Faculty & Staff |
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Kathleen Connolly Grbic
Artistic Director & Owner
Kathleen began dancing in 1973 with her mentor Linda English. She is a dance department graduate of the High School of the Performing and Visual Arts, where she studied with various guest artist. In 1988, Kathleen became a certified member of the dance organization, Dance Masters of America and has served on its Board as the Chapter Secretary. In 1990, she opened Connolly Dance Arts to bring her love of dance to dance students in this area. Kathleen has directed her students in many outstanding recital productions, such as The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and Toy Story. She is the Artistic Director for the award winning CDA Performing Company, whose members have won numerous awards and titles in dance competitions. To keep teaching ideas and techniques fresh, she attends conventions and workshops. Kathleen has taught children and adults since 1983. She is also CPR certified.
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Chris Crockett
Teacher and Choreographer
Chris Crockett is an established dancer, choreographer and actor. He has performed for over 10 years in musicals,
concerts and various citywide programs. His professional
dance training
includes WIM Dance Company (Modern, Jazz, Lyrical), Planet Funk (Hip Hop/ Funk), Dance Force
Productions (Hip Hop, Jazz,
Salsa) and Houston Met
(Hip Hop, Jazz). Chris has also
performed in local and touring
theatre productions for Encore
Theatre and the Ensemble
Theatre. His choreography credits include: George Bush
High School musicals: Little Shop of Horrors, Fame… XTRMFLOW: Hip Hop shows, Encore Theatre Musicals: Schezelle, Hip Hoppin
the Dream, Spotlight Dance Production and Motown and More Revue. Chris also enjoys working with various community organizations.
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Katie Heintz
Teacher and Choreographer
Katie Heintz recently moved to Houston and is an apprentice dancer with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Buffalo and has trained with the Zodiaque Dance Company and the Rochester City Ballet. Katie was a scholarship student at Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles and a touring assistant to the faculty of Tremaine Dance Conventions. Credits include stage performances with Configuration Dance, Zodiaque Dance Company, Summer Showcase, solo performance with Stars Night Out, United Way commercials, Dalai Lama Peace Convention, and CFA Gala Benefit.
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Brandi Shallenberger
Teacher and Choreographer
Brandi has been a student a CDA for 12 years and a member
of the Performing Company for 10 years. She has also been a
member of the local hip-hop company WyldStyl. In addition to her training at CDA, Brandi has received training from Dance Masters of America local and national conventions, National Dance Gala in Miami, and Theater Under The Stars. Performance credits include Dancers Responding to AIDS Benefit Concert, Houston Youth Emerge, Kaleidoscope at the TAPHERD Convention in Fort Worth, GoodPhil Games at UT Austin, Dance Houston 2006, and Exxon/Mobil National Convention. While competing with the CDA Performing Company, Brandi won the DMA Tap Scholarship in 2005 and 2007 and received the High Tap Score and the High Interview Score at
the 2007 Teen Miss Dance of Texas competition. Brandi graduated early, as a junior, from Westside High School; her college interests
include journalism and sociology.
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Lynsey Steel
Teacher and Choreographer
Lynsey Steel had been dancing since age 6 where she began her training with Barbara Devereaux in Anchorage, Alaska. She has completed her Royal Academy of Dance exams from Pre-Primary through Advanced One. She trained with Catriona Steel, while performing with Allegro Ballet of Houston where she had the opportunity to work with artists including Paula Weber, Domingo Rubio, Thom Clower, John Magnus, and Margo Sappington. With Allegro Ballet, she has performed all over Texas and even in Austria with the Tanzsommer Program. She received a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma as a ballet performance major where she studied with Mary Margaret Hold and Donn Edwards. She received additional training from Ballet Austin, Joffrey Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet summer intensives. She is currently working towards a Journalism degree at the University of Houston.
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Julie Wood
Teacher and Choreographer
Julie began dancing at the age of three and has been moving ever since. She danced at Dance Etc. and Conservatory of Dance and Performing Arts before going to college at Sam Houston State University. While at SHSU, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a minor of History and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance. She was a member of the Sam Houston Dance Company and Chi Tau Epsilon Dance Honor Society. She was also a member, soloist, costumer and rehearsal director for Dr. Cindy Gratz’s Texas World Dance Company. As a graduate Student, Julie received a teaching fellowship and taught ballet, swing and worked dance classes. She was also a collaborative producer for a Dance Spectrum, Entropy and Graduate Theses Concerts. In addition to her academic dances, Julie is also a passionate social dancer. She joined the Houston Swing Dance Society and is an active member, teacher and performer for the Houston Hepcats. She enjoys traveling around the country dancing with new people and meeting others who share her passion for dance.
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Sarah Drury
Substitute Teacher
Sarah has been a student at CDA for 12 years and a member of the Performing Company for 8 years. In addition to hr training at CDA, she has received training from Dance Masters of America local and national conventions. Performance credits includes Dancers Responding to Aids Benefit Concert, Houston Youth Emerge, Kaleidoscope at the TAPHERD Convention in Fort Worth and the National TAPHERD convention in Baltimore. As a member of the CDA Performing Company, Sarah was 2nd runner-up at the 2007 Teen Miss Dance of Texas Pageant, and as a member of Westside High School's Inertia Dance Company she was the National Champion Soloist at the 2007 Marching Auxilary Competition in San Antonio. Sarah is currently a junior at Westside High School.
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Katrina Fernandez
Substitute Teacher and Choreographer
One of the original members of the Connolly Dance Arts Company, Katrina has been dancing, choreographing here for 15 years. She has been teaching hip-hop and acro at CDA for 3 years. In addition to her teaching, performing, and choreography skills, Katrina also assists in the costume designs for solo and group pieces performed in competition. Katrina has been a member of the Connolly Dance Arts Performing Company for 12 years and was a 4-year member of Westside High Schools nationally-acclaimed Inertia Dance Company, with numerous awards and achievements to her credit. Currently a junior at the University of Houston, she is working towards obtaining her Bachelors degree in Business and Design.
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Courtney Myers
Substitute Teacher
Courtney has been studying dance for 13 years and has been a
student at CDA and a member of the Performing Company. In addition to her training at CDA she has received training from Catriona Steel, Houston Ballet Academy, Steven Boyd, and HSPVA. Courtney has performed on stage as a soloist in Allegro Ballet of Houston's Nutcracker, Steven Boyd Dance Ensemble and HSPVA performances. She has attended numerous conventions including Dance Masters of America, Dance Educators of America, NYCDA, LA DanceForce, LA Dance Magic, Cross Connections & Tremaine and has won numerous convention scholarships. She received honors on her Vocational R.A.D. (Royal Academy of Dance) Ballet Exams. Courtney is the DMA 2007 Teen Miss Dance of Texas and the 2007 Stage One National Overall Senior Soloist. Courtney is currently a junior at the High School of Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA).
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