We are proud to bring you a faculty of the industry’s top instructors, creators, and entrepreneurs! With classes in Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Commercial Jazz and more, you will train with elite professionals. Our team is committed to helping you build confidence in yourself and develop the skills necessary to reach your goals and pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
As performing artists, choreographers, and creative directors, the Wilson Brothers work can be seen with artists such as Madonna, Beyonce, Toni Braxton, Tom Cruise and Wayne Brady to name a few. They have toured the world with Janet Jackson (All for You & Damita Jo Promotional tour), Britney Spears (Onyx Hotel tour), Christina Aguilera (Stripped & Back to Basics World tours) and Cher (Final Farewell/Dressed to Kill tour).
After making his Broadway ensemble debut in Disney’s The Lion King, Kevin’s work can be seen in Broadway shows such as Finding Neverland and Radio City Rockettes Spring Spectacular as associate choreographer. For the iconic Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus, The Wilson Brothers were the resident choreographers for multiple shows including, “Dragons”, “Built to Amaze”, “Legends” and the ground-breaking “Out of this World.”
Marcel was a creative consultant and supervising choreographer for Christina Aguilera’s Xperience Residency show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. He also was associate creative director for UK’s X- Factor. Marcel can be seen as a celebrity choreographer, on BYU Tv, “Wayne Brady’s IQ Comedy show.” This year, the Wilson Brothers choreographed the 2020 BET Awards featuring Wayne Brady as Little Richard.
They are no strangers to television, contributing choreography for shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance”, “America’s Got Talent”, ” Dancing with the stars”, and most recently seasons 1, 2, and 3 of the Fox Hit show “The Masked Singer.”
Their work as associate choreographers can be watched in Netflix ‘s Feel the Beat starring Sofia Carson, the highly- anticipated “Sponge Bob: On the Run, and Paramount Studios “Rumble” which will hit screens later this year. For their work on Cher’s Dressed to Kill Tour, they were awarded an Outstanding Choreography award in concert performance from the World Choreography Awards.
Gigi Torres, Choreographer, Dance Educator, & Mentor has been in the dance industry for 18 years and has taught all over the world in 30 countries & 30 states. She has taught at Debbie Reynolds Studio, Movement Lifestyle Studio, Broadway Dance Center and currently teaches on Revel Dance Convention. Since 2012, Gigi has created and produced her own dance programs mentoring over 800 dancers through her Gg Process Programming to help dancers create the process to their purpose and build confidence in their mindset and strength in their movement. Alumni from her programs have went on to dance for Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Camila Cabello; teach at Broadway Dance Center, Millennium Dance Complex, and various conventions in the USA; and start their own brands and companies as Entrepreneurs. Her programs set dancers up for their future through her mindset training, goal-setting process, and brand strategy.
Gigi’s choreography has been seen on So You Think You Can Dance Scandinavia, Ukraine, & Poland and internationally for Musical Solo & Group Artists in Korea including Pop group TXT & Girl’s Generation, Indonesia’s 7 Icons & SMASH, and USA’s Madame Gandhi. She has created work for many companies including Vanity Fair Magazine, Joffrey Ballet, NuSkin International, The Yellow Co Women’s Conference, & the American Musical & Dramatic Academy.
Gigi’s mission is to empower dancers to live purpose driven journeys that create longevity for their careers & life. She is known in the dance industry for producing elite programming that brings artists past their potential and into their true authentic purpose. Gigi builds powerful communities that empower dancers and their personal and career development. She believes that when one finds their uniqueness and purpose, the world is a better place we could all live in.
Since the first time Markus Shields set foot into rehearsal, he developed an instant passion for dance and choreography. After moving from the Midwest to Los Angeles, he began to build working relationships with choreographers including Wade Robson, Tricia Miranda, Frank Gatson, Parris Goebel, Charm La’Donna, and more. He has become a regular teacher at Millennium Dance Complex LA, Debbie Reynold’s Dance Studio, Edge PAC and other prominent studios in LA as well as becoming an international master instructor.
Shields has performed alongside Kendrick Lamar, Will Smith, KeKe Palmer and more and has embarked on World Tours with Mariah Carey, Chayanne & Jody Watley. While represented by Bloc Talent Agency as a dancer/choreographer, he has starred in ads for JW Marriott, Amtrak and choreographed a commercial for eBay.
Markus has and always strived to be a great storyteller and creator. Whether choreographing for a studio or a world tour, creative directing for personal projects or recording artists, or any other facets of entertainment he always puts his heart inside of his work.
“My goal is to inspire as I aspire, thus creating a beautiful cycle of giving and receiving, teaching and learning, growing and loving!”
Rachel’s early training was in various dance studios throughout West Michigan, including the Grand Rapids Ballet. Rachel has also trained internationally. Studios include Broadway Dance Center in New York City, Pineapple Dance Center in London, England, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Lou Conte Dance Studio, and Joel Hall School of Dance in Chicago, along with many more. Rachel has toured and performed live with well-known artists including KC & The Sunshine Band dancing on their “Feeling You” Tour. Rachel has won multiple dance and choreography awards at the regional and national levels. You can see her choreography on Netflix and Amazon in the feature film ‘The Wedding Party’ (2017). Upon moving to Los Angeles Rachel has performed in multiple music videos. Artists include Tyler Ward, Megan Nicole, Riff Raff, Xcedera, and Boy Band INNOVATE. She has been an opening act for LA Fashion week and continues to train and perform with Liana Blackburn, Gina Starbuck, Destini Rogers, Brooke Pierotti as well as other artists at West Coast Dance Theater, Millennium Dance Complex, T.MILLY Studios, and most other premiere LA studios.
Rachel has worked with Laurieann Gibson on her hit BET Show “Born to Dance” and was a dancer alongside Beau Casper Smart in the movie “48 Hours to Live”. She has enjoyed her time Judging and being on staff at multiple dance competitions across the country and is currently touring as a National Director for VIP Dance Competition. Rachel loves spending her time teaching for different intensives, conventions, workshops, and choreographing/teaching at competitive dance studios throughout the country. She is YPAD certified and most recently traveled to Bali, Indonesia to study somatic and emotional release techniques through dance under the direction of Liana Blackburn. Rachel graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Western Michigan University and is excited to continue her dance career in the commercial industry of Los Angeles, California.
Ahmad Simmons is a performing artist, teacher, director, choreographer and producer with a passion for unearthing creative potential in all individuals and propelling bold stories concerning intersectionality, identity, racial and economic disparities, queerness, and collective bravery across film, television, theater, dance and digital media. Prior to living in NYC he was the co-founder/co-artistic director of a Chicago-based dance theater company Pursuit Productions, where he served as a producer and choreographer for devised work and adaptations including THEM (Chicago DanceMakers Forum Award), The Boxer by Matt Lyle, and a blues-infused adaptation of Lorca’s Blood Wedding.
Ahmad is no stranger to the stages of Broadway with credits including Illinoise, West Side Story, Hadestown (OBC), Carousel and Cats. His Off-Broadway credits includes Illinoise (Bard Fisher Center), Only Gold (MCC) and A Chorus Line (NY City Center) and has national tours with Hamilton (Dance Supervisor), Parsons Dance Company, River North Dance Chicago, and Eisenhower Dance Detroit.
You can catch Ahmad on the big screen too! He’s had TV appearances as Co-star in Fosse/Verdon (FX), Dirty Dancing (ABC), Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Tony Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, Today Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Film credits include Maestro, Better Nate Than Ever (Disney +), Ringing Rocks (executive producer; dir Gus Reed) and director of Jay Armstrong Johnson’s I Put A Spell on You benefitting the Ali Forney Center.
He has taught masterclasses all across the country and continues his work as a mentor and advocate for emerging artists and their work as a founding member of Black Broadway Men, Share The Movement, and on the board of Springboard Danse. Ahmad is the co-founder of Arterial Projects and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Point Park University.
@ahmadsimmons
Chip Abbott is a director, choreographer, and dancer based out of New York City. Chip made his broadway debut in On the Town as assistant choreographer, swing and dance captain to the Emmy Award winning Joshua Bergasse and was the associate choreographer to Denis Jones on the first national tour of Tootsie the Musical. Performing credits include:
Broadway/NYC: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes. 1st national tours: R+H’s Cinderella, Andy Blankenbuehler’s Joseph… Dreamcoat.
TV/Film: The Gilded Age, Saturday Night Live, Isn’t it Romantic, The Tony Awards on CBS, The Today Show, Avon’s “Boss Life,” British Vogue, and MAC Cosmetics. Chip’s choreography has been seen at DanceBreak NYC, Holland America Line, and ACT of CT.
As a director, Chip has directed at Transcendence Theatre Company, RWS Entertainment Group, Hersheypark, Azamara Club Cruises, and MSC Cruiseline. Chip was associate director/choreographer of the Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary Concert, and the YoungArts Gala 2017. Additionally, Chip was associate choreographer of On the Town at San Francisco Symphony, Bernstein at 100 starring Misty Copeland at Wolf Trap with the National Symphony Orchestra, and at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of faculty at Steps and Broadway Dance Center in New York City and has choreographed and taught master classes in schools across the country including PACE University, Oklahoma City University, Point Park University, the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and University of Central Oklahoma.
www.chipabbott.com instagram: @chipstergram
Laura Aronoff is a performer from Atlanta, Georgia. She grew up training at the renowned Rhythm Dance Center in ATL before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication at Tulane University. Laura has worked in Los Angeles, NYC and Atlanta, performing in musicals, tv/film, music videos, live events, industrials and more! She has performed for brands such as Adidas, Southwest Airlines and Disney Style, as well as live premieres for Cartoon Network, FX Network and HBO. Catch her in Tall Girl 2 (Netflix), Step Up Series: Season 3 (Starz), Pretty Little Liars (HBO) and Will Trent (ABC/Hulu). Laura’s favorite music video credits include Andrew Winghart’s ‘Cry Me A River’ and the official video for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ ‘American Girl’. Regional theatre credits include: West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, National Tour of Rudolph, and The Music Man.
Ricky Ruiz received his initial dance training in Miami, Florida, and was a graduate of Miami’s Coral Reef Senior High Magnet Dance. He attended the University of South Florida on academic and talent scholarships and graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance Performance. In 2007 Ricky moved to Chicago and danced for four seasons with River North Dance Chicago touring the United States, Europe, and South America with the company. Since moving on from River North, he has also danced with Elements Contemporary Ballet (2012), Level Dance Chicago (2015, 2016), Visceral Dance Chicago (2018), South Chicago Dance Theatre (2022), performed for Thodos’ Annual New Dances, Dance For Life, and for numerous Chicago-based choreographers on various projects and concerts.
Ricky is a gifted teacher and choreographer. Among the many schools he has worked with are Coral Reef High School in Miami, Chicago Academy for the Arts, Roosevelt University, The University of Wisconsin, Florida State University, and others. He has been a resident teacher and choreographer at Jacksonville University and James Madison University. He is a guest teacher throughout the U.S. and has been on faculty at Hubbard Street/Lou Conte Dance Center, and Visceral Dance Center. Ricky also has the privilege to be a guest teacher and choreographer for Chicago-based professional companies Danceworks Chicago, Inaside Dance Chicago, and others. Ricky has also been on faculty for VIP Dance, teaching workshops, and judging their national conventions.
Carrie Nicastro Ruiz, originally from Northbrook, IL, received her initial training under Cheri Rose, studying the Cecchetti Method of Ballet. Carrie continued her education at the University of Iowa and graduated with honors in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in both Dance and Psychology. After graduation, Carrie moved back to Chicago to accept a Company position with Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre, while also accepting a full scholarship to train at the Lou Conte Dance Studio, under the tutelage of Claire Bataille. After dancing with SPDW, Carrie participated in the work/study program at Visceral Dance Center, and continued on to hold positions with Hedwig Dances, Thodos Dance Chicago, Giordano II, LeveL Dance, and Hanna Brictson and Dancers. Carrie has also enjoyed dancing as a freelance artist and has had the honor of performing numerous times in Dance For Life, Thodos Dance Chicago New Dances, Dance Chicago, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, Danceworks Chicago’s Dance Chance, Carnival Choreographer’s Ball Chicago, and for many independent choreographers including Autumn Eckman, Becca Lemme, Lizzie Mackenzie, Jessica Miller-Tomlinson, and her husband, Ricky Ruiz. Additionally, Carrie is featured in the New York Times Bestseller, “Dancers Among Us” by Jordan Matter Photography. Carrie still performs when she can and is extremely grateful for every opportunity she has received in the Chicago dance community, and is especially grateful to Claire Bataille, Joanna Rosenthal, and Nick Pupillo for opening the door to her professional career.
In addition to performing, Carrie enjoys working with the next generation of dancers, and has been teaching, coaching, and choreographing all over the Chicagoland area for over a decade. Carrie has received numerous awards for her choreography, including a finalist at the Industry Dance Awards where she also won Best Convention Performance for a separate piece. Additionally, Carrie was featured and interviewed in the article, “Poetry in Motion” in the October 2018 issue of Dance Spirit Magazine. She has been on faculty at The Academy of Dance Arts in Warrenville for 10 years, and has been the Contemporary/Modern Program Director, as well as a Company Director, at Steps Dance Center for the past 7 years.
Jenny grew up dancing in the competitive dance world and ballroom circuit.
She graduated from Point Park University with a BA in Dance and a minor in Musical Theatre. She has made her career of performing, choreographing, directing, and judging across the globe. During college she had the privilege of training with Hubbard Street and River North for their company summer intensives. Upon graduating she took to the seas with Royal Carribean, singing and dancing. She continued her ballroom training there in shows choreographed by Louis Van Amstel, dancing with partners from all over the world. Upon moving to NYC a new opportunity fell into her lap working as a Rehearsal Director for a world-renowned entertainment company. Directing and installing casts for cruise-ships, theme-parks, industrial gigs, and occasionally assisting the casting team on their auditions. Some of Jenny’s musical credits include regional theatre productions of West Side Story, Legally Blonde, The Producers, The Bodyguard, the national tour of Elf, and Broadway Bares. Most recently Jenny was a Stand-in for an original broadway show workshop. She also recently opened as a dancer for Usher in Times Square. She was in Disney’s 50th anniversary celebration concert as well as a Coca-Cola commercial. Additional commercial/tv credits include- Succession, Billions, Malouf, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Adventureland.
As an educator she is very passionate about sharing her love of dance and helping people be their truest self in the room. She teaches on the convention level for Encore Extreme and Dinamic Dancers Inc. Jenny is a regional director for the competition Encore DCS and a proud judge on the IDA panel. She travels and teaches all over the country, inspiring the next generation of dancers. She considers herself lucky to have made a career out of her passion and to be able to help others find there’s.
Casey Noblett is the founder of the Commercial Dance Intensive, a training program designed to help dancers bridge the gap from their technical training to the business side of the commercial dance industry.
Casey began her dance career at age 10 under Jacques d’Ambolse in NYC, going on to perform at the White House, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, The Smithsonian, Madison Square Garden, and in Japan, Taiwan, and Venezuela. Her credits include work with Gloria Estefan, Will Smith, Chayanne, MTV, ABC, CBS, Univision, Telemundo, Disney, Universal, and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks Dance Team as Captain.
Casey has also been featured in Dance Studio Life and Dance Spirit Magazine.
Most recently, Casey has produced over 8 music videos for artists such as Carmit from the Pussycat Dolls, Willie Gomez, Telisu and Nick Hagelin. She also travels with Royal Caribbean as a choreographer for their audition tour.
Founding N-House Productions in 2001, CD In 2014 and the dance website company myindustryprofile.com in 2021, Casey has been instrumental in the development of countless professional dancers through her innovative vision for education.
DeLuca is a theater and television actor, best known for originating the role of Jack Kelly on the First National Tour of Disney’s Newsies. He has developed new musicals alongside the greatest theater composers of our time including Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken and Martin Charnin. Alongside working as an actor, DeLuca has studied at Quantum University, working with therapists and scientists studying the science of mindfulness to incorporate healthier approaches to art in the professional and educational playing field. @DDeLuca15
Dealing with insecurities, anxiety and depression is unfortunately a giant part of the social makeup of today’s world. Having the most elementary tools to approaching taking care of one’s mental and emotional states is the most powerful resource one can have, especially when it comes to dance. This workshop focuses on the basics of healthily working with the negative stories we tell ourselves in our heads and learning simple breathing exercises that can reset our bodies in the most stressful situations. In a world where one rarely finds a moment of peace within their own minds, DeLuca approaches teaching the science of mindfulness in the easiest and playful way an artist could learn.
Christie Sirota-Jordon has been teaching and creating choreography since the age of 15. Training from east to west coast and along some of LA’s hottest choreographers, she holds a wide variety of styles that bring an exciting blend to the classroom. A Pittsburgh native, Christie has traveled nationally with numerous conventions and workshops including CDI (Commercial Dance Intensive), Dance Masters of America, Dance Caravan, Professional Dance Teachers Association, N-House Productions and VIP Dance Competition, as well as teaches master classes and choreography throughout the country.
Her dance and choreography credits include Las Vegas Fashion Week, Latin Icon Juan Luis Guerra, Disney’s boyband NLT, dance/pop group Taxi Doll, workout sensation Hip Hop Abs and more! Christie is a regional trainer for The BodyBar(re) Fitness Franchise and travels nationally setting pieces for competitive dance studios and dance teams.
Christie’s career has transitioned into other facets of the entertainment industry including creating & directing events. She is a National Director for VIPDance Competition, touring the country running competition events for competitive dancers. In 2018, Christie launched her own intensive, 412 The Intensive in Pittsburgh to provide a space for young dancers to explore their artistry, prepare for a career in entertainment and train with the industry’s top instructors from LA & NYC. Christie is proud to announce her expansion to Chicago with 312 The Intensive and the development of The Intensive’s mentorship programs.
With 20 years in the entertainment industry, Christie is preparing the release of her latest programs to include one on one coaching, “next steps” for high school & college artists and specialized attention on building confidence.
