Masterclasses

Keesha Beckford began her dance studies in Queens, New York, before graduating cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in American history and a minor in dance. She has performed the choreography of Milton Myers, Teri Lee and Oliver Steele, Danny Herman, Paige Cunningham-Caldarella, Amy Marshall, Michael Foley, and Lorn MacDougal, among others in the U.S. and abroad. Her teaching credits include Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, Dance Center Evanston, Charlotte Ballet, the UNC Charlotte dance department, and as a guest teacher for Thodos Dance Chicago. Beckford most recently served as the Youth Programs Manager at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and is honored to be the Youth Division Liason at the Joffrey Academy since 2016.

Tori Cartee is the founder and director of Solarium Dance Company, a nonprofit company dedicated to inspiring individual change, destigmatizing mental health, and contributing to the betterment of humanity within and beyond its communities. She received a B.A. in Dance with a focus on Dance Performance, Choreography, and Theory from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. From 2019-2023, she danced with Trifecta Dance Collective, ultimately landing as a Principal Dancer and Choreographer for the company and artistic director of the second and youth companies.

As a choreographer, her works have been performed across stages in the greater Chicagoland area as well as at festivals and showcases across the nation including Charlotte Dance Festival, American College Dance Association, Wake Forest Dance Festival, Loose Leaves Showcase, Trifecta Dance Festival, Peridance Spring Choreographers’ Showcase, Alluvion Dance Chicago’s Emergence, Detroit Dance City Festival, Noumenon Dance Ensemble’s “In this Neck of the Woods,” the Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival of Orlando, FL, and CU Dance Festival. Tori utilizes contemporary techniques and improvisational practices for movement generation, resulting in thoughtful, athletic, expansive, and experimental choreographic works.

Alyssa is originally from East Dundee, IL, and trained with the Visceral Studio Company under the direction of Nick Pupillo and Laura Wade. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a minor in Movement Science on a merit scholarship in December 2018. At Michigan, she performed works by Ohad Naharin, Shannon Gillen, the University of Michigan dance faculty, among others. During her summers, Alyssa studied with River North Dance Chicago, Backhausdance, Dance Works Chicago, and abroad in Paris.

After graduating, Alyssa moved back to Chicago to pursue a career in dance and teaching. In 2019, she received a contract with Inaside Chicago Dance and performed with them for 2 years. In 2021, Alyssa co-founded The LAUNCH Chicago, a professional dance company aiming to build a positive space where artists feel valued and empowered to embrace their full potential. In addition to performing, Alyssa currently teaches around Chicagoland and her choreography has won numerous awards including IDA Nominations, Excellence in Artistry & Choreography, and more. Alyssa loves sharing her passion and love for dance with her students.

Born and raised in Papillion Nebraska, Annalee Larsen grew up dancing and competing at Bellevue Dance Academy, as well as American Midwest Ballet’s second company. She spent summers and winters training at a variety of intensives and festivals including Dance West, American Dance Festival, Next Generation Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet Chicago as well as Ballet Nebraska and Oklahoma City Ballet on scholarship. She performed with the Live Entertainment Company at Kansas City theme park, Worlds of Fun. In May of 2022, Annalee Graduated with honors from The University of Kansas with a BFA in Dance performance and pre-physical therapy. She received the dance and theatre program’s jump start award, Loren Kennedy scholarship, and Lee Family scholarship. Aside from her own dancing, she also has developed a love for teaching from her work at numerous studios in Kansas and Nebraska as well as a passion for choreography from work in studios, competition teams, and live theatre, which she now carries into her work at Dance and Music Academy. Outside of dance, she received her NASM personal trainer certification in 2021. Since moving to the Chicago area, she has been grateful to dance with Trifecta Dance Collective as a principal dancer, a guest artist for Ballet Legere and teach as a DMA faculty member.

Andi Learman was born and raised in Woodstock, Illinois. She went on to earn a degree in Dance Business at Anderson University. While there, she worked with artists such as Earl Mosley, Eddy Ocampo and Gregory Hancock. Following her time at Anderson, Andi went off to train with Hubbard Street’s Professional Program under the direction of Alexandra Wells. Andi has had the opportunity to perform at the American College Dance Festival’s National Gala, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s 2018 Winter Series and New Dance’s 2020 Virtual Performance. Since then, she has worked with Tapestry Dance Company, as well as performed in various projects within the Chicago dance community. Andi is currently a principal dancer with Trifecta Dance Collective, a company dancer with Solarium Dance Company, and on staff at Dance and Music Academy.

Carrie Patterson, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, began her training with the Atlanta Ballet, and continued training in the summers with Houston Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Luna Negra Dance Theater. In 2011, Carrie graduated cum laude from Butler University with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Psychology. After graduation. Carrie choreographed/danced professionally with Louisville Ballet, Thodos Dance Chicago, Project606 Dance, and Nomi Dance Company. In 2016, Carrie cofounded Trifecta Dance Collective /Metamorphosis Fearless Evolution with Krissie Odegard Geye. Carrie is also the Owner/Creator of the national dancewear brand Illuminate Dancewear.

Krissie is the Co-Founder/Artistic Director of the Expand Community Arts Alliance; a nationally recognized group of arts organizations dedicated to igniting community dialogue through an artistic lens. The alliance consists of three organizations that she operates; The Dance and Music Academy, The Trifecta Dance Collective, and Metamorphosis; Fearless Evolution. She was selected to be a Conference Presenter at the International Dance Pedagogy Conference and Performance Festival at New Mexico State University. She has also served master class clinician at Peridance in NYC, the Big River Dance Festival WV and the US Tournament of Dance National Finals. Her choreography has been selected for the Spring Choreography Showcase at Peridance in NYC, Jennifer Mueller’s “Hatch” series in NYC, the Detroit Dance Festival, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, the Big River Dance Festival, the Exchange Choreography Festival in Tulsa, OK. She has produced 4 full length work in Anita’s Way in Times Square. She was selected as one of 3 National Choreography Competition winners by Ovation TV. She is the co-director of three National Youth Companies that offer opportunities to hundreds of students each summer. Krissie has also been on staff for Goliard Concerts in New York City, the Ethnic Dance Theatre in St. Paul, MN, and a faculty member for the New York City Public School System.

A native of Elgin, Illinois and proud first generation Mexican-American, Christian Sosa started dance at the age of 15 during High School in the style of Hip-Hop. He later expanded his knowledge and trained in various Latin styles such as Salsa, Bachata, & Cumbia after becoming a student/faculty member of Ivangel Dance Studio (Elgin, IL) and broadening his training in classical styles such as Jazz, Ballet & Contemporary after becoming a part of Urban Dance Concept (Elgin, IL). Christian has been a part of various dance companies as a member and in a directive role with Ascension Performing Arts (Chicago, IL), DLD Professional Dance Company (Downers Grove, IL), and CODA (Chicago, IL) as a company member.

Christian has performed and choreographed for various events around the Chicagoland area such as World of Dance: Chicago, Prelude Midwest Dance Competition, Elgin Short Film Festival, Elgin Fringe Festival, Nightmare on Chicago Street, Freespace Dance Festival, and has performed with world renowned artist OnSean Zion as a backup principal dancer in a Latin Cabaret. You can also catch Christian along with his partner, Karen Arreola, on tour with Activate Your Artistry Dance Convention as a faculty member.

Abigail Stachnik is a dance artist, choreographer, and educator based in Chicago where she performs with Symbiosis Arts and Still Inspired. She earned her BFA in Dance with Honors from the University of the Arts in 2015 and joined the Lou Conte Scholarship Program under the direction of Claire Bataille after moving to Chicago in 2016. Since then, Abigail has danced with various companies and projects including Moonwater Dance Project, MitchellMovement, Jessica Miller Tomlinson Choreography, Cocodaco Dance Project, Marlene Skog Dance, Chicago Repertory Ballet, and others.

Abigail’s choreographic endeavors have included creations for Movementum Dance Project, The LAUNCH Chicago, Trifecta Dance Collective, and Simantikos Dance Chicago. Her work has also been presented at Moonwater Dance Project’s Phases, Alluvion’s Emergence, Take Up Space dance festival, the College of DuPage’s Choreography Showcase, and Simantikos’ Choreo Kick-Of. Abigail loves to share her passion for dance through teaching. She has been a faculty member of Duet Dance Academy since 2017, and she directed the Moonwater Youth Company in 2021.

Originally from Stillwater, Minnesota, Ava began her dance training at St.Croix Ballet at the age of 3. She furthered her dance training at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Harid Conservatory, Classical Ballet Academy, and Indiana University. In 2020 Ava graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Conservatory at the University of Missouri Kansas City where she received her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography with an emphasis in Ballet and a minor in Communications. While at UMKC she performed works by George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Gregory Dawson, Cleo Parker Robinson, and Paula Weber. She has danced professionally with Kansas City Ballet, Wylliams Henry Contemporary Dance Company, and performed the role of Louise in Musical Theatre Heritage production of Carousel. Ava has danced internationally in Athens, Greece at the 51st World Congress on Dance Research. Ava is currently a company member with Trifecta Dance Collective, Joel Hall Dancers, and Still Inspired.

Katie started her dance training at Duet Dance Academy in South Elgin, IL. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a BFA in dance. During her time at Illinois, she performed in works by Tere O’Connor, Rebecca Nettl-Fiol, Jessica Pretty, and more. She was on the Illinettes Dance Team for four years and served as a captain. While on the team she had an opportunity to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Upon graduation, Katie moved back to Chicago where she danced with Inaside Chicago Dance for four seasons and held the title of Youth Company Director. She has spent the past 8 years as a coach at Barrington High School; 6 of which she’s been the Head coach of the program. She currently teaches on faculty at Duet Dance Academy. Katie has spent the last 12 years traveling, teaching, and choreographing for Universal Dance Association. In 2022, Katie started her newest dance endeavor by co-founding The LAUNCH Chicago, a professional dance company in the Chicagoland Area. The LAUNCH Chicago prioritizes artists’ well-being by cultivating a positive environment both in and outside of the rehearsal process.