JESS HENDRICKS - KARINA GONZALES - ERICA KLEIN & MORE

Jess Hendricks is on faculty with 24 Seven Convention.  She graduated from the University of Colorado with a BFA in Dance. Her training includes Perry Mansfield School of the Performing Arts, American Dance Festival, Harvard Dance Festival, EDGE Scholarship, Gus Giordano and Hubbard Dance Street. Her credits include commercials and industrials for Godiva, L'Oreal, Reebok, Toys R Us, Universal Studios, Volkswagen and Warner Brothers. Jess worked on the tour of HAIR as Dance Captain for years, performed for the opening premiers of Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby and can be seen in such movies as Living Out Loud and Between The Sheets. She has danced in or been the assistant choreographer to the Elan Awards, Bob Fosse Awards, Ms. America Pageant, Carnival, Dance Break and Broadway Bares. Jess has choreographed the New York musicals "The Shaggs", "The Book Of The Dun Cow" and "Dead City" as well as the movie musical "Free Fall". She has choreographed the music video "Just A Dress" for the Berlin Film Festival, "Mia Agapi Fotia" for European artist Sofia Strati's Eurovision and has been a finalist for the ACE Awards. Jess has taught at Universities and Festivals throughout Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway and the United States. Jess has danced with "The Wes Veldink Movement" and co-created her own company "Two Peas & A Pod". She has created live work for "A Great Big World" at Brooklyn Academy of Music, set work for Carnegie Hall and assisted with choreography for the Alicia Keys tour. Jess recently debuted work on Houston METdance, Marymount Manhattan College, Point Park University and Wanderlust. She is currently an adjunct professor at Pace University in New York City, on faculty with 24 Seven Dance Convention and a Co-Founder of Dancers Give Back Dallas.

 Karina Gonzalez is a native of Caracas, Venezuela and a silver medal winner of the New York International Ballet Competition in 2007. She trained at the Gustavo Franklin Ballet School in Caracas, Venezuela and has danced professionally with Ballet National of Caracas and Tulsa Ballet, where she reached the rank of principal in 2007. Ms. Gonzalez joined Houston Ballet as a soloist in 2010, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2013. She has danced principal roles by the world's foremost choreographers from classical to contemporary works. Gonzalez has been a guest artist at the Gala International Colombia (2006) and at the New York International Ballet Competition's Gala (2009). Ms. Gonzalez has also guested with Ballet Estable del Teatro Colon in Argentina, performing the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. In 2011, she participated in the Career Transition For Dancers' 26th Anniversary Jubilee in New York City,  and The Festival de Danza Cordoba in Mexico. In the summer of 2012, Ms. Gonzalez performed in the International Ballet Gala in Malaysia and was invited as a guest artist with Michele Wiles and Charles Askegard's up and coming company Ballet Next at the Joyce Theater in NYC. On 2014, She was invited with The Australia ballet to dance the role of Nikiya in Stanton's La Bayadere. Ms. Gonzalez has been featured on the cover of Pointe Magazine's February/March 2008 issue, Dance Magazine's November 2011 edition and A+C Houston Magazine's November 2011 edition. Gonzalez was name "Best dancer" 2013 by the Houston Press and was one of Pointe magazine's favorite performances of the year. Also, Gonzalez was featured in Kimberly Clark’s and Honda Civic's 2016 Television and Marketing campaign. In December 2016 Gonzalez was recognized by The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at their annual Gala. In 2017, Gonzalez was named one 30th Most Influential Women in Houston and 2018 was invited to participate at the International Ballet Festival of Havana. 

Erica Klein guest teaches on faculty with conventions such as Radix, Groove, and Elite Dance Productions, and also is on faculty at Millenium Dance Complex in LA.  Erica grew up in Monterey, California and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is known for her feature role in Elliot Moss’ music video “Without the Lights” directed/choreographed by Phillip Chbeeb which went viral on Facebook receiving over 48 million views. Her choreography will be aired on prestigious platforms including Redbull TV and Jennifer Lopez’s World of Dance TV show in collaboration with Jojo Gomez. Erica plays a lead roll in the upcoming movie “All Styles” and was featured in Charlie Puth’s official dance video “Attention” directed by Tim Milgram. You can find her dancing on many other prominent media outlets including Disney and DanceOn, as well as in various music videos including Trevor Wesley’s “Chivalry is Dead,” choreographed by Ian Eastwood. She has worked for artists such as Alyson Stoner, Every Time I Die and Camila Capello as an choreographer’s assistant. She has also worked with choreographers such as Travis Wall and Christopher Scott. She is in multiple dance videos including her collaboration with Emilio Dosal titled “Down” which received millions of views and recently directed, choreographed and starred the Exes’ new music video “Cain”. Erica loves teaching and has guest taught at multiple colleges and studios around the world with upcoming workshops in India, Mexico and Canada. 

 Cheryl Copeland graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Having studied and performed extensively in Florida, New York, Texas, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, her training and technical expertise are reflected in her classes and choreography. She has worked under such notable choreographers as Mia Michaels, Milton Myers, Lisa Hopkins, and Kim Bears-Bailey. Finding her true passion behind the scenes, Cheryl gave up a career in performing for a much more fulfilling career in choreography and education. She has served as resident choreographer for Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area, and as artistic director of pre-professional companies; Breakthru Dance, DAC PAC, and Humnz Dance Ensemble, as well as her professional company BHumn Dance Company. She owned BHumn DanceSpace, the leading training facility for modern dance in Austin, TX for four years and then retired as owner and headed to NYC to serve as the Director of Education at Peridance Capezio Center, where she established programming, ran audition tours, and managed faculty for three years. She finds herself as creatively pushed in dance administration as much as she does in choreography. 

As an educator, Cheryl’s students have received countless awards and scholarships, and gone on to dance with artists such as Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, and can be seen in numerous national commercials. Many of her students find themselves pursuing dance degrees at various colleges all over the United States including USC Kaufman, Juilliard, SUNY Purchase, NYU, and Boston Conservatory amongst others. As a choreographer, she has won several awards including a Choreography Under the Stars finalist cash award, a Young Choreographer’s award from NYCDA, and has choreographed full length works for the Fordham Ailey BFA program and Peridance Certificate Program. These choreographic praises keep Cheryl in demand amongst studios and universities all over the country. Previously, Cheryl has been an instructor at  Peridance Capezio Center, Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio, Edge PAC, Ballet Austin, Millennium Dance Complex, and Broadway Dance Center.  

  Hayden Stark is TADA's Youth Ballet Conservatory Director.  He retired in 2021 as a Soloist with Houston Ballet and is known for his outgoing and knowledgeable style of teaching.  Hayden grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He began dancing at 3 years old, toured with Minnesota Ballet at ten, and, at fifteen, left home to attend North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduating in 2012, Hayden joined Houston Ballet II, was hired into the Houston Ballet Company in 2013 and has since been elevated to Soloist. Hayden has enjoyed performing the lead role of Ariel in David Bintley’s The Tempest and soloist roles of Fire God in Stanton Welch’s La Bayadere and Indian Boy in Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances, to name just a few.  Mr. Hayden became TADA's YBC Director in May of 2021!  You may email Mr Hayden at ybc@dancetada.com 

Originally from Austin, TX, Quinton has been on faculty for Break the Floor Productions (JUMP Convention, etc), Adrenaline Dance Convention, NV Dance Intensive, V.I.P, Showbiz National Talent Competition, Move Productions, Hall of Fame Dance Challenge and Flow 40 Dance Workshops. Weathers' early training was at the Edge Performing Arts in LA under Bill Prudich, Mandy Moore, Adam Parsons, Doug Caldwell, Malaya, Tabitha & Napoleon, Marty Kudelka, and Roger Lee, among others.  His fresh choreography and outgoing attitude has made him a sought-after teacher and choreographer. He has taught master classes all over the United States, Canada, Korea, Japan, Central America and Mexico. Quinton For five years, he taught lyrical, jazz and hip-hop at Simi Dance Center in Simi Valley, California. His students have won numerous scholarships and awards, including national titles and have gone on to work as professional dancers in the industry.

He has also assisted award-winning choreographer Mandy Moore in Seoul, Korea at the International Jazz Festival and at the Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. Quinton lived in LA for five years and was represented by Bloc Talent Agency. He has worked with many celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Angie Stone, Snoop Dogg, Salt & Pepa, Kylie Minogue, Anastasia, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Solange Knowles, Yasmeen, Parker Posey and Chris Katan. His TV and film credits include Nickelodeon’s “All That” and “Taina,” the “2002 Olympics,” “Soul Train”, “Trading Spaces,” “Varsity Blues,” “Honey,” “Adam and Steve” and “Dreamgirls.” He has appeared in commercials, industrials and print work for “So You Think You Can Dance,” ipod, Motorola, Smashbox Cosmetics, Nintendo, Diesel and Levi Jeans, Nike, 7-up and Pepsi. Quinton also performed on the American Idol 2 Tour of North America. Quinton is now back in Austin, TX where, for twelve years, he owned his own studio, The Dance Spot. Now, he is the artistic director of the youth-company, Rise Dance Collective. He recently had the honor of performing with UK artist “Years and Years”, at the 2015 MTV Woodie Awards and was photographed by New York Times bestselling author/photographer Jordan Matter for his latest book, “Dancers After Dark”. 

Originally from Sacramento, California, Elise Elliott retired from the Houston Ballet as a Soloist in 2017. Following four summer programs, she became a member of the Houston Ballet in November 2007.  She  enjoyed being featured in works by many choreographers, including Stanton Welch, Antony Tudor, Ben Stevenson, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Christopher Bruce, Sir Kenneth Macmillan, Wayne MacGregor,  and John Cranko. Elise has had the pleasure to teach with TADA since they opened their doors in 2014. In April of 2017, Elise became TADA's Ballet Director, as well as Artistic Director of TADA's Youth Ballet Company. Over the years she grew the ballet program to the successful and thriving school it is today, and founded the Youth Ballet Company.  In 2021, along with her husband Rhodes Elliott and two children Henry and Annie, she relocated to Fort Worth to accept a position with Texas Ballet Theater as School Business Manager and instructor.  TADA is thrilled to have Miss Elise back to guest teach!

  Rhodes Elliott comes to us from Florence, South Carolina. Rhodes retired in 2018 as a Demi-Soloist with the Houston Ballet, after having been with the company for 11 years. He received his early dance training and pre-pro experience with UNCSA, as well as The School of Dance Arts and South Carolina Dance Theater under the tutelage of the esteemed Susan Rowe. He attended several summer programs throughout his training, including North Carolina Dance Theater, Houston Ballet, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. While dancing with the Houston Ballet, Rhodes enjoyed performing many works, including those by Stanton Welch, Jiri Kylian, Christopher Bruce, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton, Ben Stevenson, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, and Christopher Wheeldon. Rhodes has been on staff at TADA since they opened their doors in 2014, and in 2019 he accepted a position as assistant Ballet Director to his wife, Elise Elliott.  In 2021 he accepted a position as Instructor of the Advanced and Professional Training Division at Texas Ballet Theater.  TADA is thrilled to have Mr. Rhodes back to guest teach!!

Bridget Kuhns is currently a soloist with the Houston Ballet.  She was born in Bellville, Ohio.  She started classical ballet at the age of 8 at the Opus II Dance Studio with Ashland Regional Ballet in Ashland, Ohio.  She trained at BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio and attended Orlando Ballet’s summer intensive.  At 15 years old, she attended Houston Ballet’s summer intensive and received a year-round scholarship at her audition.  She joined Houston Ballet II a year later.  Ms. Kuhns became an apprentice with the professional company in 2013.  She rose through the ranks from corps de ballet in 2014 to demi soloist in 2016.  She was promoted to soloist in 2017.

Ms. Kuhns is featured in a variety of classic and contemporary ballet roles including Suzuki in Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly; Carabosse in Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty; Jiří Kylián’s Dreamtime, Stepping Stones and Wings of Wax; and the Mud Woman in William Forsythe’s Artifact Suite.  In March 2018, she was one of five Houston Ballet dancers to perform a contemporary piece collaborated among the Menil Collection, Houston Ballet, and the Merce Cunningham Trust.  The piece was set in the Dan Flavin Installation, a modern art light installation at Richmond Hall, The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas.  For the Company’s 50th anniversary, Ms. Kuhns was featured in an original role for Chinese choreographer Disha Zhang’s first American ballet commission Elapse.

She has danced in several tours including Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake in Dubai, UAE and Minneapolis, MN (2018); Stanton Welch’s Tapestry in Bonn and Ludwigshafen, Germany (2017); and Stanton Welch’s world premiere of Just and Trey McIntyre’s In Dreams at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, MA (2018).  As part of the Company’s 50th tour in October of 2019, she traveled to New York City’s City Center to reprise her original role in Justin Peck’s Reflections.

 Amy Leonards is Director of TADA's Ballet Program and holds a BA in the Performing Arts.   Originally from Louisiana, Amy is classically trained in ballet, tap, and jazz, with a specialization in teaching Vaganova, Cecchetti, and RAD ballet methods.   Miss Amy developed and implemented ballet curriculum as ballet director over several years for two performing arts schools in Los Angeles and San Franciso before joining us at TADA, while also pursuing a professional career in theater. She is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association, and some of her favorite roles include Hope in Anything Goes, Rose in Enchanted April (World Premiere), Marian in The Music Man, Maggie in A Chorus Line, and Jellylorum in Cats, to name a few. Amy also has international, national, and regional commercial and print credits, including Ford, Legal Zoom, LeapFrog, and Salesforce. 

Learn more about Amy Leonards at 

  https://www.amyfranklinleonards.com/

​​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!  

Kaleigh began her training in Spring, TX at North Harris Performing Arts. She attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and moved downtown to train full time at the Houston Ballet Academy. She danced professionally with both Houston Ballet and Houston Ballet II, and has performed in numerous ballets such as Stanton Welch’s La Bayadere, Madame Butterfly, and Marie, to name a few. After her time with the Houston Ballet, Kaleigh lived and trained in New York City at the world renowned Peridance Capezio Center, Gibney Dance, and Steps on Broadway studios. Kaleigh has headlined the North American tour of Dirty Dancing as Frances “Baby” Houseman, where she performed over 200 shows in the United States and Canada. She most recently danced professionally for AIDA cruises in Germany and has traveled to 23 countries thanks to her dance experience. Kaleigh loves sharing her knowledge from over a decade of experience and is very excited to be teaching at TADA!

Robbie Moore was born in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. He grew up dancing from age six in the Houston area, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He was recognized as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 2010. After earning a degree from the Juilliard School, Robbie worked professionally out of New York and Los Angeles. Robbie toured internationally with L.A. Dance Project, under the direction of Benjamin Millepied, from 2015. With the company he was featured in works by Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Justin Peck, and William Forsythe. Robbie arrived in Belgium in 2017 and has since collaborated on three major opera productions: Satyagraha, Pelléas et Mélisande, and Alceste for Eastman - Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. In Antwerp, he trained under Anna Rubau to become a certified True-Pilates instructor. In his time overseas, Robbie joined Opera Ballet Vlaanderen as a demi-soloist. While there he had the pleasure of working with Damien Jalet, Marina Abramović, Johan Inger, Alexander Ekman, Alan Lucien Øyen and Trisha Brown Dance Company. He currently resides in Houston working as a freelance dancer, Pilates instructor, movement coach and choreographer. Photo by: Koen Broos 

JC Schuster born and raised in Dallas ,TX, is an entertainer and

choreographer with over 19 years of experience in the entertainment

industry. His professional career started at the age of fourteen while touring

nationally and internationally with New York Stage Originals show, “Tap

Kids”. JC moved to LA in 2009 and then to New York in 2011 where his TV/

film/theatrical chapter started. Some of his film and television credits

include Fosse/Verdon (FX), Annie (2014), HBO’s Vinyl, Glee, Gossip Girl

and Nurse Jackie. While living in New York, his professional career

extended to both Off and On Broadway, including the original Broadway

company of The SpongeBob SquarePants Musical which was nominated

for 12 Tonys awards. His other Broadway credits include Fiddler on the

Roof, Soul Doctor, and A.R.T’s Finding Neverland.

In addition, JC has had opportunities to work for Madonna, Keith Urban,

Good Morning America, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Today

Show, The View, The 72nd Tony Awards and the 90th annual Macys

Thanksgiving Day Parade, to name a few.

JC has expanded his experience in the entertainment business as a

choreographer and assistant choreographer for TV, industrials,

conventions, and conferences/events. He has had the privilege to work on

shows for CHI Farouk Systems, The Yellow Conference, Orange County

School Of The Arts and Pace University. For TV, JC was one of the

choreographers for Orange Is the New Black and worked on the pre-

production and production of the Emmy Award-Winning TV show as a

choreographer’s assistant and performer for Fosse/Verdon on FX.

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.

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, Millennium Dance Complex, 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 The National Dance Honors, as well as guest teach tap at Adrenaline and Revive Dance Conventions.  She is excited to be currently touring with The Streetz Dance Convention as their 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.

 A graduate of the Juiliard School, NYC, Dylan Croy is from Kingwood Texas. He is a dancer, choreographer, and singer-songwriter. Dylan graduated from Houston's HSPVA in 2016 and then received a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School in 2020. Dylan is also a YoungArts Alumni, receiving recognition in Modern Dance as well as Choreography. More recently he has been dabbling in his songwriting and releasing new music on popular music platforms. He is continuing to fuse his artistic crafts together to create work that crosses many genres. 

Colette R. Kerwick, from Santa Fe, New Mexico received her BA in dance from New Mexico State University, where she worked as an Adjunct Lecturer before moving to Texas, where she received her Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from Sam Houston State University and is currently an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Dance. In her fourth season dancing with NobleMotion Dance, she is Programming Director and is also, Artistic Director of their pre-professional company, NMD2. Previous experience includes Adjunct Lecturer with University of St. Thomas in teaching dance. She has presented choreography at the American College Dance Association, The Dance Gallery Festival (NY, TX), William Evans Somatic Dance Festival (NY) and the Keshet Dance Festival (NM). Kerwick has also had the privilege of performing works by Lux Boreal, Mike Esperanza, Gabrielle Lamb, Jennifer Mabus, Joshua Manculich, Andy and Dionne Noble, Dana Nicolay, Jennifer Pontius and Vanessa Voskuil. She has also performed and trained at festivals and intensives including: Dance Italia in Lucca, Italy, the American Dance Festival, Josè Limon and has toured with NobleMotion Dance in New York City, NY, Palm Springs, CA, Corpus Christi, TX and Phoenix, AZ. This season Kerwick looks forward to performing at the Kennedy Center with NobleMotion Dance in 2022.

Dylan Allen holds a BFA  in the Performing Arts from Point Park University and currently dances with Ad Deum Dance Company, "Where the Good, True, and Beautiful find Expression Through Dance."  Originally from Houston, Texas, Dylan attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, danced with  the MET, and the American Neoclassical Ballet.  He has performed works by Ruben Graciani, Matt Pardo, Kiesha Lalama, James Gregg, Douglas Bentz, Adam Hougland, and Jason McDole.  Dylan continues to teach at studios around the Houston area while performing professionally.