Stefany Cotton

Thursdays: EmotionFULL Contemporary

Stefany Cotton has been part of the Chicago dance community for the past 11 years. She has performed with many companies across the city and began creating her own evening-length works in 2018. In 2020, she and Chelsea Branch co-founded The Rooted Space, a studio and gathering place built around creativity and community. In 2022, Stefany and Chelsea launched The Rooted Space Company to expand job and performance opportunities for local artists. For the Company’s inaugural season, Stefany choreographed a full-length work, and has since presented pieces at Links Hall, Experimental Station, Elpis Dance Festival, and The Rooted Space.

She is especially drawn to creating dances that invite audiences into the experience- often through humor, theatricality, and interactive, yet low stakes participation. Stefany’s work aims to blur the line between performer and viewer, cultivating a sense of play, curiosity, and shared presence in every performance.

Kaleigh Dent

Fridays: Contemporary Hip Hop Fusion

Kaleigh Dent is a first-year Master of Fine Arts candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2020, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. She is researching the embodied performance of contemporary and hip-hop dancers confronted by a live audience or a camera lens.

She has danced for companies such as Joel Hall Dancers, Still Inspired, and LOUD BODIES; and was a Company Member and Rehearsal Director for Identity Performing Arts. Her choreography has been in various Chicago-based dance shows through her project-based company Rivet Dance Company (2020).

Haley Marcin

Wednesdays: Melt & Move Yoga

Haley is a Chicago-based professional dancer and 200-hour certified yoga teacher with a passion for movement, connection, and holistic wellness. She has performed nationally and internationally and is currently a company member with The Seldoms, under the direction of Carrie Hanson, where she also leads company training.

Haley has over five years of experience teaching yoga throughout the Chicagoland area, teaching a variety of styles including vinyasa, yin, restorative, power and aerial yoga.

In all of her classes, she aims to balance strength and flexibility to create and enhance mind-body awareness and improve performance on and off the mat. She strives to create a supportive and inclusive environment where you can feel safe enough to truly connect with your body. She believes yoga is truly for every body and is committed to making the practice accessible, energizing, and transformative.

Kaliana Medlock

Thursdays: Absolute Beginner Contemporary (long term sub)

Kaliana Medlock (she/her) is a Filipino American artist who discovered her passion for the arts and movement at a young age. A California native, Kaliana grew up training and dancing competitively, falling in love with contemporary dance and the dynamic intricacies surrounding it. After high school, she went on to attend the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase in New York. In 2023, she received her BFA in Dance, as well as additional minors in Arts Management and Contemplative Studies.

Since graduating, she has joined Visceral Dance Chicago as a company member, where she is currently in her third season. Throughout her professional career, she has had the opportunity to perform works by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Marco Palomino, Micaela Taylor, Roderick George, Nick Pupillo, Peter Chu, and Bill T. Jones. She has furthered her training with organizations including SpringboardX, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, BODYTRAFFIC, Ate9 Dance, chuthis. Movement Intensive, and New Dialect.

Since living in Chicago, Kaliana has fallen deeper into her passion for teaching and mentoring. She aspires to continue sharing her interpretation of movement and exploration to artists of all ages and backgrounds!

Jackie Nowicki

Wednesdays: Advanced Contemporary

Jackie Nowicki originates from Chicago, Illinois. She received her BFA in Dance from Western Michigan University, where she graduated summa cum laude and was named Presidential Scholar in April 2008, and she was chosen as the Department of Dance's Distinguished Alumni for the 2016 school year. She danced for Pilobolus Dance Theater in their PCS company performing for them all over the world, and is certified to teach for their Educational Outreach Program. She danced for Pilobolus Dance Theater in their PCS company performing for them all over the world, and is certified to teach for their Educational Outreach Program. Her professional credits also include dancing for Mike Esperanza's BARE Dance Company, Calen Kurka's :pushing progress, and Marlena Wolfe's The Wolfe Project.

Jackie worked as a part-time faculty member at Western Michigan University's Department of Dance, and for the past ten years had taught all over the New York dance scene including being on faculty at Peridance Capezio Center, and guesting at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center. Her athletic, daring, and unique approach to movement has also landed her numerous master classes and conventions throughout the United States and even internationally in Rome, Italy. She is currently on faculty at Visceral Dance Center, Extensions Dance Center, and The Rooted Space, as well as guesting at Lou Conte Dance Studio and the COMMON Conservatory in Chicago. Jackie is also on faculty for Celebrity Dance Conventions, Dance Device Labs, Turn it Up Dance Challenge, and Stage Door Workshops, specializing in Contemporary and Improv classes. She is the artistic director of her own contemporary dance company based out of New York and Chicago, NOW Dance Project. 

Her choreography has been commissioned by numerous colleges, dance companies, studios, and universities including The Ailey School, Elon University, The HARTT School, Salve Regina University, Western Michigan University, Urbanity, the Peridance Certificate Program, and many more. Jackie’s work has received numerous acclamations and awards and was even selected to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, for the American College Dance Association's 2016 National Festival. She also judges dance competitions in the U.S. and Canada and is a nationally certified personal trainer. 

Dani Oblitas

Thursdays: Spiral Body Techniques©

Dani Oblitas (they/she) is a dance artist, choreographer and educator based in Chicago, IL. She is passionate about making movement accessible to all, and views dance as a life affirming act of both community cultivation and individual embodiment. They graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in both Dance and Environmental Studies. Dani has performed with Liz Sexe Dance, We Are Collective, Helen Lee, kt Williams, and Ishti Collective among others. Currently, they are a collaborator and performer with 773 Dance Project, Sildance/Acrodanza, and Albany Park Theater Project's Port of Entry. Dani has presented work at Links Hall as a CO-MISSION Resident for 2024/2025, Marvelous Monday, Short Stack Film Festival, and the Transilience Festival. In 2024, they completed the Essential Level Spiral Body Techniques® teacher certification with Molly Shanahan/MadShak.  www.danioblitas.com

Erika Shi

Sundays: Beginner/Intermediate Ballet

Erika is currently with her second season with Visceral Dance Chicago where she has performed in works by Nick Pupillo, Danielle Agami and Marguerite Donlon. Ohio native, Shi began dancing at the Canton Ballet where she trained under the direction of Cassandra Crowley. She graduated in 2022 summa cum laude from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she earned a BFA in Dance. Erika was invited to join New York Dance Project as an apprentice in 2020. She has performed in Gerald Arpino’s “Birthday Variations” and “Viva Vivaldi”. Erika has also worked with Madison Hicks, Gabrielle Lamb, Ephrat Asherie and Maleek Washington. She is also interested in choreographing and has choreographed for CCM’s 2020 Student Choreographer’s Showcase, which the piece was a finalist of the 2020 Online International Dance Competition. Erika is excited to continue to learn and grow as an artist with the Chicago community!

Enid Smith

Thursdays: Advanced Modern

Enid Smith is a graduate of the contemporary dance program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.  In New York City she worked with Ivy Baldwin Dance, The Merce Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group, Anita Cheng Dance, and MAC Cosmetics. Since moving to the Chicago area, she has performed with Khecari, Same Planet Performance Project, Lucky Plush Productions, Chicago Fringe Opera, North Shore Choral Society, and Jenna Pollack, and has presented her own work under the name enidsmithdance. As a teacher, Enid has had the pleasure of working with students at Dance Center Evanston, The Rooted Space, Dovetail Studios, Arlington Dance Academy, University of Kansas, Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, New Trier High School, Death’s Door Dance Festival, and Wisconsin Dance Masters. She has also worked extensively with the Evanston Dance Ensemble and has served as their Artistic Director since 2024.

Shanae Sterba

Mondays: Booty Barre, Tuesdays: WERQ Fitness

Shanae Sterba is a proud graduate of Northern Illinois University, earning a BFA in Theatre Studies with an Emphasis in Dance Performance. She has been dancing since the age of two, performing and competing across the country, as well as in her hometown of Rock Falls, Illinois. Since moving to Chicago, Shanae has had the opportunity to perform in Dance Chicago, with the Blues Brothers at Navy Pier, in the UPS logistics launch web commercial, at The House of Blues, and on Guaranteed Rate Field for The Chicago White Sox. Also on her Chicago roster is Mystique Productions, Innervation Dance Cooperative, IDC SPEAKS, Alliance Dance Company, SHMIB dance, The Monocle Eclectic, Nine Ladies Dancing, a handful of independent choreographers and her own project, Strut Productions.

Simone Stevens

Wednesdays: Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary

Simone Stevens (she/her, Atlanta, GA) an Atlanta native, earned her BA in Dance and Minor in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in July 2017. One year post-grad, she moved to Chicago and trained on scholarship at the Lou Conte Dance Studio where she was mentored by Laura Wade, Ethan Kirschbaum, and Kristina Fluty. During that time, she also freelanced throughout the city and performed works choreographed by Alice Klock, Alysia Johnson, Hanna Brictson, LOUD Bodies, and Joshua Peugh, among others.

She also performed as a company member with Katlin Bourgeois's Ensemble180 and was on faculty with Ethan Kirschbaum’s Chicago Movement Collective before joining Hubbard Street Dance Chicago last season. In her inaugural season as a member of HSDC, she was recognized as one of Dance Magazine’s Top 25 To Watch.

Jessica Miller Tomlinson

Wednesdays: Contemporary Ballet Fusion

As a young dancer, Jessica apprenticed with NC Dance Theatre under the direction of former New York City Ballet principals Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. Tomlinson graduated from the University of NC School of the Arts with a BFA in Contemporary Dance. Upon moving to Chicago she collaborated with Lauri Stallings (formerly of Hubbard Street and current Artistic Director of gloATL) and performed with her company NANDANSE. Jessica was a dancer, choreographer, assistant rehearsal director , director of the Thodos Youth Ensemble and teacher for Thodos Dance Chicago from 2005-2017, where she performed and toured both Nationally and Internationally. Jessica continued developing her own choreography through the Thodos New Dances Performance Series, with several works becoming part of the company’s repertoire. She produced her first evening length performance JMT/JLS Choreography following a Grand Prize Win/Grant from the Joyce Theater Foundation’s A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009.

Jessica Miller Tomlinson’s Award Winning Choreography has been commissioned or produced by the Chautauqua Ballet Company, NC School of the Arts, Aerial Dance Chicago, Take Up Space Dance Fest, Unearth Virtual Arts Festival, Moonwater Dance Project, Alluvion Dance Chicago, Hot Crowd, The Universal Ballet Competition,Dancing To Dream Fundraiser, DanceWorks Chicago, Chicago Repertory Ballet,The Joyce Theater Foundation, The Inconvenience Performance Group,The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Idaho Dance Theatre, Regional Dance America, Columbia College of Chicago, Spring To Dance Festival St Louis, Washington and Lee University, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival , Forum Dance Theatre, Nomi Dance Company, Common Conservatory, Dance in the Parks, The Dance Gallery Festival, Visceral Dance Chicago, Nebraska Contemporary Dance Theatre, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, The Harvest Dance Festival, The HSDC Youth Ensemble, Northern Illinois University, SHIFT DANCE | FESTIVAL Albuquerque, Dance For Life, and Thodos Dance Chicago. She has collaborated with Dance For Life's Our Voices Dance, Jacqueline Stewart/JAXON Movement Arts, Joshua Manculich, local Chicago band District 97, and the Andy Warhol Silver Clouds Exhibit at the MCA.

Jessica was the Winner of Idaho Dance Theater’s Inaugural New Visions Choreography Competition as well as a Winner of DanceWorks Chicago’s Inaugural NewMoves Choreography Competition. She has been a Finalist for the Avant Chamber Ballet Women’s Choreography Competition 3 times in addition to being a Finalist for the METdance Emerging Choreographer Competition.

Jessica was most recently a Faculty member for the Hubbard Street Youth Dance Program, as well as The Joffrey Academy of Dance, where she taught Contemporary for the Joffrey Studio Company and Trainees. She was Adjunct Faculty at Northern Illinois University for two years. Jessica was a Guest Alumni Choreographer/Teacher for UNCSA, and has been an Guest Artist in Residence for Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Columbia College of Chicago and Washington and Lee University. Jessica is currently in her fourth season as the Ballet Mistress for Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. In addition, Jessica is the Rehearsal Director ,Company Liaison and Ballet Instructor for South Chicago Dance Theatre. She is also currently a Faculty member for Alma Dance School, Pure Vibe Dance Center, and The Rooted Space.

www.JessicaMillerTomlinson.com

Cyrie Topete

Tuesdays: Floorwork Fundamentals

CYRIE TOPETE (she/they, Peoria, AZ) is from Peoria, Arizona. Following her father, she began as a break-dancer and started training in competitive dance at the age of thirteen. She was recognized as a YoungArts Merit winner in 2018 before moving to New York City. She graduated with a BFA from The Juilliard School in 2022, where she received the FENDI Vanguard Award. Following graduation, Cyrie was featured in an On Running brand ad choreographed by Justin Peck and joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Company. Entering her fourth season, she’s had the opportunity to perform works by Aszure Barton, Johan Inger, Ohad Naharin, Bob Fosse & Gwen Verdon, James Gregg, Rennie Harris, Kyle Abraham, FLOCK, Rena Butler, and more. She’s been featured in Dance Magazine’s “On the Rise” and choreographed for the HSDC Create Summer Intensive in 2024 & 2025. She is ecstatic to be announced as a 2025 Princess Grace Honoraria Recipient and to be a part of a prestigious community of artists. Cyrie is honored to contribute to the enduring and impactful legacy that Hubbard Street carries forward.

Maggie Vannucci

Tuesdays & Fridays: Release Based Contemporary

Maggie is based in Chicago in her second season as a company member with The Seldoms directed by Carrie Hanson. She has been a part of three works including Floe, a multimedia dance-theater piece exploring rising sea levels and the communities impacted by the climate crisis. Restaging Exit Disclaimer for Steppenwolf Theater, and is now in creation for their new production Grass set to premiere in Fall 2021. During the pandemic, she has completed Gibney Dance’s Climate of Possibility program, gaining a larger national network, vital skills for a thriving freelance career, and weekly mentorship from Alexandra Wells, Gilbert T Small II, and Jessie Kardos. Maggie has also been facilitating open classes for The Seldoms, teaching somatic-based release techniques and exploring mind-body connections. She hopes to continue growing her teaching methodologies alongside her performance work. Before her time in Chicago, she received her MFA with distinction in Contemporary Dance Performance through the postgraduate program VERVE led by Matthew Robinson in Leeds, UK. She toured around the UK and Europe performing four original creations by Sita Osthimer, Matthew Robinson, Hanas Lengoff, and Lenka Vagnerova. Her first three years overseas were spent at London Contemporary Dance School where she received her BFA in contemporary dance and studied a multitude of techniques and improvisational courses. She is currently an international ambassador for student recruitment for Northern School, helping with audition touring around the US. Abroad and in the US, she has attended various workshops focusing on somatic, anatomy, and improvisational based methodologies with Counter Technique, company Ate9, Ketchari dance company, Gaga, Boston Dance Theater, and Hofesh Shechter.

Faith von Atzigen

Mondays: Countertechnique

Faith von Atzigen is a professional dancer, choreographer, and instructor from Southern California. She graduated with a B.A. in Dance Performance from Oral Roberts University in 2020 and moved to Chicago in 2022. Faith performed with South Chicago Dance Theatre for three seasons and has had the honor of working with Kia S. Smith, Terrence Marling, Noelle Kayser, Jackie Nowicki, Donald Byrd, Tsai Hsi Hung, Monique Haley, Kate Weare, Frank Chavez, and Joshua Blake Carter. She recently completed her Coutertechnique® Teacher Certification in Amsterdam and is teaching classes in Chicago. As a choreographer, Faith was a recipient of a Chicago DCASE Individual Artist Program Grant in 2023 and produced an evening-length work in 2024 entitled “HER.” She performed an excerpt of work at Harvest Contemporary Dance Festival in Chicago in 2024 and at the St. Louis Contemporary Dance Festival in 2025. Faith currently freelances as a performer and choreographer in Chicago and dances with Little Fire Artist Collective and the Seldoms.

kt williams

Mondays: Safety Release

kt williams is a dance artist, choreographer, dance filmmaker, and Safety Release Master Teacher based in Chicago, IL. kt earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received the Donald Carducci Memorial Scholarship Award for overall excellence in dance performance. She earned an MFA Dance (Choreography) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she studied Safety Release (SR) technique intensively and worked closely alongside B.J. Sullivan, the founder of SR. kt is one of three SR Master Teachers in the world, and her intensive study with this body of work has supported her integration and specialization of somatic practices expertly enveloped within a rigorous and full body contemporary dance technique class. Currently, kt is on faculty in the Dance Program at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL, and she leads seasonal SR workshops for advanced/professional dancers across the Chicago area.

Additionally, kt choreographs collaborative, independent projects under the name, “kt williams + artists” that explores where technicality and improvisational experimentation can dynamically coexist. kt is also the co-founder and co-artistic director of the collaborative duo, “DanSeries Collective,” with Caitlyn Schrader, and together, they create site-specific dance works that intersect with immersive platforms, making dance visible in unexpected and public, non-traditional spaces. More recently, kt has created dance films for Project Bound’s The One Hour Project and for Evanston Dance Ensemble; she was also selected as an Artist-in-Residence selected for the North Carolina Dance Festival Artist-in-Residence program (2023-24). kt has performed in dance projects by Renay Aumiller, Stefany Cotton, Michael Estanich, Sara Hook, Megan Rhodes, Lucy Riner, and B.J. Sullivan, and currently, she performs with RE|Dance Group in Chicago, IL.