Summer Dance Camp
1 Week Program
Robert Morris School July 24th - 28th, 2017 9am-4:30pm The 2017 Dance Camp is a 1-week day program run by Brianna Blair Kelly(biography below). Participants have the ability to enroll for the entire week or individual sessions. The workshop is designed for intermediate to advanced dancers, however some sessions are designed for beginners or musical theater participants. A complete schedule is shown below. To register, please complete the enrollment form and remit with payment to Batavia Players. Please contact Patrick Burk at [email protected] for additional information. ![]()
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BRIANNA BLAIR KELLY
Briana Blair Kelly is a multidisciplinary artist and dance educator with a versatile background and rooted passion for the arts. A native of Rochester, NY, Kelly began her dance training as an Irish dancer at Drumcliffe Irish Arts under the instruction of Edward J. Murphy and Michael Galvin. Over the span of ten years she became a champion Irish dancer and traveled to Ireland in 2005 and 2006 for the Irish Dance World Championship. Kelly attended School of the Arts in Rochester where she double majored in Visual Arts and Dance, studied ballet at the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education for five years and was lucky enough to have private voice lessons with Derrick Smith at the Eastman School of Music for three years.
Kelly graduated Magna Cum Laude from SUNY Fredonia in 2012 with a BFA in Musical Theater. This degree required extensive studies in acting, music and dance. She studied voice under the instruction of Shinobu Takagi and her acting education was vigorous and diverse thanks to Thomas Loughlin, Paul Mockovak, James Ivey, Jessica Hillman-McCord, and Ted Sharon. Kelly became very involved with the dance department during her four years at Fredonia. She had the privilege of studying under Helen Myers, Sam Kenney, and Angelika Summerton, and was asked to be the Assistant Director of the Fredonia Dance Ensemble her senior year. While attending Fredonia, Kelly had many performance opportunities in dance and theater; She was in the Fredonia Dance Ensemble from 2008-2011, was the First Witch in Macbeth and was an ensemble member in A Christmas Carol, Kiss Me Kate, and The Sound of Music. She was hired to choreograph the concert version of Guys and Dolls, was awarded The Harry John Brown and Paul W. Mockovak Award in Musical Theatre and was the Co-Creator/President of SUNY Fredonia’s Student Dance Organization her senior year. |
During her senior year at SUNY Fredonia Kelly was hired to be the Choreographer at Fredonia High School. She held this position for three years; her credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Bye Bye Birdie. Kelly and her students were nominated for ‘Best Dance Performance’ in the 2014 Kenny Awards for their work in Bye Bye Birdie. While acting as choreographer she assisted with directing, as well as acting and vocal coaching. While living in Fredonia she also taught Irish dance at Infinity Dance Academy and Chadwick Bay Academy of Dance. In 2013, Kelly was hired by SUNY Fredonia to be the Stage Director and Choreographer for the Commencement Eve Pops Concert.
Kelly moved back to Rochester in 2014 to pursue her MFA in Choreography and Performance at The College at Brockport. While at Brockport she studied under Cheryl Johnson, Stevie Oakes, Tammy Carrasco, James Hansen, Mariah Maloney, Karl Rogers, Vanessa VanWormer, Heather Acomb, Ashley Friend, Colleen Culley, Juanita Suarez, and Allison Bohman. She presented papers at Brockport’s Scholar’s Day in 2015 and 2016, and presented the choreographic portion of her MFA thesis in 2017. Kelly was fortunate to have multiple performance opportunities while attending Brockport: Space Walk, Tap Musings, If The Shoe Fits, The Jack Rabbit, and Edges.
While maintaining full-time status as a graduate student Kelly has continued to choreograph diverse styles in various arenas. Kelly worked closely with the first year students in the Brockport Dance Department. Her choreography appeared in the New Dancers’ Showcase for two years; both of her pieces, Beautiful Imperfections (2014) and Disconnect (2015) were Tap-Contemporary fusion. She was hired by Brockport’s Dance Department to be the Concert Coordinator for the New Dancers’ Showcase in 2016. Kelly was hired by SUNY Brockport’s Theater Department to choreograph Assassins (2016) and also by School of the Arts to choreograph Mary Poppins (2015).
Kelly’s passion for teaching has continued to grow over the past few years. She has worked at Palymra-Macedon Conservatory of Dance since 2014 where she teaches Irish, Tap, Musical Theatre and Contemporary, and Jazz. She had the opportunity to teach a Tap/Contemporary Fusion class at the American College Dance Association’s Mideast Conference at Brockport (2016). Kelly is an active substitute teacher for the Rochester City School District since 2015 and mainly substitutes for the dance teachers at School of the Arts. She became the teaching assistant to Cheryl Johnson, her Tap mentor, in the spring of 2016. Kelly had many teaching opportunities while attending Brockport: Dance Awareness Days, substitute teaching, guest instructor. She has been a member of the National Dance Educator Organization (NDEO) for three years and served as the NHSDA Officer and Secretary for NDEO’s Brockport Student Chapter.
Kelly moved back to Rochester in 2014 to pursue her MFA in Choreography and Performance at The College at Brockport. While at Brockport she studied under Cheryl Johnson, Stevie Oakes, Tammy Carrasco, James Hansen, Mariah Maloney, Karl Rogers, Vanessa VanWormer, Heather Acomb, Ashley Friend, Colleen Culley, Juanita Suarez, and Allison Bohman. She presented papers at Brockport’s Scholar’s Day in 2015 and 2016, and presented the choreographic portion of her MFA thesis in 2017. Kelly was fortunate to have multiple performance opportunities while attending Brockport: Space Walk, Tap Musings, If The Shoe Fits, The Jack Rabbit, and Edges.
While maintaining full-time status as a graduate student Kelly has continued to choreograph diverse styles in various arenas. Kelly worked closely with the first year students in the Brockport Dance Department. Her choreography appeared in the New Dancers’ Showcase for two years; both of her pieces, Beautiful Imperfections (2014) and Disconnect (2015) were Tap-Contemporary fusion. She was hired by Brockport’s Dance Department to be the Concert Coordinator for the New Dancers’ Showcase in 2016. Kelly was hired by SUNY Brockport’s Theater Department to choreograph Assassins (2016) and also by School of the Arts to choreograph Mary Poppins (2015).
Kelly’s passion for teaching has continued to grow over the past few years. She has worked at Palymra-Macedon Conservatory of Dance since 2014 where she teaches Irish, Tap, Musical Theatre and Contemporary, and Jazz. She had the opportunity to teach a Tap/Contemporary Fusion class at the American College Dance Association’s Mideast Conference at Brockport (2016). Kelly is an active substitute teacher for the Rochester City School District since 2015 and mainly substitutes for the dance teachers at School of the Arts. She became the teaching assistant to Cheryl Johnson, her Tap mentor, in the spring of 2016. Kelly had many teaching opportunities while attending Brockport: Dance Awareness Days, substitute teaching, guest instructor. She has been a member of the National Dance Educator Organization (NDEO) for three years and served as the NHSDA Officer and Secretary for NDEO’s Brockport Student Chapter.

Schedule- Downloadable.pdf |