Alumni
Past Whidbey Island Dance Theatre company members who have continued on in the dance field:
Amy Berto (2002) graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance in May of 2006. While at TCU, Amy performed in dance works by TCU faculty and guest artists from all over the globe. A highlight was performing at the American College Dance Festival Southwest Region Gala performance. After graduating from college, Amy choreographed (and performed) for WIDT’s Nutcracker and Choreographer’s Showcase. She performed as a dancer and magician’s assistant, and was the dance captain for a magician in Baltimore, MD. After returning to the island, she had the wonderful opportunity to perform in the WICA Local Artist Series show, Island of Motion, Island of Fire. She is thrilled to have been recently hired as a company dancer for Redd Legg Dance, a modern dance company based out of Seattle, WA. |
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| Andrea Burr (2004) currently dances for two Seattle-based hip-hop groups: Cruz Control & Potion. She was a company dancer in Cruz Control’s show at the Moore Theatre. She performed at a Seahawks halftime show, and was a performer in The Monsters of Hip Hop show in L.A. She recently received the MSA Agency Award (which includes meeting and hopefully signing with MSA in L.A., dance headshots, 2 airplane tickets to L.A. and a scholarship to Millenium Dance Complex in L.A.). She was a backup dancer for the Vietnamese Music Awards, and participated in the Young Tanzsommer Austria Tour with the Westlake Dance Center Performing Group. She has received scholarships to Steps on Broadway in NYC, Millenium Dance Complex in L.A., Debbie Reynolds in L.A. and various convention scholarships from Monsters of Hip Hop, Company Dance, Hollywood Vibe, L.A. Elite, Encore, and West Coast Dance Explosion. | |
| Alexis Daly (2005) is a member of Washington State University’s Elite Dance Company. She is now a co-coordinator, in charge of auditions and judging. She has been choreographing and teaching for beginning and intermediate classes for the last two years. She has performed at the American College Dance Festival Association and choreographed a piece that was chosen to perform in an informal performance. She has been trying to dance as much as possible, and plans to work for a dance company or organization in the future with her soon-to-be-attained PR degree. | |
| Brittany Falso (2008) is currently attending Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA where she is majoring in dance. Life is amazing for Brittany and she’s very thankful for the dance training she received at Whidbey Island Dance Theatre. | |
| Ayesha Fuentes(1999) is one of the original members of Whidbey Dance Theatre, dancing with the group 8 years - from before WIDT’s incorporation in 1993 until 1999 when she graduated from SWHS. She graduated from Williams College in 2003 with a degree in fine art and philosophy. She has lived, worked, and performed as a visual artist, curator, and dancer/choreographer in Scotland, France, China, New York, and has recently returned to Seattle to do the same. | |
| Chelsea Matthews-Jensen (2006) is currently attending California State University, Long Beach. She is double majoring in Dance and Spanish and loving the warm weather of California. She has been thoroughly enjoying the dance department and will be performing this Fall in the 2008 Faculty Show. She plans to finish the dance department in 2011 at the latest with a BFA in Dance, then to study abroad in Spain and finish her BA in Spanish. Chelsea is very appreciative of the training she received from Island Dance and WIDT and would like to thank Charlene Brown, Asharaine Machala, Kyra Barnholdt, Dr. Susan Sandri, Susan Vanderwood, Daniel and Danielle Wilkins, Ayesha Fuentes, Andrea Binder, and all the other amazing teachers and choreographers she had the honor to work with during the early years of her career. | |
| Since Whidbey Dance Theatre, Katherine Riggs (2004) has continued her dance career at the University of Washington. For the past four years she has performed in the UW Dance Majors Concert, UW Faculty Concert, as well as the UW Dancing in the Digital Domain Concert. This past September Katherine and her troupe DAKA traveled to Ravenna, Italy after being selected to perform at Vetrina della Giovane Danza d'Autore Anticorpi XL, and this coming December the same piece will be performing at Velocity's Next Performance. Katherine also performed in Doug Elkin's Center My Heart in the University of Washington's Chamber Dance Company this October at Meany Hall. Dance continues to be a meaningful and important part of Katherine's life and she hopes to continue working with artists locally and abroad for as long as her feet will allow her. |
