Contact List/Teacher Bios

Arts in Motion: 734/222-6246 or amanda@artsinmotion.net

Amanda Stanger-Read, Director : 646-9417 - Toddler Toodaloo, Dance Stories, Beginnning Dance, Jazz, Modern, Adult Modern/Jazz, Ballroom
Amanda moved to MI from the East Coat after having received a BA in English and Dance from Columbia University in NYC where she was took classes in the techniques of Paul Taylor, Martha Grahahm., Merce Cunningham, Eric Hawkins, Jose Limon and Lynn Simonson. She earned her MFA in Dance from the UofM in 1994. Since then she has taught at UofM Flint, the AA YMCA, Jewish Community Center, Dance Gallery and in 2001 she opened her own dance studio, Arts in Motion, with her husband Scott Read. Amanda has taught ages 1-70 in creative movement, modern dance, and jazz. She recently participated in a teacher training workshop with Jacques D'Amboise and the National Dance Institute in NYC where she learned some new techniques to engage all levels and ages of students in dance, performance and learning. Her performance credits include: People Dancing (a member from 2005 - present), Sister Earth, Wild Swan Theatre, Ann Arbor Dance Works, and she has been featured in reconstructions of the works of Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp, Daniel Nagrin and Nijinski and in the works of Gay Delanghe, Jessica Fogel and Ruth Leney-Midkiff.

Scott A. Read, Director - Boys Dance, Ballroom
Scott has been a performer and dance teacher in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area for 30 yrs. He has studied ballet with Christopher Flynn and Judy Rice and the techniques of Martha Graham and Jose Limon in NYC and at the University of Michigan as well as the Arthur Murray Ballroom technique. Has has been featured in the works of Sophie Maslow (Folksay), Jose Limon, Murray Lewis, Bill T. Jones, Ann Carlson, Daniel Nagrin, Linda Spriggs, Vera Embree, Jessica Fogel, and Ruth Leney-Midkiff. He was a member of The Detroit Dance Collective. He has taught at Art Worlds and the University of Michigan and now teaches at his own studio, Art in Motion. In the summer of 2005 he trained with Jacques D'Amboise at the National Dance Institue in NYC where he had hands on experience teaching dance in the public schools.

Kerry Allan - Adult Modern/Jazz and Oboe
Kerry Allan graduated from the University of Georgia, where she studied modern dance technique and dance education under the direction of Bala Sarasvati and Rebecca Enghauser. She was a member of CORE, a pre-professional modern and ariel dance company, and has performed with other groups, including the Woodstock Ballet Theatre and People Dancing. She teaches intermediate and advanced levels of modern dance at Randazzo Studio and Dance Arts of Chelsea and has showcased her choreography at venues in Georgia and Michigan. Kerry is also an oboist and music tutor for the Saline schools music program.

Don Allan - Drum Circle, Percussion

Talia Bar Cohen - Dance Exercise, Jazz

Deena Baty - Saxophone

Jesse Dondero - Keyboard

Gloria Dunn - Piano, Voice

Doug Horn - Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone

Slavka Jelinkova - Ballet III, IV
Bohuslava Jel’nkov‡ (Slavka) danced for ten years as a soloist and ensemble member of the National Theatre Opera Ballet in Prague, Czech Republic, touring Italy, France, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, and Japan. Trained in the Russian Vaganova method of ballet at the Conservatory of Dance in Prague, she had the distinction of teaching ballet at her alma mater in 1998-99. Sl‡vka studied at the Royal Conservatory of Dance in The Hague, and the Academy of Modern Dance in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. She earned a degree in Dance Pedagogy from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Sl‡vka remains active as a dancer, a choreographer and teacher. Now a permanent resident of the United States Sl‡vka works in the Ann Arbor area, mainly at the Brighton Ballet School, the Flint School of Performing Arts, the Dance Gallery Studio in Ann Arbor, and in her native Czech Republic in the summers.

Lesley Kabza Criscenti - Dance/Art Stories
Lesley is a visual artist, dancer and educator who has dedicated her life to developing art and dance curriculum for children. She has degrees in Dance, Education and Creative Writing.

Andrea Klein - Ballet

Olivia Klein - Violin

Richard Knapp - Voice

Gayle Martin - Musical Theater, Hip Hop

Elke Meek - Ballet

Kyle Neely - Guitar

Kristen Nestor - Clarinet

Kathy Para - Pilates
Kathy trained as a pilates instructor under Khita Whyatt of Core Grace Studio in Ann Arbor. She teaches Khita's modifications of the original Pilates method providing the framework for an effective and safe whole body workout. Kathy's teaching approach focuses on the body/mind in an exercise experience that strengthens and tones the core muscles, the, upper and lower body, increases flexibility, and relaxes the mind.

Sarah Ruzzin - Dance Stories

Christina Seers Etter - Beginning Dance, Adult Modern/Jazz, Tap
Christina Sears Etter (MFA) has served as an Adjunct Faculty Member at University of Toledo, UM-Flint, Michigan State University, Towson State and Monroe County Community College. She earned degrees in Dance from the State University of New York and the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, and studied additionally at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London. Sears Etter's choreography has been produced extensively in NYC and its environs, as well as in Upstate NY, and has been presented in DC, Illinois, Maryland, Poland, and the UK. Sears Etter has danced in the works of Randy James, Whitley Setrakian, Lourdes Bastos and Jeanne Bostian. She has performed in the following companies: Katrina van Zee Dance, Kista Tucker Dance Company, Ann Arbor Dance Works and Terpsichore's Kitchen. Currently, Ms. Etter pursues independent projects and is Project Manager/ Contributing Artist for People Dancing, a not-for-profit contemporary dance company whose mandate includes education, outreach and interdisciplinary work. Sears Etter was awarded a Creative Artist Grant from the State of Michigan in 2002 and has presented choreographic and research projects at multiple international conferences.

Hui Fang Shen - Ballet I + II
Huifang Shen graduated from Shanghai Ballet School and performed in Shanghai Ballet Company in China before coming to the States. Following her performance career, she worked in Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Truman State University in Missouri, and built a rich experience in teaching ballet in different levels, as well as in choreography of ballet pieces.

Robin Wilson - Afro-Caribbean Dance
Known primarily as member of the UM modern dance faculty for over a decade, Wilson has been teaching Afro-Caribbean dance and other forms from the African Diaspora for almost twenty years. She has been a student of Baba Richard Gonzalez, Danis La Mora, Cutumba Ballet Folklorico, Pat Hall, among others.

Hannah Yelencich - Dance Stories