Summer Dance Camp 2012 Instructors * Returning from the 2010 and 2011 Summer Dance Camps
Director/Choreographer Ashley Barnes earned a BFA from East Carolina University. She served as choreographer for Stage Struck and Center Stage Theatre for nine musical productions including: The Wizard of Oz, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Into the Woods, Lil’ Abner, Fiddler on the Roof, and Guys and Dolls, and was the winner of the Herman Award for outstanding choreography six times from 1998-2007. Her performance credits include such lead roles as "Clara," in The Nutcracker, "Anastasia" in Cinderella, "Louise" in Carousel, "Jitterbug" in The Wizard of Oz, "Eliza" in The King and I, and “The Wolf” in Peter and the Wolf. Ashley is currently a member of Forward Motion Dance Company. As Artistic Director of The Dance Element, Ashley directed, choreographed and created costumes for Peter and the Wolf (2010) and The Velveteen Rabbit (2011.) She has written the stage adaptation for this year’s production of Charlotte’s Web.
Assistant Director Susan Turner* began dancing at age 5, and was assisting her teachers by age 14. Susan received her Bikram Yoga Certification in 2001, and enjoys teaching children and adults. Susan is a member of Forward Motion Dance Company. She teaches 1st and 2nd Grades at Friends School of Wilmington, where she has led summer and after-school art and yoga programs as well as assisted with the production of the musical The Wizard of Oz. Susan spent the summer of 2010 with The Dance Element, teaching a Yoga workshop, and starring as "Grandfather" in Peter and the Wolf. She returned as Assistant Director in 2011, and delivered an unforgettable performance as "Nana" in The Velveteen Rabbit. Susan is thrilled to be spending the summer of 2012 with The Dance Element and the cast of Charlotte's Web.
Production Designer Joey Stephens Acting and Theatre Workshops* began his dance training at North Carolina Theatre Conservatory, Franklinton Ballet Dance Theatre and has performed with the Carolina Ballet in various productions. Joey has been featured in multiple shows with North Carolina Theatre, North Carolina Opera, and Franklinton Area Community Theatre. He provided choreography for Youngsville Elementary School’s production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (2008) and served as assistant choreographer for Franklinton High School’s production of Grease, as well as head choreographer for Franklinton Area Community Theatre’s Seussical, Jr. (2009.) He is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington majoring in Theatre Arts. He starred as Pippin, in the University’s 2010 production, and as “Rick” in the 2012 production of Six Degrees of Separation. Joey also had the lead role in the Thailan Association production of All Shook Up (2011.) Joey served as lighting designer for The Dance Element's 2010 Spring Recital as well as production designer for The Velveteen Rabbit (2011.) He is a full time instructor at The Dance Element, teaching Jazz, Partnering, and Exploring Dance for Boys.
Jeneen Cleare- African Dance* of Brooklyn, NY, is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and has a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Her training includes African dance, flamenco, jazz and tap. She has studied on scholarship with Ballet Hispanico, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the Martha Graham Conservatory. Jeneen has taught dance and drama in both the New York and North Carolina public school systems. She currently teaches for Snipes Academy, DREAMS and the Wilmington School of Ballet. As a professional dancer, Jeneen danced with several NYC dance companies and is now with Forward Motion Dance Company of Wilmington.
Maggie Moore- Jazz* is originally from Roanoke, VA and obtained her BFA in Dance from George Mason University in 2004. She has over ten years of dance instruction experience in VA, FL, and ME and has lived in Wilmington since December of 2008. She is skilled in modern, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical, and Afro-Cuban dance. Maggie is a member of Forward Motion Dance Company of Wilmington. She currently works as an instructor for The Dance Cooperative and conducts after school dance programs with various schools within New Hanover County.
Lauren Squires- Rhythm Tap has been dancing since the age of 4. Originally from Springfield, Missouri, she grew up dancing and performing with Sonshine Dance Company. As a young teenager, she performed in professional productions in Branson, MO. Lauren obtained a B.A. from American University in Washington, DC, where she was a founding member of the professional rhythm tap company Tappening. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she forged many off-kilter creative collaborations (such as dancing with a punk bluegrass band and recording taps to overlay musical tracks for folk, bluegrass, and hip-hop acts). She has also performed with Ann Arbor's Sole Full of Rhythm tap dance ensemble since 2010. She is a faculty member in the English Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. You can find out more about Lauren at http://lolotaps.net.
Crystal Hodges- Zumba* has had over 20 years of experience as a trained dancer and instructor in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and modern. She graduated cum laude with a B.F.A. in Dance and a M.A.T. in Elementary Education from East Carolina University. She has completed three grades in the Cecchetti Classical Ballet technique and attended NC Governor's School for Dance. She has studied dance at the Broadway Dance Center in New York and the Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles. Her performance credits include four seasons with the East Carolina Dance Theatre, the Enchanted Isle Cruise Ship, and numerous seasons of The Nutcracker with Goldsboro Ballet and Artistic Productions. Crystal has been the choreographer for StageStruck Community Theatre and Fremont Stars Elementary School's musical productions. She is a two time Herman Award winner for “Best Choreography” for the productions of Oliver and Cinderella with Center Stage Theatre. She teaches first grade at LaGrange Elementary School in Lenoir County.
Tara Landis- Irish Dance started training in dance at the age of three. She is proficient in such styles as Jazz, Tap, Irish Tap, Lyrical, Flamenco, Ballet, Pointe, Adage, and Aerial Acrobatics. Tara spent three years studying at Tres School of the Arts for theatre which lead her to performing professionally at the age of 13. Tara received the Michael Canfield Memorial Award for the arts. At the age of 17, she attended East Carolina University as a dance major, and was one of only four freshmen accepted onto the East Carolina Pure Gold Dance Team. Tara was selected to dance aboard Celebrity Cruise ships. During the seven years she spent dancing across the oceans she assumed the role of assistant choreographer and was given the responsibility of dance captain many times. Tara also performed as a singer and aerialist, and designed costumes for many of her contracts. Tara performed at several theme parks. She was also featured at the Palace Theater in Myrtle Beach in The Magical Spirit of Ireland and performed in the original cast of Hooray for Hollywood. Her other performance credits include 42nd Street, Wizard of OZ, South Pacific, Crazy for You, and Anything Goes. She starred as "Daisy Mae" in Lil' Abner.
Mark Herbert- Music* has been providing quality entertainment that provokes movement and learning for over seven years, incorporating a variety of fun and educational styles of music. He has led music enrichment programs for such organizations as The Wilmington Children’s Museum, The North Carolina Food Bank, Center City Partners of Charlotte, City of Wilmington, Mayfaire Town Center, Milestones Learning Center, Easter Seals/ United Cerebral Palsy, Wilmington Preschool for the Arts, Hope Child Development Center, and New Hanover County Schools. “Mr. Mark” has performed at many festivals, events, and private parties throughout the area.
Jessica Matlock- Acrobatics began jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, and acrobatics in 1993. She studied Gymnastics from 2000-2007, while continuing to dance and perform in various concerts. She was a cheerleader for the Lewisville Titans in middle school, and a member of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad throughout high school, as a primary tumbler and flyer. Jessica participated as a coach in a number of clinics and classes training the younger squads in Acrobatics techniques. She has eighteen years of tumbling/gymnastics experience, and currently teaches Acrobatics and Beginning Tap at The Dance Element. Jessica is a student at UNCW studying Clinical Research with a focus on Oncology.
Lisa Wilbourne- Variations* began to study ballet at the Goldsboro School of Ballet, in Goldsboro NC. She trained in the Cecchetti Method, earning certification. She spent summers studying ballet and modern dance at Brenau College in Gainesville, GA, the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, and the Greensboro Ballet in Greensboro, NC. She has also attended workshops with Ballet Pensacola in Pensacola, FL. Lisa teaches Latin to high school students at The Oakwood School in Greenville, NC.
Alyona Suslova- Modern/Contemporary is originally from Krasnoyarsk, Russia. She moved to Wilmington in August of 2011, after winning a grant to study dance with the American Dance Festival. Alyona has trained in Russia, France, Lithuania, and the USA, in Russia she has her own dance company and studio, where she has been teaching since 2008. She is very excited to have been welcomed into the Wilmington dance community, and has recently performed in both Dancealorus, and the North Carolina Dance Festival.
Sarah Hill- Hoop Dance* is from Lynchburg, VA and began dancing at age 4. She spent multiple summers as a camp counselor, and has experience teaching preschool. Sarah earned degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice from James Madison University in 2006. She discovered Hoop dancing in 2009, and has rarely been seen without a hula hoop since. Sarah taught a workshop for The Dance Element’s 2011 Summer Dance Camp that was voted “Favorite Workshop” by the dancers. She creates her own unique hula hoops, and enjoys the rhythmic and improvisational nature of this art form. Sarah is very excited to be returning to The Dance Element.