July Intensive Guest Instructor

We are excited to have THREE guest instructors throughout the July Intensive, as well as some of our amazing staff including Matt Gasper and Lindsey Setzekorn teaching intermediate and advance dancers during our July Intensive. This is a day program, which meets 5 days a week for 7.5 hrs / day. A variety of classes will be offered during this 4-week program including Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Character, Musical Theatre, Tap, Hip Hop and more!

We want to introduce our first guest instructor of our program this summer, ballet instructor Alyce Keaggy Brinkmann will be joining us from Illinois where she is the Artistic Director of Illinois Dance Conservatory / Illinois Youth Dance Theatre. Find out more about Alyce below.

ALYCE KEAGGY BRINKMANN Alyce Keaggy Brinkmann began her professional career with Milwaukee Ballet under the direction of Ted Kivitt. She was a leading artist with Milwaukee Ballet Company for 13 years. In her long- standing career with the company she has an extensive classical repertoire. She has been featured in principle roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet. She has worked with notable choreographers such Enrique Martinez, Robert Forsythe, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Jean Paul Comelin, and Margo Sappington. During the joint venture of Milwaukee and Pennsylvania Ballet, she danced principle roles in George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Square Dance, Scotch Symphony, and Serenade. Ms. Keaggy Brinkmann has toured nationally and abroad as a guest artist with Yves De Bouteiller and as a principle dancer with Williams/ Gerard Productions of New York.

She began her early training in Erie, PA at age five under the direction of Suzanne Orlando. Moving to Chicago, IL at age eleven to age 18 she and trained with Larry Long at Ruth Page Foundation of Chicago. During that time, she had the fortunate opportunity to perform yearly with Chicago Tribune Charities production of The Nutcracker.

Alyce Keaggy Brinkmann founded Performing Arts of Spring Grove in 1999 and its non-profit performing company, Illinois Youth Dance Theatre in 2000. Alyce has been a faculty member for Milwaukee Ballet School and is a guest teacher throughout the US.

In 2010, together with her partner Louis Dixon established Center Academy of Dance, now known as Illinois Dance Conservatory (IDC). IDC and Illinois Youth Dance Theatre provide a training and performing program of classical daily work and repertoire. Ms. Keaggy Brinkmann’s artistic vision for rigorous training and performance bring excellence to the aspiring young dancer.

Together with her husband Steve, she resides in Spring Grove, IL with their two children, Luke and Marlayna.

July Summer Intensive 2017 | Lindsey Setzekorn

Our second instructor we would like to introduce for our summer intensive is Lindsey Setzekorn. Ms. Lindsey joins us from California where she was the Ballet Mistress for Juline Regional Youth Ballet. We are excited to have Lindsey part of our Summer Intensive staff to bring her knowledge of ballet and pointe to our program as well as her training in conditioning and pilates.

Found out more about Ms. Lindsey below.

LINDSEY SETZEKORN

Lindsey Setzekorn, originally from North Dakota, received her early training from Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Barbara Crockett, Allyson Deane, and Sally Streets. Her performance experience includes: Pennsylvania Ballet, Crockett-Deane Ballet, Central West Ballet, Donn Arden's Jubilee in Las Vegas and various companies in Europe. She received her Pilates teacher training at the Stott Pilates Training Center in Toronto. She holds a BA in Dance and an MA in Secondary Education. Currently, she is the Ballet Mistress for Juline Regional Youth Ballet in California.

July Summer Intensive 2017 | Mrs. Kathy Gasper

Happy Monday to you all. Today we want to introduce our first Summer Intensive instructor and founder of Gasper's School of Dance, Mrs. Kathy Gasper (Mrs. Gasper or Mrs. G to majority of us). Mrs. Gasper is a master instructor taking time out of her retirement in Florida to teach at our 2017 July Summer Intensive.

Currently Mrs. G resides in Florida, where she is enjoying the beach and choreographing at a local equity theatre, Florida Studio Theatre. She has just completed choreographing her 2nd show and will be back this fall for her 3rd production with the company. We are so glad they love her as much as we do!

We are just ecstatic that she will be back teaching this summer and bringing her knowledge of dance back to the area. To find out more about out founder and this talented woman, please read below.

KATHRYN GASPER

Kathy Gasper has an impressive classical background complimenting her appearances on the Broadway stage, television, cabarets, regional theaters, and summer stock productions. Kathy has been a soloist and principal dancer with the Milwaukee Ballet, Weisbaden Ballet, Illinois and Chicago Ballets, the Florentine Opera, the Chicago Opera Ballet and the Merion Cole Ballet.

Kathy’s professional musical comedy roles includes Damn Yankees, Pajama Game, Bye Bye Birdie, Gypsy, Oklahoma, and Annie.

She has been privileged to have studied and performed under outstanding choreographers Lupe Surrano, Luigi, Jamie Rogers, Madame Clistove, Ellis DeBoulay, Peter Genaro, and Ron Fields. She was assistant choreographer for the Doc Severinson & Brothers and Sisters night club act at the Plaza Hotel in New York and Hawaii.

Kathy was the Founder and former artistic director of the Red River Dance and Performing Company 1979—1995 in Fargo, ND, and choreographed and was the director of the dance department at Trollwood Performing Arts School from 1981—1993.