Artistic Staff
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Gretchen's own choreography has been in original concerts at Studio 6A, Red Eye Collaborations and Old Arizona Studios in Minneapolis. She has also presented her choreography at the Show Off Gallery in Bellingham, WA and the International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Bytom, Poland. Her work has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, Winona State University and Carleton College. Gretchen teaches dance and yoga to students of all ages at various schools in the Twin Cities metro area. She is adjuncy faculty at the University of Minnesota. Gretchen also works in the Minneapolis Public Schools developing curriculum that infuses dance into academics. She has received funding for her work as both a choreographer and as a teacher from the Lyndale Neighborhood association and the Perpich Center for Arts Education. Gretchen will be working with all levels as both a teacher and a choreographer and overseeing the choreography projects of the dancers.
Justin Jones, Artistic Associate, is a dancer, choreographer, sound designer and child educator based in Minneapolis, MN. He is the recipient of a 2003 NYFA New York Fellowship for Peforming Artists and 1 2007 McKnight Fellowship for Choreographers. His work has been seen at many venues including the Bryant Lake Bowl, The Southern Theater and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and CBGB's and the Kitchen in New York. He creates sound design for his own work as well as for the work of other local choreographers. He is also a teacher at Temple Israel Early Childhood Center in Minneapolis
Jennifer Glaws, Programs Manager, is a choreographer, administrator, dancer, and educator in the Twin Cities passionate about modern and the renovation of jazz. Currently, she is the director of dance at Eagan High School alongside acting as programs manager for Young Dance. She has directed both a youth performance company based out of the Youth Dance Ensemble, Burnsville MN, as well as presenting her own choreography at Minneapolis venues including Bedlam, Southern, and Ritz Theaters, and Patrick’s Cabaret as part of the Kinetic Kitchen series. She has been commissioned to choreograph dance works for the Zenon Dance Zone scholarship program, Apple Valley High Schools’ DanceWorks and Broadway, Eagan High Schools’ Encore, and Breck Preparatory College. Originally, from the Chicago area, Jennifer holds a BFA in dance and photography from Arizona State University and a Post Baccalaureate certificate in Photography from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Prior to college, she danced with Greg Thompson Productions, Seattle, and Perry Mansfield Dance Company, Steamboat, Colorado, touring nationally and internationally.
2011--2012 Teaching Staff
Brian J. Evans, hails from the hub of Sibley County, Gaylord, MN. He recently graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with a B.A. in dance. Brian began his professional career with Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater in 2007. Having recently moved to the Twin Cities, he plans to find out whether or not the world produces art, or if art produces the world! Brian would like to thank his friends and family for their support in pushing him to follow his dreams and to follow them with passion. Brian teaches the Middles and High School classes.
Denise Gagner, received her BA in Dance from St. Olaf College. In addition to teaching for Young Dance, she was a guest choreographer for the company
in 07/08. Denise is a co-director of Ready At Will Dance Collective and performs with Rosy Simas Danse. She also teaches modern dance and creative movement at Zenon Dance School and several Montessori schools in the Twin Cities area and she spent 3 years as the School Coordinator for Zenon Dance School. Outside of dance, Denise runs her own massage therapy practice.
Erin Thompson, ATI Alexander Technique Certified, began her dance career with the Minnesota Dance Theatre and continued in New York City in the companies of Nina Wiener and Bebe Miller. Erin has been on faculty at the University of Minnesota's Department of Theater Arts and Dance since 1990, teaching beginning to advanced level modern dance technique classes and as well as an Alexander Technique for Performing Artists course. She also teaches at Zenon Dance School where she provides professional modern dance training for the Twin City's dance community. Erin graduated in 2004 from the Alexander Alliance in Philadelphia, PA. She was awarded a 2008 Sage Award for Outstanding Dance Educator in Minnesota. Erin will be teaching the Technique Intensive class focussing on a semester of ballet and a semester of modern.
Leah Nelson, is a Zimbabwean dancer, choreographer and producer who graduated with a BFA from the North Carolina School of the Arts. She has performed internationally from Brussels to Brazil, and extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada. Ms. Nelson is a Co-Founding Director and Dance Curator, Youth Workshop, and DJ Coordinator of B-Girl BE: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop at Intermedia Arts. Leah is Artistic Director of Nubia – a pan-African performing arts collective that believes in access to community creativity. Nubia provides classes in hip-hop culture - b-boying, popping, locking, dj'ing, mc'ing, circus and aerosol arts. She has been running a after-school program at Bloomington Public Schools (2004- present) for Galaxy After School Program in 3 sites. Leah taught the 2009 Summer program at Young Dance and will choreograph a dance with the company this fall.
Maria Gomez Tierney has been teaching, choreographing and dancing in Minneapolis, St. Paul since 1986. She received her B.A from the University of Minnesota and her M.F.A. from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 2010, Tierney completed the Holistic Health Studies Graduate Certificate from St. Catherine’s University. Tierney created and has directed Gomez Dance Group since 1998. She began working with youth in 1988, and since then has worked with Classical Ballet Minnesota, Stepping Stone Theatre, Ballet Arts Minnesota, Gap Schools and more recently with Young Dance. In 2008-09, Tierney assisted adults living with disabilities in Mathew Sanford’s Courage Center yoga classes in Golden Valley, MN. Since the summer of 2010, she has been teaching and assisting classes for youth living with disabilities for Young Dance All Abilities Dancing.
Andrea Zimmerman is a local dancer and pediatric physical therapist. She has a special interest in dance for those with many abilities. She has taught for Young Dance since 2010 working with the ballet classes, the adaptive dance classes, and all abiilties dance classes. Andrea graduated with degrees in Dance and Physical Therapy at the University of Minnesota and has performed locally with catalyst, dances by emily johnson, Zenon Dance Company, HiJack, Body Cartography Project, and Maggie Bergeron and Company.