Connor Cornelius
Connor Cornelius (she/her) is director and choreographer of GRIT, her personal dance project. Connor is a choreographer, performer, and teaching artist based in the Chicagoland area and is a Mama to Quinn. Mama Dance Concert will be her fourth evening length work. Previously, Connor presented work for MOMENTA Dance Company at Navy Pier in Chicago Dance Month and Chicago Live (2023, 2022). She was selected as one of four choreographers for Dance Chance Redux: 6.0 and chosen as one of ten finalists for Met Dance’s Emerging Choreographer Competition (2015). Connor was also chosen as one of four Chicago-based choreographers for DanceWorks Chicago’s DanceMoves Choreography Competition (2015) and as one of two artists commissioned for the Going Dutch Festival (2017, 2018). Connor's work has been commissioned for Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Project Bound Dance, and for Simantikos as a Choreographic Competition Finalist. She has produced work for CounterBalance performances, Simantikos Choreo Kick-Off, and Delve Choreographer Showcases. In MOMENTA’s fall 2021 season, Connor Artistic Directed the evening concert as well as produced a piece for their Oak Park Art League’s Art for Social Change performance collaboration. Connor has danced for Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre and Project Bound Dance for two seasons each. Connor also served as DanceWorks Chicago’s Administrative support for three years. As a teaching artist, Connor has choreographed ten musicals for OPRF High School as well as the Illinois High School State Musical (2023). Connor is a teacher at Intuit Dance Studio and has taught for eleven years. Before her professional career, Connor graduated as the Presidential Scholar of the Department of Dance at Western Michigan University, (BFA cum laude, 2014). At WMU, she was selected as one of seven students to perform at the Harris Theater with DanceWorks Chicago in a work by Nelly VonBommel. At the 2013 American Dance Festival, she was chosen to perform in Martha Graham's Helios as well as present her choreography in the student concert. Other highlights include: being selected as one of eight to participate in a dance exchange trip to China and Taiwan, performed historical work by Loïe Fuller, and an Immersion Trip to Montreal. Connor's choreography was chosen for the American College Dance Festival Association's East Central Conference Gala, as well as the WMU Winter Gala Dance Concert, Western Dance Project's repertoire, and Orchesis Dance Concerts.
Tatiana Castañeda
Tatiana Castañeda (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist from Oak Park, Illinois. She is excited to be back working with Connor for this very special GRIT project. Tatiana is currently a company member and teaching artist with Aerial Dance Chicago, as well as a dancer and choreographer for MOMENTA Dance Company. She received her BFA in Dance from Point Park University in 2020. She teaches ballet and jazz at The Academy of Movement and Music in Oak Park, where she began her dance training as a young child. Tatiana has danced throughout the Chicagoland area with Thwack Dance, GRIT Dance, and Movement Revolution Dance Crew. Throughout her years dancing, she has been lucky enough to train in and perform various styles and disciplines of dance, including classical and contemporary ballet, historical and contemporary modern, hip hop, musical theater, and aerial dance.
Nikki Martinez
Nikki Martinez, a native of the Chicago area, began studying dance at the age of three. Since then, she has gone on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Minor in Psychology. She has had the privilege of training through workshops and intensives with Point Park University, Deeply Rooted Dance Company, L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, Inaside Dance Chicago, Aerial Dance Chicago, and has studied at Lou Cante Dance Studio, Visceral Dance Center, and Joel Hall Dance Center. She has had the opportunity to perform in many local Chicago projects such as Chicago's Choreographers Carnival, Delve Arts Festival, Renaissance Black, RAW Chicago, and Activate! Chicago and has performed as a company member with Noumenon Dance Ensemble under the direction of Alia Simon-Montijo for five seasons. She is also a company member and is the Artistic Director of Simantikos Dance Chicago, a company she has been with since 2016. Nikki also teaches yoga at various Chicagoland yoga studios. In addition to teaching, choreographing, and dancing, Nikki has her master’s in counseling psychology and offers intuitive guidance readings and classes.
Laini Gorgol
Laini Gorgol is a native of Oak Park, and began her life of dancing at the age of three at the Academy of Movement and Music. In 2022 Laini received her Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There she had the unique opportunity to study under Roxanne D’Orleans Juste of the Límon company and Omri Drumlevich of the Batsheva Company. Also during her time at U of I, Laini developed a passion for dance for camera, her short film Restless Silhouette earning a spot in the student showcase in 2021. Her training includes ballet, jazz, hip hop and Umfundulai technique as well as Humphrey modern and Graham technique. As a member of MOMENTA dance company, Laini has performed at Chicago Live and Counterbalance, and she will be joining MOMENTA for the Spring to Dance festival this coming May. In addition to dancing, Laini enjoys teaching the creative movement and music class at the Academy ARTS preschool program. Laini is honored to be joining GRIT for the Mama! concert is fueled by the passion and talent of her choreographer and fellow performers.
Paige Deets
Paige Deets is a professional dancer, certified teacher, award-winning choreographer, and proud mom. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Western Michigan University in 2015 and continued her training on scholarship at Visceral Dance Center and with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Journey. Represented by Go-2 Talent Agency, Paige has performed with companies including Project Bound, Trifecta Dance Collective, Geometry Dance Company, and Canv(us) Movement Collective, and has appeared in music videos and live performances for artists such as Mickey Singh, ICON BLU, and Josi Maran. Her choreography has received numerous awards in competition, showcase, and festival settings. Teaching across studios and schools nationwide inspired her to earn her physical education and dance teaching certification in 2021. She now resides in the Chicagoland area where she is the Business Manager and a lead instructor at Elite Dance Academy in Homer Glen. Above all, Paige is a proud new mother inspired daily by her son and her community of fellow moms.
Caitlin Dyer
Caitlin Dyer is ecstatic to be performing in Mama! She graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2023 with a B.S. in accounting and a B.A. in dance. Upon graduation, Caitlin performed with Concert Dance Inc., Momenta Dance Company, and taught ballroom at Duet Dance Studio. She has performed in shows across the Chicago area, including Labor of Love, TedX Chicago, and Chicago Live At Navy Pier. Caitlin would like to thank Connor for welcoming her into this performing space, and her mom for continually shaping her vision of motherhood.
Mei Kuang-Chen
Mei-Kuang Chen- born in Taipei, Taiwan; began her dance training in Chinese classical dance and Ballet. With a burning desire to further her Modern dance education, Ms. Chen moved to the United States to complete a BFA in Dance from Ohio State University and received two-year scholarship for the MFA program from the dance department at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Upon graduating, Ms. Chen danced professionally with Hedwig Dances and as the Artistic Associate for the company. She was hailed at her debut by the Chicago Sun-Times as a “dancer of tremendous authority.” Ms. Chen received the prestigious Chicago Dance Achievement Award and was honored by the Taiwanese Cultural Center for outstanding contributions. Since 2005 and 2008, She became the proud mom of Jessica and Jasper Park! Presently a faculty member of Loyola University Chicago and the Academy of Movement and Music in Oak Park, as well as a member of the MOMENTA dance company, Ms. Chen is thrilled to continue performing, choreographing, and teaching among the finest artists in the Chicago dance community!
Ladonna Freidheim
Ladonna Freidheim is an award-winning arts inclusion advocate and performer. She is the founder of ReinventAbility, serves on the Board Of Directors of See Chicago Dance, and is a wheelchair dancer with MOMENTA Dance Company. Ladonna’s early life revolved around ballet until a degenerative disability changed everything. With the aid of braces and crutches she navigates the world much of the time, but it is Ladonna’s wheelchair that enlivens her dancer’s soul. Ladonna is honored to have received: the Leadership in Dance Award, Rhythm Within Award, multiple nominations for 3Arts awards in dance and education, appointments to the ArtsEd Leadership Committee and to the DanceUSA Host Committee; and to have raised a magnificent human.
Sage Miller
Bio coming soon.