Owner & Director
Kathleen Knapp-Campbell, professionally known as KATNAP, holds a Master's Degree in dance from UCLA and has extensive training in Jazz, Modern, Tap, Ballroom, and Ethnic dance styles. Her work as a dancer, choreographer and producer has appeared in Las Vegas, Japan, South Africa, Mexico and the Caribbean. She has choreographed for television and film including the Academy Awards and has worked with Gregory Hines, Ben Vereen, Leslie Ann Warren, Tom Hanks and many other notables celebrities. She directed and choreographed the Share Benefit at CBS and is the owner and director of the Katnap Dance Center in Los Angeles, California. KATNAP teaches all levels and ages.
Mr. Grigoriev came to Los Angeles in 1997, where he established a ballet school offering serious Vaganova-based training to young Southern California dancers. Since the school’s inception, Mr. Grigoriev has received the Youth America Grand Prix Best Teacher Award at the California Regionals in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and his students have been the recipients of numerous awards and scholarships. Mr. Grigoriev resides in West Los Angeles with his wife Alexandra and their loyal Shih Tsu, Putik. For more information about Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet please visit www.yurigrigoriev.com
Reggie Brown
Reggie Brown (lyrical modern) was born and raised in Los Angeles and began his formal dance training at Santa Monica Dance Center while pursuing an acting career. After accepting a work-study position at Steven Peck Dance Studio in L.A., Mr. Brown became a member of the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theater under Lula Washington. Mr. Brown has been featured on television in commercials for Cherry Coke and L.A. Gear, acting and choreographing his own dance segments, and he has also been on radio stations B104-Baltimore, WZAK-Cleveland and WVEE-Atlanta. He has worked with a wide variety of talent - professional cheerleaders, recording artists, fitness competitors and actors. His commercial choreography includes two routines for the NBA Los Angeles Clipper Spirit Cheerleaders and the music video "Paradise" that was featured on Caribbean Vibes on the B.E.T. cable network.
One of L.A.'s most respected dance teachers, Mr. Brown is known for his ability to nurture a dancer to a higher technical and performance level. His concert work exudes both spiritual and social awareness. He has taught and facilitated master classes at many popular dance studios in Southern California including Tremaine Dance Center, Loyola Marymount University, Santa Monica College and Moro-Landis Dance Center. Mr. Brown was a participating choreographer for the annual Jazz Dance L.A. concerts from 1994 to 1997. In 1998, he was a featured choreographer for the highly successful Men Dancing at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater. In the spring of 1999, he was commissioned to choreograph a piece for the Synapse Modern Dance Theater at Santa Monica College. During the fall of 1999, Loyola Marymount University also commissioned a piece for their spring 2000 faculty concert.
Mr. Brown used his talents to encourage and inspire at-risk children and youth at Hollygrove Youth Home in Hollywood from May 2002 to the spring of 2004. He also worked with former Balanchine dancer Zina Bethune's Foundation "Unbound Dreams" to support mentally and physically challenged youth. Mr. Brown has been teaching at Katnap Dance Center in West Los Angeles since 1991 and has been privileged to work with and to mentor the gifted performing arts students at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts since 2001. In August 2006, Mr. Brown has performed with Urban Poets and traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa to inspire hope and unity in several communities. In October 2006, collaborations with the after school program Star/Gate and October 2007 with Youth Program Institute. The Summer of 2008 will be teaching at Inner Spark, Pasadena Dance Theater and Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet. Mr. Brown has aspirations of producing and directing and plans to form a multimedia performing artist group that will challenge and uplift the human spirit.
Maria Gillespie is choreographer and artistic director of the contemporary dance company, Oni Dance. An artist who thrives on improvising, developing, accumulating and interpreting movement, Gillespie’s choreography is a seamless blend of classicism and supple, grounded quirkiness. She has worked and performed with Joe Goode, Victoria Marks, David Rousseve, John Pennington, and String Theory Ensemble. Ms. Gillespie is also a principle dancer of Helios Dance Theater (1996-present). She is on faculty at UCLA’s department of World Arts & Cultures where she teaches contemporary modern dance as well as offering weekly modern classes in Venice, CA. For more information abour Maria please visit www.onidance.org
Seda Aybay is the founder, artistic director and choreographer of Kybele Dance Theater (KDT). Graduated from UCLA Worlds Arts and Cultures in dance/ choreography with honors, Aybay invited to choreograph for Marina Del Rey Middle School performance magnet, D.A.R.E programs, LACSA, Santa Monica Collage, Praxis Project, Cerritos Collage, and Spectrum. She performed with the "Synapse Dance Theatre", "Folklorico de SMC", "Ney Nava", Liliana de Leon Torsiello, Alex De Silva, "Praxis Project", Lion's Pounds Theater, Lula Washington Dance Theater, "Brockus Project" and featured by KTLA channel9, Univision Kmex34, Fox11 as performer. She also toured with her company in Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York, and Seatlle. Seda Aybay teaches different levels of Modern, Jazz, Lyrical classes for adults and children. For more information about Seda Aybay please visit www.kybeledance.com
In 1988, Margaret Cleary ADCRG introduced Irish Dance classes for adults at St. Ambrose Parish Hall in West Hollywood. The adult group were aptly known as The St. Ambrose Ceili Dancers and grew to be a reputable Irish organization within the Southern California community. They have attained five National titles for ceili dancing. In 1993, Margaret added classes for children. Classes are now offered for students of all ages and levels. They study the traditional art form of Irish dance (reels, jigs and hornpipes) in both soft and hard shoes. They perform regularly at events throughout the Southland and have appeared many times on local and national television as well as Irish TV (RTE). For complete Bio and information about Margaret Cleary and Cleary Irish Dance, please vivist www.clearyirishdance.com
