Hope Stone Dance 2023-2024
Jacquelyne Boe
Jacquelyne is a Houston-based professional dancer, choreographer and educator interested in personal growth and development through arts and wellness. She received her early education from the High School for Performing and Visual Arts Houston and her BFA from the University of Oklahoma, where she graduated as the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, Graduate of the Year. She is currently a company member of Frame Dance Productions and Hope Stone Dance, and has had the pleasure of working with organizations and individual artists such as Erick Hawkins Dance, Erin Reck, Houston Grand Opera in 2016 productions Carousel, Nixon in China and Faust, NobleMotion Dance, Open Dance Project and Teresa Chapman among others. Jacquelyne is a critically acclaimed dance maker that has been creating original works since 2014. Since then she was awarded the Houston Press’ 100 Creatives honor and was a recipient of Dance Source Houston's Artist in Residence Program for 2015-2016. She teaches a wide range of technical levels and ages for organizations including Frame Dance, The Hope Project (Hope Stone) and Houston Ballet.
Donna Crump
Donna Crump, an award-winning, multi-faceted choreographer, artistic director, and performing artist from New Orleans, La whose greatest gift is engaging with her audience. Crump creates work that evokes feeling, action, and conversation in the world. She believes dance starts with a feeling, ends with an action , and lives in the soul. She has been featured in Denver, Colorado at Startup Week ‘22, Dance Magazine’s Fall 2021 Issue, the cover of Southwest Contemporary Volume 3: Inhale/Exhale, Texas Arts & Culture and has received funding from the City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office and the Houston Arts Alliance in 2021. Most recently, Donna starred as lead subject in Garret Bradley’s “Safe” exhibit, which opened at one of the most influential and longest-running international contemporary art galleries in the world, Lisson Gallery in London in Fall 2022.
La’Rodney Freeman
La’Rodney has been performing since he was 5 years old, starting out as a thespian. He first began dancing under Anna Ashy as a member of Alief Jazz Ballet. He then pursued his BFA in Dance at Sam Houston State University. During his time at SHSU, he worked under the guidance of Andy and Dionne Noble, Elijah Alhadji Gibson, Dr. Cindy Gratz, Dana and Betty Nicolay, Jonathan Charles Smith and Jennifer Pontius. He has also worked with choreographers Harrison Guy, Khaleah London, Maurice Causey and Lydia Hance. La’Rodney is also in his seventh season with NobleMotion Dance of Houston, Texas, his third year with Hope Stone Dance, first year with Frame Dance Productions and first year with Social Movement Contemporary Dance under Elijah Alhadji Gibson. La’Rodney is also the owner of Generations Soul Kitchen Catering.
CHRIS HANNON
While attending the High School for Performing and Visual Arts for jazz and classical guitar, Chris became enamored with dance and began studying at the Houston Ballet Academy. Following this, he earned a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Texas in Austin. In his nearly 30 year professional career, Chris danced with a variety of companies including Ballet Austin, Ballet Florida, Ballet British Columbia, Kokoro Dance, Gina Paterson’s Voice Dance, Compania de Danza 21, Alberta Ballet, and the James Sewell Ballet among others. His work with these companies has taken him throughout the United States and Canada, and to places outside the continental US like France, Scotland, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Chris is a huge fan of Jane and her work, and is thrilled for a second opportunity to be a part of the controlled chaos that is Hope Stone.
Rachael Hutto
Rachael hails from Flower Mound, Texas, and she wishes to inspire the next generation of creative minds by virtue of art education. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Dance and continued her training in Rome, Italy with international choreographers Enzo Celli and Elisabetta Minutoli. Rachael received scholarships in the summer of 2013 to attend Dance Italia in Lucca, Italy, where she studied with Christiano Fabbri (Italy), Aya Israeli (Gaga) and Bruce Michelson (Kylian) to name a few. She had five successful seasons with NobleMotion Dance, a Houston based company directed by Andy and Dionne Noble. Rachael is grateful to be a current company member of Hope Stone Dance and Frame Dance Productions. She has performed with organizations and individual artists such as Erin Reck, David Justin, Houston Grand Opera in 2017 production of La Traviata, Houston METdance Company, Spencer Gavin Hering and Andrea Dawn Shelley, as well as international choreographer Astrid von Ussar. Rachael has had the honor of performing at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York, NY, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Plaza de San Miguel in Lucca, Italy, and Teatro Golden in Rome, Italy. Rachael teaches many different technical levels and ages for organizations such as The Hope Project (Hope Stone) and Academy of City Ballet of Houston.
Lindsey McGill
Lindsey was born in Houston, Texas. Since graduating from the Houston Ballet Academy, Lindsey has worked with several companies in Houston, New York, Portland, and West Palm Beach including Northwest Dance Project, Hope Stone Dance, Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble, iMEE, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, NobleMotion Dance, 6 Degrees, The Next Stage Project, KDNY, and O Dance. She has also had the opportunity to dance in projects by jhon r. stronks, Teresa Chapman, Vault, Freneticore, and iLluminate, among others. Lindsey currently dances for Northwest Dance Project in Portland, Oregon where she also enjoys teaching dance.
Travis Prokop
Assistant Professor of Dance at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, Travis holds his B.F.A from West Texas A&M University and M.F.A. from Sam Houston State University. Performer, Instructor and Choreographer, Travis is currently a company member of Hope Stone Dance. Travis has performed at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D. C., and has studied the repertory of Jiri Kylian, GaGa, and Batsheva in Lucca, Italy with Bruce Michelson and Aya Israeli. Travis has also appeared in Season 2, Episode 5 of ABC’s hit TV show, American Crime, and on the Fox TV's So You Think You Can Dance in 2009. He also currently teaches and sets work for surrounding areas of Texas, including the Houston Ballet Academy, West Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University, Steps of Faith, and Dance Du Coeur. Travis has also served as an Adjunct Professor for Sam Houston State University, in Huntsville, Texas and Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas. His choreographed works have been produced at The Dance Gallery Festival: New York and Barnstorm Dance Festival: Houston, TX.
Donald Sayre
Donald received his BFA in dance from Belhaven University in 2013. He danced professionally with Uptown Dance Company for three seasons and worked with choreographers, studios, and companies such as Chet Walker, Tina Bohnstedt, Priscilla Nathan Murphy, Adrian Ciobanu, Keith Cross, Beaumont Civic Ballet, Galveston Ballet, Kingwood Dance Theater, Allegro Ballet, Houston Grand Opera and others. Soon after his arrival in Houston, Donald became a licensed massage therapist through Avalon School of Massage. Donald’s career with dance directly informs his massage therapy practice. Pairing his kinesiology and movement training strongly informs his work on athletes and dancers. His training under noted massage therapists John Rodriguez, Randy Greer, and Kenneth Newby has primed his modalities: Deep Tissue, Thai massage, Swedish Massage, Neuromuscular Therapy, TMJD and Myofascial Release.
Brit Wallis-McGrath
Brit, a native Texan, trained at Shelly Power's Academy of Dance and the Houston Ballet Academy under the direction of Ben Stevenson. She was a company member for five seasons with METdance formerly known as the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. She then spent a season in Chicago touring with Luna Negra Dance Theater under the direction of Gustavo Sansano Ramirez and a summer in New York City performing with Molly Rabinowitz/Liquid Grip. Over the past 12 years Brit has remained actively involved in the Houston dance community consistently working with Jane Weiner and Hope Stone Dance, NobleMotion Dance, Frame Dance Productions, Vault, 6 Degrees, Recked Productions, Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble and Chapman Dance. Brit most recently toured with contemporary ballet company iMEE (infinite movement ever evolving) to Rhode Island, Florida, Bulgaria and Mexico City.