Co-Founder of an internationally acclaimed Jazz company (DJD) and University Professor of Dance, Michele Moss is a lover of all the world of dance. How do you build a successful dance company? How do you mentor young dancers from university into a career? What can we do for our bodies to create longevity? We cover it all. And talk about career envy! Michele has conducted ethnographic research in field sites such as Italy, Jamaica, Poland, India, Japan, Sénégal and The Gambia, West Africa as well as New York City, New Orleans, Winnipeg, Toronto, Victoria, Paris and Monréal to name a few locales. Her most significant ethnographic field sites are Guinée, West Africa and Cuba. Her professional training has her seek out many experiences including swing, salsa, house dance as well as educational and current training practices to enhance her studio practice. Her research mostly takes the form of creation projects but also includes textual projects, recently co-authoring chapters, with Dr. Jill Crosby, on the history of jazz in a Feb 2014 publication from the University Press of Florida called Jazz Dance: Roots and Branches. She greatly enjoys her U of C teaching assignments and finds the studio a vibrant place to be.
The question asked was "What has surprised you most about Adulthood?". Lauren shares and reflects on navigating this dance career while we all find our feet as Adults!
Luis Javier Fuentes is a small, but oh so mighty Ballet boy who is spreading his love of the Ballet Lifestyle across the world! What do you do when you don’t fit the Ballet mold ? What did sacrifice look like him and the young Cuban boys? Luis shares how his reaching approach has changed the lives of dancers in South Africa, Cuba and across North America!
Anthony Morigerato is a Tap Dancer, Director, Emmy nominated Choreographer and the Founder of “Operation Tap”. We break down MAJOR topics, like Improv and it’s true technique, what every dancer and performer needs in order to achieve a FANTASTIC performance, how dancer’s should train to give themselves an edge, and what he sees as a fellow choreographer and adjudicator. His knowledge is deep, his experience is incomparable, and his observations are profound.
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ANTHONY IS ALSO THE PRODUCER OF AM DANCE PRODUCTIONS WHICH HAS PRODUCED LIVE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES AND FILM IN NYC SINCE 2006. AS A PERFORMER ANTHONY WAS A SOLOIST AND MEMBER OF MICHAEL MINERY’S TAPAHOLICS (2002-2012), THE LEAD TAP DANCER AND CHOREOGRAPHER FOR THE MUSICAL GROUP MATT AND ANTHONY (2009-2012), A SOLOIST AND ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER FOR STACEY TOOKEY’S STILL MOTION (2012-PRESENT), AND A GUEST ARTIST FOR VARIOUS FESTIVALS, BENEFITS, INDUSTRIALS, SEMINARS, AND PERFORMANCES SINCE 1999. ANTHONY HAS APPEARED AS A CHOREOGRAPHER AND OR A PERFORMER ON SEVERAL TELEVISION SHOWS INCLUDING AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, THE ARSENIO HALL SHOW, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, AND THE TONY DANZA SHOW.
What are the cruise ship show really like? Are there weigh-ins? How do you stand out in an audition? Does social media matter? We cover ALL of this and much more with Casting Specialist, Stephaine Jansen.
Ray's credits include working with numerous recording artists that encompass such names as: Elton John, Cher, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Geri Haliwell, Mai Karaki, Kelly Levesque, Queen Latifah, and Jihae. Ray also has a vast collection of commercial credits; to name a few: Pepsi, Sierra Mist, Hyundai, Saks, Levis, Northwest Airlines, Timberland, Planet Hollywood, Vision Street Ware and Pioneer Electronics. His work can be seen recurrently on television shows such as: All My Children, One Life to Live, Big Bang Theory, X-Factor UK, America?s Got Talent and season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance.
Ray has recently choreographed the Off-Broadway show Mental - the Musical and also other notable Off-Broadway shows, Inappropriate and Night Life. His movie credits include the VH1 movie They Shoot Divas, Don't They, starring Jennifer Beals and the short film This Island.
He has also been awarded the esteemed "Best Choreography Award" for his work on "Common Grounds" in the New York Musical Theater Festival and the prestigious "Gold Leo Award" for Excellence in Choreography" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. All of these experiences have given Ray a very broad breadth of knowledge in not only dance and choreography, but also in the intricacies and nuances of being a successful, working professional in "the Business", thus allowing him to draw upon and share this comprehension through his provoking, stimulating, and inspirational teaching style and classes.
Lauren shares her insights on the twists and turns of life and a helpful exercise to ease the way.
When Oprah herself tells you to do something - you listen! Well, Jonathan Givens did. From Performer to Technical Director to Set Designer and now Photographer - Jonathan has worked on films & shows like Rock Of Ages, Iron Man 3, The Oprah Winfrey Show and countless stage productions. Jonathan shares his biggest lesson learned from career-ending injuries, the truth about world class Talent and Technical crews, and how Dance photography inspired Dance Across the USA - an adventure that took Jonathan into every US state to capture the beauty of diversity, dance and nature.
What do you do when you feel like you don't fit the norms? Or you lose your dance mojo? Once a contemporary dancer, now a fitness & Belly Dance Entrepreneur, Oreet shares her dance story and how she took her differences and made them a successful career. She has been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN - sharing her love of dance and words of wisdom to the world!
Brad & Felicia Taylor are the Presidents of Dance Makers, Inc. a dance convention dedicated to using dance as a medium for self-exploration and love. They witness thousands of dancers and dance teachers every year - so we dig into what they notice about the community, what could elevate the dancers to an even higher level of themselves, the magical, most powerful piece of success and what they wish EVERY dance teacher knew.
Originally from Toronto, Anisa Tejpar is a graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School. She is now Co-Artistic Director of the dance entertainment firm Hit & Run Dance Productions for which she has choreographed works for The Rolling Stones, Ferrero Rocher, Telus, Warner Bros., Fashion Cares, M.A.C. Cosmetics, CTV, PUMA, Mobilicity, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Golden Globe winning feature film Barney’s Version. She is also the pilot choreographer of Steven Spielberg’s “Minority Report”.
Justin Stadnyk has performed in major Musical Theatre productions like Kinky Boots & The Boys in the Photograph, as well as used his talents and entrepreneurial spirit to build Just Music - an editing company dedicated building a Choreographers vision. We talk about the benefits of a side hustle, the worst part about Broadway auditions, and the magical piece that will make audition experiences successful.
Holding an University Dance degree and a Master is Physiotherapy, Dani West shares loads of resources, techniques and body tricks to train and develop healthy dancers. From cross training to spine structure to giving yourself an edge- Dani has us looking a dancers body and brain in new ways!
You may recognize Harper Watters from his "pink heels" viral vids, but Harper is a demi-soloist at Houston Ballet and the face of The Pre Show on youtube. Harper talks about his early transition out of high school to Houston, the shocks and surprises of becoming a professional Ballet dancer, and how he structures his social media and builds his following.
Melissa opens up about her first and favorite roles in Cats. And what happened on the national and international tour of "FAME: The Musical" that changed her career and training!
Melissa, or "Dina," as Lady Gaga called her, has ventured into commercial dance, feature film, and world tours. She has gone on tour with Lady Gaga and was a featured dancer in her video for "Marry The Night," as well as touring the world with A.R. Rahman, a multi-Grammy award winner and film composer who penned "Jai Ho." Other performances she is proud of are television shows such as "So You Think You Can Dance," "Dancing With the Stars," and feature films like "Gnomeo and Juliet" and "Step Up."
Julio Fuentes is a Vancouver based dancer, MT performer, and choreographer. Although dance came to him at the later age of 19, he has since then fallen in love with dance and has been training & teaching throughout Canada. So, what's it like to take your 1st ballet class as a grown man? How do you break into the Cdn MT industry? Julio shares his dance stories, audition rituals & the powerful lessons he has learned from an injury. We talk body, mentorship, and the winding path of tries, fails & experiences in this dance world!
Lisa La Touche never imagined Tapping her way through a dance career, but through a lot of love and hard work, Lisa has performed in Shuffle Along on Broadway, Stomp off-Broadway and educates around the world. We talk about her Plan A vs Plan B career strategy, how she locally created the opportunities that she was in search of, and about the inner voices & Artists Will that guided her journey. She has mentored by the incredible Sean Cheeseman and has worked with some of the Tap communities best like Savion Glover, Bril Barrett, Trey Dumas and Jumaane Taylor. Lisa also speaks to the Tap Legends like Gregory Hines, Buster Brown, and Jimmy Slide.
What are the best & worst parts of being in a company? What is it like to be the only boy dancer, in the studio and at school? How do you get over the Europe to dance? Jake Casey shares his thoughts and experiences. Casey was a 2013 NYC Finalist for the Youth American Grand Prix and joined Cincinnati Ballet in 2014 in the Corps de Ballet. In 2015, he choreographed a piece for the Inaugural Cincinnati Ballet Choreography Workshop. During the Summer of 2015, Casey danced at the National Choreographer’s Initiative in Irvine, CA. As a guest teacher and artist, Jake has instructed and danced at institutions all around the country, even virtually with CLI studios!
Let's talk about building an International festival, teaching dancer's with a new vocabulary and the debatable line between Bravery and Stupidity! Emily Bufferd talks about NYC show BUSINESS and PERFORMING arts. A Producer, Choreographer, Teacher, and Performer, Emily Produces The Young Choreographer’s Festival. She also teaches at Joffrey Ballet School and Broadway Dance Center in NYC where she takes fresh approaches on how to train, support and talk to dancers. Emily has also been featured by Dance Spirit, Dance Informa, and Dance Mogul Magazine, as well as on the television show ‘Inside NYC Dance’.
Kathryn McCormick is a world class dancer who is recognized for appearances on SYTYCD, as a competitor and all-star, Step Up Revolution, and Like Air. Beyond the stage, Kathryn mentors the next generation of dancers to navigate the dance world and know their worth. We talk about how she got her agent, what grounds her when self doubt and fear show up, and her most powerful performance ever!