Mrs. Laura Ward-Moran is the Director of Student Activities, as well as Director of both The John Carroll School Ballet Academy and The John Carroll School College Preparatory Dance Program. An award-winning dancer, choreographer, Pilates instructor and educator, her extensive 25-year career includes time as a performer, educator, business owner, consultant, curriculum writer and program implementer. She has taught ballet, modern, composition and Pilates throughout the East Coast in public and private secondary education, as well as Pilates for her alma mater, Goucher College. She has been on faculty for various festivals and workshops throughout the East Coast as a guest lecturer and teacher. Her Involvement with dance education goes beyond the classroom as she has an extensive background in writing curriculum and implementing dance programs in public and private schools; having written curriculum for and implemented programs in Harford County, Baltimore County and The John Carroll School. Additionally, she is pursuing her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership with administrator certification at Loyola University and will graduate in May 2025.

Mrs. Ward-Moran was the first to bring The Authentic Pilates Method of Body Conditioning to Harford County in 2002. While commuting to/living in New York from 2000–2002, she received her certification as an Authentic Pilates Instructor in New York City, NY, and is currently a level V+ Instructor through Romana’s Pilates, New York City, NY. She is proud to have been a direct student of Joseph Pilates’ protégé, Romana Kryzanowska. In addition, she spent a valuable summer in Dallas, TX at Southern Methodist University where she obtained her Fundamentals Certificate in the Language of Dance (Motif), as developed by Dr. Ann Hutchinson Guest where she also had the privilege to learn from Dr. Tina Curran. Mrs. Ward-Moran is also certified by Marie Walton-Mahon to teach Progressing Ballet Technique. She attributes her ability to “see and correct” a dancers body placement to these additional studies and certifications she has achieved.

Fifteen years of her extensive career were spent successfully owning and operating her own school, The Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance, Inc., where she built and grew a dance program for children and adults producing 29 original ballet and modern dance concerts through her school and Company, The Maryland Dance Project. In 2016, she successfully executed the sale of her school assets and dissolved her company.

Today, you will find former students performing in various dance companies, working as dance educators, Pilates instructors and various other dance-related fields. Her students have graduated from/are currently attending prestigious dance programs and schools including: The School of American Ballet Summer Program, Miami City Ballet Summer Intensive, The University of Arizona, George Mason, The Boston Conservatory, Towson University, Point Park and Goucher College.

Mrs. Ward-Moran has contributed to her community as a panelist, guest speaker, volunteer and columnist regarding dance, education and business. Her publications include being interviewed for Dance Studio Life Magazine as well as serving as a contributing writer for Dance Teacher Web. She keeps an active online dance audience through her business, Unparalleled Pursuits, where she mentors dance educators and small business owners. In the summer of 2025, she will host the first annual Mid-Atlantic Dance Educator Summit in Harford County, Maryland.

She is a member of the NDEO, the Maryland Dance Council and the Sponsor for the JCS NHSDA Chapter. Currently, she serves on the MDEA Board where she represents private, independent and parochial schools for grades K-12. She also served her community as a proud member of the Harford County Cultural Arts Advisory Board June 2018 through January 2021. Mrs. Ward-Moran is the recipient of the Maryland Dance Education Association 2022 Dance Educator of the Year: K-12 Education. Additionally, she holds her Real Estate Salesperson License in the State of Maryland.

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Denise Carr started dancing at four-years-old and continued her training through college. In May 2017, she graduated from Towson University with a BFA in Dance Performance. Denise trained with many different teachers and choreographers including Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Runqiao Du, Vincent Thomas and Catherine Horta-Hayden. She also performed with the Towson University Dance Company  including excerpts choreographed by Runqiao Du, Darrell Moltrie and Kim Bailey. Throughout her life, Denise performed in different benefits and venues such as The Sophia L. Kurek memorial fund, as well as Symphony Space in NYC for breast cancer. She is currently teaching and choreographing throughout the Baltimore-metro area. We look forward to having Denise return for a second year!

Spenser Cole was born and raised in Bel Air, MD, with her love for dancing began at the young age of three. She grew up training at Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance and Harford Dance Theatre where she trained with Laura Ward-Moran, Michelle White, Kim Pugh and Jessica Treherne. She continued her training at Towson University under the direction of Runqiao Du, Erin Du, Linda Denise Fisher-Harell, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Nancy Romita, Malcolm Shute, Betsy Romer, Susan Mann and Vincent Thomas. As a member of the Towson University Dance Company 2013, 2015-2017, Spenser performed excerpts from ballets such as Don Quixote, Les Sylphides and Coppelia, as well as original works by Runqiao Du, Linda Denise Fisher-Harrell, Vincent Thomas, Susan Mann and Thomas Moore. Spenser also performed with Charm City Ballet in their performances of A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Wizard of Oz. Spenser graduated from Towson University in May 2017 with her BFA in dance performance and choreography.

Nicolle Martinell is a choreographer, dance and somatic educator, performer and mother of three. Following her early training at Johnstown Concert Ballet, Allegheny Ballet Company and the Fordham/Ailey BFA Program, Martinell pursed her passion for dance, science and somatics, receiving an MFA in Dance from Texas Woman’s University and a BS in Kinesiology with a Dance Minor from Pennsylvania State University. Later, she obtained her certification as a Teacher of the Alexander Technique as well as in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies. Martinell’s dance/science research has been published in the Journal of Dance Education and presented at various conferences, such as the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, National Dance Education Organization, Somatic Dance, Maryland Dance Education Association (MDEA) and Laban International conferences. She facilitated professional development workshops for the Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore Museum of Art, Anne Arundel and Baltimore County Public Schools; participated in panel discussions for Center Stage and Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance; and enjoyed being featured on The Baltimore County Arts Show. In 2011, Martinell became the Founder and Artistic Director of Deep Vision Dance Company – a vehicle for her choreographic and outreach endeavors. Choreographic honors include a recipient of Maryland’s Baker Artist Awards (b-grant) and selection for the Annual Choreographers’ Showcase (MD), D.C. Capital Fringe Festival (D.C.), Exchange Choreography Festival (OK), Intersections Festival (D.C.), American College Dance Association Galas (VA, MD), ECOPOETIC (NY), among others. Some of Martinell’s community projects include the K-12 arts integration program, “Learning Physics through Movement;” By/4 Artist professional development series; and the AKIMBO Dance & Movement Art Festival in Baltimore City. Martinell has taught at Goucher College, UMBC, Notre Dame Prep, Community College of Baltimore County and Towson University Community Dance. In 2020, Martinell was honored as Dance Educator of the Year, Teaching Artist, award from MDEA. Currently, Martinell is also on faculty in the Department of Dance at Towson University and has a private, Alexander Technique practice called Resiliency through Movement.

Ariana McGrath is from Baltimore, MD and studied multiple styles of dance throughout her career. As a young professional, Ariana was honored to perform at the Carson Scholars Fund Gala and named a Maryland Distinguished Scholar in Dance. Continuing her career, she later performed with Disney Cruise Lines as a featured dancer and was promoted to Dance Captain and Female Swing soon after. In 2015, she worked with “On the DL” and Alternative Dance Project on their feature show “366.” Ariana had the pleasure of choreographing for various studios and schools throughout Maryland with her choreography has won various awards throughout the competition scene. Ariana was head choreographer at America’s Miss National Pageant and a judge for the East Coast USA Pageant System and On Point Dance Competition. Along with her dance and vocal training, Ariana spent time training in the aerial arts including Spanish web, silks and aerial hoop at the Toronto School of Circus Arts. In addition to this, she is a certified personal trainer. Although she enjoys teaching many different styles, her passion lies in musical theater as well as bringing classic jazz and lyrical back to life for the next generation of dancers. Ariana was privileged to dance on the sidelines of M&T Bank Stadium as a Baltimore Ravens Cheerleader for the 2017–2018 season.

Erica Rae is a Philadelphia native with a B.F.A. in Modern Dance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She is the founder and artistic director of Raediant Movement, LLC. She is fueled with passion and curiosity around the uniting element of movements rooted in the African aesthetic and its ability to enhance cultural pride and heritage within and among the African Diaspora. Erica worked as a dancer with dance companies such as Mahogany Dance Theater, Tania Isaac Dance, VB Dance Ensemble and Lesole's Dance Project. As a teaching artist, she previously worked at the Dance Institute of Washington as a Dance Education Instructor and recently joined Joe’s Movement Emporium as a Teaching Artist, providing dance education classes and workshops to area schools for grades K-12. As a performer and choreographer, she performed and presented work in St. George’s, Grenada and is a 2018 recipient of The John F. Kennedy Center‘s Local Dance Commissioning Project. Erica is a lifelong learner of dance and recently received the M'Singha Wuti - Level Teaching Certification for the Umfundalali.

Madison received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from Towson University. During her time there, Madison had the opportunity to perform classical and original works with the Towson University Dance Company while training under Runqiao Du, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Susan Mann, Nancy Wanich Romita, Malcolm Shute and Vincent Thomas. Madison also performed with Charm City Ballet Company in their productions of A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and The Wizard of Oz. Currently, she is a fifth-year performing company artist with Ballet Embody in Westminster, MD. Madison is passionate about cultivating the next generation of dancers; she teaches at Synergy Space and guest choreographs for Harford Dance Theater’s production of The Nutcracker. 

Jill Vasbinder Morrison, BA (Barnard College), MFA (SUNY Purchase), is a dancer, scholar, mother and community activist currently teaching dance studies at UMBC. After performing with the Lisa Leizman Dancers in Massachusetts and Full Force Dance Theater in Connecticut and New York City, Jill went on to be office manager of Hartford Children’s Theater, Assistant Director of Dance and the Hartt School Community Division, University of Hartford, and Artistic Director of Common Ground Dance Company. She has taught ballet, modern, composition, ballroom, Latin and swing dancing, and ballet for gymnasts since 1995 in New York, Maryland, Connecticut and Massachusetts. She has set works on dancers at Coppin State University, Community College of Baltimore County and the Maryland School of Ballet and Modern Dance.

Jill now centers her research on decolonizing Dance Studies courses, incorporating embodied knowledge and learning into the practice of traditional coursework. She examines the intersections of dance, open licensing and copyright, questioning how historical practices of exclusion have brought us to this ambiguous place. Her article "There’s a Long History of Dances Being Pilfered for Profit and TikTok is the Latest Battleground" was featured on the "Conversation" and is adapted for Actively Learn. She led the HT Lab: "Movement Relationships: Embodied Practice Across Disciplines." Jill has presented at Maryland Dance Education conferences, internationally at the Dance Studies Association, and at the Inclusion Imperative Symposium and the Dresher Center’s Currents. Currently, Jill is writing of the biography and critical analysis of the life and work of BarbaraS upovitz, and just published the "Open Educational Resource: Dance History, Cultural and Classical Forms." Jill serves on the Adjunct Faculty Advisory Committee and is the Treasurer of the Maryland Dance Educators Association, President of the Hampstead Hill Academy Parent Teacher Organization and a leader with Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development.

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