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Echo Contemporary Dance Company, founded in 2010, is a fusion of classical, post, and contemporary modern dance. Existing within and outside of established traditions, Echo creates a kinetic balance between convention and the experimental.
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Photo: Steve Clarke
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Artistic Director/Dancer | Bridget Morris received her training in the Charles Weidman technique under former Weidman dancer, Mary Ann Mee, at Central Piedmont Community College. She received the Patrice Bearnside award from Dance Central (CPCC), for her contributions as a dancer in the company. In 1998 she graduated from Ohio State University with a B.F.A. in dance. Since graduating she has been a company member of Moving Poets Theatre of Dance and Alban Elved Dance Company. In 2004, she was published on the cover of "Seeing Wile Being Seen", a collection of dance photography by Steve Clark. Bridget founded Echo Contemporary Dance Company in the summer of 2010. Their first performance was the premier of "Brick Windows" at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. In October, 2011, Echo performed their first full evening concert in conjunction with a wine tasting at the Chop Shop, Charlotte’s newest music venue. Bridget is currently on the board of the Charlotte Dance Festival and is dancing for Kim Jones, professor of dance at UNCC. |
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Photo: Steve Clarke
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Dancer | Jennifer Dice began her dance training in Houston, TX with Paula Abbott. She spent two summers at the Joffrey Ballet’s Midwest Workshop and studied the Royal Academy of Dance and ISTD ballet syllabi in London, England. Jennifer graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.S. in mathematics and a minor in dance. Jennifer moved to Charlotte, NC in 2006 where she has performed with Charlotte Dance Festival, Revelations Dance Theatre and Echo Dance Company. She currently works for Wells Fargo Securities and continues her love for dance through classes and performances. |
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Photo: Kristin St. Martin
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Dancer | Sarah Emery is from Chesapeake, VA and currently resides in Charlotte, NC. She received much of her training from the North Carolina School of the Arts. As a young dancer, she studied with the Boston Ballet, the Hungarian National Ballet in Budapest, Tidewater Ballet Association and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Sarah danced with Charlotte’s Moving Poets Theater of Dance as a principal dancer for 10 years. Among others, she has danced with Terpsicorps Theater of Dance, North Carolina Dance Theater, Alban Elved, Tulsa Ballet Theatre and Omaha Dance Theater. Sarah has been a teacher and choreographer in the Charlotte region for the past ten years. She currently teaches at Open Door Studios. Her choreography has been premiered with the Moving Poets Theater of Dance, Afro American Children's Theater, Charlotte Dance Festival and Project Incite. |
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Photo: Nathan Abplanalp
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Dancer | Javier Gonzalez began his career in dance studying ballet, hip-hop, Latin, Salsa, Merengue and Cumbia. In 2008 he became a company member of Ballet Folclórico de las Americas and LeColours Latino. Wanting to further pursue ballet, he began studying Cecchetti under the tutelage of Kathryn Horne at Central Piedmont Community College. While at CPCC Javier discovered modern dance through Mary Ann Mee, a former Charles Weidman dancer and respected teacher, Clay Daniel. He joined CPCC's dance company, Dance Central, in the fall of 2009. Since then he has been in several productions with Dance Central including the Nutcracker, Christmas Oratorio, and new works by Clay Daniel. Today, Javier continues to perform for Dance Central while teaching salsa and dance to Latin girls for their quinceañeras. Javier has been a member of Echo CDC since 2011. |
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Photo: Steve Clarke
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Dancer | In 1994 Joanna Ahlman began her ballet training in Columbus, Georgia, under the direction of Maria Hirsch at The Columbus Ballet. She continued her education in Ballet Magnificat's trainee program, later dancing with the company directed by Kathy Thibadeaux. She also danced for the contemporary ballet company Hosanna Sacred Arts. In 2002, Joanna moved to Israel, teaching dance in Nazareth while working with a Jewish/Arab reconciliation dance ensemble. After her returned to Columbus and served as an instructor at The Columbus Ballet where she also worked as a choreographer and dancer. She performed lead roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker and Odette in Swan Lake, as well as in other original works. Her choreographic repertoire includes full-length ballets in addition to theme-specific pieces. After finishing her BFA in studio arts Joanna came to Charlotte. Her dance involvement has included Martha Connerton's Kinetic Works company and collective as well as serving as an instructor at Open Doors Studio. She currently teaches ballet and modern at Piedmont School of Music and Dance, is a Teaching Artist for NCDT in their Education/Outreach department and is a dancer of Echo Dance Company. Joanna continues to find fulfillment through her work and involvement in her dance community. |
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Photo: Kristin St. Martin
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Dancer | Christina Thomas is in her third season dancing with CPCC Dance Theater. She first began to study tap dance in the Philadelphia area with many local tap masters. After moving to the Charlotte area, getting married, and having a child she returned to dancing at CPCC. There she began her training in modern and ballet in earnest. She has since performed a variety of ballet and modern works. Christina lives in Charlotte with her husband and daughter. This is Christina’s second season with Echo Contemporary Dance Company. |
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Photo: Steve Clarke
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Associate Director | Chen Jiang, born in China, received her B.S.C. in Actuarial Science from the University of Hong Kong. Her passion in dance was inspired by Charlotte Dancesport, a club affiliated with UNC-Charlotte where she received her M.A. in Mathematical Finance. She started competing and performing in Ballroom and Latin dance with Charlotte Dancesport in 2007. Chen began her training in modern dance at Open Door Studio’s and is currently studying modern and ballet at CPCC, as well as music composition and video editing. With her background in business and love for dance, she decided to take on the position of Associate Director for Echo Contemporary Dance in May of 2011. Chen looks forward to every moment she spends with the company and to the greater future that she can help build for Echo CDC. |
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Assistant Rehearsal Director | Arlynn Zachary is a graduate from Goucher College with a degree in choreography, magna cum laude. She began her dance training as a college freshman with Dance Central (CPCC in Charlotte, NC) and performed with their resident company. After receiving her Associate of Arts degree, she transferred to Goucher to study dance composition. While at Goucher she not only studied aspects of dance, but also spent a large portion of her time dedicated to the Goucher Pilates Center. Over the years she has performed works by many professional choreographers including, Sean Curran and Jennifer Archibald. She has a background at Goucher in Stage Production and was a Technical Stage Production intern with Bates Dance Festival (BDF) where she was the Lighting Designer for Jennifer Archibald and Lisa Race. Her choreography has been displayed at both ACDFA and Goucher’s Repertory Dance Ensemble Spring Concert. She is currently working on the boards for both the KinetiCollective and Charlotte Dance Festival, teaching in the charlotte area, dancing professionally for The Wake Project, and working for Echo Contemporary Dance Company. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of THE MARK dance company. |
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