Global Dance Network

From tour life, battling insecurity and fear to finding joy within the art form of dance, Carley Ballett is sure to help and encourage right where you're at in your own journey.

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Carley started dancing at the age of 3 at a competitive dance studio in Michigan. Here, she trained and competed in various styles of dance such as ballet, tap, hip hop, acro, lyrical, jazz, and contemporary. Carley started assisting at the age of 12 and teaching/choreographing herself at 17 years old. After graduating high school, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career as a dancer. Carley signed with Clear Talent Group in 2013 and has been a working dancer in LA ever since! She has worked with artists such as Meghan Trainor, Fergie, Dua Lipa, Black Eyed Peas, Mariah Carey, Sofia Carson, and Natalie La Rose. Her dancing has also been featured on TV networks like FOX, MTV, and ESPN in various shows and commercials. Locally, Carley loves leading Hillsong L.A.’s dance team and encouraging dancers in their faith. In her most recent venture, she spent two years touring with Puerto Rican artist Chayanne, and plans to continue her dance journey as soon as possible.

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Welcome to Season II of the Global Dance Network podcast. We invite you to join the conversation with artists who are passionate about inspiring and equipping you for whatever sphere you find yourself in.
2020 - what a year it has been! Certainly not what any of us had expected. Come and listen in on what our Founder Carolin Smolek has seen and experienced in this year and be encouraged to trust in His promise over our lives.

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Enjoy this Q&A panel from our first virtual conference.
Lesley Ligthelm, Steve Rooks and Fred Vassallo share from their own experiences and journeys as artists. Listen to their insight on questions, such as
"What would you say to the discouraged artist?",
"What do you think God is doing in the artist community in this season of Covid-19?",
"What have you experienced with power in movement?", and much more...
A discussion that is sure to encourage and inspire you, as well as challenge your perceptions.

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• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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Hayna Gutierrez is a principal ballerina with a rich heritage in dance who shares honestly about career, recent retirement and transitioning into teaching.
“That’s what I want to give - passion. I don’t only want to teach technique. It’s very hard to teach that, but I would love to try to give them the passion that I still have inside, because you never stop dancing. You think you stop dancing, but it’s impossible. We can’t live without music and movement.”

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Hayna was born in Havana, Cuba and began dancing at the age of three. She worked hard in her youth and by the time she was 16, she was dancing alongside her mother as a professional dancer in the Cuban National Ballet company. After freelancing in t he U.S., she joined the Alberta Ballet, where she danced alongside her husband, Garrett Groat, for nine years. She plans to continue dancing as a guest principal artist and may start teaching to pass on her love of dance to the next generation.

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• Find out more on https://www.albertaballet.com/spotlight/hayna-gutierrez-announces-her-retirement-from-alberta-ballet

• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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What is life like as a professional male ballet dancer? This interview with Garrett Groat, dancer with the Alberta Ballet, will give insight into company life and will inspire more men to pursue their dream of dance.

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Garrett Groat was born and raised in Edmonton, AB where he trained at Dance Unlimited in various styles. At age 17, Garrett was awarded a scholarship to train at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City. Some of his favourite roles with Alberta Ballet include Puss in Boots in The Sleeping Beauty, The Elton Fan in Love Lies Bleeding, White Couple in Forgotten Lands, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Escamillo in Yukichi Hattori's Carmen, and as a cast member in Dump the Physical Memory.

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• Find out more on https://www.albertaballet.com/dancers

• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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In this episode, Catherine Colon shares her journey of how her artform and faith intersected and what her creative process with the Holy Spirit looks like. Cat speaks profoundly and honestly about how she approaches choreographies and rehearsals, how she allows others to partake in the experience and where to start when it comes to creating a piece. Transformation must first take place in us before it is able to take place in others.

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Catherine Colon has been studying dance for 28 years in Georgia, New York City, and Sydney, Australia. Her studies have covered a wide range of styles including ballet, tap, jazz, acro, contemporary, hiphop and more. While growing up in the competition circuit in the USA, she trained at Dancing Unlimited in Georgia. After graduating high school, she attended the American Music and Dramatic Academy for their Dance theatre program from 2010 to 2011. From 2011 to 2014, she was the Artistic Director of Dance For Change based in NYC while also dancing in Jessica Ray's, Dance Into Deliverance. In 2012, she traveled to India, with Promethean Spark International, where she taught dance and acrobatics to children affected by leprosy. She then moved to Australia where she studied Dance Ministry and Pastoral Leadership at Hillsong International Leadership College from 2014-2017. She currently resides in Georgia with her husband, Michael, and daughter, Ruth.

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• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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Meet Shirlene! Listen in on her journey as a dancer and how the unexpected continues to surprise her. Shirlene wants to use her experience and successes to be a testimony for this generation worldwide. Being a woman of God and leader in the entertainment industry, she hopes to use the gifts God has given her to inspire, motivate, and build other great leaders to step into destiny.

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SHIRLENE QUIGLEY WAS BORN AND RAISED IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, AND IS BEST KNOWN FOR HER WORK AS A PROFESSIONAL DANCER AND INTERNATIONAL HEELS INSTRUCTOR. SHIRLENE'S DANCE CAREER BEGAN AT 18 YEARS OLD, WHEN SHE DANCED AS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL "UHH-OHH GIRLS" ON BEYONCE'S "CRAZY IN LOVE" MUSIC VIDEO. THE NEXT DAY SHE FOUND HERSELF TRAVELING THE WORLD WITH BEYONCE PROMOTING HER FIRST ALBUM "CRAZY IN LOVE", ON TELEVISION, AND ARENAS WORLDWIDE.

WHILE ON A BREAK FROM TOURING, SHIRLENE NEEDED TO PRACTICE AND IMPROVE HER DANCE MOVES IN STILETTOS, AND REALIZED NONE OF THE COMMERCIAL DANCE STUDIOS HELD HIGH HEEL DANCE CLASSES. SHE KNEW IT NECESSARY FOR ALL FEMALE DANCERS TO LEARN AND/OR PRACTICE IN THEIR HEELS, SINCE THIS IS A REQUIREMENT FOR EVERY FEMALE IN THE DANCE INDUSTRY. SHE THEN DECIDED THAT SHE WOULD BE THE ONE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. WITH HER KNOWLEDGE AND EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE, SHIRLENE BEGAN THE FIRST WEEKLY HEELS CLASS AT WORLD FAMOUS MILLENNIUM DANCE COMPLEX, IN HER HOMETOWN OF LOS ANGELES. SHE HAS NOW BROUGHT IT TO NEW YORK CITY, TEACHING AT BROADWAY DANCE CENTER, AILEY EXTENSION AND PERIDANCE. ALONG WITH TEACHING AT WORKSHOPS AROUND THE WORLD, IN EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ASIA, NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, CANADA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST.

AFTER TEACHING AROUND THE WORLD, SHIRLENE BECAME INSPIRED TO DO MORE. SHE THEN DECIDED TO CREATE NEW YORK CITY'S HIGH HEEL DANCE CREW, "QUEENDOM," WHICH HAS BEEN FEATURED ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM, DANCEON, INCLUDING THEIR DEBUT YOUTUBE VIDEO "MI GENTE" WITH OVER ONE MILLION VIEWS. SHIRLENE'S CHOREOGRAPHY FOR QUEENDOM, GOT THE ATTENTION OF MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR, GERARD VICTOR, AND LANDED HER CHOREOGRAPHY/DANCER ROLE IN, FABOLOUS 2018 HIT SINGLE, "FLIPMODE" MUSIC VIDEO, FEATURING CHRIS BROWN. SHE RECENTLY CHOREOGRAPHED FOR NEW YORK’S BROOKLYNETTE DANCE TEAM, LISENNY "BAD TO BUENA" MUSIC VIDEO AND COACHED R&B/POP GIRL GROUP, RAWYALS, AS WELL AS CO-CHOREOGRAPHING THERE HIT SINGLE "KING ME," FEATURING FETTY WAP. YOU MAY HAVE ALSO SEEN HER ON HIT TELEVISION SHOW "BRING IT," AS A GUEST CHOREOGRAPHER AND JUDGE.

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• Find out more on https://www.shirlenequigley.com/

• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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In this episode, Fred Vassallo shares passionately and profoundly about the power of movement. Recorded during our GDN event in Los Angeles, Fred speaks about personal experience and testimonies around dance and spirituality.

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Fred is a Choreographer, Director, Writer, Dance Educator and speaker specialising in Hip Hop Dance, with over 20 years of professional experience. Fred fuses his love and training of original Urban Dance styles with his background in Movement Therapy.

He has been an avid partner of schools, dance studios, ministries and learning institutions, developing programs to reach and teach students of all ages and backgrounds.

His Commercial credits include appearances in Music Videos, Television Shows and Commercials along with appearing and directing numerous stage-shows and productions.

He is the choreographer, co-writer of a full-length musical film called Bright Ones and he just launched his online movement school www.FreedMovementAcademy.com

Fred's passion is to see people set free through movement and this stands as the cornerstone to his teaching, choreography and classes.

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• Find out more on http://www.freedmovementacademy.com/

• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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In this episode, Jessica Richens, second runner up in Season 11s SYTYCD, shares how her passion and diligence for excellent training launched her to where she is today. She inspires young people to train hard and use their technique in all opportunities that come their way.
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Jessica Richens’ lifelong love for dance began at age three during her early training. She studied many styles including jazz, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, hip hop, musical theater, and tap. During this time, she had numerous performance, competition, and convention opportunities and held many titles for these abilities.

For the past seven years, Jessica has been working in the professional entertainment industry. Her television credits include, So You Think You Can Dance- Season 11, where she placed 1st runner-up, The Ellen Show, Live with Kelley and Ryan, Dancing with the Stars, and The Masked Singer to name a few. Jessica has danced in music videos and performed live with artists such as Taylor Swift. She has worked for Conde Nast, Bellagio, Radio City, Nike, Exxon Mobile, Tilly’s, and Disney World. Currently, Jessica is employed by world-famous electronic violinist, Lindsey Stirling, and continues to tour with her company.

As a professional dancer and dance educator, Jessica has extensive experience training dancers from all around the world, in addition to assisting top dance professionals. When Jessica is not performing, she dedicates her time, and her love of dance to inspire budding dancers of all ages. Her career has taken her to Shanghai, Australia, Canada, and Mexico. She has taught for conventions such as XChange, Titans of Dance, Revel, assisted for RADIX and JUMP, and has trained with top industry professionals Shannon Mather, Krista Miller, Talia Favia, Mark Meismer, and Tessandra Chavez. She also enjoys traveling to studios throughout the United States to offer her expertise in jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and technique via intensives and master classes.

Jessica believes that a dance class with her is more than just training. She expects a shared exchange of energy with you and creates a safe space by motivating with both love and discipline. Jessica values your uniqueness, regardless of ability, and expects you to push yourself past your limits. Her aim is to guide you to your full potential and help enhance your respect for yourself as an artist. It’s Jessica’s belief that you are worthy of your best, and she uses her technical training and unique performance quality to create meaningful and healing stories through movement. She hopes that through these stories, you are encouraged to live as a better human and create your best life

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• Find out more onhttps://www.youtube.com/user/JessicaRichensDOTcom

• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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In this episode, Jerron Herman shares his story of defying the odds. Born with cerebral palsy, he was told he would never be able to walk, eat or live on his own. Fast forward to now being a strong advocate for disabled athletes and performers, Jerron speaks of his experiences, dreams and hope for the future.

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Jerron Herman is an interdisciplinary artist creating through dance, text, and visual storytelling. He's based in New York City.

Jerron was born and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where he began his career pursuing performance and playwriting. In 2009 he moved to New York City to study Dramatic Writing at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Continuing his dream of crafting stories to be performed, he then studied Media, Culture and the Arts, with an emphasis in Art History and Playwriting at The King's College where he graduated in 2013. While in school he was "discovered" by a choreographer who led him to audition for Heidi Latsky, quickly becoming a key member of her company, Heidi Latsky Dance. Jerron has performed at venues like Lincoln Center and The Whitney Museum of Art, resulting in the New York Times calling him, “the inexhaustible Mr. Herman.” As a strong advocate for disabled athletes and performers, he has been a featured model for both Tommy Hilfiger and Nike.

His performances have begun to shed light on an often overlooked niche of performance. He currently sits on the Board of Trustees at Dance/USA and is a proud member of The Disabled List and WITH, brain children of innovative thought leader, Liz Jackson. As a writer, Jerron was a finalist for the inaugural Lark Play Development Lab/Apothetae Playwriting Fellowship. He was recently nominated for the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship in Dance.

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• Find out more on https://jerronherman.com/

• We would love for you to subscribe to our podcast and share it with others.

• To find out more visit: https://globaldancenetwork.com/

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