Gainesville Summer Intensive Faculty
Meet our Exceptional Faculty
Sunghee Han
Ballet – Intensive 1
Sunghee Han was Prima Ballerina of the Korea National Ballet Company from 1991 to 1995, Guest Ballerina with the San Francisco Ballet Company from 1995/96, Principal Ballerina with Dance Alive National Ballet from 1999 to 2006, and subsequently moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where she opened her own school, the Sunghee Ballet Academy, and founded the Sunghee Youth Ballet, where she continues to impart her extraordinary knowledge to willing students. Throughout her career as a dancer, she also was an instructor at acclaimed companies and schools here and abroad. She has danced all the Principal Ballerina roles in the great ballets, such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Raymonda, The Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Kim Tuttle’s Carmen and Queen of the Night. She is an example what all ballet students should aspire to. We are thrilled to have her back.
Autumn Marie
Contemporary/Jazz – Intensive 1
Autumn Marie is a dancer, teacher, adjudicator, choreographer, adjunct professor, convention teacher, and the consummate Radio City Rockette having performed with them for seven years. She produced Project Dance Atlanta for four years, and has taught for the Rockettes, The Joffrey Ballet, the Orlando Ballet, and at various conventions. She has performed throughout the country and internationally in concert halls, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland, on TV and film and with Dance Alive National Ballet where she also studied jazz with Judy Skinner while attending the University of Florida, where she got her BS in Telecommunications, Directing and Producing. She is one of Pofahl Studios favorite guest teachers, and always brings wonderful choreography that suits the students while at the same time inspiring them! Welcome back, Autumn!
Amy Seawright
Ballet – Intensive 2
Amy Seawright is a native Floridian from Gainesville, FL. She began her dance training at Pofahl studios in her hometown with Kim Tuttle, Judy Skinner, and Mary Ellen Pofahl. She continued her study at the School of American Ballet in New York City. While attending the University of Florida, she danced professionally with Dance Alive National Ballet and was also a guest artist throughout the state of Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Florida and was then asked to join the Miami City Ballet where she danced for the next twelve years. Upon personal invitation, she joined the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center for the subsequent three years. During Amy’s professional career she has toured extensively in national venues throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America. She has performed on the main stage at the Edinburgh Festival, Spoleto Festival, Torino Arts Celebration, Kennedy Center Honors, Jacob’s Pillow, Wolftrap, Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Dance Aspen. She has had the privilege to work with a wide spectrum of directors, choreographers and ballet masters from the Balanchine Trust, the Bolshoi, the Kirov, the Stuttgart Ballet, the Paul Taylor Company, and Royal Ballet to name a few. She loves to pour all of her experience as a dancer and teacher into leading her students towards a better understanding of movement, technique, body alignment and stage craft. She enjoys working with people of all walks of life as she shares her great love of the art of dance. She is the loving mother of Jacob and Lauren.
Michelle Zada
Horton/Modern – Intensive 2
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Michelle Zada earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Education with a minor in Physical Education from The Ohio State University. She received her early training from Theatre Street Dance Academy and BalletMet of Coumbus. Her professional performing career includes dancing as a member of Phladanco’s second company, “D/2”, Lula Washington Dance Theater, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and five season with Dallas Black Dance Theatre where she also served as costume mistress. She has appeared as a featured actress in many local and nationwide commercials and print advertising, including McDonalds, Qdoba Mexican Grill and Brinks Home Security. She has taught at local dance studios, numerous master classes throughout the US and national conferences such as Black College Dance Exchange, Youth America Grand Prix, and is the Co-Founder of Dance Up Dallas Summer Dance Intensive. She is recognized as a Distinguished Teacher and Mentor for the Dallas Independent School District, the National YoungArts Foundation and the U.S. Presidential Scholar Program.
Nancy Turano
Ballet – Intensive 3
Nancy Turano is a Director, Master Teacher and Choreographer for Dance, Film, Opera and TV. She received a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase and performed as a principal dancer and with Ballet Hispanico of New York & Buglisi Dance Theatre. As Artistic Director of the New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble since 1994 to 2025, Turano created innovative dance training programs in NJ/NYC metro area including; MIP2® and MOVEMENT INVENTION PROJECT® (MIP®) at Baryshnikov Arts Center in NYC. MIP® named Top 10 international Contemporary Summer Intensives 2017 & 2018. She also created AiR® choreographic residencies and INKUBATE® a site specific dance installation in Summit, NJ. Turano’s choreography has been presented in US, Mexico, Panama, Israel, Sweden and Germany. in film festivals around the world. She has also choreographed episodes of Law and Order. Turano has taught at National Ballet of Sweden School, Ballet Hispanico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Aspen Ballet, National Ballet of Panama, Teatro San Martin in Argentina, Bat-Dor in Israel, Vancouver Arts Umbrella, Celine Dion’s “A New Day,” New York University, Purchase College, MSU and in 30 Universities in the US. Turano was also the Founding Director of the Harkness Youth Ballet at the 92nd St. Y in NYC. Turano was a faculty of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program and the Pre-Professional Division of Ailey School for 21 years.
Tucker Gokey
Contemporary – Intensive 3
Tucker Gokey was born in Vermont and raised in Ocala, Florida. He grew up dancing in Ocala and trained extensively at Pofahl Studios. He then began traveling around the U.S. assisting choreographer in creating dances and teaching classes for competitive team schools. He was a competitive dancer and won dancer of the year at the Streetz dance convention and consequently traveled with them throughout the U. S. as an assistant. He won first place at Radix in Los Angeles, Cal. He then was been based in Chicago working in the contemporary art form. He returned to Dance Alive National Ballet, and has been with the Company for the last three seasons as well as being an instructor at Pofahl Studios, the resident school.
Rachel Ridley
Ballet – Half-Day Youth Intensive
Trained at Pofahl Studios, the Official School of DANB, since the age of 5. Ms. Ridley studied various styles including classical ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, and hip-hop. She extended her studies through summer programs with Orlando Ballet, ABT, and the Radio City Rockettes. Ms. Ridley started performing and traveling with DANB since the age of 10. She has performed in DANB’s production of The Nutcracker since she was a child, and has toured with DANB performing in Don Quixote, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Robin Hood, Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Lady Bug: Action Hero, Cinderella, Rhapsody in Blue, Bolero, Scheherazade, Requiem, Phantom, and Carmina Burana among others. She currently teaches various classes at Pofahls Studios and is the Co-Director of the Next Generation, the student performing company. Ms. Ridley has a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and is a practicing Speech Therapist. Her grace, beauty and innate musicality makes her a dream for choreographers to work with, and her lovely stage presence makes her an audience favorite.
Megan Bascom
Modern – Half-Day Youth Intensive
Megan Bascom is a choreographer, performer, dance educator, and somatic practitioner. Her work is highly collaborative, relationship-driven, and dedicated to engaging with the varied nuances of human expression and interaction. Megan’s choreographic works have been presented and supported nationally and internationally, including Triskelion Arts (NY), Gowanus Arts + Production (NY), Center for Performance Research (NY), Dixon Place (NY), Manhattan Movement and Arts Center (NY), Dance New Amsterdam (NY), The Dance Complex (MA), Ohio University (OH), Dance Alive National Ballet (FL), the University of Michigan (MI), Asheville Fringe Arts Festival (NC), Artus Studio (Budapest, Hungary), and Ankara State Conservatory/ Hacettepe University (Ankara, Turkey). She was awarded the Florida Dance Festival Artist in Residence 2012 (FL), received the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Space Subsidy at Triskelion Arts 2012-2017 (NY), and the Meta Weiser Performing Arts EXCELerator Grant through the University of Michigan in 2018. As an independent artist and educator, Megan has worked on faculty at the University of Michigan, teaching Composition, Partnering, Modern Techniques, and Pilates for Dancers. As well as at Hillsdale College, teaching all levels of Modern and working with the Tower Dancers student company.. Megan received a BA with Honors in Dance Studies, focusing on Dance Injury Prevention, from the University of South Florida and an MFA from the University of Michigan.
