South Dayton School of Dance

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Sean Ferguson, Week 4 Jazz

Sean Ferguson (Bellbrook, Ohio) graduated with his BFA in Dance Performance from Wright State University in 2023. While at WSU, he worked with guest choreographers DCDC resident choreographer, Elizabeth Ramsey, Stewart/Owen Dance and Kiki Lewis. Sean was rehearsal assistant for Teressa McWilliams work “Exits”. His dance studies include Water Street Dance Festival in 2021. In 2020, he was a member of Dayton Contemporary’s Second Company, DCDC2. During his tenure in DCDC2, he performed in mainstage performances “Exposure” “Crossroads” and “In Freedom”. He performed as a guest artist with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in Tally Beatty’s “Stack Up.” at the Victoria Theatre in 2024. Sean was a member of DCDC for their 24-25 season.

📸: Scott Robbins | Geek with a Lens

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Willa Marks, Week 4 Intermediate Modern

Willa Marks is a versatile dance artist, educator, and certified Pilates instructor originally from Mansfield, Ohio. She began her training at the Richland Academy of the Arts, studying ballet, modern, jazz, and tap under Marden Ramos and Sarah Horrigan-Ramos, and earned her BFA in Dance from Wright State University in 2021.

During her undergraduate studies, Willa performed with Dayton Ballet’s Second Company (2017–2018) and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Second Company (2018–2020). After graduating, she joined Dayton Contemporary Dance Company as an Apprentice (JB Fellow), performing from 2021 to 2024 in cities including Chicago, New York City, and Pittsburgh, as well as throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Willa has also performed with Dayton Dance Initiative, completed a performance internship with Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, trained with Houston Contemporary Dance Company during its 2024 Summer Intensive, and most recently was a company member with InPulse Dance Company for their first season.

Alongside her performance career, Willa enjoys sharing her love of movement through teaching. She currently teaches Ballet at Sinclair Community College and Pilates at Club Pilates. She is passionate about creating a positive, engaging classroom where students feel encouraged to explore, grow, and have fun while developing their artistry and confidence.

PRE-PROFESSIONAL SUMMER INTENSIVE
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Heather Cagle, Week 4 Advanced Modern

Heather Cagle is a dancer, storyteller, and space-holder from Toledo, Ohio. She was raised in a neighborhood where resilience, care, and connection were woven into everyday life. Surrounded by neighbors and friends who showed up with generosity and heart, especially during times of loss, Heather learned early on that love has a way of carrying us through. Movement became her language, and dance her way of expressing what lived beyond words.

Heather’s dance journey began in high school with her formal training truly taking shape in college, guided by determination and a deep commitment to growth. That journey has allowed her to perform internationally, nationally, and within her local community, leading her to dance with four professional companies; most recently Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, which holds a special place in her artistic journey. She carries with her the guidance of mentor and friend, Shonna Hickman-Matlock (“Mama Shonna”), whose words continue to anchor her path: Dare to Fail.

Shapes by these experiences, Heather is devoted to creating spaces where communication, creativity, and community can live freely. Her work invites not only dancers, but artists and humans of all kinds, to connect - through music, movement, and shared humanity.

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Dana Sheldon, Week 4 Ballet

Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Dana Sheldon grew up dancing at the South Dayton School of Dance, where she was trained in classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz, tap, and hip hop. In spring 2023, she graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in Dance, Minor in Arts Entrepreneurship, and a Pilates Mat Teacher Certification.

After graduation, Dana joined Madison Ballet as an apprentice for the 23/24 season and was recently promoted to company artist in December 2024. At Madison Ballet, she has had many wonderful performance opportunities in both classical and contemporary works. Some of her favorites include the 1st Pas de Deux in Ja’ Malik’s “Fragments of Hope”, the principal female in Ja’ Malik’s “Agapé”, and Richard Walter’s duet “Armistice”.

In addition to dancing and spending time with her cat, Little One, Dana also loves to teach and has a passion for nurturing the young dancers of tomorrow. She is beyond excited and so grateful to be returning home this summer to teach at SDSD!

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Beth Wright, Week 3 Music for the Dancer

Beth Wright is a dancer, choreographer, and educator of dance. A former member of the Dayton favorite Rhythm in Shoes, she has performed and taught dancers of all ages nationwide. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Beth served as faculty at Pittsburgh’s Civic Light Opera Academy from 2003-2010. Beth is currently a preschool & elementary teaching artist with Dayton’s Muse Machine, where she conducts artist residencies in elementary schools allowing students to view and experience state-mandated curriculum through dance and choreography. In the summer months she loves teaching dance and movement workshops to children at local library branches through Dayton Metro Library. She is actively working on projects with Puddingstone Project and can occasionally be seen clogging with local bands.

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Marya Spring-Cordes, Week 3 Acting for the Dancer

Marya Spring Cordes has made a career of a blissful blend of teaching, directing, and performing. She is Head of the BFA Acting emphasis in Wright State University’s Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures. In New York, Marya served as Co-Founder and Artistic Director for a new play & musical staged reading festival called The Puzzle which produced work for seven seasons with a play from each of the seasons selected for publication. Marya has taught Acting and Movement for the Actor on the collegiate and high school levels for a decade and ½ and is the founding Acting and Alexander Technique Instructor for Wright State University’s MAPP (Musical Theatre/Acting Preparatory Program for ages 13-18). Marya has performed and directed regionally in theatres across the country. She has been seen performing locally with The Human Race Theatre Company's Loft Theatre, Dayton Opera/Victoria Theatre Association at the Victoria Theatre, and Short North Stage (Columbus) at the Garden Theatre. She is a proud Resident Artist at The Human Race Theatre Company. Marya serves on the Board of Alexander Technique International (ATI) and is a certified teaching member. She also is a longstanding, active member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). Marya holds her Masters of Fine Arts in Directing from the John Wells School of Directing at Carnegie Mellon University.

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DeShona Pepper-Robertson, Week 3 Modern

DeShona Pepper Robertson began her dance training in ballet technique classes at the Ruth Page Foundation and at Barat College Conservatory of DePaul University in Chicago, IL, her hometown. During her ongoing professional development with Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Chicago, IL, Karamu House, Cleveland, OH and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York, NY, DeShona saw Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) perform the evening-length, holiday ballet Black Nativity. This event foreshadowed her later audition for the company after which she was hired in 1992. DCDC proved to be an artistic match for DeShona—a place where creativity in the local studio was encouraged by choreographers and interpretation on world stages was valued by dancers and audiences alike. Robertson emerged as a principal dancer for DCDC where her performance career spanned twelve years. She received training from and was cast in ballets by some of the most famous choreographers and teachers in the field: Talley Beatty, Maria Benitez, Merce Cunningham, Ronald K. Brown, Bill T. Jones, Bebe Miller, Anna Sokolow, James Truitte, Doug Varone, Kevin Ward, Dwight Rhoden, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Terence M. Greene to name a few. She performed the dances of these historic and contemporary figures in theaters across the United States including the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, the Joyce Theatre, New York, NY, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the American Dance Festival and in Bermuda, France, Germany, Russia and Poland. In 1998, she received the Josie award created by DCDC founder, the late Jeraldyne Blunden, and she is a past recipient of a Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District Individual Artist Fellowship in Performance and later in Choreography.
Since 2004, Robertson currently holds the position of Dance Director at Stivers School for the Arts (2013 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Arts Education in Ohio). She has developed a curriculum that requires academic fortitude and forms good dancers at a young age to build a base for hers and others’ choreography. DeShona has used her phenomenal experience in excellence at DCDC as a platform for her dance program. Mrs. Robertson has received the Excellence in Teaching Award at Stivers and is part of the innovative and composing team for Ohio State Standards in Dance Curriculum. Robertson holds a Master’s in Education from Antioch University Midwest, a BFA degree in Dance, and a BA in Business Marketing from Barat College Conservatory of DePaul. She has taken additional graduate classes at the University of Dayton and The Ohio State University.

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Belle Urben, Week 3 Ballet

Belle Urben is originally from Geneva, Illinois-west of Chicago. She began her training at State Street Dance in her home town and Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago. She furthered her training with Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet. Belle spent two years in the second company of Milwaukee Ballet, directed by Rolando Yanes, where she was featured in original works by Tania Vergara Pérez and Garrett Glassman. She was also featured in Michael Pink’s Candide, performed in the world premiere of Michael Pink’s Beauty and the Beast, as well as in La Sylphide, set by Dinna Bjorn. Belle danced with Ballet Arkansas for four years. While dancing with Ballet Arkansas she was featured in Ma cong’s Calling and performed Yellow Girl in Gerald Arpino’s Confetti. Belle performed in the world premiere of Michael Fothergill’s Dracula. She also performed the role of Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker and Kitri in Don Quixote Act 3 Suite. She danced with Canyon Concert Ballet under Michael Pappalardo for one season before joining Dayton Ballet for the 2023/24 season.

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Maddy Hoy, Week 2 Pilates & Country Line Dancing

Maddy Hoy is a proud SDSD/SDDT alumna who graduated from Springboro High School in 2020. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Arizona in 2023 before moving to Nashville to begin her professional career with the Nashville Ballet. Today, Maddy is the Lead Instructor at JETSET Pilates and also teaches line dancing in downtown Nashville. She is thrilled to return to SDDT and share her unique blend of dance, movement, and teaching experience with the next generation of dancers.

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Angela Kahle, Week 2 Jazz

Angela Kahle played the role of Phyllis in the Broadway and First National Tour Productions of “42nd Street,” 2001 Tony Award Winner for Best Revival of a Musical. She also played the role of Rita in “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” directed by the Tony Award winning Walter Bobbie and choreographed by the Tony Award nominated Randy Skinner. Her proudest achievement has been accomplishing her childhood dream, kicking her legs as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall and across the country for ten seasons. As a Rockette, she performed multiple times in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as well as countless other TV performances, radio interviews, print work and commercials. She was a featured vocalist on the original sound recording, “The Radio City Rockettes Sing Your Christmas Favorites.” Angela graduated cm laude from Wright State University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree as a dance major. Angela is also an accomplished teacher and choreographer, with over 25 years experience teaching a variety of styles including tap, jazz, musical theater, precision and ballet. She has been an adjunct professor at Wright State University and Ohio Northern University, where she choreographed the musical “Nine”. She has also directed and/or choreographed numerous musicals including, “The Drowsy Chaperone”, “Cabaret”, “Chicago”, “A Chorus Line”, “Annie, Jr”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Joseph and...Dreamcoat”, “The Music Man,” “Bye, Bye, Birdie,” and “The Jungle Book”. She has also taught and choreographed across the country for various studios and institutions.