Megan Beseth, a native of Ohio, has been creating, celebrating and sharing dance in Chicago for over 20 years. She holds a BFA in dance from Ohio University and a JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she served as an editor of the Law Review. She is a contributing choreographer and dancer with Shelter Repertory Dance Theater and was a founding member of Core Project Chicago, where she choreographed, taught, and danced in national tours for nearly a decade. She is a former company member of Marquez Dance Project, Nicole Gifford Dance, Monocle Eclectic, and Salty Lark Dance and currently produces her own work in Chicago. She believes dance brings joy, provokes thought, and generally makes life more approachable.

Judy Burke founded and directed the Adult Dance Department at the Metropolitan School of the Arts in Alexandria, Virginia where she taught ballet, tap, jazz and social dance. She has an extensive teaching resume, as well as numerous performance credits including TV, movies and Broadway, and competed on the U.S. National Swing Circuit for 10 years.

Bennett Cullen began his dance training in the suburbs of Chicago and continued at the University of Iowa. He also spent time training and living in Israel. Professionally, Bennett has danced for St. Louis Dance Theatre, Visceral Dance Chicago, Trifecta Dance Collective (Guest Artist), and Bodies of Water and he is currently a Senior Performing Artist with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. Bennett’s choreography has been featured at Lindenwood University, The Big Muddy Dance Company, Trifecta Dance Collective and Fluid Expressions Dance Festival. Bennett currently serves as the director of Cerqua Rivera’s second company, CRDT II. Bennett’s passions lay in education, community engagement, and ballet pedagogy, and he hopes to spread his love of teaching and coaching movement wherever he goes.

Katie DeSalvo is a Chicago native and DePaul University alumni. She has choreographed extensively with St. Patrick’s High School since 2009, from Wizard of Oz to Tarzan. She traveled across Europe touring with the On Broadway Dancers in 2016 and danced with her ballroom student for Arthur Murray’s international competition in Barcelona in 2017. Currently, she performs contemporary repertoire with the non-profit Reveries in Motion and socially dances tango with the 312 Movement in Chicago.

Josh Fletcher came to Chicago from Indiana in 2016. He was Director of Dance at River City Dance Connection and Artistic Director for Vision Dance Company.  He danced for Dancefx Concert Dance Company in Athens, Georgia and is currently a company member and company manager for Matter Dance Company in Chicago. Josh choreographs routines for studios, performance groups, and high school and college dance teams all over the country and is the owner of JFDA Choreography. For more information visit:  http://joshualeefletcher.wix.com/jfda  

Brenda Fournier has been teaching BeMoved since 2011. She’s a former professional dancer who worked for more than 15 years in ballet and musical theatre. As a young girl she was a member of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet and performed in their productions of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker, Petrouchka, Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps), La Bayadere (1st girl corps) and others. Some of her favorite musical theatre credits include Cabaret, Sugar, and Chicago.  

Ginger Jensen is originally from Blair, Nebraska and has been teaching dance, performing and choreographing in the Chicagoland area for over 25 years. Ginger danced with four professional companies in Chicago and was the founder and artistic director of Renegade Dance Architects (of Chicago). As an independent artist she has shown works in dance festivals, choreographed musicals, and continues to perform on various stages. Ginger’s classes are a hybrid of technical discipline, emotional expression, and humor. She has academic degrees in Mathematics and English with a Theatre emphasis, a Master’s in Nonprofit Management including a Fundraising concentration from Spertus Institute, and is a consultant for nonprofit organizations.

Sarah Lubatkin received her classical training in ballet, modern, tap, and jazz in Atlanta, GA. She obtained her B.A. in Dance and Business Management from Kennesaw State University while dancing with the NBA Atlanta Hawks. She went on to perform with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and tour with Clubesque. She was then owner and artistic director of The Dancer’s Studio in Atlanta, GA, providing pre-professional dance training for students. There, she founded the non-profit group Atlance Dance Company, choreographing and hosting full length ballets and productions. 

Yui Nakatani began her ballet training at the age of 5 in Japan. She joined a professional junior ballet company in Tokyo at 19. After a summer intensive in London, she pursued a global contemporary dance career. Since 2021, Yui has trained at The Ailey School, where she earned a prestigious 2-year full scholarship through an audition process. She has had the honor of performing works by Earl Mosley, Levi Marsman, Ray Mercer, and Branndi Lewis in NY as well as Shannon Alvis and Monique Haley in Chicago. She moved to Chicago to join Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater last year as senior performing artist and social media manager.

Kaitlyn Pasquinelli is a Chicago based dancer, performer, and teacher. She has recently performed with Music Theatre Works and DanceWorks Chicago. She has danced in professional summer workshops at Broadway Dance Center, and Visceral Dance Center with focuses in contemporary dance and musical theatre. Kaitlyn continues to train and learn as much as she can from mentors Shanna VanDerwerker, Ethan Kirschbaum, and Nick Pupillo at Visceral Dance Center and Chicago Movement Collective. Kaitlyn is also an actor, choreographer, and loves being an aunt to Mila and Sienna.

@Kaitlynpasquinelli
http://www.kaitlynpasquinelli.com

Brennen Renteria began his dance training at the age of 10 in his hometown of Corona, CA. He has a BA in dance from California State University, Fullerton, where he was featured in local ballets for Ballet Etudes, American Pacific Ballet Company and collaborated with Golsanam Dance and Music Company (traditional and contemporary Persian dance). In Chicago Brennen danced professionally with Thodos Dance Chicago. He is currently a company artist with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater.

Adina Stuhlman has a BS in Dance and a minor in history from Ball State University and studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel post-graduation. Adina was an apprentice with Inaside Chicago Dance, danced as a Guest Artist in Spectacle Spectacular (a fully improvised danced musical) with J. Lindsay Brown Dance, and was a Supernumerary in the Lyric Opera’s production of Dead Man Walking. Adina is a ballerina at heart but enjoys exploring other styles and new ways of moving as well.

Brooke Winegardner graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in dance and arts management. During her time in school, Brooke trained in jazz, musical theatre, ballet, tap, and rhythm tap. She has performed with the American Spirit Dance Company, the Spirit of Grace Liturgical Dance Company, in multiple choreography showcases, and with the Dance Divas to benefit the Chicago Dancers’ Fund. Brooke interned for Chicago Tap Theatre, learning their technique and style while doing nonprofit work. Now she finds joy teaching all ages in a variety of dance styles.