Let’s connect!
We are a small (and growing) team of professional dance artists with significant experience training and advising dancers. We are also moms of college students and college-bound kids and we deeply understand the nuances of college decision making.
-
Ashley supports performing artists in building sustainable careers in and through the arts. As a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Maryland and a dedicated advocate for dance and movement education, she brings a unique blend of academic expertise and student-centered guidance to her college consulting practice.Ashley holds a PhD in Dance Studies from The Ohio State University, an MEd in Counselor Education from the University of Virginia, and a BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. Her professional background includes experiences as a dance artist, dance professor, and learning specialist across colleges, universities, and K–12 independent and international schools. While at Ohio State she was a member of the dance admissions committee.
Her work bridges academic planning, career development, and holistic support for students pursuing the performing arts.
She’s had a long career in dance as a performer, choreographer, educator, advocate, and author. Highlights have included being called a “trailblazing visionary”, having her work presented by the John F. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, features in Dance Magazine, and Life As a Modern Dancer and writing on college dance for Dance/USA From the Green Room.
Ashley is an Associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association and an active member of the Maryland Dance Education Organization and the National Dance Education Organization.
She speaks and consults frequently on dance admissions, dancer mental health, and dance in higher education.
photo credit: Jenny K O’Brien
-
Dinah Gray is a choreographer, educator, and interdisciplinary artist who integrates dance and writing to support young performers in developing their creative voices. Originally from Los Angeles, she graduated from the Virginia School of the Arts. She earned her BA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Goucher College and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University.
Dinah has danced professionally with the Ballet Theater of Maryland, the Baltimore Opera, and several contemporary and independent companies. Her choreography has been commissioned by a range of professional and educational institutions.
A committed educator, Dinah has taught extensively for ballet companies, university programs, boarding and international schools, and in studio settings.
-
Keesha Beckford is a dance educator, program leader, writer, and performer with extensive experience mentoring young dancers in pre-professional training environments. She currently serves as Dance Lab Program Liaison and oversees the lower division jazz and modern program at the Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet, where she teaches ballet, modern, and jazz. She also teaches at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago and for Chicago’s Red Clay Dance Company.
Previously, Beckford served as Youth Programs Manager at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and has taught at Charlotte Ballet, The Spence School, Dance Center Evanston, and in company classes for Thodos Dance Chicago. She has also been a guest faculty member for CNADM, and Dance Masters of Wisconsin. A cum laude graduate of Princeton University, she has performed throughout the United States and internationally.
Beckford writes for both popular and academic audiences. Her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, the anthology Antiracism in Dance Teaching, and the article "Ballet Pedagogy, and a 'Hard Re-Set': Perspectives on Equitable and Inclusive Teaching Practices." Her essay "Dear White Mom" received more than one million views and was honored with a 2015 BlogHer Voice of the Year Award.
Let's chat!
Let's chat!
Interested in working together? Share some background and we will be in touch shortly! We can't wait to connect.