Richard Smith, Executive Director

Richard Smith is the Owner and Director of 360° Dance Festival and the Artistic Director of Inaside Chicago Dance. Smith was on the faculty at The Giordano Dance Center for six years and the Joel Hall Dancers and Center for three years. He has been affiliated with internationally touring Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, River North Chicago Dance Company, and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. He attended East Carolina University, in North Carolina, where he worked on a BFA in Dance Performance. The university allowed him to work with Mia Michaels, Mark Dendy, Katiti King, Frank Chaves, Alan Arnett and Tomi Overcash-Galaska.

Sarah Ford HArdy, REGIONAL Director

Sarah Ford Hardy is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and is a graduate of the Youth Performing Arts School. While attending YPAS, she received her training in ballet, modern and jazz, as well as lyrical, tap and hip-hop at other local studios.
Sarah trained at the Joel Hall Dance Center and Columbia College in Chicago IL, the Edge Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, CA and Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles. She has performed with numerous dance companies such as Inaside Chicago Dance, Midwest Dance Collective, DanceWerks Dance Productions, The Joel Hall Dancers and The JADD Co. Sarah has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with artists such as Wierd Al Yankovic, Soulja Boy, Hannah Ford Welton and Joshua Welton of Counter Culture, 3rd Eye Girl and Prince. Sarah was a member of the Joseph Allen Decker Dance Company where she assisted Mr. Decker for two seasons. She was a featured dancer in the movie Dreams and choreographed for Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out Tour in Chicago.

Sarah is currently residing in Illinois where she is teaching and choreographing all over the Chicagoland area. She spent eight years choreographing and performing with Inaside Chicago Dance and just completed her sixth year as the company’s Youth Training Program Director and 9th year as the Summer Intensive Director. She enjoys teaching dancers of all ages, styles and levels and has recently been on the faculty of Dance Olympus, Dance Masters of WI, One Family Festival and 360 Dance Festival.

This past summer, Sarah and her husband Marcus incorporated as Sarcus Entertainment, LLC and created Sarcus Dance Company. She is really excited to embark upon her new adventure as the Assistant Director of 360 Dance Festival and work alongside her good friend and mentor, Richard Smith.

Catie Deitz-Griffith, Ballet Technique and Lyrical

Catie Deitz-Griffith began her training in Newton, New Jersey where she studied the Royal Academy of Dance, American Academy of Ballet and Vaganova Ballet techniques as well as Jazz, Modern, Tap and Acro.  She furthered her training in New York City at the Joffrey Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre, Broadway Dance Center and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.

In 1999 Catie moved to Chicago to study on scholarship at the Giordano Dance Center.  In 2000 she joined Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago II and in 2002 joined Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago where she remained a company member for 5 years. During this time, Catie became the Tour Ballet Mistress for the company and also worked as an independent artist, dancing for Nick Pupillo, Eddy Ocampo, Elijah Gibson and Jon Lehrer. She has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Gus Giordano, Randy Duncan, Davis Robertson and Margo Sappington.

Since moving to Chicago, Catie has taught at a number of local dance studios where her choreography has won numerous awards including the 2016 Emerging Choreographer for Regional Dance America and  has given her students the opportunity to dance in Dance Chicago, Walt Disney World, Regional Dance America, Youth Summit for the Arts and many other local, national and international venues.  She is the Owner and Artistic Director of Elevations Dance Arts and Elevations Studio Company in Elburn, IL as well as the Artistic Director of Forum Dance Theatre in Libertyville, IL.   Catie became a certified Progressing Ballet Technique instructor in 2017 and is thrilled to offer this program to her students.

Kelsey Green, Jazz

Kelsey Green is a seasoned performer with extensive training and competitive experience in a wide range of dance styles, including Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Hip Hop, and Contemporary. She has performed in numerous productions and competitions across the country, earning recognition for her versatility and artistry. Kelsey received her foundational ballet training from Jill Johnson, founder of Studio 121, and continued her pre-professional development at Xtreme Dance Force in Naperville, IL, under the direction of Samuel Renzetti. Kelsey graduated from Elmhurst College in May 2011 with a B.A. in Philosophy and a minor in Dance. With over 20 years of experience teaching and choreographing, she has earned numerous accolades for her work, including High Point, Overall, and Choreography awards at competitions. Throughout her career, Kelsey has held a variety of leadership roles in the dance industry—serving as Co-Director, Studio Director, adjudicator, tabulator, and guest teacher and choreographer at various studios. She is deeply passionate about inspiring dancers of all ages and sharing her love of the art form with others.

Annie Jo Fischer, Musical Theater

Annie Jo Fischer is a Chicago-based teaching artist, adjudicator, performer, director, and Broadway World award winning choreographer.  She has collaborated on 100+ musicals across the Midwest, most recently “Ride the Cyclone” at the Contemporary in Columbus, OH, and the upcoming Paramount Theatre’s “White Christmas.” AJ has performed at The Marriott, Paramount, Drury Lane, Ordway, and Fireside theatres. She is currently on faculty with the Chicago College of the Performing Arts (Roosevelt University), Visceral Dance, Lincolnshire Academy of Dance, qnd Impact Dance Adjudicators, specializing in tap, musical theatre, and jazz. AJ continues to be a member of Actor’s Equity and The Honey Taps, and frequently travels for guest artist workshops nationwide.

Craig Miller, Lyrical and JAzz

Craig V. Miller began training in the Fine Arts Academy at Southfield-Lathrup High School and Motor City Dance Factory.  He attended Oakland University as a Merit Scholarship student, earning a B.A. in Dance Performance.  He has trained with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, and the Ailey School summer intensives. Craig was an apprentice for Eisenhower Dance Detroit, a member of the Michigan Dance Project, Inaside Chicago Dance, Esoteric Dance Project, Dance in the Parks, Culture Shock Chicago, The Seldoms, Dance For Life Finale, and Chicago Repertory Ballet. He has performed works by Louis Falco, Amy Marshall, Laurie Eisenhower, Sean Curran, Robert Moses, Joel Hall, Harrison McEldowney, Autumn Eckman, Alonzo King, Randy Duncan, Monique Haley,  Kristina Isabelle, Robyn Mineko Williams, and Joshua Blake Carter, to name a few.  He has performed with the Civic Ballet of Chicago’s production of “The Nutcracker”, a Guest Artist with Chicago Dance Crash, and starred in Jacobi Alvarez’s dance for the camera “Glamour Baby” which has been presented in many festivals across the country—acting credit: “Scottsboro Boys” (Porchlight Music Theater, “Mr. Tambo” U/S). Choreography credits include: “Little Me” (Porchlight Music Theater), “Billy Elliot” (Porchlight Music Theater, Co-Choreographer, Broadway World Award- Best Choreography), “The Color Purple” (Mercury Theater Chicago, Assoc. Choreographer; Broadway World Award-Best Choreography), “Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Porchlight Music Theater, Asst. Choreographer; Joseph Jefferson Award Winner for Best Production of a musical review) “Rent” (Artist’s Giving Back World AIDS Day performance), and Carl Neilsen’s “Maskarade” (Vox3 Collective, Choreographer).  His work has also been presented at Dance Chicago, Dance Chance, Chicago Freelance Dance, and Oakland University. Craig is a Peffpointe-certified teacher at the 25-hour level and a Nan Giordano-certified teacher at the basic level.  Additional Certifications in Self-Love Coaching, Sound Healing, and Holy-Fire Reiki. He was the Founding Director of The Keystone Academy through the partnership of The Ruth Page Center for the Arts and the Union League Boys & Girls Club. Craig also served as Lead Teacher for Eisenhower Dance Detroit’s “Let’s Dance” after-school program and was a Community Engagement Program Coordinator for Joffrey Ballet. The Vision Method is his coaching business, helping all performers heal through transitioning from their artistic lives. IG: @thevisionmethod

Maximus Osorio Simonenko, HipHop

Maximus Osorio Simonenko performed on America’s Got Talent season 15 with Xtreme Dance Force and on So You Think You Can Dance season 18. He trained in Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballroom.

Rhonda Moore, Contemporary

Rhonda K. Moore has been a dance educator for over 25 years with an extensive background in Modern/Contemporary, Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, and Jazz. She holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. Rhonda is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), Rhythm Works Integrative Dance and DiscoverDance Early Childhood Education. Her professional experiences as an educator and choreographer have included positions as Guest Artist for Missouri Valley College, Owner/Artistic Director for Trilogy School of Performing Arts, Content Developer/Editor for DiscoverDance LLC, Company Director for Elite Dance Academy, Dance Coordinator for Steppin’ Out Dance Studio, Artistic Director for A-Factor Dance Company, and Lower School Dance Director for St. Catherine’s School. She has also been an instructor and/or choreographer for various studios in Virginia, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin and Missouri. In addition, Rhonda has been a Head Adjudicator for Edge National Talent for 14 competition seasons.

Morgan DiFonzo,

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Morgan DiFonzo began her dance training under legendary instructors at Millennium Dance Complex, Edge Performing Arts Center, and California Dance Theatre, her home studio. She is the daughter of performer Kim Morgan Greene, a protégé of Bob Fosse, and developed a deep love for musical theatre while watching her mother perform on Broadway.

In 2014, Morgan moved to Chicago, IL, to pursue her degree at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she earned a BFA in Musical Theatre with a concentration in dance. Since graduating, Morgan has performed in productions at Goodman Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Fireside Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, and the Shakespeare Project of Chicago. She has also choreographed professionally for Paramount Theatre and Fireside Theatre.

When not performing or choreographing, Morgan serves as adjunct faculty at her alma mater, the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, and teaches at Visceral Dance Center and the Gus Giordano Dance School.