Maddie Korff
Maddie Korff is a Dancer, Choreographer, and Artist, based in Kalamazoo, MI. Maddie is overjoyed to be joining Chamberlain Dance for their third season of work and is looking forward to taking the stage with her fellow dancers to present this upcoming project. She is currently living out her dream of dancing professionally as a company member in both Chamberlain Dance and Wellspring/Cori Terry and Dancers. Some of her most recent achievements include performing as Tom Thumb in Marie Chamberlain’s work The Brighter Hour (2020), starring in gallery presented work, AutoWave by Carolyn Pampalone Rabbers (2019), being cast as soloist in Loïe Fuller’s Lily of the Nile re-staging in Wellspring’s fall concert (2018), as well as being featured in Dance Spirit Magazine (2016). Outside of performing, Maddie is continuing her studies in Dance, Studio Art, and Psychology at Hope College where she is working to deepen her ability to portray the beauty and power of human connection and expression within her creations.
Alisa lindsay
Alisa Lindsay is honored to be a member of the Chamberlain Dance Company. She is also dancing and choreographing with Atelier Dance Company in Grand Rapids and is the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Wellspring/Cori Terry and Dancers. She has trained in ballet, jazz, and modern at the American Dance Academy (Detroit-area), Interlochen Fine Arts Camp, University of Michigan, Community School of Ballet (Ann Arbor), Lansing Community College, and Wellspring Dance Academy. She is certified in the Cecchetti ballet method through Grade VI Intermediate Professional Level. While in college, she was on the University of Michigan Dance Team. Alisa is a Professional Engineer with Envirologic Technologies, Inc., specializing in environmental engineering and consulting. She is thankful for the unwavering support of her husband, Sean, and their three children.
Allyson Lowis
Allyson Lowis has been dancing since she was three years old, growing up at the Patti Herm School of Dance. Allyson went on to Hope College where she earned a minor in dance, majoring in exercise science. While at Hope, she danced with the semi-professional modern dance company dANCEpROjECt, now known as H2. During her time at Hope and in the years after, Allyson worked with many choreographers including Steven Iannacone, Matthew Farmer, Angie Yetzke, and Marie Chamberlain, as well as taking on her own choreographic endeavors. Allyson's piece presented in the 2019 Chamberlain Dance concert, "Split to Search" (2011) was also performed in the 2019 Detroit Dance City Festival in August as part of the choreographer's showcase. Allyson is currently a doctor of physical therapy at Rehab Specialists in Portage, MI where she specializes in working with people with Parkinson's Disease and with dancers. Allyson resides in Kalamazoo with her husband, two cats, and puppy.
james felton
James C Felton II is excited to return for a third season with Chamberlain Dance. A senior at Western Michigan University, James is working towards his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts Degree in Dance. Hailing from Lapeer, Mi, he began his movement career recreating sisters’ and cousins’ recital routines before enrolling at Sandra Brewer’s Dance Connection in Davison, Mi. Under Sandra’s guidance, James began his training in ballet, tap, partnering, and jazz, even learning authentic choreography from a direct “dance descendant” of the legendary choreographer, Bob Fosse. In high school, James began training at the Flint School of Performing Arts before joining the school’s preprofessional dance company, The Flint Youth Ballet under the direction of founder and chair, Karen Mills-Jennings. At FSPA James was exposed to various styles of classical ballet and modern dance, learning company repertoire spanning the cannon of ballet: from direct restaging’s of masterworks to faculty and guest artist original pieces. James has also been fortunate to perform principal roles with Michigan based youth ballet companies since graduating high school. At WMU, James has continued to study and work under world class professionals with vibrant careers on and backstage. In 2019, James joined Western Dance Project under the direction of Whitney Moncreif, a repertoire performance company aimed to spread dance advocacy in South-West Michigan and surrounding communities. James has had the pleasure of performing the Department of Dance’s annual Winter Gala Dance Concerts (2018-2020), performing faculty pieces in addition to Great Works, most notably George Balanchine’s “Themes” from The Four Temperaments. Additionally, James has performed with Orchesis Dance Society as well as WMU Theatre’s Guys and Dolls (2019). When he isn’t dancing, James enjoys nights in with his loving partner, roomates, and cat; Louie.
Carolyn pampalone rabbers
Carolyn Pampalone Rabbers joined Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers in 2017 and is currently a low-residency graduate cohort at The University of the Arts under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield and Tommy DeFrantz. As an emerging choreographer, she is interested in a spiritual sense of universality anchored in quantum physics, improvisation, and exploring bio-based environmental architecture in pedagogy and research/creation approaches. Carolyn has worked in NYC, Miami, and LA dancing and acting both on stage and on camera. She can be seen as “Abby” in Moondance (2020) and has performed for Coldplay, Omi, Starbucks, Jockey Bra, Kaplan University, Royal Caribbean, Diavolo EdCo, The Union Project, Clairobscur, LACDC, and Vox Lumiere. Carolyn’s time on camera has inspired her to develop her screen dance work, CPR Dance: Inhale Movement and has been featured at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Krasl Art Center, and several festivals. She graduated from Western Michigan University with a BFA in Dance, and was a Presidential Scholar in 2010. Carolyn has trained at ADF and studied under the instruction of Tere O'Connor, Doug Varone, David Dorfman, Jennifer Nugent, Jessie Zarrit, Jerri Houlihan, Joy Davis, Pamela Pietro, and Kate Hutter. Carolyn recently studied Countertechnique at OBOC with Anouk van Dijk and Nina Wollny and is inspired by the overlapping intergenerational pedagogical approaches between Hawkins technique, Countertechnique, and Ballet. Her current research explores somatic healing practices and racial identity politics. She is certified by American Ballet Theater's National Training Curriculum in Pre-Primary through Level V, and Reiki and Yoga certified. Carolyn has co-authored “Ready Movers” a mindfulness, movement and literacy program for Kalamazoo County’s Ready 4’s program, and has taught for The Gabriella Foundation in Los Angeles, Berrien County Dancers, and Wellspring Dance Academy.
alexandria davis
Dance artist, choreographer, dance teacher and moving activist Alexandria Davis is a 2020 MFA graduate of the University of Michigan department of dance. Alexandria was born and raised in Gainesville Florida where she received her AA in dance from Santa Fe College in 2011 and her BFA in Dance Performance at the University of Florida in 2017--along with a certificate in Dance in Medicine. Alexandria is a dance activist and social justice advocate dedicated to community engagement and performing arts enrichment. Alexandria’s movement shares a special connection with the Florida African American community and culture. Her style is driven by triumph and encouraged by rhythm and bass. Alexandria creates dangerous work often using her choreography to instigate conversations that challenge collective thinking. Her movement is a manifestation of resilience and years of self-interrogation often presented through the vehicle of a three-dimensional conversation. Alexandria is an integrated mover having been trained in a wide range of dance aesthetics that include: liturgical dance, modern dance (in all its forms, concepts and processes), jazz, ballet, pointe and partnering, hip hop, West African, African diaspora aesthetics (Brazil, Cuba, Caribbean), contemporary, improvisation (solo performance and contact improvisation), Laban/Bartenieff fundamentals, Katherine Dunham technique, Bharatanatyam, Chinese fan, Latin American dance aesthetics (salsa, tango, cha cha, merengue etc..), historical black college and university styled danceline, color guard and majorette. Alexandria created the Dancing Back to Self movement practice throughout her collegiate thesis work. The movement practice was designed by Alexandria to encourage students, peers and herself to reclaim the freedom to move as an artist and individual free of judgement and the desire of applause. Alexandria founded the Essence of Pearls Dance Project in the Summer of 2014 in Gainesville. The project began as a community dance company to offer K-12 students in East Gainesville—an economically disadvantaged area of the city—exposure to pre- professional dance training and mentorship, to promote professional dance performance and encourage pursuit of higher education. Since then the project has been converted to a ten-day summer intensive in which Alexandria mentors students in a “whole person approach” using dance as a means for promoting strong social, educational and civic-minded habits.
leo walker
Leo Walker is a scholar, performer, and administrator based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. As a dancer, he has studied under David Curwen, Kaitlyn Pollock, Kelsey Paschich, and Carlos Funn. Leo has performed in a variety of student and faculty choreographed pieces ranging from modern and West African work. Along with performing, Leo has also had the opportunity to serve as a Teaching Assistant for several introductory dance classes at Western Michigan University. While performing, Leo also works as an arts administrator, where he acts as a social media assistant for both Western Michigan University’s College of Fine Arts and the Young Dancers Initiative. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in music history in conjunction with finishing his Bachelor of Arts in music with a minor in dance. His research examines the intersection of the homosexual identity and twentieth-century theatre music. In his downtime, Leo enjoys watching classic cinema with his partner, James, and cat, Louie.
Lachan jaarda
Lachan is a dance performer, choreographer, and teacher located in Kalamazoo, MI. She has been training, primarily in Modern, Ballet and Jazz, for seventeen years with a few years of training in Tap, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre Productions, and Improvisation/Partnering. Lachan received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from Hope College in 2019. Currently, Lachan teaches dance to ages 4-18 in Ballet/Pointe, Modern, Jazz, and Tap. Throughout her career, Lachan has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Matthew Farmer, Sharon Wong, Steven Iannacone, Nicole Flinn, Carolyn Pampalone Rabbers, and Tapestry Dance Company. Additionally, Lachan has had the privilege to take her choreography to Paris (France), Chicago (IL), Detroit (MI), and now Kalamazoo (MI.) When Lachan isn’t dancing for Chamberlain Dance, she is rehearsing and choreographing for Atelier Dance Company, creating her own side projects, teaching dance, or working her side job as a barista. Lachan is excited to be working with everyone in Chamberlain Dance this season!