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Guest Dance Faculty

Jennifer has been teaching yoga as well as Pilates, Aerobic Dance, Body Conditioning, and Somatic Movement at the university level for 25 years. We are thrilled to have her working with the dancers of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts once again this summer!
She is registered with Yoga Alliance at the highest level as an E-RYT® 500 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500 level). In her work, Jennifer, has created and implemented the curriculum for Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Yoga classes at MTSU. In addition, she co-created a Registered Yoga School (RYS) through Yoga Alliance and has conducted two 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Programs. https://indigoytt.com/ . Jennifer is currently enrolled and completing a 500-hour Comprehensive Club Pilates Teacher Training.
Jennifer also has an Ed.S. in Administration and Supervision with an emphasis in Higher Education; M.S. in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Safety; and B.S. in Psychology.

Dance and Fine Art Photographer
www.martinoconnorphoto.com

With over 30 years to his credit, Martin O’Connor has established himself firmly in the dance community of Nashville and surrounding areas.  Martin’s career began as a special interest and eventually evolved into a full-time profession.  His true in-depth work in dance grew from his association with local dance companies needing publicity photos for their concerts and special events.

Many of his photos grace the pages of state organization’s brochures and publicity materials of The Nashville Ballet, Tennessee Association of Dance, Vanderbilt Dance, Austin Peay State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Blue Moves Dance, Governor’s School for the Arts, Fall Aerial Arts, Suspended Gravity, Playing By Air Productions, Nashville School of the Arts, Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville, the Dancer Project Conservatory, Fringe Festival, and numerous individual dancers both amateur and professional.

In 2008 he received the Dance Advocate Award from the Tennessee Association of Dance then later featured in the 2013 issue of Nashville Arts magazine.  When being presented the Advocate Award they noted  “… his stunning images illustrate both his passion for the art form and the beauty of the art.  His eye for detail and compassionate spirit make him a popular photographer for dancers to work with.

Beginning in 2012 Martin was invited to work with the Dance Division of the Governor’s School for the Arts.  He is delighted to return to MTSU this summer to photograph a new group of young and talented artists.  Each opportunity that presents itself allows him to continue his search to capture the peak of motion and essence of line and form.

Daniel Rodriguez was born in New York, New York. He began his dance training at the non-for-profit National Dance Institute. Through the National Dance Institute he was given a scholarship to begin his formal ballet training at Ballet Academy East. He finished his ballet training at the Manhattan Youth Ballet and LaGuardia Highschool, the latter of which awarded him the Jacques D’Amboise award for Exceptional Male Dancer upon graduation.

He began his professional career at The North Carolina Dance theater (now Charlotte Ballet) and has since danced for Sarasota Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and the Nashville Ballet. He has performed a diverse range of repertory including works choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, Jiri Kylian, Justin Peck, George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, Jermaine Spivey, and Paul Vasterling.

Lindsay McNeal Ison, PT, EdD, OCS is associate professor of physical therapy in the School of Physical Therapy at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.  She received her Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Kentucky, her Master of Science in physical therapy from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and her Doctor of Education in Health Professions from A.T. Still University.  She is a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and APTA Advanced Credentialed Clinical Instructor.  Dr. Ison has more than 20 years of clinical experience working with professional, collegiate, and adolescent dancers and musicians.  She provides clinical care, education, injury prevention, and backstage coverage for professional and recreational performing arts organizations throughout middle Tennessee.  Her research explores the relationship of health education and injury prevention in professional ballet, physical changes in the female adolescent dancer, and the influence of movement dysfunction on the vocal production of singers.  Dr. Ison is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science, and the Performing Arts Medical Association.

Noelia Garcia Carmona is a native of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). She is a dance educator, dancer and choreographer with more than 30 years of professional experience. She started dancing at a young age and followed her passion and dream of becoming a dance professional and traveling the world. She graduated from the Institut del Teatre I Dansa in Barcelona in 1993 specializing in Spanish dance and Flamenco. Upon graduation, she co-founded the Flamenco and contemporary dance company Increpacion Danza, where she was a performer and choreographer for 10 years, touring all over Europe, China and The Philippines. In 2002, she was selected as a dance performer by Cirque du Soleil, for their show Zummanity.

Noelia moved to the USA in 2003 and has since lived in Memphis,TN. Noelia has worked as a Dance Director with New Ballet Ensemble & School between 2003-20021. She is a graduate of the class of 2017,CAELI (Community Arts Education Leadership Institute) from the National Guild for Community Arts Education.

In her role as dancer and choreographer, she has created and performed numerous dance works with students and professional dancers that have been presented in venues across the city as The Cannon Center, Levitt Shell, Playhouse on the Square , Halloran Center and others. She has also performed in New York City ( Alvin Alley- APAP), and in Washington DC ( Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra). Some of her original choreography includes “Dos,” “Tiempos,” “El Rey de Harlem,” “Fuego” and “Voices.” She creates dance works that are relevant and inclusive of other dance genres outside of Spanish dance and Flamenco.

In 2022, she joined The Collage Dance Collective dance faculty. She teaches ballet and Spanish dance and Flamenco to children and adults. She is also a Dance Artist with Company D where she teaches dancers with Down Syndrome. Other institutions where Noelia teaches dance are Tennessee Governor School for the Arts, Hutchison’s School and GPAC. She is the co-founder and Artistic director of Flamenco Memphis. Their purpose is to bring awareness, create presence and educate about the art of Flamenco in the Memphis area and the Midsouth through dance classes, lectures, culture and performances. Noelia is also a Guest Faculty at University of Memphis where she teaches about Flamenco dance and history in World Dance class.

Originally from Conyers, Kayla Rowser trained at the Magdalena Maury School of Classical Ballet in Fayetteville, Ga., with Georgia Youth Ballet under the direction of Magdalena Maury, Jonsie Pollock and Magda Aunon. After graduating high school, she joined Charleston Ballet Theatre for a season before joining Nashville Ballet’s second company, NB2 in 2007. In her two years as a trainee, she performed with the main company in several seri es before being promoted to an apprentice. After being promoted to company member in 2010, Rowser performed as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella in Paul Vasterling’s Cinderella and Juliet in Vasterling’s Romeo and Juliet. Other notable roles in Vasterling’s works include the Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in Nashville’s Nutcracker, Fortuna in Carmina Burana and Layla in Layla and the Majnun. Rowser was also featured in Christopher Bruce’s Sergeant Early’s Dream, as the Russian Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade and danced the title role in Vasterling’s Firebird. In 2018, Rowser performed as the third movement principal in Balanchine’s Western Symphony, in addition to dancing in Jiří Kylián’s Sechs Tanze and Petite Mort and as a principal in Christopher Wheeldon’s Ghosts. Other contemporary works include pieces by Christopher Stuart, Jennifer Archibald, Gina Patterson, Matthew Neenan, and Salvatore Aiello among others. Rowser has been named one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch”’ and has been featured in Pointe Magazine, The Washington Post, Huffington Post and The New York Times. She has performed in the Kansas City Dance Festival, Spoleto Dance Festival, Spring to Dance in St. Louis, and with Nashville Ballet at the Kennedy Center as well as teaching across the U.S including accepting an invitation to teach master classes at Yale University. Rowser was also awarded the Individual Artist Fellowship by the Tennessee Arts Commission in 2015 for her artistic achievements, and she was honored as one of the Nashville Business 100 Leading African Americans in 2018. Since retiring after a 14-year performance career in 2020, she continues to teach and mentor students while currently pursuing a Communications degree from The University of Arkansas.

Photo from the Nashville Ballet

ALEXANDRA (ALEX) WINER is a Nashville based dancer, choreographer, and educator. She received her Bachelors in Dance from Franklin & Marshall College and continued on to earn her Masters from London Contemporary Dance School. Alex holds a faculty role at Middle Tennessee State University, and works as a freelance dancer, teacher, choreographer, and solo artist. Most recently, Alex has performed and taught with local companies di Mossa, Satellite Dance, Nashville Ballet, PYDANCE, FALL, New Dialect, Shackled Feet DANCE, and Amanda Reichert. Alex has also been commissioned to choreograph for DancEast Collective, DancEast Youth Ensemble, Nashville’s Metro Parks Dance Division, MTSU Theatre productions, and had solos commissioned for Oz Arts Nashville’s 10th Anniversary Bash and inaugural Brave New Works Lab. In the July of 2024, Alex collaborated with local choreographers Becca Hoback (Enactor Productions), Phylicia Roybal (MauveTaupe), and Joi Ware (Nashville Repertory Theatre and Street Theatre Company) to create an evening length production for Kindling Arts Festival titled ‘The Girlhood Project’. The piece explored the facets of girlhood, growth, and evolution in identity, and featured local singer/songwriters and a multigenerational cast of dancers.