DANCE applied to real life
Participatory dance-making, civic dialogue, creativity – these are the foundation of Margot Greenlee’s choreographic vision. Nationally recognized as a master teaching artist, Margot brings her artistic team of professional performers and arts therapists to lead programs in educational, healthcare, and corporate settings. Current project partners include Washington DC’s Army Distaff, the Eurasia Foundation, Fairfax County Department of Therapeutic Recreation, Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion, and MVLE.
As an artist working at the intersection of art and advocacy, Greenlee had developed a new approach to civic engagement. PerForum (Performance + Civic Dialogue) is a way to become more curious and invested in important community issues. Using both theatrical elements and expert testimony, recent topics have focused on public health policies that impact families such as Food Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion, Immigrant Rights, and Sex Education.
FOUNDER / DIRECTOR
Margot Greenlee
Margot Greenlee is a choreographer, theater director and artist educator. Featured in Dance Magazine’s “Beyond Performance,” her approach is based on 20 years of experience in community arts engagement, first as a solo artist and later as a company member with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, performing in venues that include the Kyoto Art Center, Japan; Chautauqua Institute, NY; Yerba Beuna, San Francisco; Power Center, Ann Arbor; St. Mark’s Dance Space, NYC; MASS MOCA; and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and the American Dance Festival.
Her current awards include the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America and Art Works Research (2016 - 2019) and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship award (2015 - 2019). In 2015 she was named a University of Maryland Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts NextLOOK artist. Her recent stage productions have appeared at the Anacostia Playhouse, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ New Visions New Voices Festival and the Women’s Voices Theater Festival.
Margot holds a BA from Kenyon College (with Political Science studies at the Stockholms Universitet) and an MFA in Choreography and Performance from The Ohio State University. Additional professional education includes Meredith Monk (vocal), Rinde Eckert (theater), Chris Aiken (contact improvisation) and Eric Franklin (Franklin Method).
ARTIST EDUCATORS & STAFF
Erica Chamblee, Artist Educator
Erica Chamblee studied at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and graduated from SUNY Purchase College. She is an actress, dancer, and choreographer based in Washington, DC. Erica performs in movies, television, and live theatre, and for six seasons has been a company member with Contradiction Dance Theatre. Local companies and venues where Erica has performed include Mosaic Theater Company, Woolly Mammoth Theater, Theater Alliance, Round House Theatre, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, the Kennedy Center, and the Atlas Intersections Festival.
Jeremy Hunter, Artist Educator
Jeremy is a multidisciplinary artist who acts, writes, directs, and raps. He received his formal training in the arts while attending the College of Southern Maryland. Among the companies in the DC metro area he has performed with are 1st Stage, MetroStage, Ally Theatre Company, Mosaic Theater Company, Constellation Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, 4615 Theatre Company, and Capital Fringe Festival. Jeremy has performed with academic institutions all around the DMV including Howard University, Bowie State University, Georgetown University, and American University.
JJ Johnson, Artist Educator
JJ graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Theater Performance. He has performed in plays in New York as well as throughout the greater DC area. Locally he has appeared in productions with 1st Stage, Arena Stage, Theater J, Ford’s Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, African Continuum Theatre Co., Adventure Theatre MTC, Imagination Stage, and Kennedy Center TYA. He might be familiar to some from his television commercial work. In addition to his amazing acting and teaching, JJ is also a talented playwright.
Kelly King, Artist Educator
Kelly makes dances for theater, film, stage, and street… and all the places people go in-between. Recently, she has created dance and theater choreography for Contradiction Dance Theatre, Open Circle Theatre & Dance Exchange, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, and Round House Theatre. In addition to BodyWise Dance, Kelly performs with Contradiction Dance Theatre and has worked with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Cirque Du Soleil, Echo Park Contemporary Ballet, City Dance Ensemble, and JazzDanceDC. Kelly serves the creative community as a choreographer, performer, educator, consultant, advocate and audience member. She is the Artistic Director of Contradiction Dance Theatre.
Tuyet Pham, Artist Educator
Tuyet has appeared in more than 30 productions in the DC area, including Baltimore Center Stage, Everyman Theatre, Spooky Action Theater, Constellation Theatre Company, Rep Stage, Round House Theatre, Imagination Stage, Signature Theatre, The Hub Theatre, The Inkwell Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, and Capital Fringe Festival. In addition, she has worked with Perseverance Theatre in Alaska, and Nebraska Shakespeare. Tuyet earned a BA in Theater and Film from University of Kansas and an MA in Dramatic Arts from University of Nebraska – Omaha.
Claire Schad, Board Certified Music Therapist
As a music therapist, Claire enjoys working with people of all ages and abilities. She graduated from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music and has worked with people as young as toddlers to those in eldercare and hospice. She evokes a sense of fun and accomplishment as she invites people to create songs, sing along, develop skills and self-confidence, and experience joy. Her travels in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Jamaica, and the U.S. have provided her musical and cultural learning opportunities. Claire also performs throughout the DC metro area.
Ryan Sellers, Artist Educator
Ryan is an actor, director, writer and artist educator in high demand throughout the DC Metro area. He is a longtime company member of the award-winning Synetic Theater, where he has appeared in numerous productions and has served as director, writer, and teacher. Ryan has performed with such companies as Folger Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, and Shakespeare Theatre Company. He trained in musical theater at The Catholic University of America and is certified by Young Audiences of Maryland Teaching Artist Institute.
Amy Rogers Nazarov, Social Media Strategist
Amy manages social media accounts for a number of small businesses and non-profits. From her home in Washington, DC, she also writes for the Smithsonian Institution’s digital newspaper, The Torch, covering the curators, exhibits and programs. A native of Connecticut and a graduate of Connecticut College, Amy’s bylines have appeared in print and online in such publications as Cooking Light, Psychology Today, Slate, American Songwriter, Washingtonian, The Washington Post Magazine, CURE, and many others.
DANCE ignites memory and imagination, agility and resilience.