Momentum Dance Lab
Core Company
Roderick Beverly
Roderick has felt an attraction to dance since childhood. His first formal training included six months of ballet classes and one day of clogging during his grade school years. At age 20 Rod began to fully realize his passion for dance, and through involvement in color guard activity, he really began to explore. Four years of performing in winter guard and drum corps organizations, followed by 10 years of teaching color guard and visual programs, provided opportunities to learn as much as he could from talented and inspiring educators, instructors, and colleagues. He has since taken classes and workshops in modern, ballet, and jazz. In winter of 2007, Rod was introduced to the Knoxville dance scene and has enjoyed absorbing all he can from the experience. Happy to be a part of Momentum Dance Lab, Rod brings a love for movement, a hunger to further his education and creativity, and a joy for the opportunity
to dance.
to dance.
Cara Croslin Bradshaw
Cara holds a B.A. in Dance, with an emphasis in Performance, from Winthrop University where she also minored in Art History. She was awarded several talent scholarships including the Dean’s Meritorious Scholarship and the Producer’s Circle Scholarship. Her interest lies in the relationship of movement and Art and the possibility for creating a meaningful artistic statement through dance. Cara has trained in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Improvisation. She has performed in the Spoleto Festival, in an ACDF Gala Concert and in a commercial as a dancing lottery ball! Cara’s choreography has been performed by the UT Dance Company and Circle Modern Dance. She has taught Ballet and Jazz at the University of Tennessee, and Modern Dance at Tennessee Conservatory of Fine Arts. Presently she is a Jazzercise Instructor in the Cedar Bluff area, where she also leads Private Fitness Training classes. She has either Produced or co-Directed each of Momentum Dance Lab’s three Fall Shows. Cara is a founding member of MDL and has filled many roles since its origination; including serving as Secretary, Administrator, Treasurer, and co-Artistic Director.
Amelia Breed
Amelia Breed was first introduced to dance through the Kinetics Dance Theatre in Baltimore, MD where she was instructed by members of the professional modern company, Kinetics. She participated in classes at Carver Center for Technology and Arts, in Baltimore, and took modern dance classes at Goucher College while completing her high school education. She received her BFA in Material Studies with a concentration in glass and textiles from Virginia Commonwealth University where she continued her dance education and performed choreography by Tere O‘Conor and Dan Froot. In 2002, Amelia attended Bates Dance Festival in Maine where she again studied with Tere O’Conor and other professionals in the field. She now lives with her family in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she runs an art program for children from her home studio, the Chickamauga School of Art. Amelia has been training and performing with Momentum Dance Lab for two years and looks forward to further development with the company.
Gabriella Dorado
Gabriella first fell in love with dance at the age of 11. While she has experience in ballet, jazz, West African dance, and flamenco, her passion is modern dance. She was a member of Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble for 4 years. During this time she worked with many renowned choreographers and dancers including Mercedes Ellington and Randy Duncan. Gabriella has been dancing with Momentum Dance Lab for one year now and eagerly looks forward to choreographing and becoming more involved with the business aspect of the company as well. Gabriella is currently a student at the University of Tennessee pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree in English.
Shannon Pedigo Efteland
Shannon received her dance training at the Irma Witt O'Fallon School for the Dancer and at the University of Tennessee. During her studies to pursue a BS in Agriculture and MS in Microbiology, she found time for dance class, including master classes with Momix, Ailey II and the American Repertory Ballet. She has performed with the Appalachian Ballet Jr Company and the UT Dance Company and has performance and choreography credits with Circle Modern Dance and Momentum Dance Lab. Shannon has been teaching dance and movement classes in East Tennessee for 15 years. She is the Executive Director of Momentum Dance Lab and is a founding member of the company.
Sarah Dickinson Hobbs
Sarah graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance performance from Radford University. While there, she studied under Franco Jelincic and his wife Dagmar Kessler, Inessa Plekonov, Deborah McLaughlin and Danah Bella. She also performed at the American College Dance Festival and received a scholarship to attend Summer Stages in Concord, MA. After graduating, Sarah returned to the East Tennessee area where she taught at Van Metre School of Dance and danced as a soloist with the Appalachian Ballet Company. She also taught in the dance department at the University of Tennessee for three semesters. Sarah became a member of Momentum Dance Lab in March of 2010 and currently teaches, choreographs and serves as the secretary.
Leah J. Pinder
Leah graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from the University of South Florida. While attending USF she received many talent grants and the Henry F. Parish Scholarship of Excellence in Performance. In 2002, Leah represented USF at the International Festival of Music and Art in Castano, Italy. After graduating, Leah served as adjunct faculty for USF teaching modern dance and was also guest a instructor and choreographer at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Leah currently teaches modern dance technique at the University of Tennessee, Studio Arts for Dancers, and Tennessee Conservatory of Fine Arts. Leah has also performed and choreographed for Moving Current Dance Collective, Anoikis, and Circle Modern Dance. She is a founding member, dancer, teacher, and choreographer of Momentum Dance Lab. She is currently serving as co-Artistic director and was also co-Director of Art Moves 2009. Leah also served as co-Director of MDL's 2009 fall show Ghosts at the Window.
Jackie Sobel
Jackie began her dance training at a small studio in her hometown, Hammonton, NJ. She moved on to train and perform with Phyllis Papa of the Royal Danish Ballet, at the Atlantic City Ballet Theater. Later, she and her family moved to Pennsylvania, where she trained and performed the Nutcracker and multiple Spring Performances with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. At age 13 Jackie was the youngest student to be accepted into Point Park University's Pre- Professional Program, where she danced for four years. In 2007 Jackie joined The Pillow Project Dance Company, a Modern/Contemporary/Multi-Media Collaborative out of Pittsburgh, PA. As an Apprentice Under Pearlann Porter, Jackie was given the opportunity to develop her own style of movement. Jackie is currently living in Knoxville, TN. She was accepted into the Ohio State University for the Fall of 2012 to pursue a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance. She is happy to be Performing, Choreographing, Show Directing and Teaching as a Member of Momentum Dance Lab. Jackie has served on the company‘s Board of Directors, and also served as the Co-Artistic Director of Art Moves 2011 and 2012. Jackie Currently serves as the company Web Designer, Media Editor and Treasurer.
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Andrea Wilson
Andrea graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy and a minor in Dance Performance. While at the University of Tennessee she participated in UT Dance Company and held various offices. After graduation, she received her Master's in English Education and interned at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, helping with the dance company there and teaching English. She currently teaches at Karns High School in Knoxville.
Associate Artists
Lauren Henderson
Lauren Henderson began dancing at the age of four at American Academy of Dance in Hendersonville, Tennessee after being inspired by watching Savion Glover tap dance on Sesame Street. She quickly began studying various forms of dance such as tap, ballet, Pointe, jazz, clogging, and hip hop. Lauren also danced competitively with American Academy for seven years. In high school she fell in love with color guard and it became another outlet to express her love for dance. She attended the University of Tennessee and graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Animal Science and holds minors in Biology and Dance Performance. While at UT she began vigorously studying ballet and started experimenting with modern dance. Lauren performed with University of Tennessee Dance Company and the student organized BOSS Dance Company. Upon graduating she started training with Momentum Dance Lab and is thrilled to dance as an associate artist for Art Moves '12. She currently is working towards pursuing a career as a wildlife veterinarian, and in her spare time enjoys loving on her cat and dog, practicing yoga, cooking, crocheting, and hoop dancing.
Lisa Holden
Lisa has been dancing since she was in the womb. She grew up in Knoxville and trained with several wonderful instructors including Christian Addams, Jill Hollingsworth and Ginger Mynatt. Despite being painfully shy, she discovered she could combine her love of dance and performing with the enjoyment of travel and seeing new places-- from dance festivals in New Hamphshire and Maine to a year at the Florida School of the Arts near St. Augustine and a trip to India. Lisa studied for two years at Temple University in Philadelphia under Philip Grosser and Helmut Gottschild but returned to Knoxville to receive her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee. While at UT she danced with Circle Modern Dance. After graduating she spent many years in San Francisco where she danced with Yasmen Mehta, Joe Landini, Christine Cali and Kate Corby. Lisa has been back in Knoxville since 2008 and is happy to have found Momentum Dance Lab.
Catherine Jennings
Never shy or quiet, Catherine eagerly performed her first solo at age four when other dancers were too scared to be on stage alone. Catherine grew up in Knoxville, training in Ballet and Jazz at Irma Witt O'Fallon and then with Angela Floyd, where she was a member of the Knoxville Jazz Company. It was not until studying at Emory University that she began to understand and fall in love with Modern dance. After taking several years off to recover from an injury and to begin her career as a science teacher, Catherine began training and performing again with Momentum Dance Lab. She is grateful to have found an amazing group of people to help her develop and explore herself as a dancer, performer and choreographer.
Jared Russell
Jared discovered his passion for dance in early elementary school while performing with friends in talent shows and at school dances. At the age of 23, he began studying jazz and hip hop at United Dance in Hixson, TN. After graduating college, he was fortunate enough to train in places like Dance 101 in Atlanta, Performing Arts Studios in Birmingham, and with Lisa Kellogg in Santa Monica while traveling with his career. After his return to Knoxville, he was exposed to the modern genre through works with Momentum Dance Lab and since has found a distinct adoration for this style. Jared is joyful to work with such a prolific company and looks forward to his endeavors with the lab. He is a dancer and choreographer for Momentum Dance lab, and currently serves as the company's Public Relations facilitator and sales coordinator.
Courtney Vastine
Courtney Vastine has lived in Maryville, Tennessee for six years, after relocating from Cincinnati, Ohio. Courtney graduated magna cum laude from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, with Bachelor’s Degrees in both Dance and English (writing concentration). At Otterbein, Courtney had the privilege of studying under George Boft, formerly with the Bolshoi Ballet, Stella Kane, former member of the American Dance Machine and founder of JazzMet, and other esteemed teachers. She is experienced in performing and teaching Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary. Courtney strives to impress upon her dance students an appreciation of the artistry and history of all dance forms. She aims to infuse technique, creativity, style and musicality into her teaching and choreography. She stays abreast of the latest steps and teaching philosophies by attending workshops and committing her time to dance education. Currently Courtney is pursuing her art by teaching at the Fine Arts Connection, freelance choreographing around East Tennessee while also performing with Cedar Springs Liturgical Dance Ministry and Momentum. She was proud to be chosen as the choreographer for Annie Get Your Gun and Anything Goes! with the Foothills Community Players and Xanadu for Maryville College. She has also enjoyed using her singing and acting skills by appearing in local stage and screen opportunities.
