Hosanna Dance Staff
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TIESE MORGAN
Tiese completed most of her training at Heartland School of Dance in Grants Pass, Oregon. Upon graduating, she sought out classes from a variety of teachers. In 1991, she accepted Jesus as her savior and began to search out what it meant to dance for God. Taking over ownership of Hosanna Dance in 1995 fulfilled her heart’s desire to provide quality dance instruction with the purpose of worshipping God. As the owner of Hosanna Dance, she has set the vision of teaching the art of dance with a heart of worship. Under Tiese’s leadership, Hosanna began staging the annual holiday production Adventures in Narnia. She also founded the Hosanna Youth Performers dance company. Tiese is pleased to be a part of God’s plan for this community and looks forward to all He will accomplish through the studio. |
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NICOLE ELLIOTT
Nicole began dancing at the age of three pursuing ballet, tap, jazz and tumbling throughout her childhood. Along with dance, she participated in high school gymnastics and cheerleading. She continued her dance education by pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Dance at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. She has had the privilege of participating in several American Collegiate Dance Festivals as well as summer intensives including American Dance Festival and Bill Evans Summer Dance Institute. Nicole moved to Eugene, OR in 1991 to pursue her graduate studies in Dance Science at the University of Oregon where she taught as a graduate teaching fellow. Along with teaching technique classes to undergraduates, she directed the U of O Jazzline - a dance team that performed alongside the U of O Marching Band. Alongside her interest in dance, Nicole has pursued a professional fitness career as a group fitness instructor. She is AFAA certified and teaches a wide variety of fitness classes at several local gyms. Nicole's teaching career spans over 20 years and she has been on staff at Hosanna Dance since 1996 where she teaches a variety of styles including ballet, jazz, tap, tumbling and PiYo. |
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CAROLIN KOEPPLIN
Carolin began her training at the Idaho Falls School of Ballet under director Deborah Bean. Her dance education continued at the prestigious University of Utah Department of Ballet where she earned a B.F.A in Ballet (cum laude) with a dual emphasis in Performance and Teaching. At the University of Utah, Ms. Koepplin performed extensively with Utah Ballet and the Character Dance Ensemble. As a professional dancer, Carolin has danced with Central West Ballet as a company soloist, and Ballet Idaho as a guest for George Balanchine's Serenade. In 2016, Ms. Koepplin moved to Eugene to become a company dancer at Ballet Fantastique. Ms. Koepplin has taught children and adults from beginner to advanced in Idaho, Utah, California and now, Oregon. She is thrilled to join the staff at Hosanna this year. |
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AUBRIANNE ANDERSON
Aubrianne began her dance training at Hosanna at age 12. She has studied ballet, modern, jazz, and contact improv. Aubrianne has been teaching dance since 2005. Upon completion of high school, Aubrianne lived in Europe for a year, where she studied ballet, and modern. She has a BA in Linguistics with a Japanese minor at the University of Oregon. In 2012, Aubrianne founded the Hosanna Dance Company, now Dance Veritas. She and her husband have two children. Aubrianne began teaching at Hosanna in 2005. |
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SARAH McCARTHY
Sarah is a native of Eugene and happy to raise her family here. She has danced with the Eugene School of Ballet, the Eugene Youth Ballet, the Lane Community College dance department, and the Eugene Ballet Company and Flex dance studio. Sarah has taught at Ballet Fantastique, Eugene school of Ballet and various non-profit organizations. Sarah’s Christian faith has led to her passion for community awareness that different disabilities and abilities integrated into dance can be beneficial for all in many ways. Sarah is also passionate about making sure all of her dancers are in a safe environment and knows that she is always striving to create a space that gives equality for all. In 2008, she created My Buddy & Me, a class for older students to be paired up with dancers 18 months to age 3 as an introductory class to preschool movement. Through this class her goal was to give young dancers their first magic of being in a studio, give older dancers a lasting relationship that would carry past this class. Sarah currently teaches Hip Hop, Hip Hop/Tumbling, Creative Dance, and My Buddy and Me. Sarah began teaching at Hosanna in 2007. |
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JESSIE NEWELL
Jessie is a Colorado native who moved to Eugene for school. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2005 with a B.S. in Dance and Human Physiology. Locally, she has performed with Traduza Dance Company, the University of Oregon Repertory Dance Company (UO-RDC) and Dance Africa. Jessie is a Stott certified Pilates instructor and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). She is also an active member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). Jessie loves being outdoors with her three children, Elizabeth, Alyssa & Ryan, taking walks, playing at the park, hiking, biking, and frolicking at the Oregon coast. Jessie began teaching at Hosanna in 2007. |
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JESSICA HIGGINS
Jessica was born and raised in Eugene/Springfield. Her dance career started over 25 years ago when her grandmother bought her first tap shoes. From there she studied tap under Marc Siegel and his mother Elizabeth Siegel at the Eugene Ballet. In 2004, she switched studios continuing her studies at Hosanna Dance in Tap, Ballet, Jazz/Lyrical Jazz and Modern. At age 14 she started assisting classes and competing in local competitions and by 19 she was teaching full time at three studios across the community. She was in Adventures in Narnia for six years and is going into her 15th year of working backstage with character makeup. In 2013 Jessica joined Hosanna's adult performing group, Veritas, and had the pleasure of performing in and helping with makeup in New Hope's production of Tarzan. In 2016 she was cast as Identity Dance Studio’s Red and the Royals Snow White and played her for three years at their annual teas. In 2017 Jessica was cast as a dancer in Pathway Media's "Translated" the Movie. She also performed with, assisted, and helped choreograph for the Eugene Flash Mob & Thrill the World Eugene from 2013-2018. In 2018 she started taking East Coast & Country Swing lessons and enjoys line dancing in her free time. She has been teaching with Hosanna since 2013. |
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ANGIE RENICH
Angie’s love of musical theater sparked an early interest in singing, acting, and dancing. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from Lane Community College and a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the University of Oregon, and she has performed with Actor’s Cabaret of Eugene and the Eugene Opera chorus. Angie composes for church worship, ballet, musical theater, and podcasts and has won several local awards for her music. She started teaching drama at Hosanna Dance in 2014 and is passionate about encouraging the next generation of Christ-following artists to pursue performing arts. |
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KENDRA LITALIEN
Kendra started her dance training at Hosanna at age three, studying classical ballet, jazz, and modern technique. While at Hosanna Dance, Kendra participated in Adventures in Narnia for 9 years, dancing many solo roles, and was a guest dancer in New Hope College’s debut of the Disney musical, Tarzan. She has also competed in many dance competitions in the state of Oregon, receiving an award for choreography and dance in her solo piece "Gravity." Kendra started working as a teacher assistant at Hosanna in 2011, and now coaches at various dance schools in the Eugene area. In addition, Kendra is currently pursuing a degree in English at the University of Oregon. Kendra has been teaching at Hosanna Dance since 2015. |
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MORIAH McFARLAND
South Dakota native Moriah McFarland has always felt the need to move. At the age of nine her parents put her into a ballet class and from then on, she channeled her impulse to move, her creativity, and deepened her connection to God through the medium of dance. Moriah attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN where she received her Bachelor of Arts in dance. For the last 5 years, she has continued her education by becoming a Somatic Movement Educator in Body-Mind Centering, an approach to movement and anatomy through embodiment. This will be Moriah’s 8th and final year teaching modern at Hosanna. Along with her husband and 17th month old son, she will be returning to her home state to be closer to family. Moriah has felt truly blessed to have had the opportunity to create and share her love of movement with the Hosanna community. |
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KYNDRA WIEBE
Born into dance, Kyndra began her first "Mommy and Me" dance class at the age of two, with her mother, and owner of Hosanna Dance Studio, Tiese Morgan. Privileged by the opportunity to pursue many genres of dance, Kyndra has trained in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Jazz, dance acrobatics, Tap, Hip Hop, and choreography. In her years as a student, Kyndra was a member of Hosanna Youth Performers, and performed in Hosanna Performing Arts Foundation's annual winter ballet based on C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. After graduating, she was invited to choreograph and perform a piece with Dréos to their song Day Dawn in 2016, joined the contemporary/modern dance company Dance Veritas, and was one of three featured dancers in award winning pianist Neil Patton's music video for his song Surface Tension. Kyndra began teaching at Hosanna in 2016. |
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ADAM KELLY
Adam Kelly is an aspiring artist/choreographer from Portland Oregon with a love for dance and a passion for performing. His dancing career began at ACT 1 School of Dance, a family owned studio which led him to performing for several years in OBT's The Nutcracker and being cast as the lead in Oregon Symphony's production of The Snow Man. Finally acknowledging his longing sensation to tap dance, Adam pursued teaching classes of his own and educating himself through the masters including Terry Brock, Sam Weber, Dianne Walker, and Brenda Bufalino. After moving to Eugene in 2011 he has focused his efforts in teaching and choreographing around town, aiming for excellence and discipline while encouraging a fun learning environment for all to share their enthusiasm for the arts. Adam is the founder of Flex Studio's tap company, Tappers.Of.Eugene and has had the privilege to choreograph for Rose Children's Theater, South Eugene High School and Spencer Butte Middle School's musical productions including The Lion King, Seussical, Dogfight and Spring Awakening. He snagged his first leading role in the Shedd Institutes production of Robert and was an honored tap choreographer in Singing in the Rain. He enjoys thinking outside the box by mixing dance styles while adding a little bit of humor to everything. Aside from making people laugh, he hopes to inspire other to learn and pass on the heritage of the arts in a positive and profound manner. Adam began teaching at Hosanna in 2018. |
NAKIA KEIM ~ Nakia was born and raised in Eugene Oregon. She started dancing at Hosanna when she was three years old in 2003 and has been dancing ever since, so over 20 years! She has studied Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Modern, Contemporary, Lyrical, Tumbling, Drama, and Acting through Hosanna Dance Studio, the Eugene Ballet Academy, and Lane Community College. She received an Associate of Arts in Dance from Lane Community College in 2019. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer. She has participated in Hosanna Performing Arts Foundation's, Adventures in Narnia, for several years. She is the director of "Worship Arts Ministry" a Performing Arts ministry group, founded in December 2018 through her church, where they share the gospel through the performing arts. Nakia started teaching at Hosanna Dance Studio in 2019.
ELLIE REYNOLDS
Ellie started dancing at age three with Ballet Northwest Academy in 2006. She studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, and Musical Theater and performed in many of their ballets over the years. Upon the studio’s closure in 2016, Ellie began dancing at Hosanna Dance, adding Modern and Drama to her studies. She was a member of the Hosanna Youth Performers for 3 years, performing in Disneyland and numerous local community events throughout her teenage years. Ellie has also performed in many seasons of Adventures in Narnia since she joined Hosanna Dance. She is currently a student at the University of Oregon majoring in Education and minoring in Dance. Ellie is very excited to begin teaching drama in 2022.
Ellie started dancing at age three with Ballet Northwest Academy in 2006. She studied Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, and Musical Theater and performed in many of their ballets over the years. Upon the studio’s closure in 2016, Ellie began dancing at Hosanna Dance, adding Modern and Drama to her studies. She was a member of the Hosanna Youth Performers for 3 years, performing in Disneyland and numerous local community events throughout her teenage years. Ellie has also performed in many seasons of Adventures in Narnia since she joined Hosanna Dance. She is currently a student at the University of Oregon majoring in Education and minoring in Dance. Ellie is very excited to begin teaching drama in 2022.
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MELISSA WINCHELL
Melissa joined the Hosanna Staff in 2012 as the studio Office Manager. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Business Management in 1995 from Southern Oregon University. Melissa was a member of the Hosanna Performing Arts Foundation board for five years and President for four of those years. She has loved being a part of the Hosanna family since 2006 when her daughter began dancing here. Her newest adventure is being Grandma to the most amazing little boy. ♥ |
Hosanna Dance Studio • 1361 River Road, Eugene OR 97404 • 541-607-5798 • info@hosannadance.com
