COURSE: “MODERN DANCE MASTERCLASS (INPULSE TECHNIQUE)”

Trezon Dancy, who hails from Hartford, Connecticut, is a choreographer, performing artist, and educator. Dancy has worked with numerous artists including Travis Gatling, Kim Stroud, Nathan Andary, Earl Mosley, Ronald K. Brown, Kyle Abraham (A.I.M.), and many others. Dancy graduated high school from Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford, Connecticut. He received his bachelor degree in Dance: Performance and Choreography from Ohio University in 2017. Upon graduation, Dancy accepted a first company position with the world-renowned Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Currently, Dancy resides in Columbus and is the Artistic Director of InPulse Dance Company, as well as the Operations/Program Manager for OhioDance. InPulse Dance Co. is a freelance repertory company that upholds Dancy’s mission of self-expression through mind, body, and soul. The company’s vision is to support self expression through genuine and visceral movement, inspired by familiar life and human obstacles.

Dancy’s dance works have been presented at OhioDance Festival at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio (2015); Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Harford, Connecticut (2015 – 2017); Battery Dance Festival, New York, New York (2017); West Fest Dance Festival at Martha Graham Dance Studio, New York, New York (2017); American College Dance Association, Kent, Ohio (2017); Project Jericho, Springfield, Ohio (2018); the International Conference and Festival of Blacks in Dance, Dayton, Ohio (2019); Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (first and second companies, 2017-2021); and the Ohio Dance Festival at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (2015-2023).

COURSE: “CONTEMPORARY REPERTORY MASTERCLASS”

Reginald Harris, MSW, LISW-S, CTP is a social work strategist, therapist, and arts educator. A former professional ballet dancer with ten years of professional performing experience, he danced with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Ballet Austin, River North Chicago Dance Company, and Dances Patrelle. Reginald’s teaching experience began in Ballet Austin’s Academy in 2003 and included a two-year stint as resident choreographer for the Ballet Conservatory of South Texas and four years as a company teacher for River North Chicago Dance Company. In 2009, Reginald was one of a small group of arts educators to open The Chicago High School for the Arts (Chiarts) – Chicago’s first and only public performing arts high school. In 2011, Reginald became the dance department chair at Chiarts and worked to build a comprehensive and intensive dance curriculum. For the past several years, Reginald has had the honor of serving as dance panel adjudicator for the National Endowment for the Arts. As a certified trauma practitioner (CTP) – Reginald has developed an arts-focused training that addresses trauma and its impact on students’ cognitive and emotional development and academic achievement and works closely with arts education organizations on becoming trauma-informed. He holds a Bachelor of Liberal Studies in Organizational Leadership from Roosevelt University and a Master of Social Work from Boston University.

COURSES: “MODERN FLOOR WORK” and “SKILLS WORKSHOP: PARTNERING AND WEIGHT SHARE”

Born in Osijek, Croatia, Ana Hart graduated magna cum laude from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts & Design with a concentration in Interactive Design. In the summer of 2019, Ana attended the American Dance Festival and studied with Shayla-Vie Jenkins, Ray Schwartz, Maayan Sheinfeld, Noa Zuk, and Ohad Fishof. She was also cast in work by international choreographer Chien-Kuei Chang. Ana has also performed in works by Matt Pardo, Ryan Corriston, Christian Warner, Gregory Dolbashian, Stephanie Liapis, and Darla Stanley. Ana danced with Virginia Repertory Dance Company from 2019-2021. Ana is passionate about dance in the community and has been a volunteer with JMU’s Dance for Parkinson’s Program, later completing Dance for Parkinson’s Professional Development Training from the Mark Morris Dance Group under a grant from JMU’s Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship.

COURSE: “MODERN DANCE MASTERCLASS (INPULSE TECHNIQUE)”

Trezon Dancy, who hails from Hartford, Connecticut, is a choreographer, performing artist, and educator. Dancy has worked with numerous artists including Travis Gatling, Kim Stroud, Nathan Andary, Earl Mosley, Ronald K. Brown, Kyle Abraham (A.I.M.), and many others. Dancy graduated high school from Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford, Connecticut. He received his bachelor degree in Dance: Performance and Choreography from Ohio University in 2017. Upon graduation, Dancy accepted a first company position with the world-renowned Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Currently, Dancy resides in Columbus and is the Artistic Director of InPulse Dance Company, as well as the Operations/Program Manager for OhioDance. InPulse Dance Co. is a freelance repertory company that upholds Dancy’s mission of self-expression through mind, body, and soul. The company’s vision is to support self expression through genuine and visceral movement, inspired by familiar life and human obstacles.

Dancy’s dance works have been presented at OhioDance Festival at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio (2015); Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Harford, Connecticut (2015 – 2017); Battery Dance Festival, New York, New York (2017); West Fest Dance Festival at Martha Graham Dance Studio, New York, New York (2017); American College Dance Association, Kent, Ohio (2017); Project Jericho, Springfield, Ohio (2018); the International Conference and Festival of Blacks in Dance, Dayton, Ohio (2019); Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (first and second companies, 2017-2021); and the Ohio Dance Festival at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (2015-2023).

Ihaiah Miller is a native of Jacksonville, Florida where they trained at the Douglas Anderson School for the Arts and Jacksonville University’s Dance with Distinction program. In 2003, they graduated from the Joffrey Ballet/New School University with a BFA in Ballet and Composition Studies and in 2016, was a “Reaching for the Stars” fellowship recipient at Arizona State University where they were pursing their Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre, Performing Arts Management and Entrepreneurship.

As a professional dancer, Mr. Miller has performed with the Eugene Ballet, Ballet Idaho, the Dance Theatre of Harlem “Dancing through Barriers” Ensemble (DTH) Coastal Arts Project, the Florida Ballet, and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Trocks) in soloist and principal roles. They have toured nationally and internationally, and have performed at prestigious festivals, in over 60 countries on 6 continents. They have performed many principal and leading roles in such ballets and works as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Taming of the Shrew, Cinderella, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, Raymonda, Paquita, The Little Humpbacked Horse, Flames of Paris, and Giselle, Harold Lander’s Etudes, Gerald Arpino’s Italian Suite, Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring, Norbert Vesak’s Belong Pas De Deux, Spring Waters, Mark Bogaerts’ Full Circle, Arthur Mitchell’s Fete Noir, Septime Webre’s Shoogie, and Peter Anastos’s Go for Barocco. Ihaiah has been photographed, written up, and reviewed in numerous press articles such as the New York Times and the London Daily Standard. Amongst their most notable performances, Ihaiah has performed at the Guggenheim Works in Progress series with DTH, performing at the Folies Berger in Paris, the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá in Colombia, performing for Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand in Bangkok, and my final performances at the Joyce Theatre in New York City with the Trocks.

In 2005 they founded a dance company, Diesel Dance, which later became Diesel | Fusion Dance Theatre (DFDT), and was based both in New York City and Jacksonville, Florida. Through DFDT, Ihaiah’s work has been showcased throughout Florida and New York, and has been performed at many festivals, benefits, and concerts including the 2005 and 2006 Downtown Dance Festival, the Women’s Professional Conference, the 2005 Black Expo, the 2005 Young Artist’s Festival, the 2007 Rhythms: Choreographers of NYC Showcase, 2008 Florida Dance Festival on Tour, the 2010 Emerging Choreographer’s Festival, and the Quigley House Benefit hosted by the Arts Edge School of Dance and Theater. In 2003, Ihaiah was privileged to create their ballet, Les Plaisirs Suite on the Manhattan Youth Ballet and in 2007, they choreographed the SDIII music video “1 Potato, 2 Potato, 3 Potato, Knish” for the Neoworld Productions Sketch Comedy Show. To date, Ihaiah has choreographed over 120 works throughout their career and looks forward to creating many more. In addition to this, Ihaiah has re-staged many of the romantic and classical repertoire including La Bayadere, Giselle, Les Corsaire, Raymonda, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, and the Nutcracker.

Throughout their touring and performance schedule, Ihaiah has maintained strong ties to their home and the community of Jacksonville, Florida. When not performing or choreographing, Ihaiah actively teaches throughout North Florida and New York. He has taught at the Kingdom School of Dance, the acclaimed Studio Maestro in New York, Sandra Cameron Dance Center in New York, Jacksonville Christian Arts Center, the Episcopal High School of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Center for the Arts, La Villa School of the Arts, and the Florida Ballet Training center to name a few. Ihaiah was recently employed as the Principal Faculty for Contemporary & Choreography at the Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy for Dance from 2021 to 2023. Currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, Ballet and Contemporary dance Department.

In addition to their choreography and teaching, Ihaiah also maintains talents in design and has designed several posters, invitations and other publicity for The Joffrey Ballet School, Coastal Arts Project, The Cooper-Morgan Dance Theater, The North Florida Ballet Theater, and The Florida Ballet. They also regular designs and creates costumes for their ballets such as Melodic Noise, Stabat Mater, Stigmata, Rites of Passage as well as many others. their costumes designs have also been used in Coastal Arts Project’s Sleeping Beauty, Duane Cyrus’ Venus, and Jason William’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

COURSE: “MODERN DANCE MASTERCLASS”

Elizabeth Ramsey (she/her), originally from Toledo, Ohio, entered her eighth season as a dance artist with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company this year. She graduated from Wright State University summa cum laude with a BFA in dance, and was also a member of DCDC’s second company for three years. She has attended several prestigious training programs throughout her career.

Elizabeth has had the opportunity to perform several of DCDC’s historical works such as “Vespers” by Ulysses Dove and “Children of the Passage,” choreographed by Donald McKayle and Ronald K. Brown. Other performance credits include works by Tommie-Waheed Evans, Rennie Harris, Talley Beatty, Donald Byrd, Ray Mercer, Dwight Rhoden, Kevin Ward, and Crystal Michelle Perkins.

In addition to her performance experience, Elizabeth is a practicing teacher and choreographer. Most recently, her work “DEEP/END” premiered at the Jarson-Kaplan Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is her first Main Stage work set on the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. She has also set original works at Wright State University, the University of Dayton, and DCDC2, and has had her work featured in the Ohio Dance Festival’s Professional Theater Concert. In 2021 she was named Resident Choreographer for the School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she also co-directs the junior dance ensemble. Elizabeth is an inaugural member of Dayton’s own Dayton Dance Initiative, a dancer-led collaborative project featuring the professional artists of DCDC and Dayton Ballet. Most recently, her DDI-created work “Love Letter for Mothers” was awarded first place in SALT Contemporary Dance’s SHAPE Choreography Festival.

Her experience with making dance for film includes her choreography for the WSU film department in a work titled “Anesthesiaphobia,” which premiered at the Dayton Art Institute in 2015, as well helping in the creation of many DCDC projects that have surfaced as a result of the pandemic. In collaboration with DCDC’s mission to extend dance education and outreach into a virtual space, she created a science-based lecture demonstration designed to help engage and teach children about the effects of climate change. This work now exists as a part of DCDC’s online education database.