We are Teaching Artists
We are a team of educators that come from highly eclectic backgrounds, dance training, and experience.
Louie Marin-Howard
Executive and Program Director
Louie Marin-Howard attended the University of Florida New World School of the Arts, under the direction of Daniel Lewis; on full scholarship. He received his B.F.A. with High Honors in 2005. Louie was a scholarship student of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, and Jennifer Muller/The Works School. He has performed with Dance NOW Miami, Freddick Bratcher and Co., Sasha Soreff Dance Theater, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, Paskal Rekoert/ Flexicurve, Graham II, and Carolyn Dorfman Dance (CDD), for whom he continues to coach and teach. Louie has taught regionally, nationally, and internationally; and is known for classes that explore the power, breath, speed, and passion of contemporary modern dance, and the demands of today’s repertory. Locally, Louie has taught Masterclasses at Chattanooga Center for the Creative Arts, Chattanooga Dance Theater, The Baylor School, Ballet Esprit, and Chattanooga Theatre Centre. This Summer, Louie was appointed Executive and Program Director of The Pop-up Project. He works closely with his incredible administrative team and TPUP Teaching Artists to make intentional and relevant impact in our community. The Pop-up Project is the BRIDGE in Dance Education for Hamilton County. Louie and the team are working tirelessly to provide and continue to foster the JOY of Dance through their accessible, age-appropriate, quality Dance Education program and curriculum.
Marah Bates
Director of Program Operations
Marah Bates received her Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre-Dance Performance from Illinois State University in 2016. After graduating college, she moved to Nashville, TN where she continued her training with ViShun Dance Company and New Dialect dance Company. She also received her 200hr RYT yoga certification from Asheville Yoga Center in January 2017. As TPUP Director of Programs Operations, Marah works with our Administrative and Teaching Artist Team to run and bring our program and mission to life. She is the Lead Teaching Artist at Normal Park Upper School where she teaches 4th-8th grade dance; and she is proud to help run an organization that brings quality dance education to over 500 children and 200 adults a week.
Jeri Eduave
Director of Content and Studio Community
Jerigray Eduave is a dancer, choreographer, and creative director whose artistic journey defies convention. Grounded in Hip Hop and Video as his primary mediums, Jerigray’s education in both has been driven by self-discovery, research, and curiosity. He also holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2017, with great honors), where he cultivated an ability to merge analytical process with artistic expression.
Jerigray has taught masterclasses at renowned institutions such as Western Kentucky University, Middle Tennessee State University, Ballet Tennessee, and many more with a focus in rhythm, foundational grooves, and musicality.
As a director and editor, Jerigray’s storytelling experience involves commercial projects for prominent brands, including Nutribullet, Hero Cosmetics, Not Your Mother’s, and Choice Tea. He has also collaborated with musical artists such as Call Me Spinster, SummerDregs, and Brad QK, crafting visually striking content that resonates with audiences.
In his role as Director of Content and Studio Community at The Pop-up Project, Jerigray leads with his “Human Forward” philosophy as the guiding strategy to amplify and showcase the organization’s mission and impact.
Ashley Tisdale
Teaching Artist
A Chattanooga native, Ashley's love of dance started after seeing her first ballet, Dracula, at age three. She has a passion for movement, dance accessibility and performance, training in many forms of dance including ballet, modern, jazz, & musical theater. As a professional artist, Ashley has had the opportunity to perform with various artists and companies around the Chattanooga area including the performance company formerly known as The Pop-Up Project and Katheirne Dunham’s JUBA Ensemble. Ashley shares her love of dance teaching for Chattanooga Dance Theatre, Studio34 and as a Teaching Artist for The Pop-Up Project.
A'mya Collins
Teaching Artist
A Chattanooga native, A'mya Collins graduated from Ridgeland High School. Her early training in musical theater and competitive cheerleading sparked her passing in pursuing more dance training. In 2021, A'mya was cast in The Pop-up Project's production of "Romeo + Julieta", and began her training with the company in various dance genres and on stage. Since then she has performed with Doetry (2022,2023), Juba Dance (2022), BEC Awards (2022,2023), as a model, and with local recording artists. A'mya looks forward to creating a safe space for students to learn confidence and freedom; teaching them to express their feelings and emotions within their bodies. A'mya is thrilled to be joining our Teaching Artist Team.
Jess Ortega
Teaching Artist
Jess Ortega holds a bachelor’s degree in Dance from Middle Tennessee State University with a specialization in pedagogical theory. She has worked in dance studios including Chattanooga Ballet and Cannon Arts and currently teaches with The Pop Up Project and ProjectDance. Jess is interested in many movement modalities, having been trained extensively in ballet, modern dance, yoga, and Noyes Rhythm. Incorporating elements of these styles and the Speaking Through Dance curriculum, she seeks to create movement through an environmentally informed lens. She and her students have made dances about beetles, natural disasters, and floral growth! In her instruction, Jess also works to contextualize movement for students, situating technique in history and influence.
In addition to teaching, Jess is active in performance with Understory Experiential and Duncan Dance South. She has danced in a variety of settings, including immersive events, long form improvisation, and historical recreations.
Hayden Turitto
Teaching Artist
Beginning their training in Chattanooga, Hayden danced with Chattanooga Ballet from 2004-2014. They are a graduate of Center for Creative Arts, being a dance major throughout middle and high school. With a heavy ballet background, Hayden also specializes in contemporary and improvisational movement. They continued dancing with various companies and college groups, all of different styles, until 2022 when they began rehearsing and performing with The Pop Up Project. They are now also a teaching artist for The Pop Up Project’s Outreach Program.
Andrea Tankersley
Teaching Artist
Began dancing at an early age in Monterrey Mexico, where she attended La Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey and studied different styles of dance with a main passion for ballet. After moving to the U.S she continued to pursue ballet in Texas and later danced professionally with Dance Theatre of Tennessee, Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Ballet Esprit and has guested with Sterling Baca, Niccolo Orsolani, Travis Stancil and Casey Haywood. Andrea has acted as a liaison for Global Education Center and Casa Azafrán, Chattanooga Dance Theatre and Best Beginnings Early Learning, Ballet Esprit and Montessori Elementary and Wauhatchie Nature School. Aside from teaching dance Andrea is a certified PBT (Progressive Ballet Technique), Health and Life Coach and hopes to educate, support, and empower her students through their journey. She also stays current with her Adult, Child and Baby First Aid/ CPR/AED certification.
Kendra Norwood
Teaching Artist
Kendra Norwood is a Chattanooga-based professional dancer with a calming, gentle teaching style. She grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia, and began dancing at the age of 4 with classes in ballet, tap, and jazz. After switching to gymnastics for several years, Kendra returned to dance in high school, where she performed in Musical Theater productions. During college, she focused on her degree in Communication Studies while dancing, choreographing, and teaching on the side. Post-graduation, Kendra moved to the Kona, Hawai’i for a dance training program where she received interdisciplinary training for various technique styles and dance pedagogy. She had the opportunity to work under the tutelage of teachers including Vincent Hardy, Fred Vasallo, Tammy Tolaas, Chelsea Dawn, Cynthia Newland, BBoy Xodus, Cheryl Cutlip, and Kumu Christine (her Hula teacher). As a part of her training, Kendra taught dance classes for children in the Kona community. She also spent time in San José, Costa Rica teaching dance master classes and workshops while continuing her training. Kendra performed in a live and filmed dance production with Prince Dance Company, a unique project that portrayed the 7 stages of grief. The film premiered on Kahilu TV in 2021. She also danced for Why We Move Collaborative, a dance company that focused on digital film projects with dance and spoken word. Kendra then joined the Pop-up Project in 2023 and danced in the November show Until the Sun Rises. She is thrilled to now be part of the Teaching Artist team and share dance with the beautiful community of Chattanooga!
Matty Dangerfield
Teaching Artist
Matty Dangerfield (Parker) has been an enthusiastic mover since his early childhood days. Always inspired by professional artists and movers he watched growing up, Matty began training virtually in any space he could find. A few short years after moving to Chattanooga he found a dance community and furthered his training in various styles. He began dancing professionally after joining The Pop Up Project Company in 2019 and was ecstatic to perform in their debut dance film The Light We Share. In the following years he performed in the immersive shows Romeo y Julieta and If These Walls Could Talk. He performed and choreographed again in Pop Up Project’s most recent show Until The Sun Rises. Matty is also a member of The Juba Dance Ensemble where he has performed and choreographed in two showcases celebrating African American history and culture. Inspired most by movement’s encouragement of individual expression via the human body, Matty loves to study various styles including vogue, contemporary, hip-hop, modern, jazz, ballet, musical theatre jazz, hula, and improvisation. Matty is extremely grateful to have found a movement community to play, create, and grow with. He plans to be a lifelong student, illustrator, and supporter of dance.
Tania Cuenca
Teaching Artist
Tania began her artistic journey as a gymnast at the age of six in Quito-Ecuador. She graduated in 2014 from the Metropolitan School of Dance of the National Ballet of Ecuador, as a modern dance interpreter, with a focus on ballroom and urban dance styles. Tania furthered her studies in Performing Arts, Directing, and Playwriting at the Central University of Ecuador and is certified as a Cultural Manager. Her passion for multidisciplinary art has led her to participate in diverse artistic productions, as well as performing in both conventional and unconventional spaces. Currently, she teaches with The Pop Up Project, where she emphasizes organic movement, body awareness, and empowerment through the transformative power of dance.
Jessi Faircloth
Teaching Artist
Jessi Faircloth is a mover, poet, visual artist, and social worker based in Chattanooga, TN. A lifelong mover, she has been dancing since the moment she could walk.
Jessi built a strong foundation in modern and ballet at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts. She went on to further her studies at Bennington College in Vermont, where she immersed herself in postmodern dance, improvisation, and the art of deconstructing traditional movement forms.
Since 2017, Jessi has been a performing member of The Pop-up Project, where her deeply personal story of living with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness was featured in The Light We Share. She has also performed in Barking Legs' Cross Cultural Ties and Drive-In Dances, bringing her unique movement language to diverse audiences.
Jessi is passionate about creating dance through improvisational scores and postmodern movement, crafting work that is fluid, expressive, and deeply human. She often merges her love of poetry with movement, dancing to her own spoken words to create visceral, embodied storytelling. Whether on stage or in spontaneous spaces, she moves with authenticity, always seeking new ways to challenge and expand the boundaries of dance.
Professional Development
Our Teaching Artist team continues their own development as dance educators with quarterly professional development to continually unpack, grow, and to be better suited to serve in the dance community.
Join our team!
3214 Brainerd Road
Chattanooga, TN 37411