Courses Taught: Hip Hop Dance & Culture, Dance Composition, Dance and Its Audience, Modern Dance, Jazz, and Dance History

A native of Chicago, IL. James Morrow is the founder and artistic director of james morrow/ The Movement. Coming from an urban background, Morrow yearns to see the contemporary composition prevalent in concert dance integrated into the hip-hop culture with which he is submerged. His movement has become a fusion of modern, contemporary, and urban dance styles. His choreography can be seen on companies throughout the U.S. and internationally working in Utrecht, Vienna, Mumbai, Puebla, Toronto, Montreal, Krasnoyarsk, Kerch, and New Brighton.

Morrow was on Faculty at the American Dance Festival (summer 2010) and at the Bates Dance Festival's Youth Arts Program (2018). He received a fellowship to Hollins University/The American Dance Festival (2011) where he earned his MFA in dance. He has been recipient of the Artist Ambassador Award to Northeastern Illinois University (2001), The Mordine and Co. Mentoring Project (2006), Chicago Cultural Dance Center's Dance Bridge (2008), Movement Research at Judson Church (2012), SOLO Commissioned Choreographer for Minnesota's McKnight Dance Fellow (Stephen Schroeder 2012), Bates Teacher Fellowship (2013), the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Choreography (2014), The Helen Coburn Meier & Tim Meier Foundation Achievement Award (2015), Boston Center for the Arts Choreographic Residency (2016), and The Boston Dance Alliance Retreat and Rehearsal Fellowship (2017).As a dancer/ performer, Morrow has worked with Chicago based companies: The Joel Hall Dancers, Deeply Rooted Productions, Ascension/The Kirby Reed Project, Ken Von Heidecke's Festival Ballet, Larry Long's Civic Ballet, Culture Shock Chicago, Concert Dance, Inc., Mordine and Co., Hedwig Dances, The Tyego Dance Project, Impetus Dance Chicago, MOMENTA, and Nick Cave's (Soundsuits) of The Art Institute of Chicago. Other performance credits include working with New York's: Helen Pickett, nicholasleichterdance, Gina Kohler/ Dream Factories, Danielle Russo Dance Company, Tami Stronach Dance, Tessa Chandler, Margaret Morrison, Wendell Cooper, Yozmit, DeeLite, DJ Kotchy, Bahama's: The Baha Men, Minnesota's: Sesame Street Live, Toronto's:Gerry Trentham/ Pounds Per Square Inch Theatre, Michigan's: Kalamazoo Ballet, Berlin's : Tino Sehgal, North Carolina's: Tommy DeFrantz/ Slippage, Ellen Hemphill/ Archipelago Theater, Jim Havercamp, Alex Maness, Florida's: Jacksonville Dance Theater, Rachael McClellan Leonard, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Elevated Aerial Dance, and Massachusetts's: Jen Pollins, Paul Matteson, Peter Dimuro, Caitlin Corbett, Meghan McLyman, Across The Ages Dance Project..

As an educator, Morrow has worked as full- time dance faculty/ Assistant Professor of Dance at Northeastern Illinois University, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Hartford Academy for the Arts, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts, and Salem State University. He is currently living in Virginia Beach,VA. and working as an assistant professor of dance at Old Dominion University.

Courses Taught: Modern Dance, Dance Appreciation, Pilates, Yoga.

Megan Thompson is an active dance artist and educator who completed her BS in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MFA in Dance at the University of Maryland. She also studied at the Laban Center in London and completed training programs in Pilates (700 hour), Yoga (200 hour) and Extreme Moves. She has danced professionally in the Li Chiao-Ping Dance Company, The Maida Withers Dance Construction Company and RTG Dance. In 2009, Megan co-founded the Jen Stone and Megan Thompson Dance Project with performing artist Jen Stone. Together they have taught, performed and collaborated with artists and communities both locally and internationally. Megan is also a founding member of the Norfolk arts group, ArtPile, for which she has created site-specific work and structured group improvisations. As a choreographer, Megan creates work from a place of collaboration and discovery. Her choreography involves dynamic physicality intended to be performed honestly and with a desire to create a shared experience for performers and audience. Megan's choreography has been curated and presented nationally and internationally at festivals such as the Seattle International Dance Festival (Seattle, WA), the DUMBO Dance Festival (NYC), the Mid-Atlantic Choreographers' Showcase (Richmond, VA), The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland), The Isadora Festival (Russia), PANPAPANPAYLYA (Australia) and Performática (Mexico). In her research, Megan explores interdisciplinary and innovative methods of art-making with a focus on performance and interactive technology for unconventional formats and environments. Recent immersive installations and site-specific works have been presented locally at The NEON Festival, The Chrysler Museum of Art, The Hermitage Museum and Gardens and internationally at The Ocean Dance Festival in Bangladesh.

Courses Taught: Dance and Its Audience, Modern

Victoria (Vicki) Fink earned her MFA in Dance at Temple University Dance Department in Philadelphia, PA. While at Temple, she started teaching as a Teaching Assistant and earned a scholarship for her thesis concert in 2001. Vicki earned her BFA in Theater and Minor in Dance at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, in 1995. She has been an adjunct dance faculty member for Temple University (1999-2001), Virginia Commonwealth University (2003-2005) and William & Mary (2016-2022). Vicki was the lead dance teacher at the Henrico High School, Center for the Arts Honors Program from (2006-2016.) In addition to teaching higher education and high school dance, she is involved with many Partners in the Arts Projects, funded by Virginia Commission of the Arts, a freelance dancer within NYC, Philadelphia, and Richmond, a founding member of Ground Zero Dance Company and currently dances for Leah Glenn Dance Theatre.

Vicki joined the ODU dance department in Spring 2017 as adjunct faculty, teaching Modern Technique 1-6 and Dance and its Audience. In addition, she has been a choreographer for Spring and Fall University Dance ​Theater concerts.

Courses Taught: Dance and Its Audience, Performance Lab

Davianna Griffin is a surging international performance artist-scholar researching 21st century Black womanhood. As a queer creative she frequently collaborates with other artists and questions how embodied practices can serve as a voice for those who are silenced. Griffin's movement vocabulary is rooted in Africanist aesthetics, traditions, and histories that inform her autoethnographic-embodied-ancestral memory practices. Davianna has presented her scholarly research at conferences such as Dance Studies Association, International Association of Blacks in Dance, and Collegium for African Diaspora Dance. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from The Ohio State University; she has danced professionally with Todd Rosenlieb Dance and is a dance faculty member at the Governor's School for the Art.

Courses Taught: Dance and Its Audience, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Modern Dance.

Katie Iacono Thompson, M.Sc. Dance Science, Trinity Laban and M.F.A. Choreography, The University of Maryland, credits her extensive background in athletics and dance training for her love of researching the connection between these two physical fields. Among her greatest influences in the arts, she studied under Professor Emerita Mim Rosen and danced for choreographers Ed Tyler and Tzveta Kassabova.

Courses Taught: Ballet and Yoga

Lauren Sinclair began her ballet training with Sandra Balestracci in Williamsburg, VA. Lauren is a graduate of the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC, where she trained under the tutelage of Alla Sizova, Nikolai Morozov and Ludmila Morkovina. During her ten-year professional dance career, Lauren performed with Ballet Austin, Virginia Ballet Theatre, Todd Rosenlieb Dance and Elbert Watson Dance Company. Her performances included roles in Serenade, Allegro Brillante, Cinderella, Coppélia, Nutcracker, and many other classical and contemporary works. She has a BS in Communication from Old Dominion University (ODU) and is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 500) and Certified Pilates Mat instructor. Lauren strives to create a supportive environment for all her students, so they can learn and grow to their maximum potential without a fear of failure. She has a passion for the mental health of dancers and is a Mental Wellness Certified Dance Educator through Danscend. She is also trained in the following programs: Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), SugarFoot Therapy (SFT) Injury Prevention for Dancers, and Flexistretcher (FLX). Lauren has been on the faculty of The Governor's School for the Arts (GSA) since 2012, teaching for the Dance, Musical Theatre and Vocal Music Departments and has choreographed for Dance and Vocal Music. Lauren joined ODU as an Adjunct Instructor in 2020. She teaches Master Classes in the Hampton Roads area and for the Regional High School Dance Festival.

Courses Taught: Jazz

Janelle N. Spruill graduated from The Governor's School for the Arts in 2003 and earned her BFA in Dance and minor in Media Studies from Marymount Manhattan College in 2007. While there, she had the pleasure to perform works by Twyla Tharp, Doug Varone, Martha Graham and many others. She was a member of the Elizabeth Higgins Dance Theater from 2004-2007. She was a scholarship student at The Ailey School, The Gus Giordano Dance School, American Dance Festival (ADF), and Garth Fagan Dance where she also had the opportunity to work and perform with the company. In 2013, she was the recipient of the NAACP Area II ACT-SO Award in Dance. She has been a teacher's assistant at Broadway Dance Center for Shelia Barker as well as a Rehearsal Assistant for the Richmond Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker." She has taught at the Regional and National High School Dance Festivals in Virginia, Florida and Pennsylvania as well as the West Virginia Dance Festival in Charleston. Her works have recently been accepted to the Regional and National High School Dance Festivals and the Richmond Choreographer's Showcase. She has also choreographed for the Virginia Symphony Orchestra's PB & J Series: Dance to The Music, Virginia Arts Festival "Rhythm Live Project", Norfolk's Grand Illumination Parade and for Todd Rosenlieb Dance. She has also been a guest artist at Old Dominion University and Shenandoah University. She is currently a part of the faculty at The Governor's School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia teaching and choreographing for both the Dance and Musical Theatre Departments and just recently received her MA in Arts Administration from Goucher College.

Courses Taught: Ballet

Lisa Wadley-McCarty studied classical ballet at Washington School of Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and Richmond Ballet. She danced with Richmond Ballet and Nevada Dance Theatre in repertoire including Giselle, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides and The Nutcracker as well as many contemporary works. Ms. McCarty also studied jazz and modern at Jacob's Pillow and Point Park College. For ten years she performed in various Las Vegas casino shows including The Aladdin and Flamingo Hilton as well as tours to Italy, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. She also danced with the Royal Viking and Cunard Cruise Lines. While performing in Las Vegas shows at night, Ms. McCarty attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration. Throughout her professional dance career, she found time to share her love of dance with the next generation through teaching. She has taught in Richmond, Las Vegas, Northern Virginia and many schools in Hampton Roads. Ms. McCarty is currently the Children's Program Director and Marketing Director at Ballet Virginia International along with teaching various levels of ballet and pointe at the studios. She also truly enjoys teaching ballet at ODU as an adjunct faculty member.

Courses Taught: Dance and Its Audience

Tami White studied dance at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Virginia School of the Arts, University of Richmond Summer Governor's School, Virginia Governor's Magnet School for the Arts, and Old Dominion University. She holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Education degrees from Old Dominion University as well as a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Virginia. She completed graduate coursework in dance under the direction of Amanda Kinzer at Old Dominion University. Tami taught dance locally for many years at The Starting Pointe, Creative Energy, the Jewish Community Center, and the YMCA, and has performed locally in both self-choreographed pieces and in work by Beverly Cordova Duane. She has published a text for her course titled "Dance and Its Audience: Appreciating the Art of Movement." Tami has taught Dance and Its Audience here at ODU since 2001.

Courses Taught: Pilates,Tap and Yoga

Christina Yoshida earned her BA degree in dance from Old Dominion University and has her Pilates Certification from the Pilates studio at TRDance. She currently teaches Pilates Mat, Tap and Pilates private lessons for ODU. She also teaches at Todd Rosenlieb Dance and the Governor's School for the Arts in Norfolk. She has performed with Second Wind Dance Company and Todd Rosenlieb Dance Company.