ARIZONA DANCE FESTIVAL 2025
WARM UP CLASSES with SPECIAL GUEST INSTRUCTORS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
5:30pm-6:15pm at the Studio on Stage
Janell Burgess - Classical Jazz Class
Class Description: Encompassing the Baltes Classic Jazz Method, developed by Jazz Spectrum Dance Company Artistic Director Janell Burgess, guides dancers through a detailed core-focused, alignment centered warm-up. The style is grounded, raw, and powerful. Bringing strength to dancers’ bodies through intensity in movement, Janell encourages dancers to find freedom by being true to the form, technique, & style. Beginning with a standing warm-up in the center, transitioning to deep floor stretches, and progressions across the floor, dancers will move to fun, upbeat, rhythmic music that inspires the soul.
About Janell: As an educator, Janell’s teaching career, spanning over the last 3 decades, has included holding faculty positions at the Debbie Reynolds Dance Center, ABT Gillespie School, StarQuest Dance International, Jimmie DeFore Foundation for the Arts, LA Choreographers & Dancers, Newport Mesa Unified School District, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has also served as an Educator for ArtsTeach thru through the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center, and as a guest speaker at Orange Coast College and UCLA. As a certified Zena Rommett Floor Barre Instructor, Certified Yoga Instructor, Certified Food'nSport Fitness Instructor, and Holistic Healthcare Practitioner, Janell brings a strong focus to body alignment, physical health, and mental wellness to the classes she teaches and the dancers she educates. Her choreography has been featured on by the Disney Channel, Atlantic City Hotels, Southern California Dance Invitational, LA Dance Invitational, Orange County Dance Festival, Inland Empire Dance Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and most recently the Southern California Dance & Choreography Invitational where she won an award for Best Choreography for her work "Treat". Through the pandemic, Ms. Burgess choreographed and produced the short dance film “Chameleon”, which premiered live at Global Pushfest San Francisco in 2020 and continued to tour the film festival circuit winning multiple awards for Best Choreography and Best Original Score. She also produced 3 online and in-person full dance concerts which featured Jazz Spectrum Dance Company and Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre. Ms. Burgess Janell currently serves on the board of Jazz Spectrum Dance Company, holds the position of Artistic Director, and is the Owner of Spectrum Dance Center in Lake Forest, California which houses a professional studies program for college students, youth conservatory, and adult dance program. Janell continues to tour with the legendary KC & The Sunshine Band where she serves as dance captain and maintenance choreographer. Her mission is to help develop artists and projects that will inspire healing, bridge cultures, create unity, and ignite a passion for life!
5:30pm-6:15pm at the Studio on Stage
Janell Burgess - Classical Jazz Class
Class Description: Encompassing the Baltes Classic Jazz Method, developed by Jazz Spectrum Dance Company Artistic Director Janell Burgess, guides dancers through a detailed core-focused, alignment centered warm-up. The style is grounded, raw, and powerful. Bringing strength to dancers’ bodies through intensity in movement, Janell encourages dancers to find freedom by being true to the form, technique, & style. Beginning with a standing warm-up in the center, transitioning to deep floor stretches, and progressions across the floor, dancers will move to fun, upbeat, rhythmic music that inspires the soul.
About Janell: As an educator, Janell’s teaching career, spanning over the last 3 decades, has included holding faculty positions at the Debbie Reynolds Dance Center, ABT Gillespie School, StarQuest Dance International, Jimmie DeFore Foundation for the Arts, LA Choreographers & Dancers, Newport Mesa Unified School District, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has also served as an Educator for ArtsTeach thru through the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center, and as a guest speaker at Orange Coast College and UCLA. As a certified Zena Rommett Floor Barre Instructor, Certified Yoga Instructor, Certified Food'nSport Fitness Instructor, and Holistic Healthcare Practitioner, Janell brings a strong focus to body alignment, physical health, and mental wellness to the classes she teaches and the dancers she educates. Her choreography has been featured on by the Disney Channel, Atlantic City Hotels, Southern California Dance Invitational, LA Dance Invitational, Orange County Dance Festival, Inland Empire Dance Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and most recently the Southern California Dance & Choreography Invitational where she won an award for Best Choreography for her work "Treat". Through the pandemic, Ms. Burgess choreographed and produced the short dance film “Chameleon”, which premiered live at Global Pushfest San Francisco in 2020 and continued to tour the film festival circuit winning multiple awards for Best Choreography and Best Original Score. She also produced 3 online and in-person full dance concerts which featured Jazz Spectrum Dance Company and Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre. Ms. Burgess Janell currently serves on the board of Jazz Spectrum Dance Company, holds the position of Artistic Director, and is the Owner of Spectrum Dance Center in Lake Forest, California which houses a professional studies program for college students, youth conservatory, and adult dance program. Janell continues to tour with the legendary KC & The Sunshine Band where she serves as dance captain and maintenance choreographer. Her mission is to help develop artists and projects that will inspire healing, bridge cultures, create unity, and ignite a passion for life!
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
5:30pm-6:15pm at the Studio on Stage
Shane O’Hara - Contemporary Modern Class
Class Description: Shane O'Hara's warmup will be a simple contemporary flow style for all dancers to follow. Using easy stretching, isolation of areas of the body and moving through space, this class will be based on getting all performers warm and connecting to their bodies before the night's performance.
About Shane: The power and energy behind Shane O'Hara's work is deeply rooted in the human condition. O'Hara's dances are created from the inside out, each finding its own life path and form. As a performer, he has shared his work with audiences throughout the United States and Europe including concerts in Lisbon, Athens, Krakow, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. He has worked with the thompson & trammell dance company in residencies in Poland, Denmark, Portugal and Germany. O'Hara was also a guest instructor at the Pro Danza Italia Summer Workshop in Tuscany in 1998 and at the White Mountain Summer Dance Festival in 2005. He has received grants from the USIS/American Embassy, Pennsylvania Council for the Arts and Virginia Commission for the Arts as well as a Fulbright Fellowship to Portugal and a Guest Professorship at the University of Martinique.
O'Hara is a Professor Emeritus of Dance from James Madison University, guest faculty at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, and currently works setting commissioned dances throughout the U.S., performing a concert of Daniel Nagrin's solo works entitled The Nagrin Project and touring as Shane O'Hara * Solo Dance. His artistic activities include performances in The New Dance Festival in Virginia, Joyce Soho in New York, Dance Place in Washington, D.C., Tribute to Daniel Nagrin Festival at Arizona State University and Richmond, and the Dancing Rebels National Conference in Saratoga Springs. Presently, he is in the position of "Artistic Director" of the Nagrin Foundation by dance master Daniel Nagrin, and will be in charge of all setting of Mr. Nagrin's historic solos nationally and internationally. O'Hara has a MFA from Arizona State University and is also a 500-hour Yoga Teaching Alliance yoga instructor and currently teaches master classes in dance and yoga throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
5:30pm-6:15pm at the Studio on Stage
Shane O’Hara - Contemporary Modern Class
Class Description: Shane O'Hara's warmup will be a simple contemporary flow style for all dancers to follow. Using easy stretching, isolation of areas of the body and moving through space, this class will be based on getting all performers warm and connecting to their bodies before the night's performance.
About Shane: The power and energy behind Shane O'Hara's work is deeply rooted in the human condition. O'Hara's dances are created from the inside out, each finding its own life path and form. As a performer, he has shared his work with audiences throughout the United States and Europe including concerts in Lisbon, Athens, Krakow, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. He has worked with the thompson & trammell dance company in residencies in Poland, Denmark, Portugal and Germany. O'Hara was also a guest instructor at the Pro Danza Italia Summer Workshop in Tuscany in 1998 and at the White Mountain Summer Dance Festival in 2005. He has received grants from the USIS/American Embassy, Pennsylvania Council for the Arts and Virginia Commission for the Arts as well as a Fulbright Fellowship to Portugal and a Guest Professorship at the University of Martinique.
O'Hara is a Professor Emeritus of Dance from James Madison University, guest faculty at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, and currently works setting commissioned dances throughout the U.S., performing a concert of Daniel Nagrin's solo works entitled The Nagrin Project and touring as Shane O'Hara * Solo Dance. His artistic activities include performances in The New Dance Festival in Virginia, Joyce Soho in New York, Dance Place in Washington, D.C., Tribute to Daniel Nagrin Festival at Arizona State University and Richmond, and the Dancing Rebels National Conference in Saratoga Springs. Presently, he is in the position of "Artistic Director" of the Nagrin Foundation by dance master Daniel Nagrin, and will be in charge of all setting of Mr. Nagrin's historic solos nationally and internationally. O'Hara has a MFA from Arizona State University and is also a 500-hour Yoga Teaching Alliance yoga instructor and currently teaches master classes in dance and yoga throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
5:30pm-6:15pm at the Studio on Stage
Caitlin Rose - Flex, bend, and fold - a modern style warm up
Class Description: This feel-good warm-up class is for all styles of dancers. Rooted in modern dance concepts that focus on the spine, core and joints, dancers will explore different qualities of movements while activating their full facility within the space. By the end of the session, movers should feel connected to their center and be fully present as they move throughout the space. Let's connect, breathe, and move together!
About Caitlin: Caitlin Rose, movement artist and Baltimore native, has been teaching and making art for over twelve years. She received her MFA degree from the University of Arizona and is a comprehensively certified Pilates, Barre, and yoga instructor. She currently serves as faculty in the dance department at Grand Canyon University, teaching technique and research courses, and also serves as a recruitment and guest artist liaison.
Caitlin creates in both the commercial dance & concert dance communities. She is traditionally a narrative-style storyteller who engages in anthropological themes that strive to reach diverse communities. Her current choreographic research strives to explore classical jazz technique through a culturally relevant lens. Caitlin also hopes to foster interdisciplinary relationships by working collaboratively to create a rich foundation that delivers an impactful experience for the audience.
5:30pm-6:15pm at the Studio on Stage
Caitlin Rose - Flex, bend, and fold - a modern style warm up
Class Description: This feel-good warm-up class is for all styles of dancers. Rooted in modern dance concepts that focus on the spine, core and joints, dancers will explore different qualities of movements while activating their full facility within the space. By the end of the session, movers should feel connected to their center and be fully present as they move throughout the space. Let's connect, breathe, and move together!
About Caitlin: Caitlin Rose, movement artist and Baltimore native, has been teaching and making art for over twelve years. She received her MFA degree from the University of Arizona and is a comprehensively certified Pilates, Barre, and yoga instructor. She currently serves as faculty in the dance department at Grand Canyon University, teaching technique and research courses, and also serves as a recruitment and guest artist liaison.
Caitlin creates in both the commercial dance & concert dance communities. She is traditionally a narrative-style storyteller who engages in anthropological themes that strive to reach diverse communities. Her current choreographic research strives to explore classical jazz technique through a culturally relevant lens. Caitlin also hopes to foster interdisciplinary relationships by working collaboratively to create a rich foundation that delivers an impactful experience for the audience.
