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| |  | Amae
Amae Amani, with almost ten years of experience under her hip-scarf, found a profound love, as well as immense talent, in the ancient art of bellydance. Aside from bellydance, she has gained a varied knowledge of different styles of dance over the years. From her childhood training in ballet and jazz, to Indian, Salsa, African, and burlesque, Amae has a genuine appreciation for dance education and performance art. Amae quickly found a natural ability as an entertainer, steadily gaining recognition in New Orleans. Her incorporation of techniques from around the world, including Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and India, showcases the improvisational and fluid nature of bellydance. Her main niche, in which she both teaches and performs, is Egyptian Fusion, a combination of Classical and Cabaret Egyptian dance. |  | Amara
Amara is one of the most versatile dancers in the United States as her repertory includes traditional and experimental improvisations and choreographies. She has trained in numerous dance and movement forms, including belly dance, various Middle Eastern folk dances, Modern improvisation, Post-modern dance, Pilates, Yoga, Tango, Bharata Natyam, and Ballet. Amara has been the head dancer at many nightclubs and restaurants in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and has been featured in over 16 commercial Middle Eastern dance videos. She has taught accredited courses at UCLA, UCR, and Cal Poly Pomona and currently teaches on-going Beginning through Professional level Middle Eastern dance classes. In addition to teaching, Amara is the Director of Ya Helewa! Dance Company, Producer of EEMED shows, and Co-Producer of X-MED workshops. She holds a degree in Ethnomusicology (FSU) and worked towards an MA and MFA in Dance (UCLA). Currently, Amara is a doctoral candidate in Dance History and Theory (UCR). |  | Andrea
Andrea Ariel is the Artistic Director of Ariel Dance Theatre, based in Austin, TX and has taught dance and movement for over 20 years. She began her training at Cabrillo College earning a BA in Dance from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She continued her studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where she was the recipient of the 1986 Creative and Performing Arts Fellowship Award and earned an MFA in Dance. She has studied with such noted teachers and choreographers as Tandy Beal, Regina DeCosse, Bill Evans, Terese Freedman, Jim Coleman, Nita Little, Kitty Daniels, Joanna Mendl-Shaw, Gregg Lizenbery, Joan Skinner, Stephanie Skura, Robert Davidson, Jan Eckert, Nina Martin, David Dorfman, Limon Dance Company, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Donald Byrd, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Ralph Lemon, David Parsons, Mark Morris, Shelley Senter, Kim Arrow, Scott Clark, Ruth Solomon, Gus Solomons, Jr., Doug Neilson, Beverly Blossom, Betty Walberg, and continues studies with Susan Klein and Barbara Mahler in NYC. Her training includes a wide variety of influences including Limon and Cunningham based techniques, Skinner Releasing Technique, Alexander Technique, Laban, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Feldenkrais Method, Klein Technique™, and Ashtanga Yoga. Andrea’s theater-based training includes Suzuki and Viewpoints (Siti Company), LeCoq (Dody DiSanto), Ping Chong, NaCL (NYC) from a continuum of techniques that includes the ensemble work of Denmark’s Odin Teatret, Canada’s Primus Theatre and the research of Jerzy Grotowski, and with Michael Rohd, Sojourn Theatre’s Training Institute, Devising Civic Theatre: Performance, Social Practice & Dialogue. Some of Andrea’s teaching credits include University of Texas, Austin Community College, Texas State University, Texas Commission on the Arts, Artist-in-Education Roster, and Creative Arts Studio (Brooklyn, NY). She is a Certified Personal Trainer and the Director of Galaxy Dance School.
|  | Atticus
Atticus Rodriguez is from Corpus Christi, TX and was chosen to be in the Texas magnet school program in elementary. He chose dance as his curriculum and was fortunate enough to get a scholarship by the ballet at age 12. He continued studying dance and began his professional career as a dancer at the age of 17. Atticus has competed in many competitions and has danced with many professional companies all over Texas. Atticus' break dance abilities were passed down through generations of city kids and street artists wanting to express their heritage and culture. He is currently the Artistic Director of Vitality Exhale ACC Student Dance Company. |  | Cat
Cat Cioper began dancing and performing at the age of ten. Once she put on her “jazz hands” she was hooked! Continuing to study jazz, ballet and contemporary styles throughout adolescence, she performed and choreographed as a part of her high school dance team in the Twin Cities. Cat majored in dance at The University of Wisconsin-Madison for two years before transferring to San Francisco State University and acquiring a BA in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Dance Performance and Choreography. The thriving San Francisco dance scene enabled her to intensely study and perform hip hop, jazz, ballet and contemporary styles, most notably as part of urban contemporary dance group, Loose Change. She has also been a professional makeup artist for the past eleven years. Her recent move to Austin is a return to her roots. As both a certified yoga instructor as well as an avid dancer, Cat believes in embracing the artistry and creativity behind movement, even the most mundane. To breathe is to dance! | 
| Chantell
A young dance enthusiast from Des Moines, Iowa recently packed her bags and hit the road to embark upon new adventures and to chase her dreams in Austin. Chantell has trained at Iowa State University and is currently attending classes at the Austin School of Film. She has performed with music artists such as Mickey Avalon and Dessa of Doomtree. She has been a trained dancer since early childhood. Chantell's knowledge of a variety of dance styles include: Hip Hop, Break Dancing, Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Modern & African Dance. |  | Coco
Coco Lectric has been gracing stages all over Texas and the southwest with The Jigglewatts Burlesque for three years. She utilizes her classic dance training, love for the exotic, and her cutting wit to astound audiences across the globe. She has performed in Austin at La Zona Rosa, Antone's, Stubb's, Continental Club and the historic Texas Theatre in Dallas, among many others. Coco trained for 15 years in ballet, tap, and jazz, and more recently in modern and hip-hop, Polynesian, bellydance, Afro-Carribean, and Latin dance styles. She began her professional dance career in Austin performing as a featured dancer with such bands as The Scabs, Dahebejeebees, and Vallejo. Honors include: Texas Bikini Team Best Dance Performance Award, and the Audience Choice Award at the Texas Burlesque Festival 2009. She currently tours nationally performing burlesque and go-go with psychobilly band Johnny Hootrock. | 
| Corley
Having always been a dancing fiend with only the clubs to channel her energy, Corley Sims fell in love with Zumba in the earlier part of 2010. She began teaching in May 2011 at Galaxy Dance Studios - the very place she took her own first Zumba class! Immensely passionate about classical and modern rock (especially bluesy Texas-style rock), she weaves the typical Latina movements to the rock of today's artists. You walk (or dance!) away from Corley's Zumba class with your head bumping to the infusion of such artists as Robert Randolph, Damion Marley and even a little modern Bollywood rock!
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| Dixon
Dixon Mena is a Graduate of National School of Dance in Caracas, Venezuela with a broad accumulated education including Cunningham, Ballet, Acrobatics, Release, Graham, Limon, Horton and Jazz. |  | Eddejay
A young optimist, Eddejay Santos began dancing in the nooks of his neighborhood and on the streets of L.A. With his raw talent, he plunged into underground dance parties and local hot spots, free-styling, performing and getting his feet wet. A diligent student, Eddejay furthered his training, studying hip hop, jazz, house, breaking, krumping, and locking at acclaimed dance studios in California including Debbie Reynolds, Millennium, and Evolution. In 2009, he toured with the “Lets Dance” company to New York City where he strengthened his jazz and hip hop technique at the Broadway Jazz Center, and gained the history of Modern while studying under the Ailey ll Dance company at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. His goal is to inspire others to prosper beyond their measures. |  | Ellen
Ellen Bartel is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher working in Austin TX since the 1990's. She is the Artistic Director of Spank Dance Company where her work manifests in contemporary dance collaborations, Big Range Austin Dance Festival, The Dance Carousel, and Butoh. Currently, Ellen is a candidate for MFA in Dance at the University of Texas in Austin. Contact: www.spankdance.com |  | Emily
Emily McNabb received her BFA in dance from the University of North Texas with an emphasis in performance of modern dance and ballet. While being professionally trained in modern, contact improvisation, and ballet, Emily thoroughly enjoys the spirit of musical theater and technicality of jazz. She has had the privilege to study with Bebe Miller, attend a Jose Limon residency, attend a modern and ballet intensive at Texas Christian University, and perform at American College Dance Festival, Exchange Dance Festival, and The Dallas Museum of Art. Her teaching experience consists of a teacher training program at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, teaching master classes and camps around the country, and a 200 hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training Certification in New York City. After studying dance and yoga in New York City, Emily returned to Texas to explore a different side of her artistry. Emily is enthusiastic about finding new ways to expose herself and her students to contemporary ideas. |  | Jack
Jack (John Robert) Mack has been teaching dance and/or theater for the better part of 25 years. He has owned his own theater company, his own dance studio and self-published a book about dance called KEEP BREATHING: Zen and the Art of Social Dance. He teaches most of the social dances (ballroom, country, swing and salsa) and loves to work with everyone from first-time beginners to performers, competitors and aspiring teachers. He competed in theater and debate in high school and coached for several years thereafter and has danced with students on both Ballroom and Country competition circuits, including a number of first place trophies; now, he is returning to more performance oriented dancing! In his early days, he choreographed such musicals as West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar and South Pacific. More recently he helped create and coach the original Radio Disney dance team in San Antonio, TX. He has also taken classes in jazz, modern, tap, yoga and martial arts to diversify his skills. Jack looks forward to helping aspiring dancers in Austin realize their dream of dancing like a star! |  | Jenn
Jenn Yanez began studying dance at a young age taking ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap and Mexican folkloric dancing. Later, she began taking salsa classes and trained with Salvaje Dance Company in Phoenix, Arizona. While attending college at Arizona State University, she found Stilo Dance company and traveled to Hawaii, New York, San Deigo, Los Angeles and Houston teaching and performing. She also participated in many dance festivals including celebration of dance, was a staff instructor at South Mountain Community College and was a resident instructor to many local clubs. After graduating with her Bachelor's degree in Marketing in december 2009, she moved to Austin, TX where she currently resides. Jenn specializes in latin social dances which include Salsa, Bachata, Cha-Cha and Merengue, which she incorporates in all of her classes. | | 
| Kristen
Kristen Moon has a dance background in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and hip-hop and has taught dance for over 16 years including turbokick and pi-yo and she holds AFFA and CPR certifications. Kristen has been teaching Zumba for over a year and has found it to be one of the most FUN and SEXY ways to get fit! She loves seeing people of all ages come together to get their GROOVE ON! |  | Lorn
Lorn MacDougal danced and choreographed professionally for two and a half decades from a base in NYC. Among the companies she worked with were those of Martha Graham, Don Redlich, Lar Lubovitch and Phyllis Lamhut. She has been a member of the dance faculties of Princeton University, Rutgers University, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Laban Center London, and University of Texas, with guest teaching at the Juilliard School and New York University Tisch School of the Arts where she earned an MFA in dance and choreography. Her collaborative work with composer/filmmaker Alain Le Razer has toured internationally. Excerpts of their work and Lorn’s movement style can be see on the Media page of allthingsanimate.com. | 
| Maranda
Maranda Creamer has over a decade of cheerleading and gymnastics experience. She began tumbling at age 9 and cheered from middle school to college. Maranda has experience with both UCA and NCA cheerleading associations and has performed on both co-ed and all-girl squads. She has competed 5 times on a national level and twice, her competition squads have placed in the top 10 in the country for their divisions. Maranda has previously taught cheerleading and gymnastics classes from pre-school to high school aged students and has judged various high school cheerleading tryouts across the state of Texas. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications from Texas State University she moved to Austin, where she now resides. She is also working towards becoming a Certified Personal Trainer. |  | Matt
Matthew Cotter is originally from Detroit, Michigan. He began taking ballet at the age of 5, studying with Karen Milligan. He has also trained as a student at the National Ballet School of Canada and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Matthew has danced professionally with Oregon Ballet Theater, Ballet Met Columbus, and Ballet Austin. He has enjoyed performing choreography of George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, and Stephen Mills. Matthew enjoys teaching students of all levels and is currently studying Dance and The Humanities at St. Edward's University. | 
| Michael
Michael Lee is the Artistic Director of Opus Mime. His ever-expanding work ranges from solo family shows to full-length mime dramas and theatrical circus. Two of his full-length mime dramas, This, Uh, Body (Texas) and Lascaux, Dawn of Art (Michigan) won State Thespian Festival competitions, qualifying for the International Thespian Festival. Michael travels North America performing and teaching at state and regional festivals, theatres, schools, colleges and trade shows. He has directed The Hobbit, Agamemnon, Trojan Women, A Comedy of Errors and numerous industrial shows. He is sought after as a movement coach for theatrical productions and trade shows, and most recently coached gold and silver medalists in ice dance at the Vancouver Olympics. He continues to teach physical acting to skaters in the U.S. and Canada, including current world champions Charlie White and Meryl Davis. Michael is one of the last and most advanced students of the late French mime Marcel Marceau, beginning in 1987, working with him nine different sessions. In 2001, he assisted Mr. Marceau for his last U.S. seminar. Mr. Marceau critiqued many of Michael’s pieces, saying,“You have a distinct drama and strength...the caliber of my own company.” Michael studied under renowned Polish mime Stefan Niedzialkowski and several other mime masters; ballet, acting, gymnastics, contact improv, clowning, juggling, fire breathing, poi, yoga, make-up and oral interpretation with teachers from around the world. He is a graduate of the Spacial Dynamics Institute in New York, and attended the International School for Theatre Anthropology in Denmark. The Ann Arbor News called his work, “Pure, comic genius.” www.michaelleemime.com YouTube: Michael Lee Mime | 
| Michelle
Michelle Manx has studied the art of bellydance since early 2002, including Suhaila Salimpour technique (currently working towards her Level 2 Certification), Jamila Salimpour Format (Level 2 certified), various forms of Tribal Bellydance, and Raqs Sharqi. She has supplemented her knowledge of dance and movement by taking Bharata Natyam, classic burlesque, and yoga classes. She also enjoys performing at tattoo conventions, where she developed her signature style of incorporating the sense of style, poses, and facial expressions of the pin-up girls of the 40’s and 50’s into her dancing. In 2008, Michelle's life was changed when had the honor of debuting her ’Pin-up Bellydance’ workshop at Tribal Fest 8. Since then, she has traveled to teach her unique stylization of bellydance at festivals and seminars associated with Tribal and alternative bellydance. In addition, she is the producer of Tribal Dance Camp in Texas in association with Bahaia and HOT Seminars. She can be contacted at info@pin-upbellydance.com. | 
| Monica
Monica Aguilar was born in Austin, Texas. Since the age of five, dance has been an integral part of her life. She began choreographing and teaching dance routines at fourteen years old! "I would choreograph special performances for quinceaneras and ‘sweet sixteens.’ My friends would ask me to teach for their special event and then their friends would ask! Word of mouth is a powerful thing!" She danced in high school, through college and professionally for The NBA. Monica is a third year veteran for The San Antonio Spurs Silver Dancers. Along with dance, fitness and wellness are huge priorities for Monica. It was only natural for her to become a Group Fitness Instructor. She has over 5 years of experience teaching many formats, including Power Yoga, Pilates, Bosu Body Blast, Dance Jam and even Hip-Hop! "My ambition in life is to highly succeed in making a positive impact and to motivate people everyday." Today, that desire is a reality. |  | Phil
Phil Amador is a software developer by day and a high-energy aerobics instructor by night. Phil has always loved group exercise and dance. He believes that movement to music is the best exercise for the mind and body. In 2006, Phil discovered the Zumba Fitness phenomenon and immediately fell in love with the exciting choreography and Latin rhythms. Since then, Phil has taught Zumba at gyms and dance studios in and around the Austin area for the past 4 years. Phil's class was once described as an action-packed hour of energizing music, latin dance moves and Phil's irresistible and contagious passion for FUN! Phil's teaching style is in high demand because of his emphasis on safety and his belief that exercise programs like Zumba should be fun, engaging, and accessible to all fitness and skill levels. Phil holds certifications in CPR and AED. In addition to Zumba, Phil enjoys teaching step aerobics. | 
| Sharon
Sharon Bourbonnais, originally from Texas, graduated from UT in 1990 with a Bachelor of Music in Education. Sharon has always made dance a part of her life and was awarded a scholarship to take dance classes at ACC to enhance her work with choirs in the public schools. Having lived the last 10 years in Hawaii, she also learned some Hula. Sharon fell in love with Zumba and when her instructor in Hawaii decided to move off island she immediately flew to Vegas to get her Zumba Certification and took over the class! Sharon is a member of Zumba Instructor Network "ZIN" and stays true to the Zumba style of a Latin-based multi-cultural dance workout. She will receive her 2nd Zumba Certification in February 2012, Basic 2, adding the rhythms of Samba, Tango, Belly Dancing and Flamenco to the Zumba basic of Cumbia, Salsa, Merengue and Reggaeton. | 
| Thom Thumb
Thom Thumb has performed and taught circus arts at all kinds of festivals and events around the world. He has been one of the main teachers for Boston's Open Air non-profit youth circus. He is one of the primary organizers of the Play Immersion festival. He has performed with Shpongle and recently performed in a role as a clown in the motion picture Water For Elephants. His focus is on play as a joyful meditation and making it easy and fun to love circus arts. | |
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