We are a small, Cleveland based modern dance company with a successful and varied production history. The company has grown and matured since its formation in 2002, under the guidance of artistic director, Megan Pitcher.

The collaborative group has presented nationally and internationally in the Junction Arts Festival (Canada), DUMBO Dance Festival (New York), Outlet Dance Project (New Jersey) and Michigan Dance Project. They present throughout Ohio at Cleveland Public Theatre, Columbus Dance Theater, Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Ingenuity Festival and Cuyahoga Community College.

Meet Us

Megan Pitcher (artistic director) is a diversely talented artist whose work spans from concert dance to musical theatre and from film to installation art. She received her BFA from Ohio University and trained at Movement Research, Dance New Amsterdam and Bates Dance Festival. Since 2002, the major focus of her work has been with her company of collaborating artists, MegLouise Dance. Her works have been presented by Cleveland Public Theatre, Playhouse Square, Cincinnati Fringe Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival, Outlet Dance Project, Columbus Movement Movement, Michigan Dance Project, Ohio Dance and the Junction Arts Festival in Toronto. She has performed works by Gabriel Masson, Tere O'Connor, Susan VanPelt Peltry, Sarah Morrison, Lotta Londregen, Maree ReMalia and Kalindi Stockton. Pitcher is an adjunct faculty member at Cuyahoga Community College and an instructor at Beck Center for the Arts. She has presented workshops and residencies through ACDFA, Ohio Dance, Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights Ensemble Program and Orange High School.

Sara Whale (artistic associate) attended the Julliard School before joining Ram Island Dance and the Maine State Ballet where she performed, taught and choreographed for both Portland, ME based companies. During her career she has performed works by Charles Weidman, George Balanchine, Linda MacArthur Meile, Randy James, Daniel McCusker, Jeff Duncan, Dan Wagoner, Buffy Miller and Doug Varone. She has been the recipient of grants for choreographic and educational development in dance from the Maine Community Foundation, Maine Arts Commission, The Libra Foundation and The King Foundation. Sara received a BFA in Graphic Design from Pacific Northwest College of Art and currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio where she is an artistic associate for MegLouise Dance and teaches at Baldwin-Wallace College and for the Dancing Wheels Company. In addition to her collaboration with MegLouise Dance, Sara has recently made work for Dancing Wheels, the 2009 Ingenuity Festival (LadySpace in the Asterisk Gallery with Maria Miranda and Bridget Kriner), Microscopes and Megaphones (CPT Big [BOX] Series 2010) and Verb Ballets Fresh Inventions project (CPT DanceWorks 2010).

Rebecca Nicklos has been a performer and artistic consultant with MegLouise Dance since 2009. She only recently returned to Cleveland, after pursuing training and performance opportunities on the East Coast. Rebecca studied Vaganova and Graham techniques at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts in Connecticut and supplemented her degree with courses at STEPS on Broadway, the Alvin Ailey School, School of American Ballet and the Harkness Dance Center. She developed her performance skills under the mentorship, direction and coaching of dance masters Eleanor D' Antonio, Theresa Capucilli, Kevin Martin, Victoria Mazzarelli, Alexi Tchernivchov and Doug Varone. Rebecca was honored to qualify to the final round of the NYC Youth American Grand Prix and enjoyed working and performing with the Kirov Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Ohio Dance Theatre and MOMIX Dance Theatre. In 2009, she had the amazing opportunity to perform Fraulein Maria with Doug Elkins and Friends as presented by DANCECleveland. In addition to her work with MegLouise Dance, Rebecca has performed with MorrisonDance and taught dance throughout NE Ohio.

Sarah Carey has taught, performed and presented choreography in NY, MS, OH and the UK. She located to Cleveland, OH in 2009 and has been sharing her formidable experience ever since. Sarah received her BFA in dance from Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. While living in NYC, she trained and performed as part of the Professional Studies Program at the Limón Institute/Limón Dance Company. Performance credits include works by José Limón, Doris Humphrey, Steven Wynne, Bill Wade (Inlet Dance Theater), Randall Flinn, and Laura Morton. In Rochester, she worked with PUSH Physical Theatre and served as the Dance Director of Community Arts Academy, an after-school/summer program for urban youth. She co-founded and served as artistic director of ExpressArte Dance Ensemble and has appeared with the Broadway tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as well as with Geomantics Dance Theater. Sarah has been on faculty at Cuyahoga Community College and can be found teaching through the MegLouise Dance Guest Artist Series, Tri-C ArtsPrep, Cleveland Ballet Conservatory, Hathaway Brown School, Wilbur Wright Elementary School, 121 Fitness and Beck Center for the Arts.

Zahra Aprili Colins is a multitalented artist and arts activist. She holds a degree in dance and African American world studies from the University of Iowa, where she studied under Alan Sener, Davis Berkey, Charolette Adams and Armondo Duarte. She has been working as a performer, choreographer and educator since returning in 2004 to her native Toledo, OH. Zahra presents original choreography through her company the Kismet Contemporary Dance Ensemble. She has worked with various dance programs and has supported the implementation of elementary extracurricular and high school elective programs in the Toledo Public School System. Two Toledo high schools adapted her program for dance education piloted in the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundations' Small Schools Model. Zahra is the board president and chief operating officer of CAUSE without a Rebel (Connecting Artistically Unique Souls Effectively), which works to expose audiences to new artists. In addition to her tireless support of the performing arts, Zahra works as a Professional Model and Volleyball Coach.

Leann Andrews delights in a constant exploration of movement. She credits her training to instructors Norah Zuniga-Shaw, Ming-lung Yang and Tiffany Rhynard from Ohio State University and Paula Scriva Jersey and Mansur Kameletdinov from Pittsburgh. She has performed with MegLouise Dance in Cleveland Public Theatre's Big Box Series, the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Playhouse Square Center's Block Party and for Walk & Roll Cleveland. She has also performed with Natalie Marrone and the Dance Cure, Columbus Movement Movement and Ohio State University's New Ground program exploring technology, the body and the surrounding landscape. Leann enjoys a dual life as a landscape architect and dancer - investigating movement in the landscape and creating spaces for bodies to live, work and play. She recently collaborated with MegLouise Dance and her husband, Josh, on the Sustainable Dance Ecology Design Competition. Her submission was selected as one of the top 2 entries to be published the Movement Research Journal this fall.

Michelle Brown (apprentice) performs with MegLouise Dance at various events, including the production of Nearly Nude: Deconstructing Beauty presented at Cleveland Public Theatre, the Playhouse Square Center Block Party, Ohio Dance Festival and Pandemonium at CPT. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Dance Performance through Kent State University. She has collaborated with NE Ohio artists Megan Pitcher, Sara Whale, Kalindi Stockton, Alli Leatherman, Sarah Morrison and Judy Richner. Michelle presents her original choreography through the MegLouise Dance Sneak Reviews events, Cuyahoga Community College and at Lincoln Theater Dance Festival. She is currently teaching dance classes in tap, modern and musical theater at O'Connor Dance Studio in Cleveland, OH

Andrea Belser (apprentice) is a Cleveland native with a BA in Theatre Studies and Vocal Music from Wright State University. She began dance training as a child and enjoys all forms of dance, including: ballet, modern, African folk dance and almost everything in between. She is a local performer, working with Karamu House, Dobama Theatre, East Cleveland Theatre and The Royalton Players. Her dance performance credits include Cabaret and Nutcracker: Reloaded.

Guest Artists

Caroline Kappel holds a BA in Sociology from Saint Mary's College, an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Mills College and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Arts from Ohio University. She has performed nationally and internationally with various modern dance companies, including a 2005 performance in Israel as part of Yitzhak International Arts Gathering in Acco, Israel. She has taught university level lecture courses in the fine arts, dance history, theory and dance technique. She has also taught ballet, jazz, tap, creative and modern dance for various age groups. In addition to her work with MegLouise Dance, she also choreographs, performs and serves on the Board of Directors at The Ananda Center in Massillon, OH.

Carli Taylor Miluk supports the company as a performer and artistic consultant. Her Cleveland performance credits include MegLouise Dance, MorrisonDance, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Public Theater, Fourth Wall Productions, and the Magic Mike Productions magic shows. International credits include a European tour for Armed Forces Entertainment as the host of a puppet show with Natural Bridges Puppet Production Company. She graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College with a BA in Theater and Dance.

Kalindi Stockton has a Bachelors Degree in Education from Kent State University. She studied movement in college, at Ballet Met and with Pilobolus Dance Theatre. She has performed with MegLouise Dance, MorrisonDance and SAFMOD in addition to performing in Two Plays by Gao Xingjian directed by Raymond Bobgan at Cleveland Public Theatre. She has performed at the Yitzhak International Arts Gathering in Israel, New England Dance Project, Dobama Theatre's New Works Festival, Sparx in the City, Ingenuity Festival and Parade the Circle. Her choreography was featured in the 2008 Big Box Series at Cleveland Public Theatre. She has presented additional works through the Sneak Reviews Series and in the MegLouise Dance production of Nearly Nude.

Meet Our Partners

In The Press

Nearly Nude / a different, more honest take on women's culture, body images and clothing - or lack thereof - lies in the foreground of Cleveland-based MegLouise Dance's Nearly Nude...there is a straightforward simplicity about the works that invites the audience into their world of women...the risks often work and feel natural, the way the performers have the guts to put their figures on display / Julie Mullins (City Beat, 2008)

Companions / the most successful collaboration of the evening was Emily Balf's dance to art songs by Poulenc...the core idea of a 'salon' evening mixing dancers with live singers and piano was terrific; more dance companies should consider it / Linda Eisenstein (Cool Cleveland, 2008)

iNput / there were many intriguing beginnings of what appeared as a combination of pre-rehearsed and improvised moves / Kathy Valin (City Beat, 2007)

Running on Empty Fairy Tales / choreographer Megan Pitcher as created a fantasy world of dreamlike adventure that is sometimes frantic, then melancholy, then energized, inquisitive and anticipatory / Paul Kreft, City Beat (Cincinnati, 2005)

Running On Empty Fairy Tales / choreographer Megan Pitcher has worked hard on her themes, knows how to move dancers around a stage and how to use her dancers / Jackie Demaline (Cincinnati Enquirer, 2005)