Our Teachers

In class evaluations, one of the strengths most often listed for the  Fort Wayne Dance Collective is its staff and faculty. It’s true — we have some of the best people you can find in Fort Wayne, and quite possibly the world.

Performers

Brittney Coughlin

Brittney Coughlin is a graduate of Hope College dance department and is currently a Continuing Lecturer in Dance In IPFW. She has choreographed and danced in many local productions.

Gloria Minnich

Gloria Minnich is a recent graduate from IPFW. She has a degree in General Studies with minors in Theatre and Dance. She also has an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has appeared in many productions at IPFW, including The Music Man, Medea, Oklahoma!, Talking With…, Once Upon a Mattress, Moments, and Suddenly Last Summer, among others. She is an instructor for the IPFW Community Arts Academy youth drama classes and also teaches dance at the Fort Wayne Dance Collective.

Instructors

Allison Ballard

In 1999 Allison Ballard attended various workshops and camps in California where she studied taiko drumming with masters from Japan and the West Coast. She has been teaching and performing taiko since that time and has facilitated the building of four taiko drums and stands with local volunteers. She has also studied creative movement, improvisation, modern dance and Authentic Movement and and has taught creative movement to all ages in various settings since 1992. She received a MA in Dance/Movement Therapy from Columbia College Chicago in 2003 and is certified as a Dance/Movement Therapist Registered through the American Dance Therapy Association. She specializes in trauma and dissociation and provides movement therapy to individual clients.

Susan Penrod

Susan Penrod danced for many years at the school of Ballet de San Juan, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and did a little jazz and ballroom at Wellesley College.  After 20 years away from dance, she happily re-discovered it at the FWDC, taking classes in flamenco, African, Latin, and modern dance.  Susan is homeschooling her two sons (one of whom dances at FWDC, the other works backstage) and works as a breastfeeding counselor and non-profit administrator.

Elizabeth Mikautadze

Elizabeth Mikautadze has been dancing since the age of three.  She became a serious student when she joined the Movement Laboratories Youth Ensemble in Lancaster, PA.  Under the direction of Judy Williams Henry she trained in ballet, modern, and jazz .  Elizabeth was chosen to study abroad at the Hungarian Ballet School prior to graduating high school.  She was accepted into The Boston Conservatory where she earned her BFA in Dance, under The Jan Veen Scholarship. Before graduating, she spent a summer at The Milwaukee Ballet .  Elizabeth has studied at many schools such as, The Paul Taylor School, The Alvin Ailey Dance Center, and at The Martha Graham Dance Center. In 2000 Elizabeth joined Mereminne Dancers and Buglisi/Foreman Dance Company.  She has performed at Jacob’s Pillow, The Julliard Theater, The Joyce Theater,  John Jay Theater, WAX Works and The White Room. She has taught ballet and modern technique classes and workshops at The Fort Wayne Dance Collective,  New American Youth Ballet, and Tri -County Dance Academy(TC Dance).  Elizabeth became artistic director and founder of Mikautadze Dance Theatre in May 2008.

Kelly Parris

Kelly Parris has a total of 13 years of Ballet training, studying Ballet at both the FWDC and Ft. Wayne Ballet; and has been teaching Beginning Ballet for the last year at the FWDC.  She has also dabbled in Modern, African and Jazz styles of dance; and has practiced both Tai Chi and Qui Gong.  She continues to study Ballet and Modern dance, does Pilates every morning, and participates in other artistic endeavors such as painting and playing the piano.  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources from IPFW and has worked in Human Resources for the last 18 years as a Compensation Analyst.

Barbara Ulmer

Barbara has taught Yoga for over 30 years. She updates her knowledge with frequent workshops.

Mindy Szczepanski

A Pilates student for over 2 ½ years, Mindy completed the Balanced Body University Mat Certification program, including Mat I and Mat II (32 hours) level training courses.  She also completed an additional 80+ hours of required teaching/training hours.  She recently received her BBU Pilates Mat Certification in October 2009.  Her regular job is as a Relationship Manager with Chase Business Banking.  She is also a Fort Wayne Dance Collective Board Member, having served for the past two years, currently as Board President.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, including her 4 year old son, Carter.  She also enjoys gardening and spending time by the pool (weather permitting).

Rebecca Wegner

Rebecca Weger has a degree in Social Work and is currently teaching creative movement. Her expressive talent has been cultivated through the fine educational dance program of FWDC. She also works for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Fort Wayne.

Nancy Woollacott

Nancy Woollacott has been practicing Tai Chi Chuan since 1987 and teaches Grandmaster Williams C.C. Chens Yang style short form. She has studied with Grandmaster Chen, Master Laura Stone of the Netherlands, Dr. Tao Ping-siang of Taiwan, Nathan Menaged of the Chinese Martial Arts Institute in Ohio and Master John Charlton of Indianapolis. She is also certified to teach Chi-lel Qigong by Master Luke Chan of the Huaxia Zhineng Qigong Center in China.

Jordana bint Zweena

Born in Queens New York, Jordana’s first love was the theater. That love eventually brought her to Las Vegas to study stagecraft at the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts. In 1994 she became enamoured with Belly Dance, when she experienced her first event with the Las Vegas chapter of the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA). Under the instruction of Zweena, Jordana was given the tools to realize her dream of being a professional belly dancer. Now she teaches belly dance and performs all over Fort Wayne with Troupe Taleeba.