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 (2018) published by Oxford University Press.

Aszure Barton is the Founder of Aszure Barton & Artists. Her work has earned glowing accolades and prestigious dance, theater and film commissions around the globe.

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.

Hope Boykin is a choreographer, performer and member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. An original member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, she also danced with Philadanco, The Philadelphia Dance Company.

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.

Kathryn “Kate” Dunn is a dancer, choreographer and educator known for performing on stage, screen and Broadway. Broadway/West End credits include Contact, On Your Toes, Chicago, Billy Elliot, Matilda the Musical, Groundhog Day and Dirty Dancing.

E. Moncell Durden is a dancer, choreographer, ethnographer, embodied historian and author who specializes in the cultural and historical context of Afro-diasporic social dances.

Bret Easterling is a certified Gaga teacher and Ilan Lev practitioner. After graduating from the Juilliard School, he performed with the Batsheva Dance Company. He is now the Artistic Director of BEMOVING.

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.

William Forsythe is one of the world’s foremost choreographers and is acknowledged for reorienting ballet from its identification with classical repertoire to a dynamic 21st-century art form.

Marjani Fortè-Saunders is an award-winning independent artist, choreographer, performer and educator who co-founded LOVE|FORTÉ A COLLECTIVE. She is also C0-Director of the Alkebulan Cultural Center of Northwest Pasadena, CA.

Jesus “Jay” Fuentes is an accomplished ballroom dance educator and performer featured in iconic dance films such as Dirty Dancing and Newsies.

is the inaugural Vice Dean, Artistic Director and Professor of Dance at USC Kaufman. After a remarkable career as a principal ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet, among other companies, she founded and continues to direct the award-winning Laguna Dance Festival.

Shannon Grayson is a dancer, choreographer and educator with a BFA in Dance from Howard University. She has taught for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and teaches jazz, hip-hop, contemporary and tap 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.

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.

Paul Hodgins is a musician, composer, arts journalist, critic and educator who has worked with dancers and choreographers in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for four decades. Hodgins is an important contributor to the field of choreomusicology, the study of relationships between music and dance.

Zippora Karz is a former soloist with the New York City Ballet, where she performed for 16 years on stage and in television. She is a master teacher, currently responsible for staging the ballets choreographed by George Balanchine.

Saleemah E. Knight, MFA, is a highly sought-after concert and commercial dance choreographer and performer who teaches jazz dance and theory courses on dance and cultural politics.

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.

Barak Marshall is an award-winning choreographer whose works are performed internationally by companies such as Batsheva Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, BODYTRAFFIC and London’s Rambert Dance Company.

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.

Thomas McManus, MFA, is a professional dancer, choreographer and recognized expert on the repertory, technique and improvisational methods of William Forsythe.

Jennifer McQuiston Lott, MFA, is a dancer and choreographer who has collaborated with musical artists such as Son Lux on projects for stage and screen. She teaches contemporary technique 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 street and club dance culture, contemporary dance and experimental performance.

Bonnie Oda Homsey is Chair of Dance for The Princess Grace Foundation-USA awarding emerging talent in dance, film and theater. She founded Los Angeles Dance Foundation in 1978 to cultivate awareness of dance legacies and to strengthen capacity-building of dance professionals.

Victor Quijada is the Founding Director and choreographer of the Montreal-based contemporary dance company RUBBERBANDance Group. He has a rare perspective on a large spectrum of dance, possessing knowledge and experience that spans from the street corner to the concert hall.

Desmond Richardson is Co-Director and Co-Founder of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and a former principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has been hailed by The New York Times as among the great dancers of his time.

Jermaine Spivey is a Juilliard graduate, Princess Grace Award winner and highly sought-after dancer, educator and choreographer. He presently dances with Crystal Pite’s company Kidd Pivot.

Dawn Stoppiello, MFA, is a conceptual artist who combines her passion for media and somatic practices to explore dance and its relationship to the digital era.