CLASS OF...
'81 | '84| '85 | '87 | '91 |'93 | '95 |'96 | '98 | '99 | '00 | '01 | '02 | '03 | '04 | '05| '06| '07| '08| '09 | '10 | '11
Catherine Earp
E-Mail: CDEarp@aol.com
Catherine is certified as a Pilates Instructor and Health Fitness
Instructor through Pilates Inc. and the American College of Sports
Medicine, respectively. Her clients include dancers, other professional
athletes, business executives and stay-at-home moms. She has given
classes for Virginia Ballet Theater, Norfolk Academy dance teams
and the United States Navy. In addition to teaching Pilates, she
also performs regularly with a local choreographer, former Alvin
Ailey soloist, Elbert Watson. (Update: September, 2003)
Megan Henningsen
E-Mail: megankendra@gmail.com
I'm in my 5th year of teaching, working at the Tacoma School of the Arts with an amazing community of staff and students. The most recent news is that my husband Olav and I are expecting a baby boy in late May. I still travel, dance, and practice yoga as much as possible. (Update: March, 2009)
Gabriel John Holloway
E-Mail: glovin33@yahoo.com
Although an injury coupled with financial obligations has taken me from dancing at the current moment, I'm still enjoying the wonderful city of New York. I'm an Executive for Target and I'm looking forward to getting married this summer in Brooklyn to my complete polar opposite. (Update: April, 2009)
Kayleen Langner Jensen
E-Mail: kayleenjensen@hotmail.com
I am currently teaching 1st grade at Birchview Elementary in Wayzata, MN. I just finished my MA in Education in June 2007. I am continuing to dance with adult performers at the DanceXchange in Eden Prairie and enjoying dance events around the cities! (Update: October, 2007)
Christina Ley Andersen
Email: christina_ley_andersen@yahoo.com
Shortly after graduating in the spring of 2000, Christina moved
to New York City with her husband where she received her teaching
certificates in both STOTT Pilates and Yoga. After teaching in New
York for a short while, Christina moved back to her home town of
Grand Rapids, MN to take a position at a local dance studio teaching
Modern, Ballet, Pilates and Yoga. (Update: October, 2003)
Anna Bachman Itman
Email: annaitman@hotmail.com
I am currently living with my husband in Bloomington and teaching
throughout the metro area. Since graduation, I have found several
outlets for dance instruction. As a high school dance teacher, coach
and freelance choreographer, I have kept myself as busy as always.
I am proud to have four graduates of my high school team dancing
at St. Olaf! (Update: June, 2004)
Tia Fink
Email: tiafink@comcast.net
After graduation, I moved to Seattle to pursue my Pilates Certification.
Upon completion (certified through Authentic Pilates/Romana's Pilates/PMA
Certified), I moved back to Minneapolis and freelanced as a pilates
instructor. Currently, I am one of the owners of a pilates studio
in St. Louis Park called Alotapilates. I teach pilates full time
and am hoping to start dancing again very soon! (Update: January,
2007)
Dustin Haug
E-mail:dustin.haug@gmail.com
I moved back home to Minne-snow-ta in August of 2007 and have been loving every minute of it. What have I been up to? Well, I work with 2nd and 3rd graders as an Associate Educator for Anishinabe K - 8 Academy, an Minneapolis Public School with an Indian Education focus and an Ojibwe Language Immersion program. A couple mornings a week, I teach a Modern II technique class for St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. A couple of evenings a week, I tutor for a drop-in homework help and technology center at one of the Hennepin County Libraries. Just cause I'm not active enough, I teach an Open Level Contact Improvisation class at Zenon Dance School and help organize the weekly contact jam that happens every Sunday in Minneapolis.
I also started a dance company, Vessel Performance, that I co-direct with my partner, Tamin Totzke. We've performed in a number of shows around town as well as teaching and performing at some colleges in the region.
At the end of the day, I look forward to playing with my dog, Kain, and taking him for a long, bed-time walk. I'm also addicted to commuting by bike and am planning for my first season of winter riding! Can someone say, 'handwamers'? (Update: October, 2008)
Elizabeth Hein
Email: elizabethhein@hotmail.com
I am currently living in Arlington, VA and practice international trade law in Washington, DC. Even though I'm no longer dancing, shortly after moving here in 2003, I started practicing Tang Soo Do, a Korean form of martial arts. I am now a second degree black belt and a part-time martial arts instructor. (Update: January, 2010)
Toni Melaas
E-mail: tonimelaas@yahoo.com
Toni Melaas is currently working on projects with Alexandra
Beller/Dances, Melissa Briggs Dance and Faye Driscoll and is in
production for the new movie by director Julie Taymor. This summer
she had the pleasure of performing at the State Theater for the
Lincoln Center Festival with Shen Wei Dance Arts and in the past
has been honored to work with the Aquila Theater Company with Olympia
Dukakis, Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig and Gerald Casel, among
others. She has taught workshops in Poland, Russia, South Korea
and Thailand, and participated in residencies at various colleges
in the U.S twining dance with her experience in Anusara yoga, pilates,
BMC, and developmental movement. (Update: November, 2005)
Emily Stein
E-mail: emily_stein@hotmail.com
After a phenomenal senior year in Companydance, I spent the
summer at the American Dance Festival. Dancing, learning, and living
down in North Carolina was a great experience — which was shared
with two other Companydance alums and two current St. Olaf dancers.
I now live and work in New York City — and I love it! I do
PR and Promotions, and in my free time I take yoga like its going
out of style.
Laura Fillingame
E-mail: lkfillingame@wisc.edu
am currently in my second year of a Ph.D. program in Counseling
Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Although extremely
busy, I find time to take advantage of occasional East African dance
classes and continue to have interest in researching dance-movement
therapy. (Update: January, 2005)
Erica Riedesel
E-mail: erica-riedesel@uiowa.edu
After 4 long years, I am getting ready to graduate in May from
the U of Iowa College of Medicine with my MD! I will start in the
Pediatrics residency program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison
in July!! My schedule has kept me pretty busy lately, but I'm still
taking pilates, yoga, and occasional dance classes when I can manage.
I also got to see CompanyDance at ACDFA at U. Iowa last month, and
they were strong and beautiful as always! (Update: April, 2006)
Erin Scheiwe
E-mail: escheiwe@yahoo.com
Erin Scheiwe Rockwell is originally from Steamboat Springs, Colorado where she grew up dancing with Ballet Northwest. In 2001, Erin graduated with a B.A. in dance and computer science after four wonderful years at St. Olaf and headed towards the skyscrapers of New York City. In New York, Erin’s choreography was presented on several great stages including Dance Theatre Workshop, The Culture Project, University Settlement, One Arm Red, Saint Marks Church and Evolving Arts Theater. She also enjoyed working with a dance theatre company called Notes In Motion and performing with a variety of independent choreographers. In August 2005, Erin moved cross-country to the sunny west coast to pursue an M.F.A. in dance at California State University, Long Beach! During her time in Long Beach, she received a certification in Pilates through Body Arts and Science International and taught Pilates and modern dance as a Graduate Assistant at CSULB. In January 2008, Erin moved to join her husband, Owen Rockwell, in Jackson, MS where she is now on faculty with Belhaven College Dance Department. (Update: April, 2008)
Jen Westmoreland
E-mail: jtwestmore@yahoo.com
Jen Westmoreland Bouchard is putting her M.A. in French and Francophone Studies (UCLA) to work as the chair of the French program at Holy Family in Victoria and an adjunct faculty member in French at Normandale Community College. She is the owner of Lucidité Writing (www.luciditewriting.com), a writing, editing and translation company. Jen also enjoys working as a travel writer for Global Woman Magazine and Europe Up Close (www.europeupclose.com)- a convenient excuse for traveling during the summer months with the love of her life, Michael Bouchard. (Update: May, 2009)
Marte Kristin Hovig
E-Mail: marte_kristin@hotmail.com
I am currently working as a dance teacher at Sunnm¯re Folkeh¯gskule
in Ulsteinvik. I also tour with DKS at different schools, offering
a performance and workshops. This year I have been offered a position
with YMCA/YWCA's national education center and will be giving dancecourses
for them in Bergen and Oslo. (Update: August, 2006)
Katherine Blackwell
E-Mail: blackwel@eresmas.com
I am now a 3rd year MD/PhD student, having just begun working
on my thesis in bone biology. I have had some time for social dancing...
country line dancing in CT could be a study in dance ethnography!
(Update: November, 2005)
Stephanie Laager
E-Mail: laag0006@umn.edu
While in my third year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program, I
have become extensively involved in the dance program at the University
of Minnesota. I take the advanced modern class, which is Horton-based
and taught by Toni Pierce-Sands. I have also been involved in several
performance opportunities including student and faculty works. I
am a founding member of Carl Flink's Black Label Movement, a new
Twin Cities-based modern dance company. I look forward to balancing
company rehearsals and performances with my clinical pharmacy rotations.
I will be interning at various hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies
in the Twin Cities area beginning May 2005. (Update: April, 2005)
Nellie Rainwater
E-Mail: nellierainwater@gmail.com
After spending several years in Washington D.C. dancing with Jane Franklin Dance, BosmaDance, and other independent choreographers, I decided to move to New York City for grad school in 2008. I am now in my 2nd year of the MFA program in Dance Choreography and Performance at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where I am also the Graduate Assistant in Dance History. (Update: November, 2009)
Mary Davies
E-Mail: daviesm03@hotmail.com
I received an MFA in Dance from the University of Iowa in 2006. I now reside in Shakopee, MN with my wonderful husband (also a dancer), Daniel Stark. I am currently working full time at Target headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. I am continuing to dance, and model professionally as well. I love having three different careers! St. Olaf prepared me well for that! (Update: December, 2010)
Nicole Habberstad
E-Mail: nikkeek@hotmail.com
I am still living in La Crescent, MN. I am currently in my fourth year with my dance studio. I have just over 100 kids. I still substitute teach on the side. Last summer I was married to Mike Wiczek and exactly 9 months later I became a mom to a beautiful little girl Riley. Life has become very very busy. (Update: November, 2007)
Miranda Jirik
E-Mail: mirandajirik@yahoo.com
I've been living and working in New York City since graduation.
This fall I am looking forward to starting an MFA program in dance
performance and choreography at Sarah Lawrence College. (Update:
August, 2005)
Emily Judd
E-Mail: ejudd@darkwing.uoregon.edu
I am currently in my initial year of graduate school at the University
of Oregon in Eugene. I will be getting my MFA degree in dance performance
and choreography, looking towards my goal of teaching in higher
education someday. I am also getting my fix of kids by teaching
hip hop at a local middle school. (Update: March 2004)
Madelyn Pearson
E-Mail: pear0373@umn.edu
Hi everyone! I'm currently in my 2nd year of dental school at the
University of Minnesota. In my spare time I teach an off-ice dance
class for ice skaters in Stillwater, and I head to Zenon for a class
whenever I can. (Nothing beats dancing at St. Olaf though!) (Update:
October 2004)
Kate Bronson
E-Mail: kbronson24@yahoo.com
I am currently a Site Director for a YMCA before and after school
program and summer day camp in Apple Valley. I see a little under
100 kids each and try to infuse a bit of dance into my program as
much as possible. I'm loving perk of free yoga and pilates classes
at the Y after work. If you are in the Minneapolis area, give me
a call! (Update: January, 2007)
Elise Ericksen
E-Mail: elisemarie9@hotmail.com
I am currently working with three dance schools in Portland, OR. I have just completed choreographing and directing a children's ballet of The Little Mermaid. I am currently working on the Nutcracker as well as my own ballet version of Louis May Alcott's Little Women. This Spring I will be choreographing and directing a new version of Beauty and the Beast. And in my spare time I work for a yoga studio! I have St. Olaf to thank for a great preparation for my career in dance! (Update: October, 2007)
Denise Gagner
E-Mail: deniseirenegagner@yahoo.com
Hello Everyone! I've been living in Minneapolis since graduation,
teaching dance and trying to do a little choreography as well.
I teach at a small school in Apple Valley, where I've been reviving
my tap skills and putting my dance history and anatomy/body knowledge
to good use. Next year I'll be teaching modern at a dance
school in Stillwater. I've also been collaborating with Allison
Lorenzen on some choreography and improving with sherry and Allison.
This summer I am going out to Bearnstow, a little dance center in
the woods of Maine where I will be working, living, dancing, and
communing with nature for July and August. Stop by and visit
if you are out that way!
Michelle Kinney
E-Mail: kinneym@msnotes.wustl.edu
Hello everyone! For the past three years, I've been studying at
Washington University and will graduate with my Doctor in Physical
Therapy degree this May. I've been traveling all over the country
on clinical affiliations, and am currently on rotation in Seattle.
I take dance, pilates, and yoga whenever I can and am actively involved
in professional organizations for research and treatment of dance-related
injury. (Update: November, 2006)
Ingrid Pharris
E-Mail: ingpharris@yahoo.com
I am currently living in Olympia with my family, paying off student
loans, working as a "correspondence secretary" of sorts,
avoiding PartyLite parties, teaching ballet and creative dance to
little ones, and taking lots and lots of dance!!! I plan to cocoon
here for a bit before emerging somewhere exotic (like Minneapolis
or Seattle or Kyoto!), so come and visit. I miss Susan, Jennifer,
Heather, Sherry, Janice, and Anthony very much, and I am so thankful
for the amazing training you all have provided. I had no idea what
gems you were giving to us until I started teaching. Keep up the
lovely work!
Berit Ahlgren
E-Mail: ahlgrenb@gmail.com
I am working with Uri Sands and Toni Pierce-Sands as a member of
TUDance, based in Minneapolis. They have both been instrumental
and guiding forces in my life since an early age, and it is incredible
to be dancing with them now as a professional.
Eliza Larson
E-Mail: eliza.larson@gmail.com
What a whirlwind year it's been! Last summer (2005), I moved to
Washington DC to work on my MFA in Dance at the University of Maryland.
After some soul-searching, I decided to postpone my MFA degree,
and instead drove across the country to Seattle, where I'm living
right now. Life has been more than kind since I moved, and I'm now
set up in my new apartment on Capitol Hill, performing with a modern
dance "company" in November, and working as an Admissions
Counselor at Cornish College of the Arts. I've gotten to take several
classes with KT Neihoff, and hopefully Emily Wiedenhoeft and I will
begin collaborating soon. Let me know if you're ever out this way...!
(Update: September, 2006)
Maija Saulitis
E-Mail: maijasaulitis@yahoo.com
I'm currently in my second year with AmeriCorps, working with first
and second-graders at a fine arts school in St. Paul. I'm applying
to get my MFA in Creative Writing, and hope to be back in school
next fall. I try and make it to as many dance performances as possible,
here, in the Twin Cities, and hope to take some classes at Zenon
over the winter. (Update: January, 2007)
Julia Langenberg
E-Mail: JuliaLangenberg@gmail.com
I since graduating, I have danced professionally with Keigwin + Company, the site-specific aerial dance company Blue Lapis Light (http://bluelapislight.org/), Sharir + Bustamante Danceworks (Anthony danced with them years ago), Ballet East Dance Theater, Komo Danceworks, Ariel Dance Theater, Release Motion Dance Project, and Forklift Danceworks. I sang with the Austin Lyric Opera and the Grammy-nominated singing group, Conspirare. I also taught ballroom dance at Arthur Murray and aerial dance at the Blue Lapis Light studio, and McCallum High School. I have been successfully freelancing as an aerial fabric teacher and performer throughout the Texas Hill Country, where I was recently discovered and hired by a Sea World aerialist recruiter. !
I will be performing lyra, harness, and bungee work over a pool of synchronized swimmers and whales at Sea World through the end of the year! Thank you to the dance department for inspiring me and revealing my love for modern dance! (Update: March, 2009)
Marit Sletten
E-Mail: Marit.Sletten@gmail.com
I am sad not to be moving back onto the hill in a week, but
I am very excited to embark on some new adventures this fall! I
will be attending Augsburg College for the next two years working
towards my Master's of Arts in Leadership. I work for my dad at
his business, EnergyFlo, doing all sorts of different tasks. I try
to make it to Zenon whenever I can to take class. I am sure I will
make several trips to the hill this year to visit friends and family!
(Update: August, 2006)
Laurel Osman
E-Mail:laurel.osman@gmail.com
I am currently living in Milwaukee, working for Quad/Graphics in their management training program. I am also starting my second season on the Milwaukee Bucks' Energee Dance Team. It's been a lot of fun working with the community running dance clinics, doing charity work, and of course dancing at all the home games. It's hard to find time to sleep! I've also performed with DanceWorks in Milwaukee, where I take regular classes.
If you're ever in the area, give me a shout! (Update: September 2009)
Liz Sexe
E-Mail:liz.sexe@gmail.com
After receiving my MFA in Dance from Mills College and spending time collaborating with various artists in the Bay Area, I returned to the mid-west. I call Madison home and have found ways of connecting my love of dance, holistic health and the environment. I received my Pilates certification for mat and equipment and teach at various studios. I teach dance at Studio 3-D and through the UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies. I am a dancer in the Li Chiao-Ping Dance Company. I also co-founded Dear Heart Dance Collective with a mission to create fresh, local and seasonal dance that offers up a poetic vision of environmental sustainability and social justice. Our most resent collaboration is with Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture (MACSAC). My own work is inspired by the philosophies of place-ness, scored improvisation and collaborative methods. I also enjoy spending time with my dog, Dewey! If you are looking to dance in Madison don't hesitate to e-mail me. I love working with my fellow Oles! (Update: August, 2010)
Sarah Goldberg
E-Mail: sarahrosegoldberg@gmail.com
Currently I am eight weeks post-op after having a bunionectomy on my left foot. The condition stopped me dancing two years ago, but I am thrilled to be pain free and re-entering the world of dance. I am taking classes with my old company, and also just signed a contract with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where I will be choreographer for Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT.
Once my contract with OSF ends I will be moving to Chicago in the hopes of finding more opportunities to dance and create (Update: March, 2012)
Katie Hagen
E-Mail: katiejhagen@gmail.com
I am living and dancing in LA. I am signed with Trio Talent Agency as a jazz and hip hop dancer. (Update: October, 2009)
Ariel Nereson
E-Mail: ariel.nereson@gmail.com
I've just started my Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance Arts at the University of Pittsburgh, where my research focuses on hip-hop dance forms, and issues of race and gender in performance theory and dance history. I also serve as an in-house choreographer for some of Pitt's productions. (Update: October, 2009)
Jessica Reed
E-Mail: jess.lynn.reed@gmail.com
I currently live in Omaha, NE. I teach ballet and modern at the Jewish Community Center, Robin Welch Dance Arts, and Omaha South High School. I continue to dance and choreograph with the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s The Moving Company as well as Omaha Dance Project and Omaha Modern Dance Collective. I also work part-time at Pier 1 Imports. If you are ever in the area, don’t hesitate to look me up! (Update: December, 2010)
Berit Nelson
E-Mail: beritn@gmail.com
Following St. Olaf graduation I spent the year in Rennes, France teaching English in a middle school and elementary school. I loved my experience so much that I am back for the fall of 2011 to start a masters program in European Literature.
I am also auditioning for the contemporary dance program at the local conservatory and may be teaching dance in the area!
If you are an Ole traveling in France, please let me know! (Update: August, 2011)
Timmy Wagner
E-Mail: timmypaul.emil@gmail.com
After graduation, I performed in "Awaken Absurdity" a piece choreographed by Taja Will which has recently been nominated for a Sage Award for best ensemble. I am totally thrilled by that type of work and by that honor. I spent the rest of my summer as an intern at Camp Bearnstow, a series of dance workshops in central Maine. It gave me nine weeks to reflect and transition from life as a student to life as a professional dancer. I am now living in Minneapolis and dancing with ARENA Dances and The BodyCartography Project; two extremely different approaches to dance and performance which I am enthused to continue learning through (Update: September, 2011)