Georgia Lyn Bowdre

GEORGIA LYN BOWDRE, founder and director of the Metropolitan Academy of Dance is a certified member of Dance Educators of America. Ballet is her passion, and she studied the Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet extensively with Lalla Bauman (on scholarship), Larry Boyette, and others. Before founding the academy in 1986, she spent many years as a performer on television and stage with the Lalla Bauman Dancers. Georgia made several appearances at the Municipal Opera of St. Louis, the 12,000 seat premier outdoor theatre of the midwest. Other performance venues include Kiel Auditorium, Fort Leonard Wood, Boettcher Concert Hall, and the Admiral entertainment ship. She also performed with stars Dorothy Collins, Margaret Hamilton, and prima ballerina Patricia Bowman. Georgia has been teaching ballet/pointe, jazz, and tap for more than thirty-two years, and she has choreographed numerous award-winning pieces performed by the Company. Many of Georgia's students have gone on to pursue dance in college and to dance professionally. In addition, several students have been accepted to nationally known summer programs. Georgia is married, and she is the proud mother of three grown sons. She has three wonderful daughters-in-law, and she is thrilled to have six grandchildren.

Jennie Begley

Jennie has studied dance since the age of three at the Metropolitan Academy of Dance. She is currently a member of Ballet Ariel, a professional Ballet Company in Denver, and she will perform the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in this season's Nutcracker. Jennie was recently invited by David Taylor to join his newly formed Company, the Zikr Sacred Dance Ensemble. In the "On Stage America" competition, Jennie was awarded "Best Student Choreography" for a solo that she performed. She has performed in the Aurora Dance Arts production of The Nutcracker as the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Snow Queen, and the Spanish divertissement. In the David Taylor Dance Theatre's Nutcracker, she danced the roles of Columbine, Angel, Party Girl, Snowflake, Waltz of the Flowers, and Chinese. In 2006 Jennie was a scholarship student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and she also attended the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive in New York City. She will portray Dorothy in the Dance Core Company's ballet production of The Wizard of Oz.

Julie Elliott

Julie has been dancing for twenty-four years and teaching dance for the past twelve. She received her training at the Metropolitan Academy of Dance where she traveled and performed with the Company. Julie continued to pursue her dance training at the University of Colorado where she was captain of the CU Express Dance Team. She also was a member of the Dancewest Divas Performing Company in Boulder, Colorado. Julie has performed many parts in The Nutcracker including the Sugar Plum Fairy, and she has also performed at the 1996 Olympics, the 1996 Orange Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, Disney World, and the Universal Dance Association College Dance Team Nationals. She has choreographed dances for numerous musicals and high school pom pon competitions in the Denver area, and she also won a scholarship to the Edge School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles.

Kendra Harman

Kendra Harman started dancing at the age of eleven, and she quickly fell in love with dance. At seventeen she started teaching at Picus Dance Academy, while studying ballet and jazz with Heidi and Stan Picus. Kendra competed locally with LADF, and CoDance, and she competed both locally and nationally with Dance Educators of America. She has studied tap with Leanna Earlywine and taught at Off Broadway Academy of Dance. Her teaching experience also includes workshops with Colorado Ballet and here at Metropolitan Academy of Dance. Tap is her favorite style of dance, and she loves to get people motivated to make some noise! Happily married, Kendra has a daughter who is also an amazing dancer. She is very excited to be teaching at MAD this year.

Kris Hayes

Kris started dancing at age seven in Canton, Michigan at Masters of Dance Arts with Mary Helen Stewart. She competed both locally and nationally with Dance Educators of America and Dance Masters. Kris lived and trained in New York at the Phil Black dance studio and has taken master classes with Gus Giordano and Joe Tremaine among others. She was a cheerleader with the USFL Michigan Panthers and Denver Gold. Kris traveled extensively with the Auto Show as a dancer for Chevrolet. After attending Eastern Michigan University, Kris became a flight attendant for American Airlines and has been flying for over twenty years. She is also a Jazzercise instructor. Kris is thrilled to be back in the dance world as a teacher and a parent of a daughter who shares her passion for dance.

Jenny Karlan

Jenny Karlan started dancing at age two at the Dance Factory in Topeka, Kansas. She was trained in tap, ballet, and jazz, and she was a member of the competition team for six years. Jenny competed in many locations, including Orlando, Chicago, Tulsa, and Kansas City. While in Kansas, she also trained at the Topeka Ballet. In high school she was a member of the Dancing Blues, where she was captain her senior year. After graduation, she went to Kansas State University where she minored in dance and performed in the Dance Department productions. She was also a member of the KSU Tap Dance Ensemble where she performed all over the state of Kansas. She is excited to be teaching at the Metropolitan Academy of Dance.

Susan Knaak

Susan studied dance at the Northern Ballet School in Manchester, England where she was a full-time scholarship student. Upon graduation she received an Advanced Diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Sue has performed in Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Giselle, and Sylvia. In 2005 she taught ballet for Paul Taylor's Summer Intensive Program in New York City, and at La Guardia High School of Performing Arts. She has been teaching at the Metropolitan Academy of Dance for the past eighteen years. Susan is the Assistant Director of the Performing Company, and she continues to bring in guest teachers when they are available.

Amy Mackall

Amy has been dancing since the age of four and continues to share her love of dance by teaching for the past six years. Amy received most of her dance training at the Metropolitan Academy Of Dance and has been involved with Performing Companies for eight years, six of which have been with MAD. Amy has performed several parts in The Nutcracker including the Snow Queen, Party Guest, and in Waltz of the Flowers. She has traveled around the country performing at the Atlanta Olympics, the Orange Bowl Halftime Show, Disney World, and on the Carnival Cruise Ship. She won a scholarship to be a Caravan Kid Dancer and also a partial scholarship with New York City Dance Alliance. Amy considers teaching our children at MAD her greatest accomplishment in dance.

Alexandra Markovetz

Alexandra Markovetz is an experienced teacher with a strong ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap, and hip-hop background. She trained with Corinne Kuhl-Reed and Christina Noel. She has attended many prestigious Summer Ballet Intensives such as The Rock School, American Ballet Theatre, Miami City Ballet, and Ballet Austin. Alexandra performed with the Eaglecrest Dance Company from 2004-2006, and she is a current member of the Boulder Ballet Company.

Gabriella Rojas

Gabriella Rojas was born and raised in the world of circus, performing with her mother. She studied at the New York School for Circus Arts, Albuquerque school for Circus Arts, Dance Theatre of the Southwest, Dance Theatre of Harlem of the Southwest, and the University of New Mexico. In 2008 Dance Magazine nominated her for the ACDFA student performer of the year. After graduating with dual degrees in Dance and Theatre from the University of New Mexico, Summa Cum Laude, she joined the Cirque du Soliel performance roster. For the past two years, she has been performing with the professional Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble.

Amy Schmahl

Amy is pleased to be returning to her fourth season as an instructor of our youngest students at MAD. Amy grew up studying ballet, tap and jazz for fifteen years under Rusty La Vonne in Indiana. At a young age, Amy was asked to teach and choreograph all of the pre-school and young elementary classes at her studio. She headed up the youth classes at her studio for several years. Amy took a long hiatus to start a family, and she is now thrilled to be teaching her own daughters at MAD. Amy believes that it is important to not only instill the love of dance in her students, but to also carefully teach the true fundamentals of ballet, tap, and jazz. She loves introducing young children to the world of dance, and she believes that all children posses the ability to learn to dance.

Steven Vogel

Steven has trained at the Metropolitan Academy of Dance for the past fifteen years. He has performed in many locales including the 2001 Orange Bowl Half Time Show, on two Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships, and in New York City. Steven has had many roles in The Nutcracker, including Fritz, the Nutcracker Prince, and the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier. He has received multiple scholarships at the New York City Dance Alliance conventions for "Most Potential," and in 2002 also won the "Most Potential" award at the Footloose Dance Competition. In 2005 Steven won the "Best Choreography" award at the On Stage America dance competition for the dance he co-choreographed. Also in 2005, he was accepted through audition and he attended the American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive Program in Orange County, California. From 2005-2007, Steven performed with the David Taylor Dance Theatre. In 2009 Steven performed the roles of Harlequin and the Chinese divertissement in David Taylor Dance Theatre's The Nutcracker.