Ellie Potts Barrett - Presenter
Ellie Potts Barrett (Boston Conservatory/USF) prefers being on the production side of the stage after being on it. Professional dance - Mary Anthony (NYC); Boston Dance Company; Ina Hahn Modern Dance Company (Boston), national tours and theatrical productions. Internationally recognized, she loves to create dances, and has been doing so for many years for Theme Parks, Cruise Lines, Theatre Companies, Dance Companies and Universities around the world. Some Choreography includes - Modern Dance Concert works; Hair; How To Succeed..Trying/La Traviata/ Guys and Dolls, starring Davis Gaines for The Orlando Philharmonic; A Chorus Line/Spamalot/ Aida/Legally Blonde at Trinity Preparatory's Summer Intensive; Kiss Me Kate/ Curtains/Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts; Urinetown,The Musical/Rent/Grease/Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Seensee Musical Theatre Company/Seoul/South Korea; Film work - Lonely Hearts with Jared Leto and Salma Hayek. Residencies include Merce Cunningham , Meg Harper, Elizabeth Streb and Carl Hiaasen. She currently teaches Modern Dance, Musical Theatre, Composition, and Dance Aesthetics at the prestigious Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as teaching Modern Dance at Orlando Ballet. She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the newly founded Choreographers Guild. Ellie sits on the Board of Directors for the Florida Dance Education Organization, serving as Secretary.
Diana Ford - Presenter
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, Diana began her dance training in Miami under the instruction of Pepe Bronce, Vivian Tobio, Maria Eugenia Lorenzo, and Manuel Castro. While furthering her craft at New World School of the Arts College, she performed contemporary works by Gerard Ebitz, Michael Uthoff, and Robert Battle. During this time, Diana also performed as a soloist with the Pepe Bronce Flamenco Company at the Second Annual Flamenco Festival in Costa Rica, and began working in the commercial dance industry under the choreographic supervision of Manuel Castro. In February 2004, Diana had the privilege to perform alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, in the piece Mr. XYZ. At this time, she also made her first appearance with Miami Contemporary Dance Company in Tango Undressed.
Upon graduating from NWSA with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in dance in 2005, Diana spent a summer as a scholarship student at the Martha Graham Dance Center and was also a featured performer in an off-broadway production of Rumba Dreams, both in New York City. Following that summer, she was invited to join Miami Contemporary Dance Company as a company dancer in Miami Beach under the artistic direction of Ray Sullivan. In her seven years dancing with MCDC Diana performed company repertory, as well as featured roles in The Death of Garcia Lorca,
Love Without Permission, Your Blood, My Blood, and Tango Undressed, while also touring Argentina and Italy with the company. Diana performed with the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami as a company dancer in their production of Don Quixote in 2010. She has also performed a variety of commercial work, including television work for Univision; dancing alongside artists such as Pitbull, David Bisbal, Alexander Pires, Tiziano Ferro, and Willy Chirino, among others. Diana has also performed on shows such as Sabado Gigante, Cristina, El Gordo y La Flaca, Despierta America, and Don Francisco Presenta, and was a dancer for the MTV VMAs in Miami, Florida, in 2005. She was also a dancer at Gulfstream Park in their Serenata Ballroom Dancers revue.
Diana has taught at Miami Contemporary Dance School and DanceTown, and served as Assistant Artistic Director at Miami Dancity Studios for nine years. She has been a guest choreographer for Miami Arts Charter School’s Dance Department since 2013 and has been on faculty at the MAC Dance Department since 2016, currently serving as director of the dance program.
Diana is a member of the National Dance Education Organization and the Florida Dance Education Organization; and served as secretary of the board for Miami Dance Hub, a multi-faceted resource seeking to provide a networking center for professional artists in the Miami dance community. She is a certified K-12 dance teacher in the state of Florida and holds a level 1 self-leadership certification from The Legacy of You in New York City. Diana is the chapter sponsor for the National Honor Society for Dance Arts at Miami Arts Charter School, and continues to guest teach and choreograph locally and abroad in her spare time. Her choreography has been recognized on both local and national levels at dance competitions and festivals throughout the United States, while students under her direction and guidance have received multiple scholarship opportunities to prestigious summer intensives as well as some of the most reputable college dance programs in the country. Diana is also licensed and certified to teach all three levels of the Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) method.
Cindy Heen - Presenter
CINDY HEEN is a dedicated dancer who has committed her life to her art form. She earned her BA and Minor in Dance from the University of Central Florida in 2013, followed by an MFA in Dance and Choreography from Mills College in Oakland, CA in 2018. Currently, Cindy's passion for dance shines through her diverse involvement in the field. As a devoted educator, she shares her knowledge and expertise as a dance Professor at UCF and DSC, and as a dance instructor at University Performing Arts Centre. Additionally, Cindy serves as a judge and teacher with Sheer Elite International, enriching the dance community with her insights. Her creativity extends to choreography, with her work gracing numerous studios, competitions, and concerts. Notably, Cindy recently set a contemporary piece at Rollins College and contributed several pieces to the UCF Dance Concerts. As the artistic director of Emergence Dance, Cindy leads her own professional dance company, producing and directing full-length works that captivate audiences. She also curates the annual Emergence Dance Festival, providing a platform to showcase emerging choreographers. Cindy's entrepreneurial spirit is evident in her creation of Dance Buddy, a line of self-care tools tailored for dancers, reflecting her belief in holistic well-being for optimal performance. Cindy's performance career spans various esteemed companies, including SeaWorld, Santa Clara Ballet, Dawn Branch Works, Vixen Talent Productions, and Emotions Dance, among others. Her dedication to education and advocacy for the arts remains unwavering. Through her endeavors, she embodies the belief that empowering artists and nurturing their well-being are essential facets of her life's purpose.
Charmaine Hunter - Presenter
Charmaine Hunter’s long and illustrious career in ballet began with her training at the Hartford Ballet School. Still in high school, she moved to New York to work with Arthur Mitchell at Dance Theatre of Harlem. During the 25 years she was a member of the company she electrified audiences with her performances in the title roles of John Taras’ The Firebird and Michael Smuin’s Medea. While still performing Ms. Hunter also served as Ballet Mistress. At the complete of her stellar performing career, Ms. Hunter went on to a range of leadership positions such as co-founding the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater with former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer Bernard Gaddis and directing a resident show Disney’s The Lion King in Toronto and was casting director and talent scout for Cirque du Soleil also overseeing daily classes and training of dance artists on the Celine Dion production, “A New Day” at Caesars Palace among other activities in Las Vegas. Always deeply engaged in launching programs specifically for young people with little to no access to the arts in the US and around the world, Ms. Hunter was appointed a teaching artist with Disney Musicals in Schools with Disney Theatricals and Wolf-trap Early Childhood Education through the arts with The Smith Center of Performing Arts. Ms. Hunter returned to the professional ballet world as Upper School Principal and co-director with Texas Ballet Theater under the guidance and leadership of Ben Stevenson O.B.E. Director Emeritus of Houston Ballet.
Elyse Jardine - Presenter
As the Senior Director of Community Outreach for United Arts of Central Florida, Elyse is responsible for leading the work of the outreach department including facilitating the organization’s $3.4 million annual grant portfolio technical support and capacity building services, arts education programs, individual artist services, internships, volunteer programs, data collection, creative placemaking, research, and advocacy. Rooted in equity, Elyse’s theory for change is based on right-sizing initiatives to support specific transformation that is impactful and sustainable. With the arts, science and history being critical components of community vitality, Elyse is excited to co-create funding opportunities that are inclusive, equitable, accessible, and transparent via participatory grant making practices. Before joining United Arts in 2021, Elyse spent five years in the Dan River Region of Virginia and North Carolina, focusing on community revitalization. Here, Elyse was exposed to philanthropy’s unique role in investing in discovery, innovation, and continuous improvement. At the Danville Regional Foundation, Elyse led the designing and activation of the Foundation’s work related to its Raising the Region’s Profile initiative and provided strategy development support for Opportunity Neighborhoods and The Health Collaborative. As the project manager for The Health Collaborative, Elyse led long-range initiative planning and operations to support the Collaborative’s multi-layered approach, integrating policy, systems, and environment changes into partner services, programs, and resources to increase health equity. This work included directing the Collaborative’s participation in the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge and producing the region’s first comprehensive health equity report.Elyse holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication – Training and Development from Western Carolina University, A Master of Public Administration from the University of Montana, and a certificate in Nonprofit Administration from Duke University. In her downtime, Elyse enjoys traveling and woodworking- recently diving into the world of woodturning. Prior to the pandemic, Elyse spent time volunteering abroad with Habitat for Humanity International, having worked on homes in Comănești, Romania, and Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Andy Noble - Presenter
NobleMotion Dance (NMD), one of Texas’s premier dance companies, is recognized for their intense physicality, unique collaborations, and jaw-dropping performances. Since the organization’s inception in 2009, NMD has served as a driver of innovation, seeking out collaborations with talented artists and experts from a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, artificial intelligence, technology, and industrial design; composers and musicians; light and set artists; photographers, actors, and poets. Notably, NMD collaborated with Academy Award winner John Ridley and composer Mark Isham for the Emmy Award winning ABC-TV show American Crime. NMD developed and performed a four-minute contemporary choreography that was shown in its entirety on primetime TV and drew an audience viewership of 4 million. This exposure garnered them reviews in publications such as Entertainment Weekly and placed the Houston dance company on the international scene. NMD also gained attention when they collaborated with acclaimed photographer Jordan Matters with photos appearing in his New York Times Best Selling book Dancers Among Us. In 2015, 2016, and 2019, Houston Press named NMD “Houston’s Best Dance Company” following sold out performances at Houston’s downtown performance venue The Hobby Center. The company has received over 50 positive reviews and been featured in articles from national critics including publications in Dance Magazine, Dance Informa, and Dance Teacher. The company has toured to Italy, New York, Virginia, Arizona, Utah, California, Boston, and throughout Texas.
Learn more about Noble Motion:
Dance – NobleMotion Dance Promo // Dance – NobleMotion Dance on ABC TV show American Crime // Website // FaceBook // Instagram
ANDY NOBLE...Andy’s choreography has been set on Repertory Dance Theatre, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, BruceWood Dance, Malashock Dance Company, Moving Current Dance Collective, and Urbanity Dance. Additionally, his choreography has been selected three times for the National Dance Festival at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and performed at Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts as part of the 2022 International Workshop on the Neural and Social Bases of Creative Movement. Andy’s creative endeavors have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Science Foundation, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Texas Commission for the Arts, and Houston Arts Alliance. He has also received over 40 positive reviews by press including Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, Arts+Culture Texas, and the Utah Review and his work has been presented at venues such as The Lincoln Center, The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and The Ailey Citigroup Theatre. Andy’s work directing NobleMotion Dance has led to the organization being awarded Houston’s Best Dance Company 3 times by the Houston Press and a listing in Dance Magazine as one of Houston’s “A-list” dance companies. Andy’s performing career includes six years with Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT), where he performed in over forty choreographic works by such noted masters as Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and JoseLimon. He also had the honor of working first-hand with many cutting edge contemporary and international artists such as Gideon Obarzanek (Chunky Move), Jø Strømgren and Zvi Gotheiner. Andy holds a BA in Modern Dance from the University of South Florida and a MFA with an emphasis in Dance Technology from Florida State University.
For FDEO Day of Development, Noble will provide insights regarding the collaborative process of the art science team’s research. He will also share some of the team’s findings, including how the study of dance is helping scientists better understand the neural dynamics of social interaction and the neural basis of creativity.
How Dance and Creativity Impacts the Brain
As a professional choreographer and dance teacher with over 30 years’ experience in the field, Andy Noble’s interests lie in advocating for the power of dance. A unique partnership that developed between dancers, musicians, and neuroscientists over the last few years has allowed Noble to research the impact that dance has on the brain. The art-science team comprising of Andy Noble and fellow choreographer Dionne Noble (Co-Directors of Houston-based NobleMotion Dance), neuroscientist Jose Contreras-Vidal (Director of Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in Neurotechnology (BRAIN), and composer Anthony Brandt (Director of Musiqa) have engaged in a number of performance research projects that combine the meticulous application of scientific analyzation with the rigorous movement practices of contemporary dance to artistically showcase the live capturing of neuroscientific data from dancers. Their research has been presented through TEDx, at the International Workshop on the Neural Basis of Creative Movement at Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, and in several scientific journals and conferences. In May 2024, their latest project, Meeting of Minds, will be performed for the United Nations “AI for Good” Global Summit.
