Staff
Jamila Glass
Artistic Director
- Founding Company Member in 2005
- Artistic Director in 2021
- Co-Founder Los Angeles Choreographers Institute in 2024
Latest creations for LACDC:
- Take What You Need (2025) - Choreographer
- It's Not You, It's Me (2024) - Choreographer | Interview | Rehearsal Trailer
- ECHOES (2024) - Director | Watch the Film | Behind-The-Music
Filmmaker and Choreographer Jamila Glass is known for creating cinematic journeys of movement, shaping characters, and building worlds that reflect what makes us human. In addition to creating work as the Artistic Director of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company (where she joined in 2005 as a founding member), she has choreographed extensively in film and television. Her choreography work includes projects on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, BET, and PRADA, earning recognition in The New York Times, L.A. Times, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, and Mashable. She also choreographed and co-directed two commercial campaigns for Splice, the music industry’s leading royalty-free sample library, and recently began a collaboration with Airbnb Originals, which creates extraordinary experiences exclusively for Airbnb.
Glass began her formal training as a nine-year-old scholarship student at The Discovery Dance Group in Houston, Texas. She continued dancing in her spare time as a vocal music major at the multi-Grammy award-winning High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Jamila graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Cinema-Television (Film & Video Production) and a Minor in Advertising.
As a performer, she has worked with Ryan Heffington, Galen Hooks, Nina McNeely, Kathryn Burns, David Dorfman, Adam Parson, and Mecca Vazie Andrews. Other credits include Netflix Original film Mascots from Christopher Guest, American Horror Story, Paul McCartney, Kelly Rowland, Colbie Caillat, Foster the People tour, Mastercard, American Apparel, Samsung, & The New York Times bestselling photography book Dancers Among Us.
Beyond the stage, Jamila, a director/screenwriter, has produced films through her production company The Cutting Room where she has directed 21 critically-acclaimed short dance films, a television pilot, and 2 music videos that have garnered international praise, including film screenings in London, Paris and Lebanon. Her previous work as a freelance editor includes documentary shorts, national radio commercials, and an award-winning independent television network. Her directorial work for LACDC includes ECHOES, INSECTOS: arte y vida (both commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain), and then life was beautiful, and SUMMON (featuring the music by Emmy and Oscar award-winning and Grammy-nominated Kris Bowers).
As a curator with LACDC, Glass has partnered with the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain for the past four years, fostering artistic dialogue between Spanish and American dancers and choreographers through annual commissions. She is also the co-founder of the Los Angeles Choreographers Institute, an intensive leadership development program incorporating a holistic approach to the business side of dance-making. She previously served as LACDC's Media Director and Summer/Winter Intensive Director, elevating the company's visibility across continents.
Jamila has taught at Schools: USC Kaufman, Pace University, CLI Conservatory, UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, Loyola Marymount University, Texas Christian University, Hussian College Los Angeles, Riverside Dance Festival (Florida), and Renaissance Arts Academy, and has created work for LACDC, Texas Christian University (twice), Cal State Fullerton (twice), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Co/Motion Creation Intensive (Boston). Additionally, universities regularly invite her to conduct mock auditions for their seniors and to lead lectures on film directing and working as a choreographer in film and television.
Recent 2025 News:
- I observed and provided feedback to the 3rd year BFAs in a Contemporary Technique class at USC Kaufman in order to help them prepare for high pressure audition environments.
- I held a mock audition followed by a Q&A at Cal State Long Beach (for the fifth year in a row) with their dance seniors.
- Jamila taught technique classes and created a work on students ages 10 to 22 at the Riverside Dance Festival summer intensive in Vero Beach, Florida. While there during a two-week residency, she also developed and premiered a 24-minute LACDC work called Take What You Need.
- Jamila taught an exclusive multi-day workshop at CLI Conservatory in Massachusetts aimed at preparing students for audition season. In a mock audition setting, dancers gained firsthand experience of what it's like to audition for the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company.
- Glass taught two lectures at Loyola Marymount University on illuminating the creator's perspective, focusing on filming, choreography, and direction and incorporating insights from her extensive experience working on set.
- Jamila taught a workshop for the seniors at University of Southern California’s Kaufman School of Dance in order to help them prepare for audition season. It was a full circle moment to return to her alma mater and teach in the state-of-the-art building that is now right across from where she used to take her USC film school classes.
- After first creating a work for Cal State Fullerton's dance program in 2022, they invited Jamila to return to the campus in the Spring of 2025 to complete another choreographic residency.
Jamila is represented by Movement Talent Agency and is a member of the Television Academy, the Choreographers Guild and SAG-AFTRA.
Watch her teaching reel, view her class schedule, and check out her latest news.
*Headshot by Zack Whitford
Napoleon Gladney
Executive Director
Executive Director in 2019
Co-Founder Los Angeles Choreographers Institute in 2024
NAPOLEON W GLADNEY has a diverse performance and arts management background which spans seasons and international tours with dance companies including Odyssey Dance Theatre, The Dance Cartel and Backhausdance. National Broadway Tour credits include Wicked The Musical, as Dance Captain/Swing/Chistery Understudy.
In addition he has been involved in the creation of new musicals/shows Me and Caesar Lee (Choreographer - NYMTF Nominee), Dear Evan Hansen (Choreography Lab), and Better for Night (Featured Artist). His work with production companies, hip hop dance teams, and commercial projects span both coasts. Napoleon has worked with artists Agnes Carlson, Meaghan Smith, and Shinedown. Other projects include promos for the FIFA World Cup, music videos for Funny or Die, and commercials for Budweiser and iBillionaire.
As a choreographer and teacher, Napoleon has had the opportunity to travel to teach classes and set choreography on dance companies, teams, university programs and studios around the United States. And was the Program Coordinator and a Full-Time Faculty member for Hussian College LA’s Commercial Dance Program.
As an arts administrator Napoleon has stage managed the mobile opera Hopscotch by Los Angeles’ The Industry and created or held positions for non-profits the Theater at the 14th Street Y and LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture in New York City; MUSE/IQUE, Grand Performances, and Greenway Court Theater in Los Angeles. He has been the Audience Development Manager and Cultural Equity Producing and Programming Manager for Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University and is currently Executive Director of LA Contemporary Dance Company and Director, Theatrical Programming & Presentations for the Kimmel Cultural Campus.
Quinn O'Connor
Company Manager
Quinn O'Connor (she/they) is a producer, stage manager, and arts administrator who has worked at various institutions across the country, including The Public Theater, East West Players, Opera UCLA, L.A. Dance Project, IAMA Theatre Company, and the LA Philharmonic. She is currently the Season Producer for IAMA Theatre Company, commissioning new plays for Los Angeles audiences. Originally from Southern California, Quinn works at the intersection of performance and disability access, both in audience experience and representation by consulting with arts organizations and approaching access through a lens of disability justice. They are involved in various modes of advocacy, ranging from representation in the arts to accessibility in higher education. Quinn intends to open perspectives surrounding disability in the arts sector and create a more equitable environment for all. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Disability Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and is headed to Yale University’s David Geffen School of Drama this fall to get their MFA in Theatre Management.
*Photo by Roxy Morris
Jessie Lee Thorne
Community Relations Manager
Jessie Lee Thorne (she/they) is a multifaceted artist hailing from Los Angeles, California, with a skill set spanning dance, choreography, filmmaking, and creative production. Beginning their performance journey in Italy under Walter Matteini, Jessie toured extensively across Europe, Israel, and Russia. Later, as a founding member of Micaela Taylor’s The TL Collective, Jessie spent six years touring across the US, Canada, Panama, and Germany. Their prowess extends to directing and choreography, evident in award-winning films and stage productions like "Topia," commissioned by Boston Moving Arts, which received accolades such as "Best Dance Film" at the Paris Play Film Festival and "Best Screendance Short" at Indie Short Fest. Jessie's live adaptation of "Topia" premiered at The Odyssey Theater LA in 2023. Upcoming commissions include: The Boston Conservatory, Backhausdance and Mash Up Dance Company. Their commercial dance and choreography work can be found in music videos for renowned artists including but not limited to RY X, Emmit Fenn, David Archuleta, Kevin Mchale and films like Universal's "Bobbleheads" among others. As an educator, Jessie has shared their expertise through classes and workshops at esteemed institutions like The Boston Conservatory, Chapman University, and UCLA. Jessie Lee Thorne is dedicated to a lifelong pursuit of cultivating connection through the transformative power of art.
*Headshot by Nick Gonzalez
Board Members
Kate Hutter Mason
Board Member
Artistic Director 2005-2015
LACDC Co-Founder
Kate Hutter Mason is founder and owner of Stomping Ground L.A. – a community arts complex founded in 2020 on the native lands of the Kizh, Chumash, and Tongva Nations known as El Sereno/East L.A. As a foundational experience for this next step in her artistic and entrepreneurial career, Kate co-founded the L.A. Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC) in 2005, and held the Artistic Directorship from 2005 - 2015. Today, she serves as the President of the Board of Directors. Additionally, Kate works in the corporate sector applying her skills learned in non-profit arts as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the aerospace design and manufacturing company, Click Bond, that was founded by her parents and is in its 2nd generation of leadership as a family-owned and operated company. Kate is thrilled to hold many careers in balance and see how each is informed by the other including continuing to instruct dance, choreograph, and be the mother of two spirited and wonderfully free willed children, Charley and Rory, with her husband Eric.
Kate is an alumnus of the Walnut Hill School and a graduate of the University of Southern California with a BFA in Theatrical Design. Kate also holds an MFA in Dance and Choreography from Purchase College, SUNY. Kate has presented her choreography at prestigious venues throughout L.A. including the Broad Stage, Celebrate Dance at the Alex Theater, Ford Amphitheatre, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, L.A. Theatre Center, Diavolo Dance Space and Highways Performance Space. Kate was also the movement director for the band Foster The People on their 2013 Summer Tour and part of the Move campaign by indie clothing retailer Alternative Apparel. Kate has been a visiting artist at USC, UCLA, California State Long Beach, Santa Monica College, Scripps College, Chapman University, Ohio State University, Wayne State University, and Loyola Marymount University.
*Photo by Malachi Middleton
Michelle Jolly
Board Member
LACDC Co-Founder
Michelle Jolly (Mierz) is co-founder and previous Executive Director of the L.A. Contemporary Dance Company. She trained as a dancer herself since the age of four. Michelle combined her passion for dance and her business background to create LACDC with Kate Hutter at USC. Michelle graduated magna cum laude from the USC Marshall School of Business Honors Program/ Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies with a BS. Her professional credits outside of LACDC include work with the consulting firm, CounterIntuity, as a Project Manager, interim operations manager for the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood, Associate Producer with LA Stage Alliance for the 2004 Ovation Awards, and Associate Producer for the Choreography Media Honors 2008-2009. In 2011, Michelle graduated from Yale University's School of Management with her MBA. She now resides in her hometown of Seattle and is the Chief of Staff for Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon.
Shavonne Correia
Board Member
Shavonne Correia is Head of Investor Relations & Marketing of KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") a leading global private equity firm with $21.8 billion of assets under management (as of June 30, 2024). KPS focuses on making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries. Mrs. Correia helped KPS amass $9.7 billion in aggregate capital commitments for its latest capital raise in 2023. Named one of "Private Equity Women to Watch" by the Wall Street Journal Pro Private Equity, Mrs. Correia has focused on fundraising and marketing to institutional investors throughout her 20-year career in the financial services industry. Prior to joining KPS in 2016, Mrs. Correia focused on institutional fundraising and new business development in North America at Pantheon Ventures. Previously, Mrs. Correia was a founding member of Mercury Capital Advisors, a global private placement firm specializing in capital raising and advisory services. Mrs. Correia began her career in the Private Equity Funds Group within Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch.
Originally, from Midwest City, Oklahoma, Mrs. Correia graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. Mrs. Correia has volunteered her expertise in fundraising and pursued her affinity for social and civic engagement with involvement in an array of national and local non-profit organizations on both the East and West Coasts. Mrs. Correia joined the LACDC Board in 2024 and serves as an inaugural Advisory Board Member of HARNESS, a non-profit organization and community of artists, influential activists and grassroots leaders that provides education and engagement opportunities to amplify the organizations and individuals working on behalf of social justice initiatives. Mrs. Correia lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Kevin, two daughters and is an avid runner having completed 20 marathons.
Casey Cowan Gale
Board Member
Casey Cowan Gale's extensive experience ranges from co-designing the lighting for the world premiere of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches to designing the architectural lighting for ABC's Nightline offices in Washington D.C. Her most recent work includes the lighting designs for The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Mame, Camelot and The Sound of Music at the Hollywood Bowl with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, all directed by Gordon Hunt. For her work she has received a Dramalogue Award, the L.A. Weekly Award, and awards from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. She served for 6 years as a lighting designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, where she designed the lighting for various attractions at Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Walt Disney World. She spent an additional 5 years at Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development researching and evaluating lighting technology for any and all branches of the Walt Disney Company. Casey was the Director of Lighting Design for the University of Southern California School of Theatre for 8 years, and is currently a freelance Lighting Designer.
Ross Hollenkamp
Board Member
Ross Hollenkamp is a lifelong dancer who also happens to be an attorney (specializing in civil litigation and entertainment law), with offices in both L.A. and Palm Springs. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley undergrad--and prior to law school--Ross had a brief but notable career as a professional dancer in the San Francisco/Bay Area, performing with (among others): Scott Wells & Dancers, Kathleen Hermesdorf/MOTIONLAB, Jodi Lomask/CAPACITOR, Project Bandaloop, Sheldon Smith & Lisa Wymore/DISAPPEARING ACTS, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Joe Goode Performance Group, and Limbinal. Ross is incredibly grateful and honored to serve on LACDC's board, in a "dream position" that allows him to combine his professional and legal skills with his passion for dance and its community.
Elisa Smith
Board Member
Elisa Smith is a California native who has been part of the performing arts community the majority of her life. Her musical training began at an early age, 4 years old, with piano lessons. The lessons were classically-based, focusing on the Suzuki Method. In addition, she studied contemporary dance and ballet with local schools and companies.This eventually led to a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Music from the University of California, Riverside. In her last year of college, she had the opportunity to travel to and study the music of several countries which included: Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore and India.
She has worked as a ballet piano accompanist for classes throughout Los Angeles and in Pasadena. At Chapman University, she studied and worked as a music therapist while studying elementary education at the University of LaVerne and working as an elementary school teacher in public schools.
Currently, she has her own piano studio, teaching piano to children as well as adults, hopefully fostering an appreciation for music and the performing arts in general.
Ramón Valdez
Board Member
Ramón Valdez (he/him/his) received his BA in Theatre with a focus on stage management from the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, where he currently serves as the Assistant Director of Admissions. He is the Resident Stage Manager for Rogue Machine Theatre and has served on the board of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company since 2019.
Clifton Smith
Board Member
Clifton Smith is a recent addition to the LACDC Board, having logged time in the artistic community at East Los Angeles College (ELAC).
He grew up in Pasadena, studied at UC Santa Barbara and returned to the area. Logged almost thirty years in the corporate world at Southern California Edison Company and was awarded the Silver J. K. Horton Humanitarian Award for saving a life on the job. Became Executive Director of Northwest Pasadena Apprenticeship & Training Program, a non-profit organization providing construction training for high school students.
An early retirement provided the opportunity to devote his time to artistic endeavors: writing, acting, and music, his passions, second only to his love of his children, family, and community. While at ELAC he performed the role of Joey in the play Kindred written by Daniel Kelleher for which he was awarded the Irene Ryan Acting Commendation by the Kennedy Center.