Dallas Theater Center. He has received 5 consecutive Individual Artist Fellowships for Choreography from the Ohio Arts Council from 1996 to 2004. In 1998 he received a McKnight Foundation Fellowship from the Minnesota Dance Alliance to create new work in the Minneapolis, St Paul communities. Mr. Shimotakahara was awarded the 2000 Cleveland Arts Prize for Dance. His work with GroundWorks Dancetheater was recently voted “One of  25” to Watch by Dance Magazine.

Kathy Signorino is a Coordinator in the Individual Artist Grants and Services Program at the Ohio Arts Council where she has been since 1994.  Kathy is Lead-Coordinator for the Individual Excellence Awards with an annual deadline of September 1 and also the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program with a January 15th deadline.  In addition to her capacity as Coordinator for these two grant programs she is also Co-Coordinator of the Ohio Percent for Art program with her colleague Ken Emerick.  She administers multiple resources for artists including the Ohio Online Visual Artist Registry, the Artist Opportunities Database, the Call for Entry Database and the Ohio Creative Writer’s Directory.  She also assists with the selection of Excellence Award recipients for the residency programs held at Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, Massachusetts and Headlands, Sausalito, California.  Kathy holds a Bachelors in Arts Education/Administration from Ohio State University and lives in Columbus with her husband and two small children.

Quianna L. Simpson A Columbus native, Quianna has danced with Thiossane Institute, steadily, since 2006.  She began studying and performing traditional west African dance at age 7 under the tutelage of Suzan Bradford-Kounta.  While away at college she groomed her modern and jazz technique with the Norfolk State University’s Dance Theater and “Hot Ice” Spartan Band dance line.  At NSU she very much enjoyed attending the dance competitions and conferences, like Black College Dance Exchange, and has made it her duty to continue studying by attending dance conferences throughout the U.S.  After graduating she returned home to rejoin Thiossane Institute.  She also founded the “Fiery Ice” Dance Team at FCI Academy and enjoys returning to her high school alma mater and assists the East High School “Tigerettes” with choreography.  Most notable she is the Asst. Director of Thiossane’s Junior Company, Program Director, principle dancer, and instructor for Thiossane Institute; where she teaches children’s class, and outreach programs with Columbus Public Schools.

Shannon Varner discovered Lindy Hop while living in New York City in 1997. She has won numerous awards, placing in such competitions as the American Lindy Hop Championships, Virginia State Open, and the Jack & Jill Contest at Midsummer Night Swing in NYC. She has performed in New York and Chicago with some of her credits including: the PBS “Swingin’ with the Duke” with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and The Today Show.

Rodney Veal Is an Independent Choreographer/ Interdisciplinary Artist who serves as adjunct faculty for both Stivers School of the Performing Arts and Sinclair Community College. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a B.S in Political Science and Visual Arts. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a M.F.A in Choreography, Where he served as the Chief of Staff for the Council of Graduate Students President and as Senator to the Faculty/Student Senate representing the Fine Arts Graduate Students. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Ohio Dance and as Chair of the Blue Sky Project.

Kodee Van Nort is dedicated to making dance accessible for everyone. Her love for movement took her on an academic journey of technical prowess, performance, and choreogrpahy. She holds a BA from the University of Wyoming where she became the first to earn an Teaching Assistantship as an undergrad and MFA from Sam Houston State University. She currently serves as faculty for Cincinnati Ballet, Contemporary Dance Theater, Anneliese Von Oettingen School of Ballet, and Academy of Dance Arts where she teaches wide array of levels and ages in both ballet and modern techniques. She has eclectic performing experiences which includes Ad Hoc, Manchester England

China White was a principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem for ten years and has numerous stage, screen, and TV credits. She is  founder and artistic director of Theatre Street Dance Academy and is a Dance Specialist at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center.

Alexis Wilson performed with Dance Theatre of Harlem and has written a book (Not so Black and White) about her life in dance as the child of a Black father and white mother who performed with the Dutch National Ballet.

Erich Yetter began his ballet training in Texas under Ingeborg Heuser (Staatsoper Berlin), and later with Fernando Schaffenburg (Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo) and at the Houston Ballet Academy under Ben Stevenson (Royal Ballet). He also studied in New York City with David Howard and Maggie Black, and danced briefly with Ballet Met, San Antonio Ballet and Ballet El Paso. As a principal dancer, he danced a year in London with Dance For Everyone, two years with Irish National Ballet, and twelve years with Ballet Memphis, where he retired from the stage.  In 2000 he became Artistic Director of Peoria Ballet in Illinois, working with international guest artists and building the company’s national reputation. He has choreographed and staged over 60 works, including a full-length Nutcracker, Cinderella, Giselle, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and one-act narratives such as Dracula, Firebird, Don Quixote Act III, and Aurora’s Wedding. In addition, Yetter has created dances for Opera Memphis, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Theatre Memphis, Peoria Players Theatre, Ohio Northern University and Rhodes College. In 1999, he was awarded the Tennessee Commission for the Arts Individual Fellowship for Choreography and subsequently his work was featured at the American Choreographer’s Showcase in Guatemala.  From 2001-09, he sat on the Dance Grant Panel of the Illinois Arts Council as well as the recent Federal Arts Jobs Preservation Grant Panel, dispersing government stimulus funds. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Dance cum laude from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Master’s of Science in Higher Education from Kaplan University in Chicago. This year, Yetter choreographed for the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Knight Foundation’s Random Acts of Culture and the University of Akron Dance Company’s fall and spring productions.  In addition, in November his Nutcracker was staged at St. Mary’s Hall private prep school in San Antonio, Texas.  Yetter has published several articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s online blog Arts and Academe and currently serves as Visiting Faculty Lecturer in Ballet at the University of Akron, where he teaches Advanced and Intermediate Ballet, Pointe, Viewing Dance and Ballet History.