Artistic Director
Debra Kanter (Artistic Director, Co-Founder) received her BA in Dance from Wesleyan University and her MA in Dance from American University. Additional choreographic studies include professional workshops at American Dance Festival, Philadelphia College of the Arts, and with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. For the past twenty years Ms. Kanter has taught dance at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, MD. Other teaching positions have included The Center for Dance and Theater in Northern Virginia, and sharing her composition skills with the Joy of Motion Dance Center adult and YouthDance Intensive Programs. Her choreography has been presented at Dance Place, the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration, Glen Echo, the Joy of Motion Dance Center and with Reston’s My Sisters Trousers Dance Company. She has two children, Aaron and Lila. Ms. Kanter was named to the 2004-05 edition of “Who’s Who in American Teachers.”
Helen Hayes (Artistic Adviser, Co-Founder) graduated from the University of MD with a degree in Dance. She has danced professionally with Maryland Dance Theater, Perlo/Bloom and Co., Cathy Paine and Friends, Dupont Alley Dance Co. and Jazzdanc dc. Touring internationally, she has been featured on Good Morning, Hong Kong. She has also performed at the Kennedy Center, including the Honors Gala in tribute to Chita Rivera and in New York City. Ms. Hayes is an instructor of both modern and jazz dance and has taught extensively throughout the metropolitan area. She is the Director of the Metro DC Dance Award winning YouthDance Ensemble at Joy of Motion Dance Center. She spent the summer of 2002 teaching jazz and modern in Varna, Bulgaria at the International Ballet Competition and was on the faculty at the University of Maryland in the fall of 2006. Ms. Hayes was a Metro DC Dance Award finalist for Excellence in Dance Education in 2005 and 2007.
Board of Directors 2008
- Helen Hayes, Artistic Adviser
- Debra Kanter
- Peter Stuart
- Bela Gary
- Marsha Pearcy
- Andrea Ballance
- Katharine Mardirosian
Board of Directors 2008
- Helen Hayes, Artistic Adviser
- Debra Kanter
- Peter Stuart
- Bela Gary
- Marsha Pearcy
- Andrea Ballance
- Katharine Mardirosian