Kyle Abraham, MFA, is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. He is the founding Artistic Director of A.I.M, an American contemporary dance company. In addition to performing and developing new works for his company, Abraham has been commissioned by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center, The Royal Ballet, Paul Taylor American Modern Dance and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Kelly Alvarez, MFA, is a dance artist, scholar, and educator whose breadth of expertise spans ballet, modern and contemporary dance forms, as well as Pilates, injury prevention, and dance history. With over 25 years teaching experience, Alvarez draws from her extensive background to provide a comprehensive and immersive learning experience for her students. She holds a BFA in Dance with honors from The University of the Arts and an MFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine.
Margo Apostolos, PhD, is a pioneering scholar in robot choreography, dance medicine and dance for sports. Dr. Apostolos is also the author of Dance for Sports: A Practical Guide (2019) published by Oxford University Press, and Dance As A Catalyst: An Interdisciplinary Journey published by Kendall- Hunt Publishers (2023).
Molly Bogunovic is a dancer and educator who danced professionally with Pennsylvania Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet. Over the course of her career, she has performed in countless Balanchine, classical and contemporary ballets, and has danced in numerous national commercials and TV shows. Bogunovic brings over 15 years of teaching experience.
Tiffany Bong is a global hip-hop dance artist, entrepreneur and community leader whose cultural education company brings hip-hop into Los Angeles K-12 schools.
Patrick Corbin, MFA, is a former dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company and an internationally-renowned artist whose 30-year career bridges the worlds of classical ballet, modern and contemporary dance.
Alison D’Amato, PhD, is a researcher, choreographer and performer passionate about working at the intersection of theory and practice. She teaches topics in critical dance studies and dance history.
Kyle de Tarnowsky is an educator, composer, and music director/pianist in the musical theatre, film/television, and dance worlds of Southern California. He is the Music Director at USC Kaufman and a Lecturer at USC Thornton.
A dancer/educator, ethnochoreologist, documentarian, embodied historian, author and Associate Professor of practice at the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Durden specializes in pedagogical practices that prove cultural and historical context in what he calls the morphology of Afro-kinetic memory.
Bret Easterling is an international dance artist, creator and educator. After graduating from The Juilliard School, he performed with the Batsheva Dance Company. He is currently a certified Gaga teacher, stager of Ohad Naharin’s work and the Artistic Director of BEMOVING.
Farmer, MFA, University of Washington, was a member of The Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1997-2009, receiving the New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award for Sustained Achievement.
Gillian Finley is a certified Stott Pilates instructor who danced professionally with a number of ballet companies. She brings over 25 years of teaching experience to USC Kaufman.
Nina Flagg is a LA-based Dance Artist, Choreographer, and Educator. Over the past two decades, her work has evolved as an intersection of multiple movement traditions, explored through the lens of Hip-Hop consciousness.
Ford, MFA, is an interdisciplinary contemporary dance artist and scholar. His research examines the mechanisms of identity and culture through an exploration of embodiment, choreography, and Black, queer, critical, and performance studies.
Jesus “Jay” Fuentes is an accomplished ballroom dance educator and performer featured in iconic dance films such as Dirty Dancing and Newsies.
Shannon Johnson Grayson is a dancer, choreographer, educator and Howard University Graduate with a BFA in Dance Arts. She has taught for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for over a decade, is a certified Horton Technique instructor, NASM Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, and teaches various techniques and genres of dance at USC Kaufman.
d. Sabela grimes, MFA, is a choreographer, writer and composer whose Funkamental MediKinetics movement system focuses on the methodical dance training and community-building elements evident in Black vernacular and street dance forms.
Ebony Haswell Frazier is a dancer who began her training at The Miami Conservatory (Thomas Armour Youth Foundation) and continued on to New World School of the Arts. Her performing career began at The Dance Theatre of Harlem and then led to time at Complexions Contemporary Ballet and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.
Dr. Marisa Hentis, DPT, OCS, CSCS, is a physical therapist who specializes in the performing arts. She is board-certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as an Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
Grasan Kingsberry is an interdisciplinary international educator, mentor and Daytime Emmy, Grammy, ACCA and Regional BroadwayWorld Award recipient. After receiving a BFA from The Juilliard School, he went on to appear in 11 Broadway productions including the award-winning revivals of The Color Purple and Once On This Island.
Saleemah E. Knight, BFA, MFA, is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary artist, TV-personality, influencer and professional dancer. Commercial performance and choreography credits include: The Daytime Emmys, Dancing with the Stars, Country Music Television, The Lion King, Beyoncé, Chris Brown and more. She also danced works of renowned concert choreographers Donald Byrd, Bill T. Jones and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.
Jackie Kopcsak, MFA, is a ballet teacher, choreographer and dance historian who received her dance training at Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Fiona Lummis is a master teacher responsible for staging the works of choreographer Jiří Kylián. She performed with Netherlands Dance Theater for two decades, dancing featured roles in many classical and contemporary ballets.
Anindo Marshall is a percussionist and certified Dunham Technique instructor who teaches Afro-Cuban dance.
Bruce McCormick, MFA, is an educator, choreographer, performer and scholar who danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, the Bavarian State Ballet and the Bern Ballet. He has presented his own work internationally.
Achinta S. McDaniel is a pioneer of contemporary Indian dance and the Artistic Director of Blue13 Dance Company. Her work has been featured in film, music videos and television. McDaniel primarily teaches Bollywood and Dance in Popular Culture.
Jennifer McQuiston Lott, MFA, is a dancer/choreographer who has collaborated with music artists such as Son Lux on projects for stage and screen. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Traverse City Dance Project. She teaches Countertechnique and contemporary partnering, and is certified in GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®.
Amy O’Neal is an award-winning hybrid dancer, choreographer and educator. Her experience and research meet at the intersection of hip-hop, house, and contemporary dance and experimental performance, video and film.
Jason Rodgers is a tap dance educator, dancer, choreographer, actor and musician. His credits include The Academy Awards, the North American tour of the Broadway musical Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk, and Dancing With The Stars (ABC), among many others.
Danté Rose is a dance artist, musician, thespian and educator whose special blend of cross-cultural influences have made him a highly regarded unique movement artist in the United States and abroad. Part of the avant-garde Circle of Fire breaking crew, Rose balances both traditional and experimental approaches to Breaking, Hip-Hop and House Dance.
Dawn Stoppiello, MFA, is Co-Founder of Troika Ranch, a critically acclaimed performance ensemble that has been integrating computer technology in live performance since the 1980s. A Bessie and Princess Grace Statue Award winner, Stoppiello has performed, taught and lectured extensively.
Betsy Struxness is an interdisciplinary artist, entertainer and educator. Raised in the professional arts community of Kansas City and with a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School, STRUXNESS forged a career on Broadway, appearing in Wicked, Memphis and originating hit shows like Matilda and most notably, Hamilton. STRUXNESS’s talents extend well beyond dance and stage with her continued work on screens small and large, as actor or voice actor, creative leader or performer. Her debut pop album, in which she co-wrote, Physical Attention, is available everywhere. Struxness currently lives in Los Angeles and is a part-time lecturer at USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Follow along on all her adventures! @be_strux.
Pat Taylor, MFA, is a rooted jazz dance choreographer, educator and scholar. She is the founding Artistic Director of Los Angeles-based JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble – celebrating jazz as a vital thread in the cultural fabric of African American history and heritage and a defining element of the American experience.
A graduate of UCLA, Wiggan’s career highlights include the 2001 Spotlight Award, 1st National Broadway Tour of 42nd Street, movies Idlewild, Princess and the Frog and studying with Germaine Acogny at L’ecole les Sables in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal. She was also part of two original casts of Cirque du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel and Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.