meet our dancers

Board Members:

Andrea Ligon - Artistic Director (dancer/choreographer) earned an A.A. in Dance from Montgomery College and her B.A. in English from the University of Maryland. She has studied ballet, modern, tap, jazz, African and other techniques for over 26 years. Ligon also attended the American Dance Festival (ADF) at Duke University and studied with many artists including Chuck Davis, Donna Birchfield and David Dorfman. She has studied choreography at Duke University and under Vladamir Angelov in D.C. Ligon has been an adjunct professor of dance at Montgomery College and choreographed for the Montgomery College Dance Company. She choreographed the musicals: A Year with Frog and Toad, Kiss me Kate and Anthems at Montgomery College. Her work has been seen on stage in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and at the new choreographer's showcase at Joy of Motion in Washington D.C. Currently she is performing for Jane Franklin Dance in Arlington, VA.


Pat Burns - President (dancer/choreographer) is proud to be one of the founding members of Equinox, and looks forward to her tenth year with the company. Prior to Equinox, Pat danced for five years with Tawa Dance Company. Pat enjoys dancing and choreographing as a form of artistic expression, exercise, and fun. Pat has studied dance in New Jersey, California, and Maryland, at the Artistic Dance Center. Pat works in the Frederick area as a certified Personal Trainer, and as a state and nationally certified massage therapist.


Kimberly Moore Dow - Vice President/Marketing Director (dancer/choreographer) is a co-founder of Equinox Dance Company and served as the Artistic Director for the first five years of the company's inception. First trained in Cechetti ballet and pointe, Kim discovered her love of modern dance while at college. She graduated summa cum laude from Salisbury State University with a B.A. in Art/Graphic Design and a minor in Dance. She danced in the SSU Dance Company throughout college, under the direction of Victoria Hutchinson, where she choreographed for the student showcase and served on the executive board. While at Salisbury, Kim was awarded the National Outstanding Dance Minor by the National Dance Association, and a Student Leadership Award for her contribution to the SSU Dance Company. Prior to becoming artistic director of EDC, Kim performed and choreographed with TAWA Dance Company, under the direction of Mary Tawa. She is the owner and principal of Kalico Design, a graphic design firm in the Frederick region.


Dancers:

Madeleine Benda (dancer, choreographer)is dancing with Equinox for her second year. She began studying at Spotlight Studio of Dance until the age of sixteen. After a moving to the area, she continued her education at Dee Buchanan studio of Dance in Middletown, MD. She has been dancing for twenty years, competiting in local and national competitions around the United States, and has won many overall and top awards. Also, she majored in dance at Frostburg State University for two years and had the opportunity to choreograph for a various shows. She has studied all styles of dance, but especially enjoys modern and jazz. She has had the pleasure of taking master classes from Ashley Canterna, Dee Caspary, Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, and Travis Wall among others. She always hopes to have dance in her life in one way or another!


Emily Bonham (dancer) is excited to be in her ninth year with Equinox. Emily began studying dance at age five. She studied ballet, pointe, jazz, and tap with The Upper Montgomery Ballet School, in Damascus, MD, and assisted the school director as a student instructor. As a student at The College of William & Mary in Virginia, Emily expanded her dance repertoire, studying a variety of modern dance techniques, along with Alexander Technique. She performed in the annual dance minor concerts at William & Mary, and competed as a member of the Ballroom Dance Team. Emily earned her bachelors degree in Psychology and Spanish at W&M, and completed her masters in Human Sciences at Hood College. She is the Associate Registrar at Howard Community College in Columbia. When she's not dancing, Emily is training for triathlons and her first half marathon.


Emily Conner (dancer) This is Emily's first season dancing with Equinox and she is thrilled to be using her body to express creative movement again! Emily studied jazz, pointe and the Cecchetti method of ballet from the age of 3 at the YMCA School of Dance, where she also served as a youth company member. Due to a busy schedule, she took a hiatus from dance after graduating high school but is excited to be back to her dancing roots for the first time with Equinox Dance Company. Emily also practices yoga and hopes to someday become a Zumba instructor. In December 2011, Emily will graduate from Shepherd University with a Bachelor's of Art Education, and welcomes any adventure that may come thereafter, whether it be pursuing a job in an art museum or starting her own business.


Jessica Fitzwater (dancer) joined Equinox during the 2007-2008 season and is thrilled to be working with such a talented group of dancers! Jessica has been dancing since she was five and has performed a variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, musical theater, and folk dance. In middle and high school she studied at Dancin' Time Studios in Hagerstown, MD. Jessica is a 2005 graduate of St. Mary's College of Maryland with a B.A. in Music and a 2010 graduate of Hood College with a M.S. in Educational Leadership. While at St. Mary's College she performed in several stage musicals and dance concerts and founded the St. Mary's Dance Club where she served as a dancer and choreographer. Jessica plays violin in the Frederick Symphony Orchestra and is currently a general music teacher at Oakdale Elementary School where she directs the school chorus and dance clubs. Over the past several years her dance clubs have been guest performers in EDC's Children's Shows—she loves sharing her passion for music and dance with her students!


Grace Gonzalez (dancer) This is Grace’s first season with Equinox. She began her training under the tutelage of Joyce Morrison at the Frederick School of Classical Ballet, performing in several ballets such as Sleeping Beauty and annual productions of The Nutcracker for 13 years. She has participated in summer programs with the Boston Ballet and Ballroom Dance in Frederick. In spring of 2011, Grace received a B.S. in Theatre with a minor in Dance from Frostburg State University. While at FSU, she expanded her training to include jazz, hip-hop, modern,improvisation, contemporary dance and studies of Alexander Technique. Grace performed with the FSU Dance Company where she had the invaluable opportunity to choreograph original works for biannual dance concerts. She has had the pleasure of performing works of choreographers Jeff Shade, Lauren Quattro, and Amelia Derezinski, and Jamie McGreevy. She also acted and assistant stage managed with University Theatre and performed with University Chorale. Grace currently teaches dance at the YMCA, and is expanding her training to include Aerial lessons with Updraft.


Stephanie Peters (dancer)








Jennifer Smith (dancer) joined Equinox during the 2007-2008 season. She began dancing at the age of four, taking ballet classes at the Northern Virginia school of Christina Heimlich, and then took up tap dancing at Linda's Academy of Dance. It was at Linda's Academy that Jennifer met Jacqui Quin, with whom she would continue dancing at various studios, competing in many national competitions until graduating high school and attending James Madison University. While studying art history, Jennifer was able to take a few modern dance classes, she also continued modern classes with Lois Welk in Corning, New York after graduation. After moving to the Frederick area in 2001, Jennifer did not dance again until joining Equinox. In that period of time she attended culinary school and worked as a pastry chef. Jennifer is currently the Collections and Exhibitions Manager at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, Maryland.