Relevé Summer Intensive

Zachary Venegas is a young and innovative dancer/choreographer paving his way to leave a legendary mark in the dance industry. Originally from Carlsbad, New Mexico, Zachary started training at the age of 15 at Cheryl’s School of Dance training in all genres of dance. Shortly after, he was one of few selected to be an Elite Protege with The Pulse On Tour, touring the United States to assist renowned choreographers Brian Friedman, Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio, Cris Judd, Dave Scott, and Laurie Ann Gibson. Once he completed touring, Zachary needed to further his learning, so he moved to Los Angeles where he soon received dance representation from McDonald Selznick Associates. Zachary has danced for renowned artist Justin Bieber, performing with him at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards and dancing in his music video “Beauty and a Beat” featuring Nicki Minaj. He also danced for pop princess Rihanna on the hit TV show “The X- Factor.” Not only has he worked alongside artists, but also on hit TV shows such as Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” and Fox’s “The X-Factor,” Seasons 1 & 2. Zachary was also a character in the “Just Dance: Disney Party” video game. Working alongside Dejan Tubic, Zachary has choreographed for MGM Grand’s Hakkasan Nightclub & Restaurant for some of the world’s best DJ’s, including Calvin Harris, Tiesto, Laidback Luke, and many more. Zachary is continuing to balance his dance career while also adding his youthful and dynamic twist to this generation through his choreography!

Mary Grace McNally is a dance artist, originally from Massachusetts. She has produced two evening-length shows, Not For Picking and When It Falls, which premiered in New York City and Los Angeles. Mary Grace was honored to be the winner of the 2018 Capezio A.C.E. Award. 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.

As a dancer, she has performed the work of Doug Varone, Jon Rua, Monika Felice Smith, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Katie Swords-Thurman, Emma Portner, Erica Sobol and Ryan Spencer. She has studied with artists such as Medhi Walerski, Jesse Zaritt, Adi Salant, Jermaine Spivey, Spenser Theberge, and Tilman O’Donnell. Most recently, 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 on faculty for the new dance convention, Luminous Tour. She is a guest instructor and choreographer at competitive dance studios, workshops and universities across the country, as well as Guest Faculty at TMilly TV, Broadway Dance Center, and Peridance Capezio Center. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts in 2015.

@marygracemcnally

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Lenorris Arnold moved to Houston, Texas and studied all dance disciplines at Masters, The Upper Level in Stafford, TX. His unique lyrical style of movement garnered attention from both drill teams and dance studios throughout Houston and he has become an extremely sought after teacher and choreographer in Texas and Louisiana. In addition, he judges promising young talent with Move Dance Productions. Lenorris’ choreography has won numerous top awards at competitions such as Adrenaline Dance Convention, Legacy Dance Competition, Primetime Dance Productions, Hall of Fame Dance Competition, Artists Simply Human Dance Workshop, Move Dance Productions, New York City Dance Alliance, StarSystems Talent Competition, and Showstopper Competitions. Lenorris teaches at several local studios and constantly continues his dance education through seminars, conventions and travel to NYC and LA. His greatest inspiration is the progress of the dancers themselves.

Dom Ruiz is a Southern California native, represented for commercial dance by Bloc Talent Agency. He began his training at Temecula Dance Company. Through this program, Dom has trained closely with Choreographers like Brian Friedman, Tessandra Chavez, Geo Hubela, Tricia Miranda, Chuck Maldonado, Amy Allen, Chase Benz, Cris Judd, and Mel Charlot. He is proudly an alumni of Rhapsody James’ Motivating Excellence- Season 4, was a Monsters Show cast member in 2016. He has also assisted Tyce Diorio on SYTYCD, and projects for Tony Testa, Kyle Hanagami and Nick Demoura. Dom has also appeared on programs such as The Billboard Awards, The Ellen Show, The Voice, and All- American, The MTV Movie Awards, and The 2019 Disney Christmas Spectacular. He has also appeared in promo for American Horror Story, and a National Campaign for Arm & Hammer. By doing so, he has had the opportunity to perform with artists along the likes of; Janet Jackson, Taylor Swift, Chaka Khan, Salt-N-Pepa, Incubus, Major Lazer to name a few.

Eoghan Dillon was born in County Tyrone, Ireland. At the age of four, he moved to Canada, where he began dancing at the age of 12. In 2012, Mr. Dillon received a full scholarship to study at the Ailey School in New York City, where he studied under Milton Meyers, Francesca Harper, and many other prestigious professionals. Eoghan is currently The Artistic Associate with Parsons Dance in NYC, an internationally renowned touring contemporary dance company, where he was as a guest artist. Under the direction of David Parsons, he has worked one on one with choreographers Robert Battle, Kate Skarpetowska, Trey McIntyre, and Ephrat Asherie. Eoghan has toured, taught, and choreographed all over the United States and Europe has been commissioned to set works on Parsons Dance, METDance, and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance Company, and Ballet Memphis. Most Recently Mr. Dillon has been selected as a Finalist for the Capezio A.C.E Awards. Eoghan has been featured in international marketing publications, most notably the GAP's "Dress Normal" Campaign and maintains teaching positions at the Flow40 Touring Dance Convention as well as The Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Eoghan has recently started a touring Initiative to bring inclusive dance spaces to studios around Canada and the US. For more information check out redrhinodance.com or eoghandillon.com Instagram @owenstartswithe

Henry Steele was born and raised in Wollongong, NSW, Australia. He was a competitive gymnast for 8 years, and a national gold medalist 3 years in a row. During his final years as a gymnast, he began to make the transition to dance. Henry graduated from Point Park University with a BFA in Modern and Jazz dance in 2016, where he performed works by choreographers such as Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Madboots Dance, Ronin Koresh, and Troy Powell. He has danced professionally with Owen/ Cox Dance Group, Texture Contemporary Ballet, and toured internationally with The Bad Boys of Ballet.  Henry is currently a company member with Parsons Dance in New York City where he joined in 2017. 

 Easton Blake Payne Castro, born in Brasstown, North Carolina, began their journey in dance at age 12, training in a multiplicity of styles at studios such as Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education under the direction of Sharon Story, Studio 23 Directed by Shannon Childers and Dancetown Miami under the direction of Manny and Lory Castro, alongside traveling to conventions across the country. Their favorite color is salmon pink but they also do like some other colors. Easton began their choreographic career at age 16, and since has developed a unique style which has been recognized internationally. Also known for their effective teaching methods, their students have been seen on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, World Of Dance, So You Think You Can Dance, and So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.  Easton currently reside in Los Angeles, CA where they have created work and been featured as a performer with artists and designers such as Charli XCX, U2, Louis Vuitton, SOPHIE, and Ashnikko. They have been seen in Dance Spirit Magazine, Dance Magazine’s coveted Top 25, on NBC’s World Of Dance, and as a soloist at The International Ballet Festival of Miami. Easton hopes to continue to push boundaries and cultivate work that resonates to the dance world, and the world itself. 

Douchane is a native Houstonian and has been dancing for 16 years. He found the love for dance in 5th grade where he then joined a dance company named, “FLY KIDS” they performed at Dance Houston, MA Dance, World of Dance, and many Houston events. He then wanted to take his dancing further and joined Soreal Dance Studio. Since dancing at Soreal he has had the opportunity to train in many genres of hip hop dance and compete in many competitions such as Body Rock and World of Dance. He also was a director for University of Texas at San Antonio’s Filipino Student Association modern dance team. Now he is resident teacher at Soreal. Douchane’s main goal for his students is for them to have a space where they can just be free and be their authentic self, and most importantly have fun!

Joe Celej is a New York City based creative artist whose career spans nearly fifteen years of professional concert dance performance, choreographic investigation, and passionate instruction and mentoring of students. Joe began his relationship with METdance, then called Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, as a dancer in 2001, and worked with artists such as Robert Battle, Kate Skarpetowska, Peter Chu, Mario Zambrano, and Eddy Ocampo. During this time, Joe served as Resident Choreographer of METdance, creating several works for the company including audience and critic favorite, What More? (2005). In the fall of 2005, Joe relocated to New York City and performed for over eight years with the internationally touring/acclaimed concert company Elisa Monte Dance. As a senior company member and soloist, Joe performed extensively throughout the US (including multiple Joyce seasons) and Europe with EMD, most notably meeting and performing for the Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg. Through the EMD choreographic initiative, Joe enjoyed collaborating and creating six works for the company, and was honored to have his Joyce Theater choreographic premiere in 2011. During this time, Joe continued his relationship with METdance as a guest choreographer, creating new works including ForeverFleeting (2007) and primed (2014), guest faculty, and served on the company’s advisory board. Joe is incredibly honored to be appointed Associate Director of METdance beginning in its 2015-16 20th Anniversary Season. 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 have been a teacher/mentor to many dancers performing with multiple dance companies and projects. Joe graduated summa cum laude with 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 venue and his most recent endeavors include presenting his new commission, tonight, we dream together for the Island Moving Company of Newport, RI at the Great Friends Dance Festival this past July, and co-creating a new digital comic book, Drawn In: The adventures of Jamo Lady and Magners Man with co-author Clymene Baugher. www.joecelej.com 

 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 currently teaches at The Dance Kollective in Katy.​

Elizabeth Troxler is a NYC based director & choreographer with a passion to create stories full of emotion and heart.  She has performed principal roles in ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Les Sylphide & Don Quioxte with the Nacional Ballet de Panama and other classical companies.  Elizabeth has performed in national tours and regional theater productions of Brigadoon, Sweet Charity, Beauty & the Beast, Mame and many more.  Elizabeth has directed and choreographed new works (Daughter of Society, The Emily Dickinson Project - On This Wondrous Sea), many musicals (Cabaret, Bright Star, Matilda), various ballets (The Snow Queen, The Nutcracker, The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg), and a recent (COVID safely filmed) dance production entitled (Dancing Through…) in conjunction with The Tank & many NYC, regional & Broadway choreographers & performers.  She is a certified teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance and guest teaches and coaches students around the world.  As a master teacher, she seeks to empower dancers of all levels to create a multifaceted versatility and strength of character that spans not only various dance styles, but also seeps into life.

Email her at ybc@dancetada.com

 Joel Aguilera is a Houston-based choreographer, instructor, and performer with an MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and BFA in Dance from the University of Houston. As a performer, Aguilera has performed nationally and internationally including countries such as Albania, Montenegro, and Costa Rica. In Houston, Aguilera has opened up for John Legend, Pitbull, and Lil’ Wayne alongside Kreate Inc, entertained with Houston Rockets Launch Crew for two seasons, and currently spends his time teaching at several studios in the Greater Houston area. Aguilera is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Mezclada Dance Company and has presented his work in Houston, New York, Milwaukee, and St. Louis as well as in many dance festivals such as “Barnstorm Dance Fest”, “Emerging Choreographers Showcase”, ”16th Annual Celebration of Dance”, “Mind the Gap 8.0”, “Mind the Gap 13.0”, and “Texas Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival” where he fuses his Breaking foundation with Modern dance and Latin Culture. 

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

  Ella Anzalone has been dancing since she was just two years old. Originally from Singapore, she trained in many disciplines including ballet, flamenco, jazz, contemporary and more. Ella joined TADA in 2014 and quickly moved up the ranks in group and individual competitive dance. She has taken training from leading industry choreographers Brian Friedman, Eoghan Dillon, Mia Michaels, Rudy Abreu, and more, and inspiration from TADA faculty including her mother, Jenette. Along with being awarded Dancer of the Year at Streetz Nationals 2019, Ella has toured the US extensively with Streetz dance convention and others, Ella has performed professionally at industry events including Formality Live in Los Angeles, CA and national events. Since then, Ella has been honored to be TADA’s first student-faculty member and is now teaching and creating choreographed dances for TADAs competitive teams.  
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  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.

Tyler Orcutt, a dance artist based near Houston, is currently a member of Noblemotion Dance Co.  He is an MFA candidate with a Graduate Teaching Assistantship position at Sam Houston State University. Former dancer with Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) from 2012-2020, Tyler has toured the west coast performing in lead roles choreographed by Modern Dance pioneers Humphrey, Limón, Shawn, McKayle, and Cunningham. With RDT, he also worked with current choreographers Bebe Miller, Lar Lubovitch, Danielle Agami, Tiffany Rae-Fisher, and Zvi Gotheiner, among many others. He has guested with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company during a collaboration with RDT and the Eccles Theater, as well as St. Petersburg Opera and Moving Current Dance Collective. He most recently joined NobleMotion Dance in the summer of 2020. Tyler holds a BFA in dance from The University of South Florida, during which he performed in works by Bill T. Jones and

Doug Varone.

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.