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Faculty
Artistic Director :: Dance Instructors :: Music Director and 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
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 obtained a BFA in dance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1997. Ms. Ford has studied Ballet, Horton, Graham, Dunham, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Salsa, and Improv. She is currently a performing member of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. She has taught at Ballet Chicago, Joel Hall Dance Center, Midwest Dance Center, Dixon Dance Academy, and Harper College. She has also taught residencies in dance and choreography in Gillette, WY, Salina, KS, and Memphis, TN.
Allyson Ratliff
Associate Director, TNG Trainees
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.
Keesha
Beckford
Modern, Jazz
Keesha Beckford began her dance studies in Queens, New York. She graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a major in American History and a certificate in Dance. Her senior project in Dance was awarded the Louis Sudler prize for the Arts. At Princeton she studied dance with Ze'eva Cohen, Elizabeth Keen and Sally Hess. She has been a member of the New York based companies Steeledance and Amy Marshall Dance Company. Ms. Beckford's European credits include the German tour of the rock musical Tabaluga and Lilli, as well as the Dublin, Ireland production of Giselle: The Presence of the Past choreographed by Michael Foley and Cathy O'Kennedy. She has also performed the choreography of Fabrice Herrault, Milton Myers, Val Suarez, Lorn Macdougal and Marcy Simon. Ms. Beckford has taught both children and adults at Steps Studio and has been a member of the dance faculty at The Spence School and Trinity School in New York City. She has taught workshops at Yale University and Ballet Academy East. After moving to Charlotte in August 2002 Ms. Beckford became a member of Martha Connerton's Kinetyx Dance Ensemble and Sabrina Sandvi Berry's American Dance Art. She was also a faculty member at North Carolina Dance Theater. Currently, she is a faculty member at Dance Center Evanston and The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago.
Kathleen
McCann
Ballet
Ms. McCann graduated from Butler University's Dance Department in 2000 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. There, she performed various soloist roles in Paquita, Dracula, The Nutcracker, and various short repertory pieces. Now in Chicago, she is a performer and choreographer for Sonic Inertia Performance Group and 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.
Jonathan
St. Clair
Hip Hop
Mr. St. Clair - known to the Hip Hop dance world as "Midnight" -- is the Artistic Director and CEO of Stick and Move Dance Crew and a leader of the Hip Hop dance movement. During his career, the gifted 23-year-old has performed across the country and has taught and implemented programs with Chicago public schools and private schools alike; the University of Chicago; Loyola University at Chicago; various youth, community, and national organizations; and the Chicago Park District. Jonathan uses the of art of dance as a vehicle to cultivate discipline, self-worth, self-confidence, self-respect, and love for ourselves as well as others. As the Minister of Enlightenment for the University of Hip Hop, he promotes real Hip Hop -- Healthy Independent People Helping Other People! -- in all its positivity.
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.
Music Director and Accompanists
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.