Becky Kendall Artistic Director/Choreographer/Performer
Becky is a choreographer, performer and teacher from Alaska where she began her dance training. She studied dance in New York and then Colorado where she earned a degree in Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University. She danced with Interweave Dance Theater in Boulder Colorado in 2001and worked with choreographers Gaelon Hanson of 33 Fainting Spells, KT Niehoff of Lingo Dance Theater and Lasara Jarvis, performing in Seattle from 2004 -2005. Locally, she danced and choreographed for Dance Spectrum Alaska 2006-2008, performed and choreographed for New Dances for the University of Anchorage Alaska in 2009, and collaborated on Transactions, a recent site specific work this fall. Finding her voice through contemporary dance and improvisation, Becky enjoys creating movement that integrates traditional technique with personal style and everyday movement. As an instructor she has taught modern for the Anchorage School District, Dance Together Alaska Festival 2008, Dance Spectrum School, UAA, Momentum dance workshops and Alaska Dance Theatre.
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Jessie Embley Board Member/Choreographer/ Performer
Jessie Embley, a life long Alaskan, began her dance training at the age of 14 at Dance Spectrum School of Dance. She started with a jazz class and before she knew it was signed up for ballet, tap, lyrical, and modern too. She was inspired by her participation in the Music Machine as a child, and decided that she enjoyed the dancing more than the singing. She is a member of Dance Spectrum Alaska and is a jazz and tap choreographer for the company, as well a teacher at the studio. Jessie has choreographed and taught with the Anchorage School District, the Dance Together Alaska Festival, Broadway Kids, and many other local organizations. She also directed The Dance Machine for a number of years. Jessie has taken master classes with Tap Dogs, Gregory Hines, Carlos Jones, Tammy Gibson, and 42nd street to name a few. She attended multiple summer workshops in Idyllwild California and the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. She presently holds an associate’s degree in applied science in the field of culinary arts and hospitality from UAA. She enjoys escaping to Seattle for long weekends to expand her artistic abilties. She is the mother of two beautiful little girls.
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Stephanie Griffin Choreographer/Performer
Until 2001, Stephanie Griffin hadn't taken a dance step since the age of seven. She moved to Alaska and found the best adventure to be on the dance floor learning social Latin dances at the age of 21. After a year of classes, she began teaching those dances, along with colleague Katya Kuznetsova, forming Ritmovida Dance Partnership. As an instructor, Stephanie has taught at numerous local schools and organizations, such as East High Contempo, Somos Amigos Spanish Language Academy, the UAA Dance Club, and Northern Lights ABC School. She consistently participates as perfomer and instructor in community celebrations, such as the Governor's Picnic, the Mayor's Diversity Celebration, and Civil Right's Day celebrations.
Stephanie has also been a member of the UAA Dance Ensemble, a resident student dance company at the University of Alaska Anchorage, participating as both a performer and choreographer in over twelve productions in the past six years both in Anchorage and state-wide. She has also trained with international artists, such as Marianela Boan (DanzAbierta, Havana Cuba), Molly Shanahan (Mad Shak Dance Company, Chicago), Jump Rhythm Jazz Project (Chicago), and Augusto Soledad (Brazz Dance Theatre, Miami). Her most recent choreographic work, "Together...in time", premiered at the American College Dance Festival, Northwest Region at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City in March of 2008.
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Katherine Cunningham Choreographer/Performer
Katherine (Kat) Cunningham is an alumni of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) with a B.S. in Natural Science. She started dancing in high school with the East High Dance Contempo and continued her dance studies through UAA and minoring in dance. She has had the opportunity to attend the American College Dance Festival Association 2008 held at Salt Lake City,Utah with the UAA Dance Ensemble. Additionally, she has choreographed for East High Dance Contempo and UAA’s New Dances 2008 and 2009 as well as performed in Voices 2003 and New Dances 2004, 2006 through 2009. Kat has had the chance to work with choreographers such as Adrienne McGuire, Noemia Reis, Marianne M. Kim, Brian Jeffery, Augusto Soledade, and Jill Flanders Crosby. She has dabbled in many dance forms such as flamenco, butoh, modern/contemporary, hip-hop, step, jazz, musical theatre and African to name a few.
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Beth Daly Choreographer/Performer
Before moving up to Alaska, Beth danced for 14 years in Madison, Wisconsin. In the fall of 2004, she auditioned to be a part of the UAA Dance Ensemble and joined under the direction of Brian Jeffrey. For four semesters, Beth performed at UAA, as well as at the American College Dance Festival. Beth choreographed for UAA's New Dances performance for two semesters, as well as performed in New Dances 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Beth has moved into other dance opportunities and has enjoyed being a part of the dance community. She has instructed during the Dance Together Alaska Festival, as well as UAA Dance Club dance workshops. She looks forward to further creative collaboration and performances that Momentum Dance Collective will bring.
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Irenerose Castillo Choreographer/Performer
Since she was a little girl dancing in front of the TV, imitating moves from a Paula Abdul music video, Irenerose has always had a passion for dance and music. She was exposed to HipHop dance at an early age by her brother Bryan Pentecostes, who is now a member of SickStep- a renowned hiphop breakdancing crew based in Los Angeles. She further developed as a dancer in East High’s Dance Contempo, where she learned Jazz, Modern, and various multicultural dance styles. In 2002-03, she danced with UAA’s Dance Ensemble under the direction of Brian Jeffery, and from 2005-06, she was living in San Jose, California and dancing for Booftroop-a hiphop/jazz dance company under the direction of Krisuan Rosalejos. While dancing for Booftroop, Irenerose was featured as a dancer in the music video “It Ain’t” by Immij, and also had the opportunity to perform at various venues across the Bay Area. After returning from California, Irenerose has worked with artists in the Anchorage community such as Katya Kuznetsova, Yngvil Vatn Guttu, Kris Palmatier, and Gabrielle Barnett, and has taught hiphop for UAA’s Student Union Dance Series and choreographed for UAA’s New Dances 2008 Showcase. She recently finished her Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Sciences, Minor in Dance, and now works for both the University as a Biology Lab Instructor, and teaches hiphop for Barbara’s School of Dance.
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Therese Brennan Hartlieb Project Dancer/Choreographer/Performer
Therese Brennan Hartlieb began dancing in an after school tap program at the age of 6. She then had the opportunity to grow as a dancer by becoming a member of East High's Dance Contempo, and was able to continue learning about dance and choreography while attending college at UAA. Therese graduated in 2004 with a BS in Nursing Science and currently works as an elementary school nurse. Over the years, Therese has performed in Expanding the Stage, the Look Again Project, Voices, UAA's Jazz Week, and was a UAA Dance Ensemble member from 2000-2006. She also had the opportunity to travel out of state with the Ensemble to participate in the American College Dance Festival in 2005 and 2006. Therese choreographed for Dance Contempo in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2009, as well as for UAA's New Dances in 2001, 2005, 2006, and 2007. She is excited and grateful to work with the amazing artists who make up Momentum Dance Collective
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Ashley Kellum Project Dancer/Choreographer/Performer
Dance has been a large part of Ashley’s life since she was a tiny munchkin. She grew up taking a variety of dance classes and would routinely dance throughout her house, especially in the kitchen. She grew up in Richmond, VA and developed her dance foundation at Regency Dance Academy. Ashley moved to Gunnison, CO to attend Western State College in 2003 and graduated four years later with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography. Throughout her time in Colorado, she taught jazz, tap, and hip hop at the Gunnison Arts Center. Upon graduation, she pursued a photography internship with world-renown dance photographer, Lois Greenfield, in New York City. While living in New York, Ashley took dance classes at the Broadway Dance Center and got to work with some great choreographers. Over the years, she has continued to further her dance experience by taking classes in Virginia, Colorado, New York City, Los Angeles, and Alaska. Ashley moved to Anchorage in the fall of 2008 and continues to teach and dance. She is excited to be working with the talented and innovative dancers that make up Momentum!
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