About Us

GUY THORNE, Director/Founder

A native of Guyana (South America), Thorne moved to the island of Jamaica where he graduated with a professional diploma in Dance Theatre Production from the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts. He moved to the US as a scholarship student at Dance Theater of Harlem NYC before becoming principal dancer with Garth Fagan Dance for 7 years. Thorne holds a BFA in dance from State University of NY, Brockport. Guy has over 15 years of professional experience & has toured extensively and taught master classes throughout the world including Italy, Germany, Hawaii, France, the UK & Austria. He has been reviewed favorably on several occasions by the NY Times & has danced in such notable US spaces as the Ted Shawn Theater (Jacob's Pillow), The Lincoln Center & Kennedy Center among others. .... the always impressive Guy Thorne... is all swagger, sexiness and youthful bravado in modern movements. ~Bernard J.Tarver. As co-founder, co-director, choreographer, performer & teacher of FUTURPOINTE DANCE Thorne’s current choreographic work explores the confluence of folklore, popular and contemporary dance forms infused with his short film & multi-media creations.

HEATHER ROFFE, Director

Roffe, who has her Masters of Fine Arts in Dance, has taught as a full-time Professor in the Dance Department at The College at Brockport and SUNY Potsdam, and has also taught at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and at St. John Fisher College. The focus of her graduate research was in performance and choreography, and she continues to investigate her creative work through collaborations and mixed media. Roffe’s choreography has been presented in various venues across the country, and has been commissioned by both professional companies and dance programs throughout the US. She has performed nationally and internationally with Garth Fagan Dance, and nationally, including at Jacob’s Pillow, the International Dance Festival, and the American Dance Guild Festival, with Bill Evans Dance Company, Assemblage Dance Company, Burnidge-Clark Dance, and in her own work. She is thrilled to be using her experience and creativity in co-directing, choreographing, performing and teaching for FUTURPOINTE DANCE.

MELINDA PHILLIPS

MELINDA PHILLIPS was born and raised in Rochester, NY. She attended Rochester's School of the Arts High School majoring in dance and drama. Her education in dance continued and she graduated from SUNY Brockport with a BA in Dance. One of Melinda's assets has been her comfort level with and excitement at exploring many different dance styles. Her focus thus far has been in Modern dance, traditional West African, Tap, Hispanic dance, and Afro House. Melinda has performed as a member of Voices Dance Ensemble, and been a member, performer and choreographer for Sankofa African Dance Ensemble and Akoma Ntoaso Dance. She has also been a member and instructor for AfriKuumba, instructor with Kuumba Consultants and is a founding member and choreographer for Ba Bes Dance. She currently teaches and performs throughout the city of Rochester in the local schools and for Garth Fagan School of Dance and is a dancer, performer and choreographer with FuturPointe Dance.

OLGA KRAVETS

ABOUT US:

FuturPointe was formed in Nov. 2009 as an initiative to broaden the appeal and spectatorship of contemporary dance. FuturPointe Dance is a fusion company - combining dancers and choreographic styles from a variety of genres and training, including modern dance, popular/social/folk dance, Caribbean, African, Latin, and ballet. The company's aesthetic crosses into multiple art forms as well, including multi-media collaborations with videographers, visual artists, composers, musicians, puppeteers, and costumers.

The company roster is culturally diverse, with dancers hailing from Jamaica, Guyana, the Ukraine, New Orleans, and New York. Though we are a young company, we collectively have a broad and extensive base of professional dance experience, and the company has already toured and performed in national venues. Weekly classes are open to the Rochester community, and company members are actively involved in residencies and performances that educate, entertain, and promote the vitality and global presence of contemporary dance.

Current company members include: N’Jelle Gage, William J. Knighten, Olga Kravets, Melinda Phillips, Heather Roffe, and Guy Thorne. The company is Directed by Guy Thorne, Heather Roffe and N’Jelle Gage.

N'JELLE GAGE, Director/Founder

As soloist with Les Ballet Dimensions (Jamaica), ‘Jelle began her career under the tutelage of Norma Spence & Tatjana Sedunova (Artistic Director, Lithuanian Opera & Ballet Theater ). She attended Academia Ballet Clasico Nina Novak (Caracas, Venezuela) as a scholarship student, graduated from Escuela Nacional de Arte & interned with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba (Havana, Cuba). ‘Jelle has traveled to over 16 international cities in various capacities including senior dancer & assistant artistic director of L’Acadco Dance company (Jamaica), founder & choreographer of Caribbean Performing Arts Ensemble (Florida), & has a wide range of expertise from work in music video production & ad campaigns with international artists (ex. Sean Paul, Mutabaruka, Damian Marley, Third World). She has also worked as a cultural consultant for film (UK). As co-founder & co-director of FUTURPOINTE Dance, ‘Jelle teaches Caribbean Contemporary dance techniques- Tecnica Cubana & L’Antech™ & directs company rehearsals.

WILLIAM J. KNIGHTEN

This native son of New Orleans studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and graduated number one in his class with a pre-professional Theatre Arts Degree and a concentration in Musical Theatre. In 2008 Knighten toured to Germany with Garth Fagan Dance. He has also worked with the award-winning Clark Academy of Performing Arts in Buffalo N.Y. In 2009 William joined FuturPointe as a founding member.