Claire AlbertClaire is an Indianapolis native who hasn’t stopped dancing since the age of 3. Claire has studied tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, modern and contemporary dance styles, and she has won various titles at both regional and national competitions as a member of The Dance Refinery’s Artists in Motion Company. Claire’s passion for human movement through dance initiated her desire to earn her B.S. in Athletic Training from Purdue University in 2017 and Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Indiana University in 2020. Claire is ecstatic to join the Circle City Tap Company onstage this year!
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Jeffrey Bird, Jr.Jeffrey has been tap dancing since he was 8 years old. His passion for tap soared past every other genre, and soon he became an award winning tap dancer both regionally and nationally. After graduating high school, Jeffrey began teaching and eventually joined CCTC in December of 2015. Jeffrey was a double major in Theatre and History at Butler University (Class of 2018) and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree in US History at IUPUI. Jeffrey now serves as the Artistic Director of CCTC and teaches tap at Indy Dance Academy. He is also a member of Tap24.7 out of Phoenix, Arizona.
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Patty BuckhornPatty joined CCTC in 2016 and has enjoyed growing with the company. She grew up dancing ballet, tap, and jazz, but her passion has always been tap dancing. She teaches tap at Village Dance Studio in Zionsville, is an Executive Recruiter for a logistics company in Milwaukee, and is most proud to be a wife and lucky momma of four crazy and wonderful kiddos!
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Shelby BushfieldShelby began dancing at age 6 at Peterson Studio of Dance, which is where her passion for tap started to grow. Shelby has now been studying Dance Business with a minor in Spanish at Anderson University, from which she will graduate in May 2019. She is a tap, ballet, and jazz teacher at Amp Dance Family, and is excited to see where the Circle City Tap Company will take her!
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Lorenda CarrLorenda Carr is owner and director of Circle City Dance Productions, LLC, Circle City Tap Festival, Circle City Tap Company, Young Hoofers Club, and Co-founder of Midwest Open Rhythm Exchange (MORE). She began dancing at age 3, was a dance performance major at Ball State, and has been a dance teacher/choreographer for over 30 years with a particular love for tap. She is currently the Director of Competition Teams at Interactive Academy in Zionsville, IN. Lorenda is dedicated to bringing performing arts education and opportunities to Central Indiana as well as creating a community of artists that work together to ensure dance and the performing arts are kept alive and well for generations to come.
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Lora DingledineLora Dingledine began dancing with CCTC in 2019 and has been tap dancing since the age of 11. She also studies jazz, hip hop, and contemporary dance, but tap has always been her passion. Originally a music teacher in central Indiana, Lora now works as a Doctor of Physical Therapy for Community Health Network in Indianapolis.
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Madelyn DonovanMadelyn Donovan grew up in Fort Wayne, IN where her love of dance began at age four. She studied a variety of styles, but tap was always a standout favorite. After high school, Madelyn relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan where she earned her BS in Behavioral Psychology with a minor in Dance at Western Michigan University. While at Western, Madelyn was a company member of the Western Dance Project, heavily involved with Movement Exchange (a dance service organization), and performed in multiple departmental dance concerts. She currently teaches tap and jazz at DanceWorks Indy. During the day, she works with Fox Behavior Group as a Registered Behavior Technician with kids on the autism spectrum.
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Deanna GarnerDancing since the age of four, Deanna is an adult tap dance instructor at Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective and a company member of CCTC. An experienced performer, choreographer, and judge, who studied tap, jazz, ballet, and modern dance, Deanna earned a degree in Dance Performance from Ball State University. She danced and choreographed for IU Northwest Dance Company for 5 years while teaching at nearby studios before moving back to Indianapolis. Dancing is a passion that Deanna is thankful to pursue in her spare time when she is not working as a Recycling Program Manager for the IN Department of Environmental Management.
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Caitlyn HillCaitlyn started tap dancing when she was 3 years old. She competed throughout high school with her tap company and as a contemporary soloist, earning multiple awards and a national title. Through the last 20 years of training, tap has always been the one style that Caitlyn could always find joy in, making it one of her favorites. After high school, she attended a college in her hometown, Eugene, Oregon, for a year before transferring to Anderson University to pursue her passion for dance. She's taught at a few studios around Indiana and is looking forward to officially starting her career as a performer, choreographer, and dance educator. Caitlyn is extremely honored and excited to start her dance career by tapping in her first season with Circle City.
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Tressia HopperTressia has been tapping since 2001 and began studying ballet, jazz, modern, and hip hop in 2006 at various studios in central Indiana. She graduated in May 2018 from Anderson University, where she studied dance and biology. She currently teaches at The Dancin' Place (Noblesville, IN) as well as The Next Step School of Dance (Anderson, IN).
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Ashley LainAshley is an Indianapolis native, who grew up training and teaching at Dance Magic Performing Arts Center. She attended Kent State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. She has been active in the dance community as a professional dancer, instructor, and choreographer. One of her favorite teaching positions brought dance to inner-city schools; this led Lain to pursue her Master's degree in Elementary Education. She is ready for her second season with Circle City Tap Company!
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Mel SmeltzerMelanie started dancing at age 3, but didn't put on tap shoes until age 4. She trained competitively in all styles for 11 years, and decided at age 15 to focus solely on tap dance. Her company experience includes: Circle City Tap Company (2015-present), American Tap Company (2017-2018), and the Loose Screws Tap Company (2018-present). She is currently attending Purdue University and is spreading her roots of tap by teaching classes at Studio b and organizing Purdue's tap club, Footnotes:PTC.
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Melissa StumpMelissa has been a member of Circle City Tap Company since 2016. She started dancing as a child when she was 4 years old. Melissa works as a physical therapist at Franciscan Health in Indianapolis.
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Alissa WinslowAlissa has been tap dancing for over 15 years and became a member of CCTC in 2014, after attending a M.O.R.E. event in Indianapolis. She took a break from the company to pursue her B.S. in Health Sciences with a double minor in chemistry and biological sciences at DePaul University in Chicago. She is excited to get back to tapping with this wonderful company again and grow as a dancer.
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