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Artistic Director :: Dance Instructors :: Accompanists :: Student Faculty
Artistic Director
August
Tye
Artistic Director
(For more information, please, see the Artistic Director page)
Dance Instructors
Aimee
Tye
Associate Artistic Director
Ballet
Ms. Aimee Tye began training at the Bullard School of Ballet and the Kalamazoo Ballet Company. She also studied at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Professional School for two years. She became a member of the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre of Detroit for the 1993-94 season. Ms. Tye dances with the Joel Hall Dancers and is a principal dancer and Associate Artistic Director of Tyego Dance Project and the Hyde Park School of Dance. Ms. Tye has a degree in massage therapy from the Soma Institute.
Sarah
Ford
Associate Artistic Director
Ballet, Modern, Kundalini Yoga
Ms. Ford is originally from Georgetown, Kentucky. She began her dance training at age 8 at the Lexington Ballet under the direction of Karl Kaufman. She went on to earn her BFA in dance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. While studying at CCM she trained with James Truitte and fell in love with the Horton Technique and modern dance. After relocating to Chicago, Ms. Ford danced as a company member with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and self-produced several dance concerts as Nucleus Dance Collective. Ms. Ford also teaches dance at Chicago High School for the Arts and the Joffrey Ballet, is a certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor, group fitness instructor and Clinical Exercise Specialist
Allyson
Ratliff
Associate Artistic Director
Ballet
Ms. Ratliff began her dance training at the Lenhoff School of Music and Dance where she discovered her love of movement and her passion for the arts. She went on to train at several of Chicago’s premier dance institutions including the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center (formerly the Bryant Ballet), the School of Ballet Chicago under the watchful eye of Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair, the Joel Hall Dance Center, and with August and Aimee Tye at the Hyde Park School of Ballet. She also studied dance at the University of Arizona in Tucson and the Washington Ballet in Washington DC. Ms. Ratliff has taught at the School of Ballet Chicago where she instructed classes in ballet and creative movement and served as an integral part of Ballet Chicago’s inner city outreach program. She has also served as Ballet Mistress for Expressions Dance Theatre and Rhythm Street in Washington DC. Ms. Ratliff has a Master of Arts Management degree with a focus on performing arts.
Kathleen
McCann
Ballet
Kathleen McCann graduated from Butler University's Dance Department with a Bachelor of Science in Arts Administration. While at Butler, she performed soloist and principal roles with the university performance company including Myrtha in Giselle and Odile in Swan Lake. She also performed in original contemporary ballet and modern-dance works by choreographers Donald Byrd and former Martha Graham company member Larry White. After graduation, Kathleen danced with Kentucky Ballet Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky for three years. She performed soloist roles in Paquita, Dracula, The Nutcracker, and various short repertory pieces. Now in Chicago, she is director of Dance in the Parks, a non-profit dance initiative that brings free, professional, outdoor, concert-dance performances to neighborhood parks. She is also a dancer for Tyego Dance Project. She teaches student and professional-level ballet classes throughout the Chicago area.
Jacquelyn
Sanders
Modern, Ballet
Ms. Sanders began her training at the Kalamazoo Ballet Company, has studied at the Alvin Ailey Dance Center and the Joel Hall Dance Center, and is currently dancing with Deeply Rooted Productions where she is an apprentice ensemble member. Ms. Sander's choreography has been performed at Dance Chicago '98 and '99 and at the Mid States Regional Ballet Festivals. She has been working with August and Aimee Tye for over 12 years and is a principal dancer with the Tyego Dance Project. Ms. Sanders is a freelance costume designer/seamstress working for many dance companies and schools in the Chicago area.
Vanessa
Truvillion
Jazz
Ms. Truvillion has been a devoted Joel Hall Dancer for over 20 years. She has choreographed for the Joel Hall Dancers, Dance Chicago, and the award-winning film Soul Food. Ms. Truvillion teaches and choreographs at various venues in Chicago.
Rochelle Goff
Jazz
Rochelle Goff, born in Belize, has been a member of the Joel Hall Dancers and has worked for the Chicago White Sox Frank Thomas' record label, UN-D-NYABLE Entertainment, Inc., where she danced for live concerts and music videos. Other works to her credit include; appearances in Seagram's promotions, Dance Chicago, and as a specialty dancer in the Paramount Pictures' film, "Save the Last Dance." She is also on the faculty of the Joel Hall Dance Center where she teaches Jazz and Hip-Hop in both the Adult and Youth Divisions, and has been an instructor in the Alvin Ailey Dance Camp-Chicago.
Janèe Powell
Hatha Yoga
Janèe Powell is a certified Hatha yoga instructor with a special interest in Pre-natal yoga and women’s health. She has a marketing degree from Hampton University and began practicing yoga postures in an effort to stay balanced and fight stress. She started her own production and event marketing company, Sapphire Concepts Inc. and started practicing an intense program of Hatha yoga under Yoga Master W.L. Lillard. She completed her certification of completion and instruction for Hatha yoga from Star Planet Yoga and Wellness Institute and launched Sunrise Yoga Association, an organization that provides yoga scholarships to teachers and yoga retreats to students.
Accompanists
Tatiana Naumova
Accompanist
Tatiana Naumova studied piano in Russia. She has a Master's Degree in Piano Performance and Music Education obtained from the Nizhniy Novgorod Conservatory.
Peter
Rumbold
Anna Rumbold
Accompanists
Mr. Rumbold studied piano in Australia and has a Doctorate in Composition from the University of Illinois. Ms. Rumbold studied piano in Russia. She has a Master's Degree in Musicology from the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
Jonathan Schang
Accompanist
Since graduating from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University of 2005, Jonathan Schang has become one of Chicago’s premier dance accompanists, acclaimed for his abilities as a drummer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. Mr. Schang works with many dance companies and studios throughout Chicago, including Thodos Dance Chicago, Lou Conte Dance Studio, Columbia College and the Academy of Movement and Music.
Student Faculty
Student Faculty bios coming soon.