EACH YEAR, DCF PROUDLY PRESENTS A SERIES OF MASTER CLASSES, TAUGHT BY ACCOMPLISHED LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL PRACTITIONERS IN DIVERSE FIELDS OF DANCE. MANY OF OUR CLASSES ARE LED BY THE SAME EXCEPTIONAL INSTRUCTORS, ARTISTS, AND CHOREOGRAPHERS WHO PERFORM AND PRESENT THEIR WORK THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVAL WEEKEND. FOR ALL DANCERS AGES 13 AND UP, OUR MASTER CLASS SERIES PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR DANCERS TO LEARN FROM THE BEST IN THE INDUSTRY FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE!
Read about our 2024 Master Class Instructors!
Norberto Collazo
Norberto Collazo Ortiz– Aibonito, Puerto Rico. His interest in dance began at age 10 when he joined Ballet Jatibonuko in his hometown. Five years later he joined the Ballet Juvenil Puertorriqueño, receiving training in folk dance. His training includes various genres such as: street jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, modern, Afro-Caribbean, contact improvisation, fighting monkey, and improvisation. By 2003 Collazo joined Hincapié, being both dancer and choreographer directed by Petra Bravo. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Individualized Studies in Contemporary Dance and Body Expression in Pedagogy, from the University of Puerto Rico. Collazo joined the cast of Andanza Contemporary Dance Company in August 2009 where he also choreographed. In 2014 Collazo was the first resident artist of the Arts Residency Program of the Center Of Fine Arts Luis A. Ferré. He also worked as a guest soloist for Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico in productions like Carmina Burana (2014), Giselle (2008) and El Festival de Coreógrafos (2012). Norberto Collazo also has imparted workshops in various communities in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala. Collazo have staged his work in international venues like Costa Rica, Guatemala, Chile, New Jersey, Orlando, New York, Spain, and Prague. Among the independent dance events he has directed and produced are: Inventario (2010), Físico Relativo (2011), Disparejas (2011), Físico Relativo 100 x 35 (2012) Warning on the move (Quadrennial in Prague), SóloDos en Danza Rumbo a Costa Rica (2015), Conocidos Pasajeros (2016). He completed a Dance MFA at Tisch School for the Performing Arts at NYU. Collazo is co-director and choreographer of NA2, where he works with contemporary dance and movement related arts.
Jazz Fusion
Norberto Collazo
Kelsey Paschich
Kelsey Paschich is a multi-faceted dance artist whose work reflects both a reverence for tradition and a drive for innovation. As a performer, she has a diverse 20-year international career with renowned companies and choreographers including: The Moscow State Classical Ballet, DCDC2, Thodos Dance Chicago, River North Chicago Dance Company, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Interdansa Dance Festival, ARCOS Dance, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Hannibal Project in Solden, Austria; Lar Lubavitch, Johan Renvall, Tamir Ginz, Ann Reinking, Lucas Crandall and more.
As a choreographer, Kelsey integrates dance and emerging technologies to cultivate new modes of choreography and performance. She leverages technology not just for novelty, but to probe deeper questions of what it means to be human in a digitally mediated world. Her boundary-pushing interdisciplinary collaborations integrate various media forms with dance, creating globally presented immersive experiences that span live performances, screendance, film, and choreographic installations. Her digital work has been screened in multiple festivals in Germany, Portugal, Tokyo, Turkey and across the United States.
As Assistant Professor of Innovation in Dance at Western Michigan University, Kelsey strives to cultivate the next generation of artists. Her classroom becomes a creative laboratory where students can discover their own voices. Her work has been recognized through numerous awards and residencies. She was recently awarded the WMU Presidential Innovation Professorship Award 2023 at WMU. Kelsey was selected as an artist for the Choreographic Coding Lab in Cologne, Germany (2023) and as 1 of 4 international Distant Digital Dance Makers to create for Tanz mit dem Tiger in Ulm, Germany (2021, 2022). She received the Creative Living for Dancers Award in Brussels, Belgium (2021) and was chosen for the Dancing Lab: Art Speaks 2.0 artistic residency at the National Center for Choreography in Akron, Ohio (2021). Her speaking engagements include invitations to present at the 5th International Conference on Arts and Design Education in Bandung, Indonesia (2022) and the Society of Korean Dance Studies International Symposium in Seoul, Korea (2021). She was also the recipient of the National Dizzy Feet Foundation Gene Kelly Legacy Scholarship (2016).
Holding an MFA from the University of New Mexico, a BFA from Point Park University, and as a Countertechnique® certified teacher, Kelsey’s breadth of experience across performance, choreography and scholarship informs her pedagogy. Her curiosity and bold vision reveal dance as a perpetually evolving art form which she continues to shape through her versatile, multi-faceted career and drive for innovation.
Countertechnique®
Kelsey Paschich
Hot Crowd
Hot Crowd is a 501(c)3 non for profit Chicago-based modern dance company located in Logan Square whose goal is to stimulate and inspire dancers and non-dancers alike through innovative movement, community interaction and accessibility to strengthen and spread the art of modern dance throughout the Chicagoland area and beyond. Established in 2017 by founder, Emily Kamp, Hot Crowd has been invited to perform in several major cities throughout the U.S. including Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and St. Louis as well as out of the country in Seoul, South Korea. They have also created ten self-produced shows and two professional dance for films. Other Hot Crowd programming includes dance workshops/residencies for students ranging in age from youth to adult, pay what you can community dance classes, and collaborative events with other local artists and businesses. Hot Crowd has recently started their 7th Season which has already included several dance festivals, performances, and classes in their beloved neighborhood of Logan Square. Connect with the Crowd today by connecting with them on social @HotCrowd and their website www.hotcrowddance.com.
Partnerting
Hot Crowd
Kelsey Paschich
Kelsey Paschich is a multi-faceted dance artist whose work reflects both a reverence for tradition and a drive for innovation. As a performer, she has a diverse 20-year international career with renowned companies and choreographers including: The Moscow State Classical Ballet, DCDC2, Thodos Dance Chicago, River North Chicago Dance Company, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Interdansa Dance Festival, ARCOS Dance, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Hannibal Project in Solden, Austria; Lar Lubavitch, Johan Renvall, Tamir Ginz, Ann Reinking, Lucas Crandall and more.
As a choreographer, Kelsey integrates dance and emerging technologies to cultivate new modes of choreography and performance. She leverages technology not just for novelty, but to probe deeper questions of what it means to be human in a digitally mediated world. Her boundary-pushing interdisciplinary collaborations integrate various media forms with dance, creating globally presented immersive experiences that span live performances, screendance, film, and choreographic installations. Her digital work has been screened in multiple festivals in Germany, Portugal, Tokyo, Turkey and across the United States.
As Assistant Professor of Innovation in Dance at Western Michigan University, Kelsey strives to cultivate the next generation of artists. Her classroom becomes a creative laboratory where students can discover their own voices. Her work has been recognized through numerous awards and residencies. She was recently awarded the WMU Presidential Innovation Professorship Award 2023 at WMU. Kelsey was selected as an artist for the Choreographic Coding Lab in Cologne, Germany (2023) and as 1 of 4 international Distant Digital Dance Makers to create for Tanz mit dem Tiger in Ulm, Germany (2021, 2022). She received the Creative Living for Dancers Award in Brussels, Belgium (2021) and was chosen for the Dancing Lab: Art Speaks 2.0 artistic residency at the National Center for Choreography in Akron, Ohio (2021). Her speaking engagements include invitations to present at the 5th International Conference on Arts and Design Education in Bandung, Indonesia (2022) and the Society of Korean Dance Studies International Symposium in Seoul, Korea (2021). She was also the recipient of the National Dizzy Feet Foundation Gene Kelly Legacy Scholarship (2016).
Holding an MFA from the University of New Mexico, a BFA from Point Park University, and as a Countertechnique® certified teacher, Kelsey’s breadth of experience across performance, choreography and scholarship informs her pedagogy. Her curiosity and bold vision reveal dance as a perpetually evolving art form which she continues to shape through her versatile, multi-faceted career and drive for innovation.
Dance For Camera I
Kelsey Paschich
Braeden Barnes
Braeden Barnes is a Chicago based director, choreographer and teacher. He found his love of choreography from a young age and has created work for over 15 years. Braeden danced professionally with companies including Balletmet, Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Billy Elliot the Musical, Nevada Ballet Theatre and Visceral Dance Chicago. He has worked with choreographers such as James Canfield, Paul Vasterling, Danielle Agami, Kevin O’Day, Mónica Cervantes, Marguerite Donlon, Matthew Neenan, and Lucas Crandall.
As a choreographer, his work has been featured across the United States and abroad. Among these places, his work has won the first-place audience choice award at REVERBDance festival in New York, as well as first place for best choreography at YAGP in 2021. He has choreographed on companies such as Nevada Ballet Theatre, Cirque Du Soleil, Visceral Dance Chicago, Peoria Ballet, Waterstreet Dance Milwaukee, A&A Ballet, Common Conservatory, Indiana University Contemporary Department and for New Dances: a collaboration between Danceworks and Thodos Dance Chicago.
In 2020, he started his own nonprofit danced-based company, Symbiosis Arts, which is based in Chicago.Symbiosis has produced full evening performances in Chicago and Denver and has commissioned choreographers such as Anna Long, Francisco Avina, Shannan Alvis, Jason Parsons, and Noelle Kayser. Symbiosis Arts is taking an expanded approach to incorporate multiple mediums of art, in hopes of questioning norms, building unorthodox collaborations, and being open-minded about how art can be seen and consumed.
Contemporary
Braeden Barnes
Meg Paul
Meg Paul's illustrious career, spanning over four decades, is a testament to her unique contributions and adaptability. From mastering classical and contemporary ballet to showcasing her talent in Broadway performance, choreography, and teaching artistry, she has excelled in a diverse array of disciplines. Her extensive national and international experience in performance, choreography, curating, directing, teaching, program development, community engagement, and arts management further underscores her exceptional skill set.
Paul has worked closely with renowned dance pioneers and performed masterworks from the repertoire and artistic direction of Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey, Twyla Tharp and Dwight Rhoden, to works by Petipa, Ashton, Nijinsky, Massine, Balanchine, Forsythe, and Alonzo King. She was a principal dancer with The Joffrey Ballet/NYC, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Ron De Jesus Dance and has extensive national and international touring credits. Paul was dance captain and full swing for Twyla Tharp's Tony award-winning Broadway musical Movin' Out, and performed both leading roles. Paul's awards include The Princess Grace Award, winner of The International Dance Competition of the Americas, Detroit Renaissance Hero Award, Sue Nine Endowment for Faculty Achievement Award, Wayne State University's College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts Teaching Award, and the Copperfoot Award.
As a Co-founder of World Arts Inc., a New York City-based performing arts agency, Paul demonstrated her entrepreneurial skills and ability to manage international projects. The agency, which celebrated a decade of operation, was responsible for representing and producing tours for national and international companies, including Nacho Duato's Compania Nacional De Danza, Les Ballets De Monte Carlo, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Les Grand Ballets Canadian, Dance Cuba, Les Ballets Africains, Washington Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and more.
Paul was Director of Dance at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, curating and directing Music Hall's annual fundraiser for dance, National City Stars of Ballet and Broadway. National City Stars of Ballet and Broadway engaged hundreds of local performers and pre-professionals to train and perform with ballet and Broadway professionals. For her work on National City Stars of Ballet and Broadway, Paul was honoured as a recipient of the Detroit Renaissance Hero Award by the Detroit Free Press. During her tenure, she curated, directed, and produced Music Hall's annual 313 Choreography Expo, highlighting Detroit's creative impact with other major cities. 313 Choreography Expo was an incubator and career launchpad for many local Detroit artists and companies while fostering artistic collaborations, dance education, and community engagement.
From 2010-2022, Paul served in various leadership roles at Wayne State University's Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, including Associate Professor of Teaching, Recruitment Coordinator for Dance, and Director of Dance (2017-2022). Her nine seasons of curating and directing the Complexions Detroit Summer Intensive at Wayne State University are a testament to her leadership and commitment to nurturing the next generation of dancers.
Paul was Associate Artistic Director and Rehearsal Director with Complexions Contemporary Ballet (2022-2024) and Academy Director for Complexions Contemporary Ballet Academy (2021-2024). She is currently a faculty member, adjudicator, and member of the Advisory Board for Adrenaline, Revive, and National Dance Honors Conventions. Paul is a masterclass teacher and adjudicator for the Universal Ballet Competition and a faculty member with Spotlight Dance Works. Paul has recently joined the board of The Arpino Foundation and is choreographing and teaching worldwide.
Paul is certified in Vinyasa Yoga, Progressing Ballet Technique, Youth Protection Advocates in Dance, and Dance Education Equity Association.
Contemporary Ballet
Meg Paul
Mike Smith
Michael Smith is a native Detroiter who was born to dance. From imitating Michael Jackson moves as a toddler to studying dance in high school and college, dancing has always been a key part of his life. As a teenager growing up on the eastside of Detroit, Michael believes that dancing, specifically the Jit, saved his life. It kept him and his friends off of the streets and out of trouble.
Michael majored in dance at the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts and studied business at Wayne State University. He performed extensively inside and outside of school. He even choreographed a video for Michael Bivens’ group Biv 10. After taking a hiatus from dance, Michael felt the pull to return to his craft. Actually, it was more of a calling than a pull. He acknowledges that God has gifted him to dance and he wants to share this gift with others. It was out of this calling that Jit Masters was born.
Jit Masters is a movement designed to make the Detroit Jit known worldwide. It consists of an experienced dance crew, private one-on-one dance lessons, dance workshops, and more. The Jit has been around for a while and now it’s time for the world to experience this piece of Detroit culture.
Jit Masters founder, Michael "Jit Master Mike" Smith, is a dance teacher at Motor City Dance Factory, a 2021 Detroit Choice Award winner for Detroit's Favorite Jitter, and a 2024 Kresge Fellow for Dance, He resides in Detroit, Michigan with his wife, Orma, and daughters, Hailey and Jasmine. Jit Master Mike invites you to "Get Your Jit On!" and experience the magic of Detroit's own dance legacy.
JIT
Mike Smith
Dance For Camera II
Shirel Jones
MASTER CLASS MEMORIES
DDCF 2024
Norberto Collazo (Jazz Fusion), Kelsey Paschich (Countertechnique®), Hot Crowd (Partnering), Braeden Barnes (Contemporary), Meg Paul (Contemporary Ballet), Mike Smith (JIT)
DDCF 2023
James Sofranko (Ballet), Jeremy Blair (Jazz), Steve Rooks (Modern), Gloria Ahlijah (West African), Norberto Collazo (Contemporary Fusion), Kyung Haw Hong & Kwangmin Kim (Partnering)
DDCF 2022
Brandon Koepsell (Ballet), Kelsey Paschich (Countertechnique®), Haleem Rasul (JIT), Lee Jung In (Infinity Movement with Multiple Web), Penny Godboldo (Dunham Technique), Christa Smutek (Jazz Fusion)
DDCF 2021 (virtual)
Sidra Bell (Contemporary Systems), Shannon Gillen (Vim Vigor Physical Dance), James Wilton (Contemporary Floorwork), Kelsey Paschich (Contemporary Ballet), Joanne Zheng (Chinese Classical Dance), Wanjiru Kimuyu (Contemporary), Anuradha Murali (Classical Dance Styles of India: Bharathanatyam & Kuchipudi), BMBO Creations (Screen Dance Tutorial), Allen Xing (Modern), Queen Gabby (Detroit Jit), Denise Caston Clark (Tap).
DDCF 2020 (virtual)
Lauren Anderson (Ballet), Caleb Mitchell (Ballet), Steven Rooks (Modern)
DDCF 2019
Contemporary with Alexander Dones, Improvisation with Amy Chavasse, Ballet/Laban MA with Seyong Kim, Contemporary with Carmelo Segura, Partnering with Dong-Won Lee, and Double Skin/Double Mind with Kelly Hirina.
ddcf 2018
Contemporary Jazz with Brandon Harneck, Contemporary with Biba Bell, Marcat Research/Guided Improvisation with Mario Bermdez Gil, Contemporary/Modern with Sylvia Suttle, Contemporary Improvisation with Kang Seok Lee, ModHop Jazz with Cat Manturuk, Contemporary movement & Improvisation with Alexander Dones, Breathing Attack with JaeDuck Kim Contemporary with Alexander Quetell, Contemporary with Jiyoung Hqang, and Contemporary Jazz with Tracy Halloran.
DDCF 2017
Indian Classical Dance with Anuradga Murali, Contemporary with Autumn Eckman, Zibolo with Chris Babingui, Modern with RE|dance group, Contemporary with Nick Neagle, ModHop Jazz with Cat Manturuk, Ballet with Valerie Alpert, Gaga with Amy Morrow, Contemporary with Amy Cova, Double Skin/Double Mind with Kelly Hirina, and JIT with Mikemansontht
DDCF 2016
Improvisation with Patty Solorzano, Breakdance with Keegan ‘Seoul’ Loye, African Fusion with Erika ‘Red’ Stowall, Contemporary with Alexander Dones, Contemporary with Bree McCormack, Lyrical with Jill Cassidy, Authentic Jazz with Paulette Brockington, Somatics Lab with Elizabeth Shea, Contemporary with Jessica Post, ModHop Jazz with Cat Manturuk, Musical dance with Adriel Ruben, Modern with White Wave, Contemporary with Joori Jung, Tap with Lisa Allai, Ballet with Kathy Cooke, Partnering with Darby Wilde, Contemporary with Tracy Halloran, Tap with Kelsey Rose, Ballet with Paul O. Campo, Contemporary with Kwang Min Kim, Partnering with Take Root, Physical Dance with Ferenc Feher, and Contemporary Jazz with Jodie Randolph
DDCF 2015
Social Dance with Camille A. Brown, Jazz with Michael Lemanski, Limon with Barbara Sellinger, Jazz with Jill Zmijewski, Partnering with Take Root, Modern with Teatr Tanca Zawiowania, Pro Bono with Hardcore Detroit, Contemporary Modern with Jennifer Harge, Partnering and Performance Skills with Young Soon Kim Dance Company, Ballet with Sheena Annalise, Contemporary with Stephanie Pizzo, Improvisation with Patty Solorzano Seward, African Dance with Erika ‘Red’ Wall, Contemporary with Rodney A. Brown, Ballet with Sergey Rayevskiy, Contemporary with Tracy Pearson, Improvisation with ArtLab J Dance, Contemporary Jazz with Jodie Randolph, Ballet with Issac Jones, Modern with R.se Dance, Contemporary Jazz with Teresa Muller, ModHopJazz with Cat Manturuk, and Hip Hop with Heidi Williams
DDCF2014
Adesola Akinleye, Adriel Ruben, Alicia Cutaia, Amy Chavasse, Barbara Selinger, Biba Bell, Carolyn Dorfman, Christa Smutek, Crystal Frazier, Denise Caston, Devon Campbell, Jodie Randolph, Joori Jung, Louie Marin, Marcus White, Christina Kammuller, Penny Godboldo, Rachel Ahn Harbert, Sean Hoskins, Sheena Annalise, Take Root (Ali Woerner and Thayer Jonutz), Tracy Pearson, Yessa
DDCF2013
Contemporary with Joori Jung, Ballet with Meg Paul, Modern with Sidra Bell, Contemporary Jazz with Liz Schmidt, Improvisation with Amy Chavasse, Modern Technique with Barbara Selinger, Tap with Denise Caston, Jit with Haleem, Central African (Congolese style) with Karen Prall
