Meet The Dancers…
Members of PDX Dance Collective
Rachael Singer
Rachael Singer (Brown) is one of the co-founders of PDX Dance Collective. Rachael grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and started dancing at the age of three, studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and modern. She competed in many tri-state area competitions, winning the Debbie Redfoot Award for the most promising dancer in 1999. Rachael continued to study dance in Washington, DC at American University and performed and choreographed with groups such as Tappening and the Eldbrooke Artist Series. She currently teaches jazz and tap at Hollywood Dance and is the director and choreographer for Multnomah Arts Center’s summer musicals. Rachael also dances with the Skylark Tappers.
Elise Ericksen
Elise Ericksen earned a B.A. in Dance with an emphasis on Choreography from St. Olaf College in 2004. After college Elise was a ballet instructor and program director for Portland Festival Ballet. While in Portland Elise also taught ballet at Fired Up Dance Academy. At this dance academy she choreographed and directed 8 original ballets including Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty. In 2010 she co-founded PDX Dance Collective with Rachael Singer and she is excited to be working with the group again this season. Elise currently works with Vashon Center for the Arts youth musical theater program as a choreographer and stage manager. She also works with the Vashon theater group Drama Dock. With Drama Dock she directed and choreographed an original production, Fly Me To The Moon (2017) and then choreographed Red Ranger Came Calling (2017). This spring 2018 she looks forward to working on Cinderella G2K with VCA and PDX Dance Collective’s Choreographer Showcase.
Zahra began dancing as a child at Center Stage Dance Studio in Buffalo, NY and hasn’t stopped since! She majored in Dance-Theater at Skidmore college, dancing in Modern and Jazz pieces choreographed by Mary Harney, Debra Fernandez, and Debra Pigliavento. Additional training includes Ballet and Horton technique at the Lines Dance Center in San Francisco and the Ailey Extension in NYC. She is grateful to all of her local teachers at NW Dance Project, BodyVox, and OBT that keep her moving.
Growing up in Detroit, MI, she has performed and choreographed for highly reviewed entertainment productions including The Dirty Show and Theatre Bizarre. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Marygrove College in Detroit in 2012. After moving to Portland in 2014 April now works as a yoga teacher with local studios including Love Hive, OmYeah!, Karma Yoga, Woodstock Wellness Center.
Ismael Sonanes
Ismael started his dancing at Jefferson High School, under the direction of Les Boday. After graduating from the Jefferson dance program, Ismael continued his training with Melissa St. Clair and became a coach for the Portland Community College (Cascade) dance team. He has also worked with the True Vibe Dance Crew and Polaris Dance Theatre in the umbrella commercial shoot and with Art Live local T.V. He is an original member of PDX Dance Collective.
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PDX Dance Collective 