Kyla Kikkawa (she/her) is a movement artist originally from Altadena, CA. A graduate from the Psychological & Brain Sciences Department at Washington University, Kyla is an interdisciplinary and lifelong learner. She lives for the healing power of movement, but her passions have also led her to play live music in hospitals in Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Managua, Nicaragua. Kyla is an educator of neurodiverse and neurotypical youth, adults, and older adults and cares deeply about intergenerational and intercultural healing and exchange.
Kyla is a fusion dancer who lives between the concert and street dance worlds. She directed her college team WUHHU to a first place win at Prelude New England in 2023, and she battles in the KRUMP and all-styles dance scenes in St. Louis where she’s often one of if not the only female on the floor. In STL, she goes by Princezz X/O and is so grateful to find depth and community in both improvisational and choreographic works and worlds.
She strives to be an active uplifter of the city and a player in the explosion of a more interconnected and truly passionate St. Louis dance and arts community. Kyla is a proud member of the St. Louis KRUMP community, Arch Maddnezz, Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective, and Kode Redd Dance Company. Kyla enjoys pouring directly into or empowering those around her to be uniquely themselves, and to move in the way that they prefer while doing it. She also recently graduated from RAC’s Community Arts Training, and she looks forward to further incorporating somatic education into her work as a community builder. In due time, Kyla hopes to build bridges between art, science, and community, particularly regarding the accessibility and definitions of distinct forms of knowledge of the body, mind, and soul.
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Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson holds his BA in Music and his MFA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from Sam Houston State University. He has performed works by Tommie-Waheed Evans, Bradley Shelver, Kirven Douthit- Boyd, Omar de Jesus, Jamar Roberts and Norbert de La Cruz III among others. He has also worked with directors Francesca Zambello, Rob Ashford, Robert Wilson, Phelim McDermmot and Louisa Proske in performance and design roles. In 2023, Jorrell was appointed the first Young Artist Choreographer for The Glimmerglass Festival in its 37 year history. This year, he continued his collaborative partnership with Proske alongside Vision into Arts and MetLiveArts as the choreographers and associate director of Primero Sueño, a new processional opera that premiered in January at the Met Cloisters. In February, Jorrell traveled to Detroit to remount the critically acclaimed opera Rinaldo with Proske. In December of 2025, he will travel to Mexico City and Puebla to reset Primero Sueńo, acting as the remount director. Jorrell specializes in both linear narrative and non-narrative work, emphasizing connection through contemporary partnering and improvisatory technologies. He is currently a company member with Saint Louis Dance Theatre and regularly teaches, collaborates and creates in the St. Louis, MO area.
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Gabriella Ray, born and raised in St. Louis, started her dance training early on, under the instruction of Christine Kardell. Through out high school Gabriella became a student at COCA (Center of Creative Arts) where she joined pre-professional companies Ballet Eclectica and COCAdance. She had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Darrell Grande Moultrie, Camille A. Brown, Kirven and Antonio Douthit-Boyd, and Alicia Graf Mack. She has also had the pleasure of learning repertoire from companies like Pilobolus and LeherDance. Gabriella is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has a love for teaching young aspiring dancers and is a teaching artist at COCA. Gabriella is currently an apprentice Gyrotonic instructor and is working on her Level 1 certification as another way to share movement with others. Gabriella is in her 7th season with MADCO where she has had the privilege to perform works by choreographers such as Carl Flink, Christian Denice, Roni Koresh, Jennifer Archibald, RAW Dance, and Arianna Russ. It is an honor for Gabriella to teach, perform, and give back to the community that has always been home!
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"Coming up in our culture is therapy, and why we not statistics. Whether you studio or street."
Theron Steele is a St. Louis native and currently a leader in the dance community for funk, experimental, and all styles. "Theo" has a mixed background in dance, having been involved early on and benefited from wonderful mentors who allowed him to experience a lot in both work and creative opportunities. His journey began at age 7 in church, dancing and miming at churches and parties around the city. One year later, through his older cousin, he discovered hip-hop and learned his first wave and the robot.
Thereafter, the city of St. Louis and neighboring states became his training ground for dance, where he immersed himself in parties, skating rinks, and workshops as a student of the culture, taking performance opportunities at every turn. Mr. Duane Foster, Theo's mentor since middle school, made great efforts to place him in front of better experiences, workshops and teachers. He studied Graham, Horton, and Ailey, learning while working to catch buses or trains to nearby states for workshops.
If not there, he was at the library, researching through YouTube. He started his first studio teaching job at 16. After graduation, Theo began working within the school system and found several studio homes in STL, spanning over 15 years of working with all ages and abilities. He's since added festival and flow or circus arts, communities traveling across the country to teach hip-hop and popping/animating to dubstep, which is his preferred style. Theo's current goals are to reform the approach to the dance community in St. Louis and to establish a combined effort of studio and street dance to promote our city's scenes together and create long-lasting communities.
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CiCi Kai (they/them), from St. Louis, MO, began their dance journey at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and is a 2024 alum of Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where they earned a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance Performance. Through the Dancers Making Moves project, CiCi is reintroducing their artistry by sharing moments of their injury recovery journey through poetry. While injuries are common, they believe the most intriguing and unique part of the process is the in-between stage. The journey of transformation involves navigating the complexities of emotions, mindset, self-talk, and mental health while rebuilding the physical body. Their work aims to shed light on how injuries can shift a person’s perception of one’s self and the process of embracing a new version of self after the impact of an injury. CiCi has much to express about the profound impact of a torn ACL and meniscus tear, finding it fascinating that once healed, you don’t look like what you have been through, the internal journey. As a movement artist, they aspire to create space for open conversations about these experiences and expand their artistry across art mediums.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Maura Caldwell-Thompson is a local dance educator, choreographer, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Dance at Webster University. A St. Louis native with over 20 years of experience teaching dance to all levels and ages, Maura also has professional dance experience with MADCO. She currently serves as a choreographer and assistant director of the Dance Arts Company at Devine Performing Arts and sits on the executive board of Ballet314, where she has also served as a community cast coordinator for their Nutcracker productions for the past four years. Maura’s passion for promoting health and wellness within dance and performance is deeply informed by her background in psychology and counseling. She holds a Master’s in Clinical Counseling and is a certified yoga instructor. She is the co-founder of Restore Nutrition and Therapy, a private practice focused on helping athletes and performing artists achieve a balanced relationship with food and body, and the owner of Balance Within, LLC, specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, trauma, grief, anxiety, and depression.
Through Washington University, she also provides therapy services for families of children receiving care in St. Louis Children’s Hospital Heart Center. Maura is a best-selling author and an arts and education advocate. She lives in St. Louis with her wife and their five children.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Emmi Small (she/her) grew up in Newport, RI training at The Academy at Newport Contemporary Ballet. Emmi is currently performing as a company dancer with Resilience Dance Company and Ballet 314, both of St. Louis, MO. She holds a BFA in Dance and BS in Public Health from University of Massachusetts Amherst (2019), where she studied ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, composition, ballroom, improvisation, contact improvisation, and West African. She has also performed with the St. Louis Dance Theatre, Newport Contemporary Ballet, and Emily Duggins Dance Project. She’s had the pleasure of performing choreography by Shannon Gillen and Jason Cianciulli of VIM VIGOR, Rosanna Tavarez, David Dorfman, Maria Blanco & Yariana Baralt Torres of LOUD BODIES, Mike Esperanza, Annie Rigney, Kia Smith, Rosanna Tavarez, Miki Ohlsen, Danielle Genest, Victoria Lynn Awkward, Cassie Wang, Emily Duggins Ehling, Emilia Sandoval, Thomas Vacanti, Barbie Diewald, Jen Pollins, Goeff Alexander, Paul Dennis, Betsi Graves, Emily Duggins Ehling, Jackie Nowicki, Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Staycee Pearl, Donna Salgado, and Ted Thomas & Francis Ortiz. When she’s not performing, you can find Emmi developing her own choreography. In the spring of 2022, Emmi choreographed a duet titled "Just Now" which premiered at the Chapel Venue. In February of 2024, Emmi’s piece “Role Reversal” premiered on the St. Louis Dance Theatre trainees. Most recently, she premiered a new work through Resilience Dance Company in February of 2025. She is also the social media coordinator at Resilience Dance Company, a certified STOTT Pilates instructor, and dance instructor for students aged three through adult! You can find her at Freeman Pilates, Central Studio, St. Louis Academy of Dance, and Turning Pointe Academy of Dance teaching Pilates, ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and contemporary.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Sam is a freelance artist, choreographer, and educator. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Dance and Bachelor of Arts in both Psychology and Dance, with a minor in Visual Art, from Washington University in St. Louis. Bridging the gap between professional concert dance and theatre, her choreography often uses humor as a tool for social commentary. Sam brings her jubilant spirit to both the stage and her teaching practice. After serving two years as the Dance and Pre-Professional Division Manager at the Center of Creative Arts, Sam decided to return to full-time freelance work. She currently serves as a Rehearsal Assistant and choreographer for COCA’s Pre-Professional Contemporary/Modern company, and as a member of the Faculty where she teaches advanced Jazz and Horton technique. She teaches company class for Resilience Dance Company, is a STEAM Educator at Laumeier Sculpture Park, and teaches adult classes at St. Louis Academy of Dance as well! In the past she has served as an adjunct professor at local universities, a teacher, choreographer, academic coach and mentor, and more. Choreography credits include St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Washington University and Saint Louis University, New Jewish Theatre, Stray Dog Theatre, the Big Muddy Dance Company (now known as St. Louis Dance Theatre) and Consuming Kinetics Dance Company. Originally from Nashville, TN, her dance training background includes ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, modern, hip-hop, and improvisation. She attended the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Professional Division Summer Intensive at 16 years old as well. Her extensive training and performance background in both dance and theatre have greatly informed her work as a choreographer and teaching artist.
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Dawn Karlovsky is the Founder and Artistic Director of Karlovsky & Company Dance. Her thought-provoking, athletic, and emotionally candid dances have been commissioned and presented by universities and modern dance/theatre companies worldwide and in major cities of the United States including Webster University and Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of Utah, American College Dance Association (ACDA), California State University-Dominguez Hills, Ressl Dance, Christopher Watson Dance Co. (Minneapolis), Kinetic Evolutions (Minneapolis), That Uppity Theater (St. Louis), Dance St. Louis - Spring To Dance Festival & Contemporary Moves, MachineHDance NY (New York City), Shawl-Anderson Dance Center (San Francisco-Bay area) among others. International credits include choreography commissioned by Le Théatre du Rouret and Le Communauté de Culture de Couloisy in France, Cie Haute Tension (France), Tsinghua University (Beijing, China), and with New World Dance Theatre in Cape Town (South Africa) for a 2-week performance and teaching residency.
Karlovsky’s movement language is somatically inspired emphasizing the detailed use of touch and spatial and sensory awareness. Her movement expresses personal intention with interpersonal connectivity, along with a full-bodied flow that takes advantage of gravity, momentum, and internalized reactions. Karlovsky finds inspiration for movement by observing and reflecting on situations of living and modes of communication that reveal human interactions and behaviors, and generating dance work that illuminates these experiences. She looks to nature, psychology, music, and science to further fuel her creativity. Karlovsky is fascinated by process-driven work involving multifaceted collaboration with musicians, visual artists, poets, singers, filmmakers, and other choreographers. Karlovsky believes that these enriching opportunities augment and extend our shared, creative potential contributing to compassionate thinking and individual growth.
A native of Chicago, Dawn Karlovsky came to St. Louis in 1997 after dancing and touring with companies in San Francisco, Louisville, and Chicago. Karlovsky teaches Modern Dance and the Alexander Technique at Washington University/University College and Webster University in St. Louis, and is a nationally certified teacher of the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) since 2004. She is a recipient of the Artist Fellowship Award in Dance (2015) by The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis.
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Carmen R. Guynn, a St. Louis native, is a distinguished stylist, instructor, and advocate for Latin/Afro-Latin culture, with over 25 years of experience in the arts. As a versatile artist, Carmen excels in all Afro-Latin dances. She was crowned Miss Salsa St. Louis in 2002 and has performed both nationally and internationally. As Founder, Owner, and Artistic Director of Almas Del Ritmo Dance Company LLC, Carmen directs multiple dance teams within the company and founded the first St. Louis Touch Franchise from Island Touch Dance Academy.
In 2010, Carmen founded the St. Louis International Salsa/Bachata Congress, an event that has left a lasting impact on the city's cultural landscape by embracing Afro-Latin music and dance. Her teams and productions have been featured on shows such as MTV MADE and Welcome to Sweetie Pies. Carmen has also choreographed for productions like SOY YO! I Am Me, Afro-Latina Suite, and A Call 2 Conscience’s A Post-Racial America Vol. 2. Currently, Carmen is performing in Rock of Ages as the principal “Justice Charlier” at Alfresco Art Center and has earned Award winning performances in her acting in The Color Purple and In the Heights.
In addition to her artistic career, Carmen is a passionate advocate against human trafficking. She led the Coalition Against Trafficking and Exploitation, and works with organizations, and the Missouri Attorney General to combat trafficking, using dance as a tool for raising awareness.
Carmen is a Christian who values her faith and family. She is also a motivational speaker, life/business coach. She is a member of Hispanic Educational Cultural and Scholarship Fund, and Safe Dance Spaces. She holds a B.S. in Biology with a minor in dance from Webster University, an MBA from Fontbonne University, and a certificate in Evidence-Based Coaching from Fielding Graduate University. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
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Randi Reinert, originally from Halstead, KS, moved to St. Louis after receiving her BFA in Dance Performance from Wichita State University. While in St. Louis, Randi spent 4 years as a company dancer with St. Louis Dance Theatre (formally known as The Big Muddy Dance Company). From her time in St. Louis Dance Theatre, Randi has had the opportunity to perform works by world renowned choreographers such as Kirven Douthit-Boyd, Norbert de la Cruz, Omar Raman de Jesus, Brian Enos, Thang Dao, Bradley Shelver, Sidra Bell, and many more. Randi is now a freelance dancer and dance instructor throughout the St. Louis metro area, as well as a NAIA Conference Dance Judge. As an American Ballet Theatre certified ballet instructor and choreographer for companies such as Weissman’s Dance, Randi has helped multiple students reach their goals of becoming professional dancers.
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Born in Redmond, Washington, Mark-David Bloodgood trained on scholarship for twelve years at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School under the direction of Francia Russell and Peter Boal. Mr. Bloodgood has performed with Huntsville Ballet, South Carolina Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet II, BalletMet II, ARC Dance, Saint Louis Ballet, Indianapolis Ballet and as a guest artist with the Columbus Opera and the Seattle Opera.
Mr. Bloodgood has had the privilege to perform principal roles throughout his career, including Siegfried in "Swan Lake," Count Albrecht in "Giselle," Romeo in "Romeo & Juliet," Prince Charming in "Cinderella," Cavalier and Snow King in "The Nutcracker," as well as principal roles in works by Peter Martins, Christopher Wheeldon, Twyla Tharp, Gerald Arpino, Septime Webre and many others.
Mr. Bloodgood is also a producer for the worlds highest grossing crowdfunded ballet "Raffaella, A New Fairytale Ballet".
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Erin Morris has been teaching, performing, and competing in jazz and swing dancing for over 25 years. She has enjoyed international artist residencies in Vienna, Berlin, and Krakow but above all loves contributing regularly to her local communities and students. Erin received her MFA in Dance in 2023 from Washington University in St. Louis and is now adjunct faculty. Her art-making focus has been on blending her background in Black social jazz dance with personal explorations in postmodernism, and she finds that all paths return her to the importance of improvisation and collaboration with musicians. In 2024, she debuted the project "Jazz Shift" with her husband, drummer Steve Davis. Together they reimagine what is possible in spontaneous movement and sound, defining new coastlines with the language of jazz. Whether performing or teaching, Erin is committed to laying bare cultural roots and discovering a present that is individual, informed, aesthetic, and connective.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Llord Brown, known as LlordThaCreator or LlordThaDancer, is a dynamic performer, choreographer, and battler with over 500 shows to his name. From performing with B2K to starring in Kellogg’s Cheez-It Snap’d campaign, his versatility, raw energy, and storytelling captivate audiences, making him a powerhouse in dance and battle culture. Take a peek inside the Krump and street style dance scene in St. Louis in this in depth conversation with Llord Brown Jr. with Dancers Making Moves host Carly Vanderheyden.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Dancers Making Moves host Carly Vanderheyden chats with Delainey Bailey about her transition from studying dance at Lindenwood University to now being in her first season with MADCO as a professional dancer and teacher in St. Louis, MO.
Delainey Bailey is an apprentice dancer with the Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) in St. Louis. In her first year with the company, Delainey has performed three world premieres by choreographers Noelle Kayser, Lily Sheppard, and Annie Mitchell in HOPE ALIVE: Moving Stories. Delainey was honored to play the role of “Clara” in MADCO’s Madcracker Gala in December 2024. Beyond MADCO, Delainey is a teacher and choreographer for the competitive team at On Your Toes Dance Studio in Mehlville, MO. She has taught and choreographed for many studios in Illinois and Missouri during college and high school. In May 2024, Delainey graduated from Lindenwood University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with a specialization in Contemporary and a minor in Dance Studio Management. Some of Delainey’s notable achievements from Lindenwood include earning “Top Creative Project” for her original choreography at the Student Academic Showcase, being awarded “The Dance Award” from her professors at Honors Convocation, being selected to perform in the Gala showcase at the American College Dance Association in Ann Arbor, MI for two pieces, and most recently receiving the “Best Dance for Camera” award from Hellbender Student Film Festival for her dance film, “Red Robin.” Delainey’s professional development includes programs with GUS Giordano Dance School, Water Street Dance Milwaukee, and Saint Louis Dance Theatre. Additional performance experiences include Lindenwood’s fall, winter, and spring dance concerts, Detroit Dance City Festival, Water Street Dance Festival, American College Dance Association, Seen: STL by Resilience Dance Company, and Busch Stadium with Lindenwood Lion Line Dance Team. Delainey is excited to collaborate with St. Louis dancers in Dancers Making Moves!
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Marcela Gómez Lugo shares her story of relocating to the US from Puerto Rico to pursue her professional career in dance. Now, she's dancing with Ballet 314 in St. Louis while supporting the company as an administrative assistant and choreographer. Listen now to learn more about the ways Marcela is working to share her ancestors' stories through her art.
Marcela Gómez Lugo was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and began her pre-professional training at the age of fourteen at Andanza School of Dance, where she studied under the Cuban Ballet Methodology. She is a 2019 graduate of Mercyhurst University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and minors in Dance Pedagogy and Psychology. Marcela began her professional career as a trainee with The Big Muddy Dance Company (St. Louis Dance Theatre) before joining Ballet 314, where she is now the Executive Assistant and in her fourth season as a resident artist. As an educator, she specializes in making classical ballet accessible to the community and has designed dance curricula for studios across St. Louis. As a choreographer, Marcela’s work merges her Caribbean and Latin American heritage with her classical ballet and contemporary dance training. She is proud to have co-created Chocolat, an original children’s ballet that brought together a coalition of Puerto Rican artists. In March 2025, Chocolat will tour in Chicago as part of an invitation from the Puerto Rican Chicago Cultural Center. In addition to her work as a dancer, educator, and choreographer, Marcela has extensive experience in non-profit administration and social media.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Up next, Dancers Making Moves Podcast host Carly Vanderheyden talks with Hayley Barker about her work as an educator, choreographer, teacher, personal trainer and performer. Exploring themes of ancestral inspiration, dancers as business people, and ways of communicating with students and collaborators. Listen now to learn more about Hayley's journey through different dance communities in Australia, Chicago, and most recently, St. Louis!
Hayley Barker is a St. Louis-based freelance artist specializing in release-based contemporary dance and floorwork. Her performance credits span St. Louis, Chicago, and Melbourne, and she has danced as a guest artist with MADCO and Resilience Dance Company. She has performed work by Sidra Bell, Andrea Weber on behalf of Merce Cunningham, Anouk van Dijk, Rosanna Tavarez, Carl Fink, Dawn Karlovsky, Kelly Anderson Dance Theater, Gilbert Douglas, Emilee Lord, Emily Duggins-Ehling, Amanda Ramirez, and Marlee Doniff.
Her movement journey began in color guard, touring the U.S. three times with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps Color Guard. The rigor, artistry, and athleticism of this experience laid the foundation for her dynamic and expressive approach to dance. She is an alum of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), where she deepened her understanding of movement and performance.
A dedicated student of Countertechnique since 2017, Hayley has attended three One Body One Career intensives and will travel to Amsterdam this summer to continue her studies. She has also been a student of energy work with Pilar Lesko since 2020.
As a choreographer, she was a guest artist for SIUE’s Dance in Concert, where she created sun is fire, we are burning. She has also set three solos on herself in her professional career: play, on being young, and tell me how to live without doubt.
Beyond performance, Hayley is a personal trainer and Dynamic Stretch Lead at Life Time Frontenac, a COCA Teaching Artist, and guest teacher for MADCO and Resilience Dance Company. She integrates biomechanics and somatic practices into her teaching, guiding students toward greater efficiency, awareness, and artistry.
Hayley believes in movement as a force for connection and transformation. She acknowledges her family, friends, ancestors, and teachers for shaping her artistic voice and journey. With every performance and creation, she asks: Could this be the way we heal humanity?
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From growing up in Denver, to pursuing a BFA in Dance at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, to now dancing with Saint Louis Dance Theatre. In our conversation with Nyna, we discuss life as a professional dancer in a repertory company, and an exciting new choreographic process for the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) original production "Kaleidoscope Crown"
Nyna Moore (She/Her, Denver, CO) received her formal education at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Academy as a part of the youth ensemble under the direction of Bashir Page-Sanders. In 2022, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with her BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. She has worked with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble in their production of Porgy and Bess and as a member of Contemporary Modern Company, Nu-World Contemporary Danse Theater (2016-2022). While at Uarts, Nyna worked with many notable artists, including Tommie-Waheed Evans, Kim Bears-Bailey, Michael Sheridan, Symone Holliday, Sidra Bell, Alfred Dove, Andrea Weber, and Mark Caserta. Nyna is currently in her second season with Saint Louis Dance Theater. She is excited to continue discovering new ways to instill hope in audiences. She believes the Dancers Making Moves project will assist in her pursuit of finding and deepening her artistic voice thus far in her dance career.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
Dive into the world of classical Indian dance, and hear how Samanvita is working to create more opportunities for fusion between her classical Indian dance training with contemporary, hip hop, and other styles.
Samanvita Kasthuri is an emerging choreographer experimenting with the fusion of Indian classical dance styles with Hip-Hop, Contemporary, and many other genres of dance. Samanvita has been trained in Bharatanatyam and Kathak under Guru Prasanna Kasthuri, completing both her arangetrams when she was 15 and 14, respectively. She has also learnt Carnatic music under Guru Seema Kasthuri. Furthermore, she has experience in Contemporary through her dance minor program at Saint Louis University. Her work has been featured in many venues–in 2019 Samanvita won second place and the “I” Award at the Teen Talent Competition for a self-composed and choreographed piece called “Equal”, which focused on women’s rights. Additionally, as a sophomore in college, she was commissioned by Saint Louis University to choreograph and compose another piece, “Krtghna”, for the Saint Louis Literary Arts Award Ceremony in 2023. She premiered her choreographic work “What Do You Feel?” as her Senior Capstone project at Saint Louis University. This project sought to integrate “abhinaya” in fusion with other dance styles such as Contemporary and Hip-Hop, working collaboratively with student dance groups on Saint Louis University’s campus. She has had the privilege of presenting her work at the Battery Dance Festival and WaxWorks Showcase in New York, the St. Louis Contemporary Dance Festival, Festival of Nations, St. Louis Literary Arts Award Ceremony, and many more. She has also had the opportunity to perform internationally through Soorya Performing Arts, participating in dance dramas such as “Samarpan” a Saga of Indian Independence; Ayyappa; Ekalavya, and many more. She has performed at the Delhi International Arts Festival, Rasika Ranjini Sabha and Kartik Fine Arts in Chennai, Kalasankula Center for Indian Arts and Shantala Arts Academy in Bangalore.
Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists involved in this project at www.dancersmakingmoves.com.
From growing up in Canada, to moving to the United States to pursue his BFA in Dance at the Fordham/Ailey School, Spencer has lived an art-filled life through both dance and other artistic endeavors.
Spencer Everett joined Saint Louis Dance Theatre in 2024 after two seasons with Ailey II. Originally from Stratford, Ontario, he began dance training at age four and studied circus arts under former Cirque du Soleil artist Meaghan Wegg. After training at Elite Dance Center in Woodstock and Dance Arts Institute in Toronto, he attended The Ailey School and Fordham University, graduating summa cum laude in 2022 with a BFA in Dance and a BA in Visual Arts.
During university, Spencer performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Memoria (2019, 2021, 2022), at New York Fashion Week, and the Guggenheim Museum. He appeared in Cielo Elena, a film commissioned by the Baryshnikov Arts Center, and apprenticed with Ailey II his senior year.
As a dancer with Ailey II, Spencer toured internationally, performing at the Holland Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, and New York City Center. He worked with choreographers William Forsythe, Robert Battle, Andrea Miller, Baye & Asa, and Francesca Harper, and performed Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. His guest artist credits include Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet, Pony Box Dance Theater, and FHP Collective’s The Reckoning, commissioned by Ava Duvernay.
Spencer has performed at Art Basel Miami, directed movement for Lincoln Center’s Search for Spring, and appeared in Nona Hendryx’s The Dream Machine. His choreography has been presented at Battery Dance Festival, Ailey Citigroup Theater, and Barnard College.
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