Notes
Alumnae
Ana Gegner (New York, NY )
Ana began her early training at Motion Mania Dance Center at the age of 10. Under the instruction of Bonnie Slawson, Ana advanced to apprentice with Motion Mania Dance Theatre at the age of 13 and by 16, was promoted to a full-time company member. There, she had the privilege to work with and perform works by Derrick Evans, Lisa Deyo, Tony Powell and Robert Nunez. Upon graduating high school, Ana moved to New York City and continued her dance education at Marymount Manhattan College. Her extensive training includes Broadway Dance Center, New Dance Group, Alvin Ailey and STEPS on Broadway. As a supplement to dancing, Ana achieved her 500hr yoga teaching certificate from instructors Adrienne Burke and Jill Camera. She has been honored to teach dance, yoga and tumbling classes to children and adults in New York City. Ana has performed throughout the DC and NY areas, including corporate events for USA Hosts and appearing in a NYC production titled, “Synchronicity." After taking time off from dance, Ana has re-energized her passion for the art and has recently returned to the industry, working towards a full-time performance career. She is actively studying musical theatre jazz dance under the instruction of Jeff Shade (mentored by Bob Fosse and former dance captain of Broadway’s "Chicago"), and is pursuing acting, commercial work and modeling. Ana is extremely thankful for Motion Mania Dance Center and to Bonnie Slawson for her guidance, training and passion. Bonnie’s love for “The Dance” is contagious beyond belief and anyone lucky enough to experience her training is a dancer for life. For more information on how to contact Ana, please email her at agegner@gmail.com
Jessica Bates (New York, NY)
I met the marvelous talented and inspiring Bonnie Slawson at the tender
age of 13. I was what you would call a "ballet convert". The first
time I ever took a class with Bonnie I thought;"this is it.this is
home." Not only was I discovering my love for Jazz, I was discovering
my
love for Bonnie. Bonnie then spent the next two years attempting to
yank me off my ballet cloud and help me find the floor. Everything in
Ballet is up. And most things in Jazz are "down" as in " get down with
the boogie." You get the idea. I was fifteen when Bonnie surprised me
by asking me to become part of Motion Mania Dance Theatre. In the early
years, we rehearsed in a ramshackle room in the Glen Echo Amusement Park. Sometimes we would arrive to discover that our rehearsal space
had been comendeered by a group of hippie folk singers or aging story tellers. Bonnie never flinched. We rehearsed in parking lots, fields,
you name it. But, something had to give. Then it came. The moment when Bonnie announced to us and to her fans that she had found a space where we would not only have a permanent home, but she would also be able to fullfill the dream of having her own studio. I naively agreed to teach 4-6 year olds Creative Movement on Saturday mornings. And boy did I have to be creative! Those kids ate me for breakfast. But, I will
always to be grateful to Bonnie for giving a
sixteen year old ballet convert the chance to teach. They always say; "if you want to learn-teach!" And whoever they are, they are right! Over the next few
years that I danced with the company and taught at the studio, I was so blessed to work with some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. There is something about the heart of Jazz dancer that
really is like no other breed of dancer. We were a wild, passionate, dedicated, talented bunch and as hard as we worked we also laughed- A lot. For me it was particularly amazing as most of the company members were in their late twenties and early thirties. As a fifteen year old, it was pretty special to get to be part of such an " adult" group, and to get the chance to perform as much as we did. It's scary to think
that after almost twenty years away from that experience I am now the
age that many company members were at the time I danced with the company! Working with Bonnie changed my life. She empowered me. She challenged me. She inspired me to be the kind of person I am; a person who can take passionate risks. But most of all, it was and is her constant abilty to stay positive and always laugh through the hard
times that makes Bonnie so remarkable, When I think of all the lives
that she has touched with her choreography, performing and teaching, in
a word it is quite simply AWESOME.
After four years dancing with Motion Mania Dance Theatre and many
screaming (and smiling ) four year olds later, I left the Washington
area and went to Philadephia's University of the Arts. After two years
there, I left to persue acting at London's Central School of Speech and
Drama in a 3 year conservatory program. I lived and worked as an
actress in London for five years. I then moved to New York City where I
have lived for almost ten years. Over those years I have worked
nationally and internationally as an actress, singer-songwriter,
teacher and choreographer. I have incorperated my dancing into my life
as an actress and now see them as the same form. Dance is my point of
view. It is the best way I have ever found to learn to empower and to
enjoy the simple act of moving one's body through space. Now I dance
without the steps. I dance as I walk down the street. I dance in and
out of auditions. I dance while standing on the subway.Dance was my
first love. It is a way of life. It is me.
Antoine Ashley (New York, New York)
I was 4 years old and living in the projects of Aiken, South Carolina when Michael Jackson moonwalked across the stage in his legendary Motown 25 performance. This performance and this man changed my life. I spent the rest of my childhood imitating him and any other dancer I would see on television. I was obsessed with Michael Jackson. I was even more obsessed with dance and was not afraid to test or demonstrate my abilities at any family, church, or school function. Ten years later, my family moved to Gaithersburg, MD. Although I moved to a new city, I was still up to the same old tricks (kicking and spinning a la Michael). One night after competing in a high school talent show I met Bonnie Slawson. She explained to me that she owned a studio in town and offered to train me for free. This was an extraordinary offer. It was rare that someone from my socioeconomic background was presented with such an offer. Extra-curricular activities, such as classical dance training were usually out of the budget, thus being out of the question. After meeting my mother and discussing my raw talent and potential, I became a scholarship student at Motion Mania Dance Center. It was hard at first, foreign. After all, I was a tall and lanky adolescent unsure of my body and this new foreign discipline. It was a long way from South Carolina. The “moonwalk” was less impressive here. After securing some of the basics, I was made apprentice to the professional company, Motion Mania Dance Theater. My first rehearsals were probably some of the hardest in my life. I remember feeling completely humiliated and out of touch. However, I returned each week because it felt like home. I was determined to get it. I loved this new life. It invigorated me. Bonnie Slawson’s energy excited me. In a world where I had always been told to sit down and shut up, she encouraged me to jump higher and laugh harder. This was home. During this time, Motion Mania became my sanctuary. I spent countless hours in class and dance camps, all for free. I even traveled with the company and was exposed to so much art. I received master classes from the best in the business, because Bonnie Slawson and her team believed in me. I danced and trained all during high school with Motion Mania Dance Center and danced with the rep company. Throughout my high school years, I became known as “the dancer boy” from Motion Mania. I loved it. I had a stamp, and a place. As my high school career neared end, I had no clue what to do with my future. Most of the boys in my family signed up for the military, I knew that was out of the question for me. Knowing that I had no money for college, I auditioned for many scholarships. I faired pretty well and was named Maryland Distinguished Scholar in the Arts, this would allow me to attend any institution in the state of Maryland free of charge. The piece that I used for my audition was choreographed by Ms. Slawson and an alumni of Motion Mania Dance Center. My family was ecstatic, as I would be the first of my grandmother’s children to receive a college education. As luck would have it, I actually received another full scholarship from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX which is where I actually attended. Bonnie Slawson believed in me, a poor black boy from the South Carolina. She nurtured not only my talents, but my heart and my soul. She protected me when I needed it, and pushed me when I was slacking. She gave me the tools to be a leader, as she has lead not only her company Motion Mania, but also her community for years. She was optimistic about my future when others would have counted me out. Bonnie Slawson taught a tall lanky adolescent to hold his head up high in a world that might not be cheering for you. Cheer for yourself, and laugh at yourself. Bonnie Slawson exposed me to a world of classical art, discipline and magic. She gave me the tools to pass it on. To teach the world to jump, laugh, and hold their heads up high. These are lessons that I have been able to pass on not only to my students, but everyone in my life. I have been able to be an example to others, as Bonnie Slawson is to me. My mother, a high school drop out just finished her masters-degree program and is now on her way in her doctorate. Show me your company, and I’ll show you who you are. Bonnie Slawson showed me a world unimaginable. I am able to live my dreams of being a professional artist because she showed it to me, and groomed me to navigate it. For this, I am thankful and infinitely indebted.
Adriane Gutmann:
Story of a 3-year-old
happily dropping out of a
“School of Dance”
which lacked a heart …and, by the way, ...Fun….
Walking/ Hopping… into Bonnie’s Studio, and knowing this was it …..it......
[MMDC alum – well, HELLO!]
… So from the top: To say, after all…. this… Adriane is 2009- IN-AWE of those many, little-kid to teen, wonderful studio experiences, the technical training, and the many, many gifts of encouragement, dance step break-downs, dream-following vision, support, and love that Bonnie has given her. From that early combo-jazzing and tapping, and on to over 130 shows as part of the Youth Dance Companies, Adriane finished her high school years performing with the historic adult professional company MMDT. Added to the home studio training, Bonnie provided Adriane the opportunity to take part in extra class work in NYC at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway (Frank Hatchett, Andrea Brown, Lane Napper, Sheila Barker, Michelle Barber, Michèle Assaf, Bev Brown, Jeffrey Ferguson, Heather Oberly, Chio, Robert Nunez, and Derrick Evans), as well as locally in master classes with Rennie Harris, Ailey II, Jeffrey Ferguson, and again many times with Derrick Evans. In summer dance intensives beginning in 2002, Adriane was also able to train with Jacqui Thomas, Joe Orlando, Cynthia Thompson, and in 2009 to act as assistant to Julio Matos
Due to this support and training, Adriane has gone on to Dean College with a performance scholarship and major in Dance. All this would not have been available had she not found her dance home at Bonnie’s studio. Many and many more times again, thank you Bonnie Slawson, Dawn Hessler, Derrick Evans, Nikki Stezin, Don Mason II, Kesha Johnson, Lisa Singleton, Anita Anderson, a great faculty -------for believing and giving.
Mandy Dinkin (New york, New York)
My first Jazz dance at Motion Mania was to the then, 1990 hit, C+C Music Factory’s, "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)." Now, almost 20 years later, I can recall rehearsing the dance, most of the girls that were in the dance with me (including my sister, Rachel, and my first friend at dance, Amy Mendelson), some of the choreography, and our costume, which consisted of a white t-shirt that was frilled and beaded at the bottom and had the word “Jazz,” in neon paint, written boldly across our chests. Up until about 2002, I spent many of my waking hours at or revolving around Motion Mania. Whether it be taking classes, attending Company (Junior, Teen, Senior Teen, etc.) rehearsals, doing homework, eating meals and socializing in-between dance classes and rehearsals, attending Summer Camp with guest teachers, painting the walls in the studio a new color, or even babysitting our dance teacher’s children, my life was intertwined with Motion Mania. When I worked and lived in MD for the year after I graduated college, I went back to Motion Mania to teach classes. Not only do I give credit to Motion Mania for my role as a lead dancer in all of the performing arts roles I executed in High School, my acceptance into the Penn State (PSU) Dance Program and selective dance company, my acceptance and eventual nomination of Vice President in a PSU student-run selective Hip-hop dance company, and my ability to walk into any dance class in NYC with confidence, but I also give credit to Motion Mania, and specifically Bonnie, to my energy, drive and passion that I exude in my every day life. I distinctly remember Bonnie signaling me out one day in dance class and announcing, something along the lines of, “Even if she has no idea what she is doing, she always gives 110% energy, and that’s what I expect out of all of you.” And that quote has stuck with me throughout life…in my recent promotion announcement to the staff of the Pharmaceutical Ad Agency I work for in NYC, my bosses mentioned my, “unfailing positive attitude and fabulous energy.” I would not be the same person I am today if it were not for my life experience and time spent at Motion Mania.
Kesha Johnson is a certified Giordano Instructor, who began her dance training at Motion Mania Dance Center in Gaithersburg, MD, under Artistic director, Bonnie Slawson. Her extensive training includes study with the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. She received her B.A. in dance from Columbia College Chicago in May 2008. Following graduation, she was offered a scholarship at the Giordano Dance School and was a member of Giordano 3 and then moved quickly to Giordano 2. Her style of teaching is fun and full of high energy. Kesha’s passion and love for dance and people help her to teach a variety of styles and work with any age group. Kesha will be in town for a week to teach at CoMMotion prior to leaving for Hollywood, Fl., where she will begin rehearsals for ‘Chicago” and “Blue Planet”. She will be part of the cast that will be on the Royal Caribbean, Allure of the Seas.
More bios coming.