Faculty & Staff

Béa Rashid, DFCCA

DIRECTOR
Ballet, Pointe, Cecchetti, Modern 

Béa Rashid (she/her) is a dance educator, choreographer, and theater director. A graduate of Northwestern University, Béa is a Diploma Fellow of the Cecchetti Council of America. She has choreographed and directed theatrical productions for over 30 years. In 1994 Béa opened Dance Center Evanston and in 1997 she founded the Evanston Dance Ensemble. Béa continues to direct and choreograph, often collaborating with her husband and composer, Steve Rashid. In the fall of 2016, Béa and Steve expanded DCE to include Studio5, a performing arts venue presenting professional dance and music events. Béa’s contribution to the community was recognized in 1999 with the Mayor’s Award for the Arts and in 2017 with the Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit/Public Service Award.

Calyn Carbery, ACCA (she/her)

MANAGING DIRECTOR 
Primary, Ballet, Jazz, Cecchetti

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Calyn settled in the Midwest after graduating from Northwestern University with a major in dance. She was a company member with Striding Lion Performance Group (dir. Annie Arnoult), with which she performed in critically acclaimed immersive dance-theater productions and lead arts education outreach programs throughout the Chicago area. Calyn holds her Elementary Professional Cecchetti teaching certification from the Cecchetti Council of America and serves on the Midwest Committee of C.C.A’s board as Workshop Coordinator.  In addition to her role as Managing Director at DCE, Calyn directs the popular Dance Performance Workshop annually and teaches classes in ballet, jazz, and Cecchetti techniques.

Kaleigh Dent (she/her)

ADMINISTRATION
Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Cecchetti

Kaleigh Dent graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 2020. She has danced for companies such as Joel Hall Dancers, Still Inspired, and LOUD BODIES; and was a Company Member and Rehearsal Director for Identity Performing Arts. She is currently an Operations Associate for the Tutu School Franchises. Her choreography has been featured at Trifecta Dance Collective’s Pioneers (2023), Work in Progress Showing (2023), A New Light: Emerging Choreographer Showcase (2022); Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s Art. Heals. (2022) and Elpis Dance Fest (2022) under Rivet, a dance company created to explore her choreographic ideas. 

Calyn Carbery correcting a student's position at the barre in a studio at Dance Center Evanston

Olivia Lemmenes (she/her)

Primary, Jazz, Tap, Cecchetti

Olivia Lemmenes is a professional choreographer, dancer, and educator currently located in Chicago, IL. She trained at Dance Center Evanston for 15 years, then continued her training at Western Michigan University, graduating with a BFA in Dance. Olivia taught at Ann Arbor Dance Classics for two years, where she choreographed for their Youth Dance Ensemble, competition team, and taught numerous dance styles. She has also been commissioned to choreograph for youth, pre-professional, and professional dance companies, such as ede2, MSU’s Orchesis Dance Company, and Dance Uprising. She is a dance artist with the AAPI performance collaborative, IS/LAND, and has had the chance to perform with them in Ann Arbor, San Francisco, and Chicago. Olivia is the new Assistant Director of ede2 and is excited to be back at DCE teaching the next generation of dance artists. 

Pollux (they/he)

COMMUNICATIONS 
Modern, Hip-Hop, Jazz

Chicago artist, Pollux Buerger, studied dance at Columbia College of Chicago (BFA ’17). Since graduating he’s had the opportunities to travel to New York, Texas, Germany, and Vera Cruz as well as dance at Chicago venues such as The Ravinia, Adler Planetarium, The Auditorium Theater, Museum of Contemporary Art and more. After graduating College he performed with Same Planet Performance Project, The PieceMakers/The PuzzleLeague, and Zinforma. In 2018 Pollux joined Hedwig Dances and Concert Dance Inc while joining admin staff at Dance Center Evanston. In addition to performing he’s taught dance classes, masterclasses, and workshops through Chicago Suburbs and was a teacher’s assistant at Columbia and choreographic assistant to Fred Darsow at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. “It’s been a privilege to see the students grow from behind the desk and I’m thrilled to step into the classroom and be a part of that growth!”

Tim Tsang in a studio at Dance Center Evanston

Josephine (Joey) Castillo (she/her)

Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Cecchetti

Joey Castillo is originally from Dallas, Texas and started her dance education under the direction of Kirt and Linda Hathaway at Hathaway’s Academy of Ballet. Joey went on to study at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia where she received her Bachelor Of Fine Arts in 2019. At GMU, she had the opportunity to perform works by Donald Byrd, Doug Varone, Yin Yue, and many other inspiring artists. Since settling in Chicago, Joey has danced with Alluvion Dance Chicago, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, and is currently with Identity Performing Arts. While continuing to perform, she has had the privilege to teach at several Chicago area studios. She’s excited to join the DCE family!  

Shelby Moran Amarantos, LCCA (she/her)

Ballet, Pointe, Cecchetti, Modern, Jazz

Shelby Moran Amarantos, an alum of Dance Center Evanston and Evanston Dance Ensemble, studied dance at The Juilliard School (BFA ’15). While at Juilliard, she performed repertory of José Limón, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, and Merce Cunningham. She also performed original works by Monica Bill Barnes, Emery LeCrone, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Larry Keigwin, and Danielle Agami. Shelby began her professional career performing with Thodos Dance Chicago for two seasons. In her time there, she had the opportunity to dance starring roles in director Melissa Thodos’ original story ballets, perform world premieres by Robyn Mineko Williams, Brian Enos, and Kevin Iega Jeff. She has been an apprentice of Visceral Dance Chicago, and is now a company member with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre.

Mike Gosney (he/him)

Boys/Men’s Technique, Partnering, Ballet, Pointe

Mike is the founder and Artistic Director of Elements Contemporary Ballet. Prior to founding Elements, he studied both classical and contemporary ballet with local master teachers. As a dancer, Mike performed with companies such as Instruments of Movement, Tyego Dance Project, and The Chicago Ballet. As a choreographer, his work has appeared in Dance Chicago, Around the Coyote Arts Festival, Looptopia, Joel Hall’s Dances from the Halls, Evanston Arts Week, productions with the Evanston Dance Ensemble and Evanston Symphony, as well as other Chicago area festivals and dance performances. In addition to his work with Elements, Mike has taught ballet at colleges and quality dance studios throughout the North Shore and Greater Chicago area. He orchestrated events for Evanston Arts Week and DanceArt Outreach Program, and has served as Artistic Director of Koslynn Dance Academy and SASS Productions. Mr. Gosney’s choreography was selected to compete in the Joyce Theatre’s The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2010, presented at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago.

 

Laura Brand (she/her)

Ballet, Pointe

Laura Brand has performed extensively with classical and modern concert dance companies and in musical theater, commercial, and industrial shows. Her work includes performances with the Chicago Ballet Theater, Momenta, The Beverly Dance Ensemble, the Polish Opera Company, the Lyric Opera Company of Chicago, the David Puszh Company, the Ukrainian Folk Dancers, and in the Ruth Page production of The Nutcracker. She performed at the International Ballet Competition in Lima, Peru and in the PBS television production of Ruth Page’s Die Fledermaus. Laura has appeared in Annie, Sweet Charity, My Fair Lady, Funny Girl, West Side Story, and Carousel at The Theatre at the Center and West Side Story at the Timberlake Playhouse. She conducted a ballet workshop for dance teachers in Omaha, NE, and has been a judge at the National Dance Olympus competitions in Atlanta, Nashville, and Minneapolis. Laura received dance training from Loretto Rozak, Larry Long, Richard Arve and Lou Conte.

Irfan Qurashi

Irfan Qurashi (he/him)

Hip-Hop

Born in India, raised in New York, and dancing in Chicago, Irfan found his passion for dance at 13 years old, discovering Popping & Breaking and training himself in those styles through his younger years. Irfan has a passion for hip-hop culture, street & social dances, and commercial dance while also training in classical styles of ballet and contemporary fusion. After high school, Irfan trained under many veteran Chicago dancers, such as Ian Eastwood, Daz Harris, and Andrew Tamez Hull. He starred in Chance The Rapper’s music video for his Grammy award winning song “Angels”, choreographed by Ian Eastwood, and also starred as a principal dancer in the Netflix musical series, “Soundtrack” with choreography by James Alsop. Irfan has taught in the Chicago Community at various workshops, company classes & studios such as Hubbard Street Dance, Millennium Dance Complex Chicago, and Visceral Dance Studio.

Julie Cartier (she/her)

Jazz, Tap

As artistic director of Especially Tap Chicago Dance Company, Julie has performed and choreographed on both the jazz and tap concert stages for over fifteen years with some of Chicago’s finest dance companies including River North Dance Co., The Lynda Martha Dance Co., and Chi-Town Jazz Dance, for which she served as associate director. Her credits also include Especially Tap Chicago’s performances in the Kuopio Dance Festival in Finland, the St. Louis Tap Festival, and Chicago’s own Human Rhythm Project. In addition to Dance Center Evanston, Julie has taught for Barat College, DEA, NADA, CNADM, Gus Giordano Dance Center, the Cecchetti Council and numerous studios in the Chicagoland area.

Wendy Park, ACCA (she/her)

Primary, Ballet, Pointe

Wendy Park began her training in ballet, tap, jazz and modern in Indianapolis at Curtain Call Academy of the Arts and the Jordan College Academy of Dance at Butler University. As an undergraduate at Barat College’s Conservatory of Dance, Wendy performed works by Rory Foster and Eileen Cropley. Completing her degree at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, she had the opportunity to perform works set by David Gordon, Jan Eckert and Eduardo Vilaro. Ms. Park has been teaching ballet, tap, and jazz professionally for over a decade in Indianapolis, Chicago and the North Shore. Currently, she is continuing her dance education through the Cecchetti Teacher Certification program.

Enid Smith (she/her)

Ballet, Modern

Enid Smith is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, earning her BFA in contemporary dance.  In New York City she performed with Ivy Baldwin Dance, The Merce Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group, Anita Cheng Dance, and MAC Cosmetics, among others.  Since moving to the Chicago area in 2007, Enid has performed with Khecari, Same Planet Performance Project, Lucky Plush Productions, Chicago Fringe Opera, and presented her own work under the name enidsmithdance. In addition to teaching at Dance Center Evanston she also teaches Pro Modern at Dovetail Studios and maintains a massage therapy practice.

Jill Waller (she/her)

Primary, Ballet, Modern, Accessible Dance

Jill Waller graduated from Webster University with a B.F.A. in dance and a minor in French. While there, she danced with Webster Dance Ensemble for four years and with Webster Dance Theatre for two years. After moving to Chicago, Jill performed with the Joel Hall Dancers for one season, Rasa Dance Chicago for nearly a decade and Tyego Dance Project for two seasons. She has also done many projects with independent artists throughout the Chicagoland area during her professional career.  Jill is a member of the Cecchetti Council of America. She teaches preschoolers through adults at Dance Center Evanston, Hyde Park School of Dance, and also outreach programs at Marquette Park District.

Rosina DeVries, DFCCA (she/her)

Ballet, Pointe, Cecchetti

Rosina DeVries was born and raised in England where she received her early training with Elizabeth Swan at the Weston Schools of Dancing. She later studied with Viccy Chappell at the London College of Dance, where she was awarded the Maestro Enrico Cecchetti Final Diploma. Rosina danced with the Chelmsford Ballet Company and Newpalm productions, before moving to Greece and then New York to teach at the Coupe Theatre Studio. Former students have moved on to study at the School of American Ballet, The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, The Juilliard School and North Carolina School of the Arts, as well as performing with Richmond Ballet, Carolina Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, and New Jersey Ballet. Rosina is a Diploma Fellow and Examiner with the Cecchetti Council of America.

J. Lindsay Brown (she/her)

Tap, Primary, Modern

Lindsay received her MFA from the University of Michigan. She has taught modern, tap, composition, improvisation, and partnering workshops at the University of Michigan, ACDF, the Illinois High School Dance Festival, and has taught for in many communities for companies such as Hubbard Street Dance, River North Dance Chicago, Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble, and Design Dance. She founded J. Lindsay Brown Dance in 2013. The company has performed at the Elgin Ties Dance Festival, Going Dutch, Delve, Chicago Dance Month, Trifecta Dance Collective Showcases, Harvest Contemporary Dance Festival, and many others. Lindsay has also produced full length shows at the Drucker Center, Dovetail Studios, the DANK Haus, and site-specific works set in parks and mansions. She also plays the cowbell.

Laura Gates (she/her)

Ballet, Pointe

Laura Gates grew up in a northwest suburb of Chicago. She holds degrees in Dance and Psychology from the University of Iowa where she was privileged to train with many gifted artists. Professionally, she danced with Swallow Cliff Dance Company, Concert Dance, Inc., and several independent choreographers before joining Thodos Dance Chicago in 1999.  During her six-year tenure as a TDC dancer, she performed locally, nationally, and internationally and worked with many renowned artists including Broadway icon Ann Reinking. Laura went on to serve TDC for twelve more years as Rehearsal Director, Ballet Mistress, Artistic Associate, and New Dances Project Manager. Laura teaches throughout the Chicago area and has served on the faculty of many intensive programs including TDC, CNADM, Dance Masters of Wisconsin, Inaside Chicago Dance, Gus Giordano Dance School, the Illinois State Dance Festival, and the Midwest Cecchetti Council Ballet Workshop. She has been a guest artist at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Riverside Brookfield High School, Evanston Township High School, Kansas State University, and the University of Kansas. A proud member of the Chicago dance community for over 20 years, Laura is passionately committed to the art of dance and furthering dance education.

Eduardo Zambrana (he/him)

Ballet, Pointe, Jazz

Eduardo Zambrana (MFA Choreography and Performance, University of Arizona) is a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. In his performance career, Eduardo had the privilege to dance with Hawkinsdance, Convergence Ballet Company, Dance Kaleidoscope, and Giordano Dance Chicago where he is currently a company member. He received his training from The University of Arizona School of Dance triple-track program with equal emphasis in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz where he has danced works by renowned faculty such as Sam Watson, Tamara Dyke-Compton, and Michael Williams as well as many masterworks, including those by Nacho Duato, Larry Keigwin, Paul Taylor, and Martha Graham. During his time as a graduate student, Eduardo was awarded the Creative Achievement Award in the College of Fine Arts, representing the School of Dance for demonstrating exceptional creativity and innovation with a passion for the arts. His choreographic commissions include original works for New Dances 2023 (IL), Simantikos Dance Chicago (IL), Ten Tiny Dances at Taliesin West (AZ) and Dance Kaleidoscope Spirit & Place Festival (IN). Eduardo has also presented his choreography at The University of Arizona, Breaking Ground Festival (AZ), SHFT at Tempe Center for Arts (AZ), FlorenceDanceOnScreen (Italy), and Red Rock ScreenDance Film Festival (UT) where he was awarded Best Student Film in 2021.

Hanley Simpson (she/her)

Primary, Accessible Dance, Ballet, Cecchetti

Hanley Simpson is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana where she began her dance training under the direction of Joseph and Maria Giacobbe at Giacobbe Academy of Dance. She also trained under the direction of Kenneth and Kimberley Beck at Myra Meir School of Ballet. In the summers, she trained with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Staibdance, New Orleans Ballet Theatre, American Ballet Theatre and New Orleans Ballet Association, honing both her contemporary and classical technique and artistry. Hanley continued her training at Florida Southern College and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography and a Minor in Business Administration in May 2019. After graduating from Florida Southern College, she moved to Chicago to pursue a professional dance career. In August of 2019, she had the opportunity to return to Florida Southern College to rehearse and travel with the Dance Program to Becket, MA to perform Awaken choreographer by Melissa Rector at Jacob’s Pillow Inside Out. In December of 2019, she joined Alluvion Dance Chicago and danced with the company for 2 Seasons. Hanley is currently a Company Artist with Identity Performing Arts and has been with the company since Fall of 2021. Outside of dancing professional, Hanley is a dance educator and fitness instructor in the Chicagoland area. Hanley recently pass her Cecchetti Grade 1 exam and looks forward to furthering her education by starting her Grade 2 Cecchetti training in the Fall. 

Julie Chapnick (she/her)

Ballet, Pointe

Julie Chapnick began her career classically trained in the Cecchetti ballet method. She studied with the Atlantic Contemporary Ballet, American Dance Machine and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Julie received a BFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and went on to earn an MA in Dance and Dance Education with a concentration in K-12 from NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education. Working with world-renowned teachers and choreographers alike, Julie performed in numerous works during her undergraduate and graduate studies. She danced with the New Dance Ensemble, 2nd Avenue Dance Company, New Dance Collective and American Dance Art with whom she performed at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Julie has served as Director of summer dance camps and intensives, worked as a Ballet Mistress and has presented her choreography in dance festivals and regional competitions. She has taught for privately owned studios, the public school system and as a volunteer for community outreach programs. She was appointed Adjunct Dance Professor at Central Piedmont Community College and Johnson C. Smith University. Since moving to Chicago, Julie has had the pleasure of being a teaching artist at the School of Performing Arts, Academy of Dance Arts, Hubbard Street Dance Youth Program and Joffrey Academy, the official school of the Joffrey Ballet.

Delaney Hart (she/her)

Primary

With a love for multiple artistic mediums, Delaney has found the arts a nourishing guide in her life. Her dance journey began at 3 when she expressed her desire to be a ballet teacher. After 2 years of creative movement, Delaney studied ballet at the Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music Pre-college program for ten years under Doricha Sales and Michael Vernon, reaching level Vll. In early adulthood, Delaney taught ballet to high schoolers and offered private lessons for ages 4-15. Additionally, Delaney assisted group violin lessons for ages 5-7 in a Jacob’s School of Music outreach program. Delaney expanded her artistic vision and received a BA in Theatre & Cinema Performance. Her love of dance still strong, Delaney helped form a dance group at her university, where the students performed original pieces. Her artistic education has taught her that love of the process is how we ultimately reach our goals, and she is delighted to come back full circle to her first dream of teaching dance. With a personal experience in injury, Delaney prioritizes the health of the student along with unique, individual expression. Delaney is thankful for the many dedicated teachers who have gifted her with a love for learning, and it’s her sincerest desire to pass that gift along.

Victoria Barlow (she/her)

Ballet, Pointe

Victoria Barlow began her training at the Rockford Dance Company School with Janet Quilici, continuing with Ken Von Heidecke of the Lyric Opera and Joy Xu, former principal with Shanghai Ballet. As a member of the company, she danced many soloist and principal roles and toured with the company to China. After moving to Chicago, she completed her B.A. in Dance Education at Columbia College and continued training with Larry Long, Birute Barodicate, Anna Paskevska, and Homer Bryant. She performed with Chicago Ballet for two seasons and Bryant Ballet for six. She has danced in several productions of The Nutcracker throughout Chicagoland, including Ruth Page’s under the direction of Larry Long. Her repertoire includes CinderellaSnow WhiteSwan LakeNutcrackerDon QuixoteSleeping Beauty, and Coppelia. A long-time faculty member of Dance Center Evanston, she is also Head of the Ballet Department of Dancenter North in Gurnee. Victoria is a popular guest teacher for Thodos Dance Chicago and the Midwest Cecchetti Council. She has been a master teacher for the Chicago National Association of Dance Masters for nine seasons, teaching both students and teachers in the Training School. Victoria is proud to be training the next generation of littles to advanced students, sharing her love of all things ballet.

Anaya Shea (she/they)

Ballet

Anaya began training at age 13 and completed her Cecchetti Teacher Grade 1 at age 19. She is now going on to train in dance and choreography in a college setting. She has been given the great opportunity to perform works like Sing Sing Sing with Gus Giordano Dance School and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with Evanston Dance Ensemble — as well as begin choreographing in a professional setting. Anaya is so excited to start teaching at her home studio!

Rae Beck (she/they)

Primary, Accessible Dance, Hip-Hop

Rae graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Dance. At the University, she earned the opportunity to perform and choreograph for many venues. Perhaps her most profound experience came when the School of Music, Theatre and Dance selected Rae’s solo to “Arches” by Kevin Puts for the school’s annual Collage Concert, a piece she choreographed and performed in collaboration with a violinist from SMTD. Currently, Rae continues her dance education in the Claire Bataille Legacy Program at Chicago Movement Collective. Rae loves teaching and working with people of all ages and backgrounds, and she is so excited to share her knowledge and passion for dance at Dance Center Evanston!  

Staff

DIRECTOR
Béa Rashid (she/her)

MANAGING DIRECTOR
Calyn Carbery (she/her)

STUDIO MANAGER
Jeannie Lemmenes (she/her)

ASSISTANT MANAGING DIRECTOR
Jean (they/he)

COMMUNICATIONS
Pollux (he/them)

ADMINISTRATION
Kaleigh Dent (she/her)
Anaya Shea (she/they)