Noelle Chun '05 first started her movement studies as a gymnast. At Beloit, she participated in athletics and was curious to investigate how her physical knowledge could transfer to dance. Inspired by her Beloit dance colleagues and mentors, Chris Johnson and Margaret Rennerfeldt, Noelle immersed herself into the dance community. Since graduating in 2005, her performance and choreography has been presented across the Mid-Atlantic through her own independent work, with the improvisational trio Like You Mean It, and through site-specific events with Foreground Dance. Past projects have been supported by grants and fellowships from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and Ohio Arts Council. She has served on faculty at The Ohio State University and Ohio Wesleyan University, teaching improvisation and technique courses. Currently, she works as a community organizer and administrator with VSA Ohio and as a member of They Might Be Dancers. In 2008, she earned her MFA in Dance from The Ohio State University.
Fatima Quander '02 is an accomplished professional actor, proud member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). She has performed with FRESHH Inc. Theatre Company, DC Hip Hop Theatre Festival, Rep Stage, Everyman Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage Education, Theater of the First Amendment, the Folger Elizabethan Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Discovery Theater; she has also performed in the house and on tour with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Additionally, she has appeared in a number of national and regional commercials including Toyota, Under Armour and Dick's Sporting Goods, DC Health Link, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and Navy Federal Credit Union (among others).
A native Washingtonian, she received her MFA from Actors Studio Drama School in NYC and her BA in Theatre performance from Beloit College. She works with the Griot Girls teenage social activism ensemble of FRESHH Inc. Theatre Company in Anacostia, DC. FRESHH is a grassroots Hip-hop theatre whose objective is to cultivate and celebrate the voices of Black women and girls in theatre. Through this programming, girls use Hip-hop theatre to create and present devised performances that depict their own struggles and stories of resiliency.
Daniella Weiser '99 graduated with degrees in Theatre and Psychology. Immediately after graduation, Weiser began to work professionally as a stage manager and free-lance scenic designer and scenic painter. After many years working in professional theatre and attending graduate school, she works as an Assistant Professor in Residence at the University of Connecticut Department of Dramatic Arts as their Scenic Charge Artist for Connecticut Repertory Theatre.
Joey Hernandez ’11 is a first-generation college graduate receiving his B.A. in Dance and Health & Society from Beloit College where he has been privileged to return as a visiting instructor for the Dance Department and Upward Bound Program. He relocated to Oakland, CA from the Midwest and will graduate in 2021 with his M.F.A in Dance from Mills College. Before his move to the Bay Area Joey was adjunct dance faculty at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin Madison, and Carthage College. Prior to his collegiate teaching positions he was on faculty at Millennium Dance Complex Chicago. Performance credits include: Carnival Los Angeles & Chicago, The Millennium Experience, The Miss Illinois Pageant, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI), Wisconsin Sports Awards, and Legends in Concert (Las Vegas, NV).
Joey has had the privilege to set pieces for: Chicago’s Choreographers Carnival, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and The Milwaukee School of the Arts. Joey has contributed guest classes at DePaul University (Chicago, IL), Athletic Garage (Pasadena, CA), East Coast Edge (Boston, MA). In addition to instructing for Dance Masters of Wisconsin Inc, Southern Association of Dance Masters, and Chicago National Association of Dance Masters. Joey has the great fortune to be a judge for Applause Talent and StarQuest International for almost a decade.
Stay up to date on Joey’s recent work on social media via Instagram: joey_hernandez23.
Professor of Dance Chris Johnson created a new work in collaboration with alumna Sarah Ellen Miller’15 and student Emma Logas’25 last May. The dance was invited to be a part of this fall’s Elgin Fringe Festival, held Labor Day Weekend. Because Miller was unavailable for the Fringe performance, Johnson invited Kateri Zitzelsberger’26 to step in. Logas and Zitzelsberger…
Dance students travel to Berlin for immersive dance study
On May 15, shortly after the 2022 commencement, nine dance students departed for Berlin, Germany to participate in a Beloit College Global Engagement Seminar of immersive dance study, creation and performance.
Grace Scott’22 selected to present at prestigious international dance film festival
Grace Scott, who graduated magna cum laude with a biochemistry major this past May, had her dance film Grenadine chosen from among the scores of submissions to the very prestigious ADF Movies by Movers Festival in North Carolina.
Samantha Abrams’ Spanish skills allow her to fulfill her goal of returning to Latin America, this time as HubSpot’s team leader for customer support in Colombia.
In Mrs. Wrights , Jenni Reinke’05 tells the stories of the women who most influenced Frank Lloyd Wright. She’s shown in the historic building her dance-theatre company is bringing back to life.
Gabe Gonzalez’20 Fulbright Scholar and Dance Artist
Gabe, who graduated from Beloit in 2020, where he double majored in dance and sociology identifies himself as a Mexican, Chinese artist who enjoys mixing artistic mediums, and finds playing with drag, video, and photography to be an important part of his process. We are thrilled to see all he has already accomplished since graduating.