Artistic director
Arianna Russ
ARIANNA RUSS (Artistic Director)
Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Arianna relocated to St. Louis to join the Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) in 2018. While dancing with the main company, Arianna worked with artists such as Stephanie Martinez, Carl Flink, Joshua Peugh, Nejla Yatkin and a host of others. She was honored to become Artistic Director in 2022, and has since choreographed and produced MADCO original works, Right Here, Right Now, Bound and Imprint.
Arianna has also performed professionally in the NBA, with the Cedar Rapids Opera, and in dance festivals across the country including Green Space Blooms Festival and WHITE WAVE Dance Festival in New York, Harvest Contemporary Dance Festival in Chicago and an artistic exchange with the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Since living in St. Louis, she has been on faculty at Lindenwood University, Southeast Missouri State University, and has been a Guest Teaching Artist at Webster University. Arianna received her MFA in Dance Performance from the University of Iowa in 2018.
Contact Arianna at artisticdirector@madcodance.com.
Artistic Consultant
Carly Vanderheyden
CARLY VANDERHEYDEN (Artistic Consultant)
Carly Vanderheyden is a contemporary dance artist based in St. Louis, MO. Carly grew up in Green Bay, WI and graduated from the University of Iowa with a BFA in Dance-Pedagogy, BA in Health and Human Physiology, and a certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship. Carly has trained in intensive programs including Orsolina28, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Martha Graham School, among others. Carly was a company dancer with The Big Muddy Dance Company, now Saint Louis Dance Theatre, under the artistic direction of Brian Enos from 2017-2022 and Kirven Douthit-Boyd from 2022-2024. During her time with the company Carly has been featured in choreography by Sidra Bell, Thang Dao, Norbert De La Cruz III, Omar Román De Jesús, Bradley Shelver, among others. Most recently, Carly performed in Germany with Shannon Gillen and Jason Cianciulli of VIM VIGOR at B12 in Berlin, as well as with Alice Klock and Florian Lochner of FLOCK in Schwäbisch Hall. Carly had the privilege of working with renowned multidisciplinary artist and choreographer Brendan Fernandes for a movement installation in collaboration with the Scott Burton exhibition at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, MO. Additionally, she has performed in collaborations with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Jazz St. Louis, among others. Carly is an American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum certified ballet teacher for Pre-Primary through Level 5, 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, and Certified Progressing Ballet Technique instructor. Carly works as a freelance photographer and graphic designer, as well as a teaching artist, choreographer, and rehearsal director at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and St. Louis Academy of Dance. Carly has presented her own choreography at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Saint Louis Dance Theatre Trainees, and COCA's Ballet Eclectica Second Company.
Carly is the founder of St. Louis Dance Headquarters, a platform dedicated to amplifying the work of dancers and dance organizations in St. Louis. With the support of a 2024 Regional Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant, Carly founded the multimedia project Dancers Making Moves as an artistic incubator that explores the essence of what it means to be professional dance artist through photography, videography, podcast interviews, and performance. The project’s culminating exhibition, “Living Gallery” at the Center of Creative Arts, featured a gallery of her dance photography as the backdrop to performances presented by 24 dance professionals, each sharing a range of styles and experiences throughout their dance careers. Throughout her creative pursuits, Carly has a passion for making the world a more thoughtfully connected place through the arts.
Education Director
Katherine Kennedy
KATHERINE KENNEDY (Education Director)
Katherine Kennedy is a St. Louis based professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer in her sixth season with the Modern American Dance Company (MADCO). Katherine grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, extensively studying ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and contemporary. She graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in dance and a BBA in management from Western Michigan University in the spring of 2019. Some of her career highlights include performing original choreography by Joshua Manculich, Monique Haley, Christian Denice, Carl Flink, Noelle Kayser and Arianna Russ and in restagings of works choreographed by Roni Koresh, Aszure Barton, and Janice Garrett. Alongside her performance career, Katherine has worked administratively with Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers in Kalamazoo, MI and American Dance Festival in Durham, NC to support arts education. In St. Louis Katherine leads outreach programming for MADCO as the company’s Education Director. She spearheads Books in Motion, a 10 day teaching residency in 4th and 5th grade classrooms that promotes movement and literacy. She also works with MS Bright Spots of Hope to lead dance classes for adults with multiple sclerosis. Katherine is passionate about sharing dance with her community and is thrilled to be teaching and performing with MADCO!
Contact Katherine at madcodance@gmail.com.