Our teachers are energetic, positive, and give specific feedback to each student, not just general comments. Small class sizes ensure that the dancers get the individual attention they need
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Amanda Stanger-Read, MFA, Director - Toddler Toodaloo, Dance Stories, Jazz, Ballroom, SDC
Amanda moved to MI from the East Coat after having received a BA in English and Dance from Columbia University in NYC where she took classes in the techniques of Paul Taylor, Martha Grahahm., Merce Cunningham, Eric Hawkins, Jose Limon and Lynn Simonson. She earned her MFA in Dance from the UofM in 1994. Since then she has taught at UofM Flint, the AA YMCA, Jewish Community Center, Dance Gallery and in 2001 she opened her own dance studio, Arts in Motion, with her husband Scott Read. Amanda has taught ages 1-70 in creative movement, modern dance, and jazz. She recently participated in a teacher training workshop with Jacques D'Amboise and the National Dance Institute in NYC where she learned some new techniques to engage all levels and ages of students in dance, performance and learning. Her performance credits include: People Dancing (a member from 2005 - present), Sister Earth, Wild Swan Theatre, Ann Arbor Dance Works, and she has been featured in reconstructions of the works of Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp, Daniel Nagrin and Nijinski and in the works of Gay Delanghe, Jessica Fogel, Ruth Leney-Midkiff, Suzanne Willets Brooks, Christina Sears Etter and Shawn Bible. |
Scott A. Read, Director - Ballroom, Modern, Beginning Dance
Scott has been a performer and dance teacher in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area for 30 yrs. He has studied ballet with Christopher Flynn and Judy Rice and the techniques of Martha Graham and Jose Limon in NYC and at the University of Michigan as well as the Arthur Murray Ballroom technique. He has been featured in the works of Sophie Maslow (Folksay), Jose Limon, Murray Lewis, Bill T. Jones, Ann Carlson, Daniel Nagrin, Linda Spriggs, Vera Embree, Jessica Fogel, and Ruth Leney-Midkiff. He was a member of The Detroit Dance Collective. He has taught at Art Worlds and the University of Michigan and now teaches at his own studio, Arts in Motion. In the summer of 2005 he trained with Jacques D'Amboise at the National Dance Institue in NYC where he had hands on experience teaching dance in the public schools.
Shirley Axon - Modern Improvisation
Shirley started in modern dance when it was first introduced into colleges and has taught Improvisational Modern at Dance Gallery Studio for 13 years. She started teaching the class at Arts in Motion in 2009. The students from the class perform locally and throughout Southeastern Michigan. In addition, Mrs. Axon has performed at the Universities of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Michigan and attended the annual American Dance Festival. She holds a BS in Botany and an MA in Geography.
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Jennifer Burke - Dance Stories, Beginning Dance
Jennifer has studied ballet, modern, tap and jazz in the greater Ann Arbor area for a majority of her life. She has performed in both regional and national dance competitions as well as performing with a local dance company, “Fueled and Aflame”, during their 2007 production year. She is a current member of People Dancing/M.A.G. Dance Company. Jennifer has taught dance to all ages in various styles for the past seven years. She graduated from Washtenaw Community College with her associates in Liberal Arts, where she previously taught classes for the Student Dance Club. This is Jennifer’s third year teaching at Arts in Motion and she believes there is nothing more gratifying then sharing the joy of dance with others. |
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Nancy Heers - Modern Improvisation
Nancy teaches and performs improvisational modern dance and liturgical dance and taught Improvisational Modern Dance at Dance Gallery Studio for 13 years. The students from the class performs locally and throughout Southeastern Michigan. She has performed at Bucknell University and Universities of Southern California and Michigan. She also dances at Church Services in the area with a Sacred Dance Group. |
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Christine Golus - Modern
Ms. Golus received her BFA from the University of Michigan School of Art and is currently Vice President, Creative Director at Q LTD, a strategic design consultancy located in Ann Arbor. Christine has a life-long love of dance and her training began in Detroit at a young age. She was a long time modern dance student of J. Parker Copley. Christine has choreographed and performed her own works as well as performed in works by Noonie Anderson, J. Parker Coplely, Pat Plasko, Peter Sparling, Whitley Setrakian, and many others. She has taught creative movement since 1993. |
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Slavka Jelinkova, MFA, - Ballet 3, Ballet 4, Character/Repertory, Pointe, Adult Ballet (Adv.)
A native of the Czech Republic, Ms. Jelinkova received her early training at the National Conservatory of Dance (Prague), where she studied not only classical ballet technique, but a variety of other dance forms, including Eastern European folk dance. Upon graduation, she was invited to join the Opera Ballet of the National Theatre in Prague, where she danced and toured worldwide for ten years. She later attended the Academy of Fine Arts, receiving a Master’s Degree in ballet and pedagogy. Slavka taught extensively in the Czech Republic, including at the National Conservatory. In 1993 she was awarded a Dutch State Arts grant to complete pedagogical studies at both the schools of modern dance and at the Conservatory of Ballet in Rotterdam, The Hague, and Amsterdam. In 1999 Slavka moved to Ann Arbor, where she has served on the faculties of the Flint School of Performing Arts, Arts in Motion, the Russian Classical Ballet Academy, and the Brighton Ballet School, among others. The past three years she taught character dance classes and choreographed for the summer program of American Ballet Theatre. For several years, she continued to perform as a free-lance artist with Michigan area choreographers. Additionally, she has had considerable experience in choreographing works for her students. In 2010 Slavka danced and choreographed the world premiere, held in Sydney, Australia, of Apple Train, a Czech song cycle by famed composer Sylvie Bodorová, written for her, pianist Timothy Cheek, and soprano Laurie Lashbrook. Slavka is also a nationally certified massage therapist specializing in sports massage. |
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Lesley Criscenti - Dance and Art in Me
Lesley's work with and interaction with children is highly regarded in the Ann Arbor community with her early education and preschool art classes with First Steps Washtenaw Ann Arbor and as a dance and creative movement teacher for Arts in Motion. "I feel a very strong connection to the world of the imagination and I have been privileged to have worked in the creative arts for many years." Lesley has a degree from the University of Michigan in Dance and Elementary Education and a M.A. from EMU in Creative Writing. She directed Blue Dragon Dance Theatre, a multi-age dance company receiving grants to work in the Michigan schools. She also directed the professional dance company Dance Focus, which performed in every single Ann Arbor school. "As the Creative Arts Specialist at Allen Creek Preschool I am enriched by the day to day interaction with your children, and I know my teaching style benefits from contact with other highly skilled professionals." Lesley also works under the name of Princess Whimsy – paint and poetry on wood and in fiber arts, creating one of a kind scarves with yarn and beads.
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Helena Mueller - Adult Ballet (Beg.,Int.)
A native New Yorker, Dr. Helena Mueller has always had two passions: dance and science. As a child, she studied ballet at the School of American Ballet and attended the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, studying ballet and modern dance. After dancing professionally both abroad and in New York, she earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Hunter College in NYC and a Ph.D in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan, as well as a Master’s degree in secondary education. Helena taught ballet at the Dance Gallery Studio from 2001 to 2008 and has been teaching at Arts in Motion since 2008. |
Kathy Para - Pilates
Kathy trained as a pilates instructor under Khita Whyatt of Core Grace Studio in Ann Arbor.
She teaches Khita's modifications of the original Pilates method providing the framework for an effective and safe whole body workout. Kathy's teaching approach focuses on the body/mind in an exercise experience that strengthens and tones the core muscles, the upper and lower body, increases flexibility, and relaxes the mind.
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Christina Sears Etter, MFA, - Adult Modern/Jazz, Tap 1, 2, 3,
Christina Sears Etter has served as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Eastern Michigan University, Wayne State, University of Toledo, UM-Flint, Michigan State University, Towson State and Monroe County Community College. She earned degrees in Dance from the State University of New York and the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, and studied additionally at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London. Sears Etter's choreography has been produced extensively in NYC and its environs, as well as in Upstate NY, and has been presented in DC, Illinois, Maryland, Poland, and the UK. Sears Etter has danced in the works of Randy James, Whitley Setrakian, Lourdes Bastos and Jeanne Bostian. She has performed in the following companies: Katrina van Zee Dance, Kista Tucker Dance Company, Ann Arbor Dance Works and Terpsichore's Kitchen. Currently, Ms. Etter pursues independent projects and is Project Manager/ Contributing Artist for People Dancing, a not-for-profit contemporary dance company whose mandate includes education, outreach and interdisciplinary work. Sears Etter was awarded a Creative Artist Grant from the State of Michigan in 2002 and has presented choreographic and research projects at multiple international conferences. |
Suzanne Willets Brooks - Ballet, Jazz, Adult Modern/Jazz
Suzanne recieved her BS in dance, drama and education from Eastern Michigan University. Her deep interest in healing through movement continued with, yoga, somatic studies as well as certifications in massage therapy and transformational breath work. Suzanne has studied many forms of yoga for the past 20 years including Iyengar, Ashtanga, yin yoga, vini yoga and kundalini yoga. Her teachers include Angela Farmer and Victor Vankooten, Gary Krafstow, Doug Swenson, Donna Farhi, Eric Schiffmann , and Barbara Benaugh. Drawing from her Iyengar training Suzanne's classes utilize props and anatomical alignment as well as somatic and therapeutic applications. Her classes include flowing sequences as well as in depth explorations of poses, pranayama, and guided meditation. Through imagery and concrete understanding of anatomy and alignment and a generous dose of humor, students unfold from the inside out becoming stronger, more flexible and relaxed . Suzanne has taught classes for pre-schoolers through senior citizens, athletes as well as severely limited individuals. She has taught performed and choreographed for over 20 years, and has been a massage therapist in private practice for over 11 years. Suzanne is the mother of 2 amazing girls and the journey continues....
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Erica Sun - Dance Stories, Beginning Dance, Modern 4
Erica is an alumna of the University of Minnesota’s dance program, where she studied under Broadway vets and former members of The Limon Company and The Ailey Company. She is versed in Limon, Graham, and Horton modern techniques and Luigi, Giordono, and Fosse Jazz techniques. Erica is also trained in Cecchetti ballet and certified in Grades I-IV, and has formal vocal training. She is currently attending Eastern Michigan University to pursue her MS in Exercise Psychology. |
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Robin Wilson - Modern 3
Robin Wilson is best known as a founding member of the Urban Bush Women,
performing in New York for over a decade with such choreographers as Dianne
McIntyre, Kevin Wynn, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. While currently a member of Ann
Arbor Dance Works, she continues to perform at such venues as the New Orleans
Dance Festival and the BAAD!Ass Women Festival in Bronx, New York. Wilson has taught workshops at numerous universities and festivals including
Washington University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, New York State Summer School for the Arts, Michigan Youth Arts Festival, Urban Bush Women’s
Summer Leadership Institute , in Suriname and in Costa Rica. Her choreography has been produced/commissioned by Washington University
Dance Theater, Metro Theatre Company, People Dancing, Happendance Company,
Kentucky Arts Council, Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium, Harlem Dance Foundation,
and various Kentucky arts organizations. She traveled to Ghana with the Michigan
Gospel Chorale in 2008, where her choreography was performed at its National
Theater. On the National Board of Directors for the American College Dance Festival
Association for six years, Wilson has been a frequent adjudicator for regional
conferences. She was a Kentucky Artist in Residence for four years and on the
faculty of the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts for five years before joining
the Michigan faculty. She holds an MFA in Choreography from Temple University
where she was a University Fellow.
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