Steve Rooks

Former Principal Dancer with Martha Graham, Chair of Dance/Choreographer for Vassar College

Steve Rooks began his dance training in Washington, D.C. He continued his training in New York City as a scholarship student at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Mr. Rooks danced and toured with the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, and the Martha Graham Dance Company, where he performed for over a decade and achieved the rank of Principal Dancer.
Mr. Rooks has created a number of dances including “Cool River” that premiered at Lincoln center in 1996, and later became a part of the Graham Company repertoire. He was a 2004 winner of the National Choreographic Competition at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and created two solos for the 2004 Youth American Grand Prix Ballet competition. Mr. Rooks is currently Professor of Dance and Resident Choreographer at Vassar College, and has been a guest teacher with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Martha Graham Dance Company, the American Academy of Ballet, Ballet Nacional de México, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the International Summer School in Sydney, Australia. He has been awarded Vassar Research grants to travel to Riga, Latvia, Lusaka, Zambia, and in 2014 to Turku, Finland, where he choreographed “Plate Tectonics” on 24 dancers. As part of the Masterworks Festival, Mr. Rooks was commissioned to create ballets for a number of contemporary composers including Clarice Assad, Piet Swerts and David Skidmore – all to live orchestra.
Mr. Rooks has served as an adjudicator for the American College Dance Festival, and a solo “Vista” was created for Aran Bell (ABT) for the 2014 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Four contemporary solos were submitted to the 2016 Youth American Grand Prix and in 2017, Mr. Rooks returned to Mumbai, India to create a new work for Sumeet Nagdev Dance Arts. 2018 included guest residencies at the Bolles School in Jacksonville Florida and the Palladino School of Dance at Dean College. 2019 residencies included workshops in Costa Rica as well as the Studio Centre de Dance in Paris, France. In 2020, Mr. Rooks was invited to join the Board of Trustees for the Martha Graham Dance Company. Mr. Rooks would like to thank Jesus Christ for all that has happened to him.

Shizu Yasuda

Former Principal Dancer with Ad Deum Dance Company

SHIZU YASUDA started her dance training at Sakiko Ichinomiya Ballet School in Japan. After she moved to New York, she performed with several choreographers and dance companies such as Slam and Sensedance Company. She joined Ad Deum Dance Company in 2004. She danced as a principal dancer with the company and performed at numerous dance events nationally and internationally. She got awarded as one of stunning performers by Dance Houston – City Wide Dance Festival 2008. In 2013, she was invited to Minsk in Belarus as a guest dancer and judge by Chelz Extreme Games. As a dance teacher, she has been teaching Modern and Ballet classes in the Houston dance community at such places as Ad Deum Dance Company, Houston Ballet Academy summer intensive (Modern only), Mitsi Dancing School, Payne Academy of Ballet, Studio of Dance, West University Dance Center and Houston Academy of Dance. Her choreographic works have been presented at “East Meets West” at Miller Outdoor Theater since 2008. In 2014, she became an artistic director of Ad Deum II.

Cynthia Newland

Director of Dance at Belhaven University

Cynthia Newland, MFA in Dance and MS in Counseling Psychology, is a licensed minister, certified health coach, and collegiate professor, specializing in dance. As the founder of Alible3 and Dancer Wellness Care, she seamlessly integrates dance, counseling, and holistic health to inspire and empower individuals to thrive. Through her career, Cynthia’s work has led her to serve on six continents and have served at various Project Dance locations nationally and globally. A devoted wife of over 30 years, she is also the proud mother of three adult married children, and a loving grandmother to eight.

Megan Morrow

Main Company Principal Dancer

Megan Morrow was born and raised in Houston, TX and danced in the Houston MET Too Youth Dance Company before joining the dance program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Megan graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance, a BBA in Accounting, and a Master’s of Science in Accounting. She also trained at the San Francisco Dance Conservatory, the Houston MET Professional Dance Intensive, and Point Park University International Summer Dance Program. After working in public accounting for a year and becoming a CPA, Megan moved back to Houston in 2017 with her husband to dance with Ad Deum Dance Company, where she’s been dancing ever since. She’s excited for another year with her Ad Deum family!

Meggie Belisle

Company Collective Artist

Meggie Belisle began her dance training at Suzanne’s School of Dance in College Station, Texas. She has danced with Ingredients Dance Company in Texas (2008-2010), Arise Dance Company in the The Netherlands and England (2012), Roxey Ballet in New Jersey (2013-2014). From 2014-2017 she freelanced in New York with various companies and projects. Meggie has also choreographed for and performed in the music videos Trace the Lines by Lizi Bailey and Summertime Anytime by Dannah. Other choreographic credits include works for Talitha Dance Company and You Are Conference in Texas (2008-current), Freedom Benefit Concerts in Texas (2009), Arise Dance Company European Tour throughout the The Netherlands and England (2012), HATCH showcase in New York (2016), Amalgamate Artist Series in New York (2016), and more.

Meggie graduated from Belhaven University with a BFA in modern dance in 2013. In 2016, Meggie founded the KDA Pre-Professional program in Poughkeepsie, NY and was the program’s director for the 2016-2017 season.

Priscilla Murphy

Ad Deum Guest Artist

Originally from Singapore, Priscilla Nathan-Murphy received her classical ballet training in the Royal Academy of Dancing Syllabi and has also been trained in oriental dance mudras, modern dance and jazz. Ms. Nathan-Murphy has a certification from the British Royal Academy of Dance in teaching and has acquired a Teaching License Diploma from the British Association of Teachers of Dance. She has also recently completed a teachers seminar and course in the Cechetti method in London. Some of the teachers and masters of dance that she has worked with include Rose Eberwein, Eve Pettinger, Kitty Daniels, James Clouser, David Horchoy, Bill Evans, Doug Varone.Ms. Nathan-Murphy has taught creative movement, ballet and modern dance in the pre-professional and professional division of Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy since 1985. She has also been a teaching artist with the Texas Institute for Arts in Education for several years and has held the position of adjunct faculty at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts for 19 years. Ms. Nathan-Murphy has also conducted numerous master classes and workshops within the United States since 1980. Recently, Ms. Nathan-Murray completed the STOTT Pilates Mat Course.As a dancer, she has performed in Singapore and the United States with several companies. She has also choreographed extensively in the United States. A recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, she received a creative artist award from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County for her choreographic work in 1992 and a Fellowship Choreographers Award in 1998. Ms. Nathan-Murphy is also a recipient of the American National Choreographers Competition Award held in Chicago and several teacher recognition awards given by the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts. Locally she has choreographed for Houston Ballet II, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Metropolitan Dance Company and numerous other companies.

While on staff with the Houston Ballet Academy, Ms. Nathan-Murphy further developed and delineated the syllabi for the Creative Dance Program, as well as introduced the Pre-Ballet Syllabus. She was also instrumental in introducing Improvisational Composition, Cultural Dance and Musical Theater into the curriculum of Houston Ballet’s Summer Intensive Program.

Richard Bowman

Ballet Faculty with the American Ballet Theatre

Richard Bowman began his training in New Zealand under careful guidance of his mother Christine Bowman. After completing all the Royal Academy of Dance examinations with Honors, he received a full scholarship to further his training at the Royal Ballet School in London. During this time, he studied with such notables as: Murray Kilgour, Jiahong Wang and Mikhail Messerer. Over the next decade, Mr. Bowman danced both as a soloist and principal with internationally acclaimed ballet companies, of which the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Leipzig Ballet and Australian Ballet are included. Throughout his career, he danced many leading roles, from the “Gaoler” in Kenneth MacMillan’s production of Manon, to “James” in Erik Bruhn’s production of La Sylphide. In addition to co-founding Danse Conservatory, Mr. Bowman also served as ballet master and principal artist for City Ballet of San Diego, California, Mr. Bowman also appeared as a principal guest artist for Sacramento Ballet, University of California, Irvine, and New Ballet West, San Marcos, for which Mr. Bowman also staged their production of Giselle. Mr. Bowman is a Certified Teacher with the ABT® National Training Curriculum, and is a faculty member for the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, just recently Mr. Bowman was appointed an examiner to the ABT® National Training Curriculum and is also a faculty member for Broadway Dance Center.

Vincent Hardy

Former Dancer with Complexions, Choreographer/Teacher with Dance Revolution

Vincent's abilities earned him a scholarship to the Academy of Performing Arts in San Diego. He attended Philadelphia's University of the Arts, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ballet Performance, and was hired into Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2011, directed by former Alvin Ailey members Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. After touring with Complexions throughout the US, Italy and Israel, Vincent returned to California to pursue a career in commercial dance, performing and teaching choreography. His teaching credentials include serving on the faculties of Maple Conservatory (Irvine, California), Earl Mosley's Institute of the Arts (Kent, CT), The Academy of performing Arts (San Diego, CA), and Ad Deum Dance Company (Houston, TX). While holding these various positions, his responsibilities included instructing, rehearsing, and choreographing. Vincent recently received his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) studying choreography and sacred dance. Vincent Hardy was also formerly the Director of Stage Production at Belhaven University (BU).