JUNE 10 - Elizabeth Ahearn

Elizabeth Lowe Ahearn is a Professor of Dance at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland in the Center for Dance, Music and Theatre. A dancer, choreographer, Pilates instructor, and educator, she earned her B.F.A. and M.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes. President of the American College Dance Association, she has served on the Association’s Executive Board as Vice President for Policies and Procedures and has served as both Chair and Dance Program Coordinator of the Dance Department at Goucher and on the faculties of the University of Washington and Carver Center for Arts and Technology. Originally from Oklahoma, her early dance training was with Yvonne Chouteau, Joy Feldman, Conrad Ludlow, Bojan Spassoff, and Stephanie Wolf and continued her studies in New York with Bettijane Sills, Rachel List, June Finch, Valmai Stretton, Gus Solomons Jr., Linda Tarnay, and Rosanna Seravalli. Ahearn has performed with the Metropolitan Ballet Company under the direction of Conrad Ludlow and Joy Feldman, Ballet Oklahoma under the direction of Edward Villella and Bojan Spassoff, The Second Avenue Dance Company in New York City, Kinetics Dance Theatre, Surge Dance Company of Baltimore, and Ordinary/Extraordinary Dance Theatre. Her repertory has included experimental, contemporary, historical, and classical works by Agnes de Mille, June Finch, Robert Gladstein, Eleanor King, Daniel Levans, Conrad Ludlow, Doris Humphrey, Mark Morris, Bill T. Jones, Jan Van Dyke, Mel Wong, and Arnie Zane, and her own work has been presented nationally and internationally. Elizabeth received her Pilates Teacher Certification in 1989 from the Pilates Studio under the tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska and Sari Mejia Santo and her Progressing Ballet Technique Teaching Certification in 2019 from Marie Walton-Mahon.

​

JUNE 11 - Rebecca Voelpel

Mrs. Rebecca Voelpel, formerly Rebecca Houseknecht, is a dance and fitness instructor residing in Baltimore, MD. Rebecca grew up performing and competing in the DMV area and attended the Kirov Academy of Ballet school. In 2011 she was a cast member of the award-winning documentary film “First Position”. After graduating high-school, she became a company member of the Washington Ballet in Washington, D.C., where she performed soloist roles, such as, the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, The Pas de Trois in Le Corsaire, and Miss Liberty in Septime Webre's The Nutcracker. In search of becoming a well-rounded dancer and professional, Rebecca enrolled at Towson University. While there she led the 18-time National Championship winning dance team to 4 consecutive titles during her time as the Captain. Upon graduating with a B.S. in Healthcare Administration, Mrs. Voelpel, taught at multiple studios across the nation, teaching various classes including; ballet, jazz, contemporary, conditioning and technique. During her time teaching at various studios, Rebecca fell in love with coaching and developing dance technique in children of all ages. Rebecca currently assists Wyndee McGovern, creator of the McGovern method, nationally. As a McGovern Method assistant, Rebecca has travelled to various studios and ballet academies throughout the United States educating both students and teachers about the McGovern Method. In addition to teaching dance, she is a certified barre, Pilates, cycle, and group fitness instructor.

​

JUNE 12 - Catherine Horta-Hayden

Catherine Horta-Hayden is a Professor in Towson University’s Department of Dance. Professor Horta-Hayden received her Master of Fine Arts from Florida State University and teaches all levels of the ballet technique, pointe, and ballet repertory. She also served as the Artistic Director of the Towson University Dance Company from 2000-2007coordinating residencies by renowned International Artists.  Professor Horta-Hayden served as Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs at Towson University from 2007-2010. In this capacity, she was responsible for the administration of internal and external academic proposals for the institution, represented the Division of Academic Affairs in institutional initiatives and oversaw all aspects of Towson University off campus programs and articulation agreements with Community Colleges, including programs at four satellite locations. She led the partnership to create the first Towson University satellite campus, Towson University North East (TUNE), which would provide students in Harford and Cecil Counties, as well as military and their families affected by the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC), the opportunity to obtain four-year college degrees from Towson University in Harford County. In addition, she lead the efforts to create and implement a University wide General Education Assessment plan and served as the Academic Affairs liaison to Student Affairs, strengthening the partnership between both Divisions. She was responsible for the coordination of the University’s eight yearly Commencement ceremonies and together with the Associate Provost; she assisted in the supervision of the Academic Advising and the Academic Achievement Departments. Through her outreach efforts and commitment to the Hispanic Community, she was instrumental in creating and strengthening partnerships with the Hispanic College Fund and the U.S Hispanic Youth Entrepreneur Education (USHYEE). Professor. Horta-Hayden played a significant role in bringing the 2008 Maryland’s Hispanic Youth Symposium to Towson University and is committed to creating opportunities for Hispanic youth in higher education and serving as an advocate for the Hispanic community.

​

She is currently Past- President of the International Council of Researchers in Pedagogical Studies (CORPS) de Ballet Inc. This is a professional non-profit Corporation dedicated to the development, exploration, and advancement of ballet in higher education and to the service and promotion of the art of ballet. As President of CORPS de Ballet International, she designed and coordinated a historic conference in Sarasota, Florida titled, ““Traditions in Classical Training: Strengthening Communities”. For the first time in the U.S., faculty from the Cuban National Ballet School and the Cuban National Ballet came together to uncover and share the distinctive characteristics of the Cuban Ballet curriculum and pedagogy through master classes and panel discussions.  This conference featured Maestra Ramona de Saa, Director of the Cuban National Ballet School and Miguel Cabrera, Historian of the Cuban National Ballet.  Statewide, Professor Horta-Hayden has served on the Maryland State Arts in Communities Advisory Council, Maryland State Arts Council Local Host Committee for the 2006 National Performing Arts Exchange Conference and Maryland State Arts Council Local Host Committee for the 2007 National Assembly of State Art Agencies. She has also served as a panelist on the Ohio Arts Council's Individual Excellence Awards Choreography panel. Professor Horta-Hayden is also a National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) Evaluator and conducts onsite reviews of member and potential member institutions.

​

She has engaged in extensive performing nationally and has been invited to create and restage numerous works and teach master classes throughout the country.  In 2004, she was invited to research the pedagogy of the National Ballet School of Cuba and taught at the Lizt Alfonso Cuban Dance Company while in Havana, Cuba. She served as co-director and choreographer for the project “Love Through Time” which was an interdisciplinary and intercultural project performed in Germany and the United States. This project brought students from Germany, Cuba, and the U.S.A to create a concert through a cappella choral music, percussion, and dance. This concert was performed in Oldenburg and Berlin, Germany as well as in the United States. In addition, she authored the project “Cuban Dance; Enhancing the Cultural Fabric of Baltimore”, which brought 600 Baltimore County middle school youth and teachers to Towson University to expose them to Afro Cuban history, culture, music and dance. Her most recent research, “Integrating rotator discs into ballet classwork: collaboration of ballet professor, somatic expert, and medical team”, was invited for presentation at the 2014 International Association for Dance Medicine and Science 24th Annual Meeting in Basel, Switzerland; the 2015 Performing Arts Medicine Association Conference in Tampa, Florida; and for poster presentation at the 2015 World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress in Singapore. It was also published in the ScienceDirect Journal of  Physiotherapy, Volume 101, Supplement 1, May 2015.  Her abstract “Honoring Ballet’s Pedagogical History Through 21st Century Innovation: Integrating Rotator Discs into Traditional Ballet Class” was also accepted for presentation at the 20th Annual CORPS de Ballet International Conference in Florence, Italy in July 2018.

​

Profesor Horta-Hayden was approved by the National Endowment for the Arts to serve as an external evaluator for Morton Street Summer Dance Program in Baltimore City and was appointed by former Baltimore County Executive, James Smith, as a Commissioner on the Baltimore County Commission for Women and served from 2006-2008. She served on the Board of Trustees for WYPR 88.1 Maryland’s NPR news station and was invited by the former University System of Maryland Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan to serve on the Towson University Presidential Search and Screening Committee 2011.

​

JUNE 13 - Laurice Chow

Laurice Chow has taught dancers of all ages, and in addition to classical ballet has a background in Chinese folk dance, Chinese opera, and modern dance. She has coached students at all levels of the Royal Academy of Dance graded syllabus, is certified in junior, senior, and advanced levels of Progressing Ballet Technique, and is currently on the faculty of Maryland Youth Ballet. She holds Bachelor of Science degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics from the University of Maryland.

​

JUNE 14 - Deborah Engerman

After returning from touring Europe as Ballet Mistress with Rock the Ballet, Mrs. Engerman took on the role of Director of Maryland Classical Dance Academy at Centre Pointe Performing Arts and also teaches at Susquehanna Dance Center near Lancaster, PA. She trained early in life with the Baltimore Ballet in the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) tradition, passing her graded exams. Later while pursuing her BA in International Policy at Dickinson College, she continued her study of classical ballet with the teachers of Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Her dance training also includes Vaganova Technique, French Methodology, and the Dance Education Program at Towson University. Mrs Engerman has staged ballets to include the Nutcracker and Swan Lake, Act II. Dancers trained by Ms. Engerman have earned professional contracts and danced with Universal Ballet, ABT, Complexions, The Washington Ballet, The Vienna Opera Ballet, Boston Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Inc, Texture Ballet, Hubbard Street, and on Broadway, among numerous others. She has also been a coach to dancers succeeding at numerous international ballet competitions, such as The Prix de Lausanne, the Varna IBC, and The Youth America Grand Prix. Her student, Adrienne Canterna, took the Junior Gold Medal at the 1998 Jackson USA International Ballet Competition. She is currently happy to continue to train dancers in MD and PA, while living with her husband and two dogs, in South Central PA.