Project Dance Houston 2019

Randall Flinn

Founder / Artistic Director

Mr. Flinn began his dance training in Houston over twenty five years ago with Glenn Hunsucker, Camille Long Hill, Dina Vail and Patsy Swayze. His most recent modern dance influences have come from studies with The José Limón Dance Company and Steve Rooks, former principal dancer with Martha Graham. He has taught and choreographed locally as a guest artist for the Houston Ballet Academy, The Episcopal High School, Houston Met Dance Company, Joan Karff Dance Company, The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and North Harris Performing Arts Dance Company.

He was selected as a guest choreographer for Houston’s Dance Salad 1999, Dance Houston 2006, and Texas Weekend of Contemporary Dance 2007. Nationally, he has served as guest faculty and choreographer for Cirque Du Soleil’s-Alegria, Ballet Magnificat, Belhaven University, Friends University, Project Dance NYC, LA, and Sydney, Australia, as well as Hillsong and Dance Revolution Conventions.

Having lived throughout Europe and Asia for ten years, Mr. Flinn has also been a guest artist for Hong Kong Ballet, City Contemporary – Hong Kong, Guanzhou Modern Dance Company – China, Xaris Danz Europe, and Youth With a Mission International Schools of the Arts.

Ann Sterling Dale

Zion Dance Project Company Member

Ann Sterling Dale is from Statesville, NC and graduated from Elon University with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography. Ann Sterling has performed professionally with the Winston-Salem Festival Ballet, and in New York City with The Next Stage Project and BalaSole Dance Company. She has also presented and performed her work A Battle Waged in the 2012 Young Choreographer’s Festival. Ann Sterling has performed as a company member with Ad Deum Dance Company in Houston, Texas from 2012-2015. While in Houston, she taught for Houston Academy of Dance, West University Dance Center, METdance, and the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. Ann Sterling has choreographed HFCC Performing Arts Company’s summer productions of Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, and Beauty and the Beast in Oscoda, Michigan. Ann Sterling studied further at The Ailey School in the Professional Division Scholarship Program and performed in Matthew Rushing’s work for The Ailey School’s 2015 Winter Concert as well as his work for the Hudson Yards Alvin Ailey Project in September of 2016. Ann Sterling has performed as a member of the Tabernacle Dance Company at the 2016 Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. She has also performed and taught for Project Dance in New York City, Costa Rica, Oklahoma City, and Houston. She has her Pilates Mat 1 Certification and has taught as Faculty for the Ballet Hispánico Tap Program, The School at Steps, and City Moves Dance Studio in New York City. She is currently dancing with Zion Dance Project and is on Faculty for Epicenter for the Arts and Ingredients Dance Company.

Cynthia Newland

Director of Dance at Belhaven University

Ms. Cynthia A. Newland, earned her MFA in Dance from Arizona State University, with an emphasis on choreography and performance and BFA in Dance from George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.

Prior to her appointment at Belhaven University Ms. Newland served as director for New Field Dance Theater, East Bay of San Francisco. For nearly three decades she has traveled nationally and internationally as a teacher, choreographer, and performer working with varied arts organizations and institutions such as Campus Crusade for Christ, Children of the World, International Christian Embassy, Intervarsity, Operation Mobilization International, International Christian Dance Fellowship, Youth With a Mission, Project Dance, Christians in Theater Arts, and in Korea, Dong Ah Institute of Media and Arts, Hang Yang ERICA University and FEBC.

A portion of her work and artistic endeavors has been in the realm of inclusive dance where she has created numerous choreographed works for people with and without disabilities, which have been presented in the United States through VSA International and USA International Ballet Competition.

She has received recognition as a recipient of the Higher Education Awards from the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education including the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Humanities Teacher Award by the Mississippi Humanities Council. At Belhaven University she has served on the Faculty Council and Education Advisory Council. She is a board Member of USA IBC (International Ballet Competition) and Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education, and member of ACDFA, Alabama Dance Council, CORD, Dance Camera West, NDEO, Performing Arts Medical Association and Screen Dance. Ms. Newland has also been a presenter for NASD's Annual Conferences.

Currently she teaches part time at Belhaven while traveling nationally and internationally providing dance training, presentations and choreography, as well as offering equipping tools for all ages on “Nourishing the Body, Soul and Spirit”.

Jeanna Vance

Director of Open Sky Dance Company

Jeanna began her professional dance career at the age of 17 after training with Houston Ballet, Grand Rapids Civic Ballet, & American Academy of Dance, and has danced with Houston area companies such as Suchu dance, Sandra Organ’s Dance Co., Psophinia, Ad Deum Dance Co., Hopestone, Tred, and Ballet Excelsior. She has had the honor of setting choreography on many companies including Psophinia, Ballet Excelsior of Houston, Tred, Ingredients Dance Co, and Ad Deum Dance Company. Jeanna has been on staff with Dance Revolution dance convention for 10 years, and has also served as faculty for Ingredients Training Program in Dallas, Tx. Other stage work has included 6 seasons with Interactive Theatre Company in Houston, Texas where she played many wonderful characters including "Puck" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and "Dorothy" in The Wizard of Oz. In addition to homeschooling her forth grader and chasing after her three year old, Jeanna directs Open Sky Arts Collective, a community of professional artists who bring their work to hospitals, homeless, and underprivileged communities. Passionately equipping the next generation of artists and art appreciators, Jeanna hopes to challenge every student to work to their fullest potential and discover their own "voice" in the arts.

Shizu Yasuda

Ad Deum 2 Artistic Director

SHIZU YASUDA started her dance training at Sakiko Ichinomiya Ballet School in Japan. After she moved to New York, she performed with several choreographers and dance companies such as Slam and Sensedance Company. She joined Ad Deum Dance Company in 2004. She danced as a principal dancer with the company and performed at numerous dance events nationally and internationally. She got awarded as one of stunning performers by Dance Houston – City Wide Dance Festival 2008. In 2013, she was invited to Minsk in Belarus as a guest dancer and judge by Chelz Extreme Games. As a dance teacher, she has been teaching Modern and Ballet classes in the Houston dance community at such places as Ad Deum Dance Company, Houston Ballet Academy summer intensive (Modern only), Mitsi Dancing School, Payne Academy of Ballet, Studio of Dance, West University Dance Center and Houston Academy of Dance. Her choreographic works have been presented at “East Meets West” at Miller Outdoor Theater since 2008. In 2014, she became an artistic director of Ad Deum II.

Steve Rooks

Former Principal Dancer with Martha Graham, Chair of Dance/Choreographer for Vassar College

Steve Rooks danced with the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, and the Martha Graham Dance Company, where he performed for over a decade and achieved the rank of Principal Dancer.

Mr. Rooks is currently Chair of Dance and Resident Choreographer at Vassar and the 2004 winner of the National Choreographic Competition at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He has been awarded Research Grants to travel to Latvia, Zambia, and in 2014 to Finland, where he choreographed “Plate Tectonics” on 24 international dancers. Mr. Rooks was commissioned by the Masterworks Festival to create ballets for a number of contemporary composers including Clarice Assad, Piet Swerts, and David Skidmore – all to live orchestra.
Mr. Rooks has served as an adjudicator for the American College Dance Festival, and a solo “Vista” was created for Aran Bell (ABT) for the 2014 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Four contemporary solos were recently submitted to the 2016 Youth American Grand Prix Ballet Competition.

Vincent Hardy

Former Dancer with Complexions, Choreographer/Teacher with Dance Revolution

Vincent's abilities earned him a scholarship to the Academy of Performing Arts in San Diego. He attended Philadelphia's University of the Arts, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ballet Performance, and was hired into Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2011, directed by former Alvin Ailey members Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. After touring with Complexions throughout the US, Italy and Israel, Vincent returned to California to pursue a career in commercial dance, performing and teaching choreography. His teaching credentials include serving on the faculties of Maple Conservatory (Irvine, California), Earl Mosley's Institute of the Arts (Kent, CT), The Academy of performing Arts (San Diego, CA), and Ad Deum Dance Company (Houston, TX). While holding these various positions, his responsibilities included instructing, rehearsing, and choreographing. Vincent recently received his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) studying choreography and sacred dance. Vincent Hardy was also formerly the Director of Stage Production at Belhaven University (BU).