EMILY CREWS - CO-DIRECTOR, PRINCIPAL DANCER
Emily Crews graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1991 and moved to the DC area. Since then she has performed, choreographed, and taught various dance styles including tap, clogging, modern, and jazz, and since 2008 she has also been choreographing for musical theater. Emily has been a principal dancer with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble since 2000. From September1991 to March 2023 she was the Financial Director at Dance Place. Emily now serves as the Dance and Events Program Director at Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture.
MARK DELANEY - MUSICIAN
Mark Delaney was born in Minnesota but moved to Derwood, Maryland during his first year of life and has since then never live anywhere outside of Maryland. His musical career is almost wholly a product of living in the DC-Baltimore area. His mother, born in Kentucky, is the daughter of banjo player Garcia Killen and niece of country singer Ked Killen, both of whom were colleagues of Kenny Baker. His Father, born in Massachusetts, was at one time a jazz critic for Downbeat magazine. All of these influences combined in a rich and interesting fusion, and all can be discerned in Mark’s music. He began playing the banjo seriously at the age of eleven with some help from his grandfather; not long after, he was playing professionally in regional bands in the DC area including many years with Arnold Hobbs and Partners at the Partners Two club in Centreville, Virginia, where he met (and even played with) many of the bluegrass greats. He is a former member of Randy Waller and The Country Gentlemen, Darren Beachley and Legends of the Potomac, the Good Deale Band, Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa, The Travelers, The Patuxent Partners, and Badly Bent. He currently tours and records with Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass.
CHRISTINE GALANTE - PRINCIPAL DANCER
Christine Galante is a principal dancer with Footworks and has been with the ensemble since 1997. Chrissy was immersed in the world of traditional music and dance from an early age - the third generation of her family to learn square, folk, round dancing, and clogging. As a youth, she expanded her love of the arts into theatre, dance, and vocal performance, and continued her studies as a Musical Theatre major at Catawba College in NC. Christine has been fortunate to showcase her performing versatility from theme parks to theatre stages as a singer, actress, dancer, and choreographer. She has also been a guest artist with Rhythm In Shoes artistic director, Sharon Leahy, The Duhks, and The Bumper Jacksons. A graduate of the Teaching Artist Institute with Young Audiences of Maryland, Christine’s passion for Arts-In-Education is shared with Footworks and in her collaborations with RC Dance Discovery. She has been a featured instructor at Ashokan Music and Dance Camp, Miles of Music Camp, and with the Wheatland Music Organization.
JON GLIK - MUSICIAN
A highly respected bluegrass fiddler, “Baltimore Johnny” has toured with such bluegrass legends as Frank Wakefield, Peter Rowan, Bob and Dan Paisley, Del McRoury, and David Grisman. His uniquely intense and driving style can be heard on many critically acclaimed recordings, including those of Dave Evans, Dan Paisley, The Hard Travelers, Frank Wakefield, Del McRoury, The Forbes Family, and an original soundtrack for Maryland Public Television. Jon has been with Footworks for over 18 years, touring extensively with the company as well as playing for most of Footworks’ arts-in-education programming. When not touring, Jon's home is on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In addition to Footworks, he performs with The Forbes Family, a gospel group, Good Deale Bluegrass Band, Eastman String Band and The Hard Travelers, where as a member he has helped raise over one million dollars towards Cystic Fibrosis research.
PATRICK MCAVINUE - MUSICIAN
Patrick McAvinue, four-time Candidate for International Bluegrass Music Association’s Fiddle Player of the Year, is regarded as one of the most innovative fiddlers in the industry, able to translate the traditions of Bluegrass into a fresh, eclectic, forward-thinking language of his own. Patrick’s CD release, Rutland’s Reel, is described as, “a roller coaster of pure uncut fiddle nirvana” (Joseph Scott, Country Music Pride). A highly in-demand sideman, he has performed and recorded with Bluegrass music icons Bobby Osborne, Del McCoury, Marty Stuart, Paul Williams and J.D. Crowe, to name a few. He and his fiddle have appeared at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Birchmere, The Country Ren-dez vous Festival in Crappone, FR, The U.S. Embassy in Quinto, EC, Die Dreikönigskirche in Dresden, DE, and The Koppernik Theatre in Prague, CZ. Currently, Patrick tours with the acclaimed Bluegrass super-group Audie Blaylock & Redline and is a featured recording artist for the Patuxent Music and Mountain Home record labels. When home from the road, he enjoys sharing his passion and love for music with his private students.
BRYAN MCDOWELL - MUSICIAN
Bryan McDowell is a person predictable only in his consistent excellence. Fiddler, vocalist, and master of stringed instruments, his reputation is solidifying as a musician of great interest on the acoustic scene.
With his move to Nashville in 2013, Bryan grounded his career in a 4 year tenure with Claire Lynch. He has logged considerable time on the road with bluegrass notables Sierra Hull, Alison Brown, Ron Block, & Molly Tuttle, and shared the stage and studio with an ever-expanding list of legendary names from the realm of roots and acoustic music. His talents are featured on several recordings garnering IBMA awards, and one project receiving a Grammy nomination.
From 2018-2022, Bryan focused on instructing new generations of folk musicians in Western NC and the Southeast, working with Asheville’s Academy for the Arts and many immersive regional camps. He now resides in Baltimore, MD and is touring with Mark Schatz, John Reischman, John McEuen, Cris Jacobs, and other mid-Atlantic acts including Footworks Percussive Dance. Other accolades include Bryan’s triple win - a sweep of the fiddle, mandolin, and guitar categories - at the National Flatpicking Championship in '09, and his 21 other instrument contest titles from '09 & '10.
KIM RIVERS - PRINCIPAL DANCER
Born in Annapolis, Maryland, Kim began her dance training at the age of two with Pam Newton and Mary Slater. In May 2003, she graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.F.A in Dance/Choreography. She is a full-time instructor at Slater’s Dance studio in Edgewater, MD. In the spring of 2008, Kim founded a dance organization called Re-Formation Dance Company, and owns a studio in Annapolis, Maryland. Kim has explored many styles of dance, such as ballet, jazz, liturgical, and modern, and has studied tap with Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, and Brenda Buffalino, among others. Kim was a member of D’Feet, a tap ensemble based in Richmond VA, and has also performed in the National Tap Dance Festival, the yearly Kunte Kinte Festivals, touring across the country with Hoctor’s Dance Caravan Tour in 1998 as a Caravan Kid. Kim also loves to sing, act, and model.
MARSHA SEARLE - DIRECTOR, PRINCIPAL DANCER
Marsha Searle grew up studying ballet and Scottish Highland dancing. She studied at Brigham Young University earning BFA degrees in both Composite Dance and History, focusing on Modern and World Dance. During her time at BYU Marsha performed with the International Folk Dance ensemble for 4 years, touring the United States, British Isles, Canada, and Belgium and performing in the opening cerimonies of the 2002 Olympics. Shortly after moving to Maryland in 2004 she became a principal dancer with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble. She has been dancing professionally with Footworks for 13 years.
ADAM WHEELER - PRINCIPAL DANCER
Adam was born and raised in Manchester, Michigan. He began clogging at the age of 10 with The Cottonwood Cloggers, and then with various groups across Southeast Michigan. He also danced with the Earth Angels, a youth performance group that brought to life the music and spirit of the 50s and 60s. While a student at Mars Hill University in Western North Carolina, he danced with the National Champion Bailey Mountain Cloggers. Adam is a member of The CommonWealth Dance Collective, directed by Sheila Graziano, and American Racket, directed by Andy Howard. Adam’s clogging has led him to performances abroad in Spain, Germany, South Korea, Brazil, Ireland, and Canada. Locally, Adam dances with Cutting Edge, an English rapper and longsword dance group, and Just in Time, a step dance group. Adam began dancing with Footworks in 2022.