Karlanna Lewis, Founding Director Karlanna
Lewis completed her honors B.A. in Russian and Creative Writing at Florida
State University, with an honors thesis in poetry. At Florida State Ms. Lewis
was selected as an Outstanding Senior Scholar. She has also presented a
research project on Russian literature and dance at various conferences. Ms.
Lewis is a published writer and galleried artist. A native of Tallahassee,
Florida, Ms. Lewis is a principal dancer for the Pas de Vie Ballet and has
led an honors service project teaching dance to local schoolchildren. Ms.
Lewis has worked multiple jobs as a cashier, teacher, and journalist her
entire collegiate career and volunteered as a DJ and producer for the V89
radio station. In the future she plans to pursue her M.F.A. in creative
writing and to eventually become a university professor. Passionate about the
arts and the environment, in 2011 she founded the non-profit Dancearth, an
arts for social change initiative that unites and preserves both.
Lauren Hlubny, Director of Outreach & Recruitment Lauren Hlubny is a student at Florida State University studying Theatre and International Affairs. She has taken ballet almost all of her life, and began choreographing various forms of dance in high school. With her strong passion for the dance arts, she has found integration between dance, “extra-daily” technique, and theatrical performance, through various realms including Grotowski, Meyerhold, Commedia dell’arte and a range of experimental theatre performances and creations. These experiences have fueled her feelings for dance and its importance as a medium of communication. Lauren has interests in law, leadership, visual arts, theatre, dance, and remaining curious to the world around her. When Karlanna conceived the idea of Dancearth at Leadershape, Lauren felt inspired by the notion of combining several important facets, the foremost ones being dance, education, and the environment.
Eliza Schneider-Green, Costuming Director Eliza Schneider Green is 15 years old, homeschooled, and has lived in Tallahassee all her life. She has danced with Southern Academy of Ballet Arts for 11 years and with the Pas de Vie Ballet Company for 2 years. She has always had passion for clothing, in particular vintage clothing and vintage costumes. Through ballet, she has seen what goes on behind the scenes in the costume department, and hopes one day to be costume director for a ballet or theater company, and to create costumes for period films and TV programs (such as Masterpiece Theater). She would like to thank Karlanna Lewis for giving her this opportunity.
Allison Huang, Director of Event Planning Allison Huang is a junior in high school who has a love for dance and wants to be able to share it with the people in her life. She was born and raised in Tallahassee, and has danced ballet at the Southern Academy of Ballet Arts for 12 years. Allison has hobbies of photography, singing, and being with her friends. She hopes to have a career in event planning or hospitality, and is grateful to have this opportunity to be the Director of Event Planning for Dancearth. This would be a great way to get experience for future plans in life, and she can not wait for her event planning to go to good use for this organization.
Heather Neff, Director of Choreography
Emily Wilgenbush, Public Relations Director From dancing as a bon-bon in the Nutcracker with Pas De Vie to attending Joffrey Ballet School in New York on scholarship for two summers in a row, Emily Wilgenbusch has enjoyed dancing since before she can remember. Emily will be a senior at Leon High School this year, but doesn't show any sign of stopping dance. She says her life would not be complete without dance. She is excited to take her dance out of class and into Dancearth where she hopes her dance can devolop as an art form which she can share with others.
Anna Hughes, Director of Sustainability Anna Hughes, born and raised in Tallahassee, has been dancing for over 12 years with the Southern Academy of Ballet Arts, and performing with the Pas de Vie Ballet since 2008. Now a junior in high school, Anna also enjoys photography and being around horses. As an avid dancer who is enthusiastic about the preservation of the environment, Anna is very excited to be a part of Dancearth and to promote its expansion.
