Kathy Hanson

Kathy Hanson is no stranger to the Gasper family. She grew up training with Mr. Eddie Gasper and Mrs. Kathy Gasper. We are so thrilled she is back teaching with us this season. Kathy teaches our Adult Jazz class at our south studio on Thursday evenings. She brings in a combination of her past with elements of her dance technique and training today.

Q & A with Kathy Hanson

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching?

A. Watching individuals open up to be vulnerable and fall in love with movement.

Q. What inspired you as a dancer? (What inspires you?)

A. Rhythm, music and anything with Gene Kelly.

Q. Tips for our dancers?

A. Keep showing up, expose yourself to different styles/instructors and be open.

Q. Favorite snack?

A. Healthy- Apples. Not-so-healthy-RUFFLE POTATO CHIPS AND CARMELIZED ONION DIP.

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Kathy Hanson

Kathy Hanson grew up in Moorhead, MN where she discovered her love for the arts. Whether singing, dancing, writing or acting, she was privileged to learn from a community of extraordinary educators with vision and skills to match. From the early years at Trollwood and Red River Dance and Performing Company, under the direction of Kathy and Eddie Gasper, Kathy was immersed in studying and performing ballet, tap, jazz and musical theatre and eventually became a soloist with RRD&PC. She went on to attend the University of Denver, with a Marketing/Finance major, while continuing to study dance and perform in Denver and Minneapolis after college.

Over the last 20 years, Kathy and her husband have raised their two daughters, Audra and Eve, in Fargo, ND. She is co-founder of Wheelhouse Theatrical Productions (formerly Music Theatre Fargo-Moorhead) and has performed in numerous productions with Wheelhouse, Act Up, Phipps Dance Theatre (Minneapolis), FMBallet, NDSU, Carousel Dance Theatre, Dakota Civic Theatre (Minneapolis) and FMCT.

Kathy is jazzed to return to teaching at Gaspers, where Kathy and Eddie Gasper first encouraged her to be an educator. Since then she has choreographed many musical theatre productions with FMCT, Moorhead Community Ed, Fargo Public Schools, Theatre B, NDSU and Trollwood. “Mentoring individuals from young too old is a joy; there is nothing like watching an artist grow and push boundaries to tell you a story through movement, music, poetry, etc. I am grateful for having the opportunity to be part of that process.” – Kathy Hanson

Mr. Chris Taylor

Welcome back. Today we continue to introduce our 2019 - 2020 staff. We are happy to have Mr. Chris Taylor back with us this season. Chris teaches tap, musical theatre, ballet, and jazz.

Q & A with Mr. Chris

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching?

A. My favorite part about teaching is watching students grow as young artists and well-rounded human beings.

Q. What inspired you as a dancer?

A. There is something about performing and moving that makes every fiber of my being come alive. That feeling made me want to study the art form and continues to inspire my life choices and career.

Q. Favorite snack?

A. Fruit, trail mix, or Reese’s

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Christopher Taylor

Christopher began dancing at the age of fourteen while he attended the Trollwood Performing Arts School summer program. Since then, he has studied dance through the lens of musical theatre. He has studied tap, jazz, ballet, and musical theatre styles of dance through classes and productions since high school. After graduating, he went on to receive his BFA in Musical Theater performance. Christopher has been performing professionally in the world of musical theatre and dance for the past seven years. His travels have taken him to all around the country, from Georgia, South Dakota, Minnesota, and New York, in the pursuit of honing his craft. This will be his second year as dance instructor at Gasper’s School of Dance.

MaryJo Nelson - Introduction

Hello and welcome to day two of our instructor introductions. Today we welcome new instructor, Ms. MaryJo Nelson to our teaching staff this season! MaryJo has been traveling the world for the last many years and is back in Fargo-Moorhead. We are excited to have as part of our dance family!

Q & A

Q. What is your favorite part about teaching?

A. I love being able to watch how students grow and gain confidence as dancers. I think it's especially beautiful when I see students figure out how to stop thinking so hard and to just live and experience the music and the movement. I always hope to inspire students to be the best they can be.

Q. What inspires you?

A. Music inspires me. Music on its own is so emotive and makes me feel like I have to move and express visually the story that the music is telling me. Also, watching amazing dancers and amazing pieces choreography that make me feel something inspires me to want to be better and do better.

Q. Tips for our dancers?

A. Work hard. As with anything, you will only get out of dance what you put into it. Learn from as many different teachers in as many different styles as possible. Learn from people who are better than you. Practice good technique. Create good habits. And once you've done all that, forget about it all and just live in the movement. If you never take the courage to let go and show people your heart, then no one will ever have the privilege to see how great you are.

Q. Favorite snack?

A. Rice cakes or gummy bears :)

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MaryJo Nelson

MaryJo Nelson has been moving since the age of three, beginning with gymnastics and later, after competing for several years in USAG, transitioning to dance. MaryJo moved to Fargo from Phoenix when she was 13 and spent her high school years studying ballet at Brant’s School of Dance Arts. During her senior year, she also competed on the nationally ranked West Fargo High School dance team and was a choreographer for the team. After graduating, MaryJo spent three years with the California based performing arts group, The Young Americans, during which time she had the opportunity to teach dance and perform all over the world in countries including the UK, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, and China.

At the age of 22, MaryJo crewed on a sailboat from San Diego to central pacific Mexico. She decided she liked Mexico so much that she stayed and ended up living there for the next six and a half years. For her first three years there, she made her living teaching aerial silks and performing as a dancer and aerialist. For the last several years, MaryJo has been working professionally at theaters in and near Puerto Vallarta, playing starring roles including Roxie in Chicago, Cinderella in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Kira in Xanadu, and Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show. This past season she also had the privilege to choreograph NuName Production’s Chicago for which she received rave reviews.

After spending most of the last ten years abroad, MaryJo has finally decided to move back to Fargo to be close to her family. She feels so fortunate to have had the opportunity to train in so many different styles of movement from a variety of teachers all over the world, and she can’t wait to be able to share her passion for story telling through dance with the students at Gasper’s School of Dance!