JAM with Lesley Mealor and Courtney Ortiz

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We are excited to have two of our favorite guests back for a second time together!  We hope you enjoy our talk with Courtney Ortiz and Lesley Mealor

Courtney Ortiz, a native of,Baltimore, MD, is a 2007 youngARTS award winner in Modern Dance. Her professional career has allowed her to travel the world performing and teaching in places such as: Dubai, Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Australia and France. Her career spans from stage to screen with credits including: Company Member with The Chase Brock Experience, Choreographer and Dancer on Youtube’s hit web series "The Key of Awesome", Backup Dancer for PSY and Chris Brown on "The Today Show", Dancer for Heidi Klum at Madison Square Garden in "Macy’s Fashions Front Row" on E! Network, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. One of her favorite and most memorable credits was performing throughout Europe on the International Tour of the classic musical West Side Story as a Jet Girl and the Assistant Dance Captain. 

Some of her most recent credits include the 1st National Tour of the Broadway Musical Finding Neverland, Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, and the first ever revival in 30 years of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway at The Muny’s 100th Season in St. Louis, MO! You can also catch Courtney’s feet tap dancing in FX Network's hit series, “Fosse/Verdon”, where she was the dance double for Young Bob Fosse! Outside of performing, she is on faculty with REVEL Dance Convention, a national/international guest educator and also a full-time competition judge. You can even see her behind the judges table on Lifetime’s “Dance Moms” in Seasons 2 & 3. Currently, she resides in New York City, is repped with The Movement Talent Agency, and is the owner of Impact Dance Adjudicators! Follow her @courtney.ortiz and tune in to her dance podcast - Making the Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast! 

Lesley Mealor has been professionally involved in all facets of the dance world for the past 15 years. Originally from Marietta, GA, Lesley grew up dancing under the instruction of her mother, Brenda Mealor, at The Dancers Studio. She is a graduate of Oklahoma City University with a degree in Dance Performance. 

Lesley’s performance career has taken her around the world with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, across North America with tours of "Sweet Charity" and "The Music Man", and everywhere in between with numerous industrials and regional theatre work. She is very good friends with Elmo and Abby Cadaby through her work with Sesame Workshop, and surprises people regularly with Flash Mob America. She is currently based in New York City, where she has transitioned out of performing and is exploring life on the other side of the industry. She has worked for Capezio in the product testing division, and currently judges and directs events for Spirit of Dance Awards. 

Lesley is inspired by teaching young performers that what they bring to the table is enough, that good technique is the foundation for all styles, and that telling the story is more important than any trick you can do. She continues to teach locally in the tri-state area, specializing in jazz and theatre dance. Lesley currently writes for Dance Parent 101, is a sought-after adjudicator for competitions across North America, and is a founding member of Impact Dance Adjudicators, the only company in the US that provides pre-screened judges to competitions. Lesley is also the co-

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