Director
Giovanni Allen
Giovanni Allen is originally from New York City, where he received his early training at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theater. He did his undergraduate work at California Institute for the Arts in LA. In 2008, Barcelona International Course of Dance in Spain. After Spain that same year he was cast in the NYC broadway holiday show ‘’Radio City Christmas Spectacular”. In the summer of 2010, he made Texas home, where he has been teaching modern, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, and ballet and choreographing for numerous studios in the Metroplex. Giovanni has made a name for himself in the Dallas area choreographing numerous award winning dances. Drawing from a large range of influences such as musical, literary, social and even nature. His goal is to simply spread his vision, teachings & love for his craft all around the world.
Courtney Hart
Courtney Hart first began her dance training at Allen Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Stefanie M. Best. She continued her training with several different Texas based studios over the course of 10 years. In 2017, Courtney was accepted into Point Park University’s Conservatory of the Performing Arts, where she furthered her dance training while pursuing a minor in business management. In addition to Point Park University’s faculty, Courtney has studied with 8and1 Dance Company, New Dialect, SoulEscape the Company, and The Pillow Projects. In 2019, Courtney had the opportunity to perform with SoulEscape the Company at the El Portal theater in Los Angeles where she danced, as well as sang and played piano. The following year, Courtney was able to create her own choreographed work for Point Park’s Student Choreography Show, where she discovered her newfound interest for choreography and editing music. In May of 2021, Courtney received her BFA in dance and minor in business management. In August of 2021, Courtney became a company artist with Nova Linea Contemporary Dance in Milwaukee, WI, where she danced professionally and got the opportunity to experiment with both her voice and dancing for the past 2 years. She also taught and choreographed at various studios in the area, and hopes to share all that she has learned with the youth. She just recently released her first single, “All at Once”, on music streaming platforms in April of 2022. Currently, Courtney is excited to be back in Texas, where she will be continuing her career as a member of Soulescape the Company and working to produce her first album. Courtney hopes to continue creating unique collaborations between music and movement, and connecting people through all different forms of art.
Kaylee White
Kaylee White has been dancing for over 21 years and has studied Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, and various forms of Hip Hop. She was an elite member of a competitive company in Flower Mound, Texas, for 8 years, and attended DFW Performing Arts Conservatory. She also trained with Collin College’s dance program in Plano. She has performed at numerous events and venues, including several Ballets with Flower Mound Symphony Orchestra. She holds multiple national choreography awards for solos and group numbers, and has choreographed works for Disney World and Dallas Summer Musicals’ junior programs. She is a member of an adult professional hip hop crew, The Neighborhood, which holds a 1st place title at World of Dance, and has traveled to internationally to compete with some of the world’s top hip hop dancers. She is the creator and director of SleepWalkers Contemporary Crew in Plano, Texas, which currently trains high school to college dancers for professional opportunities. Kaylee has been teaching for 9 years, and currently choreographs for multiple studios in the DFW metroplex. Kaylee has a huge passion for the art of dance, and loves to see her students learn and grow in their passion as well!
Aleigh Hawkins
Aleigh Hawkins was born and raised outside of Dallas, Texas. She began her training at XD2 dance studio and furthered her classical training at Booker T. Washington HSPVA. During her time at BTW she had the opportunity to perform works by Peter Chu, Jennifer Archibald, Azure Barton, and more. In 2018 she received honorable mention for YoungArts in modern dance. Aleigh continued her education at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a concentration in Modern dance. She performed works by Jessica Lang, Nacho Duato, Amy Hall Garner, and more. As of May 2022, Aleigh is now a graduate with a BFA in Dance.
Robert "Slim" Hernandez
Robert ‘Slim’ Hernandez was born and raised in Dallas, TX and has been dancing since the young age of 13. He began creating full sets of choreography for competitions during his time directing FLS Dance Crew; a local Dallas team that performed across the state of Texas. FLS went on to showcase his choreography at highly recognized competitions such as Best of TX, World of Dance Tour, and in the Semi-Final round of the nationally televised talent search “Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento”. After his time with FLS, he became a member and choreographer of the award-winning Renegades Elite Company as well as going on to dance with the first and only coed hip hop team of the NFL, The Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue. While dancing for Rhythm and Blue, Slim was given the opportunity to choreograph several pieces for the group and was awarded Performer of the Year during his rookie season.In 2015, he was part of the instructor line up for the Dallas Hip Hop Dance Festival alongside other acclaimed choreographers such as Sean Bankhead, Lisette Bustamante, Chonique Sneed, and Jenny Durbin Smith. Due to his distinct use of musicality and hip-hop technique he was also invited to be one of the NDA Curriculum Hip-Hop Choreographers for 2015-2019.Currently, Slim is teaching weekly classes for all levels of hip-hop at several studios around the DFW metroplex. He strives to inspire others through his passion for music and movement.
Diego Miranda-Monsman
Bio Coming Soon!
Resident Choreographers
Joshua L. Peugh
JOSHUA L. PEUGH is the Founder and Artistic Director of Dark Circles Contemporary Dance and Co-founder of Fair Assembly. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, he has created work for festivals in Asia, Europe, and North America, winning awards for his choreography in South Korea, Japan, Canada, and the USA. He was the recipient of the Grand Prize at the McCallum Theatre's 18th Annual Choreography Festival and was chosen as one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch." Joshua served as choreographer for legendary soprano Kathleen Battle’s concert Underground Railroad - A Spiritual Journey and was the 2018 recipient of the Natalie Skelton Award for Artistic Excellence. He has created over 40 new works for BalletX, Ballet Memphis, The Big Muddy Dance Company, BODYTRAFFIC, Bruce Wood Dance Project, Company E, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Dance Lab NY, DanceWorks Chicago, Eisenhower Dance, Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, MADCO, METdance, Tulsa Ballet, WaterTower Theatre, and Whim W'Him, among others.
Chadi EL - Khoury
CHADI EL-KHOURY, A native of Beirut, Lebanon, graduated from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, with a B.A. in Theology, Sociology and Applied Research Methods. He then pursued a B.F.A. at University of Missouri, Kansas City, Conservatory of Music and Dance. He was a resident artist for Charlotte Street Foundation's Urban Culture Project in 2013, and has had choreographic residencies with DCCD, Modern Night at the Folly Festival, AROVA Contemporary Ballet, and Youth America Grand Prix. He joined DCCDUSA as a dancer in the fall of 2014, and assumed the role of Executive Director in the fall of 2015. Chadi's corporate background includes over ten years of experience. In addition to his leadership role with DCCDUSA and his position as an Advisory Board Member for SMU's Big Data program, he is also the youngest Senior Data Analyst in his division at Health Care Service Corporation, the largest customer-owned health insurance company in the United States.
Maleek Washington
Maleek Washington was born in the Bronx, New York, and at seven years old was introduced to dance at Broadway Dance Center and the Harlem School of the Arts. After attending Laguradia HighSchool for Performing Arts, Maleek continued his education at The Boston Conservatory while dancing for CommonWeallth Ballet. After college Maleek joined CityDance Ensemble. A company that performed works by Paul Taylor, Kate Weare, and Alex Noreal to over 8 countries. During his time with Citydance Maleek attended SpringBoard Danse in Montreal where he was able to join Jose Novas's Company Flak for a 2 seasons of European tours. Currently Maleek is in his Third season collaborating with McArthur Genius awardee Kyle Abraham, and his company Abraham in Motion. While dance at the Mckittrick in the off Broadway show "Sleep No More". With multidisciplinary, experiential performance works that investigate the people, practices, and spaces shaping Washington's black identity, he was proud to present his art in 2017 at the Boston Dance Festival, Pepatian and BAAD!, Periapsis Dance and Music Noesis, and at the legendary Movement Research at Judson Church in Spring 2018. Washington is also a 2017-18 Dancing While Black top 10 choreographic finalists. Alongside his creative work, Washington has entered his second season with Camille A. Brown and Dancers in collaboration for her work Ink that premiered at the Kennedy Center in December 2017.
Hannah Gossett
Hannah Gossett has set up bases in dance communities all over the country including Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York City. She began her training in all styles at age 10 and has been creating her own art since age 15. As a commercial dancer and choreographer, her credits include, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Ricky Martin, Kimberly Cole, Herb Alpert, Beacon, T Mobile, Sonos Speakers and Amazon, to name a few. In 2015, she created her own training company, The Westsiders, based in Seattle, Washington. The Westsiders has recently expanded, now holding weekend intensives throughout the country known as The Westsiders Camp. Easley is a dedicated faculty member for the national dance convention, Artists Simply Human and continues to freelance at studios, camps and intensives all around the country.
Gregory Dolbashian
Gregory Dolbashian, born and raised in New York City, made his professional stage debut at the age of eight with the Glimmerglass Opera Company. Soon after, he was cast in the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson world tour of Einstein on the Beach. Dolbashian is a recipient of The Bessie Schoenberg Residency at The Yard, winner of The Pretty Creatives Competition for Northwest Dance Project, and of The Hubbard Street 2 International Choreographic Competition. He also placed second in Ballet Austin's New American Talent competition, and has received commissions from Atlanta Ballet, TU Dance in Minnesota, CityDance Ensemble in D.C. He has created school commissions at SUNY Purchase, University of Minnesota, The Hartt School and the Juiliard School. He debuted his own company, The DASH Ensemble, in December 2009 at JOYCE SoHo. The company has gone on to present works at the Skirball Center, DTW, The Gershwin Hotel, Riverside Theater, Summer Stage, and The JOYCE Theater. The DASH received the audience award at NYC’s DanceNOW challenge at Joe’s Pub. The company also participated in ABT Principal Daniil Simkin’s INTENSIO, collaborating on a work with Gregory Dolbashian for members of ABT set to premiere at Jacob’s Pillow 2015. In addition to his choreography, Gregory, alongside Loni Landon, is the co-founder of The Playground, a choreographic initiative that was voted 25 to Watch in 2013 by Dance Magazine.
