Artrell Brown (he/him) was born and raised in Gary, IN. He attended the Hammond Academy For The Performing Arts where he began his dance studies with Kathleen Dominiak Treasure. Artrell is a 2-time national medalist for the NAACP ACT-SO competition in modern dance. During the ACT-SO competition he danced for choreographers Anthony Burrell and Raianna Brown. Artrell recently graduated from the CLI Conservatory under the direction of Teddy Forance. During his time at the conservatory he worked with choreographers such as Marlee Hightower, Shannon Lewis, Lucy Vallely, Brian Nicholson, Micaela Taylor and Lloyd Knight. Artrell has starred in films directed and choreographed by Nina Mcneely, “She Dreamt Alone” and Andrew Winghart, “Is Anyone Receiving The Data?”. 

Artrell is delighted to be back home teaching dance at The Hammond Academy For The Performing Arts, as well as Ballet 5:8. He joined Winifred Haun & Dancers as an apprentice in 2023.

Eona (she/they/TA) is from Huntsville, Alabama where she began their dance training with Huntsville Community Ballet and Alabama Youth Ballet Theatre. They then attended Butler University, graduating with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and a Chinese language minor. Post-graduation, she joined Ballet Theatre of Indiana, as a dancer & backstage crew, until the 2020 lockdowns started. At the start of 2023, Eona joined Winifred Haun & Dancers as a company dancer. Outside of dance, they are also an Eagle Scout, have studied Taichi and Wing Chun, and enjoy cooking.

Robin Davis (she/they) is a dance artist based in Chicago. Robin is a native North Carolinian who began their formal training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts High School Contemporary Dance Program. She graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dance and a BA in English on the Creative Writing Track in 2019. While in Chicago, Robin has had the privilege to work with Meadows Dance Collective, Darvin Dances, and Red Clay Dance Company. They have also presented their own choreography at Dance Chance, Jello, and Common Ground and are the 2024 Khecari Resource Share Residency Artist. She is so excited to be starting her first season with Winifred Haun and Dancers.

Vernon Gooden, (he/him) originally from Dallas,Texas, is an emerging choreographer, performer, and teacher in Chicago. Mr. Gooden began dancing at the age of 11, and graduated from the acclaimed Booker T. Washington High School For The Performing and Visual Arts in 2001. He received a Level I ranking from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts as a high school senior. He was later nominated by NFAA and was named by The White House Commission as a 2001 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Mr. Gooden continued his training at The Juilliard School under the direction of the late Benjamin Harkarvy and Larry Rhodes.  He has performed with noted companies such as Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre, Joel Hall Dancers, and Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre. He has performed works by Paul Taylor, Katherine Dunham, Donald McKayle, Bill T. Jones, Milton Myers, Cleo Parker Robinson, Nai-Ni Chen, Adam Houghland, Ronald K. Brown, Jessica Lang, Christopher Huggins, and Kevin Iega Jeff. Mr. Gooden joined WH&D in the fall of 2019

Crystal Gurrola (she/her) is a dancer, yoga teacher, and graduate student of Traditional Oriental Medicine. In high school she trained with Visceral Studio Company, then went on to receive her BFA in Dance from the University of Iowa in 2016. After graduating, she traveled to Japan on a dance performance contract with a well-known theme park. After a year of adventures abroad she returned home to Chicago to continue her career in the performing arts, and joined Hedwig Dances. Ms. Gurrola started dancing for Winifred Haun & Dancers in January of 2021, just one week after beginning her master’s degree at Pacific College of Health and Science.

Joi King  (she/her) is a young dancer from Chicago with the desire to share her passion. Right after graduating from high school she joined Winifred Haun & Dancers as an apprentice. She was promoted to company dancer in her second season. As a dancer she is always looking for opportunities to expand her craft, one tool she uses to further her career is her blog Enjoi Dance which is a space for her to encourage, support, and inspire other young dancers. Joi is so grateful for the gift of dance in her life, and aspires to share the experiences that it has given her with her community. 

Mandy (she/her) graduated from University of Cincinnati Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Ballet performance.

She is in her 7th season with the Winifred Haun & Dancers and first season as Assistant Rehearsal Director. Throughout her career she has performed choreographic works by Brock Clawson, Stephanie Martinez, Lone Kjear Larson, David Hochoy, Mariah Eastman and many more. 

She has worked with companies from all over the midwest such as Mamluft & Co., Dance Kaleidoscope, Simantikos Dance, Cocodaco Dance Company, Kanopy Dance Company and Darvin Dances. She would like to thank her husband Sean for all of the incredible support from behind the camera and everywhere else.

Bio Coming Soon

Julia Schaeffer (she/her) is originally from California, and she began dancing at age 13. She received her BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University where she studied ballet, jazz, modern, and contemporary. After graduation, Julia danced with the Lineage dance company for four years where she had the privilege of performing and teaching community outreach classes. She relocated to Chicago in the summer of 2019 and danced for South Chicago Dance Theatre as a guest artist at Night Out in the Parks, Kaela Norwood in Fused, and Mariah Eastman in Patternalia. She joined Winifred Haun & Dancers in 2021 and was promoted to Assistant Choreographer in 2023.

Lacy Slaats (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher, originally from northeast Wisconsin. She received her BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University in 2023 where she also worked with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and BalletMet. Lacy has performed works by Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, Bebe Miller, Abby Zbikowski, Crystal Michelle Perkins, and more. In 2022, she assisted in the reconstruction and teaching of the lost dance of Balanchine’s Agon-The Gailliard for artists of the New York City Ballet. Her choreographic work has been recognized and restaged to perform internationally. She joined WH&D in 2023.

Summer Smith (she/her) grew up in South Jersey and trained at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. She received scholarships to study at Orlando Ballet, Ballet Met, and American Ballet Theatre. Summer attended The University of the Arts where she received her BFA with honors in Dance and Painting. She went on to dance with Ballet 5:8 where she served as a Company Artist, and set designer, then Moonwater Dance Project. Summer performed soloist and corps roles in works by Hanna Bricston, Christine Cox, William Forsythe, Noelle Kayser, Ronen Koresh, Kevin McKenzie, Caleb Mitchell, Preston Miller, Marius Petipa, Julianna Slager and others. Summer taught and choreographed throughout the Chicagoland area for 10 years. Her work has received distinctions at RDA and YAGP, and she has had the opportunity to choreograph for Digital Dance Project, Ballet 5:8, Trinity College, and WH&D. Summer joined Winifred Haun & Dancers in 2017, and was promoted to Assistant Artistic Director in 2020. In 2023, she retired from performing and relocated to Nome, Alaska where she remotely serves as the company's manager. Summer Is so grateful for this company, and the opportunity to support it from behind the scenes. 

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