HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

Behind the Scenes: About the Dance Consultants

Beth Bogush
Dance Consultant

Beth Bogush is currently serving as a Dance Consultant on the new CG animated series, Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps. In this role, she developed the dance curriculum for the series, expounding on all styles of dance and making it age-appropriate for the characters and the program's audience. Ms. Bogush also reviewed and helped to customize curriculum materials for the series.

As a dance professional, instructor and educator based in New York City, Ms. Bogush has more than 30 years of experience working with preschoolers to professionals in a variety of artistic, theatrical and conceptual endeavors. Her experience as a choreographer has made her renowned in the musical theatre, television and special events formats and has enabled her to create a one-of-a-kind dance and movement consulting method for the studio, stage and screen.

Ms Bogush also serves as a consultant and choreographer for several Nickelodeon shows and touring live events.

In addition to her current work, Ms. Bogush is the Executive Producer and Director of Let's Have a Dance Party USA, a non-profit organization based in Jersey City, NJ, that produces a live staged and interactive Backyardigans-themed event that presents and incorporates age-appropriate dance and movement routines to children and their parents housed on military bases throughout the country.

Previously, Ms. Bogush worked primarily on the stage and in the studio, serving for six years as Director of the First Steps program and Co-Director of the junior division at the Ailey School in New York City. Ms. Bogush created the curriculum that is currently taught in the Ailey School's First Steps program and her teaching technique and curriculum have been featured in numerous online and print dance publications.

Wes Chapman
Dance Advisor
Artistic Director, American Ballet Theater II

Wes Chapman is a dance advisor for Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps. In this role, he helped to choreograph dances for the program's storyboard artists. He also helped develop the program's dance curriculum and consults with show producers on an ongoing basis.

Born in Union Springs, Alabama, Mr. Chapman began his ballet training at the age of nine with Emily Caruso. He also studied at American Ballet Theatre's school, and with Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He danced for two years with the State of Alabama Ballet where his repertoire included Solor in "La Bayadère", the Prince in "The Nutcracker", the pas de dix from "Raymonda", and Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet".

Mr. Chapman joined American Ballet Theatre in 1984, was appointed a Soloist in 1987, and a Principal Dancer in 1989. Mr. Chapman left American Ballet Theatre in 1993 to join the Bavarian National Ballet of the Munich Opera. He returned to ABT in the Spring of 1995. With American Ballet Theatre, he performed all the leading roles in the ballet repertoire including Prince Siegfried in "Swan Lake", Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet", Franz in "Coppélia", Prince Désiré in "The Sleeping Beauty" and leading roles in "Ballet Imperial", "The Leaves Are Fading" and "Theme and Variations". He created leading roles in Clark Tippet's "Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1" and Twyla Tharp's "The Elements".

In 1996, Mr. Chapman was appointed Artistic Director of the Alabama Ballet. During his leadership, the company grew from 16 to 44 professional and apprentice dancers. He also founded the Alabama Ballet School, the apprentice pre-professional training program and the Alabama Ballet Summer Program. Mr. Chapman serves on the Advisory Committee of the International Ballet Competition, and as Vice President of Alabama Dance Council.

Mr. Chapman was appointed Ballet Master in September 2006 and Artistic Director of ABT II in June 2007. Mr. Chapman performs the roles of Friar Laurence and Escalus in "Romeo and Juliet".

Nicole Hill
Dance Consultant
Owner, Authentic Danz Entertainment

As a Dance Consultant for Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps, Nicole Hill consults show producers on hip hop, modern jazz and tap genres of dance by providing reference materials for the program's dance curriculum and creating choreography used for animation sequences. She also helps to ensure that all dance movements within the series are age-appropriate for the characters.

Ms. Hill is an Arlington, Texas native who started dancing at the age of four. She has spent the last 23 years as a dancer, a choreographer and a teacher.

Specializing in several genres of dance, Ms. Hill is knowledgeable in hip hop, jazz and lyrical. She choreographs for cheerleading, drill teams and professional teams, and works with recording artists to provide artistic and stage direction.

While living in Los Angeles from 2000-2005, Ms. Hill worked with such artists as N'Sync, Christina Milian, Joy Enriquez, SE7EN, Kylie Minogue, the Clipse, Pharrell, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake. She appeared with Justin Timberlake on his "Justified" world tour and his music videos for "Like I Love You" and "Rock Your Body". In addition, she has danced in numerous award shows such as the MTV Video Music Awards, the Soul Train Music Awards and the Grammy Awards.

Ms. Hill recently relocated to Dallas in 2006 after completing a year-long tour with the Korean pop sensation "RAIN", performing at venues in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and Sydney, Australia.

Since her return, Ms. Hill is the Hip Hop Company Director at the Dallas Power House of Dance and has provided choreography for Barney and Friends™, Radio Disney Superstars, the Light of the World Parade and the Dallas Mavericks Dancers. Additionally, she has been a judge and guest teacher at the Surrey Festival of Dance in Canada.

Ms. Hill is now the owner and operator of Authentic Danz Entertainment where she brings her unique brand of artistic dance instruction to the public.

Barbara Stinson
Dance Consultant
Instructor, The Kid's Dance Company

As a Dance Consultant for Angelina Ballerina™ The Next Steps, Barbara Stinson offers her expertise in ballet, ice skating and gymnastics to the show's producers. She consults with the show to ensure that ballet moves used throughout the series are translated correctly from the dance curriculum and helps to choreograph dances used for animation purposes. She also helps to ensure that all dance movements within the series are age-appropriate for the characters.

Ms. Stinson started studying ballet and tap when she was six years old and studied dance in New York City during the summers at the highly regarded June Taylor School of Dance.

A professional dancer for several years with Cassidy Dancers in West Virginia, Ms. Stinson moved into teaching dance full-time there, running a studio specializing in ballet, tap and jazz in from 1960 to 1963.

For the past 14 years, Ms. Stinson has served as an instructor at The Kid's Dance Company in Frisco, Texas. The Kid's Dance Company brings a full-service dance program to private schools and child care centers to teach dance techniques and terminology in a format that is age-appropriate and appealing to kids ages three to five.