2019-2020 Members
Zoë Goldstein- Founder and Director
Zoë is the founder and director of Echo Modern Dance Collective. She is in love with this community and the warm hearts in it. She hails from Toronto and spent 5 years living in Montreal while studying Psychology at McGill University. While there, she co-founded and directed Alegria Contemporary Ballet for 4 years, another grassroots dance community that she has since passed on to other leaders. After graduating, she packed up her life again to pursue her doctorate in Clinical Psychology in Chicago. She knew she was lacking something major in her life before this community came to be. Echo, and the dancers in it, are a real dream for her
Maia Welbel- Co-Founder and Associate Director
Maia is a writer, dancer, yoga teacher, and sustainability activist. She is passionate about cultivating holistic wellness through movement, and using storytelling to help people treat our planet with more compassion. Maia received her B.A. from Pomona College with a major in environmental analysis and a minor in dance. She went on to receive her master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. Maia previously performed with Cocodaco Dance Project, and is so excited to be choreographing and performing alongside the inspiring women of Echo.
Amelia Harris
Amelia discovered dance through her middle school drama club. At the age of 16 she moved away from home to attend the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. There she studied classical Vaganova technique as well as Arpino/Joffrey repertoire. She attended summer programs at the Kirov Academy of Ballet, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and the Parsons Dance Company.
Amelia then attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she received a BFA in Ballet and a certificate in Global Health. She also has a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies through Cornell. She is passionate about public health, yoga, music, environmental sustainability, and social justice.
Cheyenne Blakely
Chey is currently a digital marketer at an ad agency in downtown Chicago. When she’s not working her 9-5 grind, she loves training in versatile dance classes around the city, long boarding when it’s not sub zero, wish-listing everything on Free People’s website, and exploring all the new trendy food spots. During her four years with DePaul Dance Company, Chey choreographed 3+ pieces for each of the three shows during the school year. When she wasn’t doing that, she was training independently around the Chicagoland area in modern, contemporary, jazz and hiphop styles. This past year, she competed in USASF Dance Worlds as a National Finalist with a hiphop crew “Royal Flush”. Chey loves to challenge herself with new styles and takes on extra opportunities with artists in and out of Chicago to collaborate and create new work
Cindy Johnson
Cindy Johnson moved to Chicago in July of 2019 and loves living in this artsy, vibrant city. She started dancing at the age of three and has studied Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Traditional Chinese Folk dance, and various other styles over the years. Originally from a small mountain town in Washington State, Cindy received her BFA in Dance from Western Washington University. At WWU she participated in many faculty and student performances, attended the American College Dance Festival, and worked with choreographers such as Nolan Dennett, Leslie Krauss, Pam Kuntz, and Anya Cloud. Outside of university, Cindy taught ballet and contemporary for 2 years to kids ages 5-18, studied abroad in Florence, Italy and worked in Bangalore, India as an intern with Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts. In Chicago you can find her working with Chicago Public Schools or as a work study at Visceral Dance Center. When she’s not dancing, Cindy loves to cook, explore the city either running or walking, or relaxing at home with a book and hot tea. She is so excited to be a part of Echo Modern Dance Collective and is so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such beautiful artists.
Clara Li
Though born and raised in Maryland, Clara has enjoyed the change of pace living in the Midwest for the past few years. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Public Policy in 2018. She stayed active in the dance community while being part of two student-run groups, Cadence Dance Company and EnCore. Her background is in ballet and modern, though picking up hip hop starting in college. She is forever inspired and grateful to have found Echo and can't wait to see how this collective and community continues to grow.
Gail Honeywell
Gail grew up in DeKalb, Illinois, where she started dancing at the age of 3. By 15 Gail started working towards her college degree. She attended Northern Illinois University for three years before graduating with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance in May of 2017 at the age of 18. Post graduation she stayed in DeKalb for a year to explore teaching dance. Gail recently moved to Chicago to further her dance teaching career and experiences. She is thrilled to be a part of echo and to share her love of dance in a non-judgemental welcoming environment
Hayley Delaney
Hayley is currently working in revenue management at a Downtown Chicago hotel and is excited to pursue her passion for dance through Echo. She has been dancing for 15 years and most recently was a member of DePaul Dance Company, where she was a part of the modern and ballet teams. In addition to dancing on these teams and for whole company numbers, she was able to perform and choreograph small groups for each of their quarterly shows. When Hayley isn’t working or dancing, she loves traveling to see concerts or musicals and try out new restaurants. She is so excited to be a part of this collective, which has given her an artistic outlet and space to connect with the Chicago dance community.
Jenny Liu
Jenny Liu is a dancer, choreographer, and undergraduate student at the University of Chicago, where she is currently pursuing a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy/Art History. Jenny first began dancing at the age of 5 and trained in classical ballet with Indiana Ballet Theatre for many years. In high school, she transitioned to focus primarily on modern dance. During this time, she was a dancer and assistant director with the Hotchkiss Dance Company and had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers, such as Yin Yue and Liliana Candotti. Currently, in addition to Echo Modern Dance Collective, Jenny dances and choreographs for Maya Dance Company, a modern and contemporary dance group at UChicago.
Nadine Mauricio
Ileana Nadine is a first generation Mexican-American originally from Aurora, Illinois. Growing up in a culturally rich family, she had already developed a strong connection to dance. As a competitive dancer, she has won several awards and recognitions throughout her youth. In 2011 Nadine moved to Chicago to pursue her passion in dance; training at Lou Conte Dance Studio in Modern under Winifred Haun while also teaching youth classes at Xtreme Dance Force, Dynamic Force Dance, and Malti Dance Academy. After taking a break to earn her Bachelors of Art in Advertising Art Direction at Columbia College Chicago 2017, Ileana Nadine returned to the dance world as a performer and choreographer.
Kelly Vogel
Kelly is currently that medical student at Northwestern University who can’t stop talking about dance every chance she gets (and its cardiovascular and emotional health benefits, duh)! When Kelly is not busy studying in the library (while not so discretely bopping around to her favorite songs) or working in the clinic, she is moving every chance she gets. Currently, in addition to moving with Echo, she is running the Dance Interest Group for Northwestern’s professional schools. Kelly firmly believes that dance has shaped her into the person she is and has motivated her to pursue the career path she is on, so it is very important to her to keep dance in her life as much as she can. At Emory University, Kelly’s involvement in dance continued as she balanced her dance major with a neuroscience major. Notably, Kelly was a member of Emory’s academic company, the Emory Dance Company, all four years in addition to serving as the Vice President of First Position, Emory’s ballet club, performing AHANA Dance and Emory Theater productions, and having dance-offs at every social gathering. As a prima ballerina that adapted to college postmodern dance, Kelly has shown that she is unafraid to tackle new styles and challenges as an artist. Kelly is very excited to see where the next chapter of her dance career with Echo Modern Dance will take her!
Sara Schroerlucke
Classically trained, a contemporary rebel at heart, Sara is electrified by all things movement. She began her dance training at the age of four, under the tutelage of Toni Carrion and Denise Donovan. She continued her training at the university of California, Irvine, where she holds degrees in dance performance and anthropology. Sara currently lives in Chicago, and has danced with companies including Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Hanna Brictson & Dancers, and Cocodaco Dance Project. she has performed works by choreographers including, but not limited to, Lar Lubovitch, Sherry Zunker, Christian Denice, Jose Limon, and David Maurice. Sara is an artist with a tenacious voice and a fearless stance, in which she utilizes movement as a vehicle for community transformation and societal justice.