Shows
Dancers Making MovesKyla Kikkawa: Dancers Making MovesKyla Kikkawa (she/her) is a movement artist originally from Altadena, CA. A graduate from the Psychological & Brain Sciences Department at Washington University, Kyla is an interdisciplinary and lifelong learner. She lives for the healing power of movement, but her passions have also led her to play live music in hospitals in Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Managua, Nicaragua. Kyla is an educator of neurodiverse and neurotypical youth, adults, and older adults and cares deeply about intergenerational and intercultural healing and exchange. Kyla is a fusion dancer who lives between the concert and street dance worlds. She...
2025-05-1647 min
Dancers Making MovesJorrell Lawyer-Jefferson: Dancers Making MovesJorrell Lawyer-Jefferson holds his BA in Music and his MFA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from Sam Houston State University. He has performed works by Tommie-Waheed Evans, Bradley Shelver, Kirven Douthit- Boyd, Omar de Jesus, Jamar Roberts and Norbert de La Cruz III among others. He has also worked with directors Francesca Zambello, Rob Ashford, Robert Wilson, Phelim McDermmot and Louisa Proske in performance and design roles. In 2023, Jorrell was appointed the first Young Artist Choreographer for The Glimmerglass Festival in its 37 year history. This year, he continued his collaborative partnership with Proske alongside Vision into Arts...
2025-05-1452 min
Dancers Making MovesGabriella Ray: Dancers Making MovesGabriella Ray, born and raised in St. Louis, started her dance training early on, under the instruction of Christine Kardell. Through out high school Gabriella became a student at COCA (Center of Creative Arts) where she joined pre-professional companies Ballet Eclectica and COCAdance. She had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Darrell Grande Moultrie, Camille A. Brown, Kirven and Antonio Douthit-Boyd, and Alicia Graf Mack. She has also had the pleasure of learning repertoire from companies like Pilobolus and LeherDance. Gabriella is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary th...
2025-05-1240 min
Dancers Making MovesTheron Steele: Dancers Making Moves"Coming up in our culture is therapy, and why we not statistics. Whether you studio or street."Theron Steele is a St. Louis native and currently a leader in the dance community for funk, experimental, and all styles. "Theo" has a mixed background in dance, having been involved early on and benefited from wonderful mentors who allowed him to experience a lot in both work and creative opportunities. His journey began at age 7 in church, dancing and miming at churches and parties around the city. One year later, through his older cousin, he discovered...
2025-05-0948 min
Dancers Making MovesCiCi Kai: Dancers Making MovesCiCi Kai (they/them), from St. Louis, MO, began their dance journey at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and is a 2024 alum of Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where they earned a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance Performance. Through the Dancers Making Moves project, CiCi is reintroducing their artistry by sharing moments of their injury recovery journey through poetry. While injuries are common, they believe the most intriguing and unique part of the process is the in-between stage. The journey of transformation involves navigating the complexities of emotions, mindset, self-talk, and mental health while rebuilding the physical body...
2025-05-0733 min
Dancers Making MovesMaura Caldwell-Thompson: Dancers Making MovesMaura Caldwell-Thompson is a local dance educator, choreographer, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Dance at Webster University. A St. Louis native with over 20 years of experience teaching dance to all levels and ages, Maura also has professional dance experience with MADCO. She currently serves as a choreographer and assistant director of the Dance Arts Company at Devine Performing Arts and sits on the executive board of Ballet314, where she has also served as a community cast coordinator for their Nutcracker productions for the past four years. Maura’s passion for promoting health and wellness within dance an...
2025-05-0244 min
Dancers Making MovesEmily Small: Dancers Making MovesEmmi Small (she/her) grew up in Newport, RI training at The Academy at Newport Contemporary Ballet. Emmi is currently performing as a company dancer with Resilience Dance Company and Ballet 314, both of St. Louis, MO. She holds a BFA in Dance and BS in Public Health from University of Massachusetts Amherst (2019), where she studied ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, composition, ballroom, improvisation, contact improvisation, and West African. She has also performed with the St. Louis Dance Theatre, Newport Contemporary Ballet, and Emily Duggins Dance Project. She’s had the pleasure of performing choreography by Shannon Gillen an...
2025-04-3038 min
Dancers Making MovesSam Gaitsch: Dancers Making MovesSam is a freelance artist, choreographer, and educator. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Dance and Bachelor of Arts in both Psychology and Dance, with a minor in Visual Art, from Washington University in St. Louis. Bridging the gap between professional concert dance and theatre, her choreography often uses humor as a tool for social commentary. Sam brings her jubilant spirit to both the stage and her teaching practice. After serving two years as the Dance and Pre-Professional Division Manager at the Center of Creative Arts, Sam decided to return to full-time freelance work. She currently serves...
2025-04-2843 min
Dancers Making MovesDawn Karlovsky: Dancers Making MovesDawn Karlovsky is the Founder and Artistic Director of Karlovsky & Company Dance. Her thought-provoking, athletic, and emotionally candid dances have been commissioned and presented by universities and modern dance/theatre companies worldwide and in major cities of the United States including Webster University and Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of Utah, American College Dance Association (ACDA), California State University-Dominguez Hills, Ressl Dance, Christopher Watson Dance Co. (Minneapolis), Kinetic Evolutions (Minneapolis), That Uppity Theater (St. Louis), Dance St. Louis - Spring To Dance Festival & Contemporary Moves, MachineHDance NY (New York City), Shawl-Anderson...
2025-04-2551 min
Dancers Making MovesCarmen Guynn: Dancers Making MovesCarmen R. Guynn, a St. Louis native, is a distinguished stylist, instructor, and advocate for Latin/Afro-Latin culture, with over 25 years of experience in the arts. As a versatile artist, Carmen excels in all Afro-Latin dances. She was crowned Miss Salsa St. Louis in 2002 and has performed both nationally and internationally. As Founder, Owner, and Artistic Director of Almas Del Ritmo Dance Company LLC, Carmen directs multiple dance teams within the company and founded the first St. Louis Touch Franchise from Island Touch Dance Academy.In 2010, Carmen founded the St. Louis International Salsa/Bachata Congress, an event...
2025-04-2355 min
Dancers Making MovesRandi Reinert: Dancers Making MovesRandi Reinert, originally from Halstead, KS, moved to St. Louis after receiving her BFA in Dance Performance from Wichita State University. While in St. Louis, Randi spent 4 years as a company dancer with St. Louis Dance Theatre (formally known as The Big Muddy Dance Company). From her time in St. Louis Dance Theatre, Randi has had the opportunity to perform works by world renowned choreographers such as Kirven Douthit-Boyd, Norbert de la Cruz, Omar Raman de Jesus, Brian Enos, Thang Dao, Bradley Shelver, Sidra Bell, and many more. Randi is now a freelance dancer and dance instructor throughout the...
2025-04-2136 min
Dancers Making MovesMark-David Bloodgood: Dancers Making MovesBorn in Redmond, Washington, Mark-David Bloodgood trained on scholarship for twelve years at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School under the direction of Francia Russell and Peter Boal. Mr. Bloodgood has performed with Huntsville Ballet, South Carolina Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet II, BalletMet II, ARC Dance, Saint Louis Ballet, Indianapolis Ballet and as a guest artist with the Columbus Opera and the Seattle Opera. Mr. Bloodgood has had the privilege to perform principal roles throughout his career, including Siegfried in "Swan Lake," Count Albrecht in "Giselle," Romeo in "Romeo & Juliet," Prince Charming in "Cinderella," Cavalier and Snow King in "The...
2025-04-111h 05
Dancers Making MovesErin Morris: Dancers Making MovesErin Morris has been teaching, performing, and competing in jazz and swing dancing for over 25 years. She has enjoyed international artist residencies in Vienna, Berlin, and Krakow but above all loves contributing regularly to her local communities and students. Erin received her MFA in Dance in 2023 from Washington University in St. Louis and is now adjunct faculty. Her art-making focus has been on blending her background in Black social jazz dance with personal explorations in postmodernism, and she finds that all paths return her to the importance of improvisation and collaboration with musicians. In 2024, she debuted the project "Jazz...
2025-04-0948 min
Dancers Making MovesLlord Brown Jr: Dancers Making MovesLlord Brown, known as LlordThaCreator or LlordThaDancer, is a dynamic performer, choreographer, and battler with over 500 shows to his name. From performing with B2K to starring in Kellogg’s Cheez-It Snap’d campaign, his versatility, raw energy, and storytelling captivate audiences, making him a powerhouse in dance and battle culture. Take a peek inside the Krump and street style dance scene in St. Louis in this in depth conversation with Llord Brown Jr. with Dancers Making Moves host Carly Vanderheyden. Follow @dancers.making.moves on Instagram and Facebook and learn more about the artists...
2025-04-0741 min
Dancers Making MovesDelainey Bailey: Dancers Making MovesDancers Making Moves host Carly Vanderheyden chats with Delainey Bailey about her transition from studying dance at Lindenwood University to now being in her first season with MADCO as a professional dancer and teacher in St. Louis, MO. Delainey Bailey is an apprentice dancer with the Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) in St. Louis. In her first year with the company, Delainey has performed three world premieres by choreographers Noelle Kayser, Lily Sheppard, and Annie Mitchell in HOPE ALIVE: Moving Stories. Delainey was honored to play the role of “Clara” in MADCO’s Madcracker Gala i...
2025-04-0446 min
Dancers Making MovesMarcela Gómez Lugo: Dancers Making MovesMarcela Gómez Lugo shares her story of relocating to the US from Puerto Rico to pursue her professional career in dance. Now, she's dancing with Ballet 314 in St. Louis while supporting the company as an administrative assistant and choreographer. Listen now to learn more about the ways Marcela is working to share her ancestors' stories through her art. Marcela Gómez Lugo was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and began her pre-professional training at the age of fourteen at Andanza School of Dance, where she studied under the Cuban Ballet Me...
2025-04-0245 min
Dancers Making MovesHayley Barker: Dancers Making MovesUp next, Dancers Making Moves Podcast host Carly Vanderheyden talks with Hayley Barker about her work as an educator, choreographer, teacher, personal trainer and performer. Exploring themes of ancestral inspiration, dancers as business people, and ways of communicating with students and collaborators. Listen now to learn more about Hayley's journey through different dance communities in Australia, Chicago, and most recently, St. Louis! Hayley Barker is a St. Louis-based freelance artist specializing in release-based contemporary dance and floorwork. Her performance credits span St. Louis, Chicago, and Melbourne, and she has danced as a guest artist...
2025-03-3148 min
Dancers Making MovesNyna Moore: Dancers Making MovesFrom growing up in Denver, to pursuing a BFA in Dance at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, to now dancing with Saint Louis Dance Theatre. In our conversation with Nyna, we discuss life as a professional dancer in a repertory company, and an exciting new choreographic process for the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) original production "Kaleidoscope Crown" Nyna Moore (She/Her, Denver, CO) received her formal education at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Academy as a part of the youth ensemble under the direction of Bashir Page-Sanders. In 2022, she graduated Summa Cum...
2025-03-2137 min
Dancers Making MovesSamanvita Kasthuri: Dancers Making MovesDive into the world of classical Indian dance, and hear how Samanvita is working to create more opportunities for fusion between her classical Indian dance training with contemporary, hip hop, and other styles. Samanvita Kasthuri is an emerging choreographer experimenting with the fusion of Indian classical dance styles with Hip-Hop, Contemporary, and many other genres of dance. Samanvita has been trained in Bharatanatyam and Kathak under Guru Prasanna Kasthuri, completing both her arangetrams when she was 15 and 14, respectively. She has also learnt Carnatic music under Guru Seema Kasthuri. Furthermore, she has experience in Contemporary through...
2025-03-1942 min
Dancers Making MovesSpencer Everett: Dancers Making MovesFrom growing up in Canada, to moving to the United States to pursue his BFA in Dance at the Fordham/Ailey School, Spencer has lived an art-filled life through both dance and other artistic endeavors. Spencer Everett joined Saint Louis Dance Theatre in 2024 after two seasons with Ailey II. Originally from Stratford, Ontario, he began dance training at age four and studied circus arts under former Cirque du Soleil artist Meaghan Wegg. After training at Elite Dance Center in Woodstock and Dance Arts Institute in Toronto, he attended The Ailey School and Fordham University...
2025-03-1742 min
Dancers Making MovesLorraine Stippec: Dancers Making MovesFrom a life-altering random act of gun violence, to a hip hop tour to China, Lorraine shares her resilient journey in dance that has now led to her first year of pursuing an MFA in Dance at Washington University in St. Louis.Lorraine “Rain” Stippec earned her BFA in Dance from Webster University - graduating Magna Cum Laude with Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts Department Honors. Lorraine followed her passion for dance around the globe performing, teaching, and choreographing for community and professional theatre productions, dance on film, fundraisers, studios, collegiate and company conc...
2025-03-1445 min
Dancers Making MovesDiamond Riley: Dancers Making MovesUp next, we're talking to Diamond Riley about her experiences in dance, photography, motherhood, and event planning. Whether she is dancing, capturing movement through her lens, or helping others connect with their artistry, she is committed to making an impact—one step, one shot, and one story at a time.Diamond Israel Annē Riley is a professional dancer, photographer, and creative storyteller with over 20 years of experience in movement and artistry. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, and having lived in Hawaii, Texas, Florida, Colorado, and Missouri, she has trained in a wide range of sty...
2025-03-1235 min
Dancers Making MovesTess Angelica Losada: Dancers Making MovesDancers Making Moves founder and host Carly Vanderheyden sits down with current MFA in Dance candidate Tess Angelica Losada to learn about her unique journey in dance, as well as the research and process leading up to her upcoming thesis performance presentation later this month at Washington University in St. Louis. Tess Angelica Losada is a Cuban-American dancer, choreographer, and scholar. She has lived and danced in the south of France, central Illinois, New Orleans, and is now based in St Louis. Currently, Tess is working towards her MFA in Dance at WashU and...
2025-03-1041 min
Dancers Making MovesDawn Gilbertson: Dancers Making MovesJoin us for our first Dancers Making Moves podcast episode with Dawn Gilbertson, as we discuss costume changes, Variety STL, messy brains, relinquishing control, raising kids while being an artist, winning at Monopoly, the MUNY, staying grounded, Napoleon Dynamite, dance as couples therapy, being a resource, "side passions", creating community, and more! Dawn Gilbertson is a dancer moving in all directions! In one week you’ll see Dawn teaching dance at Variety, Stages, COCA, Lifetime, Promise and her own wedding dance company, First Dance StL. Her passion for dancing and the arts has been ext...
2025-03-0744 min
Dancers Making MovesIntroducing Dancers Making MovesWelcome to Dancers Making Moves, a new podcast exploring individual experiences in pursuing a career in dance. Tune in for captivating dialogue with St. Louis based professional dance artists, hosted by Carly Vanderheyden, as we dig deep into the essence of what it means to be a professional dancer. From classical ballet, to street styles, tap, and contemporary forms, these talented artists are ready to share their personal stories, how their life experiences have influenced their artistic journey, and ways to connect with their work in the future. Follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and tune in...
2025-02-2801 min