Meet Our Dance & Pilates Instructors
Rachel Marie Brown, a versatile dancer/instructor and native of Indianapolis, has trained rigorously since age nine and has taught children, teens, and adults for more than twelve years! Brown grew up in a semi-competitive dance studio and obtained her BFA in Dance from Ball State University. In 2015, she moved to Saint Louis to dance with Common Thread Contemporary Dance Company and in 2020, she became a certified Gyrotonic Instructor. Rachel also offers bodywork services in the combination of Thai and Trigger Point Therapy, known under the label of Coaching the Body™, dances with Collective Motion (the studio’s non-profit dance company), and wears a variety of hats including muralist, administrator, instructor, and healer. She hopes to continue to burgeon her practice in helping others out of pain and finding more freedom in their bodies through movement!
Interview with Rachel
1. What is a personal and professional goal of yours?
Professionally, I want to continue growing my understanding of the power of the mind-body connection and the body's innate ability to heal itself. I would like to be a conduit in this process for those who need it. This journey is definitely also connected to self-discovery, so personally, I want to continue building awareness of my own body and what I need to improve my well-being, stay in optimal condition, and defy the laws of aging! muahaha
2. Who inspires you?
Both Mary Ellen (Central Studio owner) and my mom inspire me in many ways through their wise words and actions. One small example of this is their ability to look at the bright side of any situation, especially a tough one. At times, it can be hard not to get down when circumstances look grey or grim, but both of their abilities to approach what's in front of them with a lighthearted nature, encourages and reminds me that my immediate response sets the tone for how I'm going to handle it. This is only a small piece in the process of how I have learned to handle change, tough or not, but it is valuable.
3. What is one of your favorite places in the world that you have been to? Where do you dream of going?
I am grateful to have been to San Francisco twice. Once for an incredible five-week dance intensive, and once for a certification. The first time I went was especially exciting because I was like the big sister of the group of dancers who were all staying at the same residential hotel. I thought it was overall pretty dreamy. The city itself is culturally diverse - so many changes in scenery, despite the blanket of mostly-concrete! There are so many places I will never see in my lifetime that I wish I could, both within the US and overseas, but I think Thailand would be amazing because it also 'thais' into my professional goals and purpose! ha
Lisa LeMasters received her Pilates certification from Core Dynamics and has been teaching Pilates since 2005. She began studying Pilates in 1999 with Melissa at the suggestion of a ballet instructor as a way to strengthen her dancing. In 2003, Lisa replaced her weekly ballet lessons with Pilates due to chronic tendonitis. Her injuries began to heal immediately and she was hooked! Lisa now continues to study ballet and began to teach Pilates to share the benefits she experienced. Lisa is also a registered architect and company manager/performer for Pages to Pirouettes, a not-for-profit dance company dedicated to bringing the art of story ballet to children of all ages.
Emmis Small is a dancer with Resilience Dance Company and Ballet 314. She has previously worked with The Big Muddy Dance Company and Island Moving Company as a trainee. From ages 3 to 18 she trained with Newport Academy of Ballet, the affiliate school of IMC. In 2019, she received her BFA in Dance and BS in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she studied ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, ballroom, hip hop, and West African dance, under the direction of Thomas Vacanti. At UMass, she was the recipient of an annual talent scholarship and additionally was selected to premiere her thesis choreography at the American College Dance Association convention in the spring of 2019. Emily is certified in STOTT Pilates and has been teaching Pilates and dance since the summer of 2018. She currently teaches mat and reformer classes at Freeman Pilates in St. Louis. She teaches dance at Arts in Motion, Central Studio, Bridgeman Academy of Performing Arts, and Turning Pointe Academy of Dance. Her dance education has been supplemented by Salt Contemporary Dance, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, American Academy of Ballet, Urbanity Dance, Rioult Dance, Royal Academy of Dance, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Goucher College Summer Arts Institute. She’s had the pleasure of performing choreography by David Dorfman, Thomas Vacanti, Barbara Diewald, Jen Pollins, Paul Dennis, Betsi Graves, Jackie Nowicki, Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Rodger Blum, Staycee Pearl, Donna Salgado, Carolyn Dorfman, and Ted Thomas & Francis Ortiz.
Rachel Klaus is an aerial silks, lyra, and trapeze instructor.
Rita Foster is certified by ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association) as a personal trainer and nutritionist. She is a former competitive bodybuilder and marathon runner. She loves to travel and has done so extensively during her career in the airline industry. Rita is currently completing the comprehensive training program through Core Dynamics Pilates, in the Eve Gentry lineage. She views classical Pilates to be the ultimate form of exercise for total health and fitness.
Rita Chu (she/her) is an apprentice Pilates teacher through the Core Dynamics program. She has a master’s degree in economics from New York University, where she was also a member of the tennis team. Since 2014, Rita has dedicated herself to Pilates. She is thrilled to begin her next phase of teaching this transformative movement framework to other curious souls. As you move across the apparatuses and exercises, Rita-ism’s will abound as you work together shaping your Pilates practice. When Rita is not flowing at a Pilates studio, she is number crunching at her day job, paddling down (or sometimes up) an American river with her camera, and living life with family and friends.
Marcela Gómez Lugo was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She began her pre-professional ballet training at the age of 14 at Andanza School of Dance. In 2019, she graduated, with the highest academic honors, from Mercyhurst University with a BFA in Dance: with minors in Dance Pedagogy and Psychology. After moving to St Louis, MO, Marcela joined The Big Muddy Dance Company Trainee Program (2019-2020). Currently, Marcela is a 4th season company member with Ballet 314. She is also a guest choreographer and Executive Assistant for Ballet 314. Marcela’s passion for the performing arts, education, and writing has led her to design dance curriculums and be an educational dance consultant. It is her goal to be an accessible guide to the world of ballet.
Mary Ellen Bryan’s movement career began in 1987 studying ballet under the Royal Academy of Dance technique, which led her to a professional dance and choreographic career. In 1999, under the study of master teachers Michele Larson and Virginia Nicholas, she earned a Pilates Certification through Core Dynamics Pilates. Mary Ellen has trained with many great teachers who have played a part in building her unique and accessible teaching style which spans several movement modalities. Having always lived with a great passion for people and holistic health, she pursued a BFA in Dance at Arizona State and Athletic Training at Lindenwood University, as well as Thai Bodywork and Gyrotonic licensing. With access to various movement modalities, Mary Ellen has facilitated many clients with a wide variety of physical conditions from surgery rehabilitation to professional athletes to obtain strength and healing. Inspired by the desire to reach people in all walks of life, Mary Ellen opened Central Studio in October of 2012 and continues to develop programming with passion and purpose. Supported by the love of her husband, four amazing children, her parents, six siblings, and the wisdom of incredible teachers and many long-standing clients and friends, the journey continues together.
Interview with Mary Ellen
1. What is your personal philosophy about your business' success and what keeps you driven to maintain it?
Doing for others and loving unconditionally is the first thing that comes to mind regarding my business philosophy. Maintaining consistency and curiosity is also key to continued growth both personally and professionally.
Our outlet and modality at Central Studio is movement. I believe movement heals, it brings joy, it's an outlet for every emotion under the sun, it grounds you and allows for space to fly.
Walking with people through varying life experiences keeps me driven. Through the simultaneous joys and pains of life, I have witnessed firsthand the true gift movement is to one's life. Every hour is new and fresh when working with clients because every hour brings new energy, new challenges, and a new focus. Every day goes by quickly, is varied, and is actually very rewarding and fun!
2. Who is one of your inspirational role models and why?
I have so many role models who have inspired and guided me over the years. So many teachers, friends, personal connections, and famous people have lit up my path.
My mother is my number one role model. She is overflowing with wisdom and grace and embodies the essence of unconditional love and doing for others. She provided a true example of how to love others through work and how to find joy in the process. What a gift!
A famous role model would be Maya Angelou who also embodies wisdom. Maya Angelou's impactful poetry, songs, films, and writings demonstrated the right for strength and dignity for all people. One of my favorite calls to action Maya encouraged for us all is to "be a rainbow in someone else's clouds." She has inspired me to keep that concept front and center throughout my decision-making and action-taking.
3. What is one of your personal values in life and why?
Keeping Curiosity Alive. Curiosity encourages me to be a perpetual student of life. Curiosity keeps an internal spark alive towards fascinating pursuits but also helps guide me towards loving deeply and tenderly and really seeking to know someone, respect someone, and truly value who another is and where they come from which elevates our community recognizing that together we are better.
Tambra Galarnyk finds joy in sharing her enthusiasm for movement with others. When she entered the fitness community 20+ years ago she knew she had found her calling. Certified as a personal trainer through NASM with an additional certificate in Applied Functional Science through Gray Institute, Tambra is a specialized trainer with the skill set to work with a wide range of clients with varying needs. Recognizing both personally and professionally the healing benefits of The Pilates Method, Tambra became certified through the Core Dynamics training program in 2018.
Her goal is to facilitate efficient movement through the focuses of mobility, stability, and strength, which is the foundation of Tambra’s approach; she assesses clients in each capacity and develops a plan to improve limitations. By building relationships, studying human movement, and helping clients move more efficiently, Tambra gains great satisfaction from her work.
Interview with Tambra
1. Who is one of your role models and why?
My role model is a close friend who lives her life with abandon. She is a professional, a mother of three children, an athlete, a good friend, a wife and daughter yet she finds time to be philanthropic, spontaneous, and joyful witnessing the good in others. Just say “YES” is her tag line and when I find I follow that rule I step out of my “should and could” and start living!
2. What’s one thing that solidified or changed the trajectory of your career?
One thing that solidified the directory of my career was the introduction to functional training. The body moves in 3 planes of motion and needs to be exercised in that fashion in order to train muscles to work synergistically.
3. Name one self-care habit that helps you unwind.
My self-care habit to unwind is riding my bike. The rhythmic motion, the breeze on my skin, legs pushing and heart-pumping frees my mind and fills my lungs so that I can exhale and prepare for what is yet to come!
Tayler Kinner is a freelance dancer in the St. Louis, MO area. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Advertising and Marketing Communications from Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri. While studying abroad in Hua Hin, Thailand, she studied classical Thai Khon dance under Pichet Klunchun.
Tayler has performed with Turn of Change Dance Collective, Smashworks Dance Collective, and Karlovsky & Company Dance in St. Louis.
In San Francisco, she has worked with Catherine Liu, RAWdance, Tim Rubel, and Alyssandra Wu, and was a company member of Tim Rubel Human Shakes and Alyssandra Katherine Dance Project.
Paige Walden-Johnson began dancing at four years old in Cincinnati, OH, and found her love for choreography and performance art at Webster University. In addition to the study of ballet, jazz, modern, tap, classical Thai Dance and improvisation that has taken her around the globe, she choreographed and performed in the dance film, To Cause a Dream, featured at Editions Futura gallery in Paris, produced and choreographed the pieces Embracing Contact and Finite/Infinte in the Saint Louis Fringe Festival, and performed with Karlovsky & Company Dance and Leverage Dance Theater. She is now the founder and executive director of CommUNITY Arts Festival, a festival that sets the stage to communicate, educate and heal the effects of Saint Louis violence.
Tammy Pryor As a breast cancer survivor, Tammy’s commitment to whole body health was the final step in treatment; the Pilates method was where she found the tools to achieve the mental and physical discipline required to fulfill this commitment. Following nine years of personal Pilates practice, Tammy wanted to further develop her understanding of the connections of mind, body, and spirit through the pursuit of Pilates excellence. Having a healthy appetite for discovery and being a lifelong learner, Tammy completed a 500-hour comprehensive Pilates certification program with Kevin Bowen of Core Dynamics Pilates in 2020. Upon successful completion of the Instructor Certification Program, she began working at Central Studio. Knowing on a personal level the impact Pilates has had on strengthening her ability to move, she is keen on sharing that knowledge with her clients; plus, teaching has always brought her great satisfaction. Combining her passion for Pilates and her love of teaching is the perfect marriage! She enjoys teaching the art of controlled movement to her clients with an emphasis on proper alignment and form. Introducing the healing power of movement and helping her clients explore the evolution that comes with a deeper connection to the mind and body is particularly gratifying to her. Tammy is married and has two grown children. Outside of her perpetual study of Pilates, she enjoys music, travel, and kayaking.
Interview with Tammy
1. What is one of your hidden hobbies - something that most people do not know about?
A hobby that I have had for many years that I never tire of is genealogy. The stories that I have uncovered about my ancestors often feeds into learning something new about history and geography, which I love.
2. What is something or who is something that has significantly shaped your life?
By the age of 17, I had spent more than half my life living overseas. Growing up among worlds as a third culture kid had its privileges and downside. The person I am today was significantly shaped by these experiences and I wouldn’t have changed it for a minute!
3. What is a piece of advice you'd give your younger self?
My mother always told me that everything would always fall into place. I found courage in knowing that even if I wasn’t sure about where I was headed, everything was going to be alright.
Laura Dunlop is a certified Pilates teacher, based at our Clayton studio. Try Jump Board or Pilates Equip 2 for a more challenging class!
ABBIE HINRICHS is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who is native to St. Louis, Missouri. She holds a BFA from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance where she was inspired to not only perform professionally but to collaborate and create with other artists. Abigail has the privilege of dancing professionally with Karlovsky & Company Dance, Ballet 314, and Central Studio’s non-profit, Collective Motion. She has been teaching dance for over 10 years; inspired by her youngest students under eight years old and her oldest students over 80 years old, Abigail continues to enjoy the spectrum of movers she encounters! Abigail completed her Pilates certification through the Core Dynamics Teacher Training program, under the mentorship of Mary Ellen Bryan and fell in love with the modality as a way to help clients discover and heal their bodies. She currently serves as Studio Manager in addition to teaching dance and Pilates. Abbie loves that Central Studio is a home for anyone to be inspired by movement no matter where they are on their movement journey. She looks forward to many more years here!
Interview with Abbie
1. What is a personal healthy routine/ritual you have that helps sustain your always-moving body?
Being kind and patient with my body! Movement in itself is healing even if it doesn't feel like a strengthening or stretching exercise.
2. What is the most favorite place you've traveled? Describe one memorable moment from that visit.
Cape Town, South Africa! Karlovsky & Company Dance was working with a company there. I'll never forget the night they took us out to one of their favorite restaurants. We ate and danced the whole night!
3. What do you enjoy about teaching adults? What do you enjoy about teaching children?
I love meeting and working with adults who have decided to try something totally new. Teaching with the CS Academy keeps me energized and on my toes! A teacher must always be ready to improvise with a group of twelve 4 year olds! :)
A native of South Carolina, Robert Poe has enjoyed a professional dancing career of 18 years. He has performed with classical and contemporary dance companies across the Southeast and Midwest. Since coming to Saint Louis in 2011, he has been a founding member of The Big Muddy Dance Company, dancer with the St. Louis Ballet, and performer with Opera Theater St. Louis and The Winter Opera. In February 2019, Robert became co-founder and co-director of Ballet 314 - a ballet company focused on celebrating local talent in Saint Louis. Through this organization, he has re-written the classic story of The Nutcracker to highlight Saint Louis' history in his co-authored children's book, The Nutcracker and the 1904 World's Fair, which has become its own production. He has also choreographed his first full-length ballet, Ragtime the American Experience, inspired by E. L. Doctoro's novel. Robert teaches varying dance styles and choreographs for multiple studios, universities, and dance companies in the Saint Louis area, including Central Studio.
Interview with Robert
Who got you into dancing?
My father took lessons from my town's most prolific dance instructor who happened to be a friend of the family. I started with tap dancing at age four and was hooked from the beginning.
What do you love about ballet?
Ballet has brought many valuable assets to my life including self discipline, physical health, mindfulness, artistry, musical awareness, and nutritional knowledge. What keeps me coming back to ballet is the relationship between expression with the body and responding to music.
Because ballet is so rigorous and demanding on the body, one of my focuses when teaching it is proper alignment and positioning for the body's safety. It's very easy to injure yourself and I take pride in arming my students with knowledge of how to safely use their bodies to express themselves.
What other dance styles influence your teaching?
When I was in my teens I discovered modern dance. I thought it was going to hinder my ballet training at first but I realized that it helped me find a connection with the floor. Ballet is, aesthetically, a very lifted and elevated dance style but to find that, one must have a deep relationship with the ground. Modern dance helped me find that.
How do you hope to influence the dance community here?
Concert dance has a lot of preconceived notions about it, especially classical ballet. It has not been a welcoming or inclusive art form from the beginning and it is only just now taking baby steps to recognize that fact. With my teaching and my ballet company, Ballet 314, I am working to redefine what ballet is, what it means, and how it treats its participants. Students of any age or level deserve to have excellent training regardless of their physical abilities. Dancers of any style or body type deserve to be seen for their gifts and passion and deserve respect, period.
Liese Rugan played competitive volleyball in high school and college, but walked away with a lot of injuries. She discovered Pilates in 2004 and quickly cured her pain and strengthened her body. Motivated by her own success, she began to study Pilates. In 2006, she studied under Master Teacher Ellie Herman in Brooklyn, NY and was comprehensively certified. For the last 16 years Liese has coached a wide range of clients in Brooklyn NY and Napa, CA. Additionally, she ran a Pilates program to high school students at the Brooklyn Latin School in Brooklyn and worked with Wine Cellar specialists in Napa. She specializes in post-surgery rehab, seniors, pre- and post-natal, teens, triathletes, postural alignment issues, strength and flexibility issues, and general fitness for healthy active adults.
Amy Weigel discovered Pilates in 1999 and was extremely intrigued by the method because it was different from any form of exercise she had tried before. The balance created in the body and the strong mind/body aspect still continues to challenge and interest her. After taking lessons for four years, Amy had the opportunity to enroll in the Pilates Unlimited teaching training program and decided to pursue it initially to obtain a greater understanding about the Pilates method. She completed her certification in 2005 and found that she enjoyed teaching and sharing the Pilates method with others. Amy also has a degree in Accounting and an MBA and currently divides her time between teaching Pilates and working in the healthcare industry.
Bridiga Rusconi grew up in Switzerland and moved to the US for work in 2014. Two years ago, on her journey to find a movement type that would support, and let her connect with her hypermobile body she discovered Pilates. Her scientific background led her to dig deeper into the theory of Pilates and she decided to pursue the Pilates Teacher Training through Core Dynamics Pilates. After completing the first part of her training she is now eager to continue to grow as a student and teacher of Pilates while continuing to work as a scientist and educator. Her goal as a teacher is to help her clients connect with their bodies and develop strength and movement that is supportive of their daily life activities. You will see her bike back and forth from the Central West to teach, or take a class at our Pershing Studio location.
Central Studio Pilates & Dance Teachers
ADULT DANCE & FITNESS
Rachel Brown
Mary Ellen Bryan
Abbie Hinrichs
Lynnette Khoo-Summers
Robert Poe
Emmi Small
Lily Cong
PILATES
Mary Ellen Bryan
Laura Dunlop
Tambra Galarnyk
Abbie Hinrichs
Amy Layton
Lisa LeMasters
Lisa Moore
Tamara Pryor
Liese Ruga
Amy Wiegel
GYROTONIC®
Rachel Brown
Mary Ellen Bryan
THAI BODYWORK
Rachel Brown
Mary Ellen Bryan
CENTRAL STUDIO ACADEMY
Abbie Hinrichs - Kinderdance, Tippy Toes + Tapping Feet, Ballet
Tayler Kinner - Minibop Hip Hop + Tumbling, Contemporary, Performance Techniques, Hip Hop
Robert Poe - Ballet
Megan Reed - Aerial Silks
Emmi Small - Ballet, Pointe
Paige Walden-Johnson - Kinders in Motion, Kinderdance, Tippy Toes + Tapping Feet, Tap, Ballet
Meet Our Administrative Team
MARY ELLEN BRYAN | Owner
Mary Ellen Bryan's movement career began in 1987 studying ballet under the Royal Academy of Dance technique, which led her to a professional dance and choreographic career. In 1999, under the study of master teachers Michele Larson and Virginia Nicholas, she earned a Pilates Certification through Core Dynamics Pilates. Mary Ellen has trained with many great teachers who have played a part in building her unique and accessible teaching style which spans several movement modalities. Having always lived with a great passion for people and holistic health, she pursued a BFA in Dance at Arizona State and Athletic Training at Lindenwood University, as well as Thai Bodywork and GYROTONIC® licensing. With access to various movement modalities, Mary Ellen has facilitated many clients with a wide variety of physical conditions from surgery rehabilitation to professional athletes to obtain strength and healing. Inspired by the desire to reach people in all walks of life, Mary Ellen opened Central Studio in October of 2012 and continues to develop programming with passion and purpose. Supported by the love of her husband, four amazing children, her parents, six siblings, and the wisdom of incredible teachers and many long-standing clients and friends, the journey continues together.
Interview with Mary Ellen
1. What is your personal philosophy about your business' success and what keeps you driven to maintain it?
Doing for others and loving unconditionally is the first thing that comes to mind regarding my business philosophy. Maintaining consistency and curiosity is also key to continued growth both personally and professionally.
Our outlet and modality at Central Studio is movement. I believe movement heals, it brings joy, it's an outlet for every emotion under the sun, it grounds you and allows for space to fly.
Walking with people through varying life experiences keeps me driven. Through the simultaneous joys and pains of life, I have witnessed firsthand the true gift movement is to one's life. Every hour is new and fresh when working with clients because every hour brings new energy, new challenges, and a new focus. Every day goes by quickly, is varied, and is actually very rewarding and fun!
2. Who is one of your inspirational role models and why?
I have so many role models who have inspired and guided me over the years. So many teachers, friends, personal connections, and famous people have lit up my path.
My mother is my number one role model. She is overflowing with wisdom and grace and embodies the essence of unconditional love and doing for others. She provided a true example of how to love others through work and how to find joy in the process. What a gift!
A famous role model would be Maya Angelou who also embodies wisdom. Maya Angelou's impactful poetry, songs, films, and writings demonstrated the right for strength and dignity for all people. One of my favorite calls to action Maya encouraged for us all is to "be a rainbow in someone else's clouds." She has inspired me to keep that concept front and center throughout my decision-making and action-taking.
3. What is one of your personal values in life and why?
Keeping Curiosity Alive. Curiosity encourages me to be a perpetual student of life. Curiosity keeps an internal spark alive towards fascinating pursuits but also helps guide me towards loving deeply and tenderly and really seeking to know someone, respect someone, and truly value who another is and where they come from which elevates our community recognizing that together we are better.
ABBIE HINRICHS | Studio Manager
Abbie Hinrichs is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who is native to St. Louis, Missouri. She holds a BFA from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance where she was inspired to not only perform professionally but to collaborate and create with other artists. Abigail has the privilege of dancing professionally with Karlovsky & Company Dance, Ballet 314, and Central Studio’s non-profit, Collective Motion. She has been teaching dance for over 10 years; inspired by her youngest students under eight years old and her oldest students over 80 years old, Abigail continues to enjoy the spectrum of movers she encounters! Abigail completed her Pilates certification through the Core Dynamics Teacher Training program, under the mentorship of Mary Ellen Bryan and fell in love with the modality as a way to help clients discover and heal their bodies. She currently serves as Studio Manager in addition to teaching dance and Pilates. Abbie loves that Central Studio is a home for anyone to be inspired by movement no matter where they are on their movement journey. She looks forward to many more years here!
Interview with Abbie
1. What is a personal healthy routine/ritual you have that helps sustain your always-moving body?
Being kind and patient with my body! Movement in itself is healing even if it doesn't feel like a strengthening or stretching exercise.
2. What is the most favorite place you've traveled? Describe one memorable moment from that visit.
Cape Town, South Africa! Karlovsky & Company Dance was working with a company there. I'll never forget the night they took us out to one of their favorite restaurants. We ate and danced the whole night!
3. What do you enjoy about teaching adults? What do you enjoy about teaching children?
I love meeting and working with adults who have decided to try something totally new. Teaching with the CS Academy keeps me energized and on my toes! A teacher must always be ready to improvise with a group of twelve 4 year olds! :)
NICOLE BRYAN | Hospitality
Nichole has worked at Central Studio in hospitality for six years and has been around since its founding in 2012! Stemming from a family of performing artists, she spent her early years watching her mom, the studio owner, teach Ballet and Pilates classes all day at her in-home studio, which fostered her interest in dance. She danced in the studio’s youth program through high school and continued to stay connected through college; now, clients often see her at the front desk checking people in for classes or answering the phone. She also assists in the growth of new programming, marketing, and studio expansions. One of her favorite roles at the studio is putting together studio productions for backstage crew and stage management. Nichole has been involved in the production of Scarlett's Journey Home (the trilogy), Somewhere In a Crowded Room, In Courageous Form, Rays of Resilience, and In Loving Form. She is currently pursuing a degree in Social Work at Saint Louis University in hopes to work with fostered and homeless youth someday. She is passionate about music and dance and loves the intersection of social work and the arts.
1. Who is one of your role models and why?
A role model of mine is my mother. She has always pursued her dreams and I have been able to watch them come to life. She is authentically herself and I hope to have the drive she displays every day.
2. What are two big goals for your life (one personal, one professional)? Can you go into a bit of detail about them?
A goal of mine is to travel to all 7 continents. I love traveling and learning about different cultures. I am amazed at the diversity our world has to offer and would love to experience as much as I can. I want to visit as many countries as possible, but if I can at least experience the 7 continents (or 6, since Antarctica might not be much fun) I would have traveled the world!
A big professional goal of mine is to give a Ted Talk. I am not sure what it will be about, or how I will have the courage to give a public speech, but I am always inspired by Ted Talks and love what people bring to the table. I hope to become an expert in whatever field I end up in and will be able to bring something novel enough to give a Ted Talk.
3. What is one thing you're passionate about?
I am passionate about community. It seems like a broad term, but I truly believe in the power of community and what it can do for everyone. I believe community is a place where people find themselves, get empowerment, and empower each other. My wish is for everyone to have a strong place to go when they need help and to help others. I am committed to my community and have loved the way I have grown through that. I hope to empower others to have their communities strengthened through social work.
PAIGE WALDEN-JOHNSON | CS Academy Director
PAIGE WALDEN-JOHNSON began dancing at four years old in Cincinnati, OH, and found her love for choreography and performance art at Webster University. In addition to the study of ballet, jazz, modern, tap, classical Thai Dance and improvisation that has taken her around the globe, she choreographed and performed in the dance film, To Cause a Dream, featured at Editions Futura gallery in Paris, produced and choreographed the pieces Embracing Contact and Finite/Infinte in the Saint Louis Fringe Festival, and performed with Karlovsky & Company Dance and Leverage Dance Theater. She is now the founder and executive director of CommUNITY Arts Festival, a festival that sets the stage to communicate, educate and heal the effects of Saint Louis violence.