Alexa Breakiron (Dancer (Alumni))
Alexa is an alumnus of CCBC's Dance company who graduated in 2018 and has returned to dance again after taking a break for a few years. Before graduating from CCBC, she was a competitive dancer with training in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern. She continues to explore her love of movement and has recently received her 200 RYT.

Shadow Cruz (Dancer)
Shadow is in her first year dancing with the CCBC Dance Company. She is pursuing her AA Dance at CCBC and graduated from Dulaney High School. She shared that she is enjoying being together with people who have the same passion for dance, and she enjoys being able to build bonds and to be able to have a support group. Shadow is dancing at CCBC because she enjoys dancing with new friends and learning new choreography.

Kenea Dorsey (Dancer)
Kenea is in her first year dancing with the CCBC Dance Company. She graduated from Centennial High School. One thing she enjoys about the CCBC Dance Program are the masterclasses with various guest artists where she is able to learn dances from different cultures. She is planning to receive her AFA in Dance and is looking at transferring to Towson University for her BFA degree.

Angel Farabee (Dancer)
Angel is in her first year dancing with the CCBC Dance Company. Angel has been dancing since she was three years old. She is enjoying dancing with the CCBC Dance Company and working with all the choreographers and other dancers in the company.

Jaquan Hanson-Campbell (Dancer)
Jaquan is in his second year dancing with the CCBC Dance Company. He attended Towson High School prior to coming to CCBC. He is enjoying the many opportunities that are a part of the CCBC Dance Program and being a member of the CCBC Dance Company.

Sarah Emilia Harris (Dancer)
Sara is currently in her sixth semester with the CCBC Dance Company, Having graduated from Center Pointe Performing Arts in 2022. She spent her summer at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina. Her goal is to continue her dance journey at CCBC, collaborating with the amazing faculty to enhance her skills as a performer. She was also the first recipient of the Carole Drake Cascio Scholarship!

Chanel Marshall (Dancer)
Chanel is a first year student at CCBC and a graduate of Harbor City High School. In October of 2014, she was awarded the opportunity to dance with the Ava Fields Dance Ministry. Since being a part of CCBC Dance Company, She has been meeting and working with many amazing choreographers and their preferred dance styles; which she enjoys. Chanel shared that “It is like a breath of fresh air to be able to dance alongside other creatives and dance majors who share the same passion. In our short time together, I’ve noticed the growth in confidence, skills, and relationships in my dance peers and within myself. It has been an encouraging and inspiring experience thus far.” Chanel shared the following story about what brought her to dance at CCBC: I would dare to say that I was led to choose CCBC for dance. It is a part of my faith walk. When praying about which community college to attend, I kept coming across the colors blue and orange. I discovered that the color blue, represents God’s Word; which He had given me a year or two prior. And orange, represents passionate praise and God's fire. CCBC had the colors that God kept showing me, and since my dance background is in liturgical/praise dance, I knew that this is where He was directing me. It is my hope and prayer, that every movement I make glorifies God and ministers the heart of God to someone.”

Anastasia McKenzie (Dancer (Alumni))
Anastasia is a CCBC Dance Company alum and dancer with Trajectory Dance Project. She recently received her Master's degree in Sports Science and Rehabilitation at Logan University. She is enjoying being able to dance again.

Andre Payne (Dancer)
Andre Breaks is his second year dancing in the CCBC Dance Company. He graduated from New Town High School and has trained with the Merrit Clubs Training Center and LA Fitness. Andre enjoys the learning process of building up a foundation for choreography and dance. The new challenges help him to create new ideas, new movements and develop as a dancer. Andre is learning more about the choreographic process and how to create and share dance as a form of communication, it is an art that expresses one’s emotion and feeling

Maegan Read (Dancer (Alumni))
Maegan is a CCBC Dance Company alum and graduated from CCBC in June 2021. This semester she is enjoying being able to dance with her friends again after graduating from CCBC. She is back dancing at CCBC this semester because she missed her friends and missed dancing in a studio and just dancing in general. This past summer Maegan attended the American College Dance Festival. Maegan is very thankful for this opportunity to continue dancing with the CCBC Dance Company.

K. Rayne Smith (Dancer)
K. Rayne is in their second year at CCBC as a student and a dancer. They went to Pikesville High School and danced there and in middle school. They always enjoy learning choreography that takes them out of their comfort zone. They are dancing at CCBC because they want to pursue the Associate of Fine Arts degree and pursue dance as their future career.

Mya Z. Seibles (Dancer)
Mya is in her first year at CCBC. She attended Old Mill High School and graduated in 2021. She has been involved with Color Guard for several years and enjoys being able to perform with the CCBC Dance Company. Mya is enjoying performing and wants to continue to learn and grow as a dancer.

Cynthia Gutierrez (Guest Choreographer)
Cynthia Gutierrez is a LatinX choreographer and dance educator committed to inclusion, representation and social consciousness in both pedagogy and creative practice. She is a teaching specialist and creative researcher in both contemporary post-modern dance and American concert jazz technique. Gutierrez received her B.F.A. Summa Cum Laude at the University of Minnesota, and her M.F.A. as an Advanced Opportunity Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She has served as the Choreographer in Residence for the Minnesota Dance Theater and is a four- time winner of the Arizona Choreography Competition- Professional Division. Works by Gutierrez have been commissioned by numerous institutions across the U.S. including Kent State University, University of Minnesota, Arizona State University, Gustavus Adolphus College, University of Oregon, University of Wisconsin, Middle Tennessee State University, Muhlenberg College, St. Olaf College and the American University, among others. Professional company commissions include the Dulce Dance Company, Eclectic Edge Ensemble, Zenon Dance Company, Concerto Dance Company and L.A. based JazzAntiqua. Her work has been produced across the U.S in Minneapolis, MN (including the Southern Theater, the Fitzgerald Theater, the Walker Art Center, the O'Shaugnessey Theater, the Guthrie Lab), in Arizona (including the Herberger Theater, Tempe Center for the Arts and the Scottsdale Center for the Arts), New York City's Miller Theater, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Gutierrez’s work has seen support from organizations such as the Jerome Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Walker Art Center, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and the Lane Arts Council. She has taught on the dance faculties of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and Gustavus Adolphus College, the prestigious Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine and as a guest faculty at Xuchang University in China. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Gonzaga University and is the Artistic Director of Company Movimiento- a modern and jazz dance company committed to exploring cultural identity, social justice and activism.

Melinda Blomquist (Artistic Director /Program Coordinator/Choreographer)
Melinda holds an M.F.A. in Dance Choreography and Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master of Arts in Dance Pedagogy from Brigham Young University. Melinda has presented her choreographic work at numerous venues nationally and internationally including the Mid-Atlantic and South-Central American College Dance Festival, Northwest Vista College, Towson University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Attakkalari Festival in Bangalore India. Currently Melinda is a Professor of Dance at the Community College of Baltimore County, and she also serves as the Program Coordinator and the Artistic Director for the CCBC Dance Company. Melinda has also worked with Trajectory Dance Project and with the Theatre and Music departments as a choreographer for Musical Theatre productions in Arizona, Texas and Maryland including The Fantasticks, Fiddler on the Roof, Good News, and She Loves Me. Melinda is involved in community outreach, focusing on promoting the importance of dance as art form in public education. She has provided workshops and master classes in Texas, Alaska, and Maryland to students at the Elementary, Middle, and High School levels. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Deep Vision Dance Company and as Past-President of the Maryland Dance Education Association. To learn more about the Dance Program visit: www.ccbcmd.edu/dance

Kristi Schaffner (Associate Director/Choreographer)

Kristi attended the University of Oklahoma as a teaching fellow where she received her MFA in modern dance (2011). She also has BFA in dance education from Kent State University (2004).  Through a graduate student grant, she studied Laban Movement Analysis at the Laban Institute in NYC. Ms. Schaffner has performed with Jeslyn Dance Gallery, Clawson Dances, Junction Dance Theatre, and Tommy Parlon Dance Projects among others, and is a current dancer and Director of Education and Outreach for Dragonfly Dance Experiment. Her choreography has been presented across the country including Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City, Washington D.C., Annapolis, Baltimore, Salt Lake City and at the Howard County Dance Festival. A passion for education has inspired her to create and implement dance curricula for both preschools and charter school students diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. Ms. Schaffner is a current adjunct faculty member in the dance divisions of Anne Arundel Community College and the Community College of Baltimore County and is a frequent guest instructor and performer in schools and community events.

Alice Howes (Choreographer)

Alice is a dance artist and educator who is director of Trajectory Dance Project, a Baltimore-based modern dance ensemble. She has held full-time faculty positions at universities including Coppin State University, UNC Charlotte, and Lamar University.  In addition, she served from 1995 to 2004 as artistic director and resident choreographer of Washington, D.C.’s Sister’s Trousers Dance Company, a modern dance ensemble based in the D.C. area. Sarah Kaufman of The Washington Post described Howes’ performance as “riveting, thrilling and deeply mysterious”.  Howes’ choreography has appeared in selective showcases at venues such as D.C.’s Dance Place, The Booth Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and Millennium Stage. She holds an MA in dance from American University and an MFA in dance from Sam Houston State University. Howes also has earned a Certificate of Movement Analysis (CMA) from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York City.

Adrienne Kraus Latanishen (Choreographer)

Adrienne is proud to have graduated with honors from The Community College of Baltimore County with her A.A. in Dance.  She then transferred to The University of Maryland where she also graduated with honors with her B.A. in Dance.  Besides being an adjunct dance faculty member at CCBC, she dances professionally for Trajectory Dance Project and independently for herself.  Previously, she also danced for BlueShift Dance (principal dancer), The Collective (dancer, choreographer, educator), B3W of New York City, Andary Dance (soloist, principal dancer), and withhart.dance.projects (founding member, assistant director, soloist, principal dancer).  She was Director of Dance at St. Timothy's School, a private and boarding school for girls and she choreographed as Artist in Residence at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts for numerous years.  Recently, Adrienne choreographed for The Salem Players Theatre Company, Northeast High School, and Baltimore Composers Forum. 

Tommy Parlon (Choreographer)

Tommy a native of Washington, D.C., received his M.F.A. in Dance (Choreography and Technology) from Arizona State University and his B.F.A. in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. From 1998-2002 he was an Assistant Professor of Dance at Kent State University. While in New York City he danced with J. Fregalette Janson Dance, Centaur Dance Theatre, Beyondance Inc! and the Paris based multi-media performance art company FIASCO. Mr. Parlon has danced in pieces by Doug Varone, Stephen Petronio, Alvin Mayes, Laura Dean and Elizabeth Streb. In 1996-1998 he collaborated on Falling to Earth, an interactive multi-media performance piece created with the Institute for Studies in the Arts at Arizona State University. His choreography has been commissioned by Incidents Physical Theater of New York City, NEW ARTiculations in Tucson, Arizona, Lansing Chamber Dance in Michigan, and numerous colleges throughout the United States. He was awarded an Individual Artist Award in Solo Dance Performance from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2004 and an Artist Award in Choreography in 2007. Mr. Parlon is currently the Artistic Director of Tommy Parlon Dance Projects in Washington, D.C., and the Artistic Associate of Ground Zero Dance in Richmond.

Peter Pucci (Guest Artist in Residence)
Peter Pucci is a Lucille Lortel Award winner and Drama Desk Nominate for Outstanding choreography for Queens Boulevard (the musical). Peter also received a Drama Desk Award for his work on The Orphans' Home Cycle. Peter graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in Modern Dance. Peter was a principal dancer and rehearsal director with Pilobolus Dance Theatre for nine years. While with Pilobolus, Peter toured and taught worldwide, made several film and television appearances, performed on Broadway, collaborated on many Pilobolus pieces, before forming his own company, Peter Pucci Plus Dancers. Pucci Plus performed in New York City on Broadway and five seasons at The Joyce Theater. Peter has choreographed over 150 dances, including commissioned works for The Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Arizona, Ballet Hispanico, Colorado Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Alberta Ballet and the Big Apple Circus. He has also served as movement director on 90 theatrical productions in New York City and at regional theaters across the USA. Recent commissions include a new commission for the University of Richmond’s Theatre & Dance department’s University Dancers, Fete du Ballet for the Texas Christian University’s School of Classical & Contemporary Dance, a NEA funded production of Migration, a group work for 50 dancers produced by the Community College of Baltimore County Peter has also directed two dance films, Swag n' Bach: A Path To Choreography and In the Garden that premiered at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Peter is a Trustee Host for the Dance on Film Series at Jacob Burns and has curated many short dance films programs for the Dance on Film Series. He was an Artist in Residence at Manhattanville College for nine years and a Guest Choreographer/Movement Director for seven years at the Juilliard School of Drama. Peter is currently the Guest Artist in Residence at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), Essex Campus and the Executive Director of the Carole Cascio Fund For Mind Movement Dance Connections. For additional information at: https://pucciplus.com/

G. Maurice (Moe) Conn, III (Technical Director, Lighting/Sound Designer & Operator)

Moe is in his eleventh year with CCBC where he is the full-time Technical Director and Designer at CCBC Catonsville’s Center for the Arts Theatre. He has an MFA in Scene Design and Technical Theatre. Moe has been doing technical theatre since 1993, as a Designer, Technician, Technical Director, and Educator. He served as the Technical Director for five summers at Cockpit in Court where he continues to design both lights and sets. He has also designed for Vagabond Players in Fells Point. Moe has received multiple nominations for Best Scene Design from Broadway World.com and received Best Scenic Design from the MD Theatre Guide’s Readers’ Choice Awards. When not backstage, Moe volunteers with “Behind the Scenes” which provides financial support for theatre technicians in need throughout the entertainment industry. He also helps coordinate the Long Reach Long Riders charity motorcycle ride, (www.LRLR.org) to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity fights AIDS and Behind the Scenes, two theatre-based charities.

Lisa L. Boeren (Production Coordinator)
Lisa has been the CCBC Box Office Manager for almost 25 years! Lisa brings over four decades of dedicated service to the Baltimore theatre community, marked by her extensive expertise in stage management and technical production. Throughout her career, she has overseen hundreds of productions across various esteemed venues including Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre, Dundalk Community Theatre, and Phoenix Festival Theatre, among others. Her roles have ranged from stage management and technical operations to props management, costume coordination, and more, demonstrating her versatility and commitment to ensuring flawless production execution. She has been the Administrative Manager for Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre for the last fifteen years. Lisa’s passion for theatre extends beyond technical proficiency; she has been instrumental in fostering collaborative environments, working closely with staff, administration, and boards of directors to enhance audience experiences and drive operational excellence. Lisa holds certifications in budgetary development, leadership management, and crowd management, as well as a Non-Profit Organization Management Workforce Certificate from CCBC, underscoring her proficiency in organizational management and operational oversight. Her dedication to theatre and community enrichment continues to inspire and elevate the arts scene in Baltimore.