BodyWise Dance

Who We Are

DANCE applied to real life

Participatory dance-making, civic dialogue, creativity – these are the foundation of Margot Greenlee’s choreographic vision. Nationally recognized as a master teaching artist, Margot brings her artistic team of professional performers and arts therapists to lead programs in educational, healthcare, and corporate settings. Current project partners include Washington DC’s Army Distaff, Dance Exchange, the Eurasia Foundation, Fairfax County Department of Therapeutic Recreation, Jacob’s Pillow’s Curriculum in Motion, MVLE, the National Academy of Sciences, and Washington Project for the Arts.

As an artist working at the intersection of art and advocacy, Greenlee had developed a new approach to civic engagement. PerForum (performance + civic dialogue) is a way to become more curious and invested in important community issues. Using both theatrical elements and lived experience, recent topics have focused on public health policies that impact families such as Food Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion, Immigrant Rights, and Sex Education.

FOUNDER / DIRECTOR

Margot Greenlee

Margot Greenlee    

Margot Greenlee is a choreographer, theater director and artist educator.  Featured in Dance Magazine’s “Beyond Performance,” her approach is based on 20 years of experience in community arts engagement, first as a solo artist and later as a company member with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, performing in venues that include the Kyoto Art Center, Japan; Chautauqua Institute, NY; Yerba Beuna, San Francisco; Power Center, Ann Arbor; St. Mark’s Dance Space, NYC; MASS MOCA; and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and the American Dance Festival.

Her current awards include the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America and Art Works Research (2016 – 2019) and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship award (2015 – 2019).  In 2015 she was named a University of Maryland Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts NextLOOK artist. Her recent stage productions have appeared at the Anacostia Playhouse, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ New Visions New Voices Festival and the Women’s Voices Theater Festival.

Margot holds a BA from Kenyon College (with Political Science studies at the Stockholms Universitet) and an MFA in Choreography and Performance from The Ohio State University. Additional professional education includes Meredith Monk (vocal), Rinde Eckert (theater), Chris Aiken (contact improvisation) and Eric Franklin (Franklin Method).

ARTIST EDUCATORS & STAFF

Who We AreCorina Dalzell, Artist Educator

Corina Iona Dalzell (they/them) is a choreographer and performer grooving in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Bennington College with a B.A. in Dance and Social Science, the Pacific Northwest city governments of Seattle and Shoreline, Washington hired them to create inclusive dance programming serving adults with disabilities. Corina then launched an adaptive dance program at Anne Green Gilbert’s Creative Dance Center in Seattle, under the direction of Terry Goetz. They trained with AXIS Dance Company, a group for disabled and non-disabled dance artists, in Oakland, California. Since 2019, Corina’s pursuit of inclusive movement spaces has continued on the East Coast. They served as a teaching artist for BodyWise Dance, a group that welcomes movers of all ages and abilities, and currently teach for Dance Exchange’s creative aging, youth, and family dance classes in Takoma Park, MD. At the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, they facilitated collaborative choreography sessions for artists with disabilities for the Open Circle Open Doors festivals. As a teaching artist and choreographer, Corina delights in seeking what unites a diverse group of movers. Dancing is their favorite way to build community – and connect with others through joy.

Jeremy Hunter, Artist Educator

Jeremy is a multidisciplinary artist who acts, writes, directs, and raps. He received his formal training in the arts while attending the College of Southern Maryland. Among the companies in the DC metro area he has performed with are 1st Stage, MetroStage, Ally Theatre Company, Mosaic Theater Company, Constellation Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, 4615 Theatre Company, and Capital Fringe Festival. Jeremy has performed with academic institutions all around the DMV including Howard University, Bowie State University, Georgetown University, and American University.

Artist Educators & Staff 4JJ Johnson, Artist Educator

JJ graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Theater Performance. He has performed in plays in New York as well as throughout the greater DC area. Locally he has appeared in productions with 1st Stage, Arena Stage, Theater J, Ford’s Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, African Continuum Theatre Co., Adventure Theatre MTC, Imagination Stage, and Kennedy Center TYA. He might be familiar to some from his television commercial work. In addition to his amazing acting and teaching, JJ is also a talented playwright

Artist Educators & Staff 6Kelly King, Artistic Director

Kelly King is an interdisciplinary artist and educator working in performance, film, and non-fiction. She is an Embodied Joy Strategist and CEO of The Movement Movement, a boutique consulting firm offering Embodied Life solutions to businesses, community groups, and individuals. TMM specializes in collaborative leadership strategies and systems, facilitation, and coaching. Training: Kilgore College Rangerettes, BA (Dance), University of Maryland; MFA (Interdisciplinary Arts), Goddard College. In addition, Kelly performs as a teaching artist with Washington Performing Arts, BodyWise Dance (Artistic Director), Story Tapestries, and InterAct StoryTheatre. She has performed with Contradiction Dance Theatre (Founder), Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Cirque Du Soleil, Echo Park Contemporary Ballet, City Dance Ensemble, and JazzDanceDC in major venues across the U.S. and abroad. Kelly has choreographed for regional theaters including: Constellation Theater, Round House Theatre, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, Synetic Theater, Reston Community Center (Awkward Conversations 2022), and Olney Theatre (Just Arts Festival 2020), Open Circle Theatre, and more. She choreographs for stage, film, street, and just about anywhere people go.

Artist Educators & Staff 5Tuyet Pham,  Artist Educator

Tuyet has appeared in more than 30 productions in the DC area, including Baltimore Center Stage, Everyman Theatre, Spooky Action Theater, Constellation Theatre Company, Rep Stage, Round House Theatre, Imagination Stage, Signature Theatre, The Hub Theatre, The Inkwell Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, and Capital Fringe Festival. In addition, she has worked with Perseverance Theatre in Alaska, and Nebraska Shakespeare. Tuyet earned a BA in Theater and Film from the University of Kansas and an MA in Dramatic Arts from the University of Nebraska – Omaha.

Artist Educators & Staff 8Ryan Sellers, Artist Educator

Ryan is an actor, director, writer and artist educator in high demand throughout the DC Metro area. He is a longtime company member of the award-winning Synetic Theater, where he has appeared in numerous productions and has served as director, writer, and teacher. Ryan has performed with such companies as Folger Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, and Shakespeare Theatre Company. He trained in musical theater at The Catholic University of America and is certified by Young Audiences of Maryland Teaching Artist Institute.

Artist Educators & Staff 10Amy Rogers Nazarov, Social Media Strategist

Amy manages social media accounts for a number of small businesses and non-profits. From her home in Washington, DC, she also writes for the Smithsonian Institution’s digital newspaper, The Torch, covering the curators, exhibits, and programs. A native of Connecticut and a graduate of Connecticut College, Amy’s bylines have appeared in print and online in such publications as Cooking LightPsychology TodaySlateAmerican SongwriterWashingtonianThe Washington Post MagazineCURE, and many others

DANCE ignites memory and imagination, agility and resilience.