Graduated Alma High School 2003

Graduated Alma College April 2007
Biology major, Chemistry and Psychology minors

Attending Wayne State University School of Medicine
Class of 2011 MD Candidate

I still perform and compete highland dancing when I have time, and I've taught several workshops for different studios this year. I passed my highland SOBHD Judges exam in October 2006 and I plan to start a studio and teach as well as judge once I'm finished with school.

Taking my first pointe class during the summer with Hannah, and spending hours at the Heritage Center during dress rehersals, hanging out with all the dancers in the green room and finally getting to watch all of the different classes recital dances. Also, my senior year being Alice in Wonderland and dancing with the cute little bunnies who were the youngest dancers.

Graduated Alma High School 2005

Attending Grand Valley State University
Class of 2009 Candidate
Major: Hospitality and Tourism Management with an emphasis in Meeting/Special Event Planning
Minor: Business

Attending Grand Rapids Community College
Photography

I took a Dance 101 class my Sophomore year of college, and we had to choreograph a dance in groups for the final exam. Sadly, no more dance after that. But I still have my shoes in my closet and would love to start up again someday!

Besides having fun in class, I loved our break-time between classes when we would make up stories and play games. I’m sure there are some old notebooks floating around out there with our stories. I also enjoyed all the fun we had dancing in the productions at the Strand and Alma College, and attending the American Heritage Dance Convention in Grand Rapids.

Mid Michigan Bone and Joint
Main Street Pizza

This year of tap :)
(I returned to APA for the advanced tap class!)

Too many to name!

Gratiot Medical Center Urgent Care/Occupational Health
- receptionist

The feeling of a performance.

More confident in front of groups, learned a great way to relieve stress, made some great friends, feel in love with dance.

Mid-Michigan Hospital in Midland
- nurse extern

It’s definitely too hard to pick only one! I remember all the fun I had with my friends doing what we loved to do…we did so much (classes, recitals, special performances) it’s hard to pick out one or two memories that are favorites.

Gave me lifelong friendships, gave me a great base in dance and strengthened my passion.

I loved the recitals. While they were a lot of work to get ready for, once they came, I had a great time!  I made many friends there, and was able to dance at the same time!

I started dancing when I was four, and continued on until sixth grade. During those years, I learned how to express myself through the art of dancing. I love to dance, and am happy whenever I do. I thank APA for opening my eyes to the beauty and joy that is dancing! 

Currently working as an executive assistant for GW Housing Programs and working on my Masters degrees

Yes. His name is Brendan Wheeler and he is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development. We are getting married in August 2009 and when I finish school in December 2009 we will be leaving for our first overseas post in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!

Going to our first competition: we drove to Dearborn in a blizzard to a NYC Dance Alliance conference and competition toting homemade costumes. We found ourselves surrounded by sequins, hair extensions, and pushy girls in midriff baring outfits. Were were in way over our heads but had a great time!

Dress Rehearsals: Long hours of crowded dressing rooms, frantic costume changes, watching all of the other dancers, and running a piece over and over again to get the lighting right. Its not a real rehearsal unless somebody’s costume falls apart, the music gets mixed up, or you trip onstage. Some of my favorite memories of APA were those deliriously-tired giggly outbursts backstage at Alma College. Fun times!

Dancing at APA was the center of my life for a long time, most weeks Kathy saw me more than my actual family.  So many of my favorite memories happened at that studio on Superior St. and I will always cherish the experiences that I had and friends that I made there.

Not much else to tell, my life is pretty much consumed by school and work (and wedding planning). In my “free” time I like to take advantage of everything DC has to offer - museums, events, great restaurants, etc. I’ve become an excellent tour guide so any APA alum who find themselves in the DC area should look me up!

Public Relations & Marketing Manager*
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh, PA

I do public relations and marketing for a variety of performances at Pittsburgh's largest performing arts organization - just started in 2009! Some of my projects include promoting Pittsburgh Dance Council performances such as Ballet Boyz, Compagnie Marie Chouinard from Quebec, and Ronald K Brown/Evidence. And that's just this season! I'm also the primary marketer in charge of the Three Rivers Arts Festival and CD Live concerts (artists like Joan Baez, k.d. lang, Susan Tedeschi). If you're coming to Pittsburgh - which has one of the best arts scenes in the country! - I can help with tickets!

Too many to count...
Honestly some of my favorite memories were coming back to Alma on college breaks and seeing how much all the kids had improved in the year that I was gone!
But there was also...
- Driving to Dearborn/Detroit area with Jenny McMann for our first LA Dance Force convention
- Going to Youth Arts with our funky Scottish-modern combo piece, and the FANTASTIC group there who danced to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" and brought the house down.
- Choreographing for younger classes ... funny story here...
So I helped teach a jazz class for 8-10 year olds when I was 16. Kathy let me choreograph the recital dance, and if you were to watch that dance today - despite it being a recital dance for 8-10 year olds! - there were parts of it, specifically a layered canon that had the dancers moving forward and around in lines, that was a precursor to the exact kind of choreography that would interest me as a graduate student 8 years later!

Forever.

Sometime since I moved to Pittsburgh - I don't know exactly when - I started cooking. And now I document my cooking and eating adventures on my website, www.burghilicious.com.

Mark Pomaranski

The people :-)

I’m currently the Outreach Coordinator for an environmental non-profit called the Texas Land Conservancy in Austin.

Man…too many. I was just telling someone about how much we all loved “My Heart Will Go On” when it came out and how we would play it over and over and dance around the little studio on State Street (back in the days when we lived downtown next to the Strand Theater with Christie and the Highland kids right next door in the tiny studio). Or…goofing off and being silly with Tyler Cooper and Sheena Moes. Individual dances like: remaking “Circle of Life” with those beautiful jewel color long sleeve dresses, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” (because I got to be the front of the pyramid); anything from the Michael Jackson year…when we did all things Michael…; the tap dance to a Celtic/rock song…we wore silvery/white outfits. ACTUALLY, most of my favorite moments involve costumes…and getting costumes and everyone trying them on straight out of the packages…after pestering Kathy for months about when they would arrive. And curtain calls. Those are my favorite - there’s nothing like a curtain call with hundreds of your peers on stage.

My mom gave me a Brian Andreas painting once that says “For a long time she flew only when she thought no one was watching.” APA taught me how to fly when people were watching. Honestly, dancing with Kathy and everyone at that studio (which wasn’t, by the way, about competition or skinniness or fake curly ponytails or millions of fouettes just for the applause) shaped my personality, leadership ability, and confidence immeasurably. 

I’m a Texan now, and love it. We have two cats: Puck and Patankin. I’m an avid backpacker/hiker/camper person. I once rode a motorcycle from Cambodia to Laos. I still have a big box of leotards, tights and shoes in my closet…they have moved with me to many states hoping to make a comeback.

Behavioral Therapist for children with autism

Company, going to conventions/workshops, and performing at local schools

It taught me perseverance, self expression, and helped create many lifetime friendships.