faculty

Morgan Bowe is a first-year instructor at The Beat and a senior at Perrysburg High School. She started dancing at the age of 3 and has been training ever since. Morgan is proficient in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop musical theatre and pom. She is a 4-year member of the Perrysburg High School Dance Team where she has served as captain the past two years. She has helped lead her team through regional and state competitions each year as well as community performances. Morgan is also a 2-year dance captain for the Perrysburg High School Show Choir. Morgan loves performing and enjoys teaching all ages and experience levels. She hopes to help others find their love for dance just as she did.

Bianca Demonte is in her final semester as an undergraduate student at Bowling Green State University studying Health Science. She currently works as the JV cheerleading coach at Otsego High School, along with teaching at The Beat. After graduation in December, she plans to use her degree to assist in performing autopsies. Bianca started dancing at the age of 4, starting out at Elite Dance Academy in Brunswick, OH. At the age of 6, she trained at Dancexcel also in Brunswick, OH until she was 13. During that time, she danced on her elementary school dance team from Kindergarten through 5th grade. She also was on the competition team at Dancexcel. When she was 13, she began training at Studio 82 in North Royalton, OH. Throughout this time she was a member of her middle school and high school dance teams as well as cheerleading teams. She joined Studio 82’s competition team as well as their performance team. She has learned from professionals like Travis Wall, Blake McGrath, Melissa Sandvig, NappyTabs, Mark Goodman, Zack Everhart, Kent Boyd, and Shannon Mather, to name a few. She continued training in jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop, and tap until graduating high school in 2018. Bianca came to BGSU and joined the dance team. She was a member for all four years of her undergraduate program. She competed at UDA Nationals with BGSU dance team in 2019, 2020, and 2022. This is her third year at The Beat and she is eager to teach students and help them learn new skills.

Elise Hanson graduated from Bowling Green State University with a B.S. in Education with a Dance Major. While studying at BGSU, she was a two-year member of the University Performing Dancers Program, where she studied and performed modern, tap, ballet, jazz, Balinese, and Korean dance. She has an extensive background as a competitive dancer with the former Dance Reach Studio in Columbus, Ohio, having received numerous titles and overall placements as a soloist and group dancer. Elise has performed in the American College Dance Festival at Western Michigan University and also had the privilege of being selected to dance in the gala performance at the Ohio University conference. Elise has also performed with Tammy Metz Starr's Open Window Dance Company and has studied with world renowned instructors such as Buster Brown, Barbara Bufalino, Sarah Reich, Chloe Arnold, Gregg Russell, and many more. She currently teaches dance at The Beat, Viva Dance Company in Monroe, MI, and at the University of Findlay. She also serves as choreographer for the Perrysburg Junior High School Show Choir and their annual musical. Elise loves teaching all ages and levels and strives to make dance accessible, engaging, and fun for all of her students.

Colette Jefferson is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Bowling Green State University studying Film production and dance. She began as a self-taught dancer, teaching herself contortion, acrobatics, and variations of lyrical at just nine years old. She went on to start competitive dance training at age 11, training in acrobatics, ballet, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and modern. During her competitive dance years, she was recognized for her dancing abilities with several regional and national titles, and she had opportunities to learn from professionals such as KC Castellano, Jojo Gomez, and her friend Kyle Bowen, a former dancer for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since starting college, Colette’s choreography and dance skills have since been recognized over several social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, gaining recognition on news blogs like PopSugar, People Are Awesome, and WorldStar. She has performed in several dance showcases and is currently the President of the student-run dance program, University Dance Alliance. During her sophomore year in 2020, she began teaching herself hip hop and she has been a self-taught hip hop dancer for two years. Colette is excited to start this new chapter of her dance career as a choreographer and mentor and she hopes to impact her students’ dance journeys in a positive and insightful way.

Adrienne (Ansel) Letner is two-time alumni from Bowling Green State University; Exercise Science & Dance minor in her undergraduate career and Kinesiology major in her Master’s program. Adrienne has taught for various conferences & organizations, and her choreography has been showcase throughout Ohio in competitions, concerts, and recitals. Adrienne has been teaching dance at The Beat Dance Company since 2015. Her interests in dance revolve around emotive performance, dynamic group work, and artistic exploration within contemporary dance. As an instructor, Adrienne aims to develop a positive work ethic in her dancers while building their self-esteem and confidence both on and off the stage. Adrienne wishes to encourage love for movement in an educational, dynamic and team-centered atmosphere… all while having a lot of fun, too!

Colleen Murphy holds a B.S. in Education with a dance major from BGSU, and a M.A. in Dance Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. As a dance major at BGSU, Colleen performed with the University Dance Alliance and University Performing Dancers, received the Dance Talent Scholarship, and participated in multiple American College Dance Festivals. As a graduate student in Hawaii, Colleen studied on a full tuition scholarship. She performed with the UH Dance Ensemble, Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Convergence Dance Theatre. She initiated the rhythm tap program for the University of Hawaii Outreach College. Colleen currently serves as a fulltime faculty member and Dance Program Coordinator at BGSU. Colleen has taught at Toledo School for the Arts, Owens Community College, and in multiple private dance studios across Ohio, Michigan, and Hawaii. She has served as a national dance competition adjudicator and master class instructor for Rainbow Connection, a Las Vegas-based company, and Shine of Toronto, Ontario. Colleen specializes in tap dance choreography, and has won numerous awards across the dance competition circuit including Teacher of the Year at the Kids Artistic Revue national competition.

Kate Myers, originally from Northwest Ohio, is a midwest based contemporary choreographer, dance teacher, and pilates instructor. Myers grew up training in jazz, ballet, tap, and contemporary at from mentors such as Sean Howe, Sammy Stafford, Douglas Burkhardt, and Jessica Brutlag. In spring of 2022 she graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in NYC and received a B.F.A. in Dance with concentrations in Choreography and Modern, as well as a minor in psychology. During the summers she trained with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Axis Connect, Entity Contemporary Dance and worked closely with Peter Chu and Alexandra Damiani. Myers recently was commissioned to reset her work "Invest(in)g in Nepho" for "Art Bath" at the Blue Building in Manhattan in February of 2022 alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo and Junko Ichikawa. She also was an assistant for West Coast Dance Explosion and is a guest choreographer and teacher at many studios across the country.

Torrance Nowden has been teaching dance for a total of 10 years. His background includes dancing with several dance teams throughout the state of Ohio and traveling with the Dance Repertory Ensemble throughout his time at Bowling Green State University where he majored in Dance and Marketing. Torrance has been involved in the competitive world of dance for the same amount of time he has taught dance. He has choreographed award- winning routines in the genres of hip hop and jazz, and continues to travel to set choreography on students across Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Torrance currently teaches full time at the Cleveland Arts and Social Sciences Academy, which is a charter school located in the greater Cleveland area. He also works at a total of 4 dance studios throughout the week. His mission is to inspire as many dancers as possible to be the best that they could possibly be. Torrance has recently started to embark on a new journey, which is helping those less fortunate. He will be teaming up with several shelters across the city of Cleveland in order to fulfill his desire to make a difference.

Alexa Piccirillo received a Bachelor’s degree in dance from Bowling Green State University in 2018. She has been dancing since the age of 3, with her favorite styles being jazz and contemporary. Alexa was a member and president of the University Dance Alliance organization during her time at BGSU. She has trained at studios in Perrysburg, Findlay, and even The Beat for her last two years of high school. Alexa has been a dance instructor for 6 years, with experience in all levels and styles of dance. The beginning of 2019, Alexa started working for Turn it Up Dance Challenge, a competition company, serving as a backstage crew member as well as assisting with social media posts throughout the season. Alexa strives to continue her passion for dance by dancing professionally and to share her love for dance with people of all ages.

Morgan Prachar is a second-year Graduate Student at Bowling Green State University working towards a Master's degree in Sport Administration. As a BGSU undergrad Morgan served as the treasurer, president and a choreographer for University Dance Alliance. She was also heavily involved in the BGSU dance program and served as an ambassador. While in the dance program Morgan performed in four Dance Repertory Ensemble productions and has attended the American Collegiate Dance Association Conference twice. Morgan has trained for 18 years and danced competitively for most of her dance career. She has trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, musical theater, and pom. During her graduate school career Morgan hopes to continue performing and training. She loves teaching all ages and levels of dance and aims to make dance fun and engaging while promoting a positive work ethic and passion for dance.

Emily Ritchie is from Dayton, Ohio. She began her professional dance training with Barbara Pontecorvo at Pontecorvo Ballet Studios. In high school, she trained with Dayton Ballet under the direction of Karen Russo Burke. During her time at Dayton Ballet, she was a company member of Dayton Ballet II, a pre-professional training company. Emily enjoyed performing alongside the professional company in Karen Russo Burke’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty: The Story of Briar Rose, and Dracula Bloodlines. In Dayton Ballet School productions, she had the opportunity to perform many featured roles such as Puss and Boots and Beauty Fairy from Sleeping Beauty and Marie Taglioni’s role in Pas De Quatre. She continued her dance training over the summer at Cincinnati Ballet and Indianapolis Ballet where she had the opportunity to train with Sabir Yapparov, Victoria Lyras, and Roberta Wong. Emily is currently pursuing a Biochemistry degree with a minor in dance at Bowling Green State University. Since enrolling at BGSU, she’s had the opportunity to choreograph for BGSU’s Dance Department Concerts and received 2nd Place from The Art of Diversity Showcase (BGSU) with her original work, Still Don’t Know My Name. Additionally, Emily received the Joe E. Brown Award of Excellence as a Newcomer Dancer for the 2021-2022 Mainstage Season from BGSU’s Department of Theatre and Film. Outside of performing, she has enjoyed teaching ballet for the past three years to the next generation. Emily would like to thank her friends and family for their continuous love and support.

Katrina Staup of Dayton, OH recently graduated from Bowling Green State University with a major in Human Development and Family Studies. Katrina was a 4-year member of the BGSU Dance Team and served as assistant coach for one season. Katrina began dancing at age 3 at Terres Dance Worksop. While at Terres Katrina was a member of the Terres Dance Team and the Miami Valley Dance Ballet Company. Katrina has traveled to New York and Chicago for master classes and the Youth American Grand Prix ballet competition. Katrina currently serves as head coach for the BGSU Dance Team and is into her second year on faculty at The Beat. Katrina is eager for this new chapter of life and loves being a mentor and teacher to all of the amazing individuals at The Beat Dance Company.

Coming soon... Biographies for BDC Instructors Kayleigh Hahn, Elizabeth Halsey, Madalyn Hembree, Isabella Nardone, Shea Vaquera, and Sky Yang