Relevé Summer Intensive

Dom Ruiz is a Southern California native, represented for commercial dance by Bloc Talent Agency. He began his dance training at Temecula Dance Company. Through this program, Dom has trained closely with choreographers like, Brian Friedman, Tessandra Chavez, Tricia Miranda, Cris Judd, and Geo Hubela. He is proudly an alumni of Rhapsody James’ Motivating Excellence - Season 4, and was a Monsters of Hip Hop Cast member in 2016. He has also assisted Tyce Diorio on SYTYCD, and projects for Tony Testa, Kyle Hanagami, and Nick Demoura. 

Dom has appeared on TV programs such as the The Billboard Music Awards, The Ellen Show, The Voice, All- American, The MTV Movie Awards, and the 2019 Disney Christmas Spectacular. He has also appeared on promo for American Horror Story, and National Campaigns for Arm & Hammer, Pepsi, and Oculus by Facebook. By doing so, he has had the opportunity to work alongside artists: Janet Jackson, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Billie Ellish, Chaka Khan, and Major Lazer to name a few.

 Erick Yanez started dancing at the age of sixteen. Self-taught in hip hop, he began taking dance classes at Burnet High School where he learned the principal elements of dance. From the moment he started, he fell in love with dance and entered into his 1st two dance competitions: he placed top ten overall in both of them and received performance/showmanship awards along with a scholarship to New York Dance Experience. This provided multiple opportunities as an instructor and a performer. He then booked his 1st teaching job at Studio 29. Erick has also performed as a dancer in numerous music videos, shows, and traveled to work with multiple artists like Sean Paul, K Camp, Tory Lanez & D Woods. He has also trained and taken classes from many world known choreographers like Matt Steffanina, NappyTabs and Nick DeMoura just to name few. After teaching choreography at multiple schools, camps, workshops and intensives, Erick is now an instructor at various studios throughout the Austin area and faculty member with Dupree Dance Convention. Erick is also founder of Diversified Unity! He continues to spread his love for dance with others. 

Henry Steele was born and raised in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. He was an elite gymnast for 8 years, a national gold medalist 3 years in a row, and during his final years in gymnastics he began to make the transition to dance. Henry graduated with honors from Point Park University with a BFA in Modern and Jazz dance in 2016. While at Point Park he worked with choreographers: Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Madboots Dance, Ronin Koresh, and Jessica Hendricks and many others. After graduating, Henry danced professionally with Owen/Cox Dance Group, Texture Contemporary Ballet, and toured internationally with The Bad Boys of Ballet. Most recently, Henry was a company member with Parsons Dance, where he notably performed the iconic solo “Caught” for several years and also acted as the company’s rehearsal director. 

Jade Whitmire has been dancing since the age of 2, living and training in both Houston and New York City.  She trained extensively with the Houston Ballet, The Houston Met, Broadway Dance Center, Edge PAC, and Steps NYC in all styles of dance.  Jade was one of the first members of the NYC TapKids touring company, and had the fortunate opportunity to train for several years with tap legend Savion Glover as a young girl. 

     While living in NYC, she was assistant to the director of the Joffrey Jazz and Contemporary Program, and guest taught jazz and hip-hop classes at Joffrey Ballet School.   She was featured in several episodes of Gossip Girl, Law and Order, and commercials including Sony Bravia and Adidas, and was a background performer for several films.  After leaving New York in 2008, Jade began teaching and choreographing tap, hip-hop, musical theater, jazz, and contemporary in Houston, around the US, and internationally.  

    While she loves teaching multiple styles of dance, her specialty is tap.  Jade has a way of reaching students of all levels and finding a way for each kid to connect to tap dancing in her classes, even if it is not their forte.  She has been on faculty for Mike Minery’s “Slide” tap intensive/Dancerpalooza, Nick Dinicolangelo’s tap intensive Syn.Co.Pate, has travelled to guest judge for dance conventions such as 24/7, Jump, and most recently the National Dance Honors.  She has also recently travelled with Revive Dance Convention and Adrenaline Dance Convention as a guest tap instructor.

   Jade is the creator and director of Artistic Soul Dance Company, housed in Houston, is on faculty at The Performing Arts Center, and is the founder of JAM Dance Workshops, which provides amazing master classes and intensives to all of Houston in diverse styles of dance. 

Jenette Anzalone holds a BA in Ballet and Contemporary dance from the La Salle-SIA College of the Arts.  A veteran teacher of over 20 years and the owner of Dance Circle Studios in Singapore, she has taught jazz, contemporary, hip hop, ballroom, and ballet at various international schools, including La Salle-SIA and the National University of Singapore.  She has choreographed and performed in several major productions including Broadway Our Way, Tune In and Turn Out, Sunrise, Sunset, among others, and was the lead dancer in Mercury Rising, the Musical and That’s Kit.  She also starred in John Meade Dance Company’s production ofIcons.  Throughout her career she received numerous accolades, including honors of distinction at the UK Royal Academy of Dance and the highest awards at The Dance Excellence International Dance Festival in Los Angeles.  Jenette has an incredibly passionate and enthusiastic style of teaching all of her students, toddlers through adults!  She has been teaching at TADA since 2015, and is currently TADA's Showstoppers Program Artistic Director.  Email her at showstoppers@dancetada.com 

Joe Celej is a New York City based creative artist whose career spans nearly fifteen years of professional concert dance performance, choreographic investigation, and sharing his experiences and passion for art in a range of classroom settings. 

As a senior company member of over 8 years, Joe performed extensively throughout the US and Europe with the critically acclaimed concert company Elisa Monte Dance, most notably meeting and performing for the Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg.  Through the EMD choreographic initiative, Joe has enjoyed collaborating and creating six works for the company, and was honored to have his Joyce Theater choreographic premiere in 2011.  Most recently, Joe premiered their roots rest in infinity to critical acclaim in EMD’s 2014 NYC Season.   Previously, Joe danced with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, where he served as the company’s Resident Choreographer and worked with artists such as Robert Battle, Kate Skarpetowska, Peter Chu, Mario Zambrano, and Eddy Ocampo.  Joe continues his relationship with HMDC as a guest choreographer/teacher and member of their advisory board, and was an honoree at HMDC’s 15th Anniversary Concert.  Most recently, Joe’s newest creation for the Met, primed, premiered in June of 2014.   With nearly twenty years of teaching experience, Joe is a master teacher throughout the US and Europe.  He has been a guest teacher/choreographer at a variety of educational institutions including Steps on Broadway, SUNY Buffalo, Rice University, Salve Regina University, the High School for Performing and Visual Arts Houston (HSPVA), Episcopal High School, St John's School, and the Hetrick-Martin Institute.  Joe is proud to be a mentor to current students/graduates of the Juilliard School, Point Park University, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Buffalo, Chapman University, University of Arizona, SMU, and many other secondary educational institutions.  Joe is an honored recipient of a 2010 Presidential Scholar Teacher Recognition Award from the US Department of Education.   Joe holds a BFA in dance performance from SUNY Buffalo, where he was a performing and creative arts honors scholar and supplemented his training with scholarships to Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, The Edge, and the Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles.  Joe’s commercial credits include Levi Strauss and Company, Wal-Mart, and the City of Houston.  As an independent artist, Joe has presented his choreography at numerous venues including the Reverb Dance Festival/APAP, the Dance Gallery, the Pink Ribbons Project, the Big Range Dance Festival, the Great Friends Dance festival, Zodiaque Dance Company, Extensions Dance Company, Dance Harlem, American Dance Guild, Vision of Sound, Dumbo Dance Festival, The Tank, Pushing Progress Showcase Series, Cool NY Dance Festival, and the Solar Powered Dance Series.     

Marrisha Babineaux has been studying and competing in all styles of dance since the age of five.  Marrisha performed as a principle dancer for Lamar University under the direction of Brixey Blankenship.  Prior to and during this time, Marrisha performed in shows produced by Beaumont City Performing Arts, danced at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance in New York City at their summer intensive program, and also participated as a contestant on the national hit show Showtime at the Apollo as a representative from Houston after winning the spot from numerous contestants across the city.   As a result of this notoriety,  she landed a position for McDonalds as a company representative at conventions across the nation.  Marrisha’s dance accolades are numerous. Most memorably, she won the Scene Interactive Award where her video and headshot were posted for a year for choreographers in search for dancers, and also the DDO Artist Agency Award which allowed her to be represented and contracted by DDO as a dance professional at the age of 18.  Upon graduating from Lamar she began her career at Masters, the Upper Level(MUL) as a teacher/choreographer under Artistic Director Melissa Robinson.  During her time there, her students won numerous first place regional and national championships; her most recent was the Mini Large Intermediate Group Ultimate Challenge and Choreography Award of 2019 at the Hall of Fame Nationals.  While Miss Marrisha teaches a variety of ages and levels, she is also contracted with the Universal Dance Association for Collegiate, Secondary and Primary Students, teaching and choreographing for local high schools.  In 2019 her students won numerous top awards for regional school competitions.  She is currently a teacher and choreographer for The Dance Kollective in Katy, Tx.

Mary Grace McNally is a choreographer and dance artist based in Los Angeles. She is represented by BlocLA.  Her choreographic credits include two evening-length shows, Not For Picking and When It Falls, which premiered in New York City and Los Angeles respectively.  Mary Grace is the founder and creative director of MG + Artists, a project-based dance collective. Her work has been presented at The Joyce Theater, The Dance Gallery Festival, Dixon Place, Young Choreographer’s Festival, Centre National de la Danse in France, and deSingel in Belgium. In 2018, Mary Grace was honored to be the winner of the Capezio A.C.E. Award. Most recently, she choreographed and collaborated with comedian and actor Benito Skinner (@bennydrama7) on a short video. Her choreography will be seen in upcoming indie movie Good Girl, starring Mary Beth Barone, and in a retro horror musical short Prom Party Massacre.  As a dancer, she has performed the work of Monika Felice Smith, Jon Rua, Doug Varone, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Katie Swords-Thurman, Emma Portner, Erica Sobol and Ryan Spencer. She has studied with artists such as Medhi Walerski, Jesse Zaritt, Douglas Becker, Adi Salant, Jermaine Spivey, Spenser Theberge, and Tilman O’Donnell. She performed at Madison Square Garden for Phish’s 2020 NYE Concert, and can be seen dancing in music videos for OneRepublic and Angel Olsen. She has acted and danced in commercials for Microsoft and Splash Blast Water.  Mary Grace is a guest educator and choreographer at competitive dance studios, conventions, workshops, and universities across the country. She is core faculty for Luminous Tour, and guest faculty at TMilly TV: The Studio, Movement Lifestyle, Broadway Dance Center, Steps On Broadway, Genesis Studios, and Peridance Capezio Center.  Mary Grace holds a BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts.

   MJ teaches as guest faculty for The Juilliard School, and also teaches for Complexions summer program in NYC, Joffrey, and Loyola Marymount University. She has been training dancers from Nederlands Dans Theatre 2, Royal Ballet, Complexions, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ballet BC, Ballet Jazz de Montreal, American Ballet Theater, Bodytraffic, Dance Theatre of Harlem. Sharon Eyal Dance Company, and the Dallas Cheerleaders.  She also teaches the trainees from San Francisco Ballet Company and National Ballet.  Her students dance currently with Nederlands Dans Theater 2, BODYTRAFFIC and Complexions.  Her choreography was presented at the Joyce Theatre alongside Cedar Lake Dance Company. She has presented choreography on So You Think You Can Dance, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Palm Springs Festival, Tessandra Chavez' Unity show, Edge Annual Show, Fringe Festival in Scotland, and Open Doors Festival presented by Alexandra Wells and Peter Chu. MJ has performed in Beyoncé's music videos and at the Billboard Awards. She was in Sonya Tayeh's Dance Company, performing in shows such as  “The Endurance to Move” and “Battles."  She also danced for Peter Chu, Panasonic, and Films. She has taught for Julliard, Joffrey, and Loyola Marymount University. She’s on faculty with Revive Dance Convention, Adrenaline, and National Dance Honors.
 

 Sam Nelson is a versatile dancer and choreographer originally from Austin, Texas who is trained in all styles of dance with a strong focus on Contemporary and Lyrical. He was a featured contestant on So You Think You Can Dance Season 16 and finished in the Top 15 Guys on the hit TV show. Sam has worked for artists Tame Impala, JP Saxe,
Leroy Sanchez, Clinton Kane, Blake McGrath, and Nia Sioux. As a Company Member with Embodiment the Collective, Sam has performed at NBC’s World of Dance Championships, the Primetime Emmys, and Creative Arts Emmys. His choreography can be seen on America’s Got Talent, SYTYCD, and in numerous music videos. Some of Sam’s additional credits include Adidas, Ivy Park, Vidcon, Six Flags, and Amazon Prime TV. Sam lives in the LA area and is represented by Movement Talent Agency. He is on
faculty teaching weekly classes at Millennium Dance Complex LA, Reflection Studios, and Millennium Dance Complex OC. Sam is an instructor for the Crew Dancers, guest faculty for the Dance program at Cal State Fullerton University, and is a featured
choreographer for Redwall Tutorials, MDC’s online dance platform. He is on faculty teaching Contemporary with Nexus Dance Convention and is a guest Contemporary and Lyrical instructor for Transcend Dance Convention. Sam enjoys working with dancers and studios across the country teaching master
classes, intensives, and setting choreography. His intricate choreography, unique style,
and award-winning pieces have won many National and Regional titles, choreography awards, and scholarships, and have earned dancers’ admittance into college dance programs including Juilliard, Marymount Manhattan, the University of Arizona, and
more.

Stephen Hanna was a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet, and has performed in numerous musicals both on and off Broadway.  Mr. Hanna started dancing at Shade Sisters Dance Studio at the age of 3 in Pittsburgh, and later The Center for Theatre Arts.  He attended the Point Park College Conservatory ballet program under Roberto Munoz and was later accepted into The School of American Ballet in NYC where he trained with Stanley Williams, Andre Kramerevsky, and Richard Rapp. He performed in numerous ballets including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Four Temperaments, Rubies, Valse Fantasie, Divertimento No.15, Symphony in Three Movements by Balanchine. Pas de Six from Napoli choreographed by Bournonville staged by Stanley Williams, and Christopher Wheeldon's Danse Bohemien. In 1997 he received the Mae. L. Wein award for outstanding promise and became a member of New York City Ballet where he was promoted to the rank of soloist in 2004, and one year later to a principal.  He performed in Balanchine's A

Midsummer Night's Dream, Agon, Brahms Schoenberg Quartet, Chaconne, Concerto Barocco, Cortège Hongrois, Diamonds, Divertimento No. 15, Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, La Valse, Liebeslieder Walzer, The Nutcracker,, Robert Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze,

Serenade, Stars and Stripes, Symphony in C, and Tschaikovsky‘s Pas de Deux, Piano Concerto No. 2, Suite No. 3, and Western Symphony, to name a few. Mr. Hanna also appeared in the film Centerstage, and  in 2008 he made his Broadway Debut in Billy Elliot The Musical which was a 10 time Tony Award Winner.  While returning as a guest artist to the NYC Ballet, he performed in numerous musicals both on and off Broadway, including Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler, An American In Paris, On The Town, Billy Elliot The Musical, and Silence! The Musical.  He has also performed in the Broadway touring cast of Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away, Phantom Of The Opera, Oklahoma, and many more.  He also performed with Ballet Next and Intermezzo, performing works by Brian Reeder, Mauro Bigonzetti, and Claudia Schreier.  This  past spring Hanna made his Carnegie Hall debut in Candide, and has taught and choreographed at College of Charleston, the Joffrey Ballet School, and more.  Also an actor, he appeared on television in All My Children, Boardwalk Empire, Momsters: When Moms Go Bad, and more.  We are excited to welcome Mr. Hanna to our faculty!

Whylan Rucker, a Beaumont Texas native, has studied the art of dance through various styles, including, ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, modern, hip hop, and musical theater since the age of 6. She served as captain of her Drill Team, a member of her high school dance company,  classically trained at The Beaumont Ballet Theatre (also known as Bonnie Cokinos School of Dance) and trained competitively at Taylor Dance Studio. She amplified her dance training through various conventions and competitions, including Dance Masters of America, JUMP, LA Dance Magic, International Dance Challenge, and West Coast Dance Explosion. 

During her collegiate years, Whylan enhanced her experience as a choreographer and director by working at The Art of Dance Studio, teaching ballet, jazz and contemporary,  and directing the dance team at her high school alma mater. She also gained collegiate dance experience as a 3 year member of the Lamar University Dance Team, where she continued grow in performances and choreography. As an advocate for education, Whylan continued to receive a teaching degree in English, Speech and Dance, while attending graduate school and earning additional degrees in Masters of Business Administration and Educational Leadership.

Currently, she resides in Houston, Texas, where she teaches both commercial and recreational dance classes and serves as a high school dance director. As director, Whylan has lead her team to an outstanding victory, earning  consecutive Overall Grand Championship awards, High Point Apex Award, Best in Style, Judge’s Awards, Crowd Pleasers Awards, and Best in Entertainment; she’s also earned Best in Choreography and Artistic Vision. 

Under TheWhy Dance & Consultant Services, LLC., Whylan shares her knowledge and passion for dance by offering a plethora of dance services to various schools and dance studios across the region. Her goal is to spread her passion and knowledge for dance and performing arts, with a focus on execution and performance quality. More importantly, she has the true desire to help dancers of all backgrounds understand WHY they love to dance.