The Darien Arts Center has announced the addition of professional dancers Morgan Stinnett and Katelyn Somers from New York City to their popular dance program. Stinnett will be teaching High School Broadway and Partnering and Somers will be teaching Ballet, Middle School Broadway and Kids Broadway this fall.
As a professional ballet dancer, Morgan Stinnett has performed with over 20 international companies spanning 6 countries. He started his career with Texas Ballet Theater under world renowned director Ben Stevenson before relocating to NYC. He was a soloist with Connecticut Ballet for 8 seasons then joined East Coast Contemporary Ballet and Ballets With a Twist. Morgan has also been fortunate to work with Lindy Mandradjieff and Deborah Wingert from the Balanchine Trust to perform over a dozen ballets by George Balanchine. Notable credits include a principal role choreographed by Broadway legend Ann Reinking, opening for Cyndi Lauper’s annual show “Home For the Holidays,” performing Bob Fosse’s “Dancin’ Man, Rich Man’s Fruge” and “Sing, Sing, Sing” staged by Charlotte D’Amboise. Others include a feature in National Geographic, posing for Jordan Matter’s “Dancers After Dark” and performing alongside the original Broadway cast of The Wiz for “Broadway Sings for Pride.” He’s performed in several web series and short films that have won numerous awards including being nominated at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.
As a dance educator, Stinnett has been fortunate to be on the faculty of more than a dozen institutions across the country and share his love of dance through master classes in classical and contemporary ballet, partnering, pointe, variations and choreography.
Katelyn Somers studied dance at Interlochen Arts Academy, where she performed roles such as Giselle and the Sugar Plum Fairy. She proceeded to receive her BFA in Ballet from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of music. While there, she performed leading roles in contemporary works by Anthony Krutzkamp, Victoria Morgan, and Andre Megerdichian. Katelyn spent her final year of university dancing with the Cincinnati Ballet ll before moving to New York City. She has since performed with Connecticut Ballet, MorDance, Abanar Dance Films, and various other companies. Somers is currently a dancer with East Coast Contemporary Ballet.
In 2020, Somers founded New York City-based youth program, Plie Bound Kids, which provides a playful environment that makes learning basic dance concepts fun and engaging for young children.