Teresa graduated Magna Cum Laude with her BA in Dance and Pre-Physical Therapy from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2020. She attended her undergraduate program under full scholarship as a member of the Linehan Artist Scholars Program. Knowing early that she wanted to pursue a career in education, Teresa completed the Teaching Academy of Maryland in 2016, through which she studied child development, curriculum, pedagogy and theories of education. Teresa instructs students in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, and dance conditioning. She has completed the Lisa Howell Teacher Training and is certified in teaching Progressing Ballet Technique, both of which have contributed to her wholistic approach to teaching that centers anatomy, physiology, injury-prevention, psychosomatics, and above all else, healthy dance training.

In addition to her focus in education, Teresa has received the honor of presenting her choreographic works When Eve and Eve Bit the Apple and Giving Skin at the American College Dance Association’s Regional Conference. Both works were adjudicated and selected for the ACDA Gala Concert. Her work, Spoon Theory, was also selected for presentation through New York based Arts By the People.

Teresa has been a part of the Kinetics community in nearly every capacity over the years. She started out as a student right here at Kinetics and fell in love with our warm, familial community. She began volunteering administratively and assistant teaching under Jodi Guzewich in 2012. Teresa interned under Kinetics’ former School Director from 2014-2016, and she began teaching in 2014. Throughout college, Teresa continued instructing at Kinetics and served as both the Interim School Administrator, and the Assistant School Manager through Kinetics’ transitions of direction. In Spring 2021, Teresa completed her first year as a Kinetics Youth Ensemble director, working with Pre-Repertory.

In addition to teaching at Kinetics, Teresa has been on the teaching faculty at JMD Studios, C-Unit, EMC Performing Arts Studio, and Expressions Performing Arts, and regularly guest-teaches at Design in Motion Dance. In the Fall, Teresa will be the director of her own Ballet Company at Expressions Performing Arts, where she will be setting a classical ballet production and coaching students for the Youth American Grand Prix.

Melissa graduated magna cum laude from UMBC with a BA in Dance. At UMBC she had the privilege to study under amazing faculty and guest artists. Melissa has taught dance for over 15 years, in a wide variety of styles, for all ages, with the start of her teaching career in 2008 at Kinetics Dance Theatre.

In the past, she served as the School Director of Kinetics Dance Theatre’s School of Contemporary Dance as well as a Director for the KDT Student Company (now Kinetics Youth Ensemble). Melissa also served as Studio Manager and Student Company Director of Design In Motion Dance Studio for six years. Under her direction, she expanded the company program and doubled student enrollment. Melissa is thrilled to be back to teaching and dancing with Kinetics this year! She looks forward to many years of dancing and teaching with Kinetics to come.

Cara attended Shenandoah University as a Dance major performing with the dance  department in Tap and Jazz Festivals in Northern Virginia and at the Willam Shakespeare Center in D.C. in 2014 .She then transferred to Hagerstown community College and graduated with a A.A in Dance. She began teaching in 2012 at her hometown dance studio in WV, also in WV she has been continuing a dance program with Jefferson County Parks and Recreation since 2015. She came to the Baltimore and Maryland area in 2018 and joined Kinetics Dance Company in 2021. Since then she began teaching at Kinetics in 2022 and dedicates her time to her teaching career with Kinetics and performing with the Kinetics Dance Company. She hopes in continuing her career in dance education.

Pamela Smith Humeston has been teaching, choreographing, and performing dance for over 45 years. She has a background in Dance, Dance/Movement Therapy, Nursing, and Nursing Education. Pamela has studied Modern, Contemporary, Improvisation, and Ballet. She has studied and performed with the Conservatory Ballet, the Dance Dimension, Improvisations Unlimited, Kei Takei’s Moving Earth, Koshin, University of Maryland Improvisational Dance Company, Blizzard Dance, Robert Small, Phyllis Lamhut, Carmen Beuchat, and multiple independent choreographers. In 1984, Pamela performed internationally with the Dance Dimension Company as a United States Delegate at the International Cultural and Performing Arts Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Pamela attended the University of Maryland, College Park on a full Creative and Performing Arts Scholarship in Dance (CAPA), and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance. During her college career she was awarded an Undergraduate Apprenticeship for Research from the University of MD in 1989 for Art and Dance, and produced a full performance based on her artwork and choreography. She was recognized as the Martha Graham Summer Dance Intern Alternate to the Martha Graham Dance Studio for her performance at the National College Dance Competition in North Carolina in 1988.
After graduating Pamela continued to study dance and perform in New York City with Kei Takei’s Moving Earth and several independent choreographers. She continued dancing and studying with the Louis and Nikolais Company, as well as Graham, Limon, and Hawkins techniques. While living in New York she obtained a Master of Science degree in Dance/Movement Therapy in 1995. Pamela returned to Maryland in 1997 where she developed the Dance/Movement Therapy Program and worked as an integral part of the Creative Therapies team as a Dance Therapist at the Kennedy Krieger School. This work was integral to enhancing development of children with autism, developmental disorders, and behavioral disorders. She returned to school to receive her Associate of Arts degree in Nursing in 2007, and continued her education to receive a Master of Science degree in Nursing Education in 2017. Pamela has worked in Howard County as a Labor and Delivery Nurse, Psychiatric Nurse, Nurse Case Manager, Community Health Nurse, and School Cluster Nurse. During this time she also continued teaching dance and choreographing for Beneath His Wings Dance, Blizzard Dance Studio, Howard County Recreation and Parks, and Ballet Petite, as well as performing and choreographing throughout Maryland with the University of Maryland Improvisational Dance Company, and with Blizzard Dance Studio. Pamela enjoys spending time with her family and pets and is happy to provide support, knowledge, and caring to her community.

Tori Farnsworth has been drawn to dance since she was a child and has studied in many genres including ballet, pointe, jazz, musical theatre, modern and improvisation. She began choreographing musicals at the age of 14 and continues to perform and choreograph for musical theatre productions as well as dance concerts, parties, weddings and church events. Tori was nominated for a Cappie Award for Best Choreographer 2 years in a row and won the award in 2015. She studied dance at Howard Community College from 2015-2020, originally dual enrolled as a high school student. Tori danced in HCC’s Dance Company as a student, and later as a guest, for a total of 5 seasons where she worked with accomplished resident and guest artists such as Liz Higgins, Orange Grove Dance, Jess Beach and more. She also performed in events like ACDA, HCC’s Fall Dance Showcase and the Annual HCC Dance Festival.

Recently, Tori has performed with local theatre companies like Howard County Summer Theatre and Silhouette Stages in productions including The Music Man, Anything Goes, Mary Poppins and The Pajama Game. Tori began teaching at Kinetics in January of 2022. She also works as a Creative Arts Coordinator at Bridgeway Community Church where she has choreographed, directed and performed in many productions while promoting community outreach. Tori strives to be relatable to many different kinds of people and to help others from various walks of life discover themselves through dance.

Jodi has been teaching dance since 1997 and has called Kinetics her home since 2010.  Her early education is from Dance Dynamix later named Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts as well as the Gniazdowski Studio of Ballet.  Jodi attended summer programs at North Carolina School of the Arts, Joffrey Ballet School, and Point Park University. In 2002, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Point Park University with a concentration in ballet. After college, Jodi danced and trained in New York City and became certified to teach the Pilates Method under master teacher Deborah Lessen.  While in New York, Jodi choreographed for and trained dance students in Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland. In 2004 Jodi moved to St. Louis, MO with her husband and worked at The Pilates and Yoga Center of St. Louis as well as Ballet Midwest. Jodi moved to Wuerzburg, Germany in 2005 and created a dance program for the children on a military installation. Fort Hood, Texas, was her next location, where she created and maintained another successful dance program on the military base. While in Texas, Jodi had the privilege to dance and work with the late Renee Gillenwater at the Newcomb School of Ballet.  Jodi’s love for music has led her to further her education in tap dancing and tap history under master teacher, Karida Griffith.  It brings her joy to share this unique dance style that creates rhythm and music. She truly enjoys helping all ages and levels of dancers discover their authenticity; she strives to create a safe place to grow, learn, and practice.

Cameron Smith has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has studied a variety of genres including ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, contemporary, and lyrical. When she was 13 years old she began to focus more on ballet classes and also had the opportunity to be a student teacher for her ballet teacher, Maureen MacNeill Wheeler, which is where she first realized she had a passion for teaching. She attended University of Maryland to obtain her BS in Environmental Science and a Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and continued to dance with the University’s premier ballet company, Ballet Company M. She was a member from 2016 until she graduated in 2020 and she choreographed multiple pieces and performed in their annual Nutcracker and Spring Showcase. She also acted as the Artistic Director and Executive Director of the company from 2018-2020. She also was a guest artist with the Metropolitan Ballet Theater Performance Company for one of their 2018 performances and danced in the Little Mermaid with Charm City Ballet in 2018. She began teaching ballet and pointe in 2019 and has had the opportunity to choreograph pieces for a variety of ballets including The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan. She has also previously worked as a choreographer for a ballet and pointe competition team for a local dance studio in Columbia Maryland and her choreography has won numerous overall, choreography, and judges awards. In addition to being a dancer she is currently a student at the University of Maryland, School of Public Health to obtain her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences. She loves that she gets to continue to keep dance in her life through not only teaching dance but by dancing with the Kinetics Dance Company which she joined in Summer 2022.

Alyssa McKay is currently in her second year at Howard Community College pursuing an A.A in dance. She owns her own ministry based business where she has been teaching dance to all ages throughout churches for the past 5 years. She specializes in teaching youth between the ages of 2-5. Alyssa has loved dancing since she was a kid and is enthusiastic about sharing the joy of dance to the younger students. Her patience and innovative teaching style leaves room for their imagination to grow as well as technique to form.

Cristine Davis dance journey started when she was a busy three-year-old whose parents enrolled her in Saturday ballet and tap classes at a community center. That evolved into a decades-long career of teaching, performing, and leading and consulting with arts organizations. Cristine hails from Pittsburgh, PA where she was a “studio kid” at Studio G Dance Center. At the University of Pittsburgh, she performed and choreographed for student companies on campus while also dancing professionally with Xpressions Contemporary Dance Company. She performed works by Kyle Abraham, Staycee Pearl, Norma Jean Barnes, Darrell Moultrie, and Robert Battle. While pursuing an arts management degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Cristine started her first studio in Pittsburgh and designed a pre-professional training program for students studying ballet, tap, and jazz. Cristine later moved to DC where she continued her arts management career and also owned and operated District Dance Arts (DDA) from 2013-2019. DDA served hundreds of children with classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop and creative movement. After District Dance Arts, Cristine earned a Master of Arts in Teaching K-12 Dance Education from UMBC which led to her current career as a high school dance teacher in Baltimore City. She is a certified instructor through Dance Masters of America, Inc., the Cecchetti Council of America, the American Tap Dance Foundation, and the National Association of American African Dance Teachers.