Contemporary

Raised in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, Calen Kurka started his training in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Modern, and Chinese Dance. He then later moved to Edmonton, Alberta, furthering his training competitively.

Daniel Holt hails from Central Valley, California. He received his BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University, Spring 2011. Daniel now resides in Brooklyn, New York where he teaches dance, and runs his dance company, Dirt, as well as his video company, Scarecrow.

Saar Harari was born on a farm in Israel to an artistic family and danced until the age of 18, at which time he joined the Israeli Army for 6 years. He left the Army and started to dance again at the age of 24. In 1998 he created his first work as an independent choreographer for a dance festival at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv.

Jennifer Hamilton started dancing at age 4 in her hometown of Camarillo, California. Her training continued at various dance studios in Los Angeles, most importantly at Tremaine dance studio, where she took class and met Marguerite Derricks, her mentor.

Chris Hale is the Associate Director of Pushing Progress and Director of the :pushing progress Contemporary Training Program. Through his work with :pushing progress, Chris and his partner Calen J. Kurka are at the helm of a revolution in the way we train in dance. Through a kinetic approach and the incorporation of varied methodologies for sustainability and injury prevention they hope to bring a sophisticated level of information into the lives of every dancer who has the drive and passion to grow as an artist.

David Dorfman, a native Chicagoan, is the recipient of a 2005 Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. He has also been honored with four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships, an American Choreographer’s Award, the first Paul Taylor Fellowship from The Yard, and a New York Dance and Performance Award (”Bessie”) for David Dorfman Dance’s community-based project Familiar Movements (The Family Project).

Adé Chiké, a dancer from Brooklyn, NY began studying dance at the age of eight. He studied Ballet and Modern at the Alvin Ailey School and the Harlem School of the Arts. Adé graduated from LaGuardia High School and studied at The Boston Conservatory, and New World School of the Arts in Miami. He's had the opportunity to train with Savion Glover and the late great Gregory Hines. He recently competed on FOX's So You Think You Can Dance where he became the top 4th finalist.

Jennifer Archibald, founder and artistic director of the Arch Dance Company, graduated from the Alvin Ailey School. She has performed and choreographed across the U.S. at major venues including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Aaron Davis Hall, The Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC, The Duke on 42nd Street, The Colony Theatre in Miami Beach, Judson Memorial Church, Apollo, MTV, as well as in Europe, Russia, and Canada.

Sloan-Taylor Rabinor grew up and trained in Phoenix, Arizona. At the age of 17 she won her first national title at the dance convention The Pulse, and that is where her dance career really began. She started traveling and assisting choreographers such as Brian Friedman, Laurieann Gibson, Wade Robson, and Mia Michaels.

Brandt Martinez is originally from Peoria, Arizona where he trained at a very young age at Spisak Dance Academy in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Hip-Hop. He later furthered his dance education at Tempe Dance Academy where he learned many different styles that make him the versatile dancer he is today. Brandt has been a featured dancer in the International Dance Alliance. He also was an inaugural dancer in the show Ballroom Blitz!, through Stiletto Entertainment where he got to travel the Caribbean and Mediterranean on a vista class Holland America ship.