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HLDC FACULTY

Enrico-HLDC.jpg

made his Broadway debut in BIG-- the Musical (Chor: Susan Stroman). Since then, he has starred in the Broadway and national touring companies of Here Lies Love, Rent (Angel), Mamma Mia (pepper), The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, Miss Saigon, Fame, Footloose (Ren), West Side Story, Bye Bye birdie starring Rue McClanahan, and Crazy for You choreographed by Susan Stroman. Enrico served as assistant choreographer to Baayork Lee and dancer in an episode of CBS' The Good Wife. He also back up sang and danced for Bruno Mars at NFL Super Bowl XLVIII. His national commercials include Starburst, UPS, Subway, Mountain Dew, TD bank, to name a few. As an educator Enrico teaches Jazz, Lyrical, and Musical Theater at several studios and universities across the country and in Tokyo, Japan under the company "Broadway in Japan". He is on the teaching staff of InStudio Dance alongside several So You Think You Can Dance alum, Triple Threat Musical Theater Camp, Just West of Broadway, and at Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Enrico was on faculty with The Pulse/Open Call and acted as emcee/judge, opening number choreographer, and convention teacher. He also toured with Next Level Dance Competition as head judge and choreographed the Nationals opening number. His choreography for studios across the country have won top overall awards at several regional and national dance competitions and many of his soloists have been featured in Dance Spirit magazine and CarmoDance on youtube. 

enrico rodriguez
enrico rodriguez
enrico rodriguez
enrico rodriguez
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was born into a family of accomplished musicians, and at a young age began studying dance at Ballet Arts Minnesota and Minnesota Dance Theater.  At age 16, she became an Apprentice with the Minnesota Dance theater, under the direction of Lise Houlton, where she performed Nutcracker Fantasy, Swingin’ Nutcracker, Rite of Spring, Carnival of the Animals and Swan Lake. She spent summers at Interlochen Arts Camp, where she received the Fine Arts Award for Ballet, at ABT and Complexions in New York, Houston Ballet, and the Dawson/Wallace Dance Project Professional Workshop in Denver. In 2012 she graduated from the Alonzo King Lines Ballet Apprentice Program in San Francisco, and soon after moved to Miami to dance with the Dance Now Ensemble.  Since returning to the twin cities, Erin has danced and performed with Hatch Dance, Rogue and Rabble Dance, and Alternative Motion Project.

Erin also has a career as a commercial voice-over actress featured in campaigns for Target, Kohls, Gap and MN Lottery.  

erin ross
enrico rodriguez
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Melinda grew up in the Washington DC area. She started training at her mothers dance studio and went on to study throughout the tri state area. 

Melinda moved to NYC in 2002 to attend NYU. Shortly after she joined the Radio City Rockettes. She has performed in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and worked as an Assistant Choreographer, Dance Captain and Swing on the show. She also performed in the Spring Spectacular and the Summer Spectacular as a Rockette. 

Melinda has also been seen on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show, Ellen, Dancing with the Stars and the TONY awards. 

 

Melinda is passionate about teaching and sharing her experiences with students of all ages. When not performing she travels the country as a guest teacher, she loves dancing with kids of all ages!

melinda farrell

Shannon has been dancing since age 2. She studied at The Dance Shoppe, currently known as Summit Dance Shoppe, for many years. During high school, she danced on the kick line and was the captain of the cheer/dance team. During college at U of M Mankato, she danced on the Mankato Performance Team (MPT) and took first place at Nationals with the Maverick Dance Team.

Shannon continued to dance and teach in a variety of settings after college. When starting a family, she began doing childcare, incorporating dance into the daily routine. Shannon has combined her love of dance and children into her teaching. She believes in learning while having fun. A stable foundation of technique will prepare dancers for a solid future. Shannon has been teaching at

Footsteps for the last 5 years and is excited for and her daughters to be part of the Headline family.

 

In her “other” job, Shannon works as a Social Worker with older adults. She loves to go to concerts and travel with her husband and her 3 daughters

shannon clem
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Daria started dancing at 4 years old and grew up in a rural town in Washington State. She attended Augsburg University double majoring in Biology and Chemistry. She met her husband during college while taking swing dance lessons. Daria taught dance through the Lakeville Parks and Recreation. She has been teaching from her home studio, Daria's Dance, for the last 5 years.  She loves sharing the joy of dance with others especially children of all ages. Her dream is to one day perform a tap dance with her husband and their 6 children. 

daria gordhamer
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Lacy Knutson is from Rosemount, MN. She started dancing at 3 years old. She has trained in multiple styles including; ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, hip-hop and musical theatre, but her favorite is tap. Throughout her elementary, middle and high school days she was actively involved in competition dance at The Dance Connection, both with her teams as well as individually. She also was involved at Rosemount High School in Dance shows, Onstage and The Modern Company directed by Christina Morris. She started teaching dance in 2003 as a Dance Teacher Assistant and quickly moved into the Instructor role and guest artist right after high school. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls, where she got a Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a double minor in Dance Education and Political Science. For the past seven years, she taught at Synergy Dance Center teaching all styles, for both the recreational and competition teams. Lacy’s groups have won multiple top 10 placements as well as choreography/judges choice awards. She also was an Assistant Coach for Northfield High School Dance Team. When she is not teaching dance, she is teaching Preschool in Farmington, MN or spending time with her friends and family. She is so excited to be apart of the Headline family and to be able to do what she loves every day! 

lacy knutson
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Abbey Face started her dance journey at the age of 5. She grew up in the competitive dance world and spent many hours after dance class practicing and creating choreography. The additional work led her to get her first teaching job at just 15 years old. She loves Jazz, Tap, Modern and Contemporary, but her biggest passion is Hip-Hop. Abbey likes to involve herself in the MN Hip-Hop community and is a member of 612 Crew, a Hip-Hop group that dances for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. She is also a company member of Borealis Dance, a modern dance company located in Minneapolis. Abbey is so excited to be back at Headline to share her passion with the HLDC fam!

abbey face
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Whitley Dahlhauser is a homegrown dance artist, having trained as a competitive dancer at Studio 4 and Ballet Royale MN. She graduated from the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists in 2017, where she studied a wide range of dance styles, including classical and contemporary ballet, classic jazz, modern, post modern, pilates, and dance composition. She has been a company member with Crash Dance Productions since 2017, and is an instructor and freelance choreographer in the Twin Cities. 

whitley 
dahlhauser
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