Chewanda M.

I started training in dance at the age of 14 at Curie Performing Arts High School under the direction of Melinda Wilson. I have worked with students at the ages of 6 to adults. A lot of my work has been done in studio's, school settings, and park districts. I teach a range of dance styles including ballet, contemporary ballet, modern (Horton and Graham based), jazz, hip-hop, and African. I work within the Chicago area as a dance performer, choreographer, and instructor.

I graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Dance Performance. I have worked and trained with many Chicago based and nationally known choreographers, teachers, and companies:

Sammy Dyer School of Theatre
Idella Davis, Curtis Handley, & Ron Wilson

Columbia College Chicago
Keesha Beckford, Liz Burritt, Malik Camara, Peter Carpenter, Ariel Cisneros, Margi Cole, Paige Cunningham, Allen Desterhaft, Colleen Halloran, Dardi McGinley-Gallivan, Christina Gonzalez-Gillett, Kim Goldman, Carrie Hanson, Daniel Halkin, Darrell Jones, Pam McNeil, Natalie Rast, Kirby Reed, Yael Levitin-Saban, Sarah Schafer, Trae Turner, Lisa Johnson-Willingham, & Richard Woodbury.

Joel Hall Dancers
William Gill, Rochelle Goff, Joel Hall, Betsy Herskind, Ann Marie Loesch, Merrick Mitchell, Joan Oberndorf, Duwane Pendarvis, Kirby Reed, Vanessa Truvillion, Victoria Vargas, Melinda Wilson, Cecillia Ferguson-Bell, & Malachi Squires

Dance Comapnies
Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, Joffery Ballet, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Deeply Rooted Productions, Diavolo Dance Theatre, Hubbard Street 2, Hubbard Street, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Joe Goode Performance Group, Wayne McGregor Random Dance, Helen Pickette, Joel Hall Junior Scholarship Program & Intensive, The Australian Dance Theatre, The Ontario Ballet, Robert Moses’ Kin, Urban Bush Women, Dayton Contemporary Dance & Lyric Opera

I currently run the dance program for Chicago Park District’s Hamilton Park Cultural Center. I teach ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, african, step aerobics, samba fitness, and hip-hop aerobics.

A typical session varies depending on the clients wants and needs. I recommend that a client take a structured class to access how we should proceed. For instance, if a client is interested in working on ballet technique the session would begin with Barre exercises to properly warm up the body and work the muscles that would be used to execute balletic movement. The session would continue with center work (adagio & petite allegro), across the floor work (grand allegro), and lastly a small combination or phrase. These exercises will help develop the client’s skills and strength. Focusing on abdominal work, leg exercises, and other areas that need to be strengthened.