Michelle Penn – Dancer – Silver Spring, MD
Michelle Penn started dancing at 3 years old. At 14, she joined the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Ballet Theater, under the direction of Angela Mauti. There, I was privileged to dance soloist and principal roles, including the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty and the evil stepsisters in Cinderella. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL as a Psychology and Dance Major, where she began exploring modern and contemporary styles, and had many opportunities to perform as well as choreograph, and interned with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, a contemporary dance company. Upon graduation, Michelle studied at Neve Yerushalayim as an Abraham Scholar, and while there created the Neve Dance Company with Devon Stern, and began performing, often for 1,200 women at a time at different venues, began lecturing at different schools across Jerusalem, and co-created a show with Mrs. Lisa Marcus titled “Behind the Masks” in May 2013. In 2013, she moved Silver Spring, and opened the doors to LaZooz in January 2015, with 45 students in the first session, ages ranging from 3-18, in a variety of styles, culminating in a professional performance at the American Dance Institute, with an audience of over 100 women. We hope to expand our program in the 2015 by offering more classes in more styles, instituting a women’s program, and becoming more involved in the community schools.