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Katherine Mark

FOUNDER | CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Kat is a N.C. native and began her training under the direction of Melanie Paschal Wiles. In 2006 she attended high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, where she graduated with a concentration in Contemporary dance. In 2008, she was awarded a creative talent scholarship to attend the Hollins University/American Dance Festival undergraduate program under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield and Jeffery Bullock. During this time, she was an active member of the Hollins Repertory Dance Company and had the opportunity to work with dance artists from all over the world. She has performed works by Laura Dean, Rodger Belman, Monica Bill Barnes, Helen Simoneau, Dawn Springer, Jen Rosenblit and Ashley Anderson, among others. Her choreographic work has been featured at the American College Dance Festival, NYC’s CPR – Center for Performance Research, and Hollins University. In 2014/2015, she collaborated with Gaspard Louis to create DanceX18, which opened for Pilobolus Dance Theater at the Durham Performing Arts Center. From 2012-2015 Kat was on faculty at the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival studios in Durham, NC, where she taught creative movement, modern, and jazz. In 2015, she moved to Pittsburgh, PA, where she joined the Millennium Dance Complex faculty as their modern instructor. In addition to her experience above, Kat is also the founder and creative director of the NC Dance Ambassadors program.

Founder
Faculty

Faculty

Past & Present

Gaspard  Louis

Gaspard Louis is the Artistic Director of the Durham based modern dance company Gasprd&Dancers (G&D). In addition, Gaspard also serves as the Creative Movement Director for the American Dance Festival community outreach program. To learn more about Gaspard please visit www.gaspardanddancers.org

Rachael Markarian

Originally from Boston, Rachael resides in Los Angeles with a versatile and successful career in the Entertainment Industry. Rachael has toured and danced for Rihanna, Katy Perry, Beyonce, P!NK, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Cher, and More. To learn more about Rachael, please visit www.rachaelmarkarian.net.

Christine Cornish Smith

Christine is a NYC based dancer, singer and actor. She was most revently seen in the sizzling hot revival of Kiss Me Kate! on Broadway. To learn more about Christine, please visit www.christinecornishsmith.com.

Ashley Arnold 

Ashley graduated from East Carolina University with her degree in Dance Performance and concentration in Jazz. After college, she moved to Los Angeles where she performed with various up and coming artists and trained at Millennium, EDGE PAC and Debbie Reynolds. She now lives in Tampa, Florida teaching jazz, contemporary and hip hop. 

Kristin Taylor Duncan

Ms. Taylor is a native of Durham, NC. She is a BFA graduate of the UNC School of the Arts and the founder/ artistic director of the KT COLLECTIVE Dance Company. To learn more about Ms. Taylor, please visit www.ktcollectivedancecompany.com

Jen Guy Metcalf

Jen is an Associate Professsor of Dance at Elon University and the founder/director  of TERRANOVA Dance Theatre which has been based in Greensboro and Los Angeles for the past six years. To learn more about Jen, please visit www.terranovadance.com

Courtney Om

Courtney OM is the founder and creative director of OM grown dancers, a contemporary based movement company established in Durham, North Carolina. To learn more about Courtney please visit www.omgrowndancers.com

Ronald West

Ronald West is the founder and creative director of BLACK IRISH, an avant garde movement company with influences in contemporary and hip hop movement. To learn more about Ronald please visit www.iamblackirish.com/ronald-west

CLI Studios

This year, we are excited to announce that we will be expanding our partnership with CLI STUDIOS. In addition to having unlimited access to all online classes offered through www.clistudios.com, our ambassadors will take private classes with top choreographers like Teddy Forance, Kathryn McCormick, and Allison Holker. These interactive classes will give our dancers the opportunity to work with an amazing group of dance artist through live streaming technology. To learn more please visit www.clistudios.com.

Ambassadors

Ambassadors

2018 - 2019 Ambassadors

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