// Teaching Artists //
Velocity Teaching Artists are among the best in their chosen field of practice. All our Teaching Artists are practicing artists with extensive experience in working in the professional arts sector. We invite you to meet our very talented teaching team:
ALLISON BURKE (ALLISON PB) is a performer/choreographer based in Seattle, WA. Allison currently performs with Cherdonna Shinatra’s company DONNA, and has worked with local artists Dayna Hanson, Molly Scott, Markeith Wiley and others. As a choreographer, Allison has presented her work and film at venues/festivals across Seattle including Earshot Jazz Festival, TUF Fest, Next Dance Cinema, Racer Sessions, Open Studio, SAM Remix, and more. Heavily influenced by music in her work, she frequently collaborates with musicians and is currently working with bands Thunderpussy, Honey Noble, and a new performance duet with percussionist Ruby Dunphy. Allison is Operations Manager at Base: Experimental Arts + Space.
HOPE GOLDMAN is a choreographer, performing artist, and teacher. A recent transplant to Seattle from Chicago, her work has been seen at venues including the Storefront Theater, The Dance Center, and Links Hall and been supported by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and the Illinois Arts Council. Nationally, her work has been seen at Chez Bushwick and The Tank in New York, Visual Art Exchange in Greensboro, NC, and Contemporary Dance Theater in Cincinnati, OH, among others. In 2015, her solo, Pussy Willow, was named Chicago NewCity’s Best New Dance Performance, as well as, one of the Top 5 Emerging Dancer Performances. In addition to her own choreography, Hope also collaborates with partner and computer programmer, Andrew Moffat, creating works that combine dance with real-time interactive technology for their company Form Constant Dance. She has served on faculty at Olive Harvey College and been a guest artist at Columbia College Chicago, Washington and Lee University, and Iowa State University. She has had the pleasure of performing in the work of companies and artists including Bodycartography Project, Cie. Willie Dorner, Joanna Furnans, and Erin Kilmurray. She is also the co-founder, along with Joanna Furnans, of Performance Response Journal, a platform for responses to dance and performance in Chicago. Hope holds a BFA in dance from the University of South Florida and an MFA in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign where she also held a teaching assistantship.
RON GATSBY is a dancer, teaching artist, and choreographer. He is the Artistic Director/Choreographer of Seattle-based performance collective The Purple Lemonade, which he founded in 2016. Locally Ron’s work has been seen at Seattle PrideFest, Seattle Art Museum’s SAM Remix, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. His commercial choreography credits include Alexander McQueen, Charlotte Tilbury, Kate Moss, and St. Germain, among others.
ALICE GOSTI is an Italian-American Immigrant choreographer, hybrid performance artist, curator and architect of experiences, working between Seattle and Europe since 2008. Gosti’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, commissions and residencies including being a recipient of the 2013 Vilcek Creative Promise in Dance Award, the 2012 ImPulsTanz danceWEB scholarship and a 2016 NEFA National Dance Project Grant. Gosti was also a McColl Center for the Arts+Innovation Artist in Residency and Italian Council awardee. Gosti’s work has been commissioned and prsented nationally and internationally in universities, galleries, museums, theaters, schools, and non-conventional performance spaces. Dance Magazine has described Gosti’s work as “unruly yet rigorous, feminine yet rebellious, task-like yet mischievous“, and SeattleDances.org described How to become a partisan as, “hypnotic, meditative, and profoundly beautiful, it left you with a certain sense of calm despite the heavy issues at its core.” Alice loves planes. http://gostia.com
MARK HAIM
Mark Haim has been choreographing and teaching for over 25 years. He was Artistic Director of Mark Haim & Dancers from 1984-1987, and the Companhia de Danca de Lisboa from 1987-1990. He has created new works for dance companies such as the Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballet Frankfurt, the Limon Dance Company, the Joffrey II Dancers, and the Rotterdamse Dansgroep, and has restaged his works on The Joffrey Ballet, the Bat-Dor Dance Company of Israel, Djazzex, and the Juilliard Dance Ensemble. His full evening solo project, The Goldberg Variations, has been performed at the American Dance Festival, the Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, The John F. Kennedy Center, On The Boards and other venues in the U.S, Europe, Asia. His newest work, This Land Is Your Land, opened the ArtDanThe Festival in Paris, and has also been performed at the Joyce Theater in NYC and in the Nasher Museum of Art as part of the 2013 ADF performing series. Most recently, Mark choreographed for the Seattle Opera’s productions of The Consul and Tales of Hoffmann. Mark has been on the faculty of the American Dance Festival since 1993 and was the Senior Artist in Residence at the University of Washington Dance Program from 2002-2008. He has also taught at the Reed College, NC School of the Arts, University of Illinois, Ohio University, SMU, VCU, Cornell, JMU, and for schools and companies in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Latvia, Russia, Argentina, Chile and Japan. He is a recipient of a NYFA Choreographers Fellowship, 2 NEA Choreographers Fellowships, and grants from the NPN Suitcase Fund, ArtsLink, Inc. and the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. Mark is a Fulbright Senior Specialist. / Photo by Tim Summers
Press: 15 Artists, 15 Years, 15 Works – Haim’s This Land is Your Land listed as one of the most influential works in the past 15 years.—Dance Magazine, January 2015.
JARET HUGHES
Jaret Hughes has 14 years of dance experience, with Hip Hop being his specialty along with training in Modern, Jazz, Ballet and African. Jaret has 11 years of choreographing and teaching experience with all ages, including 8 years at Elizabeth’s Dance Dimensions in Bellevue, Washington. Jaret’s choreography credits include the L.A. Clippers Spirit Dance Team (guest choreographer), Seattle Supersonics Dance Team for 5 years, founder of 2wisted Elegance from Seattle and LA’s debut of 2wisted Elegance with the help of his good friend Joey Cooper, Modazz Competition Teams at Elizabeth’s Dance Dimensions, co-choreographer and dancer for EVE in LA, and assistant choreographer / assistant Artistic Director for the “Invitation Feedback” video contest submission for Janet Jackson. Jaret Competed on Destination Stardom in Hawaii. Jaret’s performances include: Seattle’s Kube 93’s Summer Jam for 3 years with Twisted Elegance, which included sharing the main stage with artists such as Destiny’s Child, Ginuwine, Busta Rhymes, Blackstreet, Naughty By Nature and many more; various Hip Hop shows throughout Seattle including Daniel Cruz’s Battle of Seattle Remix 3 and 4 and, most recently while living in LA for 2 1/2 years, performances with Breed OCLA for numerous dance competitions and guest performances for the DVD Release Party for “Step Up 2: The Streets”. Jaret has shared his choreography expertise with various high school and college dance teams throughout Washington, California and Idaho.
KATHLEEN HUNT
Kathleen Hunt founded/co-directed the Samadhi Yoga Center and created the Yoga Alliance certified Samadhi Yoga Teacher Training program. After graduating with a BA in Dance from the University of Washington, she went on to produce/choreograph/perform numerous dance productions. In 1995 she formed the ‘Samadhi Yoginis’ dance troupe. Kathleen owes her understanding of yoga to: Swami Shankarananda, Dharma Mitra, Marie Svoboda, Sri K Patabhi Jois and Aadil Palkhivala.
Website: kathleen-hunt.com
SARAH HUNTTING
Sarah Huntting draws on over 30 years of experience in the movement and somatic arts to inform her professional practice. Sarah is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, a Licensed Massage Practitioner since 1995 and has been an avid dancer/mover her whole life. Sarah helps her students to develop their sensory awareness and ability to refine movement for improved function, comfort and vitality. She encourages her students to cultivate a playful and gentle inquiry into their learning process.
KEELAN JOHNSON / ANDROID ALLURE is a queer, non-binary performer and choreographer based in Seattle, Washington. They have been dancing for 12 years and is formally trained in the dance styles Vogue, Waacking, Hip Hop, and Burlesque. They are an alumni member of the performance groups Throne Level and Luscious & Vicious and was a principle dancer and contributing choreographer for the art collective The Purple Lemonade. They are also one of the founders of the voguing and waacking collective Malicious Allure, now known as Malicious Vixens. In 2018, Keelan joined the Seattle based cabaret, Valtesse Productions where they are a featured cast member and contributing choreographer. Keelan’s work has been showcased at the Bellevue Arts Museum’s Art Fair, Seattle International Dance Festival’s Art on the Fly, Seattle Gay Pride Festival, and Seattle Art Museum’s events Legendary Children and Remix. In 2018, Keelan alongside their collective Malicious Allure, was a featured artist at On the Board’s 2018 NW New Works and debuted their work Unlady-Like, a dance production exploring the power of femininity. Keelan is one of the leaders and educators in PNW kiki ballroom scene. Known in the scene as Android Allure, they are the father of the House of Monet. They are known for walking the categories Face, Vogue Femme and Hand Performance. In 2019, they established Emerald City Kiki Sessions, a safe space for the Black and Brown LGBTQ2S+ to learn the history of ballroom culture, ballroom etiquette, category breakdown and build stronger bonds with their fellow QTPOC. They strive to educate the Seattle area on the history of Ballroom Culture in order to cultivate the growth of ballroom in the PNW.
JODY KUEHNER (she/her) is a queer, femme, dance artist who uses drag, theater, comedy, camp, pop culture, gay culture, absurdity and subversive commentary to make art. Jody is a 2017 Artist Trust Fellowship recipient, 2017 Henry Art Gallery Artist in Residence, 2015 Stranger Genius Award winner. She was awarded funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project 2016 for a triptych of works that toured nationally. Kuehner was Dayna Hanson’s Production Coordinator and Assistant Director 2010–2015 for various projects. She danced with Pat Graney company from 2007–2016 and also assisted Graney’s KTF Prison Project.
Website: cherdonna.com
Facebook: /cherdonna
Instagram: @cherdonnashinatra
Twitter: @itsmecherdonna
Vimeo: vimeo.com/user7762072
WEST LIBERTY (they/them) is a multi-disciplinary artist, graduate of the Cornish College of the Arts Dance program and founder of the Body as Teacher, a movement workshop for people of varying ages and abilities who are looking to have a healing conversation with their bodies through dance. West has also danced professionally, most recently in ‘How to Become a Partisan’ (choreographed by Alice Gosti) which premiered at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle in 2015. They have also presented choreographic works for and performed in numerous shows and festivals including Velocity Dance Center’s ‘The Bridge Project’ & Next Fest NW and On the Boards’ Northwest New Works Festival. West premiered their second short film, Milo & Onyx in June 2019 at the Northwest Film Forum. Milo & Onyx was produced as part of the Blanket Fort Films Motion Picture Program and features an all trans and gender non-conforming cast and crew. West is deeply invested in teaching and learning with others how to source wisdom from the body as a resource in humanity’s efforts toward liberation for all beings.
WADE MADSEN received his Bachelor’s degree from the University New Mexico, where he majored in theater and dance. Wade later toured with Tandy Beal, Bill Evans, and Dayna Hanson. Wade is a choreographer and has over 180 works to his credit, many of which have premiered at Cornish Dance Theater since he joined the faculty in 1984. Professor Madsen teaches all levels of contemporary technique classes, multiple levels of choreography and creative practice courses, repertory and partnering, as well as facilitating the interdisciplinary course Hybrid Collaborations.
In the fall of 2018, Madsen created a new work for Cornish Dance Theater, presented in the newly created Solo: A Festival of Dance at On the Boards, along with a new commission for a site specific work in Riverside, California. In the spring of 2019, Wade will return with the cast of The Event by Peggy Piacenza for a performance and gallery installation in Seattle.
NEVE MAZIQUE-BIANCO or NEVE, is a Black (specifically Sudanese, even more specifically Nubian) punk disabled queer fairy beast. A certified personal trainer and integrated dance teacher trained by NASM and Axis Dance Company, respectively, Neve cares about the welfare and equitable access to joy, sensuality, community, self-expression, and liberation of all bodies. Neve received multiple film and theatre directing awards in 2017, from East Bay Express in Oakland, the Toronto International Porn Festival, and from the Seattle Gender Justice League. They made their international debut at Berlin’s Hebel Am Ufer. In spring 2018, Neve joined the artistic board of directors of PlayThey Studios, a media and event production cooperative company of queer/trans/Black/disabled and otherwise marginalized artists. Neve is one of the first four recipients of the PNW Afro X Fellowship, a research fellowship for African American artists created in collaboration by The Seattle Public Library and the Central District Forum. Their performance, Lover of Low Creatures, will premiere at Velocity May 9-12 2019.
MICHAEL O’NEAL JR.
Michael O’Neal Jr. (Majinn) is an African American professional dance artist and teacher who utilizes his training in both street and classical dance styles to find and express his whole self. Through his art Majinn hopes to inspire those he can, to follow their dreams and continue to grow in everyday life. One of Majinn’s biggest goals in dance is to try and bridge the gap between the classical and street dance worlds and build a stronger dance community in his own city and a far. Majinn is a part of both Chapter1NE and Beat Hippies dance crews as well as he is a co-founder of Seattle’s Au Collective. / Photo by Chris Lee Hill
Instagram: @majinn_mike
Twitter: @Majinn_Mike
YouTube: youtube.com/user/Choreomike
LEX RAMIREZ is a teaching artist, performer and choreographer from Oakland, Ca. Her main mission is to make dance accessible and less intimidating to all people so that they can experience the joy of movement. It is important to her to cultivate a fun, supportive community where dancers of all experience levels can thrive! Lex has been choreographing for the past 15 years. Her experience includes teaching at Salsa N’ Seattle for the past 5 years, leading Drop Squad, a crew open to dancers of all experience levels, choreographing for local Seattle artists, running an all-girls hip hop and social justice program at Denny and Aki Kurose Middle Schools, organizing affordable community dance workshops in the summer and providing a platform for new instructors to gain teaching experience. Lex also works as both a teaching artist and coordinator for Seattle Theatre Group, involved with programs such as Dance This, AileyCamp, Disney Musicals in Schools and the STG Dance Season.
RATNA ROY
Ratna Roy, Ph.D., started her training in Odissi dance in 1972 under Guru Govinda Chandra Pal, and from 1977 until his death in 2003, she trained under Adiguru Pankaj Charan Das. One of the guru’s seniormost disciples, she has performed extensively as a soloist in India, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, the Baltics, South Africa, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, China, and Japan. Her major research work in dance has been reconstructing her guru’s inherited devadasi tradition, envisioning Odissi as a healthful way of life, and situating Odissi in undergraduate interdisciplinary college curriculum. Ratna has published several articles in both Indian and US journals and a well-reviewed book, Neo-Classical Odissi Dance. Her fellowships and awards for dance and scholarship include the Advanced Fulbright Fellowship (1985), American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowship (1988), National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowship (1988), Summer Fulbright Fellowship (1988), Arts International Award (2001), Fund for Folk Culture Award (2005), the Gordon Ekvall Tracie Memorial Award from Ethnic Heritage Council, Washington (2008), and Washington State Arts Commission’s Fellowship Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts (2008), and Washington State Arts Commission’s Master Apprenticeship Award (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010). Currently, she is Professor Emerita, Dance and Expressive Arts at The Evergreen State College, Washington, USA, Odissi instructor at The Velocity Dance Center (Seattle), and Artistic Director, Urvasi Dance Ensemble.
MAYA SOTO is a choreographer, performer and award winning arts educator. She is a member of Catapult Dance Company and a successful independent artist. She is a recipient of the Velocity Dance Champion Award (2014) for significant contribution to Seattle dance. Her vast body of work includes concert performance, movement installations, dance for theater and for film. Athleticism, embodied movement and rhythmic dynamics are pillars of her work. She brings together classical dance training and a sense of play and entertainment. She has created and produced seven evening-length shows over the last 13 years. Her choreography has been featured in every major dance festival in the Northwest including OTB/Northwest New Works Festival (SEA), BOOST Dance Festival (SEA), Pacific Dance Makers (PDX), Seattle International Dance Festival (SEA) and Conduit’s Dance+ Festival (PDX). Maya is originally from the Portland area and has been calling Seattle home since 1999. Over the years, she has worked with many notable artists/companies including Amy O’Neal, KT Neihoff, Sandstrommovement, and LeGendre Performance Group. From 2003-2012, she co-directed collaborative dance company, Northwest Dance Syndrome. Passionate about arts education, Maya teaches weekly modern technique classes at Velocity Dance Center and is on faculty at the Northwest School and Exit Space School of Dance. She has taught at Cornish College of the Arts, Bellevue College, The International Ballet School and Seattle International Dance Festival’s intensive program – The Threshold Institute. She is currently a teaching artist for Seattle Theater Group, Disney Musicals in Schools and the EMP Museum. Maya is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts. To view more of her portfolio, click here.
GILBERT SMALL Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gilbert Small started his professional ballet training at the age of 10 at the Baltimore School for the Arts. He has studied at various programs in North America and Europe. After graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts, he continued his studies at the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College. While at Purchase, Gilbert was given the opportunity to study abroad at Codarts in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He has performed with Toronto-based ProArteDanza as well as New York-based A.I.M, The Dash Ensemble and Sidra Bell Dance New York. Gilbert is in his 10th season with Ballet BC. The last 2 years he’s been a guest artist with the company and also collaborating with them as a Rehearsal Director. Gilbert is also a collaborator with Seattle-based zoe | juniper.
UNDERCURRENT is a Seattle-based movement project founded by Hilary Grumman, Liv Fauver, & Ashley Jade. Undercurrent technique classes emphasize community building and peer learning to unpack contemporary floorwork. We study the most efficient ways to move in and out of the floor and how we can use our bones and muscles to make challenging movement as easeful, effective, and strengthening as possible. We believe in the longevity of dance and our class aims to support our dancers in balancing and conditioning their bodies while adding versatility to their dancing toolsets.
KATE WALLICH
Kate Wallich is a Seattle-based choreographer, director and teacher – named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2015. She received her training from Interlochen Arts Academy and Cornish College of the Arts (Magna Cum Laude). In 2010, she founded her dance company, The YC, with co-founder Lavinia Vago. Her work has been commissioned and presented nationally and internationally by On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, The Rauschenberg Foundation, MANA Contemporary, Springboard Danse Montréal, TOES, Bumbershoot, Conduit, City Arts Festival, The Frye Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery and Seattle Art Museum as well as by leading West Coast companies Whim W’Him, Raw Dance and Northwest Dance Project. She was a Visiting Artist at University of Washington, University of Oregon, Cornish College of the Arts and University of Utah. Kate has created two evening-length works with The YC: Super Eagle produced through Velocity Dance Center’s Made In Seattle program and Splurge Land produced through On the Board’s Performance Production Program. Kate has received awards and grants from 4Culture, Artist Trust, The Glenn H. Kawasaki Foundation, Seattle Magazine’s “Spotlight Artist Award” and is a 2 time AIR recipient of the Rauschenberg Residency in Captiva, Florida.
Website: katewallich.com
Facebook: /theycforever
Instagram: @katewallich
Vimeo: /theycfamily
FOX WHITNEY is an experimental artist working in the fields of theater, dance, film, and visual art. They are the creator of the Gender Tender performance project and continue to develop the GT method as well as develop new ideas and projects. Fox’s methods are a natural reflection of their queerness, non-binary gender, and multi-racial identity. Their work showcases their love of conceptual art, absurdism, and popular culture. They received their BA in art practice and theory at the Evergreen State College and went on to hone their skill for making risky art while receiving an MFA in studio art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Additionally, they are an RYT 200 with Yoga Alliance. They have shown work in Seattle at Velocity Dance Center, On the Boards, Washington Ensemble Theater, the Seattle International Dance Festival, Yellow Fish Epic Durational Performance Festival, and Gay City Arts; in Portland, Oregon at Performance Works Northwest|Linda Austin Dance; and in Minneapolis at events curated by HIJACK, 20% Theatre Co., The Body Cartography Project, and 9×22 Dance Lab. Fox has exhibited their visual art and screened their short films nationally. Their Creative Process Series will take place at Velocity in May, and their immersive all-day performance “Melted Riot,” presented by Velocity, goes up June 28. gendertender.weebly.com
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