Center For Movement Arts Teaching Faculty

Tim Ryan, Director

Adult Ballet, Children's Ballet, Men's Technique, Children's Modern Tim has taught dance since 1977 in public and private schools in both Portland and Eugene, Oregon. He was a recipient of a Graduate Teaching Fellowship and earned his M.S. and B.S. in Dance pedagogy from the University of Oregon. He completed his post-graduate study, as one of five students accepted from a pool of five thousand applicants, at the Royal Academy of Dance Teachers College in London, UK. In 2010 the University of Oregon honored Mr. Ryan as Alumni of the Year.

Students of Mr. Ryan have been accepted to some of the most respected dance programs in America including Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Julliard, Chicago Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, The Harid Conservatory , Lines Ballet of San Francisco, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, the University of Utah, Goucher College, Belhaven College, the University of Oregon, Interlochen Arts Academy, Joffrey II, and the Boston Ballet.

Sherie Blankenship Ryan, Director

Adult Ballroom, Teen Ballroom, Children's Tap Sherie began her teaching career in 1987 at the University of Oregon and has taught for CMA for 14 years. An experienced teacher of ballroom dance, folk dance, tap, modern dance, and ballet, she additionally holds a Masters degree in Arts Administration from the University of Oregon and is chief administrator and co-founder of Center For Movement Arts.

Ms. Ryan performed with the Mary Miller Modern Dance Company and Skandia Leikerringen, a Scandinavian folk ensemble. She is a veteran musical theater performer and choreographer whose credits include: Oklahoma, Camelot, The Sound of Music, Annie, The King and I, South Pacific, The Fantastiks, Kiss Me, Kate and Brigadoon. She has also co-written, directed and choreographed a variety of original musical productions for children.

Margretta Hansen, Senior Instructor

Children's Ballet, Pointe, Adult Ballet Margretta is the Senior Instructor at CMA and has taught for them since 1999. A native Oregonian, Margretta has performed in the Portland area with Ballet Oregon, Portland Opera and Pacific Ballet Theater, as well as Oslund+Co/Dance, Tere Mathen Dance, and Minh Tran & Company.

In Eugene she appeared with Dance Theatre of Oregon, Susan Zadoff, and Eugene Ballet Company. In addition to teaching ballet at CMA, Margretta has taught for American Dance Theatre, Eugene School of Ballet, Oregon City Community Schools, Lewis and Clark College and Conduit Dance, Inc.

Michele Grote, Instructor

Front Desk, Substitute Teacher Michele hails from Los Angeles and has been dancing all her life. She has a huge range of teaching skills including Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Hip Hop and Tap. Michele is also unusual in that she can teach all levels of children and adults.

In addition to many years of training in private studios, Michele also studied at California Institute of the Arts, School of Dance where she was the Sharon B. Disney Scholarship Recipient and at Antelope Valley College, where she studied Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Dance.

Taryn Johnson, Instructor

Adult Ballet, Children's Ballet, Jazz and Hip-hop Taryn has worked with students of all ages and abilities for over 10 years. She as taught and performed locally and internationally. Taryn began her dance training at the British Dancing Academy in Renton, WA, where she studied RAD (Royal Academy of Ballet) Ballet, Modern and Jazz under the direction of Sandy Baca. She continued her studies with Marcia Quigley-Neel, at the Maple Valley School of Ballet where she also began teaching. After moving to Portland, Taryn has continued to study all forms of dance adding Hip-Hop, Salsa, Lindy-Hop, and Argentine Tango into the mix. Taryn is a former member of the Agniezska Laska Dancers, with whom she toured internationally to Mexico and Poland performing and teaching Modern dance at two major dance festivals.

Currently, Taryn works as a freelance dancer and choreographer in the Portland Metro area. Most recently, her work was presented at the 2011 fundraiser for OHSU's Knight Cancer Institute, and the 2011 production of SWEAT. Previously, Taryn has choreographed for and performed in "HAIR the Musical" (CAST Community Theater), "Guys and Dolls" (Tahoma High School), "Blue Skies Dance Concert" (Dance Coalition of Oregon), and choreographed for the Catlin Gabel Dance Club, and both the FAST and SUN after school programs. Taryn also has a BA in Applied Linguistics and Spanish from PSU, with plans to earn a Master's.

Victoria Lauder, Instructor

Adult Ballet Victoria Lauder began dancing at the age of four at Pinkerton Dance Academy in Carson City, Nevada. While she focused mainly on ballet, she enjoyed several years of jazz, tap, and modern classes as well. Her training continued under the direction of Stan Rogers at Friends University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Ballet.

Victoria has been performing with PDX Contemporary Ballet since 2016, and has had the opportunity to perform several new works in a wide range of styles. Victoria has taught ballet, pointe, and contemporary ballet for a range of ages and levels from youth to adult.

Brett Mills, Instructor

Adult & Children's Ballet A native of Chicago, Brett ttrained at Ruth Page Foundation under Larry Long, at The Joffrey Ballet School, and the Washington School of Ballet among others. Her professional career included performing with BalletMet, Ballet Iowa, and Eugene Ballet where Brett was a principal dancer.

Brett's teaching experience includes Ballet Idaho Academy, Summer Dance Lab at Whitman College, Ruth Page Foundation, Dance Academy of Libertyville, Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy, Bodyvox, and Polaris Dance Theatre.

Cait Powers, Instructor

Adult & Children's Ballet Cait Powers trained at the School of Oregon Ballet, Nortwest Academy and the California Institute of the Arts. From 1993-1998 she danced professionally with Oregon Ballet Theatre under Artistic Director James Canfield performing roles in Giselle, Romeo & Juliet, Coppelia, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Les Sylphides. She additionally danced with Bouand Dance Compnay from 2004-2011.

As a teacher her credits include Pacific University, Portland Ballet, BodyVox, da Vinci Middle School, Westside Dance and Gymnastics, Allegro Dance Studio,and Studio One.

CMA Guest Teaching Artists

Kristin Batchelor

Children's Ballet, Children's Modern, Adult Ballet Kristin began dancing at age 5 and can still remember the excitement and anticipation of her first class. She studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts, San Francisco Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet in New York City. Before moving to Oregon, she worked with Margaret Wingrove and Cliff Keuter in San Francisco area modern dance companies.

Locally, Kristin performed with Gregg Bielemeier, Mary Oslund, and with the aerial dance company, aero/betty. She was recognized by Martha Ullman West in Dance Magazine for having the ability to blend dance technique and style with a "cross-pollination of forms." Kristin has a degree in Theatre Arts from Santa Clara University. She has a true passion for dance and enjoys sharing that love through teaching.

Gregg Bielemeier

Teen Modern Dance Gregg Bielemeier is an Oregon born dance artist who started his career with the Portland Dance Theater in 1970. As a freelance artist he has worked on the West Coast and Europe as a featured choreographer, performer and teacher for over 43 years. He is a frequent improvisor/collaborator with musicians, actors and visual artists, creating suave, witty dance works that have been described as “wonderfully inventive,” by the Los Angeles Times, and as “marvelously goofy,” by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

A sought-after educator, Bielemeier has been a guest artist in technique, performance and repertory at institutions such as the University of Nevada/Las Vegas, Portland State University, Reed College, Center for Movement Arts, da Vinci Arts Middle School, Lewis & Clark College, the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics and the School of Oregon Ballet Theater. He is a founding core artist of Conduit Dance in Portland, Oregon where he continues to teach all levels of contemporary movement and dance improvisation.

Bielemeier has been awarded grants from the Metropolitan Arts Commission, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and on two occasions received Individual Artist Fellowships from the City of Pasadena, CA. He has provided movement direction for performances by master drummer Obo Addy, Cygnet Theater, Rumpus Room Dance, and performance artist Susan Banyas. His choreographic work has been commissioned by the Northwest Professional Dance Project, D-9 Dance Collective, School for New Dance (Amsterdam), Tere Mathern Dance, Reed College, Polaris Dance Theater, Skinner|Kirk Dance Ensemble, Modern Dance Lab, aero/betty aerial dance theatre, Imago Theatre, Paufve|Dance, BodyVox and White Bird, among others. Bielemeier’s choreography has been presented in Los Angeles by Dance Kaleidoscope, in Seattle at On the Boards Northwest New Works Festival, at Holland’s International Dance Festival, and in Portland by PSU’s Contemporary Dance Season, Portland Art Museum, and for White Bird’s inaugural and 11th contemporar dance performance series.

Tracy Broyles

Modern/Somatics Tracy Broyles is an art-maker based in dance and performance, a facilitator of structured and unstructured movement, and a body-worker. Dreams and intuition, archetypes, the unseen forces of energy, and the human condition guide her work.

Tracy first discovered Somatics, Pilates and Yoga as a young dancer, and after years of study felt passionate about sharing the healing and shaping qualities of intentional movement with others. She began teaching classes and seeing private clients in 2001, and completed her Pilates Certification in 2003. Tracy also studies and is influenced by the Alexander Technique and Butoh and incorporates energy work into her teaching and dancing. Straightforward and fun her style is to support the individual’s transformation into a more embodied self. For more on Tracy or to contact her please visit tracybroyles.com

Lucy Brush

Children & Adult Jazz and Hip Hop Lucy Brush began dancing at the age of three in Los Angeles, CA. Through her training at the Dance Factory, she competed both nationally and internationally, choreographing as well as performing. During her summers, she trained at intensive programs such Cal Arts, Boston Conservatory and Boulder Jazz in Colorado.

She attended Smith College where she majored in Dance, and has since performed with companies in Los Angeles, Honolulu and Portland. She believes in education through her classes, incorporating strong technique and stimulating routines, but she also believes that dance should first and foremost be fun. Class is the place for students to explore, take risks and develop their own artistic approach to the world of dance in a challenging but encouraging space.

Megan Dawn

Pilates Mat Megan has been dancing since the age of 9 as a student at Motions School of Dance (Southern Idaho) studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Hip Hop. Upon graduating, she attended Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, studying Fine Art and at the Portland Community College studying Modern, Ballet, Yoga and Theatre. She became more interested in Hip Hop and was a performing member of 11:Dance Co., seasons 1-2. She has danced works by Mykey Lopez (Jefferson Dancers), Bb Delano (11:Dance), Larkin Poynton (Boulder, CO), Sarah Touslee (Block 1750), Teresa "Toogie" Barcelo (Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre), Ching Ching Wong (Northwest Dance Project), among many others. She teaches Exercise Therapy at Pure Life Clinic in North Portland, and trains and performs throughout Portland.

Laura Haney

Pilates Mat, Adult and Teen Jazz Laura attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA, where she studied dance and music. She was a member of River North Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, toured nationally as a featured performer in the Broadway show 'Fosse' and was a cast member of the Broadway musical 'A Christmas Carol' for two seasons.

Laura was a company member of BodyVox from 2005-2008 and most recently performed in Lane Hunter Dance's 'The Beginning Is Near' and 'PSYkO' She is a Stott-certified Pilates instructor and has taught numerous dance workshops and master classes across the country. Laura currently directs the dance program and student company at Multnomah Athletic Club.

Summer Morgan

Adult & Teen Modern After graduating with a BFA in dance from SUNY Purchase, Summer Morganstarted presenting work in New York City at the Merce Cunningham Studio, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Williamsburg Art Nexus, Dixon Place and The Mulberry Street Theatre.

Since living in Portland she has presented her work at Conduit Dance, The Historic Fire House Theatre and Ten Tiny Dances. Summer has been teaching at CMA since 2006.

Sherrie Wieden

Adult Tap A native Oregonian, Sherrie has been dancing since age 2 ½. She has taught for over 40 years and her students enjoy her easy to follow teaching style. Over the years her accomplished dance styles have included: Tap, Jazz, Tahitian, Hula, Belly dancing, Novelty and Disco.

Her Adult Tap class is designed for a wide range of skill levels from Beginning to Advanced-Intermediate. Using contemporary music with enjoyable syncopated rhythms, students of all skill levels will enjoy Sherrie's easy-going, fun loving class!

Eric Zimmer

Adult and Teen Jazz, Physical Trainer Eric has been dancing since 1989. After receiving his early jazz and ballet training at the University of Montana, he moved to Portland to pursue a career in dance and fitness. While building his career in the fitness industry, Eric immersed himself as a choreographer, teacher, and performer in jazz, modern and Argentine tango. Eric's talent for jazz has given him prominent roles in musical theater; favorite productions include A Chorus Line and the Fosse-based Chicago.

Eric teaches at several Portland fitness clubs and dance studios, where his dynamic and inviting style of instruction is a hit with both children and adults. His classes incorporate an energetic blend of styles ranging from lyrical and musical theater jazz to hip hop and funk. Class is based on sound technique, but his dancers are encouraged to let loose in class and find their own expression within the choreography.