Melissa (Missy) Webster:
Missy began when she was 9 years old, freestyle dancing to the Flashdance soundtrack in her living room. She trained at Jeannette Neill’s Dance Studio in Boston and began performing, joining Boston based hip hop dance companies Rainbow Tribe Inc, Unyted Stylz Crew, and Linx Dance Company. Through Rainbow Tribe, she taught D.A.R.E. Dance in after-school and in-residence public school programs. She has been a jazz and hip hop instructor and competition team coach at numerous studios in the Greater Boston area, has volunteered as a dance instructor at the Italian Home For Children, and currently at the Clifford Marshall School in Quincy. She has been a teaching artist for Mass Movement, Inc. teaching residencies since 2016 including the Gardner Pilot Academy summer school programs since 2017. She opened her own studio, Missy’s Movement, in Hingham in 2019. Her mission is to share the healing qualities that movement can provide for children.
Ramelle Adams
Ramelle received a BA cum laude in French and Philosophy from Columbia University, and an MS in Physical Education and MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her professional dance career started as a performer in the Off Off Broadway Le Musee de L’impressionisme, and then continued in Madison, Wisconsin as a choreographer for the Madison Children’s Theatre, and performer and choreographer for Kanopy Dance Theatre. Upon return to Boston, she joined the Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance at Boston University. She has performed and choreographed with seven Boston dance companies, and been on the dance faculty of the Middlesex Summer Arts Program, the Boston University Theatre Institute, and the Boston University Department of Theater. She is currently the Manager of the Noncredit Instructional Program.
Rachel Buffer
An award-winning choreographer, dancer and teaching artist, Rachel has taught hip hop and other dance forms on many levels from Boston University to elementary schools, to community dance schools, to summer camps. She is a member of Tribe Dance Company and Embrace Professional Dance Company.
Christin Collins
Christin holds a BS in Elementary Education and a minor in Dance from Boston University. She trained at the Lexington School of Ballet, Summer Stages Dance, Boston University, and Dana Hall. She is a company member of Rainbow Tribe’s Embrace Dance Company, Linx, and Tribe the Dance Company. Christin is currently on the dance faculty at BU, MIT, the Lexington School of Ballet, Dancers Workshop, the American Chinese Art Society, and the Boston Public Schools. Additionally, Christin is a choreographer and off-ice dance instructor at the Colonial Figure Skating Club.
Henry Kasdon
Henry “kidspin” Kasdon loves to dance. Combining his athletic experience and love for music, he started out his dance career as a freshman at Tufts University in 1998 as a bboy. He quickly spread into all styles of hip hop, and throughout his college career he expanded into jazz, modern, and various cultural dances. After graduating in 2002, Henry joined Rainbow Tribe and began teaching hip hop at Boston University and Harvard University. In the following years he expanded to various elementary schools, high schools and dance studios. He was featured in the only Boston episode of MTV’s My Super Sweet 16, and has choreographed multiple routines for Boston Ballet. In 2008 Henry co-founded Bside and has been director ever since. He teaches master classes all over New England as well as his ongoing classes above. As a DJ, drummer, entrepreneur, coach, husband and father, he has a very full life – but there is always time to dance.
Katie Suyematsu
Katie has a BA in Dance and Performance Studies from Roger Williams College. Katie has been a performing and choreographing member of Rainbow Tribe, Inc. since 2014. She teaches acrobatics, hip hop, and contemporary at several suburban studios as well as in the DEA Youth Dance Program in Greater Boston schools. She was also a performer with Grant Jacoby and Dancers and Penumbra.
Andy Taylor-Blenis
A professional dancer, choreographer, dance professor and teaching artist, Andy has taught International Dance through the Folk Arts Center of New England, Modern and Jazz Dance at Northwestern and Northeastern Universities, Harvard, Emerson, Boston University, Boston Conservatory and the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio. She is the artistic director of Mladost Dance Ensemble and the RSCDS Demonstration Team and loves teaching school residencies through Mass Movement and Revels, Inc. She has danced with Danny Sloane Dance, Paradigm Dance, Concert Dance Company, Dance Collective and ACE Entertainment, and has been with Prometheus Dance Company for 19 years. Andy earned her BFA in Dance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Brian “Mirage” Washburn
Brian has been dancing since the age of seven. He graduated from Northwest School of the Arts in 2011 where he studied ballet, modern, and jazz to broaden his dance repertoire. He has taught dance throughout Boston at multiple studios, such as Tony Williams Dance Center and Urbanity Dance, as well as being an active member in dance companies such as Boston Urban Ballet, UrManity, and Jo-Me’ Dance. He currently teaches at Boston University in the noncredit dance program and is the assistant/tour director for the summer outreach dance program, Reach.
NaShaya Wornum
NaShaya has trained in Hip Hop, African, ballet, and modern dance. A graduate of Boston Arts Academy, she is mastering Hip Hop’s Popping form at StiggityStackz Worldwide. She is the Community Dance Artist in Residence with Cultural Fabric, an educational consulting company. NaShaya shares their mission - to apply mindfulness practices in her teaching to elevate internal consciousness and increase racial healing in our social environments. Her work has been presented at the Fort Point Arts Gallery and Boston Cyberarts. NaShaya has performed with Continuum Dance Project.
