About Us
The Dance Program at East High will provide high quality instruction to allow our students to grow into technical, confident, and well-rounded dancers. Dancers are trained from a fusion lens and will explore several interdisciplinary perspectives. Students will learn character development, dance history, composition of choreography, and improvisation through multiple performance opportunities. The coursework is specifically designed to enhance the dancer’s individual talents in many different genres. As well as dance, students will have additional optional leadership opportunities, such as student council, student directors or leads. We provide several opportunities to attend dance workshops and exposure field trips. Being a member of the East Dance Company will not only enhance your professional dance and performance skills, but also dig deeply into how we can use art as a tool to impact audiences.
Meet Our Director
Shannon Dunagan, originally from Monument, Colorado began training in dance at the age of 3. Shannon has trained across multiple genres, making her a knowledgeable, versatile and well rounded dancer and choreographer. She has training in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Tap, Musical Theater Dance, Poms and African.
Shannon received a B.A in Dance and a B.S in Kinesiology from the University of Northern Colorado. While at UNC, she performed with the traveling UNC Dance Tour Troupe, four seasons of The Nutcracker in lead roles and numerous musical theater productions. Following college she made her way to Chicago, Illinois where she worked as an apprentice with Hubbard Street Dance, a Chicago Honeybear Dancer and also danced in numerous commercials and industrials throughout the Chicagoland area.
She then made her way back to Colorado to pursue a career in teaching and share her passion and love for dance with others. She received an MA in Education from the University of Denver. Shannon then worked in the public schools as a teacher within the Denver area and as the Creative Director and Owner of Inspirations Dance Company, a dance studio located in Centennial, Colorado for a decade.
Shannon has now found her way to East Dance Company and could not be more thrilled for the opportunity to work with such talented and established dancers, choreographers and artists. The East Dance Company is focused on creating leaders within the company and the students drive the company. Shannon could not be more grateful to have the opportunity to work with these students and leaders everyday. Shannon's hope is to instill a love of the art of dance in each of her students and watch them rise again and again through their craft.