Photo by Sean Openshaw
GINA B DARLINGTON is the executive director of Canyon Movement Company and Canyon Dance Academy. Gina has traveled to Ireland, Italy, and the Southwest where she and the company performed for and taught hundreds of people. She has performed in dance companies in Utah, Missouri, Nebraska, and Arizona. She has been an Artist-in Residence for Arizona where she conducted numerous residencies. Gina was on faculty at Coconino Community College for twenty-three years and has been a guest teacher at the American College Dance Festival. She choreographed for NAU Theater. She received her dance degree from Brigham Young University. Gina is also on the board of the Arizona Dance Coalition. She served on the Arizona Department of Education (DOE) Committee to re-write the Arts Standards in 2005-06, and the Arizona DOE National Content Review Committee for Arts Assessments. Gina keeps busy with family including her ten beautiful grand-kids.
KARLI HAVILAND has been dancing since she was a little girl, though she began taking dance seriously in high school at Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy under the wonderful instruction of Leslie Baker and Robert Corbin. She began dancing in Canyon Movement Company’s “Nutcracker” in 2010. You may have seen her as “Rosie” in Theatrikos’ “Cabaret” of 2012. She is so appreciative to her new husband for all his support and love, to CMC for believing in her abilities and challenging her to grow them, and to her loving family.
STACIA SIMONSEN has been dancing since age 3 with Brigham Young University’s Young DanceMakers and Classical Ballet Conservatory in Utah. She received her B.A. in Humanities with a minor in Modern Dance from BYU. While there she performed with Dancensemble and had coursework in children’s dance teaching methods. She was then the Program Coordinator for BYU’s Young DanceMakers. After a career detour she’s now raising five children and performing with Canyon Movement Company.
SARAH THOMAS is originally from New Hampshire, and has been dancing in Flagstaff since the age of three. She is a graduate of NAU and CCC but is still a student of life. She has studied and received honors from the Royal Academy of Ballet through NAU’s Prep School, and studied and performed at several American College Dance festivals.She has had the honor and pleasure of dancing with CCC’s Encore for three years, and has been with Canyon Movement Company for many years.
CORI WALL-MEE has been enjoying the art of dance since age two, and been lighting up the stage since age three. She grew up dancing at Darlene Nosworthy’s Academy of Dance in Paradise, CA with the D-Nosworthy Dancers, a competing and touring company. At the age of 19, Cori moved to Flagstaff and began dancing with CCC’s ENCORE dance company and pursuing her AAS degree in dance. Since graduating, she has been busy working, dancing and teaching for Canyon Dance Academy/Canyon Movement Company, and currently teaches at FALA. She is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys spending time with her husband, Trevor, and their pets.
CHELSEA TAYLOR graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2004. She performed with Carmen Carnes Dance Ensemble and Kate Mitchell Dance Company in San Francisco, as well as co-founding, Vispo Dance Company. She now resides in Flagstaff and works for Arizona River Runners.
JESSICA TAYLOR has a MA degree in Dance Education from the State University of New York at Brockport. She taught at Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts in NY. She was a high school Dance Program Director in Oklahoma. Jessica has been an Artist-in-Residence since 1995, teaching and performing in IL, UT, NY, OK, and AZ. Jessica danced with Chicago Festival Ballet and Perpetual Motion Dance in OK. She currently dances with Canyon Movement Company and is thrilled to be living in Flagstaff.
DESIRAE GROTH BARQUIN began dancing at Canyon Dance Academy in 2002 and continued to dance in high school as a member of the Flagstaff High School Dance Team. After graduating from Flagstaff High School, she attended Arizona State University where she graduated with degrees in Supply Chain Management and Business Tourism. Desirae serves on the Board of Directors for the Northern Division of the Arizona Historical Society. Outside of work and dancing with Canyon Movement Company, Desirae enjoys spending time with her family and husband. Being back in Flagstaff, she was able to return to dance and fall in love with it all over again!
CHELSEA FOREMAN is a first grade teacher in FUSD. She went to school at U of A in Tucson to study Early Childhood Education. She has been dancing for nine years. She studied mostly ballet during that time frame as well as jazz. She currently teaches ballet at Canyon Dance Academy.
NATALIE JONES has been dancing since age three, and enjoyed her premier performance with Canyon Movement Company in 2017 She is originally from Gainesville, Florida, and she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors in Earth Science, Geology concentration. She is currently working as a Hydrology Research Technician with Northern Arizona University School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability at Grand Canyon National Park.
AMANDA KAPP danced with Canyon Movement Company for several years before developing an interest in creating video dance. Her recent piece “Sequential” won Audience Choice for the Northern Arizona Film Festival and has been shown in film and dance festivals across Arizona as well as at the International Dance Film Festival in Burgundy, France. She is extremely appreciative of all the support and creative nurturing from CMC Across the years.
Founding co-director: JAYNE LEE (emeritus) has choreographed more than 100 dances for companies worldwide. Trained as a dancer in London and at Julliard, she danced and choreographed for London Contemporary Dance Theatre for 10 years and toured internationally. Jayne co-founded and co-directs both Human Nature Dance Theatre and Canyon Movement Company. Jayne is an associate faculty member at Coconino Community College and she choreographs regularly for NAU’s theatre department. Jayne is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner® with a private practice in Flagstaff. She has served on the board of Grand Canyon River Guides and still works on the river in the summers.
Founding co-director: KRISTEN MCBRIDE (emeritus) is a founding member of Canyon Movement Company. She has danced with several modern dance companies and choreographers: Funhouse Movement Theater, Semaphor, ZUZI! Move IT!, and Liz Casebolt and Carly Condor. She was a guest choreographer for “Poetry in Motion” in Wexford, Ireland in 1997. Kristen received a Masters in Range Science and Management from the U of A in 2001 and now works with her husband Scotty for the National Forest Service in Bend, Oregon.
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