Moving In The Spirit

Corissa Castle Wood

Stepping Stones Director and Junior Company Teaching Artist
Corissa Castle Wood became involved with Moving in the Spirit in 1986 as a student at one of the first Stepping Stones outreach sites. She continued through high school with the Apprentice Corporation and traveled with the group nationally and internationally. After graduating from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (VA) with a BA in Dance and Political Science, she returned to Atlanta and began teaching with Moving in the Spirit in 2002. She also performs with Celeste Miller's Divedance Theatre.

Juana Farfan

Mini Steps, Girls in Motion and Apprentice Corporation Teaching Artist
Juana Farfan graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Dance.  She joined Moving in the Spirit in 2001 as a teaching artist. Juana has toured internationally with Atlanta's CORE Performance Company, and also performs with Beacon Dance and Susan Eldridge's modern company, DENSE. Additionally, Juana teaches at Dynamic X-Change and Synchronicity's Playmaking for Girls,  using dance and movement as a tool to create community amongst diverse populations.

Charné Furcron Mack

Teacher Training Artist
Dr. Charné Furcron-Mack is a Teacher Training Artist and Director of Outreach Programs at Moving in the Spirit.  She holds a BFA in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University, two Masters in Dance Therapy and Counseling, and a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Argosy University/Sarasota.  She has been involved with Moving in the Spirit for more than 15 years.  Her work with Moving in the Spirit allows her to integrate her lifelong interest of dance, dance therapy and evaluation.

Alexia Jones

Stepping Stones Teaching Artist
Alexia Jones is the founder and CEO of Dancing in Purpose. She graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance. She is also a graduated of Phoenix University with a Masters in Business Administration. Alexia has danced on many stages locally, nationally and internationally, and has choreographed on the university and professional level.

Francine Labiran

Baby Steps Teaching Artist
Francine Labiran, a Moving in the Spirit alumna, began dancing with the Junior Company when she was eleven and toured across the country with the Apprentice Corporation for four consecutive summer tours.  She completed her BBA in Accountancy, Cum Laude,

at Georgia State University. She is currently a member of the National Association of Black Accountants and Beta Alpha Psi. Francine explains that, “When I was younger, Moving in the Spirit changed my life for the better and my dream is to do the same for dancers in the program.”

Dana Lupton

Apprentice Corporation Director
Dana is the co-founder and Executive Director of Moving in the Spirit. She has been recognized as a Lexus Leader for the Arts, and is a recipient of the Bank of America Local Heroes Award and the Mayor’s Fellowship for the Arts in Dance Award. In 2004, Ms. Lupton was chosen to participate in the first Metropolitan Arts and Culture Coalition Arts Leadership Program. Dana has a degree in Business Management from the University of Georgia, and has studied at the American Dance Festival at Duke University. She has performed throughout the United States and Europe, and currently performs professionally in Susan Eldridge's dance company, DENSE.

Chris McCord

Men in Motion Director
After growing up in Moving in the Spirit programs, Chris McCord became a Stepping Stones instructor and later a full-time employee. He founded and currently directs both the Moving in the Spirit Summer Camp and Men in Motion programs. Chris holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Georgia State University, Georgia Peace Officer Certification from the DeKalb County Police Department and a certificate from Devos Urban Leadership Initiative.

Lillian Ransijn

Baby Steps Teaching Artist
Lillian graduated with high honors from Emory University in 2005 with a BA in Dance and Movement Studies and a minor in Theater Studies. She continued her studies at the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival and Yoga Vida Gurakal, and currently resides as Board President for Emory Friends of Dance. Lillian has choreographed and performed professionally with Fly-By Theatre, David Dorfman Dance Theater, Duende Dance Theater, DENSE and Tell-Tale Theatre, as well as with several independent choreographers. An advocate for creating innovative, interdisciplinary work for diverse audiences, she founded Ground Delivery Dance-Theater in 2008. She is proud and thankful to be a part of Moving in the Spirit's community as a teaching artist.

Sharon C. Sibley

Collective Motion Teaching Artist
Sharon is a recent graduate from the Dance and Theater departments of Emory University.  She is happy to be teaching the Collective Motion class at Moving in the Spirit.  Sharon explains, “Teaching is exciting for me because now I have the opportunity to share my passion for dance with those who are young and beginning to discover their passions.” 

M. Dela Sweeney

Apprentice Corporation Instructor
M. DeLa Sweeney is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. He began dancing in his third year at Emory University where he earned his Bachelor's Degree, majoring in Dance & Movement Studies and Religion and minoring in Sociology. Dela is currently working on his Master's Degree in Professional Counseling at Mercer University. With his passions for diversity and the arts, he is honored to be an Apprentice Corporation Instructor.

Alina Tillery

Mini Steps Teaching Artist
Alina has been invovled with Moving in the Spirit for over 20 years, and is a proud alumna of both Stepping Stones and the Apprentice Corporation. She is a graduate of Georgia Southwestern University, where she earned a B.S. in Sociology with a minor in psychology.  Alina is currently working on her Master's in Social and Community Services at Capella University. In addition to teaching at Moving in the Spirit, she is very passionate about her work as a Humanities Associate Teacher at Atlanta Charter Middle School.

Erin Weller Dalton

Baby Steps and Mini Steps Teaching Artist
Erin Weller Dalton serves as a teaching artist and Moving in the Spirit’s Development and Communications Coordinator. A graduate of Oglethorpe University with a degree in English and Theatre Arts, Erin has worked with Fly-By Theatre, Duende Dance Theater, 7 Stages, Working Title Playwrights and the Alliance Theatre. Erin is also a foudning member of the interdisciplinary performance company Crossover Movement Arts.

Susan Eldridge

Teacher Training Artist
Susan Eldridge has been learning through dance for over 30 years. Since being in the Atlanta Ballet and receiving her BFA in Dance from California Institute of the Arts, she has taught, performed and choreographed primarily in the Atlanta area, at Emory University, Agnes Scott College, and for her own company, DENSE. Susan is honored to witness and participate in the strengthening of so many remarkable young leaders.

Celeste Miller

Collaborator
Celeste Miller tours nationally as a performer, choreographer and Artist Educator. She has trained many Moving in the Spirit teaching artists, and works with Artistic Director Dana Lupton on Moving in the Spirit projects. These projects have included the Atlanta Young Singers Collaboration, Origins 2005 and 2006, the School Arts Show, and choreographing "The Garden as Metaphor" for the 20th anniversary celebration and benefit.

Alice Lovelace

Collaborator
For the past ten years, Alice Lovelace has worked with Moving in the Spirit as their official "Story Catcher." In this capacity, she has created original scripts for each of the company’s dance concerts at the Rialto Center for the Arts, weaving a story line that holds the dances together in one tale. Alice collaborates with a variety of community organizations in Atlanta and teaches poetry. She is a co-editor of ART CHANGES at In Motion Magazine, an online publication devoted to issues of democracy. Her most recent publications include CRUX: a conversation in words and images from South Africa to South USA, and 100 Poems in Solidarity for Haiti. Her  book of poetry, Forever, is available at www.inmotionmagazine.com. For more information on Ms. Lovelace visit her website, www.alicelovelace.com.

Sal Brownfield

Collaborating Visual Artist
Sal Brownfield has been painting for most of his life and all of the 20 years that he’s been living in Atlanta. Some years ago Sal was an actor and assisted in set design at the Eugene O’Neill Provincetown Playhouse on Cape Cod. Sal has also designed sets for Little Theatre in Northern Virginia. Sal has a strong belief in the need for art, all of the arts. Sal has said, “We need the arts, the arts give us something that nothing else can provide, individual expression. We need opportunities for our youth such as Moving in the Spirit and I’m to participate.

JD Scott

Photographer
JD Scott is a longtime collaborator of Moving in the Spirit. His photography has taken him to Bosnia and Croatia during the conflict in the 1990’s, as well as to a host of other countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. In the U.S. and internationally, JD has documented humanitarian and social projects and created evocative photographs for advertising campaigns. He was educated at Indiana University where he majored in journalism and minored in fine art photography.