Guest Faculty Spring 2025

BRandon Coleman

Brandon Coleman is an NYC-based teacher, choreographer, and performer, from Katy, TX. Formerly a member of Visceral Dance Chicago, Brandon has also worked with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago as a guest artist for their 2017 Summer Series. Since moving to NYC in 2017, Brandon has danced with KEIGWIN + COMPANY, the Metropolitan Opera ballet, VIM VIGOR Dance Company. Most recently, Brandon was a performer and Rehearsal Director for Punchdrunk's SLEEP NO MORE in NYC.

In 2020, Brandon began producing his own work including a short dance film, "Drift, with choreographer Florian Lochner of FLOCK and a new immersive work, "Broken Record", with Kayla Farrish, which premiered on The Little Island in NYC in August 2021. His recent dance film, "ROLLBACK" premiered in May 2023 as a part of the Future Dance Festival presented by 92NY Harkness Mainstage Series. He has been commissioned to create pieces for Houston Contemporary Dance Company, the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and universities across the country.

He is the host of Breaking the Wall Podcast which posts weekly episodes to provide tools and advice for early-career and pre-professional dancers. He is currently on faculty at Gibney Dance and Peridance in NYC. Brandon is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where he received his BFA in Dance and BA in Communication with a minor in Arts Administration. IG @itsbrandoncoleman

drew geck

Drew Geck is a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher specializing in tap dance. Growing up in the twin cities, Drew danced at Metro Dance Center and trained in a variety of styles. Currently, Drew is a performer, dance captain and assistant director for Ricci Milan’s “Rhythm Street Movement,” a National act that performs original shows with tap dancers, beatboxers and a live band. Drew has also  nationally toured and performed with “Rhythmic Circus” a high energy show incorporating tap dance and live music. Other highlighted professional performances include: the NFL Super Bowl LII, “Cabarave” a Minneapolis based theater company, Heatbox’s “Hilarious and Epically Legendary” Live Show and “Twin Cities Tap Festival Concert.”  Drew is an award winning choreographer and a judge for National Dance Competitions. A little fun fact about Drew; she is an alumni of the University of St. Thomas Dance Team with whom she won back to back National Champion Titles at the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College National Competition. Drew loves to share her passion for all things dance.

hector guerrero

Hector Guerrero has traveled throughout the world as a Director, Choreographer, Performer and Master Teacher working extensively in film, television, theatre and opera.  Hector is one of the few approved by the Robbins Rights Trust to reproduce Jerome Robbins’  West Side Story which he has set throughout the United States, China and for the Shakespeare Festival.  In New York City, he choreographed Gimme a Break! (Transport Group) and Concert of Excellence (Lincoln Center).  At the Hollywood Bowl, he was the Assistant Choreographer for their production of A CHORUS LINE.  Other Director/ Choreographer credits include INTERNATIONAL: Big Fish (China Premiere), Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone, Hair.  REGIONAL: A Chorus Line, Bye Bye Birdie, Evita, 42nd Street, In the Heights, My Fair Lady, Oliver, Singin’ in the Rain, White Christmas.  TELEVISION: Live with Regis and Kelly.  COMMERCIALS: Scope (with Ryan Seacrest).  OPERA: Carmen.

As a Performer, Hector’s credits include BROADWAY/TOURS: Hal Prince’s Evita, Gower Champion’s 42nd Street, Chino in Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story.  REGIONAL: Carl in Bells Are Ringing, A Chorus Line (Paul, Mark, Larry with Bebe Neuwirth), Mame (with Jo Anne Worley), No No Nanette (with Susan Egan).  CONCERTS/REVIEWS: Broadway Bares (with Jane Krakowski), Gypsy Awards (with Donna McKechnie), Love is All That Matters (with Christina Applegate), Revelations (with Jasmine Guy).  FILM: Cool as Ice.  TELEVISION: Backstreet Boys in Concert, Étoile, Little America, Penny Dreadful, Physical.  COMMERCIALS: Crest. MUSIC VIDEOS: Björk, Foo-Fighters, Ice-T.  OPERA: Wonderful Town (with Faith Prince and Nikki M James).

Hector holds an AA in Drafting and Design, a BA in Child Development and a Teaching Credential in Elementary Education.  Currently, he is a Professor at UCLA and a Teaching Artist for the Disney Company.  Teaching credits include: American Musical and Dramatic Academy (Hollywood), American Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYC), Broadway Dance Center, 92nd Street Y, Ballet Academy East.  His students include: Wendi McLendon-Covey (Joyce in St Denis Medical for NBC), Fernando Carsa (Memo in Acapulco for Apple TV), Olly Sholotan (Carlton in Bel Air for Peacock), Joshua Strickland (Broadway Lead in Tarzan), Nicolas Womack (Twig in Bring It On on Broadway), Shanice Williams (Dorothy in The Wiz Live for NBC), Sheryl Murrakami (Beyoncé’s Choreographer).  

Please go to http://www.hectorguerrerodance.com or Instagram @hectorguerrerodance for more information.

lisa Nevada

lisa nevada’s choreographies, performance, and teaching are an homage to the generosity & wisdom of our earth mother. Dedicating her life to dance, lisa has created land-based choreographies and teaching methodologies on the Mesas, in the Bosque, within the Mountains, and amidst the Volcanoes in her homelands of New México where she spent most of her life. lisa landed in Brooklyn in 2019 where she thrives as a dance and teaching artist. In Lenapehoking (NYC) and beyond, she facilitates movement experiences and performs dances that engage people in the observation of ecosystems and our human interactions to ignite kinship with mama earth, centered on gratitude. She has devised and instructed for the land, the concert stage and numerous “non-traditional” venues in New México, New York, Montréal, Vermont, South Dakota, Colorado, and Kansas. She choreographs for experimental theatre & musicals and is continuously mining her personal creations and offerings. 

Community and community-building is essential to lisa. Teaching dance classes with folks of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds nourishes these community relationships, reminding her of the positive impact human beings may have on one another and the land. lisa is fortunate to teach with The Taylor School of The Paul Taylor Dance Foundation under Carolyn Adams and is a participant of MAQAHATINE, a Montréal-based gathering space for First Nations and Indigenous artists instigated by Ivanie Aubin-Malo. She is a member of Radical Evolution’s Street Theatre Crew and has recently worked with artists such as Tanya Lukin Linklater, Ivanie Aubin-Malo, Cami’ Leonard, Tyler Rai, Rishauna Zumberg, Benjamin Viertel, and Jana Natya Manch (Janam).  

lisa is the Projects and Partnerships Coordinator and an Ensemble member with Dancing Legacy. Founded by sisters Carolyn Adams and Julie Adams Strandberg, Dancing Legacy is a performing and teaching organization committed to enabling individuals to appreciate and participate in the rich dance heritage of the United States. 

She received her MFA in Dance from the University of New Mexico with concentrations in land-based choreography and performance, embodied dance history, and teaching. In 2015 SHIFT | DANCE was founded and launched by Jacqueline García, Kelsey Paschich, and lisa nevada. The trio also instigated SHIFT DANCE | FESTIVAL, one of the only annual dance festivals in Albuquerque, NM to present contemporary, research-based, and experimental dance forms from artists across the nation.

As an independent artist, lisa has performed the choreography of Kristy Janvier, Jacqueline M. García, Kelsey Paschich, Erika Pujič, Tanya Lukin Linklater, Donna Jewell, Rishauna Zumberg, Danny Grossman, David Parsons, Robert Battle, Donald McKayle, Jose Limón, Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, Bill Evans, Vladimir Conde Reche, Jessica Miller-Tomlinson, among others. From 2006-2017 lisa was a core member of Ecotone Physical Theatre, a performance ensemble with a mission to mine the veins of improvisation: sonic, kinesthetic, textual, visual.

lisanevada.com

Ballet

Stephanie Powell

Stephanie Powell is a tenured Professor of Dance at Long Beach City College in Southern California. Her dance training began with Cindy Trueblood at Civic Dance Center in Bakersfield, California. Her dance studies continued on scholarship with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Washington and the School of American Ballet in New York City. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Sociology and Education, and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance with distinction from the University of California, Irvine, as a Chancellor’s Fellow. 

While attending University of California, Berkeley her professional dance career started with the Oakland Ballet Company, under the direction of Ronn Guidi.  She continued by pursuing a diverse dance career with San Francisco Opera, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Donald Byrd the Group, Contemporary West Dance Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ms. Powell was a performer in the Los Angeles Pantages Theater production of the Broadway show Lion King, where she danced featured principal roles as well as performed as a principal singer and actress in the roles of Shenzi and Sarabi. Additionally, Powell has modeled internationally for Redken and Trevor Sorbie of the UK. She has appeared on television on the Grammy’s, FabLife, the Jay Leno Show, and has danced commercially for artists such as MC Hammer, Kenny G, Janet Jackson, and Beyonce Knowles-Carter.

As a college professor for two decades, she has developed course curriculum and has taught courses in academia that include classical Ballet, contemporary Ballet, Pointe, Modern Dance, Jazz, Pilates,Turns, Zumba, Dance Conditioning, Stretch and Relaxation, Dance Appreciation, Choreography, Composition, Dance History, Hip Hop Dance History and Performance Workshop. She is a certified instructor of the New York City Ballet Workout, Zumba, Qiginition and (BASI) Body Arts and Science International Pilates, with a Dance Specialization. Powell has also taught as a part-time instructor at the University of California, Irvine in Ballet, Modern Dance and the Donald McKayle Etude Ensemble. She is currently the principal interpreteur of the choreographic works for the late Donald McKayle and stages his work for universities and dance companies around the world.

As a testament to her reputation and contributions, Powell is a recipient of the Long Beach Post Award for Best Teacher in the city of Long Beach, the Black Leadership Advancement Coalition Alumni Award and was a nominee for the “Woman of the Year” Award by the 54th Assembly District’s Assembly member, Bonnie Lowenthal. Powell has served as a volunteer for the NAACP and on a committee that helps organize the International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference. She has been recognized as a leading figure in the community in the Cultural Arts Guide for the Long Beach Business Journal and a Black History Trailblazer in her hometown. As an alumnus of UC Irvine, she was honored with the Celebration of Teaching Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Claire Trevor School of the Arts.

To remain current in her field, Powell regularly attends conferences for continued education in her artform to bring up to date information, dance techniques and digital technology to her students in the classroom. She continues to direct productions, perform as a guest artist, teach in summer intensive programs as well as choreograph her own work in Ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance and social dance throughout the United States, Australia, Africa, Europe and Asia.