INTENSIVE TEACHER BIOS
Sara Rohs - Artistic Director MCD, Professional Dancer, Former Brewers Diamond Dancer, Dance Competition Judge, Teacher A Step Above Dance, Madtown Hip Hop Crew, Choreographer
Raised in Minnesota, Sara trained at many Twin Cities dance studios including Zenon Dance Company, Ballet Arts, Stage Door Dance for Performing Arts, The FIRM, Dance Spectrum, and the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts. She continued her dance education by becoming a member of the Augsburg College Dance Team, later becoming its captain for three years and then its coach for four years. She was a member of the Swarm Performance Team with the Professional Lacrosse League in MN.
Sara started the Ascending Star Dance Team in 2004 and was the director and dancer 3 years. Sara taught for Just for Kix summer camps and hosted workshops with the Augsburg College Dance Team. She was hired to dance professionally for various events.
After moving to Madison, Sara took courses with the UW Madison Dance Department. She danced with the Milwaukee Brewer’s Diamond Dancers for two seasons and was a member of the Madison area SweatShop Hip Hop Crew.
Sara founded the Madison Contemporary Dance Company (MCD) in 2010. In 2011 Sara started the monthly Madison Community Dance Newsletter to connect dancers with local opportunities.
Sara completed Lisa Howell’s Teacher Training Workshop in 2015. Sara has guest taught dance and choreographed for many dance studios and dance teams including college and professional dance teams and professional dance companies. She currently teaches at A Step Above Dance in Monona, WI and judges dance competitions throughout Wisconsin. Sara also directs the Madtown Hip Hop Crew.
Papa-Kobina Brewoo - Professional Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher - Express Yourself, Teacher - A Step Above Dance, Founder, and Director of the Hitterz Collective
Papa-Kobina Brewoo, or Kidd Blaze, was born and raised in Accra, Ghana and moved to Madison, WI in 2001 with his family, in hopes for better education and more opportunities to help his family back home. It was in the 8th grade that he found his love for hip-hop upon stumbling across the TV show America's Best Dance Crew. Inspired by how the dancers expressed themselves through movement and music, he began watching YouTube videos as a start on his journey to becoming a hip-hop dancer. Since then, Kobby has appeared on MTV's Made, auditioned for ABDC, AGT, WOD and signed with DanceOn Network. On top of that, Kobby continues to win countless awards at competitions throughout the midwest. He feels blessed by all the opportunities he has had and continues to work towards earning his stripes as a dancer. Kobby co-teaches the Madtown Hip Hop Crew with Sara Rohs.
Kobby is the founder and CEO of the Hitterz Collective whos mission is to provide a positive atmosphere where creative minds at all levels can learn, teach, network, and express themselves freely through artistry while being mindful of cultural history and to support the development and growth of the local art communities. The goal is to offer a platform and resources for educational growth, as well as to expand on the advanced repertoire of Performance, Music and Visual Arts.
Kate Huskey- Assistant Director MCD, Professional Dancer, Pharmacy Tech Certification, Personal Training Certification
Kate is in her fifth year dancing with Madison Contemporary Dance Company. She has been dancing since 4 years old at A Step Above Dance and Music Academy studying all styles of dance: Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical, and Modern. She also attended several dance intensives throughout those years: Inaside Dance Chicago, River North Dance Company, and has done the MCD summer intensive 4 times.
Kate is currently working at Walgreens as a Sr Certified Pharmacy Technician. She is also following her passion of fitness and getting certified with the American Council on Exercise as a personal trainer to help others learn to love fitness and build confidence in themselves along the way.
Kate looks forward to continuing her dance career with Madison Contemporary Dance.
Birdy Brzezinski- Assistant Director MCD, BA Dance, Psychology BS, Pilates Certification, Choreographer
Breanna first began dancing at the age of three and immediately found her greatest passion. She trained at Green Bay School of Dance for a few years but later moved on to train under Jeanette Makaroff of Makaroff School of Ballet in Appleton, WI. While with MSB, she was also a company member of the Makaroff Youth Ballet and performed roles including the little match girl in “The Little Match Girl” and Arabian in “The Nutcracker” at the Appleton PAC. She spent her summers going to summer intensive programs with the American Ballet Theater and the Rock School of Dance where she was trained by former professional dancers such as Ted Kivit, Robert La Fosse, and Alaine Haubert.
After high school, she attended UW-Stevens Point and received her BA in Dance, BS in Psychology, and a Pilates teaching certification through Balanced Body. While at UWSP, she was able to expand her dance education under the direction of Jeannie Hill, Joan Karlen, Pamela Luedtke, and Michael Estanich. She has also had the opportunity to participate in master classes led by Aysha Upchurch, Nick Pupillo, Eddie O'Campo, Katherine Kramer, and Gerald Avery. She graduated in May 2020 and currently teaches at Madison Professional Dance Center.
Breanna is a descendant of the Menominee and Potawatomi tribes of Wisconsin. Growing up, she danced at pow-wows as a fancy shawl dancer and has a great cultural tie to dance. Breanna understands the cultural significance of dance around the world and aims to bring that knowledge with her into the studio and to the stage.
Outside of dance, Breanna loves to make Native jewelry, ride her horse, read, hike, and play with her cats, Nyx and Pumpkin!
Erin Kiley Rodgers - MCD Alumni, Professional Dancer, BA Dance, Choreographer
Erin is a Madison native who enjoyed growing up dancing with Premier Dance Academy, Madison Ballet, Kehl School of Dance, and the Middleton High School Dance Team.
In 2000, Erin was first runner up in the Miss Dance Masters of Wisconsin competition and a Chicago National Association of Dance Masters scholarship winner. In 2001, she danced the role of Cinderella in Madison Dance Production’s Cinderella. Erin spent five years with Madison Ballet dancing various roles for W. Earl Smith in productions such as The Nutcracker and Midsummer's Nights Dream. In 2002, Erin was Premier Dance Academy's Studio Dancer of The Year.
In 2007, Erin graduated from Point Park University where she double majored in Dance and Public Relations. She attended PPU on a dance and academic scholarship and graduated with honors. While in college, Erin's first professional dance job was with The American Entertainment Company at Idlewild and SoakZone, a theme park outside of Pittsburgh, PA.
Directly after graduation, Erin danced for the Walt Disney Company in Orlando, FL. She joined the stage show of High School Musical 2: School's Out! and was a part of the original opening cast of Disney’s Hollywood Studios Block Party Bash Parade and the stage show High School Musical Three: Right here, Right now!. Erin left Disney in 2010 to dance on Royal Caribbean International's Mariner of the Seas. After moving back to Wisconsin, Erin joined Jazzworks, under the direction of Carol Marion Ceniti and Zach DeVries, and taught dance at Premier Dance Academy.
This is Erin's second year with Madison Contemporary Dance. After dancing in MCD's 2013 season, she moved to the Netherlands with her husband for three years to work abroad and travel. Currently, Erin lives in Middleton and is a stay-at-home mom to two adorable little girls and is thrilled to be back with MCD.
Molly Gehrmann - MCD Company Member, Dance BA, Recipient of Loyola University's Provost Fellowship in 2017, Choreographer
Homegrown from Madison, Wisconsin, Molly Gehrmann received her early training locally at Virginia Davis School of Dance. She continued her training and studied under the direction of Sandra Kaufmann, Sarah Cullen Fuller, Raul Casasola, Mari Jo Barker, and Amy Wilkinson at Loyola University Chicago’s dance program. She graduated from Loyola with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and minor in Musical Theatre.
Molly has participated in numerous performances and festivals in the Chicago area including, Loyola Dance Theatre Productions, Collaboraction’s Encounter and Identity Series, the Going Dutch Festival, Dance the Vote Film, Inaside’s Choreographic Sponsorship Event, Alluvion Dance Chicago’s Emergence, RAW: Chicago Impact, and the American College Dance Association. Additionally, Molly is an artist of RAW: Natural Born Artists in Chicago. Molly has worked closely with artists such as Brain McGinnis, Randy Duncan, and Connie Shiau.
Molly was the recipient of Loyola’s Provost Fellowship in 2017 to pursue performance-based research and train with the Mandala Dance Company in Rome, Italy and again in 2019 to conduct research while interning with Pivot Arts in Chicago. Molly has presented choreography for Loyola’s Theatre production of The Odyssey and the Illinois District 214 Dance Day.
This is Molly’s first season with Madison Contemporary Dance and is ecstatic to be a part of this company.
Ashton Florence - MCD Company Member, Choreographer
Raised in Madison, WI, Ashton Florence started dance training as a freshman in High School. He has taken private lessons with Beth Piccolo (A Leap Above Dance Company) and Coleen Kehl (Kehl School of Dance). In High School, he participated in The Nutcracker as the Spanish King, and attended multiple intensives throughout the years studying under: William Earle Smith, Abigail Henninger and Ally Figiel. He was also seen in the Premiere of Flip Side with Magnum Opus Ballet Company.
Ashton is very involved in the musical theatre community here in Madison. He has been seen in On The Town and Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 with Capital City Theatre, performing with Andrew Keenan-Bolger in Concert, performing with The Jerry Ensemble at Overture Center for the Arts, and various community theatre productions such as: Hairspray (House Theatre), Titanic the Musical (OSHP and SVP), Hello, Dolly! (OSHP), Jesus Christ Superstar (SBP), and Big Fish (OSHP and SBP). Other than being onstage, Ashton likes to work behind the scenes as a Dance Captain and Stage Manager. He has been the Dance Captain for several Choreographers such as: Victoria Kemnetz, Ally Figiel, Tracy Hines, Coleen Kehl, and Sabra Michelle.
While not dancing, Ashton is working towards his BS in Dance and BA in Communication Arts. Ashton is excited to continue his dance journey with Madison Contemporary Dance Company for his third year.
Jarrell Homesly - MCD Company Member
Jarrell was born and raised in Madison, Wi. He has been dancing since the age of 13. Jarrell attended UW-Stevens Point, and got his Bachelors of Arts degree in dance. In his free time, he enjoys rollerblading, bowling, hiking, taking care of his puppy, and traveling.
Sonteé Duncan - MCD Guest Artist
Bio TBA
Kendyll Hazzard - MCD Company Member
Kendyll began her dance training at the age of two, but really found her passion for dance after she joined Stoughton Center for the Arts. In 2013 she became a member of the SCA pre-professional program and company. She later went on to Bucknell University as a dance merit scholar, and member and choreographer of the Bucknell Dance Company. She primarily studied modern dance under the direction of Kelly Knox, and ballet and jazz under Professors Er-Dong Hu and Dustyn Martincich.
As a member of the Bucknell Dance Company she performed original repertory from residency artists such as Ailey II dancer Nathaniel Hunt, Giordano Jazz principal Eddy Ocampo, and Sidra Bell of Sidra Bell Dance NYC. She also participated in master classes from notable artists, such as Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, and Parsons Dance. In addition she participated in student-run organizations, such as Stampede Hip-Hop club, and served as president of the Riff and Ray tap club. Beyond campus, she studied Ballet under the supervision of Amy Casimir of Strictly ballet. She taught modern and contemporary at Downtown Dance studio for three years, in addition to serving as choreographer for RiverStage Community Theater.
Currently, she is working to refine her classical modern technique through an apprenticeship at Kanopy Dance, and is continuing with her passion for teaching and choreography at A Step Above. She has also had the privilege to teach at her old studio, SCA, and has set guest choreography at several other studios in southern Wisconsin.