Registration is NOW OPEN!

JUNE FACULTY:

ROSALYNDE LEBLANC LOO

Dean and Director of Dance, Loyola Marymount University 

Choreography Composition / Q+A

Rosalynde LeBlanc Loo has spent over twenty-years in dance as a performer and choreographer. She holds a BFA from the State University of New York at Purchase and an MFA from Hollins University. She is a professor and current Chair of the Dance Program at Loyola Marymount University. Prior to her academic career, Rosalynde was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (1993-1999), Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project (1999-2002), and the Liz Gerring Dance Company (2003-2006). In addition to performing the work of various independent choreographers, Rosalynde has also danced in opera productions with New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the 250th Mozart Celebration in Salzburg, Austria. She has had her writing published in the leading international dance periodicals, Dance Magazine and Ballettanz, and her choreography has been presented in venues around the country.

EMILY WANSERSKI

Creative Financial Advisor and Career Coach, LMU, University of Michigan, UCLA

Introduction to Finance for Young Artists

Emily Wanserski has worked with cultural nonprofits, for-profit entertainment entities, higher education institutions, and multiple public agencies. With 10+ years of experience in LA's creative economy, she collaborates with entrepreneurs and artists to bring light to immediate action items that get them closer to their vision. Selected clients, projects, and employers include: the Annenberg Foundation, Arts Bridging the Gap, Barak Ballet, Banjee Ball/Purple Crush, BODYTRAFFIC, Boeing, Chicago Bulls, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City of West Hollywood, Ground Grooves TV, Intel, Invertigo Dance Theatre, Jim Henson Company, LA Contemporary Dance Company, LA Follies, MashUp Contemporary Dance Company, Marissa Labog, Melanie George, MUDA, Nike, Royal Shakespeare Company, Suarez Dance Theater, Sundance Film Festival, Teresa Toogie Barcelo, University of Southern California, UP Productionz, and WHYTEBERG. 

Emily has taught at AMDA, CalState LA, LMU, Santa Monica College, UCLA, and the University of Michigan, and she was honored to be part of the Artist Campaign School's inaugural cohort in 2017. Emily holds dual degrees, BA in Political Science & BFA in Dance, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

REBECCA LEMME

Modern Faculty, Cal StateUniversity Long Beach

Floorwork / Improvisation

Rebecca Lemme is a choreographer, performer, and educator. An Assistant Professor of Dance at California State University, Long Beach, she teaches in both the modern and ballet programs, as well as mentors students in their own choreographic work. She  is the Co-coordinator of the BFA program, the Scholarship Chair, and works closely with both the MFA and MA programs. Founded in 2014, she is also Artistic Director of the performance group Acts of Matter.

Lemme holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts in Choreography and a BA from Princeton University in English and Theater. She was the recipient of the Francis LeMoyne Page Theater Award for distinctive achievement in theater at Princeton as well as the Caroline H. Newhouse and Sono Osato Scholarships, both for graduate study.

RACHEL FINE

Registered Dietitian, Founder of To The Pointe Nutrition, and Creator of The Dance Nutritionist 

Diet and Nutrition for Dancers

Rachel Fine is a board-certified Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with advanced certifications in Eating Disorders (CEDS-C), Sports Nutrition (CSSD), and Intuitive Eating. Rachel founded To The Pointe Nutrition in 2013, and built The Healthy Dancer® curriculum with the mission to provide credible nutrition education to all dancers, including dance parents and dance educators worldwide.

The Healthy Dancer® combines Rachel’s expertise in performance nutrition with a non-diet and weight-inclusive approach to food and body image. Rachel specializes in nutrition for dancers, with a focus on eating disorders, disordered eating, orthorexia, and perfectionism.

MARISA HENTIS

Dance Faculty, University of Southern California

Sports Medicine and Injury Prevention for Dancers

Dr. Marisa Hentis, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS, is an assistant professor of physical therapy and dance. She sees patients clinically at USC Physical Therapy. She is board-certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialities as a Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). She is the Screening Chair for the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Performing Arts Special Interest Group (PASIG). She specializes in the treatment of variety of orthopedic diagnoses including performing artists, dancers, runners, other sports related injuries, and pelvic floor dysfunctions. She works as a physical therapist backstage for performances at various theaters in Los Angeles, CA in her spare time. Dr. Hentis also has presented at local, national, and international conference about dance medicine with an emphasis in university level dancers.

Dr. Hentis received her Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Science, a minor in Psychology, and concentration in Interprofessional education at Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Missouri. She received Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Saint Louis University as well. She graduated from the Clinical Residency in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy through MGH Institute of Health Professions.

Prior to becoming a physical therapist, Marisa danced professionally in the Midwest for over 5 years. She is trained in majority of genres but specializes in hip hop and contemporary. She enjoys continuing to take classes recreationally and getting involved with the community to prevent and assist performing artists throughout their recreational and professional careers.

BRUCE MCCORMICK

Ballet, Career Services, and Admission Professor, University of Southern California Kaufman

Ballet / USC Kaufman Repetoire

Bruce McCormick is an educator, choreographer, performer and scholar. He earned his BFA from The Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy and his MFA from the University of Washington, where he also worked as Assistant Professor of Dance. He joined the faculty at the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in 2018 where he serves as Associate Professor of Practice.

Originally from New Jersey, he trained with the Vineland Regional Dance Company and the Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet, spending summers at the School of American Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Boston Ballet and as a private student of Maestro Héctor Zaraspe in Argentina and Ecuador. He performed in 12 countries on four continents as a member of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Bavarian State Ballet and the Bern Ballet, where he was a soloist and ballet master. He also served as Assistant Artistic Director of North Netherlands Dance and Guest Rehearsal Director with Ballet BC.

BETSY STRUXNESS

Musical Theatre Faculty, University of Southern California Kaufman

Musical Theatre Repetoire / Q + A

Betsy STRUXNESS is an interdisciplinary artist, entertainer and educator.  Raised in the professional arts communities of Kansas City (KC Ballet, Lyric Opera, Starlight Theater) and with a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School, STRUXNESS forged a career on Broadway, appearing in Wicked, Memphis and originating hit shows like Matilda and most notably, Hamilton.  STRUXNESS’s talents extend well beyond dance and stage with her continued work on screens small and large, as actor, voice actor, creative leader or performer. Her debut pop album, Physical Attention, which she co-wrote, is available on all music platforms. A New Yorker at heart, STRUXNESS currently lives in Los Angeles and is a lecturer at USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Follow along on all of her adventures!  @be_strux

CHARLOTTE GRIFFIN

Modern Faculty, UC Irvine

Modern - with live drums accompaniment

As a young dancer, Charlotte received her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School under the direction of Mr. Benjamin Harkarvy and performed the masterworks of artists such as Paul Taylor, Agnes de Mille, and José Limón. Upon graduation, she was honored with The Martha Hill Award for excellence in her field of study and went on to collaborate and perform with choreographers including David Neumann, Yasmeen Godder, Sue Bernhard, Toshiko Oiwa, Karen Graham, Robert Battle, and Larry Keigwin. She received her MFA in Dance from The University of Texas at Austin, taught at Marymount Manhattan College and Bowdoin College, and has offered master classes in Mexico, Spain, the Czech Republic, and South Korea. Originally from North Carolina, Charlotte is delighted to join the sunny ranks of the University of California, Irvine Dance Department.

Charlotte Griffin creates dynamic work for the concert stage, cinematic screen, and multimedia environments. Her repertory has been commissioned by The Juilliard Dance Ensemble, The Hartt School Dance Division, BJM Danse in Montreal, Danza UDLAP, Barcelona Institut del Teatre, The Juilliard Summer Intensive, Peridance Professional Trainees, Princeton University, Rutgers University, and more. She has had the privilege of creating ballets at The New York Choreographic Institute with dancers from the New York City Ballet and School of American Ballet, at the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive in Austin, and for Eliot Feld's Ballet Tech Kids Dance. Current projects include choreographing Monk Parrots’ original production ofBum Phillips All-American Opera, which premiered at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theater in New York, and contributions to The Nexus Project produced by The Cambrians for premiere in 2017.

PAIGE BOROWSKI

Collegiate Arts Prep, Founder and Director 

Event Artistic Director / Ballet / Networking 

Paige Borowski received her BFA degree from The Juilliard School in 2018. There she studied under world renowned instructors and choreographers, including: Jiri Kylian, Crystal Pite, Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin, Pam Tanowitz, and Bobbi Jene Smith. She continued on to dance in Switzerland for the Ballett Theater Basel where she performed and toured works by Bryan Arias, Johan Inger, Jiri Porkorny, Alexander Ekman, and Sharon Eyal. In addition, Paige was on faculty for the Ballettschule Theater Basel, where she assisted in developing their Modern and youth programs. Paige is on faculty at Orange County High School of the Arts and is now the founder and director of a collegiate arts preparation program, Collegiate Arts Prep, and currently continues to live and work in Orange County, CA.

Faculty Subject to Change

Location and additional details coming soon!

Registration is OPEN NOW!

Please use the link above to complete the registration form and secure your spot to dance with us this Spring. To ensure intimacy and an individualized training experience for our workshop participants spots will be limited.

Day Passes for April Workshop are now available! Join us for 1 or 2 days of our weekend workshop. It is required that dancers participate in the workshop day(s) in their entirety.

We can’t wait to dance with you! Xxx

APRIL FACULTY:

JULIANNE PEDERSEN

Dean and Director of Dance, Chapman University 

Modern Foundations / Q+A

Julianne O’Brien has a background in the field of dance as a performer, choreographer, academic leader, and dance educator. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Connecticut College, a Master of Fine Arts from the Ohio State University, and is certified yoga instructor and Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst.

Prior to joining Chapman University, she served as the Dean of the School of Dance at Dean College in Massachusetts and as program director and professor at Eastern Michigan University. She teaches modern techniques, pedagogy, dance history, career seminars, yoga, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Laban movement analysis, improvisation, and choreography.

Julianne performed as a founding member and soloist for fourteen years with the Peter Sparling Dance Company. While with Sparling, who was a member of both the Limon Company and the Graham Company, she had the opportunity to train deeply in two foundational modern techniques. She has also had the privilege of performing with William (Bill) Evans, and in repertory by Isadora Duncan set by Lori Bellilove. She has choreographed more than fifty works that have been seen in venues across the states and in El Salvador and received numerous grants and awards for choreography including funding from the US Embassy in El Salvador, and selection for the 2016 American College Regional Dance Festival.

An interest in K–12 movement integration curriculum has spanned two decades: receiving multiple grants from the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children to work with under-served K–3 students in science and history classes; developing math in motion curriculum with the Malashock Dance School in San Diego, CA; multiple year teaching residencies with Malashock and Freese elementary school; and spear-heading movement curriculum into the Franklin, MA public schools in partnership with college internship programs.

BRET EASTERLING

Modern Faculty, University of Southern California

GAGA

Bret Easterling has been surrounded by dance ever since he was born in Palo Alto, CA.  After growing up in his mother’s dance studio, his career began at the age of seven, dancing in commercial work including a duet with Angela Lansbury in Mrs. Santa Claus, and in Fiona Apple’s music video for Paper Bag.  At the age of 11, he was a founding member of Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area, an original cast member of New York Stage Original’s Tap Kids, and an annual performer in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

After high school, Bret moved to New York City to study at The Juilliard School, where he received his BFA and the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography in 2010.  While in school, he was a formative member of Andrea Miller’s Gallim Dance, and a guest performer with Buglisi Dance Theatre.Bret  received his BFA and the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography from The Juilliard School and was a formative member for Gallim Dance.  After graduating, Bret joined Batsheva Dance Company under the direction of Ohad Naharin. 

During his time in Tel Aviv, he became a certified Gaga teacher and an Ilan Lev Method practitioner.  Bret currently teaches at USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and is the Artistic Director of BEMOVING, an LGBTQ+ led nonprofit that builds nurturing communal environments for the research, development, and dissemination of dance works and movement practices.

LIZ MAXWELL

Modern Faculty, Chapman University 

Somatic Disciplines / Creative Processes 

Liz Maxwell, MFA, CLMA, RSME, is an associate professor of dance at Chapman University, specializing in teaching somatic disciplines, modern dance techniques, dance history, and choreography. She received her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School. 

Liz went on to earn her MFA in Dance at the University of Washington’s unique “returning professional” program where she honed an interest in dance aesthetics and philosophy. While attending UW, she was a member of the Chamber Dance Ensemble, a company dedicated to the preservation and reconstruction of historically significant dance works, and there performed in seminal works by Isadora Duncan, Danny Buraczeski, Louis Falco, Doris Humphrey, Laura Dean, and Zvi Gotheiner. Liz has taught in many dance programs such as The California Institute of the Arts, Loyola Marymount University, CalPoly-Pomona, Rio Hondo College, UC Riverside, California State University—Long Beach, Scripps College, and Pomona College.

In addition, she is a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst (CLMA) through Integrated Movement Studies (IMS), and a Registered Somatic Movement Educator (RSME) through the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA). Current research projects include papers, workshops, and performances presented at The Congress on Research in Dance, The Society of Dance History Scholars, Motus Humanus, American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA), National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), and she chaired a recent panel for NDEO and ISMETA's special topic on somatics which she titled "If They Build it...Will They Come? How to Integrate Somatic Education into Post-Secondary Dance Curriculum."

DOUG BAUM

Ballet and Modern Faculty, University of Southern California

Contemporary / Modern

Doug Baum began his dance training in Maryland at Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts before graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts in 2006. In 2010, Doug received his B.F.A. from Fordham University in collaboration with The Ailey School, where he apprenticed with Ailey II. Since graduating, he has performed with Rock the Ballet, Compagnie Flak, Les Ballets Jazz and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Doug has completed three seasons with Zhukov Dance Theater in addition to guesting with Peridance, Ezdanza, Thang Dao, and Company XIV. Most recently Doug finished his last tour with LA Dance Project under the direction of Benjamin Millepied & is now an adjunct instructor at USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. 

BONNIE ODA-HOMSEY

Former Adjudicate Professor and Faculty, University of Southern California

Career Development for Young Artists / "Your New Role" Parent Seminar 

Bonnie Oda Homsey is founding director of Los Angeles Dance Foundation providing career consultancy services to artists and organizations. She serves on the board and co-chairs the Program Committee for Gold Standard ArtsFoundation, a national resource for AAPI creatives. For 20 years, Bonnie was Chair of Dance for The Princess Grace Foundation USA and has served on funding panels including National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, United States Artists, and California Arts Council.

She has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor at USC Kaufman School of Dance, and Special Faculty at California Institute for the Arts. A member of the Martha Graham Company, directed by Ms. Graham, she toured internationally and performed works with Rudolph Nureyev and Dame Margot Fonteyn.  She is an alum of The Juilliard School and established a named endowed scholarship for their AAPI dancers, and a dance scholarship at Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii. Bonnie received a M.F.A. in Dance as the Chancellor’s Fellowshiprecipient from UC, Irvine, and is the recipient of two Lester Horton Awards.

FIONA EDDY

Ballet and Modern Faculty, University of Southern California

Contemporary Ballet / Jiri Kylian (NDT) Repertoire

Fiona Lummis-Eddy was a principal dancer for two decades with the Netherlands Dance Theatre, and was involved in over thirty creations by Jiri Kylian, Hans Van Manen, Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin, Christopher Bruce and Mats Ek among other choreographers, as well as dancing featured roles in ballets by William Forsythe, Jerome Robbins, Lar Lubovitch and Glen Tetley and many more. Ms. Lummis is a graduate of the Elmhurst School of Dance in Birmingham, England and the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. Fiona now is on faculty of Los Angeles High School of the Arts as well as University of Southern California giving ballet lectures and staging Repertoire.

EMILY WANSERSKI

Creative Financial Advisor and Career Coach, LMU, University of Michigan, UCLA

Introduction to Finance for Young Artists

Emily Wanserski has worked with cultural nonprofits, for-profit entertainment entities, higher education institutions, and multiple public agencies. With 10+ years of experience in LA's creative economy, she collaborates with entrepreneurs and artists to bring light to immediate action items that get them closer to their vision. Selected clients, projects, and employers include: the Annenberg Foundation, Arts Bridging the Gap, Barak Ballet, Banjee Ball/Purple Crush, BODYTRAFFIC, Boeing, Chicago Bulls, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City of West Hollywood, Ground Grooves TV, Intel, Invertigo Dance Theatre, Jim Henson Company, LA Contemporary Dance Company, LA Follies, MashUp Contemporary Dance Company, Marissa Labog, Melanie George, MUDA, Nike, Royal Shakespeare Company, Suarez Dance Theater, Sundance Film Festival, Teresa Toogie Barcelo, University of Southern California, UP Productionz, and WHYTEBERG. 

Emily has taught at AMDA, CalState LA, LMU, Santa Monica College, UCLA, and the University of Michigan, and she was honored to be part of the Artist Campaign School's inaugural cohort in 2017. Emily holds dual degrees, BA in Political Science & BFA in Dance, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

PAIGE BOROWSKI

Collegiate Arts Prep, Founder and Director 

Event Artistic Director / Ballet / Networking 

Paige Borowski received her BFA degree from The Juilliard School in 2018. There she studied under world renowned instructors and choreographers, including: Jiri Kylian, Crystal Pite, Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin, Pam Tanowitz, and Bobbi Jene Smith. She continued on to dance in Switzerland for the Ballett Theater Basel where she performed and toured works by Bryan Arias, Johan Inger, Jiri Porkorny, Alexander Ekman, and Sharon Eyal. In addition, Paige was on faculty for the Ballettschule Theater Basel, where she assisted in developing their Modern and youth programs. Paige is on faculty at Orange County High School of the Arts and is now the founder and director of a collegiate arts preparation program, Collegiate Arts Prep, and currently continues to live and work in Orange County, CA.

*Faculty Subject to Change

Location and additional details coming soon!