Artifact Dance Project is proud to present our second tour of China for summer 2012. "The Great American Dance Tour" received amazing reviews during the 2011 tour and now we have been invited back to showcase the amazing talent and diversity American styles of dance and music have to offer audiences from Tucson to Shanghai! Choreographers and Artistic Directors, Claire Hancock and Ashley Bowman set original choreography on a new cast of 28 dancers. ADP Music Director, Ben Nisbet organized "The Artifact Dance Project Orchestra" featuring 11 professional musicians from the Tucson community, who will play recognizable tunes from past and present decades to accompany the choreography. Rebecca Carlson and Kelli Workman contribute as lead vocalists throughout the production. The tour welcomes its new Technical Director and Lighting Designer, Don Fox to create a new look for the tour.
Audiences will experience a timeline of diverse styles, beginning with the 1920's to present day. Artistic Directors, Claire Hancock and Ashley Bowman collaborate with Music Director, Ben Nisbet to bring 28 dancers and 11 musicians to the stage for a concert that will premiere in Tucson, AZ on May 10th, 2012 and depart on May 16th to China. The cast of dancers, musicians and production crew will spend 5 weeks touring the country, showcasing American styles of dance and music to Chinese audiences.
Over 200 costume pieces reflect the decades with vibrant colors and styles such as old Hollywood glamour, tuxedos, top hats, canes, flapper dresses, swing dresses, square dancing outfits, cowboy hats, bell-bottoms and more. This is a great show for all ages! It is entertaining and educational.
This tour is made possible by the management of Dr.Larry Lang and the Dalian Yilong Performance Company.
"Bon voyage concerts reveal young dance troupe's chops..."
-Chuck Graham, AZ Daily Star, May 2011
"Artifact is a hometown company making a bold statement about the Old Pueblo's place in the dance world."
"For the founding artistic directors of Artifact, Ashley Bowman and Claire Hancock, the show is an artistic achievement as remarkable for its energy as for its choreography."
"Troupers of Artifact Dance Project (ADP) perform on stage during the concert of "the Great American Dance Tour" in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, May 31, 2011. The concert of American dance and music, presented by the performance group from the United States on Tuesday, is the Changchun stop of its China tour."
-Chinatravelguide.com, May 2011
As Staff members of Artifact Dance Project, we believe in innovation. We collaborate as directors to create inspiring concerts not just for our audiences, but for our dancers, musicians and artists whom make this all possible.
Steeped in the arts from the time she was an infant, Claire Hancock is the daughter of dancers. She received her BFA in dance from the University of Arizona, performing with the UA Dance Ensemble in Mexico, Japan, Scotland, the Netherlands and prominent U.S. venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.. Additional featured performances include those with Broadway veterans Ben Vereen and Liz Callaway. Formative years of study include scholarships to the Houston Ballet Academy, Gus Giordano Dance Center, Mark Morris Dance Group, the Limon Institute, the LINES Ballet Pre-professional Program, and the Broadway Theatre Project. Miss Hancock has danced professionally with ODC/San Francisco and River North Dance Company in Chicago, and has been a guest teacher and choreographer for organizations such as the Limon Institute, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Arizona Opera, UA Opera and UA Dance. She has served as rehearsal assistant for Ben Stevensons Three Preludes and End of Time, as well as Balanchines Serenade and The Four Temperaments, reporting to Leslie Peck and Elyse Borne, repetiteurs for the Balanchine Trust. Claire holds a Master of Arts degree in European Dance Theatre from the Laban Centre in London, England, earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance at the University of Arizona, and is currently a Qualified Fletcher Pilates® teacher at Body Works Pilates™ in Tucson, AZ.
The retrospective and all-American nature of Artifact Dance Project's latest venture, The Great American Dance Tour is especially meaningful for Claire as her grandparents were entertainers during the 1920s through the 1950s. Marvin Lowe, her grandfather played tenor saxophone in New York nightclubs and across the country with big bands such as Raymond Scott, Woody Herman and Bobby Sherwood. Her grandmother, Juel Bell Watkins, was a professional dancer, singer and Vaudeville performer. The Watkins Twins (Juel with her identical twin sister, June) joined the USO to entertain injured soldiers across the country and around the world. Claire finds inspiration in her family heritage and would like to dedicate this concert to her grandparents.
As a founding member of Artifact Dance Project, Ashley combines her skills as a dancer, choreographer and designer to help promote and market the company. Her passion for all styles of dance and media inspire endless projects, including all marketing and website design for ADP.
She is most recently the recipient of the Buffalo Exchange Arts Award of $10,000 presented by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. She received her Masters of Fine Arts in dance at the University of Arizona (in addition to her B.F.A) where she was the recipient of the generous Maria Mandell Memorial Scholarship, The Creative Achievement Award, and The Outstanding Teacher's Assistant Award from the College of Fine Arts. Some of her performance roles with UA Dance included principle in Balanchine's Allegro Brilliante and Serenade . She received her training from Ballet Arts in Tucson, AZ under the direction of Mary Beth Cabana. Ashley attended Point Park University, Pittsburgh where she performed works by Robert Battle and Margo Sappington. Prior to returning to Tucson, Ashley danced professionally for Ohio Ballet under the direction of Jeffrey Graham Hughes for three seasons, where she performed works by choreographers such as Lynne Taylor Corbett, Sam Watson, Cynthia Gregory and Bengt Jörgen.
In January 2009 Ashley and Joshua Blake Carter founded "Dance in the RED" a concert dedicated to AIDS awareness through the art form of dance, which raised over $9,000 for the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation. Artifact Dance Project currently maintains "Dance in the Red" and produced the concert in March, 2010.
Ashley has directed several films inspired by dance;
A Sleeper's Wake, A Bohemian Departure, All Men Are Mortal, Tragedystrike and Laundromats and Dreamdestroyers.
"The Great American Dance Tour" is an inspirational project for Ashley. She is married to ADP Music Director, Ben Nisbet where their relationship provides wonderful opportunities for Artifact to collaborate with musicians from all over the country.
Benjamin Nisbet maintains a diverse performance schedule as a violinist. He holds a B.M. from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Marilyn McDonald and most recently began his Masters of Music at the University of Arizona, where he is Concertmaster of University of Arizona Symphony Orchestra. He is currently in his fifth season as a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. He is a founding member and musical director of Artifact Dance Project, a newly established dance company in the Tucson Community. Ben serves as Concertmaster of the Bella Carita Chamber Orchestra as well as Principal Second Violin of Tucson Chamber Artists. He was Second Violin of the Sonora String Quartet, a group hailed as "Best New Classical Artist" by Tucson Weekly in 2006. He currently performs as a founding member of the Kingfisher String Quartet (established in 2008), a group that has performed extensively throughout Southern Arizona. During the summer, he performs with the St. Andrew's Bach Society and serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the organization.
Ben remains active in music education in the Tucson Community by teaching privately as well as in public schools such as Tucson High School. He coaches the local youth orchestra, Tucson Philharmonia Youth Orchestra and has been a faculty member for the past six years of Chamber Music in the Mountains, hosted by Tucson Junior Strings. As of 2009, Mr. Nisbet plays on a violin crafted in 2007 by Zoran Stilin.
Don Fox
Lighting Designer / Technical Director
Originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Fox now calls the apple and wine country of the Cascade Mountains of Washington home. There, he spent the last 5 years as the technical director at the high-tech Performing Arts Center of Wenatchee. Holding a Bachelors of Arts degree (summa cum laude) in Theatre Administration from St. Edwards University in Austin, TX, Fox is currently earning his Master's of Fine Arts in Lighting Design at the University of Arizona. His professional experience in the entertainment industry began in the 1990s with a job as a cruise director's assistant aboard the ships of Royal Viking Line. Upon returning to land Fox spent several years honing management skills working in the restaurant and hotel industries while learning the technical ropes of the live music, dance, and theatre scenes of central Texas. He left the hospitality industry of Austin to pursue a life focused on entertainment technology in San Antonio. His contributions garnered a cherished Phoenix award at the historic Cameo Theatre in San Antonio. While lighting has always been his true love, Fox has brought hundreds of productions to the stage while serving in many other capacities including work as producer, director, technical director, sound engineer, composer, performer, graphic designer, and choral director. Recently, he was the lighting designer for the University of Arizonas production of Bat Boy The Musical, New ARTiculations If My Verse Were Alive, and San Antonio Botanical Garden's Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night. Favorite projects include programming for Macy's Million Dollar Makeover and designs for Central Washington University, Next Step Dance Studio, Ballet Theatre Northwest, Music Theatre of Wenatchee, and the Wenatchee School District where his lighting design for Oklahoma! earned a Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre award nomination. He is especially proud of his work with award-winning electronica artist Jacinta, for whom he produced, designed, and directed the live stage production, Dream! His work can be viewed at www.djfox.biz.
Philip Cain
Sound Engineer
Philip Cain is a passionate engineer, artist, musician and developer. He has spent equal time on both sides of the stage - mixing sound, directing shows, designing lights, as well as singing and playing guitar, keyboard and digital instruments. This unique perspective allows him to work closely with musicians and technicians alike, bridging the gap between the booth and the stage. As a live sound engineer, he has mixed prominent gospel artists such as David Meece, Selah and Ever Stays Red, as well as many local rock and jazz groups. Philip is currently a director at Pantano Christian Church, where he has filled the roles of both web developer and technical director
Raul Martinez
Technical Assistant
Raulie Martinez is an Theatre Design & Technology Undergrad at the University of Arizona, with an emphasis in lighting design. Raulie has assisted Don Fox on other dance shows as his assistant lighting designer. Such as If My Verse Is Alive with New ARTiculations Dance Theatre, and Caught, a MFA Graduate production with University of Arizona School of Dance. Raulie has been the lighting designer for productions such as Beowulf Alley Theatre Companys King Lear, Free Your Mind Cabaret with the U of A Students.On.Stage, and several other designs while working as a lighting intern at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey this past summer. Raulie is very excited to be going on his first international tour and hopes everyone enjoys the show!
Becca Shulla
Rebecca Shulla was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin with her three siblings Rachel, Michael, and Daniel, and her supportive parents Andy and Lynn Shulla. She took her first dance class at four years old and has been dancing ever since. While she was growing up, Rebecca also participated in gymnastics, cross-country, choir, and she played the viola. Most of her dance training has been in ballet, but she also enjoys modern, jazz and tap. Rebecca is currently a sophomore at the University of Arizona majoring in dance, and hoping to double major in Communications.
Rebecca started her training at Premier Dance Academy with Shannon Gallagher. As her dancing progressed, she began training at Madison Ballet under Earl W. Smith. She studied privately with Charmaine Ristow at Ballet University, and she also attended Madison Professional Dance Center under the direction of Carol Ceniti, also taught by Lillian Wilner and Kate McQuade. She has attended summer courses to further her dance training at Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle Washington for two years, San Francisco Ballet School in San Francisco, California, American Ballet Theatres program in Detroit Michigan, and Joffrey New Yorks program in New York City. Rebecca has performed in many local productions such as Madison Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker for eight years. She also danced in Madison Ballet's performance of Pure Ballet and An Evening of Romance. In addition, Rebecca has danced in the production Cinderella with a local studio and a show called A World Without Walls with Jazzworks productions in Madison, Wisconsin. Her most prestigious roll that she performed thus far was in Ballet University's production of the Nutcracker where she danced the roll of the Sugar Plum fairy. Since she has been in college, Rebecca has danced in Panorama with the Martha Graham Company, as well as Premium Blend.
Kristina Roper
Kristina Roper was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Dance at the University of Arizona. Kristina has danced since the age of 4 and prior to coming to the University of Arizona trained at the Richmond Academy of Dance under the direction of Annette Jakubowski. Kristina has always had a passion for dance and has trained in classical ballet, modern, jazz, musical theatre and contemporary. She has been fortunate to study at a number of different ballet schools in cities across Canada and the USA including studying at the Washington Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre Summer School, Banff Summer Intensive and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Kristina has studied with many amazing dance teachers including Veronica Tennant of the National Ballet of Canada, Patricia Barker of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Franco de Vita of ABT and Alexandre Proia of the New York City Ballet. Kristina has had many performance opportunities including Snowflakes, Arabian and Waltz of the Flowers in the Nutcracker and performing in Disneys Magical Musical Days and on Princess Cruises with the Royal City Youth Ballet. Also with the Royal City Youth Ballet, Kristina has toured across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia performing many works. She has also performed the role of a Big Swan in Swan Lake and had lead roles as Snow White and Gretel with the Richmond Academy of Dance. In addition, Kristina has performed many ballets such as Coppelia and Midsummer Nights Dream. While at the Richmond Academy of Dance, Kristina also performed in their production of A Chorus Line. Here in Arizona, Kristina has performed with the University of Arizona in productions such as Student Spotlight and Premium Blend. Kristina has received many first place finishes with one of her best performances being Juliet from Romeo and Juliet. Some of the most exciting performance opportunities Kristina has had were when she performed at an outdoor venue and the Richmond Olympic Oval for tourists during the Vancouver Winter Olympics and at a performance honoring Shanghai Expo in Vancouver. Kristina has travelled throughout the USA and Canada and to many cities in Europe but has never had the opportunity to go to China before. To combine her passion for dance with the opportunity to tour China is a dream come true. Kristina is very excited to be part of the Artifact Dance Project China Tour.
Davonna Batt
Davonna Batt discovered her love for dance at age of 3, and has been dancing ever since. Raised in Albuquerque, NM, she grew up in Fishback Studio of the Dance for which she owes the majority of her dance training. She studied in the styles of classical and contemporary ballet, jazz, modern and hip hop. She also studied tap, Scottish dance and acrobatics. Davonna also took part in the world of competitive dance, achieving high marks in large and small groups, duets, pas de deux and solos of various styles of dance.
In 2008 Davonna began working with dance coach and choreographer Loren Fletcher. With Loren, she turned her focus inward and worked to develop the performance and emotional quality of her dancing.
Through middle and high school, Davonna attended the Public Academy for Performing Arts where she immediately began to explore the music scene with vocal training in choir classes. Musical theatre has always held Davonna's interest and she plans to incorporate singing into her future as well.
Today Davonna is pursuing her passion for dance in the academic setting of the University of Arizona with a major in dance and a minor in business. She is keen at the prospective of becoming an Arts Administrator so that she can guarantee that dance and art will always play a key role in her life. She is extremely appreciative of the opportunities for personal and technical growth the university has presented to her, and is overjoyed to have met such knowledgeable and friendly people.
Davonna loves the tight, artistic community of Tucson and is glad to call it home for the majority of the year. When she is not dancing in the studio or sitting in a coffee shop doing homework, Davonna loves to support all things local. She finds artistic inspiration in the work of others as well as takes pride in the environmentally conscious community members of Tucson.
Laura Pearson
Laura Pearson is from Portland, Oregon where she began dancing at June Taylor's School of Dance at age 3. When she was younger she trained in ballet and took part in the Royal Academy of Ballet examinations. She was in productions such as Puss and Boots, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, and Coppelia. Growing up she participated in other activities such as gymnastics, basketball, soccer, viola, and piano. When Laura was 10 she moved to Southlake, Texas and began dancing with Texas Ballet Theater School in Dallas, Texas. At TBTS she trained in ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical and tap. She continued participating in RAD exams and also partook in the American Academy of Ballet's Performance Awards. In 2005 she went to New York City for the National American Academy of Ballet's Performance Award competition. She had the opportunities to be a part of Texas Ballet Theater's production of The Nutcracker where she was a polichinelle, soldier, and a rat. Laura joined the TBTS jazz competition team when she was 13 and competed all the way through high school. When she was 17 she joined the ballet ensemble and had the opportunity to perform numerous ballets and compete in the Youth America Grand Prix.
In 2006 she went to the Beginnings Workshop in New York with Peter Sklar. She trained with different professionals on acting, singing, and dancing and performed a monologue in an off-Broadway theater. In 2008 she went to the Radio City Rockette Summer Intensive and performed in Radio City Music Hall. During the summers of 2009 and 2010 she went to Texas Ballet Theater Summer Intensives. During the summer of 2011 she went to Ballet Academy of Texas Summer Intensive and Dallas Black Dance Theaters Summer Intensive. During high school Laura was an officer and four year member on her high school dance team. Through her time on the school dance team, she was able to perform on the Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines in 2008 and 2010. She was also a member of National Honors Society, Vice President of Mu Alpha Theta, and the Treasurer of French Club. After graduating high school in 2010, Laura was thrilled to attend the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. She is currently a sophomore and is also a Physiology minor. She has performed in numerous performances and had the opportunity to perform with the Martha Graham Company in Panorama in the spring of 2011. She has recently had the opportunity to perform Balanchine's Allegro Brilliante. Other things she enjoys are yoga, baking, Broadway, reading, and watching football and movies with her family when she goes home for the holidays.
Christie Yozipovic
Christie Yozipovic is currently a freshman at the University of Arizona School of Dance, pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She is from Scottsdale, Arizona but originally born in Calgary, Alberta in Canada. Before attending the University of Arizona School of Dance, Christie spent time dancing as a Company member and student at Plumb Performing Arts Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Plumb Performing Arts Center is where she received the majority of her dance training. Her training includes ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, tap and hip-hop. She participated in dance intensives with Steps on Broadway in New York City, City Ballet in San Diego, Radio City Rockette Experience in New York City, Alonzo King's LINES Ballet in San Francisco, and New York City Dance Alliance summer program in New York City. She has also taken dance technique classes at the Edge dance studio in Los Angeles and Broadway Dance Center in New York City.
Ranking as one of the top competitive dance studios in Arizona, PPAC is what Christie is proud to call her home for training. This is Christie's first time traveling to China and she is extremely excited to be touring with Artifact Dance Project.
Lena Wolfe
A native of Tucson, Lena Wolfe is a senior at the University of Arizona who will finish a unique combination of two degrees in Dance and Optical Engineering just days prior to the Artifact Dance Project's departure to China. Over the past few years of dancing at the University, she has performed works within the School of Dance by Samuel Watson, Michael Williams, and Elizabeth George. In 2011, she was invited to join a group of dancers who were chosen to perform Panorama with the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Lena has performed at various functions within the Tucson community including the Arizona Athletics Bear Down Fridays as well as the semi-annual 4th Avenue Street Fair. Also, for the past six years, she has been employed by a local DJ company as a party prompter which allows her to take her dancing talents and combine them with her contagious energy in order to engage audiences of all ages at various private functions in interactive dances and entertainment activities.
More in line with her optical engineering degree, Lena has also served as an undergraduate research assistant in Russell Chipmans Polarization Lab in the College of Optical Sciences for the last four years. This position has enabled Lena to apply her knowledge of optical sciences in a practical manner through performing maintenance and calibration on complex optical systems while also giving her the opportunity to interact with researchers from all over the world.
She finds that both optical engineering and dance complement each other and has worked hard to show this through her past four years of study and future career choices. During the summer of 2011, Lena was fortunate to receive an internship position as the first and only optical engineering intern at Microsoft in Redmond, WA. At Microsoft, she worked alongside engineers of the Xbox Kinect group. During the internship, Lena found yet another way to incorporate her passion for dance by choreographing an Intern Dance Mob that was featured in an article of the Huffington Post and viewed by thousands of people across the globe. Just when it seemed dance and science could mix no further, Lena was able to link her love of dance and optics in her senior capstone entitled Dance and Technology, a semester long endeavor where she was able to highlight different optical technologies and explain how they can be used by dancers in the future.
After Lena graduates and comes home from the Artifact Dance Project tour, she will head to Seattle, WA and begin work as an Optical Engineer on the Xbox Kinect at Microsoft. She is very excited to be a part of this international dance tour and hopes to continue to share her passion of dance and optics with a larger community.
Marissa Dudenake
Marissa was born and raised in Henderson, Nevada, which is about ten minutes from Las Vegas.
She started with recreational classes and at age nine, decided to audition for the competition team.
She has taught and assisted many dance classes at her home studio where working with kids is one of Marissa's passions. She has gone to numerous summer intensives including New York City Dance Alliance, Pushing Progress and Hubbard Street. Since she lives so close to a city of entertainment like Las Vegas, she has also danced professionally numerous times in shows on the strip. She has a passion for discovering new music, looking up quotes, watching movies and most of all reading. Marissa's parents have always been extremely supportive of her dancing and education. She graduated high school with a High Honors Diploma and continued her education at the University of Arizona School of Dance in Tucson, AZ where she will be graduate in 2015. Sheis very excited for the experience to work with Artifact Dance Project.
Michelle Costello
Michelle Costello is currently studying at the University of Arizona as a dance major. She has been dancing for the past 18 years, specializing in jazz and contemporary. Michelle has trained, performed, and competed around the country and world, including Disney World in Orlando, and with the U.S. Dance Team in Reisa, Germany. In the summer of 2008, she trained with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and studied with Ana Marie Forsthye, Pedro Ruiz, Marimba Gold Watts, Graciela Kozak, Carlos Dos Santos and Maguette Camara. During her time at Ailey, she was featured in Elizabeth Roxass repertory piece, assisted by Tracy Inman and originally choreographed by Judith Jamison from Divining. Michelle was also an apprentice for Urbanity Dance Project, located in Boston, MA for the 2008-2009 season. She danced for the local theme park, Canobie Lake Park, NH for the summer of 2009. Michelle choreographed her own solo that she competed and won with in many competitions. She was even asked to perform this solo for Bostons First Night of 2010, along with other Urbanity Dance Projects pieces. One of her recent projects included dancing for the Miss Massachusetts pageant of 2010. Michelle also attended River North's Dance Intensive in Chicago for the summer of 2010 and 2011, learning repertoire and taking dance classes daily. She has worked as a contemporary and jazz teacher at University Dance Project for young children and teens. She has also taught at her studio back home in MA. With a high level determination, Michelle will be completing her BFA in dance in three years, allowing her to graduate in this spring of 2012.
She recently auditioned and got into MSA Talent Agency in L.A. Michelle plans on moving there after the China Tour this summer to pursue commercial work.
Hannah Renee Crosby
Hannah Crosby was born in San Diego, California. At the age of five she began her dance training at Touch Of Class dance studio where after a couple years of tapping she began training in jazz and ballet as well. At age 12, Hannah The Element Dance Center where she grew as a dancer and had the privilege to take classes from dancers such as Sonya Tayeh (choreographer), Rachel Sebastian (San Diego Ballet), and former UA dance graduates Kevin Hermann and Katie McIver. As a competition dancer she was given the honor of many title awards and traveled to numerous cities across the country to compete in national competitions.
Hannah's family moved to Phoenix, Arizona and for the next two years she continued her dance training at the studios Dance Connection and Master Ballet Academy.
Hannah is currently a dance major at Glendale Community College in Phoenix, studying dance under the guidance and training of former UA dance graduate, and director of dance at Glendale Community College, Andrea Hashim. It was at GCC where she was given the opportunity to join Artifact Dance Project. She is exceptionally excited to be working with Claire Hancock and Ashley Bowman as they prepare the company for the tour of China. Hannah accepted the opportunity to work with Professor Melissa Lowe with Arizona Theatre Company in their showing of The Great Gatsby along side her teacher and director, Andrea Hashim. She is employed at Arizona Dance Company located in Phoenix where she teaches dance.
Mariesha Nash
Originally from Denver Colorado, Mariesha Nash began dancing at the age of 5. She attended a fine arts middle and high school called Denver School Of the Arts majoring in dance for 7 years. In addition to attending Denver School of the Arts, she trained at Millers Dance Studio from 1998-2009. She then auditioned and was accepted on the senior company at Michelle Latimer Dance Academy in 2009 where she trained until her high school graduation in 2011. She is currently attending the University of Arizona majoring in Dance and also plans on majoring in Science. Along the way, she has trained with some of the most respected and well renowned choreographers and dance teachers in the industry. She was the recipient of several scholarships including the Edge Center for Performing Arts in Los Angeles, California and The Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Some of her past memorable performances include Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Stars at Sea, The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts, various performances in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Geneva Glen Summer Camp in Indian Hills, Colorado. In her free time, Mariesha enjoys many activities like swimming, singing, horseback riding, bowling, playing video games, hanging out with friends and family, and travelling to various places. She is extremely grateful for the opportunities that she's had, including this one, and the constant support she receives from her family.
Abby Mather
Abby Mather is from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she trained under the instruction of Darra Gasper. During her high school years, Abby was given the privilege to work with Cleo Parker, Kim Robards, Richard Havey, David Taylor and Richard Smith on a regular basis. She also attended Giordano's Summer Intensive on scholarship, as well as River North Dance Chicago. Abby now attends the University of Arizona, where she is now working on her BFA in Dance and her BA in Anthropology. While at the University of Arizona, Abby has been given the opportunity to perform modern and jazz repertoire choreographed by Sam Watson, Douglas Nielsen, Amy Ernst, Michael Williams and Susan Quinn. She has also performed and worked with the Martha Graham Dance Company during her freshman year at the UA Dance. Abby plans to graduate in May, 2014.
Ellie Hausman
Eleanor (Ellie) Hausman BFA began her dance training at various dance studios at the age of 4 in Santa Fe, NM. In 2003, she transferred to train in ballet, pointe, modern and jazz with Moving People Dance Theatre where she was a member of Moving People Too! pre-professional company and was also an apprentice to Moving People Dance Theatre professional modern company for two seasons. In 2005, Ellie joined Moving People Dance Theatre as a full company member for three seasons. She then toured in Poland and France as a member of the Komenka Dance Troupe to perform at many folk dance festivals in both countries. Ellie has performed with internationally renowned musician/conductor Bobby McFerrin in 2003, 2008 and 2009 as both a singer and dancer. In May 2009, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from the University Of Arizona School Of Dance. Ellie began teaching regularly in 2004 and her experience now includes Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Lyrical, Creative Movement, Dance in Opera and Musical Theater. Starting in 2009 she began dancing in numerous projects with Artifact Dance Project. In the summer of 2011 she toured China in The Great American Dance Tour with Artifact, and she is excited and honored to join for the 2012 tour.
Sydney Pangman
Bio to come!
Alexandra Tijerina
Hannah Larson
Hannah Larson was born in Houston, Texas. She is a 2011 graduate of Kingwood High School, where she was active in the Varsity Choir (Kapelle), National Honor Society, National Charity League, Inc. and KHS Student Council. Hannah graduated in the top 7 percent of her class, was a finalist for "Most Talented." She was also nominated for "K" academic awards, was selected for the all-region choir, and was a winning member of a school-wide Speech Communications contest group which ultimately raised over $7,000 for TOMS Shoes.
Hannah began dancing at the age of 3, initially with Carol Ehler School of Dance, and for 13 years with Rowland School of Ballet, under the direction of Sheryl Rowland. She trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, tap and modern. She was a member of the competitive dance troupe, Kingwood Jazz and Company and Kingwood Youth Ballet. At age 13, she was invited into Kingwood Dance Theatre (KDT), a pre-professional ballet company, also directed by Sheryl Rowland. KDT is an Honor Company in Regional Dance America/Southwest Region and produces a full-length version of The Nutcracker Ballet, a storybook ballet and a Ballet Gala featuring classical, contemporary, modern and jazz pieces, each year. Hannah's principal roles in The Nutcracker included "Clara," "Arabian," "Dew Drop Fairy," and "Snow Queen."
She was also honored to have danced the roles of "Wicked Witch" in KDT's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, "Alice" and "Queen of Hearts" in alternating casts of Alice in Wonderland, and "Cinderella" in Cinderella. She danced principal roles in classical, jazz and contemporary works choreographed by Jessica Hendricks, Joe Istre, Kelly Agnew, Susan Cilie, and Catherine Cogliandro. Hannah spent her summers training at several summer intensives, including Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop, University of Oklahoma SummerWind Youth Ballet, Syracuse University Summer Dance Intensive, Burklyn Ballet Theatre, Regional Dance America's Craft of Choreography Conference and City Ballet of Houston Summer Dance Intensive. In the summer of 2008, KDT was invited to perform in a variety of venues in Austria as part of the Young Tanzsommer program. Hannah has also worked as a student teacher, substitute teacher and choreographer for Rowland School of Ballet.
Hannah auditioned for and was accepted into several well-respected college dance programs, receiving both academic and artistic scholarships to each. In the fall of 2011, she entered the University of Arizona to pursue a BFA as a Dance major. She is delighted to have been cast in "Arizona Highways," choreographed by Elizabeth George for UA's presentation of Premium Blend. She is honored and excited to be a part of the summer 2012 Artifact Dance Project!
Alexandra Yonkovich
Alexandra Yonkovich grew up in Fullerton, California. and is currently majoring in dance as at the University of Arizona. She studied dance at The Dance Spot and trained in ballet, tap, lyrical and jazz for fifteen years and danced competitively with her studio until she graduated from high school.
Alex danced for the Rosary High School dance team during her four years of high school, where the team traveled to Orlando to compete on a national level. Alexs high school dance team provided her the opportunity to perform and walk in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Alex studied musical theatre in high school and performed lead roles in Tri-School Theatre's productions of Annie Get Your Gun and Beauty and The Beast. Alex participated in several summer dance intensives such as Backhausdance, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Brockus Dance Project in addition to musical theatre camps including Idylwild Arts and UCLAs US Performing Arts camp.
As a dance major at the University of Arizona School of Dance, she has worked with choreographers such as Douglas Neilsen and takes class from teachers such as Sam Watson, James Clouser and Michael Williams.
Shaila Isham
Shaila Isham is a student at the University of Arizona studying dance. She is originally from Austin, Texas where she was trained in ballet, jazz, tap, modern, etc. Originally, Shaila started dancing with a pre professional company, performing jazz, tap, and hip hop works, but shortly after she joined a ballet studio to improve her technique. It was from there that she found a love for ballet and modern dance, and went on to study under prestigious professional companies such as LINES contemporary ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Kirov Ballet. At LINES and Ailey, Shaila discovered her passion for modern dance and it soon became her creative outlet for expression. In her first year at the University of Arizona, Shaila was selected to perform in collaboration with the Arizona Opera. She was among four other dancers in the production of Abduction from the Seraglio. When she is finished with her degree, Shaila aspires to move to New York and perform on Broadway, a contemporary ballet or modern company.
Justin Badding
Justin Badding began his dance training at the age of 6 in his hometown of Carroll, Iowa. He has been fortunate enough to work in the industry with companies such as Dance Caravan, Muse Dance Company, Inaside Chicago Dance, and CELEBRITY Dance Competitions. Dance Caravan took Justin on a five week intensive where he traveled to South Carolina, Florida, and New York. With CELEBRITY he was asked to dance on a cruise ship for three summers. Justin has traveled from New York to Los Angeles to perform professionally with his mentor Jessica Starr. Most recently, he was given a full scholarship to attend the Inaside Chicago Dance Company's summer intensive. Justin is currently attending the University of Arizona School of Dance where he will receive his BFA. Justin has worked with UA faculty such as James Clouser, Amy Ernst, Melissa Lowe, Doug Nielsen, Susan Quinn Williams, Michael Williams and Sam Watson. Justin is also an accomplished violinist, pianist and vocalist. Justin puts forth many hours of time and energy into his art, and his positive energy and professionalism makes him a perfect candidate for the Artifact Dance Project tour.
Trevor Kwart
Trevor Kwart was born in Clinton Township, MI and began dancing at the age of 8. Dance Elan was a small family-run competition studio, where he studied ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and tap. After spending two years competing in several regional dance competitions and conventions with Dance Elan, the studio closed. He then joined Tina Marie's School of Dance where Trevor was exposed to new experiences such as national dance competitions, acro classes, musical theatre classes, dance masters, and acting classes. Trevor continued his training at Juliana's Academy of Dance, in Madison Heights, MI. During Trevor's senior year in school, he moved down to Texas, where he was accepted into the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where he was recruited by the University of Arizona School of Dance to become a freshman dance major and pursue his BFA.
Matthew Lynady
Originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Matthew has been dancing since the age of eight with concentrations in ballet, jazz, modern and tap. He was a member of a national winning competition group with David Blight School of Dance and The Dancer’s Warehouse. Matthew was also under full tuition scholarship with The Ballet Theatre of Scranton where he performed in the roles of Lead Spanish, Lead Russian, and the Cavalier in The Nutcracker. He has also performed as the Prince in Cinderella, Jeremy Fischer in Tales of Beatrix Potter, and the lead male dancer in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
Matthew received full tuition scholarships to The Rock School for Dance Education Ballet Intensive, Wild Dance Intensive, American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, and Point Park International Summer Dance Program.
Matthew is currently a freshman at The University of Arizona with a major in dance and is a 2011 graduate of Scranton Preparatory School in Scranton Pa. and lives in Clarks Summit, Pa. He is the son of Barbara and Raymond Lynady.
Chris Smith
Christopher Smith was born in Montgomery Alabama. His dance training was very inconsistent as a young child, being that every few years his family relocated due to their service in the military. At age 16 his family relocated to Tucson, Arizona which is what he now considers his home. He is now a Junior at the University of Arizona, hoping to get his BFA in Psychology and is continuing his dance training as a Dance minor. He has since been a part of several Hip-Hop groups and is currently a member of the The Drop Dance Studios College Team. He is also a company member of the contemporary dance company and community outreach group, ConDanza. Christopher has also danced with the University of Arizona's African Dance Ensemble under the direction of Barbea Williams. His training in dance includes ballet, jazz, modern, hip-hop, and African dance.
Brandon Coleman
Originally from Schenectady New York, Brandon Coleman received his training from Becky's Academy of Dance in Katy, Texas under the instruction of Erika Gonzalez, Danielle Evans, and the late Steven Boyd. Brandon trained in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, and modern. He graduated from Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas and is a current freshman at the University of Arizona studying for his BFA in Dance. In his first semester at the university, Brandon has had the privilege of performing the works of Nichol Mason, Douglas Nielsen, and George Balanchine. He wishes to continue learning new styles of dance and continue to grow as a dancer as well as performer. This will be Brandon's first time working with Artifact Dance Project and is looking forward to his first performance in China.
Nolan Austin
