MEET  THE  DANCERS

PRINCIPAL DANCERS

Amanda Malek-Ahmadi is an Arizona native. She began dancing at the age of 5 and taught her first class at 17. She received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Dance from the University of Arizona. Amanda also trained in NY at the Teacher Training School with Dance Masters of America. She has taught each grade level K-12, at the community college level, and at dance studios around the Valley. Amanda has also taught at TheaterWorks and currently teaches for The Phoenix Theatre Company Summer of Dance program. In Arizona, the first company Amanda danced for was PowerNow LLC (2004-2005). She lived in Florida for three years, dancing for Busch Gardens in 2008 when they opened Jungala. Upon returning to Arizona in 2009, Amanda joined Frances Cohen’s CDE2, dancing in Snow Queen and American Voices. In 2018, Amanda joined Wight Noise Dance Company and continues to dance with them. In 2020, her debut picture book, 10 Ballet Dancers. The book was recognized as a great teaching tool for dance by Dance Teacher Magazine. This is Amanda’s first season with DDT. She has admired Lisa’s and Step’s work for years and feels blessed to join their company. 
Caroline Liddicoat started dancing at the age of three. Her love for the arts eventually led to playing the piano and flute, singing in various honor, all-state, jazz, and show choirs; theater, performance and competitive dance, and varsity cheer. After high school she entered medical school and received her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2008. In 2011 she returned to dance and since has been blessed to dance with burlesque companies, The Catchpenny Dandies, Troubadour Cafe and Scandalesque. She has danced with Evolution Hip Hop Crew, Kinematix Hip Hop Crew, was a guest dancer with HT Chen & Dancers from New York City and Center Dance Ensemble; she's danced in music videos, has been a backup dancer for many local and non-local performers, including Frenchie Davis, worked with Koresh Dance Company to perform their pieces in a residency, has traveled all over USA and Cuba to dance, and dances for a corporate entertainment company. Caroline is dancing her 15th season with Desert Dance Theatre.
D. Daniel Hollingshead is returning to performance with DDT after a long absence from the company. He holds a BFA in Performance and Choreography from ASU and has previously performed as both ensemble and soloist for Center Dance Ensemble, A Ludwig Co., The Dance Connection, Boulder Jazz Dance Co. and the Jan Justice Dance Company among others. From a very early age creativity and the arts have been a passion and focus for Mr. Hollingshead. In addition to dance and performance he is also an award-winning costume and hair/makeup designer and has served in many capacities in dance and theatre for both local and national theatre and dance companies throughout the state and southwest region. Mr. Hollingshead views creativity of all forms as an expression of life itself. Be it as a dancer, performer, artist, designer, healer or energy practitioner (holding certifications and training in multiple techniques and modalities for both healing and Conscious Creation) it all serves as an expression of who we all truly are, Brilliant Creators. May we always be the highest creation and expression of ourselves.
Dora Watanabe  began her dance journey with Russian ballet at age five and performed in The Nutcracker for ten years, building a strong foundation and technical background. In high school, she expanded her training to include jazz, lyrical, drill, and competitive dance. Throughout college, she explored social dance styles, such as Bachata and Argentine Tango, which eventually led her to teach ballroom dancing. As a professional ballroom instructor, she trained and performed with Arthur Murray, where she further developed her dance knowledge, versatility, and teaching experience. Dora loves the connection between music and dance, values opportunities to continue growing as a performer, and hopes to choreograph to all music.
George Johnson started studying dance at the age of 20 under the direction of Lena De Marco.  He has danced with numerous companies including Movement Source, Footwork Dance Project, and Dulce Dance Company.  George also had the privilege of being part of special dance projects such as "The White Oak Dance Project," where he had the opportunity to perform in a piece with Mikhail Baryshnikov.  He also worked with Nina Watt in a remake of "Missa Brevis" a piece by Jose Limon.  George has also choreographed for Dulce Dance Company and has shown his work at the Arizona Dance Festival. In the community, he is also very active as an artist, designer, and actor.
Maddie Coury is a dancer with a foundation in classical and contemporary dance. She began her training in Prescott, AZ. Training in a variety of dance styles developed both her technical versatility and artistic range. During high school, Maddie focused primarily on ballet, training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York and the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. She later graduated from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program in San Francisco. Her professional performance experience includes Océanica Ballet, the SF Jazz Symphony, and Convergence Ballet. Maddie also works as a freelance dancer, performing in projects throughout Arizona. 
Matthew Mendez is originally from Phoenix, Arizona where he started his dance training at the age of 15. He briefly trained with Nicole Olson, Jennifer Cafarella Betts, and Frances Cohen Smith until he began to attend the University of Arizona’s School of Dance. While there, Matthew trained with the UA dance faculty to hone his skills in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz technique and graduated with a BFA in dance in 2022. Since then, Matthew has danced internationally with Royal Caribbean Cruises, Convergence Ballet Company, Methods of Madness Dance Theater and is excited to be dancing with Desert Dance Theater this season. 

ALUMNI DANCER

Danielle Johnson is from Queens, NY.  She began her formal dance training at the age of 12.  Danielle went on to pursue dance as a professional career and received scholarships to study at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance (Modern, Ballet, Jazz, and Dunham Technique) and Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theater (African Dance and Jazz). While in New York, Danielle had the honor to train for two years under Jazz dance master Luigi. Danielle received a scholarship to study dance at ASU and received her BA in dance.  Danielle has been a company member of Desert Dance Theatre for over 20 years, where she had the opportunity to work with choreographers from all over the country, such as H.T. Chen, Neta Pulvamacher, Cliff Keuter, Elina Mooney,  Billbob Brown, Candy Jimenez, Virginia Nicolas, and Marion Kirk Jones.