Dancers
Elena Conde
At the age of two, Elena began dancing in Killeen, TX at Karen and Donna’s School of Dance. There, she won multiple national titles including Champion Soloist. Her high school dance team, the Ellison Emeralds, were both national and international champions and, with whom, Elena received a regional soloist award. After high school, Elena became assistant teacher at her hometown studio, director of choreography for the KISD summer musical program for three years and instructor/judge with American Dance and Drill Team where she is still on staff. Elena attended Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, TX from 2011-2015 and received her Bachelor’s of Science in Dance with a Minor in History. She danced as a member of the Repertory Dance Company, which gave her the opportunity to perform in the original cast of Into the Light, choreographed by Heather Samuelson. She also danced in a gala performance at American College Dance Association. During college she trained with Heather Samuelson and was able to take class from instructors in many different styles including Irish River Dancing, Bollywood, Contemporary and Lester Horton Technique. Elena is currently a company member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet and the Beginning Ballet instructor for the Gobel School of Dance. Maggie Ethington Maggie is a ninth grader at Nacogdoches High School. She began dancing at the age of five at the Maryse Gobel Ballet Academy (now Gobel School of Dance) where she continues to dance under the direction of Katie Parr Smith. Maggie danced her first solo at age nine, which ignited a true love for dance and a desire to pursue classical ballet as a profession. Maggie has since performed with the Rioult Dance Company from New York and most recently with the Meija Dance Company from Fort Worth in The Nutcracker at Angelina College. Since that time, Maggie has auditioned for and been accepted into several summer ballet intensives including Ballet Austin, Texas Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet, Ballet West, Joffrey Chicago (where she accepted into their pre-professional program) and Joffrey San Antonio (where she has attended three summers.) This past summer, Maggie attended a six-week ballet intensive in Salt Lake City with Ballet West. In May 2015, Maggie beautifully danced her first lead role as “Cinderella.” She is currently a member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet and will be dancing her debut performance with them in September. Ally Fuller Bio Coming soon! Jenny Gumm Jenny started dancing at the age of four with Mar-Ray Dance Studios in McHenry, IL. Her focuses were ballet, jazz and tap throughout high school and also taught for four years. Jenny attended Millikin University in Decatur, IL where she majored in Biology with a minor in Dance and was featured in the department’s dance concert every semester. She was a member of the MU Dance Ensemble during her senior year and was chosen as the only student to choreograph for the ensemble that fall. After graduation, Jenny pursued a MS in Biology at Texas State University (TSU). She was a member the TSU Dance Company, Orchesis, where she also served as choreographer and executive board member. To earn her PHD in Biology, Jenny attended Lehigh University and worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is currently a professor at SFA. Jenny returned to dance in the fall of 2014 with the Gobel School of Dance in Nacogdoches, TX. She is also a member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet and danced in their debut performance in May 2015. Keith Haynes Keith was born in the country of Trinidad and Tobago. After moving to the United States at age eight, he was inspired to dance after seeing a group of male praise dancers at his church. Keith is a recent graduate of Stephen F. Austin (SFA) in Nacogdoches, TX where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Radio/TV and a minor in Dance. While at SFA, Keith studied modern, ballet and jazz. He was a member of the SFA Repertory Dance Company and is also a company dancer with Gobel School of Dance (GSD), where he currently trains. As a GSD student, Keith has performed in Giselle, Cinderella and as the lead, “Franz,” in Coppelia. He has also choreographed and performed in numerous Danceworks concerts. Keith plans on obtaining his Master’s degree in Dance and hopes that his experiences will one day help him fulfill his dram of creating his own dance company. In the meantime, he is excited to be dancing with Dimensions Contemporary Ballet and starting his first year teaching Jazz/Contemporary 2 at GSD. Stephanie Laranjerira Stephanie was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and began her training at the Arte Fenix Dance Studio at the age of three. She studied ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and contemporary under Alessandra Said and Kenya Laranjeira. As a teenager she attended the Escola de Circo Picadeiro and trained in silks, lyral, and trapeze. Upon graduation, she moved to Dallas, TX and continued her dance training under Brenda Parker-Braswell and Elizabeth Compton. In 2013, she was accepted into the Dance Program at Stephen F. Austin (SFA), where she studied under Heather Samuelson, Elizabeth Rhodes, and Stan Bobo and performed works by Min Kim, Linda Phenix, and Meredith Early-Robertson. In 2014, she joined the SFA Repertory Dance Company as well as the Gobel School of Dance ballet company where she studied under Katie Parr Smith. Stephanie is a recipient of the 2015 McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation scholarship, the Lucille Norton scholarship, the Excellence and Dedication of Academic Achievement in Principles of Economics Award and the Academic Excellence in Business Communication 247 Award. Now that she is approaching graduation, Stephanie looks forward to pursuing a life in the performing arts. Stephanie worked as an intern at Lufkin High School where she choreographed Amelia Earhart for their spring concert. She is currently working as a student teacher for the Dance Department at Newman Smith High School in Carrolton, TX. Stephanie is a member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet and danced in their debut performance in May 2015. Jamaal Lane Bio coming soon! Cara Shear At the age of three, Cara began dancing at Adamson’s Ballet School in Houston, TX. She studied ballet and pointe through the age of sixteen. From fourth to sixth grade, Cara participated in Katy Youth Football Cheerleading and then became a volunteer assistant cheer coach/choreographer for six years. In high school, Cara was a member of the Taylor Pacesetters, a team that became the very first MA National Championship drill team in Katy, TX. They gained this title during her senior year in which Cara named First Lieutenant Dance Officer. Cara is currently a Dance major at Stephen F. Austin (SFA) in Nacogdoches, TX. During her first year at SFA, Cara joined Dancers Against Cancer (DAC), a non-profit organization. She has performed in Danceworks productions for the past three semesters as a member of the Repertory Dance Company. Currently, Cara is the Fundraising Coordinator for DAC and an original company member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet. She is also the Creative Movement instructor for the Gobel School of Dance. Rachel Smith Rachel began her dance training at Star Productions Studio in Tyler, TX. She later trained with the academy of dance at Tyler Junior College. She recently graduated from Stephen F. Austin with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nacogdoches, TX. Her more recent performances include the SFA Danceworks production, a recital by Dancers Against Cancer and the Gobel School of Dance’s May 2015 production of Cinderella. Rachel is a member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet in Nacogdoches, TX, and will be dancing her debut performance in September. She is also a member of Black Pointe Dance Company in Tyler, TX who will be performing Sleepy Hollow in October. Emma Talbot Emma’s mother put her in a dance class when she was four years old, but Emma hated it and refused to go. When she was nine, she tried a dance class with Katie Parr Smith, director of the Gobel School of Dance (GSD). After the class, she proclaimed, “I love it! I want to do ballet!” She has cherished dance ever since that day. Emma is home-schooled and has recently been able to start concurrent enrollment classes at Stephen F. Austin. Now, at age 16, she is the assistant for GSD’s Beginning 1 and 2 ballet classes and has plans to major in dance and even one day become a dance teacher. Emma recently gained Company status at GSD and performed the soloist role of “Spring Fairy” in the 2015 production of Cinderella. She has also been accepted as a company member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet and will be dancing her debut performance in September. Erin Taylor Erin began dancing at the age of three in Houston, TX. After moving to Nacogdoches when she was five, she began taking ballet, tap, and jazz classes at Venetia’s Studio and, later, hip hop classes at Nac Tumble Dance and Cheer. Erin then joined the Gobel School of Dance (GSD) when she was fourteen. She has participated in ballet, jazz, and hip hop classes and has also had the opportunity to teach ballet and hip hop for GSD in the past. She beautifully performed the role of “Swanhilda” in GSD’s 2014 production of Coppelia and the soloist role of “Autumn Fairy” in the 2015 production of Cinderella. Erin is also a member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet and performed in “She,” a tango en pointe that was debuted in May 2015. She is studying at Stephen F. Austin and plans to go to Nursing school in the spring. Megan Torres Meagan began dancing at the age of two at Dana’s Dance Academy in Irving, TX. She was trained in both Vaganova and Cecchetti ballet styles and began dancing on pointe at age thirteen. Meagan also studied tap, jazz contemporary and modern dance. She was privileged to perform with Dana’s Academy Dancers at various events. Currently, Meagan attends Stephen F. Austin (SFA) in Nacogdoches, TX with a major in Dance Education. She is President and choreographer of SFA’s Dancers Against Cancer. Meagan coaches competitive tap dancers privately and is an original member of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet. |