Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell (Artistic Director, she/her) ascended to this role in 2021, after an extraordinary career as a professional dance artist and educator. She was born in Baltimore, MD, and began her dance training at the Baltimore School for the Arts under the guidance of Sylvester Campbell and Stephanie Powell. She was an apprentice with the Capitol Ballet in Washington D.C. and a full fellowship student at The Ailey School. While a student at The Juilliard School, she was invited by Hubbard Street founder Lou Conte to join the main company at the age of 19, thus beginning her professional dance career. After three seasons with Hubbard Street, she became a Principal Dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, under the direction of Judith Jamison. During her 13-year tenure with the company, she performed all over the world and was featured in the works of Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, Talley Beatty, Ron K. Brown, John Butler, Donald Byrd, Ulysses Dove, George Faison, Rennie Harris, Geoffrey Holder, Judith Jamison, Louis Johnson, Alonzo King, Lar Lubovitch, Donald McKayle, Elisa Monte, Jennifer Muller, David Parsons, and Dwight Rhoden. She was invited to give a number of special performances throughout her career, including the White House State Dinner in honor of the President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, and the 12th Annual Kennedy Center Gala with Nancy Wilson and Liza Minelli. She has led a distinguished career as a dance educator in her hometown of Baltimore where, since 2005, she has been a Professor of Dance at Towson University and has served on the faculty of the Baltimore School for the Arts. Her research and scholarship in continuing the Ailey legacy within the Towson University and Greater Baltimore community has resulted in the Ailey II residencies from 2011-2019 hosted by Towson University and the establishment of AileyCamp Baltimore at Towson University in 2014 where she served as Director. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in dance from Hollins University and is an ABT® Certified Teacher. As a scholar, her entry Alvin Ailey has been published by the Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism. She and her husband have three children.

David McDermott (Executive Director, he/him) manages organization-wide strategy and administrative functions including oversight of Hubbard Street’s finances, operations, marketing, and development departments. Most recently, he led Hubbard Street through a post-COVID-19 restructuring, guided its new access-first digital strategy, and directed the company’s recent move to Water Tower Place. Prior to joining Hubbard Street he served as the First Deputy Commissioner at the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. In this role, he managed the day-to-day operations of the department and played instrumental roles in major initiatives such as creating the Chicago Cultural Plan, revitalizing the Taste of Chicago, and ensured the success of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Prior to his employment with the City, he led the Senator Durbin’s Department of Community Outreach, served as the Senator’s Political Director, and has managed political campaigns at the congressional, county, and municipal levels. He recently completed a fellowship at the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy and holds a degree in Public Policy from Trinity College at the University of Dublin.

Lou Conte (Founding Artistic Director, he/him) after a performing career that included roles in Broadway musicals such as Cabaret, Mame, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, established the Lou Conte Dance Studio in 1974. Three years later, he founded what is now Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Originally the company’s sole choreographer, he developed relationships with emerging and world-renowned dancemakers Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Margo Sappington and Daniel Ezralow as the company grew. He continued to build Hubbard Street’s repertoire by forging a key relationship with Twyla Tharp in the 1990s, acquiring seven of her works as well as original choreography. It then became an international enterprise with the inclusion of works by Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, and Ohad Naharin. Throughout his 23 years as the company’s artistic director, he received numerous awards including the first Ruth Page Artistic Achievements Award in 1986, the Sidney R. Yates Arts Advocacy Award in 1995, and a Chicagoan of the Year award from Chicago magazine in 1999. In 2003, he was inducted as a laureate into the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, the state’s highest honor, and in 2014, was named one of five inaugural recipients of the City of Chicago’s Fifth Star Award. He has been credited by many for helping raise Chicago’s international cultural profile and for creating a welcoming climate for dance in the city, where the art form now thrives.

Jonathan E. Alsberry (Senior Rehearsal Director & Director of Summer Intensives, he/him) from Normal, IL is a dance educator, creator and coach focused on inspiring excellence and joy in the study of Ballet, Jazz, and Modern techniques with a constant dedication to the exploration of artistry and the creative process. Currently the Senior Rehearsal Director & Director of Summer Intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, he began dancing with his mother Lyndetta and went on to graduate from The Chicago Academy for the Arts where he has since been a guest faculty member. In 2006, he received his BFA from The Juilliard School where he met Aszure Barton. Jonathan a.k.a “Jojo” is now dancer, rehearsal director, and creative collaborator with Aszure Barton & Artists and has assisted Barton in over a dozen creations including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bayerische Staatsballett, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In 2007 he also joined the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and is currently a performer, rehearsal director, and teaching artist with the company. He has shared two tours with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance as well as Evolution with Alessandra Ferri and Herman Cornejo. Other credits include The Chase Brock Experience, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Nilas Martins Dance Company, and Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. Since 2007, he has been teaching, coaching, and creating work at various educational institutions including Arts Umbrella, Harvard University, University of California at Irvine, Springboard Danse Montreal, Ballet Hispánico, and University of Southern California.

Craig D. Black Jr. (Rehearsal Director, he/they) from San Jose, CA is the Rehearsal Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He was appointed to this role in 2022 for the company’s 45th Anniversary: Sapphire Season. At the age of 10, Black began dancing at South Bay Dance Center and continued his dance training at Abraham Lincoln High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. In 2011, Black received his BFA from The Juilliard School. He obtained additional training at Springboard Danse Montréal, Nederlands Dans Theater, and the School at Jacob’s Pillow. Black is a recipient of the 2010 Princess Grace Award in Dance as well as the 2011 Lorna Strassler Award for Student Excellence from the School at Jacob’s Pillow. For six seasons, Black performed and toured with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet under the direction of Tom Mossbrucker and Jean-Philippe Malaty. In 2017, Black joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago where he danced for five seasons before transitioning into the HSDC Rehearsal Director position. He has had the privilege of dancing works by Kyle Abraham, Aszure Barton, Cherice Barton, Rena Butler, Alejandro Cerrudo, Peter Chu, Nacho Duato, Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Fernando Melo, Robyn Mineko-Williams, Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, and Cayetano Soto Ramirez among many others. Black has had the pleasure of co-choreographing and rehearsal directing Cardi B and Offset’s 2019 BET Awards performance. Black is a passionate teacher and mentor. He is certified in IMAGE TECH for Dancers™ introductory through advanced level. Black is on faculty for Dupree Dance and has served as guest faculty for the Hubbard Street Professional Program, Steps on Broadway, Peridance Center, The Joffrey Academy, and New York City Dance Alliance.

Kyle Abraham is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow who began his dance training at the Civic Light Opera Academy and the Creative and Performing Arts High School in Pittsburgh, PA. He continued his dance studies in NY, receiving a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington Jefferson College, and is currently serving as a visiting professor in residence at UCLA. In Nov 2012, Abraham was named the newly appointed New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist for 2012–14. Just one month later, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater premiered Abraham’s newest work, Another Night, at New York’s City Center to rave reviews. That same year, Abraham was named the 2012 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award recipient and 2012 USA Ford Fellow, before serving as a choreographic contributor for Beyoncé’s 2013 British Vogue cover shoot. Abraham received a prestigious Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance for his work in The Radio Show, and a Princess Grace Award for Choreography in 2010. The previous year, he was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s 25 To Watch for 2009, and received a Jerome Travel and Study Grant in 2008. His choreography has been presented throughout the U.S. and abroad, most recently at Fall for Dance Festival at New York’s City Center, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, The Los Angeles Music Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Théâtre de la Ville, Maison de la Danse, Tanz Im August, On The Boards, Danspace Project, Dance Theater Workshop, Bates Dance Festival, Harlem Stage, Montreal, Italy, Germany, Sweden, France, Jordan, Ecuador, Dublin’s Project Arts Center, The Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum located in Okinawa Japan, The Andy Warhol Museum, The Byham, and The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to performing and developing new works for his company, A.I.M, Abraham recently premiered Untitled America, a 3-part commissioned work for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and finished touring The Serpent and The Smoke, a new pas de deux for himself and acclaimed Bessie Award-winning and former New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Wendy Whelan as part of Restless Creature and choreographed for the feature-length film, The Book of Henry with acclaimed director Colin Trevorrow. Abraham recently premiered a solo work for American Ballet Theater principal Misty Copeland in Oct 2019.

Aszure Barton. Artist and choreographer Aszure Barton has collaborated with celebrated dancers and companies including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, English National Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, Malpaso Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater, Sydney Dance Company, and Teatro alla Scala, among many others. She has received honors including a Bessie Award and the prestigious Arts & Letters Award, joining the ranks of Oscar Peterson, Karen Kain, and Margaret Atwood. She was the first Martha Duffy resident artist at the Baryshnikov Arts Center and is an official ambassador of contemporary dance in Canada. She is the founder of Aszure Barton & Artists, an international interdisciplinary dance project, and is currently embarking on a new creative partnership with trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire.

Rena Butler hails from Chicago. She began her dance studies at The Chicago Academy for the Arts and later at Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan. She received her BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Butler has performed with a range of companies in the USA, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (also a Choreographic Fellow), A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, David Dorfman Dance, Manuel Vignoulle/M-Motions, The Kevin Wynn Collection, Pasos Con Sabor Salsa Dance Company, and Gibney Company, as a dance artist and the inaugural choreographic associate. Butler was a recipient of the prestigious 2019 Princess Grace Foundation Award for Choreography and has been commissioned by National Ballet of Canada, San Francisco Opera, Norrdans, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, BalletX, GroundWorks DanceTheater, Oregon Ballet Theater, Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Summer Program, Parsons Dance, Charlotte Ballet, The Juilliard School, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Boston Dance Theater. Additionally, she has created works for The New Orleans Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with Academy Award-Winning jazz composer Terence Blanchard, CHTV Stories in Switzerland, a film short in collaboration with Third Coast Percussion x Devonté Hynes/Blood Orange, The Young Choreographer’s Festival in NYC, The Ailey/Fordham School, TEDxChicago Virtual Salon 3.0: Design Your Life, and more. She has been spotlighted in Dance Magazine’s On The Rise feature in 2013, and was the featured cover story in Dance Magazine’s Nov 2021 issue. She is active in mentorship and education and has served on the Consortium for Chicago Dancemakers Forum for three years, was on the annual panel for Black Girls Dance in Chicago, and co-created and directed DanceLab—a free, choreographic course for Chicago teens, empowering participants of varying socioeconomic backgrounds + identities to find commonality in creation. Has taught dance and choreographic workshops at L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille in France, The Macau Cultural Center in China, and Ailey Camp Chicago, and currently serves on Dancewave’s Artistic Advisory Council in NYC.

Lar Lubovitch is one of America’s most versatile and widely seen choreographers. He founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Over the course of 53 years, it has gained an international reputation as one of America’s top dance companies, produced more than 120 dances and performed before millions across the U.S. and more than 40 countries. Many other major companies throughout the world have performed the company’s dances, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and more. Lubovitch has created ice-dancing works for Olympians John Curry, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Brian Orser, JoJo Starbuck, and Paul Wylie, and he has created feature-length ice-dance specials for TV: The Planets for A&E (nominated for an International Emmy Award, a Cable AceAward, and a Grammy Award) and The Sleeping Beauty for PBS and Anglia TV, Great Britain. His theater and film work includes Sondheim/Lapine’s Into the Woods (Tony Award nomination), The Red Shoes (Astaire Award), the Tony Award-winning revival of The King and I (on Broadway and in London’s West End), Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame in Berlin, and Robert Altman’s movie The Company (American Choreography Award). In 2016, he premiered The Bronze Horseman, based on the Pushkin poem, for the Mikhailovsky Ballet in Russia. In 1987, he conceived Dancing for Life, which took place at Lincoln Center. It was the first response by the dance community to the AIDS crisis, raising over one million dollars. Together with Jay Franke, in 2007 Lubovitch created the Chicago Dancing Festival, in collaboration with the City of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art. It presented 10 seasons entirely free to the public. Recent awards: 2007 named Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune; 2008 named similarly by Chicago Magazine; 2011 designated a Ford Fellow by United States Artists and received the Dance/USA Honors Award; 2012 his dance Crisis Variations awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse for outstanding choreography at the Bolshoi Theatre; 2013 honored for lifetime achievement by the American Dance Guild; 2014 awarded an honorary doctorate by The Juilliard School; 2016 received the Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement and the Dance Magazine Award, named one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition and appointed a Distinguished Professor at UC/Irvine. In honor of his company’s 50th anniversary, in 2018 he was presented with the Martha Graham Award for lifetime achievement.

Alexandria Best (she/her, Raleigh, NC) is a native of Raleigh, NC where she began her pre-professional dance training. During this time, she acquired knowledge from instructors across programs such as American Ballet Theatre, Arts Umbrella, Carolina Ballet, DamianiDance, French Academie of Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. She is a 2021 graduate of Pace University where she earned her BFA in dance, with a concentration in performance and pedagogy, and a minor in business. Immediately following post-grad, Best joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as a company dance artist under the new direction of Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell. Now going into her third season, she has had the opportunity to perform many great works by many great-minded artists alike. She is thrilled to be announced as a 2023 Princess Grace Foundation Award winner in Dance and to be joining its community of artists, including many past and present HSDC members as well. Best is elated to continue her time growing her artistry and community with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in its upcoming season.

Jacqueline Burnett (she/her, Pocatello, ID) received her formative classical ballet training in her hometown of Pocatello, ID, from Romanian Ballet Master Marius Zirra. She moved to NYC in 2005 for the Ailey School/Fordham University joint BFA program, graduating magna cum laude with honors (2009). She joined HSDC in 2008 as a Center Apprentice and joined the main company in 2009. She received a Princess Grace Honorarium in 2011 and with HSDC, was part of DanceMotion USA 2013, a cultural diplomacy tour in Algeria, Morocco, and Spain. She has also served as an Artistic Lead and teacher for HSDC Summer Intensives, a repetitor for Penny Saunders, and a freelance dancer with Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists, and Seattle Dance Collective. She recently choreographed for Milwaukee Rep’s Murder on the Orient Express and premiered a new work, co-choreographed with David Schultz, for Danza Visual in Mexico City.

Aaron Choate (they/them, Lexington, KY) is a graduate of The Juilliard School class of 2022. After studying at Diana Evan's School of Dance in KY, they were named a 2018 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. They have performed the works of renowned choreographers, such as Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin, Justin Peck, Jamar Roberts, Bobbi Jene Smith, Rennie Harris, Spencer Theberge, Lar Lubovitch, and Ted Shawn. They are also an avid choreographer. Most recently, they had a process at Gibney Dance called the Moving Towards Justice Fellowship, created by Scott Autry. In 2022, they presented a work at 92nd Street Y as a part of the Future Dance Festival. In 2021, they received the George J. Jakab Grant Award from Juilliard to create a dance film, and upon graduation they were awarded the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship.

Morgan Clune (she/her, Barrington, IL) graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts in 2018. She was recognized as a National YoungArts Winner in New York for Contemporary dance in 2018 where she performed solo at Baryshnikov Arts Center. Upon graduation from Juilliard, Clune was awarded the Martha Hill Prize for her achievement and leadership in Dance as well as a Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship for her promise as an entrepreneur and engagement in the arts. She is an emerging choreographer, recently choreographing at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s CREATE summer intensive and The Juilliard School in 2023. Clune is currently entering her second season with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago under the direction of Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell.

Michele Dooley (she/he/they, Philadelphia, PA) is a dance artist and teacher from Philadelphia, PA. She began her dance training at The Institute of the Arts, graduated from The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and later earned her BFA in Dance from The University of the Arts. She has completed programs with Bates Summer intensive, BalletX Summer Program, and DCNS Summer Dance Intensive and has worked with choreographers Gary Jeter, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Aszure Barton, Jermaine Spivey, Milton Myers, Spenser Theberge, and Nora Gibson. She has had the privilege of working with Eleone Dance Theatre and Spectrum Dance Theater. She is thrilled to be back for her third season with the company!

Abdiel Figueroa Reyes (he/they, Las Vegas, NV) was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, before moving to the U.S. mainland in 2011. Training: The Rock Center for Dance, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, The Joffrey Ballet summer intensive, Complexions summer intensive, Contemporary West Dance Theater (under Bernard H. Gaddis). In 2017, Figueroa Reyes became a member of Hubbard Street’s Professional Program, HS Pro (under Alexandra Wells with mentorship from Peter Chu, Claire Bataille, Glenn Edgerton, Jonathan Alsberry, and more). In 2018, he became an HSDC apprentice and in 2019, joined the main company. Dance Magazine named him a Top 25 to Watch and recognized him as 1 of 4 LatinX Dancers Breaking Boundaries in 2020. Starting his fifth year as a company member, Figueroa Reyes is delighted to be a 2022 Princess Grace Award Winner and was recently recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 Local Chicago. He is grateful to continue his growth and development with HSDC and the Chicago community.

Elliot Hammans (he/him, Santa Fe, NM) began his formal dance training in 2008 with Robert Sher-Machherndl and continued his ballet and modern dance education with Moving People Dance in Santa Fe, NM, under the direction of Curtis Uhlemann. He joined Moving People Dance Company as an apprentice in 2010, trained on full scholarship at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center in San Francisco, and attended Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s 2011 and 2012 Summer Intensives. Following studies abroad at Austria’s Tanzzentrum SEAD (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance), he earned his BFA in Dance in 2014 from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. He joined Hubbard Street 2 as a full company member in August 2014 and was promoted to Hubbard Street’s main company in August 2016.

Jack Henderson (he/him, Livermore, CA) grew up in Livermore, CA where he began dancing at his local dance studio, Tiffany's Dance Academy. He attended summer intensives and workshops during this time, including San Francisco Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and Hubbard Street intensives. In 2017, he moved to Vancouver, B.C., to attend Arts Umbrella’s pre-graduate program under the direction of Artemis Gordon. In 2018, he joined the graduate program at Arts Umbrella, performing repertoire and new creations by Crystal Pite, Lukas Timulak, Amos Bental, Ihsan Rustem, and Jonathan E. Alsberry, to name a few.

Alysia Johnson (Alysia/she/her, Dallas, TX) first found dance at Dallas Black Dance Theatre and later went on to graduate from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where she studied ballet, modern, and composition. A graduate of The Juilliard School and a two-time recipient of Juilliard’s Entrepreneurship Grant, she has served the Dallas dance community by founding and directing programs that cater to young artists in the DFW metroplex since 2015. Recently, she was awarded the Princess Grace Honoraria Award for Dance and she is endlessly thankful for the dance community at large for their support and unmatched creativity.

Shota Miyoshi (he/him, Kanagawa, Japan) started to train in jazz and ballet at Nakura Jazz Dance Studio. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from SUNY Purchase college in 2022. He has performed works by Norbert De La Cruz III, Jamar Roberts, Martin Løfsnes, Doug Varone, George Balanchine, Martha Graham, and José Limón. Additional training includes MOVE|NYC|’s S.W.E.A.T and Paul Taylor Summer Intensive. He hopes to become a versatile dancer who is able to collaborate with a variety of musicians in order to create something the world has never seen before.

David Schultz (he/him, Grand Rapids, MI) began his training in Michigan with the School of the Grand Rapids Ballet, where he then performed for four seasons with its company, the Grand Rapids Ballet. He joined Hubbard Street 2 in 2009 and was promoted to the main company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2011 where he has worked with many of the world's leading contemporary choreographers. He is a recipient of a 2012 Princess Grace Award. As a choreographer, he has had the honor of creating works for DanceWorks Chicago, Chambered Squared, Boston University, and a co-choreographed piece with Jacqueline Burnett for Danza Visual in Mexico City. When he is not dancing or choreographing, he has spent many years studying music and has performed and scored many pieces for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as well as for his own works.

Simone Stevens (she/her, Atlanta, GA) received her dance training in her hometown of Stone Mountain, GA at En Pointe School of Dance before graduating from Kennesaw State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Minor in Anthropology. Upon moving to Chicago in 2018, Stevens studied on scholarship at the Lou Conte Dance Studio while simultaneously performing as a freelance artist throughout the city. Since joining the company in 2021, Stevens has been recognized as one of Dance Magazine's 25 To Watch. Stevens has also actively sought to further expand her community as an instructor, both regionally at The Rooted Space and Chicago Movement Collective, as well as familiarly at her alma mater. Stevens is forever grateful for the spaces that continue to welcome her and the communities that continue to uplift.

Cyrie Topete (she/they, Peoria, AZ) is from Peoria, AZ, where she trained in competitive dance starting at the age of 13. She then moved to New York City and received her BFA at The Juilliard School, class of 2022. During her time at Juilliard, she was given Juilliard’s FENDI Vanguard Award and attended programs including Springboard Danse Montreal, Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program, B12 in Berlin, Germany, Youngarts LA, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and more. She was also recognized for choreographic opportunities including Juilliard’s Choreography and Composers in 2021, National Sawdust’s Blueprint Fellowship in 2019, and Juilliard’s Choreographic Honors in 2019. Topete has had the opportunity to perform works by Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Alan Lucien Øyen, Kyle Abraham, Bobbi Jene Smith, Rennie Harris, Peter Chu, Justin Peck, Aszure Barton, Rena Butler, Jenn Freeman, and Jamar Roberts. During her first season with HSDC, she was featured in Dance Magazine’s “On the Rise.”

Matt Wenckowski (he/him, St. Charles, IL) received his early training at Moves Dance Studio in North Aurora and trained as a competitive dancer with Excel Dance Productions. In 2009, he joined the Joffrey Academy’s pre-professional programs under the direction of Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik, performing in The Nutcracker and more. He studied at Lou Conte Dance Studio under the guidance of Claire Bataille and joined DanceWorks Chicago in 2013 under the direction of Julie Nakagawa. In 2015, he joined the Grand Rapids Ballet performing soloist roles in classical and contemporary works. He’s performed pieces by Alejandro Cerrudo, Trey McIntyre, Ben Stevenson, George Balanchine, Yuri Possokhov, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Val Caniparoli, Robyn Mineko Williams, Penny Saunders, and more. He is thrilled and grateful to be part of HSDC and would like to thank his parents for all they’ve done to support him.