Happendance Instructors
Bridget Vander Hoff
Bridget Vander Hoff graduated from Oakland University with a Bachelor of Arts in dance. There, she was a member of the Oakland Dance Theatre and performed the lead role in The Autumn of the Rite of Spring. Upon graduating, she danced with Velocity and taught at Happendance for a season, which brought her here to Lansing. Bridget has performed in work with Diversiform Dance Project and Dynasty Dancers, and currently dances with Dance Uprising and Greater Lansing Ballet. She also works as the assistant director of Delta Dance Connection's Company. Her choreography has been showcased in both Ypsi Dance Swap and Dance Lansing, and she also serves as Michigan Dance Council's executive secretary.
Jennah Quinn Gray
is a graduate of Everett High School where she trained in the Everett Dance Program, as well as at other local dance studios. She has been dancing for twenty-four years, and studied various styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, partnering, and hip hop. Her specialties include contemporary, modern, jazz, lyrical, and hiphop.
Jennah is also a cross-fit enthusiast and has her level one certificate. Her main goal is to not only provide an open space for dancers to learn and grow, but also to engage students with the how and why of what they are learning to do with their bodies—to engage their minds, bodies, and souls as one.
She currently attends LCC for Business and Accounting, and also works in the office at Happendance, gaining experience in finance. Along with being an instructor at Happendance and Danceworks, she is also one of the Assistant Directors of the Happendance Impulse student company. Jennah is also an adjunct employee of the MSU Theatre Department, subbing classes in Jazz and Contemporary.
Chloe Gonzales
Chloe Gonzales is a Happendance and University of Michigan alum. She has been training in modern and ballet for over 20 years and attended the University of Michigan to pursue a BFA in dance (2017). She is currently a Soloist and Arts Management/Human Resources Coordinator at Suttle Dance (Novi) and a company member of Happendance Velocity (Okemos). In addition, she is a co-director for Impulse, the competition coach at Jackson School of the Arts, and is currently teaching Contemporary and Dance Composition at Happendance and Contemporary, Pointe, and Jazz/Lyrical at JSA. She recently organized and directed “Our Body - Performance as Protest” advocating for reproductive rights in Michigan using the art of dance and involving artists from across mid-Michigan. She is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with notable artists such as Meredith Monk (Quarry, restaged 2017), Richard Alston (Brisk Singing, restaged 2015), Peter Sparling (Vox Femina (Girl Talk), 2014) among others. Chloe enjoys mentoring her students and helping them grow as people while encouraging their self expression as emerging young artists.
Andrew Muylle
is from Lansing and is a graduate of Eastern High School. He grew up as a student at Mark Taylor School of Dance in Lansing. He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Oakland University. After graduating and spending a summer as a performer at Idlewild, a theme park in the mountains of Pennsylvania, he moved to New York, where he engaged in the musical theatre and dance industries. While living in New York, he appeared in 42nd Street at the Ogunquit Playhouse and as a featured dancer in the televised Make The Season Bright holiday show at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan.
Jared Thompson
Jared Thompson was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, and began his dance studies at the age of four. Through his 20+ years of dance instruction, he has been trained in a wide variety of styles, ballet, contemporary, jazz, modern, tap, and hip hop. He has danced with Everett High School Dance Company, Happendance Impulse Dance Company, LCC Dance Shows, Happendance Education Exchange, and Release Detriot Dance Company, as well as the Director of Dance Lansing Hip Hop Club and Frxsco Dance Sessions. His choreography has been seen on MTV TRL, Harlem Global Trotters Pregame Show, and The Detriot Pistons Pregame Show. He has taught at various local schools and studios competitively where his choreography gained several top overall and judges awards for his choreography and recreationally just simply teaching the love of dance.
Ginni Specht
Ginni Specht is from Haslett, Michigan and started dancing at the age of 4. She has been teaching dance since the age of 17, and she specializes in tap, acro, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and musical theatre.
Emily Scott
Emily Scott is a dancer, instructor and choreographer based in Mid-Michigan. Growing up in the Lansing area she as a member of the Children’s Ballet Theater and Happendance 2, now Impulse Student Dance Company. She also performed as a guest performer with the Cincinnati Ballet Company, and the Moscow Ballet.
Emily majored in dance performance at Eastern Michigan University and has had the opportunity to work with many Michigan Dance professionals including Kristi Faulkner, Joori Jung, Joanna McNamara, Sherry Wilkinson, Phil Simmons, Jeremy Blair, and Haleem Rasul. Emily is a popular teacher in and around Mid-Michigan, formerly teaching at Foster Community Center in Lansing and Gardner International Magnet School. Her current teaching posts are Happendance School in Okemos, her alma mater, and Jackson Center for the Arts- Jackson MI. She is also engaged as an Assistant Director for Impulse Student Dance Company, and Directs DANCE Lansing, a summer festival for the entire dance community of Lansing. As a performing artist Emily is a member of Velocity! Concert Dance Company and Education Exchange Company.
Diane Newman
founded Happendance Contemporary Dance Company in 1976 and has served as a performing artist, master instructor, choreographer, artistic director, and executive director at different times during its 40-year history. Always an educator, she contributed her private studio of instruction to the organization in 1993, renaming it Happendance School and developing its multi-year curricula in ballet and modern dance. Diane also co-authored a book on creative dance with veteran Happendancer Beth Post, and Dr. Lynnette Overby, titled Interdisciplinary Learning through Dance: 101 MOVEntures, a book which offers elementary school teachers and dance teaching artists lessons which integrate curricula and movement. Diane is an adjunct professor at Michigan State University where she has been teaching both creative workshop and civic engagement courses since 2008. Diane was honored as a top-ten finalist in 2010 for “Greater Lansing Woman of the Year”; as a featured profile in the November 2014 issue of Dance Teacher, a national magazine; and as Michigan Dance Educator of the Year in both 1981 and 2007. Now semi-retired, Diane loves to read, garden, birdwatch, and travel. She has lived in Lansing’s “Eastside Neighborhood” since 1971 with husband Jesse, and has three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Jim McEwan
Jim McEwan is the Artistic Director for the Greater Lansing Ballet Company and Director of the Greater Lansing Academy of Dance. After attending Michigan Tech University, Jim began his dance training with Elzbieta Alabuszew-Kutek at Lansing Community College and with Barbara Banasikowski Smith at the Academy of Dance Arts, Inc. During his training, he received several dance scholarships, including Joffrey Ballet, Interlochen Arts Academy, and Ballet Nouveau Colorado. He also had the privilege to study with Kip Sturm, former principal soloist with Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Madame Gribanova, dean of the Vaganova Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg.
Jim has also been awarded several choreographic scholarships to attend Regional Dance America’s National Choreography Intensive, has had multiple works selected for performance at RDA MidStates and RDA National Festivals, and has received RDA’s National Choreographic Recognition award. His growing list of full length ballets includes Little Mermaid, Dracula, Carmen Ballet Suite, Robyn Hood, La Bayadere, Hedy, An American Nutcracker, SteamWorld, and The Ratcracker.
Jessica Wiltse
Hello everyone! My name is Jessica and I have a passion for teaching the art of dance. I believe that dance is a place for anyone to express individuality and creativity. My teaching style emphasizes fostering a fun and positive environment where students can explore their artistic voices and grow their dance skills. I specifically enjoy teaching a variety styles that emphasizes learning new skills and types of dancing. I started dancing in middle school, and for the past several years have been specifically training in heels.