BRIGITTE PAULUS

Brigitte (“Brij-eet”) began dancing late (at 13) and was lucky to have world class teachers. She joined the Robinson Ballet at age 15 and subsequently went on to train at UMO and then in New York with The Joffrey Ballet.

For over 25 years Brigitte taught in dance studios, at arts camps, in school workshops, to cast members of theatrical shows and of course for Vivid Motion Dance. She helps already trained dancers refine their technique and performance skills and teach basic technique to beginners. She is skilled at teaching differentiated levels within a single class, adjusting exercises and combinations to challenge advanced dancers, while making them fun and not overburdening for newer students.

Brigitte teaches students how to express their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through movement. She views dance as an expression from within, that can be accomplished by anyone who wants to express themselves through movement, regardless of body type or physical ability.  

Ellen Rathbone

Coming soon! (:

Emily Zack (MZ)

MZ is a classically trained ballerina and has studied modern, lyrical, hip hop, flamenco, belly dance, and burlesque. She speaks French and plays piano, but dance is her favorite language and instrument. She has studied with the Portland Ballet, Boston Ballet, Casco Bay Movers, Tisch School of the Arts, and Vivid Motion Dance. As a resident choreographer for Vivid Motion Dance, she strives to create dance that honors the art of the chosen piece of music, embraces all dancers, and speaks from her heart.

As a dance teacher MZ connects with the student at their level, whether beginner or advanced, and creates appropriate challenges through engaging choreography and a structured warm-up. As a life-long dancer, MZ incorporates her experience and knowledge into her classes, and also rehearsals, where she always finds moments to teach and clarify technique. MZ's classes are rigorous and expressive, challenging and creative.

MZ's earliest memory of dancing and choreographing is at three years old, and she now is blessed to share the stage with her daughters, who also make up dances with their friends.

JESSICA JANE MEANS

Jessica Jane Means has been a dancer for over 40(!) years. Having studied a wide range of dance forms including ballet, modern, jazz, and contact improvisation, she began belly dancing in 1998. She founded Naya's Trance, a professional belly dance company in 2001 and served as Artistic Director until 2016. Together with a group of friends, she formed the Dirigo Dance Project in 2013. Jessica has served as Vivid Motion Dance's Artistic Director since 2020. She has been a featured choreographer with Vivid Motion Dance, Dance USM, Thornton Academy, the Portland Ballet, and Steppin' Out Dance Centre. In addition to teaching various forms of dance since 2001, she has been invited to teach workshops and courses at the University of New England, the University of Southern Maine, Thornton Academy, and Steppin' Out Dance Centre. She has had the pleasure of performing with Red Hot & Ladylike, Bates College, Atomic Trash Burlesque, Empty Pocket Productions, and with Vivid Motion Dance since the very beginning. Beyond her work as a dancer, Jessica also holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education. She has been teaching in Maine’s public schools and advocating for teens and young adults with disabilities since 2001.

As a performer she is known for her on stage personality as well as her versatility as a dancer. She has been described as "expressive", "dynamic", and "one of those people that commands the stage when she steps onto it". As a choreographer her work is complex, emotive, fun, and always a little spicy. Jessica's teaching style in the studio combines her expertise in reaching students at multiple levels with her knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology to help all dancers learn to move safely, while developing their technique.

MJ Emerson

MJ has a varied theatrical background, always grounded in dance. Growing up in Norway, Maine, her early dance training came from The Children’s Dance Theater in South Paris, with Susan Clement Farrar and Michelle Farrar Keyes, where she studied ballet, tap and jazz forms in addition to pantomime and storytelling through dance. After teaching for a few years for CDT in South Paris and in North Windham, MJ attended the Dance Program at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia: earning a Certificate in Dance. After time in the city she was homesick for Maine where she returned to study Theater at the University of Southern Maine. In 1998 she received a scholarship to attend the Bates Dance Festival. She spent more than a decade on staff at Konservatoriet Dance Studio, in Alfred Maine, under the direction of Lynne Penn Davison, serving as Director of Jazz and Modern.

A founding member of Vivid Motion Dance in 2003, MJ served as VM’s second Artistic Director from 2008-2013, and continues to choreograph and dance for the company. In 2008, 2012 and again in 2024, Vivid Motion Dance produced MJ’s original ballet, Eclipse, set to the music of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

MJ loves teaching and working with dancers of all ages, but has a special affinity for working with adults of all dance levels. Classic jazz forms, modern (has trained in Horton & Graham technique) and ballet are her foundation, though she loves all kinds of dancing.

Wendy E. Getchell

Wendy E. Getchell has a BA in Theater with a focus on Directing and Choreography and is a local dancer, choreographer, and collaborative artist. She studied dance at Ram Island and New Dance studio and continued honing her skills as a modern dancer, Instructor, and choreographer under the guidance, instruction, and mentorship of Nancy Salmon, Emily Ojala, Lisa Hicks, and Maria Tzianabos.

As a dance artist Wendy has performed in works by Randy James of Dance Works, Joylyn Arisman, Maria Tzianabos, Harold Philbrook, and Esduardo Mariscal. She was a company dancer in Esduardo Mariscal’s Dance Theater 1994-1997, a Terpsicore Repertory Company Dancer from 2008-2014 and a dancer/choreographer with Dirigo Dance Project 2014-2017. She spent 2009-2014 dedicated to the study of Modern dance assisting in many areas of running a dance studio, under the direction of Maria Tzianabos where Wendy served as Managing Director for Terpsicore Dance Inc. She was an Instructor and Choreographer during her time working at the studio. Wendy performed in the Two Lights Theatre Ensemble dance production of Heroine's Journey, and Vivid Motions' 2003 premiere production of the Nutcracker Burlesque. She has regularly presented her own work throughout New England since 1994. Some of her work has been shown at Portland Ballet’s production of Portland Dances! two years in a row with Lacrymosa in 2008 and Ascolta in 2009 and at the Sixth Annual F.A.B. Dance Concert Series 2011.

She has presented her most recent works Removed; Explorations in Movement, Fly, and Erupting at Portland’ s FFAW with Dirigo Dance Project and returned to Vivid Motion Dance in 2018 where she has enjoyed dancing and making work again among a collaborative group of artists. Her work has been featured in Vivid Motion Dance’s large mainstage productions, as well as Studio Shows, since 2019. Wendy has taught dance for all ages from toddlers to adults and enjoys making work collaboratively and across mediums.