BIOS

EMILY SCOTT - a dancer, instructor and choreographer based in Mid-Michigan. Growing up in the Lansing area she as a member of the Children’s Ballet Theater and Happendance 2, now Impulse Student Dance Company. She also performed as a guest performer with the Cincinnati Ballet Company, and the Moscow Ballet.

Emily majored in dance performance at Eastern Michigan University and has had the opportunity to work with many Michigan Dance professionals including Kristi Faulkner, Joori Jung, Joanna McNamara, Sherry Wilkinson, Phil Simmons, Jeremy Blair, and Haleem Rasul. Emily is a popular teacher in and around Mid-Michigan, formerly teaching at Foster Community Center in Lansing and Gardner International Magnet School. Her current teaching posts are Happendance School in Okemos, her alma mater, and Jackson Center for the Arts- Jackson MI. She is also engaged as an Assistant Director for Impulse Student Dance Company, and Directs DANCE Lansing, a summer festival for the entire dance community of Lansing. As a performing artist Emily is a member of Velocity! Concert Dance Company and Education Exchange Company.

AMANDA GREEN has had a lifelong passion for dance. Studying at Lansing Community College, she received training in a variety of dance styles and had the honor of twice being selected as student choreographer for their annual Spring Dance Concert. She has also choreographed for Dance Lansing annually between 2013 and 2016. Amanda’s performance repertoire includes many LCC and Happendance shows, Greater Lansing Ballet Company productions, and performances at various events in the Lansing area such as Jazzfest, Bluesfest, local gallery showings and a Lugnuts game.

In addition to performing, Amanda has also spent time as a teacher’s assistant and teacher of Creative Dance classes at Delta Dance Connection, formerly Shannon Simon Dance.

After working on projects with other local dancers for about a year, Amanda helped found (re)spire dance collective in the summer of 2023.

Outside of dance, Amanda enjoys working with young children at a local Montessori School, spending time with her pets, riding her bike, cooking and making art.

SOPHIE PARKS is a choreographer, dancer, and arts administrator from Okemos, Michigan and has interned with several Michigan performing arts organizations. She performs and choreographs throughout the state, notably with (re)spire dance collective and the Greater Lansing Ballet Company’s Young Adult division. She was an assistant artistic director of GLBC’s adult company Elements from 2019-2024 and was at MSU as a dance minor with MSU Orchesis from 2019-2023.

She currently teaches at Kick it Out and Delta Dance connection and has held instructor and/or assistant instructor positions at The Studio Performing Arts Center, Delta Dance Connection, and Happendance. Her training has included modern, contemporary, jazz, ballet, choreography, and some hip hop and tap.

LAURA SPITZFADEN is a previous member of the Happendance professional dance company, Velocity and is a founding member of (re)spire. She has studied tap, jazz, ballet, modern, and lyrical dance at several greater Lansing dance studios, including Assiff Dance Studio, Lansing Community College, The DanceConservatory, Greater Lansing Academy of Dance, and Happendance. She participates each summer with The Community Dance Project in Lansing. She performed with The Dance Exchange in their production Isotopes in Motion at the Wharton Center, in 2022. Laura is also a board certified lactation consultant, supporting families in Mid-Michigan. She is currently attending the University of Michigan-Flint in a dual Bachelor of Science Master of Public Health program.

AUGUST DOERR is a Lansing-born dancer, teacher, and choreographer. They joined the student company Happendance Impulse at 8 years old as one of the original “young artists” and stayed with them from 2015-2019. After, they joined the contemporary division of Greater Lansing Ballet Company, GLBC Elements, and have been with them from 2019-current. August has been trained in modern, contemporary, ballet, tap, and jazz, and taught contemporary, ballet, and tap to 2-9 year olds at Happendance pre-pandemic. In addition to dance, August participates in competitive gymnasts at Tatiana Gutsu Gymnastics Academy, and coaches the kids at the gym on acro-dance and various events.

August has performed through Happendance Impulse and GLBC Elements for several years, and notable experiences include performing in Ellen Werkman’s show in Chicago yearly, and dancing half time at both a Lansing Lugnuts game and a Harlem Globe Trotters game. They have choreographed student pieces for the Happendance school and Happendance Impulse, and also for Elements and Community Dance Project. 

JENNAH QUINN GRAY is a graduate of Everett High School where she trained in the Everett Dance Program, as well as at other local dance studios. She has been dancing for over twenty years and studied various styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, partnering, and hip hop. Her specialties include contemporary, modern, jazz, lyrical, and hiphop.

Jennah is also a cross-fit enthusiast and has her level one certificate. Her main goal is to not only provide an open space for dancers to learn and grow, but also to engage students with the how and why of what they are learning to do with their bodies—to engage their minds, bodies, and souls as one.

She currently attends LCC for Business and Accounting, and also works in the office at Happendance, gaining experience in finance. Along with being an instructor at Happendance and Danceworks, she is also the Assistant Director of the Happendance Professional Company. Jennah is also an adjunct employee of the MSU Theatre Department, subbing classes in Jazz and Contemporary.