Heidi Brewer, born + raised in the Pacific Northwest and a University of Washington alum, has worked as a dance artist in Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles and St. Petersburg since 2001. Her own work has been shown in LA, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, Florida. She founded the LAYERS platform in LA to produce 3 workshops between 2017-2018 and teaches dance classes in St. Pete as well as for the Sarasota Ballet. She is a Certified Pilates teacher through the Kane School & kinected in NYC, where she also works as the Communications Director. Heidi is a Pilates Instructor & Kane School teacher trainer at Body Center St. Pete, running the certification program there since 2021. She is working with choreographer Jeanine Durning on a piece with Clare Croft, Pamela Pietro, Andee Scott and Mary Williford-Shade, and performs regularly with projectALCHEMY in St. Petersburg. She and her husband Will are proud cat parents to Penny.

Vanessa Hernandez, has been dancing since she was young. Starting at local New York studios, Theater Arts & Dance Alliance and Next Generation Ballet in Tampa, Fl and various training programs including Miami City Ballet, Houston Ballet and American Repertory Ballet. She received her BS in Sports Management & Recreational Therapy with a minor in Dance at FIU, and became a 200hr registered yoga teacher through Bella Prana in Tampa, Fl. Vanessa teaches yoga and ballet classes in the Tampa area, yet also looks forward to continuously being a student by exploring and learning about movement. 

Olivia has danced since her childhood in Jacksonville, FL when her grandmother wisely remarked, “she’ll never be a prima ballerina, but she’d make a great showgirl.” Despite that early confidence booster and a memorable high school performance of “Hey Big Spender,”Olivia danced less frequently beyond her teens. Then, while in Boston pursuing a graduate degree in public health, she fortuitously tried an improvisational dance class. From the first wiggly roll across the floor, she knew she was in love. Rather than focusing on the pursuit of technical mastery, she could explore movement for the sake of curiosity and authenticity, collaborating with other people eager to create unpredictable and often unusual things together. Her devotion to improvisational movement and composition grew, along with her belief in the insight of a favorite instructor, that you should approach movement to be interested, not to be interesting. Olivia’s deepest interest is in how people move and express themselves physically, especially when they don’t think they can “dance.” With that foundation, she went on to teach workshops with the Movement Arts Collaborative in South Carolina and has been an avid learner of many dance styles. Now, living, working, and dancing in St. Petersburg, she’s convinced she wasn’t put on earth to be exceptionally good at things, just to love doing them. Hopefully, she can model and expand opportunities where others will feel that way too.

Antonio Hernandez is from Fort Myers, Florida. When he moved to the Tampa area, he continued his dance training at Hillsborough Community College for three years under Program Director, Christina Acosta. He’s been a part of numerous student choreography and faculty showcases choreographed by Jessica Williamson, Helen French, Richard Ploch, Julie Harlan, Sea Lee, Christina Acosta, Bianca Russell, and Sarah Walston Phillips. Antonio now is an apprentice with ATLAS Modern Ballet under Founder/Director, Sarah Walston Phillips. He also spends his time at Tampa Bay Rhythmics as a ballet and contemporary instructor. While getting his associate’s degree in dance, he’s also been studying the art of motion media. He desires to combine his love of filmmaking and dance into a theatrical experience for others to relate to and be seen on the big screen.

Sam Kedziora trained in competitive dance in her youth, which led to her pursuing a BFA in Modern Dance studies and a minor in psychology from the University of South Florida. Throughout her dance career, she has trained in styles such as ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, Gaga, Pom, heels, and more. After graduating in 2022, she spent the summer studying dance in Paris, Berlin, and Northern Israel. She then moved to Chicago to perform and train with Solarium Dance Company and Trifecta Dance Collective. She began her yoga certification and was able to take advantage of learning various styles from various teachers in the Windy City. Sam is currently back in Tampa Bay where she is dancing with projectALCHEMY along with other companies and artists in the area, and is enthused to continue to exploring and growing in her artistry.

Originally from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Emily Goonan began her training at the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance under the direction of Jean Wolfmeyer and Crystal Kay-Curkeet Lavallee for 13 years. Emily completed a double major in Dance and Psychology with a Human Services emphasis at the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point in May of 2017. There, she studied tap, jazz, modern, ballet, composition, improvisation and pilates with Michael Estanich, Jeannie Hill, Joan Karlen, Pamela Luedtke, Amy Beversdorf and Patrick Strong. ​

Emily Goonan participated in workshops with Eddy Ocampo, Rennie Harris, Brenda Bufalino, Tania Perez-Salas, and Larry Keigwin. She also trained at Point Tap Festival with Max Pollak, Olivia Rosenkrantz, Lynn Schwab, Mark Goodman, Mark Yonally and Katherine Kramer.

​Emily was in student and faculty performances while being at university and she presented her choreography Conference Room and Hindered Attention in Afterimages 2015 and Afterimages Unplugged 2016. Emily also made Hindered Attention: On Screen as her first video dance.

Emily was a 2021 Momentum Choreographer through projectAlchemy where she created On a Scale from 1-10, How are you Feeling?, an interactive work about her days working at a behavioral hospital and addiction center.

Olivia began her athletic training as a competitive gymnast, and participated in both dance and gymnastics to aid in achieving a unique combination of artistry and athleticism that she would later take into her career as a professional dancer. She began her dance studies under the instruction of Hayley Stewart at Highland School of Dance during the school year, and spent her summers training with institutions such as Patel Conservatory, Modas Dance, while also working on earning her grade four certification in the Cecchetti technique. In High School, Olivia gained an apprenticeship with Collective Soles Dance Company under the instruction of Alexander Jones and performed at many events with the company in the Tampa and St. Pete area.  In 2022, Olivia completed her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography at Florida Southern College and during her time there, got to work with notable guest choreographers and faculty such as Douglas Gilespie, Gregory Dolbashian, Doricha Sales, Sadie Lemker, Sarah Walston, Leah Pinder, Allison J. Baber, and CJ Inzirillo. Since graduating, Olivia has acquired teaching positions at Highland School of Dance, All Saints Academy, and Wendy’s Dance Company and she is currently dancing and performing with RAKR Dance Company in New Smyrna Beach, Fl.  

Alexander Jones, founder and executive artistic director of the downtown St. Pete international nonprofit dance+ company projectALCHEMY, is a graduate of University of South Florida, recent MFA graduate Hollins University studying dance. Jones received training from the LINES Ballet BFA Program under direction of Marina Hotchkiss. He has had the opportunity to work with Alonzo King, Bill T. Jones in Serenade/The Proposition, and Doug Varone in The Rite of Spring. He has performed in Tunisia, Africa with the University of South Florida on behalf of the American Embassy and the Tunisian Dance Federation. A native Floridian, Jones is a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Association and current performer at Walt Disney World in stage shows such as Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas, Dream Along with Mickey, Beauty and the Beast Live On Stage . He is an alumnus of ArchCore40 in NYC and works closely with choreographer Jennifer Archibald as her choreographer assistant in the Florida Dance Festival. In 2012, he choreographed and directed his first evening length work entitled First You, Then The Rest at the Studio@620 in St. Petersburg, FL. In the Spring of 2013, Jones joined Yow Dance Company and had the honor of choreographing works for the company for both Spring Into Dance and the Orlando International Fringe Festival. Later that Fall, he returned to the Studio@620 to premiere his second evening-length work, Contact. Jones participated in Project GenYes! at the Studio@620 made possible by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation premiering his third evening-length work, Uncovered: Power of the Being at the Studio@620. In 2016, Jones became the Artistic Director of Collective Soles Dance making it his mission to connect the Tampa Bay area through collaboration. The following year Alex was one of the resident choreographers at the Florida Dance Festival where he premiered his latest work behind the Front. Jones is on faculty as an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa teaching techniques classes that help students prepare for both concert and commercial stages. Community and collaboration are at the forefront of Jones’s dance works with the company, as well as in and around St. Pete. He served as the Dance Artists in Residence at the Studio@620, assisting in dance programming alongside Bob Devin Jones.

Talia Demps, originally from Davenport, Florida, began her dance training in 6th grade at Davenport School of the Arts. She continued her training through high school, attending The Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Lakeland, Florida. In spring of 2022, Talia graduated from the Univeristy of South Florida, earning a BFA in Dance Performance. While attending USF Talia represented its dance program at the American College Dance Association, as a performer in a Michael Foley work. She also had the opportunity to perform in various guest choreographer works including Charles Anderson, Eric Wagner, Joshua Peugh, and Alex Jones; as well as the privilege of performing a solo work choreographed by the late Talley Beatty, under the direction of John Parks. She has made several of her own works exploring movement through the medium of film. Talia is excited to be working with Alex Jones again and is grateful for the opportunity to begin her professional career as a member of projectALCHEMY.

Caitlin began dancing at the age of 6 years old and hasn't stopped since. Caitlin has experience in several styles including ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, hip hop, urban, lyrical, heels, chair, and pom. Prior to teaching and choreographing professionally, Caitlin danced for the Golden Bulls dance team at the University of South Florida. Caitlin is now focusing on combining her love of mental health with her love for dance.

Sydney Lemelin was born in California under a Libra moon. She holds a BA in Dance and BS in Information Science from the University of Maryland, College Park (Go terps). She has enjoyed dancing with Moving Ethos, BANDportier, Heart Stück Bernie, PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER, Britta J. Peterson, Jo Lloyd (Melbourne, AUS) and Orange Drove Dance. She has presented work with projectALCHEMY’s Choreographer Showcase, Sarasota Contemporary Dance’s Rising Choreographers Showcase, Dance Place, Baltimore Theater Project, The Field Center for Performance Arts, and more. She spent a post-bacc year in rural Vermont helping open the Field Center, an interdisciplinary performing arts center. A fan of finding the edges, Sydney relocated from Vermont to Southern Florida in 2022, and now works as The Ringling’s Performance Producer at The Historic Asolo Theater.

Sami's fascination with the mind-body connection inspires her to dance. At the University of Florida, Sami trained in ballet, modern, contemporary, and West African dance under the guidance of Dante Puleio, Isabel Garcia-Rose, Melissa Brenner and Joan Frosch. Sami has completed additional trainings in somatics: focusing on yoga therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Alexander Technique and Laban Movement Analysis/Bartenieff Fundamentals. Through UF's Dance in Medicine program, she had opportunities to teach and perform for diverse populations in her community. She has 8 years of performance experience as a professional fire dancer and is creative director of a fire dancing company, Phoenix Fire & Performance Art. Currently, she teaches yoga and contemporary dance classes in Tampa Bay and is a member of Sarasota Contemporary Dance Ensemble. She also provides private and group yoga therapy to her community. Sami's current interest lies in learning more about her choreographic voice, and incorporating what she knows about embodiment, psychology and healing to create works that are nurturing, vitalizing and authentic.

Sadie Lehmker, a multifaceted choreographer, holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Dance Studies from the University of South Florida. Her creative journey has taken her from performances and exhibitions across Florida, New York City, Michigan, California, Paris, to Vietnam. Commissioned for choreographic work throughout central Florida, Lehmker currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida while passionately continuing her creative endeavors and teachings in the region.

In her exploration of the intricate intersections of memory, perception, locale, and identity through dance, Sadie Lehmker’s Creative Fellowship project employs a practice-based research approach. She poses probing questions about human identity and spatial occupation, delving into the connections between memory, place, and female identity. Lehmker’s choreographic aesthetic focuses on physicality, repetition, retrograde, and stillness, allowing each dancer to interpret movement individually. Investigating perceived, constructed, and false self-narratives, she navigates the dialogue between self-described and externally imposed identities, probing moments of precedence and questioning the negation of perceived truths. Through dance, Lehmker aims to embody the contradictions and clashes inherent in identity, disseminating her research through choreographic performances, dance films, conference submissions, lectures, and artist talks to engage audiences with the evolving nature of identity.

Since beginning their competitive dance journey at the age of 5, Marshall has spent over 10 years in the industry. During and following their attendance at Harrison School of the Arts for dance, they have choreographed everything from solos to group routines. Their strengths lie in hip hop, contemporary, modern and ballet.

Jackie grew up in Hong Kong and moved to Washington State for college and double majored in Dance and Psychology. She is an experienced and passionate dance instructor who loves to bring joy to people. She choreographed and performed in many local dance events while she lived in WA. After graduating, she moved to NYC and studied under many amazing dance professionals, including Max Stone, Oliver Steele and Julia Ehrstrand etc... She also studied Limon Technique while in the Limon Professional Study Program. She specialized in teaching adult contemporary dance classes of all levels while also spending a lot of time substituting for adult ballet classes using unique approaches. She also has experience teaching creative movement to children. She can speak English and Cantonese fluently.

Originally from Ecuador, Fernando A. Chonqui is a choreographer, educator, and performer currently based in Central Florida. The explorations of internal sensations that result from physical actions and constrains are central to Fernando’s work as a performer and choreographer. He seeks to utilize these sensations as a guide for a “story-telling” experience unique to each viewer and authentic to the performer. Fernando has had the honor to serve as an Arts Administration Intern at the prestigious Bates Dance Festival from 2015-2017. He holds a 200hrs Yoga Teacher Training certification, a leadership certification from the Florida College System Student Government Association and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies from the University of South Florida.

Originally from Tampa, FL, Erica is a dancer & fitness professional. She has performed, competed, and trained with the most competitive and engaging dance studios, such as Fred Astaire Dance Studio (Tallahassee, FL), The Dance Den (Tampa, FL), Crossover Productions (Tampa, FL) and Arthur Murray Dance Studios (Denver, CO). She is trained in a multitude of dance genres, such as modern, jazz, & Latin/Ballroom. In January of 2022, she served as an AmeriCorps Artist Year Member, in which she served at-risk youth populations through dance education.

In December of 2022, she became an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and currently serves as an elementary school physical education teacher. Her motto is, "When you energize your body, you empower your life". By energizing our bodies through healthy eating habits, staying physically active, and practicing positive lifestyle choices, you have the tools needed to empower your life. She is dedicated to elevating individuals and communities through dance, fitness, and wellness.