Mary Anne Fernandez Herding is the collaborative creator of DanceTalk101.com and the director and founding member of The Movement Source Dance Company. Her professional background encompasses dance performance, arts administration, program development, choreography and teaching. She currently chairs the Dance Department at Xavier College Preparatory where she established the program/dance curriculum. She holds a BFA in Dance and Secondary Education from Arizona State University, as well as an MA in Dance/Drama from the University of Arizona, specializing in dance for the hearing impaired. She recently created and implemented guiDANCE, a mentoring program for serious dance students to connect with touring, professional dance artists. She is a native Arizonan and an active member of the local arts community. Mary Anne enjoys the diversity each season brings, and is grateful to be able to direct and dance with such an amazing, vivacious and authentic group of dancers, in Movement Source! She also loves teaching and looks forward to the energy and creativity her students bring each year.
She is an enthusiastic member of the dance community and enjoys seeing it continually transform, evolve and grow.
Mary Anne is so excited to be collaborating with Jordan Kriston and Frances McMahon Ward in the creation and launch of DanceTalk101.com
This virtual platform brings fun and accessible dance concepts to a broad range of students and teachers!
Welcome - now let’s dance and have some fun!
Jordan Kriston was born in Hammond, Indiana and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She has always loved movement of all kinds, and grew up swimming, climbing trees, playing sports, and participating in gymnastics and dance. Jordan holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Arizona State University, as well as a 200 Hr Yoga Teacher Certification from Costa Rica School of Yoga. Jordan moved to New York in 2006 and began dancing professionally with H.T. Chen & Dancers and Douglas Dunn & Dancers, as well as presenting her own work at Triskelion Arts and Douglas Dunn Studio. She has studied with David Parsons, Robert Battle, Oliver Steele, Marjorie Mussman and members of Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2010 she joined Pilobolus Dance Theater of Washington, Connecticut, where she helped create over a dozen original works and an evening-length show. She has taught and performed in almost all 50 U.S. States and over 15 countries. She began teaching partnering and collaboration workshops through Pilobolus, and continues her work with them as an educator. Jordan currently lives in Portland, OR where she dances and choreographs with Ela Fala Dance Collective. Since moving to Portland in 2017, her work has been shown at Polaris Dance Theater, and she was recently awarded a six month residency to develop new choreography for New Expressive Works. She teaches Dance and Yoga independently, and founded her own company, Open Moon Yoga, which offers private and group instruction. Jordan works for Flow Kakou, an arts nonprofit based in Hawaii bringing movement and education to community members. When she is not dancing or teaching she loves to write, read and surround herself with nature, good people and other creative mediums.
Frances McMahon Ward is a visual storyteller working primarily in the areas of video and installation. Her work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows and, as an installation artist and videographer, she has staged exhibitions at the Phoenix Art Museum, ASU, and film festivals in Arizona, California and New York.