Current Students

Ellen Bartel

Ellen Bartel is a M.F.A. in Dance graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin focusing on an analysis of her site-inspired dance titled Watch The Gap which is an examination of places of transition or transitional spaces, in this case the Jamaica Queens Train station on Long Island, and understanding the pedagogy of how site-inspired dance is made and how it fits into the broader field of site-dance.

Ellen graduated from the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1993 and relocated to Austin in 1994. In Austin she is known as a "dance rabble rouser." From 1995 to 2001 she directed the improvisational dance group The Creeps. In 2000 Ellen founded Spank Dance Company which, after a decade of extensive self-producing, is now a non-profit arts organization. In 2008 The Austin Chronicle "Best of" poll dubbed her a "dance mobilizer" and a "dance phenomenon" for spearheading the Big Range Austin Dance Festival, the first contemporary dance festival in Austin since 2000. In spring 2010, through a travel grant from the Department of Theatre and Dance, Ellen had the opportunity to participate in the SUMAC choreography workshop with Susan Marshal in New York City.

The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division has awarded her company funding since its inception. Ellen has also received grants from The Austin Community Foundation and The Texas Commission on the Arts. She has created approximately seventy new dances and improvisational performances combined, and spearheaded the annual Dance Carousel, and with Big Range. Ellen has been mentioned in The Austin Chronicle for Top Ten Dance Events and Best Choreography, and in the Austin American-Statesman was named three years in the Fortunate 500 list of the top 500 "movers and shakers" in Austin.

Michelle Parkins

Chell Parkins is an M.F.A. candidate in Dance, with a focus on the intersection of dance, math and technology. She is a dancer and choreographer who utilizes her strengths as a musician, actress and competitive triathlete to create original multidisciplinary works. In December of 2010, Chell travelled with UT students and faculty to Cartagena, Colombia to work with Alvaro Restrepo's El Colegio Del Cuerpo. She is currently the Assistant Director to David Justin in The University of Texas' youth touring company's production of Br'er Wood.

Chell began her studies in ballet and flute at a young age. As a teenager, she joined her high school track and swim teams, learning to discipline and push her body to its outer limits. Chell received her B.A. with an emphasis in both Dance and Acting from Washington University in St Louis where she was selected to take an Actor's Studio course with Ellen Burstyn and Shelley Winters. In 1993, she attended Harvard Summer Dance Intensive, where she studied choreography under Joe Goode and began to draw upon all her resources to create works with dialogue, live music and movement. While attending the Dance Center of Columbia College in Chicago in 1994, Chell won a Community Scholarship. She has been a member of MADCO, Steamroller, Ruby Rico's, Bibliodance, and Forklift Dance Works. While in San Francisco, she founded Brigid's Daisy and created two evening length works, one which was highlighted at Joe Goode's Bread and Butter Series. She was commissioned to return to Washington University to teach a Contact Improvisation class and create a new work in 2000.

She has created work in Austin, also under the name Chell Garcia-Trias, for MOMfest, Frontera Fest, Dance Carousel, Big Range Dance Festival and Ears, Eyes and Fee and regularly teaches dancers, actors and musicians ages 2 to 65.

Alvin Rangel

ALVIN RANGEL began training in ballet and jazz in his native Puerto Rico. His current research involves analyzing the development phase of tango, specifically examining the practice of men dancing tango with other men, which was common before the emergence of the tango as we know it today. His research will evolve into a choreographic work contextualizing that moment in tango's history through a queer perspective. Alvin has choreographed for UT's Dance Repertory Theatre and Eyes, Ears and Feet concert. Two of his works have represented the University of Texas at ACDFA and recruitment trips of the College of Fine Arts. With UT dancers, he traveled to Cartagena, Colombia in 2009 as a rehearsal assistant for the Canción del Cuerpo Project.

From 1997 and 2004, he performed with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) in Ohio where he originated roles in works by Bill T. Jones, Bebe Miller, Dwight Rhoden, Donald McKayle, Ronald K. Brown, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Kevin Ward. He also participated in a documentary film co-produced by PBS and American Dance Festival titled Free to Dance. Alvin has conducted master classes and workshops in the United States, Russia, Poland, Colombia and Puerto Rico. His choreography has been performed by Ballet New England, Stivers School for the Arts, Andanza, Performing Arts School in San Juan, DCDC-2, and Episcopal High School. Alvin choreographed and co-created an outreach lecture demonstration program for DCDC that toured nationally to 27 cities as part of the Flight Project; which celebrated the 100th year of the first powered flight.

He holds a Bachelors in Education- English as Second Language Education (ESL). In Puerto Rico he taught, danced and choreographed for Andanza (2004-2006) Before moving to Austin, Alvin taught English as a Second Language (ESL) and Spanish in the Houston public schools and was guest artist with Ad Deum Dance Company.