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FACULTY
DANA ALEXA
Dana Alexa was born in Brooklyn, NY and started her dance training at 2 years old. She quickly fell in love with dance and began training seriously and pursuing a professional career at the age of 21. She has trained with the best instructors in the world in hip hop, jazz, street jazz, tap and ballet on both coasts. She has taught hip hop and street jazz to students of all ages and levels, for HS and college dance teams, studios, pro teams, semi-pro teams and more. Dana now has a permanent teaching slot at Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles and travels the world teaching master classes.
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Dana began her professional dance career by representing the NBA in NYC as a Knicks City Dancer. She went on to dance with recording artist Kat Deluna on her world promo tour. In addition, Dana became Kat’s choreographer and artistic director and choreographed Kat’s world tour for her album Inside Out along with two music videos. Dana then relocated to Los Angeles to pursue her career on the west coast.
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Dana has choreographed and performed on Bravo TV’s Watch What Happens Live and The Real Housewives of NJ. She made a cameo in a video for Tyga and Wiz Khalifa and toured as a dancer and assistant choreographer in China, where she performed, danced in a national commercial, choreographed a nightly show and taught workshops. Dana was then cast as a dancer for a national Lexus commercial and also in a Skyy Vodka commercial under the direction of Tucker Barkley. Dana assisted choreography for the opening number of the Radio Disney Awards in 2015 for recording artist Natalie LaRose’s hit single “Somebody” as well as for the opening number of the finale episode of So You Think You Can Dance: POLAND. Dana was featured in a Pepsi Commercial for the superbowl starring Joey Lawrence and Donald Faison and in May 2016 Dana won season 28 of CBS’s The Amazing Race. She has choreographed numerous viral youtube videos and partnered with artists like Spencer Ludwig, Jason Derulo and Fergie to create exclusive youtube videos to their hit songs. Dana then followed her heart to INDIA to serve as a judge for the new hit dance reality TV show High Fever: Dance Ka Naya Tevar! Most recently Dana has worked in a national 2019 Superbowl commercial for the company Expensify and in a music video for 2 chainz.
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Dana has amassed a massive social media following, totaling over a million followers across all of her platforms. She is an active vlogger and produces an original series called “The Other Side” that follows her while she teaches classes internationally and adventures into the unknown to explore foreign cultures as well as take part in extreme adrenaline junkie activities! Dana is represented by The Movement Talent Agency and will continue to pursue her dream with relentless passion and drive.
Vanessa Fuller
Vanessa Fuller is a Dancer, Choreographer, and Artistic Director originally from Eugene, OR. She is the Artistic Director of "Xcape Dance Company" where she has produced 10 full length shows. Her dance and choreography have graced the stages of Club Jeté - LA's Premier Dance Experience, concerts from New York to California with artists such as E40, Twista, The Game, Bone Thugz in Harmony, Zion I, and E.T. She has also worked on industrial projects for NAPA Auto Parts, BUILD San Francisco, The Qwest Events Center in Seattle, and Rockstar Energy Drink.
Vanessa and her dance company filmed a casting pilot for MTV’s MADE, a regional commercial, print ads for The University of Oregon, and have been featured performers in various professional events. Vanessa's choreography has won numerous awards at competitions and conventions, and has won the JIGTV Brian Friedman Video Choreography Critique Contest at www.jigtv.com! Most recently, Vanessa was a dancer in the Emmy Nominated production of Dance Ability on Art Beat for OPB.
Vanessa’s training background includes Hip Hop, Jazz Funk, and Contemporary. She has trained at EDGE PAC (Los Angeles), Millennium Dance Complex (North Hollywood), Dance Mission (San Francisco), Monsters of Hip Hop, and master workshops with some of the best in the industry. Vanessa also studied tap extensively for over 13 years. Though Hip Hop, Jazz Funk and Tap are her current focus, Vanessa has also been trained in Modern, Contemporary and Jazz technique as a Dance Major from San Francisco State University, University of Oregon, and Lane Community College, but holds her B.A. in Spanish, with a Minor in Business. Vanessa brings versatile and recognizable experience, expertise, excellence, energy, and a passion for dance to each project and endeavor she encounters as a Director, Choreographer, and Dancer.
christopher dean
Christopher Dean received his introduction to the professional performing world when Lord Andrew Lloyd Weber tapped him as a member of Norwegian Cruise Line’s original cast for The Dawn. After, Christopher moved to New York City where he performed in musical theater productions in New York and regionally including West Side Story, Grease!, The Music Man, Beauty and the Beast, and Carousel (starring Oscar-winner Shirley Jones). He accepted a position as an ensemble singer/dancer in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the world Famous Rockettes and would later become associate producer for their summer education programs. His choreography has been seen in the Orange Bowl Half Time show and at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Christopher previously worked as choreographer and production director for Miss Teen and Miss Alabama USA. Two of his former students from Alabama and Florida have gone on to place top 5 at Miss America and one student, Riyo Mori, won the title of Miss Japan, later becoming Miss Universe. Christopher appeared on ABC’s hit show, the Bachelorette, as the Mister America coach for the group date also featuring Miss America, Mallory Hagan, in Season 17. In 2018, he choreographed and performed alongside Katie Harmon Ebner, Miss America 2002, in the Elsinore Theater production of “Annie Get Your Gun”, where he serves as in-house choreographer for production shows. Christopher currently is the resident choreographer for United States of America’s Miss in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and California produced by West Coast Pageant Productions.
HANNAH THOMAS
Hannah Thomas joined the University of Oregon School of Music in dance in fall 2019 as assistant professor of dance. Hannah is a native of Atlanta, GA and holds an MFA in Dance and Choreography, along with a teaching artists certificate from Arizona State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Georgia College and received her professional training from DeKalb School of the Arts, Ballethnic Dance Company, Price Performing Arts Center, McClendon School of Dance, Jr. Hawks Dance Team, and the Jr. Falcons Dance Team. Her teaching and guest artist experiences include adjunct and faculty positions at Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University, and as the 2021 Natalie Giustina Newlove Guest Artist Award recipient at the University of Oregon. Hannah is a member of Embodied Scholars, an exclusive group created for Black hip-hop teachers at the college level. Trained in many styles, including contemporary dance, jazz, ballet, modern and African, her other passions include styling and fashion, dance ministry work for local churches, screen dances, choreographing for musical theatre, and sound engineering. She is in the process of creating a live podcast series exploring sisterhood in the Black community.
DEBBIE WRIGHT
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ALIA LUX
Alia Lux has been a dancer for the majority of her life. She started ballet, tap and jazz at the Academy of Dance in Rapid City at age 5. She continued into her teens and performed in 3 different productions of the Nutcracker. In her late teens, Alia developed a love for Hip-Hop and Reggaeton and she began dancing with Anita Sanford, who is the founder of Dance Northwest. After graduating highschool, Alia moved to the San Francisco/Bay Area, where she got to explore her love for Latin dance. She spent a lot of time dancing Casino style (Cuban-style) salsa at the hot spots in San Francisco. It was there she was recruited to study Afro-Cuban/Orisa dance with Jose Barroso. Alia returned to the NW when she moved to Portland, where she has had the opportunity to dance Rio style Samba and Samba Reggae with Donna Oefinger, performed in the Dia Tribe showcase, and was hired as a dancer/choreographer for a local, private production knock off of Dancing With the Stars. She also has been a Zumba instructor since 2010 and lead Zumba classes at Parkrose Highschool for 4 years. Alia has always been influenced by Jamaican culture from an early age. As a dancer she naturally became interested in Dancehall, a style of dance that was born in the streets of Jamaica. Alias passion has taken her right to the source, Jamaica. She immersed herself in the street culture of Dancehall by going to Jamaica a few times a year, experiencing street dance, and also training with dancers under the Dance Jamaica umbrella, like Kimiko Versatile. Alias love for Dancehall and Jamaican culture has driven and inspired her to share Dancehall and bring it to the forefront of the Northwest dance scene.
CHRISTOPHER BURNS
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