Amberly M. Simpson (she/they) is a Choreographer, Dancer, and Dance Educator/Advocate originally from Glendale, California. She specializes in Modern, Post-Modern, and Contemporary Dance forms, creating work that is often interdisciplinary in nature to provide commentary on social issues and the human condition. By day, she is the Dance Director and Musical Theatre Co-Director at Noe Middle School, but by night she serves as the Artistic Director of Ambo Dance Theatre. Amberly's work with Ambo Dance Theatre has been presented at venues such as the American Dance Festival Movies by Movers, Brighton Dance Festival, the Going Dutch Festival, the Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival, the Elgin Fringe Festival, and Princeton Research Day where her collaboration with Dr. David Vartanyan received the Impact Award. In 2019, she was honored as one of the Hadley Creatives through the Community Foundation of Louisville, and in 2022 she worked alongside her Dance colleagues in the Jefferson County Public Schools to launch the first ever All County Dance program for the state of Kentucky. In her spare time, Amberly volunteers her time as a reviewer for Arts-Louisville, providing commentary and critique on professional dance productions in the greater Louisville area.

Mysti is a dancer/ choreographer/producer who grew up in Texas. She danced in Austin, Texas for 16 years.  She received her dance degree from Austin Community College and attended Bates Dance Festival, The White Mountain Summer Dance Festival, a Bill Evans Teacher Workshop, Barber Metler dance classes with Lucy Dubois, and private dance lessons with Roman Morgan and Kathy Dunn Hamrick all to continue her modern dance education. Mysti has produced and performed in 6 of her own shows and had the honor of performing work for at least 20 different choreographers while in Austin, Texas. Her own choreography has been presented by 10 Minutes Max, Big Range Austin Dance Festival, Frontera Fest, KDH Book and Dance Affair, WIP in San Antonio, Brazos Contemporary Dance Festival, Austin Dance Festival, and The Modern in Fort Worth to name a few. She is beyond excited to be dancing for Ambo Dance Theater as a principal dancer and working as the Director of Community Engagement and is looking forward to continuing her love of performing for audiences here in Kentucky!

Sheila is a dancer, dance educator, and mental health counselor in the Kentuckiana area. Sheila has studied different styles such as ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, and improvisation. After graduating from high school and completing the Louisville Ballet School’s Pre-Professional program, Sheila went on to graduate magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance from the Ohio State University. It was there where she was able to work with world-renowned choreographers and teachers, and grew to love the art of dance pedagogy and using dance to help others. Sheila continues to combine her interests in counseling and dance, to help create a holistic approach in both of her fields of work. Sheila continues to be active in the Louisville dance scene through teaching, freelance work, and performing with Ambo Dance Theatre!

Bio coming soon!

Ella Vanderkolff (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and movement artist originally from Bloomington, Indiana. Rooted in Modern, Post-Modern, and Contemporary dance practices, her work is highly physical, visceral, and emotionally driven. Drawing from contemporary release technique, Gaga movement vocabulary, Hip Hop, physical theatre, and somatic practices, Ella’s dancing centers sensation, presence, and embodiment, inviting both performer and audience into states of vulnerability, intensity, and transformation.

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Ella earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Kinesiology from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where she performed and presented work in venues including the Kelsey Theater, Wagner Bundgaard Studios, and the American College Dance Association Conference. Her performance credits include works by Kyle Marshall, Darrius Strong, Cynthia Gutierrez, Heather Klopchin, BRKFST, Mathew Janczewski, and Jeffrey Peterson, spanning stage, film, and gallery settings throughout the Midwest. As a choreographer, her work is deeply informed by lived experiences with obsessive-compulsive disorder, trauma, and the pursuit of healing, exploring themes of control, vulnerability, and transformation through physically rigorous and intricately structured movement.

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From 2023-2025, Ella had the opportunity to dance in New York City, engaging in performance and training opportunities, including intensive study at Gibney Dance and participation in the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company Summer Workshop, further expanding her artistic voice within the Modern/Contemporary dance community.

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Ella is deeply grateful to continue dancing in a professional performance setting with Ambo Dance Theatre, where she further develops her artistry, collaborative practice, and commitment to physically rigorous, socially engaged work.

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Ella recently relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, where she is pursuing her Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology at the University of Louisville. She is concurrently obtaining a certification in Exercise Oncology through Wright State University while serving as a Graduate Assistant in the Exercise Physiology Department at UofL. Her academic work directly informs her dancing, supporting longevity, injury prevention, and sustainable movement practices within her performance career.

Raised in rural Kentucky by two artist parents, Laurel Mallory found excitement and expression through dance starting at the age of 3. In her early years, she trained in ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary styles of dance. She competed with Sheri’s Dance Arts in Maysville, Kentucky and later Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, Kentucky earning regional and national titles. She also trained for two years at the Lexington Ballet School and performed in the Lexington Ballet Company’s The Nutcracker, as well as her school’s adaptation of the musical
Jekyll and Hyde. Laurel honed her ballet and jazz technique and learned choreography and pedagogy at Western Kentucky University, where she was a member of the Dance Company from 2007 to 2010. It was at WKU where her modern dance training began, expanding her versatility as a dancer. During this time, she performed two summers in Civitavecchia,
Italy, participated in the American College Dance Festival Association, and choreographed for Autumn Dance Project.
After college pursuits turned her focus to broadcast journalism, Laurel took a 10+ year hiatus from dance but was drawn back to the art form through her participation at Ambo Dance Theatre. She now focuses her training on modern dance, but is exploring partnering and improv work, as well. Finding a safe place again in the studio and on stage, she relishes the experiences this new opportunity affords, including performing at the Going Dutch Festival and dancing the role of Drosselmeyer and the Dew Drop Fairy in Ambo’s 2025 production of The Graham Cracker: A Nutcracker Parody.

​​Caeli Baker Green is a Youth Appreciate Dancer from Louisville, Kentucky. She began dancing 3 years ago in the Noe Middle School dance program where she fell in love with dance and was introduced to Ambo Dance Theatre. She now attends The Youth Performing Arts School as well as Ambo, and trains primarily in Modern and Ballet techniques. She has been with Ambo since 2023, participating in many shows, most notably playing Clara in The Graham Cracker. 

Joe (he/him) grew up in Cedar Rapids, IA where he began tap dancing at the age of 6. He danced competitively with Donna's Dance Place and participated in many musical theatre productions through school and Theatre Cedar Rapids. Joe continued dancing in various capacities while at Iowa State University where he became President of the Tap Dancing Club as well as a cabinet member of the Orchesis I and Orchesis II dance companies. During this time, he also discovered modern dance and went on to train at the American Dance Festival, as well as perform at several American College Dance Association festivals, including as part of the Gala for the North-Central region in 2015. Following graduation, Joe has performed in the Going Dutch Festival, the Elgin Fringe Festival, and with Ambo Dance Theatre where he has choreographed for the Kentucky NACHMO Dance Festival and originated the role of Graham Cracker in The Graham Cracker: A Nutcracker Parody. He now acts as the Associate Director of Ambo Dance Theatre where he uses his mutual love of data and analytics to provide technical and artistic support to the company, helping to turn their various wild and weird artistic visions into organizational outcomes.

Kennedy Morillo is a dancer, choreographer, and educator whose relationship to movement began at the age of five. Drawn early to art and performance in many forms, her background includes visual art, musical theatre, show choir, studio dance, and dance theatre, with training in modern, tap, jazz, and ballet-modern dance remaining at the heart of her practice. She began choreographing in high school and continued her work as both a dancer and choreographer with the dance company at Murray State University, later studying dance at Western Kentucky University and performing as a member of the Majorette team. After relocating to Louisville, Kentucky joined Waterworks Dance Company, where she continued to grow as a modern dance artist. Alongside her performance work, Kennedy is the Assistant Director at childcare center, where she teaches movement-based enrichment classes and uses dance as a tool for connection, confidence, and emotional expression. She also teaches at the Ambo Dance Theatre School, working with young dancers to foster curiosity, creativity, and a grounded relationship to their bodies. Shaped by the balance of artistry, education, and caregiving, Kennedy approaches dance as a lifelong practice rooted in presence, resilience, and care.

Kristin is a dancer, educator, and choreographer from St. Louis, MO. Ms. Dowdy received her MFA in Dance from The College at Brockport, State University of New York and BFA in Dance Performance from Ball State University, where she also holds a minor in Business. While living in New York Kristin was a company member for two education-based dance companies, "Jessica Lewis Arts" and "Andrew Jannetti & Dancers."

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Since 2019, Ms. Dowdy has been on faculty at Campbellsville University as an Assistant Professor of Theatre & Dance. She serves as the Artistic Director for annual dance concerts, choreographer for departmental musicals, and teaches courses in ballet, tap, jazz, musical theater dance, and more.  

Ms. Dowdy has been recognized for her choreography and sound design by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF Region 4) and has been selected to present at multiple conferences including the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), American College Dance Association (ACDA Northeast), and National Collegiate Honors Council. 

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Kristin has been a member of the Ambo Dance Theatre's professional company since 2024 and she is excited to help expand dance and dance education access in Kentucky and across the globe.  

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Helena Smith-Pohl (she/they) lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her parents and three cats and has a sibling off at college. She is a junior at Atherton High School and hopes to become a nurse one day. Helena enjoys thrifting, baking, and hanging out with friends. She has been dancing for most of her life in the styles of Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, Ballet, Tap, and Musical Theater, but she especially loves Modern. Helena has been dancing at Ambo Dance Theatre since 2021 and has participated in many of their productions, including getting the opportunity to play the role of Clara in the Graham Cracker. She is grateful for Ambo’s collaborative and supportive environment and wonderful people.

Marie Cunningham has been dancing for 10 years and she's a Pre-Professional Company Member. Marie started dancing at Louisville Dance Alliance when she was 5 but ever since she could walk, she would dance at home with her dad, learning salsa, Punta and other dance styles from South America. She went to Noe Middle School where she participated in the dance program there. At Noe is where she learned about Ambo Dance Theatre and really found her love for different types of dance styles.