LDF SUMMER INTENSIVE

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August 4-8, 2025

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Guest Instructors:

AMANDA WELCH

Amanda Welch was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama where she started training in dance at 3 years old. At the age of 18, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career in dance where she has trained & worked with some of the top industry choreographers. 

She danced with JLo in her music video, “Medicine.” She traveled on Tour with Todrick Hall, performed in Shanghai for Honda, and was a backup dancer for former Pussycat Doll, Jessica Sutta. Amanda was a featured dancer in “Millennials the Musical” created by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Lin Manuel Miranda. She also danced and assisted choreography for country sensation, Keith Urban, for his single “Never Comin Down.”

Aside from dancing, Amanda has an extreme passion for the art of teaching dance! She has traveled overseas to China and New Zealand to share her passion for movement. She combines her soulful groove & musicality to create authentic movement that allows people to feel good, while being challenged. Amanda enjoys giving a little different flavor with each class she teaches. Amanda says, “it’s all about learning and gaining knowledge from both sides, for me as a teacher & for my students. It’s that mutual exchange that feeds my soul.”

COURTNEY DANG

Courtney Dang, originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, developed a passion for dance early on, classically training at the Oak Ridge Academy of Dance where she competed at studio competitions along with competing with the ORDTTA All Star team. She attended and danced for the University of Cincinnati for five years, where she studied Information Technology, served as captain for two seasons, and earned three D1A hip hop national championships and five world championships representing the U.S. National Team.

After graduation, she coached local high school teams and became an assistant coach for the University of Cincinnati Dance Team. In 2024, she took on the role of head coach, continuing to inspire and connect with dancers across the country.

JENS LEE

Jens Lee, a native of New Castle, Pa, is an internationally known and acclaimed Professional Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer in dance styles such as Ballet, Jazz, Modern (Horton), Tap, Contemporary, Musical Theatre and Ballroom. 

Starting at a young age in Theatre, Jens has been in over 100 productions, including roles in TWELFTH NIGHT/COMEDY OF ERRORS, with an opportunity to perform for Great Lakes Theater Alumni TOM HANKS, PIPPIN-Dance Captain, ANYTHING GOES/MUSIC MAN, ALTAR BOYZ and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST-Beast/ANNIE GET YOUR GUN-Tommy/OUR TOWN-George/CHRISTMAS SCHOONER-Oscar. 

As a Choreographer, some of his works include titles such as NO NO NANETTE/GUYS N DOLLS, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS/LEGALLY BLONDE, FOOTLOOSE and THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE.  Jens's Training in dance started with Classical Ballet in the Cecchetti style under the guidance of Gigi Hazan, Kathie Halbert and the Cecchetti Council of America. Later on to Vaganova and French styles of ballet from Richard Dickinson, Robert Steele, Anita Lin and Debbie Parou. Certified in the 13 styles of American Ballroom/Rhythm, Jens was personally trained and coached by the World Ballroom/Theatre Arts Champion George Hendricks and the Former 10 Dance Champion Martin Lamb.

As a Professional Instructor and trainer, Jens has taught thousands of students all around the world from age 3-92, with some receiving dance scholarships to colleges and schools such as OSU, YSU, NYCU, Juilliard, CSU, SUNY, and Alvin Ailey to name a few. He has also been the Ballet Master for multiple Studios including Cleveland School of the Arts, Elite Dance of Brunswick, Ohio and Bingham Center of Midland, Texas. His professional credits as a Guest Artist include a list of ballets including Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Little Mermaid for the New Castle Regional Ballet, Laurel Ballet, Allegro Arts, Ballet Western Reserve, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet Company and Neo’s Dance Theatre. He was also with Princess Cruise lines as one of their Professional Dancers and was recently awarded their CONSUMMATE HOST OF THE MONTH for a heroic action. As a Competitive Judge, Jens has taught Master Classes and Judge for TURN IT AROUND TOUR & Dance Masters of America. Jens is also a trained medal winning Triathlete/Marathon runner.

ANGELICA SOUTH

Angelica South is originally from Traverse City, Michigan where she trained in classical ballet under the direction of Thomas Morrell. She attended The Harid Conservatory, American Ballet Theatre, and The Bolshoi Ballet Theatre summer programs. She won first place in the Pas de Deux category at the Youth America Grand Prix, and was invited to the finals in NYC. The Bolshoi Ballet also invited her to attend their year-round school in Moscow, Russia. Angelica danced professionally for six seasons with The Lexington Ballet. She performed many principle roles, The Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Alice (Alice in Wonderland), and Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), amongst many others. She danced with Allegro Dance Project for three seasons, and was a guest artist with Virginia Youth Ballet and Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre.

Currently, she is the Artistic Director of United Fine Arts Academy in Georgetown, KY, and a Managing Partner of United Talent. Angelica has choreographed 13 original ballet productions for her company and has been a YAGP coach since 2017, with her contemporary choreography placing in the Top 24 for the Junior Category. Her students have gone on to attend Cincinnati Ballet, A&A Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Point Park University, and Berklee College of Music. She served as the company rehearsal assistant at Lexington Ballet for the 24-25 season. Angelica lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, three cats, and loves to hike and travel.

PRESLEY GOOKIN

Presley Gookin is a Lexington, KY native, and grew up training with the Lexington Ballet, Diana Evans School of Dance, and SCAPA. Presley received her BFA in Dance Theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), training at both their New York and Los Angeles campuses. Presley has been member of the Ensemble in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular for the past three years, and is looking forward to her fourth season starting in October. Presley has danced with Norwegian Cruise Lines, and in the upcoming season of The Gilded Age on HBO. In addition to her performance career, Presley is Musical Theatre Faculty for Celebrity Dance Competitions and is a competition judge for Celebrity and Artists Simply Human (ASH).