Joyce Yagerline is an Emeritus Associate Professor of Dance (tenured) at Kansas State University and moved to the Shenandoah Valley to get married and to be closer to her family in Northern Virginia. Prior to teaching in higher education, she was a professional ballet dancer for 13 years and has danced with the Oakland Ballet, performing choreography by Jean Coralli, Michel Fokine, Eugene Loring, Leonide Massine, and Bronislava Nijinska. She has also performed with the St Louis Ballet Theatre, Dayton Ballet, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, and San Antonio Ballet. She received her BA in Dance from Butler University and her MFA from Texas Woman’s University. She has taught ballet master classes in Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York, and has made presentations on dance pedagogy at national and international conferences. In addition, she wrote and received a $10,000 grant administered by the National Endowment for the Arts and DANCE/USA. She was an adjunct ballet instructor at James Madison University for seven years.Her certifications include Pilates (mat and reformer), 200 hour YTT (yoga teacher training), and teaching older populations. She is completing her 300 hour YTT. Joyce shares her passion, enthusiasm, and knowledge in dance, movement, and yoga to empower and inspire others.She lives in Mt Jackson, VA with her husband, three horses, and one cat. Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two, my life flows. Sri Nisargadatta
Sarah Gosselin
Dr. Sarah Gosselin PT, DPT, is a physical therapist in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. She grew up dancing, and graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. She then attended Shenandoah University, graduating with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2011. Since that time, her focus has been to combine her two passions of dance and physical therapy, by providing specialized treatment and education for dancers. She obtained further dance medicine specific training through Westside Dance Physical Therapy’s dance medicine practicum, and is an active member with the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. Sarah has returned to the area of her alma mater to work closely with the JMU Dance department, providing injury screens to the first year students. She is also adjunct faculty, educating students in the School of Theatre in Dance on anatomy, injury prevention, and conditioning. Sarah is also the owner of SG Performance LLC, a small business that provides educational workshops, screenings, and other specialty services to the dancers of the Shenandoah Valley. Within the dance realm, Sarah has continued to stay active in regards to teaching, choreographing, and performing. After graduating from JMU, she danced with smaller companies in Washington DC and North Carolina. She served many roles in HDC, to include treasurer from 2016-2021.
Emily Marsh
Emily Marsh trained in ballet, jazz, musical theatre, modern, and ballroom dance. She studied ballet under Svetlana Novodran, the former Prima ballerina of the Odessa State Opera Ballet, and Gerard W. Holt, of the San Francisco Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. In college she took classes with Ballet Tennessee and broadened her horizons by competing in Ballroom Dance. Emily has taught ballet at Dance and Company and Luray’s Fitness Center School of Dance as well as teaching for and performing with the Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative. She is also a rehearsal assistant for Ellie de Waal and Dancers.
ryan Corriston
Ryan Corriston started dancing at age eight in Seattle under the direction of Anne Gilbert in Kaleidoscope Dance Company. Thirteen years after graduating from the University of Washington with a major in dance, where he was the recipient of the Evelyn H. Green Endowed Scholarship, he returned and received his MFA in Dance from his alma mater. In New York, Corriston danced in productions of Salome, The Magic Flute and Les Sacre du Printemps at the Metropolitan Opera and worked with Nancy Bannon, Andrew Robinson, Tiffany Mills, Martha Clarke and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. He was a member of Doug Varone and Dancers from 2005-2011 and was artistic director of Harkness Repertory Ensemble at the 92nd Street Y from 2009-2011. He joined the dance faculty at James Madison University in 2013 and makes his home in Harrisonburg, VA. with his wife and kids.
Sandra started dancing as a little girl in her hometown of Gdańsk, Poland, at the National Ballet School. After graduating in 1998, she became a student at PARTS, the School of Arts in Brussels, Belgium, where she learned various dance forms from a team of international dance teachers. After moving to New York in 2000, Sandra made her dream come true by joining Trisha Brown Dance Company. She toured the globe performing and teaching modern dance for 8 years. In 2009 Sandra obtained a Yoga Instructor Certificate from OM Yoga Studios in Manhattan. She moved to Harrisonburg in 2019, where she has been living her dream life, surrounded by nature and animals, studying QiGong, and teaching dance.
Zilda Baker
Zilda Baker graduated from James Madison University in 2009 with her Bachelor of Art in Dance. During her time at JMU, Zilda was a member of the Contemporary Dance Ensemble and Associate Dance Ensemble. She performed works choreographed by Christalyn Wright, Shane O’ Hara, Roxann Morgan Rowley and other student choreographers. She also choreographed work for several JMU ensembles, as well as for student showcases and concerts. Following graduation Zilda was an intern with the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. There she worked with renowned former Pilobolus dancer Jesse Zaritt and many others. Locally Zilda has taught dance at Energy Dance Studio, Ballet Extension and was the Spirit Director at Bridgewater College and head coach of the Bridgewater College Dance Team. Currently she is a Dance Instructor at the City of Harrisonburg Park & Rec Dance Program. Zilda also choreographs work for local artists and dances with the Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative.
Amber Corriston
Amber Corriston is one fortunate woman! Not only is she the wife of Ryan (a dance professor at JMU) and mom to Toby and Elsie, but she works with so many fantastic students in the Harrisonburg area. She is the Director of HHS Dance, a teacher in the HHS Fine Arts Academy, owner of Corriston Movement and Dance (CMAD), and is the choreographer of the HHS musical. Amber double majored in Dance and Communications at the University of Washington and taught dance throughout Seattle, New York City, and Connecticut. A long, long time ago, she was Miss Washington 1995 in the Miss America Scholarship Program! When not teaching, she enjoys exploring other towns, hiking, and running. She is thankful to live in an area that embraces and supports the arts!
Caitlin Mcavoy
Caitlin, a Valley native, is a professional dancer, actress and a Basi trained Pilates instructor. She fell in love with ballet at the age of three at Rockingham Ballet Theatre. Her love of dance expanded into theatre in high school and she graduated from JMU with a B.A. in Musical Theatre. Caitlin maintains a career in stage and film. Favorite credits include Hulu's Dopesick and her Hallmark debut of "A Holiday Spectacular" premiering this holiday season. Caitlin is currently performing as Lila in "Holiday Inn" at Mill Mountain Theatre. She is very grateful to partner with HDC for their excellence in dance and kindness in heart.
Ammara Shafqat
Ammara Shafqat is a dance educator and dance artist from Harrisonburg, VA. She is a graduate of James Madison University, earning her BA in Dance in May 2021. During her time at James Madison University, Ammara was a member of JMU’s pre-professional dance company, the Virginia Repertory Dance Company, as well as the Co-Director of JMU’s Associate Dance Ensemble, a dance ensemble for first-year Dance Major students. In addition to her teaching work, Ammara has had the privilege of working with globally-recognized artists including Abraham.In.Motion, Kiki Lucas, Francesca Harper, and has attended The Movement Invention Project Intensive. Ammara has directed the Cora Dance Youth Companies and led modern classes at both locations in Brooklyn, NY, and Alleghany County, VA. Ammara is in her second season with the professional company Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance.
Bin-Shin So
Bin-Shin Soreceived her BFA in Dance from Chinese Culture University and National Taiwan University of Arts in Taiwan and her Masters in Dance Therapy from Lesley University in Boston, MA. She graduated with honors. She performed in various dance companies both in Taiwan and the US, including the Taipei Capital Ballet Company, Taipei Folk Dance Theatre, Legend Lin Dance Theatre, Heavenly Melody, and the Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative. She performed in more than twenty countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. Ms. Bin-Shin taught dance courses at various universities and schools in the United States, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Peru. During the last fifteen years, she taught Western and Chinese dances to various dance troupes, including the American Chinese Art Society in Boston, Southern Tier Chinese Culture Association in New York, Redeemer Classical School in Keezletown, VA, and the Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative. She was the choreographer and chief instructor of the 5th, 14th, 21st Summer Dance Workshop of the American Chinese Art Society in 2003, 2012, and 2019.