OUR DANCERS
Gabriella billy
main company
Gabriella Billy, born and raised in St. Louis, started her dance training early on, under the instruction of Christine Kardell. Through out high school Gabriella became a student at COCA (Center of Creative Arts) where she joined pre-professional companies Ballet Eclectica and COCAdance. She has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Darrell Grande Moultrie, Camille A. Brown, Kirven and Antonio Douthit-Boyd, and Alicia Graf Mack. She has also had the pleasure of learning repertoire from companies like Pilobolus and LeherDance. Gabriella is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has a love for teaching young aspiring dancers and is a faculty member at COCA. Gabriella is currently an apprentice Gyrotonic instructor and is working on her Level 1 certification as another way to share movement with others. Gabriella is thrilled to be dancing with MADCO for her seventh season.
CASSIE CALLAHAN
maIN COMPANY
Cassie Callahan is originally from the Chicagoland area and has lived in North Carolina, Michigan, and now Missouri. Starting at the age of 3, she has danced for over 20 years, training in many forms of dance specializing in jazz, ballet, tap, contemporary and modern dance. Throughout her training she has worked with many distinguished artists including Anthony Morigerto, Sonya Tayeh and Rena Butler. Cassie fell in love with sharing her passion for dance and began teaching in 2014. In 2021, she graduated Cum Laude from Western Michigan University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Business. Using her leadership skills during her time at WMU, Cassie was the Executive Director for Hip Hop Connxion, Michigan branch, the universities recognized SRO. She has been recognized for her choreography numerous times including having her works performed in Disney World and working with veterans creating the interactive pieces, Width of a Butterfly’s Wing and Remember Us. Post graduation, Cassie relocated to St. Louis and joined The Big Muddy Dance Company as a part of the trainee program and under the guidance of Brandon Fink, quickly establishing a passion for the city and its dance culture. Cassie is currently a main company member for the Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) where she shares her passion and dedication in her first season. Never one to shy away from new opportunities, Cassie teaches students ages 7 to 18 at Renee Johnson’s Dance Studio along with teaching open classes and choreographing the Elevate Student Project for The Big Muddy Dance Company. Cassie follows the philosophy of using dance as an expression of a story, experience and emotion, sharing her contagious energy and passion for dance with all who know her.
daryon kent
main company
Daryon Kent began his dance training at Ms. Bridget's Conservatoire of Dance. He continued four years of training at Central Visual Performing Arts High School (CPVA) under the instructor Raymond Parks where he studied jazz, ballet, tap, modern, hip hop and contemporary dance. While attending (CPVA), Daryon performed in the 5th Annual St. Louis Fox Teen Talent Competition " The Dancing six" and was awarded 3rd place. Daryon also trained at Alexander School of Ballet under the Artistic director Alexander Zaharias and became a member with the company which he performed in several different major roles such as The Nutcracker, A Mid Summer Night's Dream, and Coppelia. Daryon received The Dance St. Louis Dance Career Award in 2014 along with several full scholarships to train at the following summer intensives: Milwaukee Ballet (2014) Cincinnati Ballet (2015) and Kansas City Ballet (2016-2017).
Daryon has been a member with Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) since 2015 where he has performed the work of several choreographers: Gina Patterson, Jennifer Archibald. Cecil Slaughter, Nejla Yatkin, Be Be Miller, Christian Denice, and Lindsay Hawkins. In 2019, Daryon choreographed his first solo piece "Heart Ache" that he performed at the MADCO 2 showcase. Daryon also recreated a hip hop/modern version dance choreography of Alvin Alley piece called "Sinnerman" for Central Visual Performing Arts (CUPA), performed by (CUPA) students at the school opening showcase in 2019. Daryon was featured as a improv dancer in the YouTube video called "How can I Better Love You" created by music artist Lola Kristine. In 2020 Daryon performed in a contemporary ballet piece called "Chaos Magick", choreographed by Kevin Paul Hockenberry. In 2022 Daryon choreographed his second solo piece "Time Loop" that he performed at MADCO Dare to Dance showcase.katherine kennedy
MAIN COMPANY
Katherine Kennedy is a St. Louis based professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer in her fifth 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, and Arianna Russ and in restagings of works choreographed by Roni Koresh, Aszure Barton, and Lindsey Thomas. Katherine is passionate about sharing dance with her community as the company’s Education Director and is thrilled to be performing with MADCO!
annesley haring
Main company
Annesley Haring is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher based in St. Louis, MO. She grew up dancing at Fusion Dance Center, where she was nurtured to develop her artistic voice and discover her unique movement quality. Annesley continues to instill these values in her current students. She earned a BFA in Dance with an Emphasis in Contemporary and a BA in Business Administration with an Emphasis in Marketing from Lindenwood University. While at Lindenwood, Annesley performed works by Tricia Zweier, Janet Strzelec, Amy Gammon, and Mariko Kumanomido, as well as guest artists Audrey Johnston, Christine Howe, Madison Hicks, and Hot Crowd Chicago. Her additional performance credits include the Big Muddy Dance Festival, The Detroit Dance City Festival, National Dance Week St. Louis, the American College Dance Association, and Water Street Dance Milwaukee’s Water on Water showcase. Annesley is thrilled for her second season with MADCO!
gail honeywell
MAIN COMPANY
Gail Honeywell, originally from DeKalb, Illinois, began her serious dance training at 11 with the Rockford Dance Company. By 15, she was studying at Northern Illinois University, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance in May 2017 at just 18. After graduating, Gail taught ballet in Chicago before moving to St. Louis in 2020 to join St. Louis Dance Theatre (previously the Big Muddy Dance Company) as a Convergence Trainee. She is now in her fourth season with MADCO, having joined MADCO 2 for the 2021-2022 season. Gail is excited to dance with the main company again this year and continue sharing her passion for dance in a welcoming, non-judgmental environment.
ANNIE MITCHELL
maIN COMPANY
Annie Mae Mitchell was born in Lafayette, Louisiana to Gayle and David Higginbotham. She attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in performing arts with a concentration in dance in May 2018. While earning this degree, she performed in State of La Danse in 2014 and 2017 and in Evening of Dance in 2018. Her choreography was showcased in Evening of Dance in 2017 and 2018. Work from this concert was presented at the 2019 ACDA conference for an adjudicated concert. Her performance career also includes two summers, 2016 and 2017, with the nationally touring performance ensemble, the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. Her recent work includes performances with s.p.a.c.e. Lafayette for their seasons series titled Current-ly., itsaboutwomen, and itsavibe. The latter two of these three concerts also included Annie’s original choreography. She also collaborated with Basin Arts for their T.E.A.M, program which produced the installation Just Play and completed a short-term residency with Basin Arts during the Fall of 2020 through early Spring 2021. Annie is currently a fitness instructor at Pure Barre and is excited to be a part of Modern American Dance Company.
Paige Van Nest
maIN COMPANY
Paige Van Nest is originally from St.Louis, Missouri and began her training at Arts in Motion School of Dance. She graduated from Webster University in 2019 with a BFA in Modern Dance and a Certificate in Entrepreneurship. Her training outside of Webster University includes Nashville Ballet, The Big Muddy Dance Company, MADCO, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In addition to performing with Leverage Dance Theater, Paige has also performed in the KP Project and in summer residency projects with Jacob Henns. She looks forward to continuing her movement research in the St. Louis dance community.
Delainey Bailey
Apprentice
Delainey Bailey, originally from Wayne City, Illinois, graduated summa cum laude from Lindenwood University in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance with a specialization in Contemporary and a minor in Dance Studio Management. Delainey’s performance experience includes the Detroit Dance City Festival, Water Street Dance Festival, American College Dance Association, National Dance Week, and Lindenwood's Fall, Winter, and Spring Dance Concerts. During her undergraduate training, she performed pieces by renowned guest artists and professors: Audrey Johnston, Joshua Manculich, Sam McReynolds, Renee Kester, Hot Crowd Chicago, Tricia Zweier, Amy Gammon, Mariko Kumanomido, and Janet Strzelec. Some of Delainey’s highlights include earning the “Top Creative Project” at the Lindenwood Academic Showcase for her original choreography and being awarded “The Dance Award” by her professors at the Lindenwood Honors Convocation. Delainey is excited to be joining MADCO as an apprentice for their 49th season!
Chloe Ryherd
Apprentice
Chloe Ryherd, a professional dancer from St. Louis, recently graduated from Lindenwood University with a BFA in Dance, specializing in Contemporary, and a minor in Dance Studio Management. Starting dance at age two, Chloe trained for 14 years at Studio B Legacy in Decatur, Illinois, before continuing her studies at Lindenwood. Her versatility was showcased in multiple university dance concerts and she earned two National Titles with Lindenwood’s Lion Line Dance team at the 2021 UDA College Nationals, serving as Co-Captain in 2022. Chloe's performance experience includes the Water Street Dance Festival, Gus Giordano Dance School, and the American College Dance Association. She also held leadership roles as President of SYNERGY, a student-led dance organization, and as Administrative Assistant to the dance department head. Currently, Chloe is an apprentice with Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) in St. Louis.