TXST Dance BFA Performance & Choreography

Just a few days until opening night for our show Interludes of Reinvention! We are so excited to share our pieces with everyone, and see our hard work take the stage.

Performances:
November 9th-11th @ 7:30
Evans Auditorium
Ticket link in bio!

Just one week until opening night of our show Interludes of Reinvention! We are so excited to share our pieces with everyone, and see our hard work take the stage.

Performances:
November 9th-11th @ 7:30
Evans Auditorium

Buy tickets: https://txstatepresents.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx

Meet Rory Vinson!
Rory Vinson is a senior at Texas State University pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography. She is a member of Texas State’s Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi and is the recipient of the Karen M. Earl Memorial Scholarship. Rory is an Alumni of Texas State's pre-professional dance company, Merge. She has had the opportunity to work with international choreographer Heike Salzer, along with Torens Johnson, Ana Baer, and Michelle Nance in Merge's production of The Four Seasons: How We Got Here. Rory has also completed her 200 hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Certification under the guidance of Misti Galvan and Becky Jordan in 2022. You may have seen her in Texas State’s BFA Concert “Introspective” as a dancer in Kali Reyna’s piece “Flickers.”

She is from Kingwood, Texas, where she trained in Ballet, Tap, Contemporary, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Improvisation at Rowland Ballard School of Ballet. Under the guidance of Sheryl Rowland, Kelly Agnew, Susan Cilie, Kerri Hawk, Grace Snider, and Amy Duncan, Rory began to grow her love for dance. Rory has been dancing for 17 years and has enjoyed growing her passion for dance in many environments. As a member of the competition team, Kingwood Jazz & Company, Rory had the opportunity to train under Choreographers such as Peter Chu, Robbie Moore, Nick Gomez, Tamara Dyke-Compton, and Cat Cogliandro.

Rory was a member of The Kingwood Fillies, Varsity Theatre, and Varsity Choir at Kingwood High School. She was the Dance Captain and Assistant Choreographer in Kingwood High School’s productions of Newsies and Fiddler On The Roof. She has also performed at The Tommy Tune Awards when Kingwood High School’s Production of Newsies was nominated for “Best Musical.” Rory has acted in Kingwood High School’s productions of A Midsummers Night's Dream, Punk Rock, Steel Magnolias and many more. She choreographed Riverwood Middle School’s productions of Legally Blonde Jr. and Frozen Jr. as well as several competition solos for Rowland Ballard Danceworks and Kingwood Dance Theatre. Rory is excited to keep choreographing and allowing dance to shape the person she is.

Meet Rishon Harvey!
Rishon Harvey is from Katy, Texas and is currently a senior at Texas State University getting his BFA in Performance and Choreography with a minor in theatre. He began his dance career in 2017 after becoming the first male on his high school's dance the Martinettes . However, dance has always been heavily involved in his life throughout other arts forms such as choir and theatre. He’s been apart of many groups in his time here at Texas State such as Bobcat Dance Theatre, Danceworks, a two year member of the touring ensemble Cim-Teya, which teaches kids about dance while educating them on topics like math, science, reading, etc. He has had the opportunity to work with international choreographer Heike Salzer, along with Torens Johnson, Ana Baer, and Michelle Nance in Merge's production of The Four Seasons: How We Got Here in spring of 2023. Rishon had the opportunity to be a member in a new group here at Texas State called "Summerge" in 2021, where he was able to train and learn choreography from several choreographers such as Christa Oliver, Ana Baer, Nadine Mozon, and Claudia Fragoso in a month and perform for an audience. He’s had many performance opportunities throughout his college and can’t wait for what’s next post graduation. Whether it be a cruise ship, joining a company, living his NYC broadway baddie dreams. Rishon can’t wait for the future of his dance career and take all he’s learned from his professors into the real world.

Meet Mary Harden!
Mary Harden is a choreographer and dancer born and raised in Houston, Texas. She has always had an immense love and connection to dance since a very early age.

Mary began training professionally at Texas State University and will be receiving her BFA in Dance-Performance and Choreography with a Minor in Sports Psychology, Fall of 2023. While there, Mary has had the opportunity to be a part of the collegiate dance team, Strutters, and continues to perform various shows through the Dance department. The Dance Division has also recognized Mary for both her academic and artistic abilities with scholarships such as; Joan Hays Orchesis Dance Scholarship (Spring 2020), Upper-Level Dance Scholarship (Fall 2021),Texas State Distinguished Student Scholarship (Fall/Spring 2022), Karen M. Earl Memorial Dance Scholarship (Spring 2023), and the Lesley Jones Memorial Scholarship (Fall 2023). Additionally, she was inducted as a Scholar in the College of Fine Arts.

Mary also works for the Dance Department through work-study, and was recognized for her hard work with an Employee of the Year Nomination (Spring 2023). Most recently, Mary had the privilege of working as a Dance Instructor at Core Dance Alliance in Sugarland, TX for their Summer program.

Upon graduation, Mary later hopes to obtain a dual degree MBA/MFA to further her dance education, as well as, prepare her to open a dance studio in the future. Mary’s ultimate goal is to provide students from low-income communities with the resources necessary to have proper professional training and exposure to the arts.

Meet Jayme Hammond!
Originally born in Kazakhstan, Jayme Hammond is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography at Texas State University. Jayme grew up in San Antonio, Texas training in ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance styles under the direction of Heather Stolle’s School of Dance. She was selected to attend Northeast School of the Arts in high school and was cast in several dance performances. Throughout the years, Jayme performed in the Moscow Ballet Russian Nutcracker and traveled to New York to train at the Joffrey Ballet Summer Dance Intensive.
Jayme was honored to attend and perform at many conventions including Texas Association Teachers of Dancing and Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Jayme represented the Texas State University Dance Department as a performer in Semilla Fest. She has performed in productions such as BFA Performance Showcase, Choreographers Showcase and Opening Door Dance Theatre. Most recently, she danced and traveled to schools throughout Texas with Creation in Motion: Touring Ensemble for Young Audiences. Being a part of this company and spreading the appreciation of dance to young children was a highlight of Jayme’s dance career. Currently, Jayme is training with a Hip Hop Performance Team in San Antonio. She is looking forward to her upcoming performances in BFA 2023.

Meet Reisa DiNatale!
Reisa DiNatale, from San Antonio, Texas is currently a Senior at Texas State University pursuing a BFA in performance and choreography. She has been dancing since the age of two, and has trained at multiple studios in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and most recently Texas at Kathy Marfin’s Dance School under the Leading Edge Dance Company. She competed in dance competitions for about 10 years throughout her life at both regional and national competitions, training heavily in ballet, modern, jazz and tap. Along with that, she participated in a pre-professional dance company called Summerge, performing in the first Semilla festival, and was a member of Merge Dance Company, affiliated with the Texas State Dance Division and university for two years. While in Merge, Reisa not only danced, but served as the social media manager for the 2022-2023 company, promoting the show and the company as a whole. Along with her love of performing dance, she also has experience teaching the art form. Reisa has taught at Kathy Marfin’s Dance School with students ages 3-10 years old in ranging styles like ballet, jazz, hip hop and tap. She has also received her 200 hour Hatha yoga teaching certification under the guidance of Becky Jordan and Misti Galvan to add diversity to her teaching capabilities. Reisa hopes to perform for a few years following her graduation from college, and pursue a career choreographing for studios and dance companies.

Meet Grace Crain!
Grace Crain is currently a senior at Texas State University pursuing a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography with a minor in Business Administration. She was raised in Houma, Louisiana and has been dancing since she was three years old under the instruction of Laura and Tara LeBlanc. She has trained with the New Orleans Ballet Theatre where she performed in their ballet Cinderella and starred as Clara in their production of The Nutcracker in 2019. She has studied with the New Orleans Ballet Association and trained on scholarship at the Joffrey Jazz and Contemporary Summer Intensive. Throughout her time at Texas State, she has gratefully been awarded multiple scholarships from the University and the Dance Division, one of which being the 2020-2021 Charlie and Joy Williams Scholarship for Outstanding Freshman. In 2021, Grace became a certified Hatha Yoga Instructor under the instruction of Becky Jordan and Misti Galvan and gained her Barre Above Instructor Certification. In June of 2022, Grace traveled to Colorado to intern with the professional dance company Industrial Dance Alliance directed by Brittney Kirkpatrick and Jessica Pittman. In May of 2023, Grace’s Honors College Thesis entitled “Art for the Smart: The Evolution of Modern Dance in America over Time and in Higher Education” was approved and published. In July of 2023, Grace worked as an arts administration intern with the Joffrey Ballet School’s summer intensive program in San Francisco, California. Upon graduation, Grace will continue her work as a yoga instructor with hopes of being accepted into graduate school to obtain her MFA in Dance.

Meet Lara Cerda!
Lara Cerda is a Texas State University senior pursuing her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography. She was born in Austin, Texas, where she began dancing at three. She grew up at D’ette & Co. Dancers and continued training under Jade Greenough, owner of Pivotal Academy of Dance and director of Vitality Dance Company. She has trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, hip-hop, lyrical, musical theater, and contemporary. At the age of 7, she joined her studio’s competition team, where she was able to travel to various dance conventions and competitions where she was awarded scholarships and awards. In 2016, she was a dancer in the Alamo Bowl, and in 2018 and 2019, her competition team was invited to dance at Austin Dance Festival. Lara spent many summers training in various dance styles and educational classes at dance intensives at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Sam Houston State University, Indiana University, and Dean College.

In 2022, she joined Merge Dance Company, a pre-professional dance company at Texas State University co-directed by Ana Baer and Torens Johnson. With Merge, she worked with Heike Salzer, Michelle Nance, Ana Baer, and Torens Johnson, who each choreographed pieces for the Merge show, “The Four Seasons: How We Got Here.” With Merge, she also toured the Dallas area to perform and assist with classes at various schools. She has also performed in a few shows at Texas State, including “Belonging,” “Through Stained Glass,” and “Introspective.” Following graduation, Lara hopes to join a modern dance company to perform and travel with for a few years to continue pursuing her passion for performing. She also loves choreographing and hopes to choreograph for dance companies, studios, or schools in the future as well.

Meet Naomi Alvarado!
Naomi is a senior at Texas state pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance & Choreography. She was born and raised in Laredo, Texas. She is fluent in English and Spanish and knows some American Sign Language! Naomi attended Laredo College before she transferred to Texas State University. She trained in Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Improvisation, and Hip Hop. She was a member of CIMTEYA 22-23’ where she performed and worked with children. She was also able to work with many instructors through CIMTEYA. She is currently a part of Merge Dance Company!

Introducing our first BFA choreographer/performer:

Meet Bayleigh Alexander!
Bayleigh Alexander is currently a Senior at Texas State University where she received a full scholarship to pursue a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance and Choreography. She has been a part of the Texas State Merge Dance Company for 2 years where she has had the opportunity to work with international choreographer Heike Salzer, along with Torens Johnson, Ana Baer, Michelle Nance, Christa Oliver, Brandon Gonzalez, and Francisc Graciano.

Bayleigh is a four year Müv Dance and Fitness Faculty Member. She has been a part of the Müv family since the studio first opened 10 years ago. She started as a charter member of The Müvment in 7th grade and then went on to be a part of Küpe and Müv Crü as well.

Bayleigh became a 200 hour Hatha Yoga Instructor in May of 2022 under the guidance of Becky Jordan and Misti Galvan and gained her Barre Vida Instructor Certification in April of 2022. She has also been recognized for her academic achievements by being inducted into the Council of Scholars Honors Society for the College of Fine Arts and has received the Karen Earl / Reed Parr matching scholarship as an honorable mention for outstanding freshman dance major and the Karen M. Earl Memorial / Reed Parr Dance Scholarships her sophomore year.

Bayleigh has been dancing for 17 years and is trained in styles such as Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, Hip Hop, Tap, Clogging, Lyrical, Kick, Pom, and Acro. Bayleigh was introduced to competitive dance at the age of six where she began earning many scholarships, awards, and titles.

Bayleigh has had the opportunity to be a part of performance experiences with organizations including Austin Youth Dance Festival, Dance to Breathe, Austin Spurs Pregame and Halftime, San Antonio Spurs, and Matters of the Heart. She has also spent years assisting teams like Kilgore College Rangerettes, Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, and Gateway College Preparatory School. Bayleigh also had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles and New York to further her dance training!

Bayleigh is excited to be pursuing her dream of teaching and choreographing!