Braided Light Dance Project is an innovative new modern dance company in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2007 by choreographer Kate Gamble along with a collective of professional dancers in our community, Braided Light’s mission is to produce sophisticated and inspired modern dance. Our goal is to shift the paradigm of dance in Jacksonville. Through collaboration with other local artists and athletes, we will increase the awareness of the vibrant tapestry of talent that call Jacksonville home. Our primary focus is producing choreography that is evocative, athletic and inspired by the intrigue of human contact. Secondly, our goal is to provide educational opportunities for a broad range of students. Braided Light hopes to infuse our community with all the passion and beauty that dance can offer. By braiding the light of dance, we intend to be a beacon of excellence in the community.
The company consists of faculty from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, and danceWORKS at FSCJ along with dancers from Virginia, New York and Portugal.
Founder, Kate Gamble trained at the University of Wisconsin/Madison and New York University/Tisch School of the Arts. After producing her work in New York for three years, she was a founding member of Lighthouse Dance Project in Massachusetts and Full Moon Performance Project in Jacksonville. She has also produced work in Massachusetts, Virginia and Minnesota. Her sold out Jacksonville concerts have been overwhelmingly well received. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Douglas Anderson and danceWORKS at FSCJ.
Company members include: Glenn Morgan, Gisela Morgan, Christina May, Kim Collins, Bekkah Clifford, Lee White, Dara Swisher, Amanda Spellman, Hilary Libman, Ross Mogerely and Michele M. Painter.
Christina May
Artistic Director
Christina May is a graduate of Douglas Anderson School of The Arts and received her B.F.A. at The Juilliard School in NYC. While studying at Juilliard, Christina created numerous works that were shown in The Clark Studio Theatre, Alice Tully Hall, and The Juilliard Theatre as well as performed the classic works of Jose Limon, Paul Taylor, and the contemporary work of Charlotte Griffen. After graduating she joined the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Kibbutz Ga’aton Israel from 1998-2001. Christina’s career has consisted of working with Susan Marshall and Dancers, Alexandra Bellar, David Neumann and Biggs and Company. She has also performed the works of Doug Varone and Sean Curran at the Metropolitan Opera House. Currently, Christina teaches modern dance and creative movement at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Ballet Arts Centre, The Florida Ballet, Brentwood School of the Arts, and Fishweir Elementary. Christina is a certified holistic health counselor and loves working with dancers on injury prevention and eating for energy. She is very excited to be an inaugural member of the Braided Light Dance Project and hopes this work will foster new avenues for dancers and spectators alike in Jacksonville.
Kimberly Collins is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. She began her dance career at the age of four and 20 years later is still pursuing it with passion. She has trained under Lori Miller/JCAC and Kelly Nelson/The Father's Company School of Dance. Kimberly performed with the Father’s Company for seven years in Jacksonville and throughout the state of Florida and also studied and performed with Shoshannah Arts and The Florida Ballet. She has also worked with such artists as Alonzo King of Lines Ballet, Robert Mossis, Jennifer Archibald, KT Nelson, Jenny Mendez of Pilobolus, Kate Gamble, Ezra Codwell, Rosemary Fletcher and Lebritia Sindija. She is currently the Associate Artistic Director at Legacy Dance and specializes in many styles of dance including Pointe, Classical Ballet, Jazz, Modern, African and Tap. She has had the opportunity to perform throughout the United States and Europe.
Amanda Spellman
Development Director
Amanda Spellman is a proud native of Jacksonville, Florida. She has been dancing for over 20 years. Amanda began dancing under the instruction of Lori Miller and Kelly Nelson and was a member of The Father’s Company. She also studied under Linda Jenkins and at Shoshannah Arts. Amanda received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Jacksonville University in 2006 and also attended American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Collegiate Intensive in 2006. She has worked with guest artists from Richmond Ballet, Atlanta Festival Ballet, The Washington Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company and Twyla Tharp Dance Company. Amanda has performed both locally and internationally and has extensive teaching experience. She was a Dance Instructor at Shoshannah Arts for 7 years and also served as Dance Director for 4 years. In 2006 she worked with the University of North Florida’s education department and wrote a dance curriculum for underprivileged children to use dance as a tool to increase literacy. From 2007-2009 Amanda owned and operated Legacy Dance and is now honored to be a part of the Braided Light Dance Project. Amanda hopes to share her passion for dance with the community of Jacksonville.
Hilary Libman’s love for movement began at a very young age and it wasn’t long before she knew she had found her calling. She danced throughout her childhood, attended a performing arts high school, and went on to earn a B.F.A in dance performance from Jacksonville University where she graduated cum laude. While at JU she was awarded the 2004 Choreography & Composition Award and her choreography was chosen to represent Jacksonville University at the American College Dance Festival. Upon graduation she joined the Illinois Ballet where she not only danced but also created multiple original works of choreography for the company. She has performed feature roles in Swan Lake, Paquita, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, The Nutcracker as well as many original contemporary works. Hilary has trained with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Sarasota Ballet, Royal Academy of Dance, West Florida Ballet, Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School, and Steps on Broadway. Hilary is thrilled to be dancing with Braided Light Dance Project and values the support of her amazing husband, Jared, and her wonderful family.
Originally from Reading, PA, Dara began dancing at the age of three. She received a B.A. with Honors in Dance with concentrations in Performance and Teaching/Choreography from Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA in 2008 and has trained at such institutions as the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts, Berks Ballet Theatre, and most recently, The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA. She has had the opportunity to train under Bojan & Stephanie Spassoff, Christopher Fleming, Maiqui Manosa, Cherie Noble, and Tauna Hunter and has attended various summer intensives including the American Dance Festival, The Paul Taylor School, and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Schåool. Ms. Swisher has been featured in numerous classical and contemporary works, including those by George Balanchine, Bill Evans, Jonathan Phelps, Brigett Moore, Jessica Lang, and Teena Custer, and performed and collaborated as a member of SoMar Dance Works from 2006 to 2008. She has been choreographing since 2002 and her work has since been showcased by the Rock School for Dance Education, American College Dance Festival, Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, and the Mercyhurst Dancers. Ms. Swisher recently choreographed a new work for the Erie Dance Conservatory Company, where she also served as ballet mistress, promotions coordinator, and company soloist in 2008/2009. She currently teaches dance at the Jewish Community Alliance and Let's Dance Ponte Vedra. This is Ms. Swisher's first season with Braided Light Dance Project.
Lee White is a native of Jacksonville and graduated from Douglas Anderson School for the Arts with a concentration in theatre. Lee is a current a student at the University of North Florida studying Elementary Education and also attends classes at FSCJ's dance department. Lee began dancing at age eight at Bambi Phillips School of Dance in Jacksonville. He has performed locally in Kristi Markland's Dance Company, Ka'Mia Dance Company with Kavin Grant and Hermia William's, and currently with Braided Light Dance Project.
Michele M. Painter received an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. At UH Manoa, she also taught Ballet and Modern technique classes. A native of Florida, Michele graduated high school from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. She received her B.F.A. in Dance from Belhaven College, and during that time also danced with Polarity Dance Theatre. Ms. Painter also received dance training at Florida State University, where she had the opportunity to work with individuals such as Suzanne Farrell and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Michele’s creative interests include choreography, movement improvisation, dance for the camera, dance and technology, Expressionism, Surrealism, and concept-based work.
Ross Mogerley started dancing in his hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey at the age of 8, where he studied ballet and character dance at the Irine Fokine School of Ballet. When he was in high school, he was introduced to modern dance by his teacher Jennifer Landa and was hooked ever since. Currently he is a student at Jacksonville University, and in the process of earning his BFA in dance. Through JU he has worked with guest artists such as Jennifer Muller and Attila Cziki, and he has performed in local ballet productions of Do Quixote and the Nutcracker. Ross is extremely proud and excited to be a member of Braided Light Dance Project, and can't wait to see where this fantastic company will go.
Coming from a small village in Portugal, Gisela has been dancing for 19 years. She followed her passion for dance from an early age, moving alone at age 16 to Porto, Portugal where she attended Ballet Theatre Professional Dance High School. She danced for Ballet Theater Dance Company, touring throughout Portugal. She has also has performed for modeling shows and music videos in Spain. She attended The Laban Centre in London on a scholarship, where she received her Professional Diploma in Dance Studies. Gisela moved to the United States in 2004 to start a new life with her husband Glenn. She is a certified Pilates mat/ball/reformer instructor.
She teaches Yoga (Hatha, Vinyasa Flow) and creative movement for children at many studios, schools and gyms in Jacksonville.
Bekkah Clifford has been dancing for over 18 years. She has been a member of the Marion Performing Ballet, Dancetheatre of Gainesville and DCBrella. Although her Flashdance-themed performance was rejected at her 3rd grade talent show, her solo work has gone on to place in the finals of the Southeast Region M.A. competition. She has been the director of the danceWORKS at Florida State College at Jacksonville Ensemble company and has traveled and performed extensively with her own performance art company, Wild Child Entertainment. Clifford has been commissioned by Sports Illustrated, Moonshine Records and The Cultural Council of Jacksonville. She sites Rosemary Fletcher and Shannon Chmelar as her dance muses.
Glenn Morgan's life in dance began at the age of four dancing with his mother, Jessica Morgan. Glenn received his Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Dance and Kinesiology from Arizona State University in 2003 and his Masters of Science in Dance Science (the fusion of dance and exercise science) from Laban Dance Centre in London 2004. He has danced with a variety of professional companies including Dance Arizona Repertory Theatre, Ballet Jude, and the Miller Jazz Company. Glenn currently works is Adjunct Faculty at Florida State College at Jacksonville and Guest Instructor at Douglas Anderson High School for the Arts. He is also Coordinator of the Dance Academy at the Jewish Community Alliance and is a personal trainer, Pilates mat and reformer instructor, GYROKINESIS® instructor and dance instructor.
Founder, Kate Gamble graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree from New York University/Tisch School of the Arts. She has a Masters of Science from the Mayo School of Health Related Sciences. In New York she was asked to join a select group of up and coming choreographers to study with Bessie Schoenberg at Dance Theatre Workshop. She also studied at the Nikolais Louis Lab and danced with Senta Driver, Meg Stuart, Lorn MacDougal and many other choreographers with the Second Avenue Dance Company. After producing her own choreography in New York for three years, she was a founding member of Lighthouse Dance Project in Massachusetts and the Full Moon Performance Project in Jacksonville. She has also produced work in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Minnesota. Her sold out Jacksonville concerts have been overwhelmingly well received. She has been an adjunct faculty member and guest artist at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Episcopal High School and danceWORKS at FSCJ.
Ms. Gamble has always been interested in the intimacy, vulnerability and exquisite truth of human movement. She believes that our movement, when crafted well, can offer a glimpse of our true essence and can open opportunity for revealing truth and light. It is with this intention that she works with dancers that are willing to shed the barriers that we all develop in these complex times and together find a spring board for a deeper story.
Check out our facebook page for daily updates and information.
Become a fan today!