board of directors
joy clift
Joy Clift (she/her) received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from Towson University in 1994. She continued to work with Nancy Romita and the Moving Company for several years performing in Baltimore, New York, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. After moving to Atlanta she began working at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School as their Director of Dance. She has been there for the past 24 years. She spent many years growing the dance program at Blessed Trinity. Her main goal is to be encouraging to all of her students regardless of their technical level. Helping them to find their artistic voice as well as defining their technical skills.
audrey crabtree
Audrey Crabtree (she/her) holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University. Her performance work includes the theme park stages of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Six Flags Magic Mountain. In Los Angeles, Audrey performed with L.A. Unbound, the Speak Hill Dance Project, City Ballet of Los Angeles, Amaterasu Dance Company, and J Sutta. Moving back to Atlanta, Audrey worked with Watershed Dance Theatre and performed six seasons with Sideways Contemporary Dance Company. A dance educator at RISPA and mother of two, Audrey is thankful to be in rehearsals with Fuerta Dance Company, ALA, and Monica Hogan Danceworks.
anna hevia
Anna Hevia (she/her) currently serves as Counsel in the U.S. Senate, following experience practicing international trade law at Covington & Burling LLC and as Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives. Anna dances with Capital Ballet, a D.C.-based and women-led non-profit ballet company with a vision for reimagining the lifelong connection to ballet alongside higher education and professional careers. Anna earned her B.A. degree in dance and political science from Duke University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. Born in Washington State, Anna grew up in Spain, where her family is from, and honors her heritage as a Hispanic American by supporting organizations for Hispanic congressional staff and Hispanic lawyers. Anna also serves as an Officer on the board of the Harvard Law School Parody & Drama Society Alumni Network.
courtney liu
Courtney Liu (she/her) is a choreographer, performer, and Assistant Professor of Music Theatre at Elon University who earned her MFA and BA from Duke University. Courtney has served as Assistant Dance Captain at the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Performing credits include the Broadway cast of the Phantom of the Opera, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and more. Courtney is a dance pedagogue who has published pedagogical research in the Journal of Dance Education (JODE) and presented at events including the Embodied Learning Summit, CORPS de Ballet International, , and the National Dance Educators Organization. She is a member of Actor's Equity Organization (AEA) and National Dance Educators Association (NDEO).
monica hogan thysell
Monica (she/her) is the founder and executive artistic director of Monica Hogan Danceworks. Her leadership experience includes serving a term as a founding board member of NACHMO, an organization committed to making the creative process more accessible to choreographers of all backgrounds. In addition to dance, Monica is a passionate marketer and is the Senior Director of Product Marketing for OnPay, the top-rated payroll software for small businesses. Her experience in marketing has prepare her for many tasks required to run Monica Hogan Danceworks – from budgeting and strategic planning, to effectively advertising and reaching a target audience.