Spring '26 Dance Classes and Workshops

Open-Level Jazz with Keesha Beckford
Mondays, 5:00-6:30 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

This open-level class explores jazz technique as a mixture of African-American social dance traditions and ballet and modern-dance vocabularies that blended and evolved to form a range of jazz styles. Through a warmup, an across-the-floor series, and center choreography, we will focus on dynamics, alignment, musicality, technical clarity, transitions, and expressive and powerful movement. Beginners will have the space to learn the fundamentals, while more experienced dancers can push their attention to detail, athleticism, and artistry.

Keesha Beckford began her dance studies in Queens, New York, before graduating cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in American history and a minor in dance. She has performed the choreography of Milton Myers, Teri Lee and Oliver Steele, Danny Herman, Paige Cunningham-Caldarella, Amy Marshall, Michael Foley, and Lorn MacDougal, among others in the U.S. and abroad. Her teaching credits include Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, Dance Center Evanston, Charlotte Ballet, the UNC Charlotte dance department, and as a guest teacher for Thodos Dance Chicago. Beckford has served as Youth Programs Manager at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and is currently the Dance Lab Program Liaison at the Grainger Academy of the Joffrey Ballet.

Beginning Ballet with Eric Skinner
Tuesdays, 5:00-6:30 PM
Ida Noyes Dance Room
Sign-up Form

This class will cover the fundamentals of ballet technique and is geared towards a beginning level of experience. Progressing from barre combinations to center phrase work, students will be guided through a mindful approach to the structure and flow of classical ballet. Emphasis will be placed on functional technique, musicality, and artistic expression of the individual dancer. 

Originally from Muncie, Indiana, Eric Skinner has had a hand in some of the most important dance developments in Portland, Oregon during his 3+ decades living there as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. He was a founding member of Oregon Ballet Theatre, a founder of aero/betty aerial dance theatre, and a founder of BodyVox Dance Company (with artistic directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland). At BodyVox he danced, choreographed and was Artistic Associate for 20 years. In 2002 Skinner with his then partner Daniel Kirk, formed their own company the skinner/kirk Dance Ensemble and was presented as part of the 2008 White Bird Dance Series. He taught dance for over two decades in Portland, including classes at the BodyVox Dance Center and Reed College. He has also taught master classes throughout the United States, including Butler University, where he received his BA in Dance.

Contemporary Grooves with Elijah Richardson
Wednesdays from 5:00-6:30 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

This class invites intermediate to advanced dancers to experience invigorating contemporary movement. We will move through release-based floor work with progressions to find a strong base of support. Exercising our creative muscles through guided improvisation will follow into learning choreographic phrases to holistically stimulate our mind, cultivate imagination, and discover our personal groove. 

Elijah Richardson (San Jose, California) is a freelance dance artist of Filipino, Mexican, and Irish descent, based in Chicago. He earned his BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University and has spent formative summers at San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and OBOC/Countertechnique (Amsterdam). Elijah has the honor of being listed on both Dance Magazine’s 2023 “25 to Watch” and NewCity Magazine’s 2025 “Players 50: People Who Really Perform for Chicago.” Previous credits include five seasons with South Chicago Dance Theatre, three seasons with DanceWorks Chicago, and performances with Collage Dance Collective, Chicago Opera Theater, Giordano Dance Chicago, and Anaheim Ballet. He has performed new and historic works by George Balanchine, Hanna Brictson, Donald Byrd, Frank Chaves, Sean Greene, Monique Haley, Tsai Hsi Hung, Ron De Jesus, James Gregg, Josh Manculich, Stephanie Martinez, Kia Smith, Ido Tadmor, and Demis Volpi, among others. Highlight performances include at Jacob’s Pillow, Chicago’s Dance for Life, St. Louis’ Spring to Dance Festival, along with tours to Germany, Colombia, South Korea, and Vietnam. A blooming choreographer for stage and screen, Elijah was named a 2025 “Chicago Performance Lab” Artist at University of Chicago and has shown works at Chapman University, Loyola University Chicago, DePaul University, San Jose State University, Harvest Dance Festival, and four times at Mobile Dance Film Festival. He has been a guest teacher for University of Chicago since 2023. Learn more: elijahrichardson.com

Intermediate-Adv Ballet with Erica L. Edwards 
Thursdays, 5:00-6:30 PM
Ida Noyes Dance Room
Sign-up Form

This class is geared towards an intermediate-advanced level of ballet practice. Progressing from barre combinations to center phrase work, students will be guided through a mindful approach to the structure and flow of classical ballet. Emphasis will be placed on functional technique, musicality, and artistic expression of the individual dancer. 

Erica Lynette Edwards (she/her) has over 20 years of professional experience in the dance industry as a ballerina, teacher, consultant, and administrative leader. As a ballerina with The Joffrey Ballet, she performed lead roles throughout a rewarding 15-year career, dancing in hundreds of performances in the United States and abroad. During that time Ebony Magazine declared her a “Young Leader in the Future of the Arts” and the Chicago Tribune gave her the title "Black History Maker." When Edwards retired from the stage, she became an artistic and administrative senior leader as Joffrey's Director of Community Engagement. Under her visionary leadership, the department grew to support the city of Chicago through a focus on community partnerships rooted in DEI. Edwards independently expanded her DEI services to engage a wide variety of clients with authentic and innovative consultation. Her many honors include multiple features in Dance Magazine, a TEDx talk, speaking on international panels, and being selected as a member of Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40.” She currently serves as the Executive Director of Giordano Dance Chicago.

Improvisation as Creative Practice with Anniela Huidobro
Saturday April 4, 1-3 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

Open to dancers of all levels and abilities, this workshop will explore improvisation techniques to develop a personal movement voice and narrative expression. We’ll begin with a warm-up that incorporates floor work, contemporary movement, and spatial exploration. This will be followed by a session focused on developing movement through the lens of personal narratives. Participants will engage with prompts—such as music, objects, images, and storytelling—that serve as creative stimuli, providing inspiration for movement-based research and playful improvisational scores. 

Anniela Huidobro (she/her) is a Mexican dance artist. She is currently an Artist in Residence at the Chicago Cultural Center. With over 10 years of professional experience, Anniela has performed at festivals and in projects across Latin America-including Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Panama, and Colombia, as well as at numerous festivals throughout Mexico. In the United States, her work has been presented at the Newport Dance Festival (2023, 2025), RADFest (2025-26), Chicago Dance Month (2025), among others. She currently resides in Chicago, teaching dance classes in different schools and Cultural Centers in the Chicago area. Her artistic practice is driven by a passion for environmental awareness and a desire to reconnect with ancestral and cultural roots.

Horton Technique with Makeba Malek of Deeply Rooted
Saturday, April 11, 1-3 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up form

Come out and experience the technical rigor and expansive athleticism of the Horton technique through a contemporary lens. Grounded in foundational Horton principles — lateral strength, fortification studies, flat backs, and clarity of line — the workshop will challenge dancers to build power, control, and embodied presence. The session builds progressively, beginning with technical alignment and fortification patterns, expanding into traveling progressions, and culminating in a dynamic contemporary phrase that merges Horton’s structural clarity with modern expression. Dancers will leave with a deeper understanding of Horton’s architectural integrity and how to translate its strength into contemporary performance practice.

Mekeba Malik is a professional dancer and health and wellness practitioner from Chicago IL. He has trained in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, African, and Flamenco. He has trained at Kiara Dance Arts Studio, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, The Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, Chicago MultiCultural Dance Center, and The Chicago High School for the Arts. At age 17, Mekeba was the youngest to be  accepted to Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet Training Program on a full ride scholarship. He later took the opportunity to study abroad in Italy and Norway and became a certified yoga instructor and a certified personal trainer. He is currently a company member with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, an instructor for the Grainger Academy of the Joffrey Ballet, and Studio Yogi. 

Two House “Wreckshops” as part of For the Feeling, vol. 3
Both on Saturday, April 18

Wreckshop #1: The Feeling of House Dance with Tristen “Penny” Green
Saturday, April 18, 1-2:30 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

This workshop will provide students with tools to help with feeling more present in the music, and different techniques to help better your relationship with movement in House Dance. Through listening and movement exercises, students will be able to help hone and develop the "feeling" in House Dance and House music.

Tristen "Penny" Green is a Chicago-based muti-disciplinary movement artist in Hip-Hop, House, Animation, and Ballroom dance. His work within dance seeks to bridge the gap of feeling freedom within movement and being present within music. He is currently a teacher for House Dance at Steadfast Dance Center in Pilsen, on Chicago's South Side, where his experience is rooted in both foundational movements within House and seeking to teach a love for the culture and its history. His reputation and accolades have carried him into finals and 1st place winnings across events in Chicago and the Midwest.

Wreckshop #2: House Dance Fundamentals with Tre Daniels
Saturday, April 18, 2-3:30 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

This House Dance workshop focuses on diction and application of foundational movement within House Dance. Students will explore key elements of the form through both skill-based drills and choreographic material, blending technical training with embodied practice, with a goal to encourage dancers to apply their movement with intention, rhythm, and personal expression.

Thomas "Tre Daniels" Canty is the founder of BODY House Dance Summit and a Chicago-based house dancer, DJ, educator, and cultural producer whose work connects dance floors, music, and live performance. Their practice explores the relationship between movement and sound within House culture, bridging social dance traditions, club music, and contemporary performance spaces. Daniels has appeared in Red Bull's Dance Your Style competitions as both a DJ and judge, and has performed at venues including The Metro and Smoke & Mirrors. Alongside performing, they teach House Dance at multiple studios across Chicago. He also holds a weekly residency with the House collective Tribecago as DJ Salem, having had his work featured most recently by Viva Acid as one of Chicago's DJs to watch in 2026.

Pulse of India: Folk Dance with Kinnari Vora
Saturday, April 25, 1-3 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

In this open-level workshop, participants will be introduced to folk dances from northwest India—such as Kalbelia, Ghoomar, Raas, Garba, and Bhil—through the lens of the Roma Journey. The group will be invited to explore the cyclical geometry, geography and props of these dance forms in contemporary context.

Kinnari Vora (she/her) is a Chicago based dancer, choreographer, and educator. She shares stories of universal human conditions and emotions through movement, meditation, and theatrical practices. She was born and raised in India. Her contemporary works are rooted in Bharatanatyam (disciple of Sarmishtha Sarkar, India), various Indian folk dances and kalaripayattu martial arts. Kinnari is co-founder and artistic co-chair of Ishti Collective and a dancer collaborator with Surabhi Ensemble. She received a Chicago Dancemakers Lab Artist Award in 2022 and is a resident artist at High Concept Labs.

Capoeira with Amansu Eason
Saturday, May 2, 1-3 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that seamlessly combines elements of martial arts, dance, acrobatics, and music. The workshop will start by tracing Capoeira’s rich history, from its African roots to its role as a martial art during Brazil's turbulent past. Then, we’ll dive into the fundamental moves and groove to the infectious rhythms of traditional Brazilian music. Discover how this art form, born from resistance, has evolved into a thriving cultural expression and a dynamic fitness activity that unites people worldwide.

Amansu “Tempero” Eason is a teaching artist with Gingarte Capoeira Chicago, and brings a wealth of knowledge in Capoeira and various African-Brazilian cultural art forms.  Gingarte Capoeira Chicago is committed to the art of Capoeira and is a place where the spirit of community, rhythm, and movement converge. Individuals of all backgrounds come together at Gingarte to celebrate the dynamic blend of martial arts, dance, music, and culture that Capoeira embodies. In Capoeira, participants not only develop agility, strength, and flexibility but also forge a profound connection to the rich history and traditions of Brazil, making it a unique and transformative experience for all who engage with this enchanting art form. 

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Repertory with Jacqueline Burnett
Saturday, May 9, 1-3 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

Open to all dancers, this 2-hour workshop begins with a guided improvisational warm-up designed to awaken the body from the inside out with somatic practices and light conditioning all while exploring movement coordination, textures, and dynamics.. This will lead the dancers into learning excerpts from IMPASSE by Johan Inger, part of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s repertoire.

Jacqueline Burnett (she/her, Pocatello, ID) received her formative classical ballet training in her hometown of Pocatello, Idaho, from Romanian Ballet Master Marius Zirra. She moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue the Ailey School/Fordham University joint BFA degree, graduating magna cum laude with departmental honors in 2009. She joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in January 2008 as a Center Apprentice while completing her degree and became a member of the main company in August 2009. She received a 2011 Princess Grace Honorarium for Dance and was a member of the HSDC contingent for DanceMotion USA 2013, a U.S. State Department/Brooklyn Academy of Music cultural diplomacy tour in Algeria, Morocco, and Spain. In addition to dancing with HSDC, she also teaches company class, has choreographed for the Create Summer Intensive, serves as a repetiteur for choreographies by Penny Saunders (Ballet Idaho, Grand Rapids Ballet, Seattle Dance Collective, Royal New Zealand Ballet), and is a freelance dancer with Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists. Her choreography has been commissioned by Chicago Movement Collective for the Claire Bataille Legacy Program, Danza Visual in Mexico City, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of Murder on the Orient Express under the direction of Annika Boras. 

Cuban Salsa Partnering with Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Jordan Reinwald
Saturday, May 16, 1-3 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

This Cuban Salsa workshop will cover a range of social dance practices that have contributed to the vibrant, improvisational style of Cuban Salsa. Students will learn the basic steps, timing, and musical influences of Afro-Cuban Rumba, Son, Mambo, and ChaChaCha, all of which are embedded in Cuban Salsa practices that are still very much alive in Cuba today. The workshop will also introduce the fundamentals of partnering in Salsa dancing. 

Michel Rodriguez Cintra (he/him) is a Cuban-born dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Upon graduating from Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana, Cuba, he was chosen to join Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, where he became a Principal Dancer and toured internationally. After moving to Chicago, Michel danced with Hedwig Dances. In 2013, he became an ensemble member with Lucky Plush Productions, generating multiple original roles in their signature devised dance-theater style and touring nationally and internationally. Michel has also been a guest artist with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Concert Dance Inc., and Khecari. Choreographic credits include Visceral Dance Company, Lit & Luz Festival Chicago/Mexico City, LatinX Chicago Arts Festival, and Harvest Chicago Dance Festival. Michel is the recipient of a 3Arts Award and was featured in Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch 2014. He has been an adjunct teacher at Columbia College Chicago, a guest teacher at the University of Chicago, and teaches at the Actors Gymnasium. 

Jordan Reinwald is a dancer, aerialist, and choreographer currently based in Chicago. She has performed professionally, nationally, and internationally with Winifred Haun and Dancers, Khecari, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, The Catskills Ballet Theatre, The Civic Ballet at the Ruth Page Center for the Performing Arts, Aerial Dance Chicago, C5 Create With No Limits, and as a promotional performer for Theater Mama with Cirque Du Soleil, among others. She was recently a featured aerialist with Q Productions Las Vegas, and is an active member of The Drifter’s Collective, a multi-disciplinary contemporary circus troupe. She currently creates work with Michel Rodriguez Cintra under the name Once. The pair’s work has been featured at Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, Columbia College Chicago, LatinX Arts Festival, and at Northwestern University. Reinwald is the Director of Document Cuba, a collaborative choreographic research project which aims to provide choreographic inquiry opportunities for Reinwald, Rodriguez Cintra, and Osnel Delgado Wambrug, Founder and Artistic Director of Malpaso Cuban Dance Company. Reinwald has taught ballet, creative movement, Acro, and composition for River North Chicago Dance, Chicago Public Schools, The Jillana School, and The Actor’s Gymnasium, among others. Reinwald is a 2019 graduate of the Actor’s Gymnasium Professional Training Circus Program with specialties in Clown, Rope and Harness, and additional focuses in Silks and Bottle Walking.

West African Dance with Muntu Dance Theatre
with Shakeena President-Beckford (Teacher) and Deshon Newman (Drummer)
Saturday, May 23, 1-3 PM
Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Studio (BARS)
Sign-up Form

Founded in 1972, the Chicago-based Muntu Dance Theatre performs and teaches contemporary and ancient African and African-American dance, music, and folklore. This workshop will integrate West African dance technique, history, and culture for dancers of all levels and ages. Let the live drum rhythms take you away as you move your body, work your mind, and feed your soul! 

Shakeena President-Beckford, Shakeena President-Beckford is the Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer of Les Enfants Dance Program in Chicago where she continues to develop innovative curricula that balances artistic training, mentorship and leadership. LED was created under the umbrella of After School Matters, a non-profit organization that provides life-changing after school and summer program opportunities to 20,000 Chicago high school teens each year. Shakeena bridges Artistic and Executive direction seamlessly. She is the Rehearsal Director of Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago, a company that performs authentic and progressive interpretations of contemporary and ancient African and African American Dance, music and folklore in Chicago, Illinois. She has worked with amazing Choreographers over the years; Amaniyea Payne, Idy Ciss (Muntu Dance Theatre) Arthur Hall (Afro American Dance Ensemble) Chuck Davis (African American Dance Ensemble) Kim Yvonne Bears-Bailey (Philadanco), Abdel Salaam (Forces of Nature Dance Company) Moustapha Bangoura (Les Ballets Africains de Guinea) Roseangela Silvestre (Silvestre Dance Technique) and Ronald K. Brown (Evidence) to name a few. She has also served in multiple and overlapping roles as company member, dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director - Spiritual Expressions Praise Dance Ministry and Coral Reef Dance Ensemble; a big sister dance company she created for her teens who aged out of LED. As a collaborator and dancer, Shakeena has traveled across the United States with Coral Reef Ensemble, studied and trained at Deeply Rooted Productions Dance Company, Alyo Adult Ensemble and Ayodele Drum and Dance Company. 

Deshon Newman is the founder of Best of the Best Productions and a celebrated percussionist, producer, and choreographer. Trained through Gallery 37 and VanderCook College of Music, he has performed with Dance Africa, Najwa Dance Corps, Muntu Dance Theatre, and more. Dedicated to youth empowerment, he uses the arts as a vehicle for education and community building.