HANNAH BRIGGS, is entering her sophomore year as a dance major and honors student at Texas Woman’s University. Having danced for the past twelve years at Denton Dance Conservatory, she has had the opportunity to study various genres of dance including ballet, jazz, modern and tap. As a former officer of the Ryan High School Strutters, Hannah also has experience in drill team and has been honored with several awards including All-Star Dancer, Miss Showtime Nominee, and Kick Club Finalist. Hannah has recently finished out her first season as a dancer in the cast of the musical drama, Texas, held every summer near Amarillo. Hannah performed in over 60 shows the choreography of Crystal Bertrand and Jerry Vizena. Now back in Denton, she looks forward to continuing her studies at TWU and sharing a love of dance with her students at Denton Dance Conservatory.

CHRISTOPHER KOEHL (Former Instructor)
Born and raised in Texas, Chris began dancing when he was twelve years old. At the age of seventeen, He realized and began to develop his love for hip hop at a professional level. While teaching dance, Chris is pursuing and building his career. He formerly trained and performed with F-Troop, a competition hip hop team that is associated with Revelation Dance Studio. Chris has worked for various DJ companies. For the last two years, Chris taught Hip Hop for Denton Dance Conservatory and also taught at DDC’s pilot program at the Nelson Children's Center for abused and neglected children.

ALLAN KINZIE
Ballet Master and Choreographer

KIHYOUNG CHOI, professional dancer, choreographer, researcher, and teacher, is from Seoul, Korea.  She holds a Ph.D. in dance from Texas Woman’s University where she was a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society.  She received M.A. in dance kinesiology, specializing in biomechanical analysis of ballet movements, from Yonsei University.  She graduated from Sungkyunkwan University as valedictorian with a B.F.A. in dance.  Dr. Choi began her professional dance training in Yewon Art Middle School in Seoul, Korea where she rigorously studied ballet, Korean traditional dance, and modern dance.  She has performed as a professional dancer since the age of 12 and performed with the Korean National Ballet Company and Sangmook Chae Traditional Korean Dance Company.  Her doctoral study and extensive experience in performance and choreography at local, regional and international venues deepened her cross-cultural sensitivity as well as her teaching philosophy.  As a teacher, she strongly believes that teaching dance is not just about teaching technical skills, but rather about creating an empowering classroom where teacher and students can actively interact and collaborate while challenging one another. Dr. Choi is currently teaching various dance theory and studio courses at the University of North Texas and at Tarrant County College as well as dancing with the professional dance company Satellite Dance.

JOSE ZAMORA José Zamora began his training as a traditional Mexican and Latin American folklorico dancer in La Joya, Texas. After graduating high school, he relocated to Denton, Texas and trained in post-modern dance for four years, receiving his BA in Dance Studies from Texas Woman's University in 2004. 

In 2010, Zamora received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Texas Woman's University, where he was also awarded a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship in 2008. This fellowship is awarded by the U.S. Department of Education in selected fields of study in the arts, humanities and social sciences. It is a prestigious award for students who have demonstrated superior academic ability and achievement and exceptional promise. Only 30 people were awarded this fellowship in the United States in 2008-09. With this award, José produced his first evening length contemporary dance concert titled CholoRock, a work inspired by Mexican-American pop-culture and traditions in November 2008. In 2009 and 2010 Zamora toured and has been touring with his company CholoRock Dance Theatre in North and South Texas, as well as in Cholula, Puebla Mexico where he and his company led a residency in La Universidad de las Americas for the second time in April 2010. In April of 2010 Zamora’s choreography Curios y Serpentinas was selected to be showcased at the American College Dance Festivals National Gala concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

SAMANTHA NEAL

Samantha is a Junior at the University of North Texas. She has studied dance for 16 years at Backstage Dance, Dancer's Studio, Etc., & Motion Center for Dance in Plano; She was accepted into Burklyn Ballet Theatre summer intensives from 2004 to 2008, and has been teaching dance at Revelations Dance Studio and Dancer's Studio Etc. A member of Alpha Delta Lambda Honor Society, Samantha will be teaching contemporary, hip hop and jazz classes. We are very excited to welcome her to our dance family !

MORGAN EISENHAUER

Morgan Eisenhauer received her ballet training from Atlanta Ballet, Gainesville Ballet Company, Augusta Ballet, Augusta Dance Theater, Broadway Dance Theatre, Ballet Arts of Manhattan, University of South Carolina, and American Ballet Theatre.  She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from Brenau University in 2006.  Ms. Eisenhauer’s performance credits include principal and soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda, Swan Lake, The Seasons, Alice in Wonderland, Dracula, and others.  She has 11 years teaching experience focusing on Intermediate through Advanced levels of Ballet and Pointe.  Morgan comes to Denton to attend Texas Woman’s University’s graduate program in Dance.  DDC is proud to welcome Ms. Eisenhauer to our Level V, VI, and VII Ballet and Pointe classes!