ALEX ARIZPE - X-Dancing

Alex Arizpe is a beloved teacher and choreographer of street dance styles from throughout the decades of American History.  His signature style, known as X-dancing, combines moves from popular and technical dances to create versatile dancers and entertaining dances.  His choreographic credits include “Jitterhoppin”, a world premiere swing ballet for Texas Ballet Theater, under the direction of Ben Stevenson, HITS Theatre productions of the Broadway musicals Seussical the Musical and Carnival at Miller Outdoor Theater, the Super Bowl Commissioners Ball, Dance Houston at the Hobby Center, Arts in The Edge in Shreveport, Louisana, and the Woodlands First Night New Year’s Celebration at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillon. Other choreography credits include Dance Salad at the Wortham Theatre, the Gala performance for the Jewish Community Center’s 25th anniversary of Dance Month , Choreographer’s x 6, the MGM film Rush, the NFL Houston Oiler Dancers, commercials for Foley‘s and MTV, industrials for Ski Do, Verizon Wireless, Nike, Reebok, and El Paso Energy, as well as numerous award ceremonies and corporate events in and around Texas.  Mr. Arizpe currently teaches for Houston Ballet's educational outreach programs and King's Dancing Centre.  

ANDREA CODY - Swing Dance

Andrea Cody, Dance Houston’s Founding Director, is a swing dancer, teacher, and choreographer.  She grew up studying ballet at the Houston Ballet Academy and later focused her training on social dance.  She trained extensively with the late Frankie Manning, the Father of Lindy Hop who won a Tony Award for his swing musical Black and Blue (1933) and choreographed the dance scene in Malcolm X (1992) starring Denzel Washington.  In 1997, she was a founding member and instructor for the Houston Swing Dance Society, for which she also served as Vice President.  In 1999, she placed first in the city and tenth in the nation in the Showcase Division at the American Lindy Hop Championships.  In 2001, she received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago where she studied dance theory, history and choreography.  She loves working with kids and teaching them about our country's cultural dance heritage from the 1920's and 30's.

ELIZABETH DAVIS - Contemporary
  
Elizabeth, who has been dancing her whole life, trained with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company as an apprentice in the Met Too.  After graduating from Alvin High School in 2002 she was accepted into the prestigious dance program at Point Park University's College of the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA.  She trained there for one year and then returned to Texas to finish her BFA in Dance at Sam Houston State University in 2006.  Elizabeth has been awarded many choreography awards from Sam Houston State University and American College Dance Festivals.  She returned back to her hometown of Alvin, TX  in 2007 to open Fusion Dance Academy where she shares her training and love of dance with all ages.

KRISTINA KOUTSOUDAS - Middle Eastern Cultural Dance

Kristina Andriana Koutsoudas is an independent choreographer, performer, and teacher of contemporary and folkloric dances of the Middle East and North Africa.  She has been awarded several Individual Artist Grants (2000 & 2004) from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and Harris County for her work in preserving the cultural heritage of the Middle East and North Africa through dance.  Kristina has performed at theatrical, university, and studio venues all over the United States as well as with an international dance company.  She has performed, toured, and taught with the Anjali School of East Indian Performing Arts under Artistic Director Rathna Kumar.  Kristina has developed several arts-in-education teaching and performing programs for Young Audiences, the Children's Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts.  She teaches dance classes at Rice University and the Jung Center.  Kristina holds a B.A. in history M. A. in Cross Cultural Studies the University of Houston with an emphasis in dance.

INGRID MENENDEZ - Latin Jazz

Ingrid Menendez specializes in fun latin movement for people of all ages and backgrounds. She has trained at the Houston Metropolitan Dance Center and at Rodriguez Dance Academy. Her abilities in break-dancing earned her a place in the Planet Funk dance company. While dancing with Planet Funk, Ms. Menendez participated in Monsters of Hip Hop, training with Brain Friedman and Wade Robeson. She has taught dance at YES College Preparatory for three years. She has also taught at Fondren Middle School and at Rodriguez Dance Academy. Last summer, she was a favorite instructor at Dance Houston’s summer dance camp. She is currently teaching dance at several different venues in and around the Houston area while continuing her education in dance at the University of Houston.

NICHOLAS NESMITH - Show Choir

Nicholas Nesmith has danced professionally for the last ten years and specializes in Show Choir, a combination of dance and movement popularized by the hit show Glee. He spent the last 3 years dancing around the globe on Royal Caribbean ships, and was a featured aerial artist in several shows. He has performed locally with Houston Grand Opera, Dance Houston, The Great Caruso, Suchu, Dangerous Lorraines as well as other companies in the city. He studied dance at Sam Houston State University, and trained intensively at Jacob's Pillow under Chet Walker and at Broadway Theater Project under Ann Reinking. He is now proud to be working for Dance Houston full time.  He is also a multi-award winning and acclaimed choreographer, whose work has been seen throughout the country at festivals and competitions over the last eight years. He was the recipient of the SHSU Faculty's Choreography Award (2005).

LEONARD PRICE - Hip Hop

At the age of 14, Leonard Price first fell in love with dance after taking classes at his local church. From there sparked a never-ending passion that pushed him farther and deeper in to the arts. He trained at Planet Funk Dance Academy and utilized his skills in leading the first hip hop dance company at Bellaire High School called eMotions. He later graduated and continued pursuing dance at Lamar University, where he was introduced to jazz, modern, and ballet. Leonard is a native Houstonian that has been apart of and choreographed for the Houston Comets for four years and also with the Houston Rockets for three years. He plans to continue with dance in the future with more focus on choreography in the styles of street jazz, hip hop, and modern.

JOHN HENRY REID - Contemporary

John Henry Reid trained at the Houston Ballet Academy under the direction of Ben Stevenson for 11 years.  His professional dance career began with a season at Texas Ballet Theatre under the direction of Ben Stevenson.  From 2004 - 2008, John Henry danced for the Colorado Ballet Company.  He recently performed with Complexions Dance Company, NYC, with whom he toured internationally.  He has performed as a guest for Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, Cincinnati Ballet, and Twin City Ballet Theater. 

JOCELYN THOMAS - Bollywood

A Houston native, Jocelyn Thomas is an HSPVA alumni and graduated from the Ohio State University with a BFA in Dance Performance in 2004. She is a company member and in her fourth season with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. Her performances with the company include the Texas Weekend of Contemporary Dance, Ft. Worth Dance Festival, Bayou City Arts Festival, and Dance Chicago. She has performed works by Salim Gauwloos, Kevin Wynn, Nina Buisson, Eddy Ocampo, Kiki Lucas, Joe Celej, and Jhon Stronks during her time at the Met. Jocelyn is also the Rehearsal Director for Mahira Dance Company, a local contemporary Indian dance troupe dedicated to developing the Bollywood dance style into a developed art form. In her 4 years with company, she has performed at various Asian and International Festivals, Bollywood Star shows, charity and social events. In her spare time, she teaches and choreographs at studios around the Houston area.

Dance Houston, 406 W. Clay, Houston, TX  77019.  (713) 526-1049