Nina Deno
Nina Deno is the artistic director and primary choreographer of Deno Dance Company. Nina originates from Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where she trained at the Reif Performing Arts Center in classical dance including ballet, jazz, tap, and modern. Her early professional training included performing with the Reif Center Dance Company and summer ballet intensives at the Joffrey Ballet School and Burklyn Ballet Theater. Nina earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from Gustavus Adolphus College where she focused her training on post-modern dance, jazz, and contact improvisation. Nina performed with the Gustavus Dance Company from 2006-2010 and choreographed multiple works including her senior composition piece that was showcased at the regional American College Dance Festival. After college, Nina was hired by Walt Disney World where she performed as a variety of Disney characters in parades and other performance settings. While pursuing her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Purdue, Nina danced with the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company and had the opportunity of dancing with Amy Cadwallader of Dance Uprising and Amberly Simpson of Ambo Dance Theatre. In 2016, Nina started training adult dancers of all technique levels in classical ballet, jazz and modern. In 2017, Nina founded Deno Dance Company. Deno Dance Company is a proud member of The Arts Federation where the company rehearses and performs. Deno Dance Company’s mission focuses on providing an outlet for adult movers that are open and willing to create expressive dance pieces to share with the the artistically starved local community.
Christy Carr
Christy began her movement & partnering journey in Augusta GA as a competitive gymnast (80’s), ballet dancer, and cheerleader (NCA “All American Cheerleader” in ‘91). She then began rock climbing & mountaineering while continuing ballet dancing at UGA in Athens. From 1998-2001 Christy continued to refine her climbing & added ultimate frisbee skills to her wheelhouse while continuing to dance at OSU in Corvallis. In 2001 she finally landed in West Lafayette Indiana. Once Christy found Modern dance & Contact Improvisation (CI) in ‘02, she decided to complete her Minor in Dance at Purdue along with her BA in Design. She danced and choreographed for Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC) and formed various collaborations over the years with Purdue including performances at the Prague Quadrennial in Czech Republic, a conference in Puebla, Mexico, & a local collaboration with Lafayette Symphony at Duncan Hall. Locally, Christy taught dance to kids (including her daughter) at the McAllister center for West Active & at Morton Center for LaVerne Mikhail where she choreographed for Phoenix Fire. Christy has guest taught and choreographed for Augusta Ballet’s Peter Pan in GA. She became certified in Yoga in 2020 and continues that practice along with regular CI collaborations and community dancing. Lastly, Christy is a new board member of Civic Theater Lafayette with whom she submitted & won Best in Show: Properties at the AACT Design Competition 2023 for the dragon puppets she created for “She Kills Monsters”. In July 2023 she choreographed & stage crafted “Beauty and the Beast”. Christy continues to volunteer her design & carpentry skills for the enrichment of their program (most recently “Footloose”). Her athletic physicality and creative spirit drives her to pursue dance as an artistic medium for life. She is elated to join DDC and looks forward to another rich collaboration in building & spreading community arts!
Kayla Gurganus
Kayla is from Hammond, Indiana where she began her performing career on dance team and dance competitions in high school. She also has experience in theater and show choir. Kayla joined DDC in early 2020. She has performed in DDC’s shows including Resurgence in 2023 and The Choreographer’s Gallery in 2024. Kayla looks forward to performing at the Indy Fringe Festival with DDC in August 2024.
Brianna Johnston
Brianna is from Hot Springs, South Dakota where she began her performing experience in dance and theater as a high school freshman. She has a diverse dance background including pole dance and modern dance. Brianna has been a member of DDC since the start in 2017.
Elizabeth O’Brien
Elizabeth (Liz) originates from Danville, IN, where she first fell in love with dance at the age of 2. Liz has extensive training in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Hip Hop and Ballroom. She studied Classical Ballet and Pointe at The Children’s Ballet. During her study, she discovered her love of teaching by working as an assistant and student teacher under Deni Jacks. Liz continued dancing throughout high school and in other various activities, such as show choir, musicals and cheerleading. When she attended Purdue University, she was introduced to the world of Modern dance and received a Bachelor of Science degree with a Dance Minor. Liz was a member and mentor for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC). She was selected as a student choreographer her senior year and created a piece called “Exposed.” Liz was also a member of Dance 2XS (Purdue’s urban hip hop team) and performed all over the Midwest. She danced in two different American College Dance Festival (ACDF) pieces and was the Director of X Works her Junior year. While at Purdue, she also choreographed multiple works for different philanthropies and was a dance instructor/choreographer for the Morton Community Center. After college, Liz continued to teach dance as the Hip Hop Coach at Rage Athletics. One style of dance she always wanted to try was ballroom, which led her to Arthur Murray, where she was trained as a professional ballroom instructor/dancer. Shortly after, Liz had the privilege of performing in multiple modern dance festivals such as DUMBO, Bunker Project’s PAF15, and the Southern Vermont Dance Festival under Rebecca Bryant in her piece called “Suite Female: Parts II-VIIII.” Not long after, she took some time off from the dance scene and moved to Noblesville, IN to build a family and start her own business. Liz rejoined Deno Dance Company (DDC) in January 2024 and is looking forward to reclaiming her body postpartum and finding her love for dance once again.
Andrea Ridge
Andrea was born in Pennsylvania and grew up across various cities of Michigan. She started dancing when she was 7 and has extensive training in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and modern dance. She has also dabbled in gymnastics. Andrea performed throughout high school and college including dancing with the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC). She was privileged to be selected as a student choreographer for three main stage performances, and one of those dances, Infrastructure, was selected for the regional gala performance at the American College Dance Festival. In 2022, Andrea was selected to be the inaugural Alumni Guest Artist in Residency for PCDC for the Fall 2022 semester. Andrea joined DDC in the fall of 2018 and continues to choreograph dances for main stage performances.
Faythe Rush
Faythe is from Lafyatte, Indiana where she started her performing career in performance choir. She later joined color guard and began her lifelong love and training in ballet. Faythe joined DDC at the end of 2019 and is looking forward to performing in her first main stage DDC show, Resurgence.
Bird Thurman
Bird was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, where they started dancing at age 2. Bird trained in many styles including ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, and contemporary, and fell in love with performing and dancing. At Purdue, Bird was incredibly involved in the Dance Division, from their consecutive roles as Secretary, Treasurer, and President of the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (Spring 2020 – Fall 2023), to being President and Director of XSeries (Fall 2020 – Spring 2022). They earned their Dance Minor in December 2023, after countless dance works in XSeries and PCDC, and many good memories of collaboration and creativity. With PCDC, they performed in the American Dance Festival in 2023 and 2024, with both pieces gaining Gala recognition. In 2023, they also showed their work, Return to Mothership. Bird was chosen to represent Purdue at the 2023 International Council of Dance Festival in Vigo, Spain, where they performed the solo Possession, choreographed by Carol Cunningham-Sigman. Alongside performing with Deno Dance Company in 2024, Bird is the newest addition to Inlet Dance Theatre, in Cleveland, Ohio, where they will begin their professional dance career in August 2024.
Rachel Yurek
Rachel Yurek is from Kalamazoo, Michigan and has lived in Indiana since 2003. While pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at Purdue, she trained in ballroom dance and competed at the collegiate level for 5 years. Rachel started training in ballet and contemporary modern dance classes in 2016. Rachel has been with Deno Dance Company since 2017 and loves being a part of it. She is so excited that the company is growing because growth gives the opportunity for more dance pieces and exposing more people to the joy of dance.
Upcoming Performances
March 2024
NACHMO Performance
Louisville, KY
September 2024
Deno Dance Company Annual Concert
The Arts Federation
Lafayette, IN
May 2024
NACHMO Lafayette: Choreographer’s Gallery
The Arts Federation
Lafayette, IN