FGSD Teachers

Angela R. Brooks	Angela Renee Brooks' Biography    I started dancing at the age of four ad Darla’s Dance Studio in Fairfield, Ohio. I continued to take there through elementary school and joined the Dance line Express at age 10 through age 18. The Dance Line was a competition team lead by Darla Dirr and her daughter Lisa Garrison. We had three competitions a year and brought home many First and Overalls. I competed in groups such as solo, trio, small and large group. I performed styles including Ballet, Lyrical, Tap Jazz and Character. After high school, I went to Sinclair Community College to further my dance education. I joined the Sinclair Dance Ensemble and was a member for three years. We performed at nursing homes, public schools, and the Schuster Center in Dayton. I took classes on Ballet, Modern, Tap and Jazz. I graduated in 2004 with an Associates of Arts Specializing in Dance. I have also had training at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. At the age of 13, I took a summer workshop there. We practiced singing, dancing, make-up design and costume design. I was given a lead part as a shadow dancer.
Ashley Marcum	Ashley Rose Marcum's Dance Biography    I started later then most and began dance at the age of 13. My first studio was Janet Carleton*s School of Dance. (Janet was a former Cincinnati Ballet Mistress.) After taking for a year I learned that I had a strong desire and talent to dance. So I began seeking more classes at the Cincinnati Otto M. Budig Academy. For five years I studied dance under these two studios with Janet Carleton, Patrick Notaro, Daniel Simmons, Nancy Fountain, and several others. I started with one to two classes a week and was soon taking five classes to improve and learn in anyway possible. My studies also included summer long intensives where we trained for 5-7 hours a day. I truly loved to dance and found great enjoyment in expressing myself through dance. In the summer of 2002 I traveled to Mississippi and trained with Ballet Magnificat under Kathy Thibodeaux (founder of Ballet Magnificat), Jiri Voborsky, John Vandervelde, Sol Nazario and other company members. There I was seeking my two greatest desires, my desire to dance and my desire to learn more of my loving Lord and Savior. I thank Him for giving me this great desire and ability to dance. My enjoyment through dance now is to express and interpret the heart He has given me.    Several Performances and some of the roles I have danced:    Charlottes Web (Winter, Spring) Once Upon A Time (Sprite) Alice In Wonderland (Calla Lilly) Snow White the Seven Dwarfs (Princess) Twelve Dancing Princesses (one of the twelve Princesses) Cincinnati Ballet*s Nutcracker (Soldier, Angel) Several different Art Samplers for the Cincinnati area (Finger Fairy) Aurora*s Wedding (Autumn Fairy) I have also learned other famous variations from Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Nutcracker, Giselle, La Bayadere and Ballet Magnificat variations from their company repertoire.    Ballet and Pointe is what I have the most experience in, but here are some of the other kinds of dancing I have done: Pointe, partner, variations, modern, jazz, flamingo, tap, yoga, Pilates, improve and interpretation. My most current performances and dancing have been with Kevin Bell - Miami Valley Ballet Theatre.
Audrey Morgan	Audrey Adele Morgan    As a little girl, I loved to watch gymnastics and dancing on TV. As soon as I could, at about the age of 5, I started dance classes with Janet Carleton, who had been a mistress in the Cincinnati Ballet. I had just broken my arm, but I so much wanted to dance, that I started classes. I loved them. Some of the characters I played in Janet Carleton*s recitals were a piglet, a doll and little bo-peep.    At 10 years of age I enrolled in the Cincinnati Ballet, I was encouraged to by one of my teachers. I took 2-3 classes a week, plus an intensive summer program. During this time, I rehearsed and performed in many performances. Among them were: three years as a soldier in the Nutcracker; one year as a party boy in Nutcracker; a sprite in Midsummer*s Night Dream; a flower girl in Twelve Dancing Princesses. I also was winter and spring in Seasons. During the summer productions I played many roles. At age fourteen I trained with Nancy Fountain and Daniel Simons, taking 2-3 classes a week, plus I performed in The Tin Man Soldier. In 2006 I played winter in the production of Cinderella in Fairfield with Kevin Bell*s - Miami Valley Ballet Theatre. In the summer of 2006 I spent 2 weeks at Ballet Magnificat, an intensive summer program.    My training encludes mostly ballet and pointe, but I have also taken tap, jazz, modern, flamingo, partnering and improv.