Jill Giedt is a passionate creative with a focus on movement, dance and cultural exploration. She holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Directing. Jill taught, directed and choreographed musical theatre for over a decade at Park Academy. She currently teaches at Portland Public Schools through community outreach with OBT and is a resident artist with Young Audience where, through creative movement, she teaches a program that honors the African American experience and the lessons of resilience. In her youth, Jill was a member of the American Contemporary Ballet Company where she trained with Elizabeth Abts. She also studied and performed African dance with Obo Addy.

Karida Griffith Walker grew up training in a variety of dance styles in Portland, OR, primarily with local legend, Sally Mack. After finishing her business degree at New York University, Karida actively pursued her professional dance career. Highlights include: The Radio City Rockettes, Cirque du Soleil, The Tony Awards, Today Show, recurring appearances on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, European tour of Black & Blue, and the critically-acclaimed Tap dance company, Dorrance Dance. As an educator and choreographer, Karida has worked in a variety of settings including Pace University as an adjunct professor, Broadway Dance Center in NYC, the Children’s Theatre Company of NY, for Festivals & Conventions, and in a variety of wonderful recreational & competitive local dance studios. Karida also provides choreography, in-school residencies, and lectures about Tap Dance History in the public school setting for students of all ages. Karida founded The Tap Teachers’ Lounge in 2018, a comprehensive online training program for Tap Dance educators. And in 2020, Karida began offering seminars about Race & Dance History to public and private institutions. She also founded the Roots, Rhythm, Race & Dance program, a six-week professional development program which helps dance educators (from all styles & educational settings) to confidently introduce age-appropriate lessons around race and dance history to their students.

Adrianna Audoma is a Portland based dance artist with 20 years of dance experience, ranging from classical ballet training to highly athletic contemporary modern work to various improvisational studies. Adrianna has been a collaborative member of Tongue Dance Project since 2016 and is currently an Alembic Resident at Performance Works Northwest. Adrianna has been teaching dance to children of all ages for 9 years and has been a part of the Step PDX family since 2017.

Alandra Black was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Oregon and Oceanside, California. Her grandmother introduced her to ballet at age 3 by giving Alandra her first leotard, tutu and slippers. It was these sweet moments with her grandmother that led her to fall in love with dance. Dance has been one of the most profound outlets for Alandra where she gets to express herself in a multitude of ways. While studying Business Marketing at Portland State University, Alandra had the opportunity to deepen her other passions in Marketing and Photography. Working with family, friends, and various businesses across Portland, most notably Blue Star Donuts, Alandra has gained a lot of great experience and most importantly a better understanding of self and her place in this world. Alandra has learned that with effort and patience, you can truly do what you want and be who you want to be in this lifetime.