Rufus Chappell IV is a professional dancer and athlete from Farmington Hills, MI. He grew up playing football, soccer, basketball, baseball, track, rowing (crew), swimming, wrestling, fencing, dance and competing in gymnastics all the way through the collegiate level. He went to Liberty University in Virginia and triple majored in International Business, Finance and Economics. Rufus is fluent in English and Spanish and he LOVES to travel! Rufus has dreams of working commercially on dance tv shows and movies, and he would love to enter the high fashion world as a sponsored dance athlete for high fashion brands recognized worldwide such as Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren and Lacoste to name a few. Last but not least, Rufus loves Jesus and always wants to share His love with others!

Melisa Deneweth grew up in Onsted, Michigan and began her dance training at Encore Dance Studio. She studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, and Hip Hop, and was a member of their competitive dance company. Throughout her high school career she spent summers at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. She also performed in the Nutcracker Ballet for several years at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts, playing the lead role of the Dew Drop her senior year. Melisa is a recent graduate from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance and minor in Advertising and Public Relations. While at Grand Valley, she had the opportunity to train under Carrie Brueck Morris, Hannah Seidel, Edgar L Page, Rachel Miller, Carolyn Pampalone Rabbers and guest artists such as, Qarianne Blayr and Renaldo Maurice. While at GVSU, she was member of Momentum, a student-run dance organization where she choreographed and performed pieces for their shows. Currently, she is teaching a variety of dance classes at Lake Michigan Dance Academy. Melisa is very excited to join Happendance and have the opportunity to perform with the other company members!

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 an Assistant Director for Impulse and is currently teaching Contemporary and Dance Composition at Happendance. 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.

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.

Andrei 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.

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 Co-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.

Isabella Silos (she/they) discovered a love for dance at a very young age and continued her training throughout high school and college. In high school, Isabella was the choreographer for the musicals which is what began her love for theatre and education. She graduated from Central Michigan University in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Dance Studies and Theatre & Interpretation with a minor in Entrepreneurship. During her studies at CMU, Isabella had the honor to work with professors and other mentors such as Andrea Purrenhage, James Wallace, Heather Trommer-Beardslee, Keeley Stanley-Bohn, and Bird Clarkson. In May 2022 Isabella was accepted into the Disney College Program and was a Costume Host creating magic behind the scenes for shows such as Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage and A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas. She has also attended World of Dance: Chicago twice, choreographed Beauty and the Beast for Mount Pleasant High School, provided tap education at Mount Pleasant School of Dance, and was involved in the University Theatre and Dance Concert all four years of college in various roles such as soloist, featured dancer, costume designer, wardrobe manager, and choreographer. Both of her choreographed works from the 2021 and 2024 concert won the Dance of the Year award. Isabella was also awarded the Dance Legacy award her final year in school for the dedication and passion she brought to the art, using dance as a vessel to showcase strength, abstract shape, and concept. Description goes here

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.

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. Bridget is very excited to return to Happendance for her second season with Velocity.