Larkspur Dance Company director, Anna Seagrave is a dance teacher and choreographer based in Providence, RI. Anna received a B.A in Dance from Springfield College and a M.F.A in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from Mills College in Oakland, CA.
After 5 years immersed in the San Francisco Bay Area experimental arts scene she returned to Rhode Island. There she reunited with dancers from her past and started a contemporary dance company to explore her interests in site-specific works, the role of women in dance, and gestures that tell a story. Larkspur is a vehicle for exploring, experiementing and bringing art to a greater community.
Anna has been fortunate to study with Rachel Berman of Paul Taylor Dance Company, Shelley Senter, Molissa Fenley, Sonya Delwaide and Axis Dance Company. She her work has been performed at Built on Stilts Dance Festival, Springfield College - William Simpson Fine Arts Series, American College Dance Festival, and many other venues around the SF Bay Area and New England.
Favorite Things: grapefruit, my beautiful cat Edie and visiting the ocean.
Why do you love to dance? Dancing and choreographing allows me to say all the things that I cannot put into words.
Jen Nettnay, one of the Larkspurs, works as an Actuarial Assistant in Worcester, MA. She received a B.S. in Mathematics with concentrations in Actuarial Science and Statistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Jen owes her dancing roots to Starline School of Dance. She has been dancing ballet, jazz, and several other styles with the studio since she was three years old. Jen spent a few years on the competition team before leaving for college and in 2009, she danced down the streets of Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World’s Christmas Parade.
With Larkspur Dance Company, Jen is stepping into a new era of dance. Each piece brings new experiences and new challenges. Through the inspiration of director Anna and fellow dancers, Jen aims to grow as a dancer, exploring new movements and pushing limits.
Favorite Things: Star Wars, Sandy Island on Lake Winnipesaukee, and the NE Patriots
Why do you love to dance? Having grown up dancing, I associate it with almost every aspect of my life. Dancing brings me waves of nostalgia, relief, and happiness. There is a sense a familiarity and belonging to it.
Jessy
After receiving her master degree in Expressive Therapy and Mental health counseling from Lesley university in Cambridge, Sarah has been working therapeutically in communities around Massachusetts. She views the arts as essential to what it is to be human and enjoys exploring creativity in different mediums.
She has enjoyed dance from early childhood, performing locally and in Vermont where she attended Marlboro College. Acting, directing, and dramaturgy were the focus of her undergraduate training and continue to inform her creative work.
Favorite things: The first night sleeping on clean sheets, coffee, and sharing a laugh with someone for the first time.
Why do you love to dance? I love the reminder of all the amazing things a body can do and express. I love the joy of it.
As a child, Devon Almeida dreamed of dancing through life and becoming a teacher, like so many in her family. She was born and raised in Norton, MA. Devon attended St. Michael's College in Colchester, VT, where she majored in Elementary Education and Psychology. She graduated in 2005 and began her teaching career in a small town here in MA. She has taught 2nd grade, 1st grade, and is thoroughly enjoying her eager, curious 4th graders. Teaching is one of the greatest joys in her life.
Devon has several passions, including time with her large and loving family, dancing, traveling, reading, weight training, and anything that involves a little adventure! She has dabbled in ballroom dancing, rock climbing, sushi classes, and Krav Maga. There's nothing she won't try. Traveling is something that feeds her soul and is the cure to a deep curiosity rumbling deep within her. She has been all over the world, and always has her next journey planned. Devon is inspired by other cultures, meeting new people, and tasting dishes from other countries. Her favorite spots include Hawaii, Ireland, England, and Egypt. She goes wherever the wind may take her, and seeks the beauty of the world and its people.
Devon began dancing at the age of 3, after her mom realized there was no stopping her. She joined Starline School of Dance. It was here where she unlocked the love of dance that still remains in her heart today. She helped to form and was the captain of the St. Michael's Dance Team, where she performed in shows and at sporting events. She was able to develop her choreography skills, and enjoyed the challenge of creating a piece from scratch. Following her graduation, she returned to MA and went straight back to where it all began, Starline School of Dance. She was a member of the studio's competition team and danced in the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade that was televised on ABC in 2009. She choreographed at Starline, as well. She has experience in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, hip-hop, and contemporary. She currently dances at Starline, teaches dance classes at her elementary school to young dancers, and is honored to be a part of Larkspur Dance Company, where she enjoys the expression that Larkspur allows her, as well as the different venues for performing. She finds great joy in telling a story through her movement, and is inspired by her fellow dancers, with whom she has danced her whole life.
Favorite Things:
Immersing herself in new cultures
Pink, anything pink
The changing of the seasons
Why do you love to dance? Dance is my poetry, allowing me to express what is too deep for words, what cannot be written with a pen... it's the language of my heart and a window into my soul.
Sarah is a native to the New England area and has been dancing since she was three years old. During most of her childhood and young adult life, if she wasn't in school, Sarah could be found in the dance studio or performing on stage for a recital, dance competition or theater production. During college, Sarah continued to pursue her passion for dance as a captain and choreographer of a collegiate dance team while taking dance classes whenever she could. Sarah has been fortunate to have danced as part of Walt Disney World's, "Dance the Magic: Holiday Spectacular" parade and aboard a Caribbean cruise-liner for the Dancin' At Sea Cruise Program.
After receiving a B.A. in Education and Psychology from St. Michael's College, Sarah was drawn to a professional career in Human Resources and is currently working in Providence, Rhode Island. Sarah is also working as a part-time dance teacher at her hometown dance studio where she grew up dancing with her fellow (and amazingly-talented) Larkspur Dance Company members. Looking forward to the future, Sarah is thrilled to be part of the Larkspur Dance Company and fortunate for the opportunity to continue learning and creating through the art of dance.
Favorite things: Dancing with my sisters, homemade banana bread, and Lake Champlain waterfront in Burlington, VT.
Why I love to dance: I am able to create something beautiful through movement with others.
Kelly is a Providence based hairstylist and blogger. Her strong creative personality makes her determined to share with world art she finds in various forms (style, fashion, photography, nature.) In a constant state of wanderlust, applying red lipstick, and dreaming of mountains she is always trying to look out for the good of others. Her Grampy once told her "be good to other people and hope they will be good to you." That quote is something she carries with her everyday.
Favorite things: Lattes, lipstick, adventures, style, animals, travel
Why I love to dance: Being in the studio dancing is the only time when everything else in the world disappears. It allows me to creatively think, breathe and move to try to communicate what I can not say verbally. Dance is a very powerful outlet.