dancers

Carisa Armstrong (Artistic Director) received a Master of Fine Arts in Dance, with concentration in pedagogy, performance, and choreography, from Case Western Reserve University. Her undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science with Teacher Certification in Dance from Southwest Texas State University.

While at SWTSU, Carisa received the Connie Webb-Brown Scholarship in Choreography/Performance. Since then, she has had the honor of performing works by Erick Hawkins, Diane Gray, Peter DiMuro, Kathy Dunn Hamrick, Louis Kavouras, Richard Dickenson, Jane Weiner, and Karen Potter. During her graduate years, Carisa taught several technique classes at Case, which lead to her receiving the Graduate Dean’s Instructional Excellence Award. She also traveled to Milan, Italy where she was an assistant demonstrator at the NonSolo Danza Studio. After graduate school, she moved to NYC where she studied with numerous dancers in all genres of dance.

Carisa currently is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Dance Program at Texas A&M University. She teaches a variety of technique and lecture courses, choreographs on students, performs her own works and those of guest artists, works with the Theater Program on special projects, and serves as the Costumer for the Dance Program. She is also certified in Pilates Mat. Carisa is an advisor for Dance Arts Society. She served as Vice-President of Dance for Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and is currently on the Board for American College Dance Festival. Carisa is actively creating work to present at the University and in the professional realm.

Christine Bergeron (Artistic Director, Production Coordinator) received her B.A. in Dance from the University of Akron and her M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance from Florida State University.  In addition to directing the dance program at TAMU, she teaches modern dance, dance composition, dance pedagogy, dance production, and Pilates.

Christine has danced with the Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company, Women’s Dance Project, Dance Repertory Theatre and K403.  She has had the honor of performing works by Martha Graham (Acts of Light - staged by Myra Woodruff), Peter DiMuro (Preludes to a Song), Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (Shelter) and Jane Weiner (fish, deer, sheep).  She has presented work in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, New York, California, Illinois, Texas and Mexico.  Her work has been critically acclaimed in the Tallahassee Democrat, Chronicle, Ovations, The Dallas Morning News, The Star Telegram, The Eagle, Florida Flambeau, The Star Ledger and the New York Times.

In addition to teaching at Texas A&M University, she has also taught as adjunct faculty at Florida State University, as a guest artist at the University of Akron, and an instructor at Palm Beach County School of the Arts, Cafe Dance, the Dancenter and Palm Beach Sports Academy.  Currently, Christine serves as the Vice President – Dance for the Texas Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.  She has served on the Board of Directors for the South-Central Region of the American College Dance Festival Association and has been awarded the Plaudit award by NDA and TAMU Dance Arts Society for her contributions to dance performance and education.

She has received grants for numerous projects from the Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley.

Danielle Brestel (Operations Director) began her movement training as a gymnast. While earning an engineering degree at Virginia Tech, she discovered the joy of dance and became an active member of the Contemporary Dance Ensemble. In 1998, she attended the American Dance Festival and broadened her understanding and appreciation of modern dance. While pursuing a graduate degree in Structural Engineering at the University of California San Deigo, she took advantage of the wonderful dance faculty and training available there. She also attended regular classes and workshops with Lower Left, a postmodern and improvisational dance collective. In San Deigo, Danielle performed in works by Yolande Snaith, Amanda Waal, Alicia Marvan, and Colette Harding. Danielle also choreographed extensively and produced two evening-length performances. While working in Austin, TX from 2006-2008, she continued her dance training with Kathy Dunn Hamrick and Kate Warren. In addition to dancing with BDC, Danielle spends her time raising her adorable two-year-old daughter.

Jessica Ray Herzogenrath began training in the St. Louis area, and continued throughout her undergraduate study at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL) where she studied with Billy Siegenfeld, Lisa Wymore, Mark Gomez and Kirby Reed, performed in student and faculty works, and also choreographed for several student organizations, including Boomshaka, Northwestern University Dance Ensemble and Purple Haze a cappella group. Upon graduation she moved to Houston where she has performed, taught and choreographed. Jessica has danced with Exclamation Dance Company, Planet Funk, Urban Indian Beat and Psophonia in addition to performing her own work. In 2009, she earned a MA in American Dance Studies from Florida State University where she studied with Lynda Davis, Geri Houlihan, Jawole Zollar and Dan Wagoner. Currently Jessica is working on her PhD in American history at Texas A&M with a focus on dance.

Hollis Hock received her early dance training in Colorado Springs, Colorado with Patti Boles, Esther Geoffrey, Patty Hoffman, and Mark Carlson at the International Ballet School. At the age of 15, Hollis left home to study at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) in Carlisle, PA under Marcia Dale Weary. Hollis’ summer study includes workshops at CPYB, The Joffery Ballet School, Canada’s National Ballet School, World Masters at Vail, The Rock School, and Colorado College. After completing four years of training at CPYB, Hollis danced for Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) as an apprentice for their 2003-2004 season. At CPYB and OBT, Hollis performed works by George Balanchine, Alan Hineline, Jason Reed, Charles Maple, Kitty Seale, Amy Seiwart, Lew Christiansen, Marius Petipa, Sherry Moray, Lisa de Ribere, Paul Taylor, and Frederick Ashton. Hollis left OBT to further her academic goals at Texas Christian University, graduating in May 2008 with a BFA in Ballet. At TCU, she performed as a featured dancer in faculty and guest artist works by Elizabeth Gillaspy, Li-Chou Cheng, Susan Douglas Roberts, and Christian von Howard, among others. Upon graduating from TCU, Hollis danced with Texas Dance Theatre from 2008-2010. Hollis is currently in medical school at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Andrea Sheridan (Production Director), an Idaho native, graduated from the University of Idaho in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Dance. While attending the University of Idaho, she was given the opportunity to work with guest artists such as Amy O’neal, Victoria Uris, Lineage Dance Company, and performers of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. She has also worked with Adele Myers and Dayna Hansen through the Strictly Seattle summer intensive held each summer at Velocity Dance in Seattle Washington. Andrea taught and choreographed for the University of Idaho in their dance program for two years and occasionally substitute taught at Washington State University where she also set choreography. During this time she taught extensively at multiple studios in the Palouse region and started up a summer dance camp in Salmon, Idaho with a fellow University of Idaho Dance Department Alumni. Since moving to Bryan/College Station a year ago Andrea has enjoyed dancing with ABDC/BDC along with teaching at the Dance Centre and Suzanne’s School of Dance. Andrea is currently attending the American Dance Festival where she is absorbing the technique of Mark Haim and Brenda Daniels. She is also studying improvisation with Ishmael Houston-Jones and contact improv Curt Haworth. She is obtaining her Pilates Mat certification and looks forward to collaborating with fellow dancers in the community as part of Brazos Dance Collective.

Savannah Smith (Media Director) graduated from Texas A&M University in 2009 with a BED in Visual Studies and a minor in dance. She has presented choreography at TAMU and TAHPERD and dance video presentations in Düsseldorf, Germany and in the TAMU concert. Savannah has worked with many artists such as David Parsons, Joseph Cooksey, Kathy Dunn Hamrick and Core Performance as well as intensives at Texas Christian University and Rio Grande Valley Ballet. While currently pursuing a Master of Science in Marketing at TAMU’s Mays Business School, she also works at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum and does freelance design and photography. Her artistic interests include merging video, photography and dance performances. She is excited about the possibilities of meshing dance with other art forms through BDC.

Andrea Alvarez & Kelley Council