Melanie Miles
Attorney-at-law
Houston TX 77092

City Dance Company exists to bring the many aspects of the dance experience to the most extensive and diverse population possible.
City Dance Company is a non-profit educational organization which enjoys the support of grants from the city of Houston and Texas Commission on the arts through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County as well as private companies, foundations and individual donors.
City Dance is a place where voices are given life, where feelings are provided structure and focus, and where dancers can do what they love.
In 1994, Sherese Campbell established City Dance Studio, her non-profit dance school and performing arts organization as a way to reflect the ethnic diversity of the Houston Metropolitan area. Since then, Ms. Campbell has been the driving force in teaching the school's over 200 dance students, some 20% of whom receive scholarships.
The school features a culturally and internationally diverse student body, with dancers hailing from Russia, China, Japan, Hungary, India, Nigeria, Mexico, Germany, and Italy, as well as various Houston neighborhoods.
Ms. Campbell's commitment to dance education and instruction shows itself in City Dance's comprehensive class schedule, featuring an array of ballet, jazz, modern, tap, break-dancing, and hip-hop offerings that cater to students of all ages and ability levels.
The Company's students are given the opportunity to perform in a variety of settings.
Our students are also expected to routinely give their time and talent to the community by performing for Houston area retirement communities, hospitals, and homeless shelters.
City Dance's touring company performs their vibrant mix of jazz, hip-hop, and classical styles in theaters and at cultural events throughout Houston, and has performed internationally in Spain, Switzerland, and Monaco.
The Company's performers are young adults of diverse ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds, some of whom were at one time at-risk students or high school dropouts from troubled or broken homes and many of the performers are products of Ms. Campbell's classes themselves, and now teach master classes of their own.
The company is a flowing tapestry of visual and aural experience, and to watch City Dance perform is to see the pulsing synthesis of cultures, languages, neighborhoods, and lives. The company's practice studio shakes with the beating rhythms of innovation and tradition, the near-primordial screams and echoes of the mind working with and against the body, gathering a verve that spills into the performance halls and out onto the city's streets.
City Dance promotes the art of dance through community service at venues such as school, assisted living facilities and various at risk facilities
City Dance's long history of selfless public service puts it in the forefront of many of the dance companies in the Houston metropolitan area.

City Dance Company brings the energy of Houston's eclectic urban community to the stage, employing performance styles ranging from jazz and hip-hop to some of Houston's most cutting edge modern dance, imparting an ongoing message of inclusion and expression. Under the guidance of founder and artistic director Sherese Campbell, City Dance's dynamic first company uses dance as an artistic medium through which to engage its audiences in a dialogue exploring both the dark and light sides of the human experience, both the struggles and the triumphs.
The Professional Company's members include:
Sherese Campbell	Ten years ago, Sherese Campbell set out to create a dance company capable of embodying her ambitious and eclectic artistic vision. Committed to forming a dance company that would reflect her own experiences, as well as the diverse lives of its dancers, Ms. Campbell combined the principles of her artistic training with a personal goal to positively affect social change. In 1994, Ms. Campbell established City Dance, Inc. bringing together dancers from a myriad of ethnic and cultural backgrounds from all parts of the city of Houston. At this point, Ms. Campbell's dream of a multi-ethnic, socially conscious and artistically vibrant company became a reality.
Jimmy Diaz	Originally from El Salvador, Jimmy has grown up in Houston and had a beginning in arts through visual art. Jimmy started professionally dancing with City Dance in 2001 and currently teaches hip hop at the City Dance Studio. In 1999 he appeared in the opening credits of the Miss Teen USA Pageant, which also featured N'Sync. Jimmy has performed at the Miller Outdoor Theater, Rice University's Hamman Hall, Black Dance Festival, New York City, Kansas City, as well as in Europe at the Monaco Dance Forum. In September of 2006, Jimmy had the honor of performing in a Tribute to Catherine Dunham choreographed by George Carlos Henderson, a Dunham expert. Recently, he started working at one of the largest wealth management firms.
Joan Galvan	Joan started dancing as a child, performing in Greek folk dances. Later, she attended Stephen F. Austin University on a dance scholarship, performing with the school’s dance squad and acting as its fitness instructor. She began dancing with City Dance as a member of the second company in 2002 before joining the first company in 2004. She is currently a certified dietician.
Benjamin Gil	Benjamin danced with El Ballet Folklorico de la Escuela Narciso Bassols in Houston for two years, under the direction of Paula Pacheco, before joining the City Dance Company. He has danced in New York and Kansas City, Missouri with City Dance. Benjamin, a native of Puebla, Mexico, was also recognized as an outstanding dancer at Lamar High School in 2000.
Anthony Poydras	Anthony, a principal dancer with the company, is a native Houstonian. Anthony has been a vital member of the City Dance Company since its inception, and has toured Europe with the company and has choreographed one of his own pieces acclaimed by Molly Glentzer of the Houston Chronicle. As well as dancing with the First Company, he currently teaches dance and choreography to talented local youth and remains active in church activities.
Jaimee Vilela	Jaimee joined the City Dance Company in 2001, and since then has acted as a principal dancer and been named director of the City Dance Ensemble. Jaimee studied dance for 13 years at the Banbury School of Dance and was accepted to study at the Robert Joffrey School of Dance Summer Program in New York. An active member of the Filipino cultural community, Jaimee was a choreographer for the Filipino Student Association at the University of St. Thomas, where she received her bachelor's degree. Since graduating from the Texas Heart School of Cardiopulmonary perfusion, Ms. Vilela has been working as a cardio thoracic perfusionist at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Jaimee also teaches workshops with City Dance, at her local church and other venues.
	Maria Lopez Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Maria grew up dancing at Ms. Valerie’s School of Dance, a small neighborhood dance studio. In high school she was accepted into the Lamar Dance Theatre and had the opportunity to participate in various performances, competitions and was asked along with a few of her classmates to perform with the Texas Tap Ensemble. Maria joined the City Dance Company in 2003 and performed in New York City with them in 2005. She is currently attending the University of Houston, majoring in kinesiology with plans of going to graduate school for physical therapy.
Administrative Assistant	Ronda G. Lewis