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 former member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. An original member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, she also danced with Philadanco. Boykin serves as Artistic Lead for Kennedy Center Dance Lab and is an inspirational speaker. An educator, creator, mover and motivator, she believes “…there are no limits.”
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 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.
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.
Jodie Gates is an internationally recognized leader, choreographer, curator, lecturer, teacher and stager. A former principal with Joffrey Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Complexions and Pennsylvania Ballet, she is inaugural Vice Dean and Director of USC Kaufman and Founder and Artistic Director of Laguna Dance Festival. Projects include Billboards with Prince, events with Ornette Coleman and Savion Glover, and current collaborations with William Forsythe.
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.
Bonnie 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.
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, 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.
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/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.
Victor Quijada is the Founding Director and choreographer of the Montreal-based contemporary dance company RUBBERBAND. 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-Founder and Co-Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and a former principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Frankfurt Ballet. A Tony Award nominee and honorary doctorate recipient, 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 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.
Doug Varone is an award-winning choreographer and director who works in dance, theater, opera and film. His New York City-based Doug Varone and Dancers has been commissioned and presented to critical acclaim by leading international venues for over three decades.