STAFF
GAYLE HALPERIN I EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
GAYLE HALPERIN is executive director of Bruce Wood Dance. Halperin and Bruce Wood® formed a partnership in 2010 and together with a group of Dallas investors launched Bruce Wood Dance Project. Halperin was born and raised in Connecticut and received her BA in dance from Connecticut College. She performed with Mel Wong Dance Company in New York from 1976 to 1984 and taught dance at Yale University and Southern Connecticut State University. She and her husband, Jim, relocated to Dallas in 1984. She went on to receive the first MFA degree in Dance at Texas Woman’s University (TWU). She was an Assistant Professor of Dance at TWU from 1988 to 1995. Halperin is very active in the nonprofit arts sector since leaving academic work. She is on the board of directors of TITAS PRESENTS; Advisory Board of Sammons Center for the Arts; President’s Council of Booker T. Washington HSPVA; and the SMU Meadows School of the Arts Advisory Board. As a DCNT board member, Halperin and her colleague, Linda James, founded the Dance Planet Festival. Halperin is Artistic Director of Dallas DanceFest. The James + Gayle Halperin Foundation is dedicated to supporting the arts in Dallas. They are the recipients of the 2011 Tom Adams Award of Appreciation for Dedication to TITAS and the Arts; 2011 Crystal Hope Award from AIDS Interfaith Network; and 2014 Sammons Center for the Arts Award. The Halperins are proud parents of two sons, Dave and Mikey. Gayle Halperin’s dream has always been to transform Dallas into a center for dance. PHOTO BY BRIAN GUILLIAUX
ELIZABETH VAN VLECK I ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ELIZABETH VAN VLECK worked professionally as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, and rehearsal director in New York City for more than 15 years with organizations including NYC Ballet, National Dance Institute, and Shapiro & Smith Dance. She is a certified personal trainer and as a teacher of both Pilates and yoga. She retired from performing in 1996 and started working full time as a private special needs fitness consultant for Italy’s Agnelli family for 10 years. She holds a B.S. in Psychology (CUNY Baccalaureate, Magna Cum Laude), and an M.F.A. in Arts Administration from Southern Utah University under William J. Byrnes, author of Management and the Arts. Through her M.F.A. externships, Van Vleck worked as operations manager of the Utah Shakespeare Festival Education Department, Marketing and Public Relationships Manager of the School of Performing and Visual Arts, and as part of the Development and VIP Ticket Services team at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. After graduation, Van Vleck went on to the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at California Institute of the Arts as Operations and Production Manager and Co-producer of Special Projects. While in Los Angeles, she founded the arts Management consulting organization, Making Art Happen. Through Making Art Happen, she worked with dance companies including Diavolo: Architecture In Motion, BODYTRAFFIC, and Ate9 Dance Company. She moved to Dallas in late 2013 to work for the Dance Council of North Texas as Administration Manager. At DCNT, Van Vleck worked on projects including Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management, DCNT’s Dance Planet, and Dallas DanceFest. She most recently served as development director for TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND, North Texas’ preeminent presenter of international contemporary dance and performance art where she oversaw all aspects of fundraising and oversaw TITAS’ collaborative education and engagement programs including visiting artist master classes and salons, Dance for PD Dallas, and TITAS Cultural Excursions. PHOTO BY KENT BARKER
ELLEN STOREIM I CREATIVE DIRECTOR
ELLEN STOREIM has been the designing for Bruce Wood Dance since the dance company was formed in 2010. She has operated her graphic design company, Ellen Kendrick Creative, Inc., since 1985. Storeim creates branding and corporate identities, logos, brochures, advertising, marketing materials, and Web sites for clients in diverse industries ranging from rare coins to psychedelic rock posters. Her work as creative director for Bruce Wood Dance pairs her love and passion for dance with her love and passion for design and communications. In September 2017, Storeim became the “maestra of merch,” expanding her business to include promotional products and employee awards programs. Storeim lives in the beautiful mountain town of Evergreen, Colorado with her husband, Mike, and their three horses—Macaroni, Romey, and Wingman. When she isn’t designing, she enjoys trail riding, horse showing, hiking, scuba–diving, and skiing. PHOTO BY KIMBERLY ANDERSON
REBECCA BUTLER I OPERATIONS MANAGER
REBECCA BUTLER joined the Bruce Wood Dance team in May 2013 to assist with administration and marketing by placing a strong focus on building the company’s social media presence. Prior to working with the company, she spent three years in corporate sales and marketing with Bluebonnet Nutrition, preceded by 14 years in store management and operations; purchasing; and regional marketing and merchandising at Whole Foods Market. While studying and performing dance throughout her youth and young adult years, she attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where she was awarded Honorable Mention in the Modern Dance and Choreography categories at the National YoungArts Foundation Competition. After receiving scholarship offers to California Institute of the Arts and New York University, she opted to attend Collin College to allow her to care for a terminally ill family member. Butler continued dancing off and on, winning a handful of ballroom competitions in the early 2000s. These days, she expresses her creativity through photos, videos, and quippy social media posts for Bruce Wood Dance. She also makes a mean cocktail. PHOTO BY REBECCA BUTLER
DANNY PIETRYK I COMPANY MANAGER
DANNY PIETRYK was a friend and close associate of Bruce Wood for more than 20 years. Beginning at an early age, Pietryk has worked in every aspect of theater—from acting, directing, stage managing, and technical production—to box office and feeding the crew. His training in theater and psychology make him a perfect fit with the Bruce Wood Dance team as company manager. PHOTO BY BRIAN GUILLIAUX
PAMELA DESLORIEUX I DEVELOPMENT
PAMELA DESLORIEUX joined the Bruce Wood Dance team in June 2016 as development associate. As former executive director of the Dance Council of North Texas (DCNT), she successfully helped shepherd the organization through a recession with the DCNT Board. During her seven-year tenure, the DCNT annual revenue grew 200 percent. A classically trained dancer with a Master of Science degree in Kinesiology, she founded and directed the University of Rhode Island Dance Company as a graduate student. Deslorieux was awarded the RI Artist-in-Residence in Dance and holds an Arts Management Certification from the University. Subsequently, she instituted a corporate fitness program for Sunbeam Corporation in Illinois in addition to performing, teaching dance and fitness, and designing dance curriculum. As part of a four-person team of volunteers, Deslorieux raised a previously unprecedented $465,000 in funds for St. Mark’s School of Texas where her sons graduated. Deslorieux was also a formation member of the Musical Theatre Track Emphasis at Booker T. Washington HSPVA—her daughter’s alma mater; Coordinator Communications, Membership, and Volunteers for the Music Guild; and a member of the Site-Based Decision Making Committee at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. PHOTO BY BRIAN GUILLIAUX