RAISE THE BAR SUMMER INTENSIVE 2024

Collage will offer two programs:

RAISE THE BAR JUNIOR, being offered July 1 – 13, 2024 is best for dancers ages 5 – 11.

RAISE THE BAR SENIOR, being offered July 15 – 27, 2024 is best for dancers ages 12 and up.

RAISE THE BAR JUNIOR

Ages 5 – 11

Classes for the RTB Junior Summer Intensive include: Ballet, Jazz, Intro to Spanish Dance, Tap, Nutrition and Broadway.

Each class is designed to nurture budding dancers and will both stimulate and challenge them to explore their creativity, while developing a solid technical foundation. The program is excellent for beginners, as well as intermediate and advanced dancers seeking continued summer training.

REGISTER HERE

Schedule & Dates

July 1 – July 13

Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m or 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. depending on level

Tuition

$500. Students must register and balances must be paid in full no later than May 3, 2024

Karen Niceley

Ballet, Nutrition

Kevin Thomas

Ballet

Dorian Rhea

Jazz, Tap

Noelia Garcia Carmona

Intro to Spanish Dance

Danielle Pierce

Tap

DeAngelo Cheatom

Jazz

RAISE THE BAR SENIOR

Ages 12+

Classes for RTB Senior Summer Intensive include: Ballet, Jazz Funk, Horton, Variations, Pointe, Choreography Lab and Men’s Technique.

Raise The Bar Senior is an intensive exploration of key codified techniques to help dancers strengthen their kinesthetic sense, movement quality, alignment and artistry.

REGISTER HERE

Schedule & Dates
July 15 – 27

Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Tuition
$575. Students must register and balances must be paid in full no later than May 3, 2024.

Lenore Pavlakos-Morales

Ballet, Pointe

Brandye Lee

Ballet, Pointe

Kevin Thomas

Ballet

Karen Niceley

Ballet, Pre-Pointe

Kevin Tate

Modern

Noelia Garcia Carmona

Intro to Spanish Dance

Men Ca

Modern

DeAngelo Cheatom

Jazz

Yosek Prieto

Men's Technique

Collage Dance accepts eligible students of all races and national or ethnic backgrounds.

Scholarships
Collage Dance is offering limited scholarships for the 2024 Raise The Bar Summer Intensives. To be considered, please complete the below scholarship request form no later than May 3, 2024. Recipients will be notified May 17, 2024.

APPLY NOW

Refund Policy
There will be no refunds for voluntary withdrawal either before or after the Intensive begins. In the event serious illness or injury prevents a student from participating, a refund of up to 75% of the tuition amount paid will be considered.

Contact
For more information regarding the program or curriculum, please contact Collage Dance at (901) 800-1873 or via email at [email protected].

Housing
Collage is not offering housing for the 2024 Intensive. If housing is required, please call 901-800-1873 for recommendations.

505 Tillman Street
Memphis TN 38112

[email protected]
Call us: (901) 800-1873

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KAREN NICELEY

Karen Niceley attended the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet and later received her BFA in Dance Education at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Karen’s professional credits include work with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Michael Mao Dance Company, Metropolitan Opera, Cirque Du Soleil, Keith Lee’s Dance Theatre of Lynchburg and the Broadway National Tour of The Color Purple.

Prior to relocating to Memphis in spring 2021, Karen taught dance, Vinyasa yoga and creative movement in more than 100 schools throughout the five boroughs of NYC. As a result of decades long work with The Leadership Program, Karen is recognized for her ability to utilize social emotional learning, anti-bullying best practices and restorative justice models to implement transformative youth development programs that combine academics and dance technique.

As the Community Engagement Manager for Collage Dance, Karen works to broaden the organization’s in-school dance education program, Turning Pointe, by fostering relationships with Memphis area schools. She also works to cultivate a vibrant adult dance community through program development at the new Collage Dance Center and dance exposure opportunities in Memphis and beyond.

Karen is also co-founder of Gritty Cherries, Inc., a non-profit art production company that serves as a springboard for emerging artists of all types, providing venues and producing special events for charitable organizations with a variety of artists who collaborate together under one roof and a specific theme while bringing high quality training in the arts to underprivileged youth through their arts education program Gritty Cherries Arts Education.

KEVIN THOMAS

Kevin Thomas began his dance training with Ecole Superieure de Danse du Quebec in Montreal, Canada, and has danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Cleveland/San Jose Ballet and the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) in New York City. He joined DTH in 1995 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1999. With DTH, Mr. Thomas’ credits include leading roles in The Prodigal Son, Dialogues, The Four Temperaments, Othello, Adrian (Angel on Earth), A Song for Dead Warriors, Troy Games, Equuis and Dougla. He has performed leading roles in numerous ballets including, The Nutcracker, Tarantella, Agon, Who Cares, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Don Quixote, Consort Lessons, and Aureole. Mr. Thomas has made guest appearances with the Royal Ballet in London, Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York and Fleming Flindt and Peter Schaufuss in Denmark. He has also appeared on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera. Mr. Thomas has served as Artistic Coordinator and Ballet Master for New Ballet Ensemble & School and has choreographed for Opera Memphis, Hattiloo Repertory Theatre, New Ballet Ensemble, Orpheum Theatre, Flint Institute of Music, University of Utah, University of Memphis and Collage Dance Collective. Mr. Thomas is a 2017-18 National Visiting Fellow at the School of American Ballet.

 

DORIAN RHEA

DORIAN RHEA (CHOREOGRAPHER) A south side, Chicago bred artist, Dorian Rhea has been an active participant in community based arts and education for the past seven years. He has performed and choreographed pieces for recording artists like Silentò & Chance The Rapper, while using his art as a tool for activism and reformation by working alongside the Obamas on the ‘Healthier America’ initiative. His works have been featured at venues such as The Chicago Theater & The Museum of Contemporary Art.

He has held residencies at The Joffrey Ballet Chicago as well as The American Rhythm Center, and facilitated world-class workshops at Roosevelt University, Chicago State University, and Wilbur Wright College. From working with charitable arts programs in public schools across the city, to providing free performance training under the non-profit ‘Happiness Club’, Dorian continues to encourage, build, and support reputable opportunities and networks that give back to the communities who invest so much into the future.

Noelia Garcia Carmona

Noelia Garcia Carmona is a native of Barcelona, Spain. She started dancing at a young age and
followed her passion and dream of becoming a dance professional and traveling the world. She
graduated from the Institut del Teatre I Dansa in Barcelona in 1993 specializing in Spanish
dance and flamenco. Upon graduation, she co-founded the flamenco and contemporary dance
company Increpacion Danza, where she was a performer and choreographer for 10 years,
touring all over Europe, China and The Philippines.

In 2002, she was selected as a dance performer by Cirque du Soleil, for their show Zumanity. Noelia moved to the USA in 2003 and has since lived in Memphis, TN. From 2003 to 2021, she worked at New Ballet Ensemble & School holding different roles and positions including dance educator, performer, choreographer, program director, and Associate Artistic Director leading a team of teaching artists and creating programming for events and concerts. In 2014, she was Rehearsal Director and performer for the piece Harlem, presented by the New Ballet Ensemble at the Kennedy Center accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra.

In 2017, Noelia graduated from the CAELI (Community Arts Education Leadership Institute) led by the National Guild for Community Arts Education. In her role as a choreographer, she has created numerous dance works with students and professional dancers that have been presented in venues throughout Memphis. Some of her original choreography includes “Dos,” “Tiempos,” “El Rey de Harlem,” “Fuego” and “Voices.” She creates dances that are relevant, passionate and inclusive of other dance genres outside of Spanish Dance and Flamenco.

Noelia teaches ballet and flamenco & Spanish dance to youth and adults. In 2022, she joined
Collage Dance Collective as faculty for Turning Pointe, a community-based dance education program, and is very excited to bring her world of experience to Raise the Bar Summer Intensive, 2022.

Danielle Pierce

Danielle Jenice Pierce is an award-winning competitive dancer with more than 15 years of training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop and Modern.

A graduate of The University of Memphis and former Memphis RedBirds Redhots member, Danielle has been a faculty member with the Collage Dance Conservatory since 2017. She teaches Tap through our community-connected Turning Pointe program, in partnership with Memphis area schools, and on-site at the Collage Dance Center where she also teaches Creative Movement for budding dancers ages 2 – 3.

Danielle is an active member of Hot Foot Honeys, a Memphis-based professional Tap Dance company, and the Southern Association for Dance Masters. She’s also currently training with The American Tap Dance Foundation where she will be receiving a teaching certification for tap technique, repertory and performance skills in 2021.

DeAngelo Cheatom

DeAngelo Cheatom a Detroit Native has been dancing since the age of 3 studying in Ballet, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop and African. Training at various places such as Detroit Windsor Dance Academy, The Detroit School of Arts, The Link School Of Arts and The University Of The Arts. DeAngelo has now performed all over the world in concert dance with Eleone Dance Theater out of Philadelphia for three seasons. He then moved on to more freelance artist performing and working with world renown choreographers. His love father art of dance and the stage has grown beyond what he ever thought it could be. Now he using all of the things he has learned and is continuing share with students and collaborators.

Christina Johnson

Born in Vienna, Austria, Christina Johnson trained at Boston School of Ballet, School of American Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem. She began her professional career at age seventeen with Boston Ballet, before joining Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she became a principal dancer within four years. In her thirteen-year tenure with DTH, she worked with masters such as, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Franklin, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Geoffrey Holder, Glen Tetley, Ulysses Dove, and Sir Anthony Dowell, among others. She danced leading roles in much of the company’s repertoire including Swan Lake, Giselle, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Firebird and Fancy Free to name a few. She was a member of the Swiss companies, Le Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneve and Ballett Basel, where her repertoire expanded to include works by William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, James Kudelka, Ohad Naharin, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Twyla Tharp, Amanda Miller and David Parsons. Christina is an original member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and has also been a featured guest artist with various companies worldwide, including the Royal Ballet of London.

After her performance career Christina has been sought after as a teacher, coach and ballet master and has worked with companies and schools such as Pacific Northwest Ballet, Washington Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet, Gotesborg Ballett, Cornish College of the Arts and the University of Washington. Christina held the position of Rehearsal Director for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Armitage Gone! Dance, Trey McIntyre Project, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She is currently on faculty at Marin Ballet in San Rafael, CA, and is Adjunct Faculty at Dominican University in the LINES/Dominican BFA in Dance Program. Christina holds a MFA in Dance from Hollins University in collaboration with the American Dance Festival, The Forsythe Company and Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in Germany.

BRANDYE LEE

Brandye Lee is a cum laude alumna of Smith College (Economics & Afro-American Studies), and received her formal dance training as a scholarship student at Jones-Haywood School of Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and The Ailey School. A native Washingtonian, she was a featured dancer with Ailey II and Disney’s blockbuster “The Lion King” – National Gazelle Tour. While touring with The Lion King, Brandye served as the company’s outreach coordinator, creating unique behind-the-scenes experiences that included the show’s phenomenal cast, crew and orchestra members. Throughout her travels, she has produced numerous concerts benefiting community arts and education organizations. Brandye has been a guest performer and teacher in many of the 47 states she toured, including at Flint Institute of Music, Dance Institute of Washington, Dance Theatre of Lynchburg, Troy D. Brown’s The Art of Technique, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, George Mason University, University of Tennessee, Fisk University, Rhodes College, Marymount University, and countless others. Most recently, Brandye served as Rehearsal Director for Memphis, Tennessee’s groundbreaking ballet company and conservatory, Collage Dance Collective. In addition to receiving numerous awards, she is a New Memphis Institute Fellow and former commissioner for the Memphis City Beautiful Commission. Brandye is a current recipient of a graduate dance fellowship at University of California at Irvine, focusing on choreography and issues of equity and diversity in ballet. Through her lifelong passion for dance, she continues to find innovative ways to let her life speak, and serve her community.

 

KEVIN TATE

Kevin R. Tate (AGMA/AEA) is a native of Washington DC and was raised in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BFA in Dance Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, also a proud alumnus of the NYC Professional Performing Arts High School.

Kevin’s first Broadway credit came at age 12 as Jackie Thibodeaux in George C. Wolfe’s Caroline or Change.  Concert dance credits include The MET Opera Ballet of NYC, Rasta Thomas’s BAD BOYS of Dance, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Kyle Abraham’s AIM & Collage Dance Collective. Kevin is an Original cast member of The Lion King Rafiki Broadway Tour (Lead Gazelle).  In 2019, Broadway World featured Kevin as one of the “Top 20 Hottest Men in Dance”. Modeling features include the brands: Charlie by MZ, Oofos, Doordash & Brooklyn Brewery. Most recently you can see Kevin on NBC’s Law & Order.  Managed by Peggy Stamps, The SquarePeg Group, Inc. 

MEN CA

The bio-[Kemet]cal essence of Men Ca is in his name: mata is energy from the nucleus of the ca’nscious atam. A practitioner of defining that which he does through that which he is, (i.e., Men Ca), his absolute Art and Science is simply to be ca’nscious at all times, in all times, thus defining the life force energy of love and understanding.

 

YOSEK PRIETO

YOSEK PRIETO (CHOREOGRAPHER) began his ballet career at the age of 10 at the Escuela Vocacional de Arte in Pinar del Rio, Cuba studying the history and fundamental elements of ballet, French, dance repertoires, modern dance and gymnastics. At the age of 15, he began studying at the world-renowned Escuela Nacional de Ballet in Havana, Cuba where he continued his studies of ballet, contemporary dance, folk dance, ballroom dance, duo classic, dance methodology and the history of dance. He participated in many productions with noted instructors and choreographers such as Alicia Alonso, Ivan Tenorio, Alberto Alonso, Gustavo Herrera, Pedro Consuegra, Maria Rovira and Jorge Amarante. In 2000, he joined the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and danced with that company for 5 years, participating in numerous productions, international festivals and tours under the direction of Alicia Alonso. In 2005, Yosek joined Ballet de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico where he continued to expand his repertoire and international experience. In 2009, Yosek moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he now shares his knowledge and experience as a ballet instructor.

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