Vaught Contemporary Ballet

Ms. Crosby spent her formative years in the Washington, D.C. area and received her dance
training at the Maryland Youth Ballet. She then attended the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC and
was chosen to be a member of the Joffrey Concert Group, an apprentice-touring troupe. Her performing career locally: Eric Hampton Dance, Bowen McCauley Dance, Rincones and Company, Tony Powell/Music and Movement, CityDance, Karen and Alvin, and Dancesmith,nms, In addition, she has participated as a performer and Assistant Choreographer with the Keegan Theatre. Alison was a performer with Arena Stage , Silver Seas cruise line, Toby’s Dinner Theater, the Washington National Opera, and on a national tour of The Music Man. Ms. Crosby has been recognized for her artistry as a solo dance performer by the Maryland State Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. She is a dance educator in the D.C. metropolitan area—teaching classical ballet, creative movement, contemporary dance and Floor-Barre®. Ms. Crosby has been guest faculty for Towson and Georgetown Universities and is currently a dance faculty member at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Additional teaching positions: Academy of the Maryland youth Ballet, Dawn
Crafton Dance Connection, Dance Center of Severna Park, Inspired Child, local classes for people living with Parkinsons and a Teaching Artist through The Kennedy Center with Washington, D.C. schools.

Kelly Hirina, originally from Michigan, moved to the Netherlands as a Fulbright scholar and continued to live and work there as a professional dancer for twenty years. While there, Hirina worked with many different choreographers such as; Emio Greco & Pieter C. Scholten (EG|PC), Krisztina de Chatel, Suzy Blok, Nicole Beutler, Liat Waysbort and Dylan Newcomb in companies such as ICKamsterdam and Dansgroep Amsterdam. Hirina also worked in mime/theater onstage with Jakop Ahlbom and Compagnietheater (Theu Boermans) and in films with directors such as Arno Dierickx and Noud Heerkens. Alongside her dance career she studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre School in New York City.

Hirina is a certified teacher of both Countertechnique, created by Anouk van Dijk and Double Skin/Double Mind, created by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten. She has been teaching these methods at the Lucia Marthas Institute for Performing Arts (Amsterdam) and in her role as the artistic coordinator of ICKamsterdam’s academy. These methods offer healthy approaches to the dancing body while stimulating their personal creativity. Hirina also incorporates methods from ICKamsterdam, the Sensorium Toolkit and Pre-choreographics, in choreographic development.

She acquired her M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Michigan with research based upon the link between mind and body in dance training, rehearsal and performance. Her specific interest is in pedagogical methods that enhance intrinsic motivation, appreciation for learning (a process-oriented approach) and goal setting.

Beyond dance, Hirina is also a fully certified Pilates and Vinyasa Yoga instructor. She enjoys creating an extremely physical experience for her students while also encouraging them to take the practice deeper beyond the physical, a training that is both concentrated and joyous. Hirina incorporates her interest in education and psychology while working with clients and students to achieve goals while working in a positively charged environment.

Caitlin McAfee, Artistic Director of Baltimore dance company BlueShift Dance, received her M.F.A. in Creative Practice in Dance from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, England. While in London, Caitlin trained in a new practice called Excavation, then presented her research in D.C. and Toronto. She earned her B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Education from Towson University, then taught for almost four years in Anne Arundel County Public Schools. She recently worked as an adjunct faculty member at Bowie State University, Towson University, and Howard Community College. Caitlin has performed modern dance professionally for 15 years.

Kevin J. Shannon is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts. He received additional training from the School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Paul Taylor, and Springboard Danse Montréal. After receiving his BFA from The Juilliard School in 2007, Kevin was invited to join Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. While a dancer with Hubbard Street, he had the privilege to work under the direction of Jim Vincent, Glenn Edgerton and the current Artistic Director Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell. Kevin is honored to have performed works by Kyle Abraham, Aszure Barton, Alejandro Cerrudo, Peter Chu, Sharon Eyal, William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, Twyla Tharp, Robyn Mineko Williams, among many others over his fourteen years with the company. As an educator, Kevin has taught dance master classes around the world. He has led and programmed the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Summer Intensive and is currently a guest teacher for Hubbard Street’s main company and José Limón Dance Company. He has been a visiting artist for the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and has served as faculty for The Joffrey Ballet School, Gibney Dance NYC, Chicago Movement Collective, Youth American Grand Prix, and Peridance Center. In addition, Kevin is a certified IMAGE TECH for dancers™ teacher. Kevin is currently dancing with Flockworks Dance and Brian Brooks/Moving Company.

Vaught, trained at Vostrikov’s Academy of Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Shenandoah University. She danced with Mich-Mash Productions and Deviated Theatre and worked as a dance instructor in the DMV for over a decade. Her work has been shown at Baltimore Theatre Project, Joe’s Movement Emporium, The Chrysalis, The Jack Giudone Theater, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and Dance Place. She received the Marc Ryder Choreography Grant in 2017.