APPLES & APPLES

ARTS & ABOVE

Kate, Artistic Director of Arts & Above, is celebrating a DECADE of art making in Missoula!  Originally from Pennsylvania, she traversed to Montana via Chicago; Rochester, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D. C.; then Oakland, California. Her artistic passion is for choreography: choreographic research, creation, supporting other choreographers, and facilitating international and intergenerational exchanges through the arts. 

Kate’s choreographic work has been presented in Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and across Montana, as well as internationally in Guatemala and Peru. Kate holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from S.U.N.Y. Brockport in dance performance and choreography. She has many certifications in the GYROTONIC® training method which she references for her own body conditioning and to enhance the health of dancers and athletes. 

@artsandabove‍ ‍@katejordanaugusto‍ ‍@gyrotonicmissoula

Amy's dance career began in Boston and New York, performing with Impulse, Fred Benjamin, Ze'eva Cohen and Laughing Stone dance companies. Enticed by a guy out to Missoula, she became head of the UM Dance Program, returning to NYC as a guest to perform with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane and Douglas Dunn. In Missoula, she founded two contemporary dance companies, Mo-Trans, with UM colleague Karen Kaufmann, and Headwaters Dance. She was honored to be the recipient of UM's 1996 Distinguished Teaching Award and the Montana Governor's Arts Awards in 2009. 

On retiring, Amy moved on to writing -- deliciously like choreography, a memoir was published in 2015 -- and working fiendishly to lobby for a publically owned community hub in McCormick Park - The Currents Center for Recreation and Creativity (if only it existed!). She's been thrilled to expand into acting through the MT Repertory Theater and to return to choreography through Westside/Bare Bait's community concerts. She's so grateful to be leading the life she is and to get to collaborate with such fun, smart, imaginative dancers.

Ashley (Zhinin) Griffith is a Montana-born artist who started dancing at age five and never stopped. She holds a BFA in Dance—Choreography and Performance from the University of Montana, where she spent a semester abroad studying traditional African dance in Ghana and launched her professional career with Headwaters Dance Company. Over the past 20 years, Ashley has worked with a variety of local and regional organizations as a dancer, choreographer, and, more recently, costume designer.

Ashley is also the owner of Oh, Goodie! Design Studio, where her background in dance continues to influence her work. She applies the principles of visual balance, flow, and movement to create thoughtful, intuitive interiors. Whether designing spaces, costumes, or choreography, she is drawn to creating environments and experiences that are both functional and deeply human. Known for her warm and approachable nature, Ashley values the personal connections that shape every creative collaboration.

Rachel Oliver Young, Development and BodyCraft Director at Bare Bait Dance | Westside Theater, is a choreographer, performer, and educator whose work explores intriguing gestures, task-oriented investigation, and full-bodied, lush virtuosity. She has performed nationally and created work for women’s prisons, site-specific locations, multimedia venues, and traditional theaters.

Rachel toured the Mid-Atlantic as a company member with West Virginia Dance Company in addition to performing as a freelance artist in Denver, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Her choreography has been commissioned by dance companies and universities and presented nationally and internationally, including at Performática (México), WestFest Dance (NY), the American College Dance Association, Dixon Place (NY), Triskelion Arts (NY), and the Philly LiveArts & Fringe Festival (PA).

Rachel holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she was an Arts & Sciences Fellow and was awarded the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Award and the Graduate Part-Time Instructor Teaching Excellence Award.

A COLLECTIVE OF HELENA-BASED DANCE ARTISTS

Julynn Wildman is an artist and educator based in Helena, Montana. Julynn uses movement to explore and express a range of animal, plant, and human phenomena. She shares her work through a combination of performance, sculpture, and media, inviting curiosity and wonder about the natural world and our place in it. 

Julynn was awarded the 2020-21 Intrepid Credit Union Artist Fellowship for her installation/dance film Body in Motion at the Holter Museum of Art. She was an Artist-in-Residence at University of Montana’s Emlen Biology Lab in 2022 through OpenAIR Montana. Scarabic Serenades, her ensuant collaborative film with musician Jessi Harvey, premiered in 2024.

Julynn’s teaching practice is central to her creativity and she has taught dance and visual arts with Helena non-profits including Cohesion Dance Project, the Myrna Loy, the Holter Museum. She is a Montana Teacher Leader in the Arts and has taught students of all ages and abilities in settings ranging from studios to schools to care homes. 

Julynn’s dancing and choreography have been seen on stages throughout the state. She was a contributing choreographer to Cohesion Dance Project’s “Resonance ~ an evening of Art Inspiring Art” (2017-2020, 2025), interweaving dance with kinetic, metal sculptures by sculptor Richard Swanson. Her choreography was also featured in Cohesion Dance Project’s “Fractals in Motion” and Premiere Dance Company’s “Unite” and “A Cultural Journey.” She has danced both lead and supporting roles in Helena's annual “Nutcracker on the Rocks,” and performed with local and visiting artists including Dreya Weber, Vincent Thomas Dance, Nina Murphy, Hannah Grace, and Jennifer Glaws. 

Julynn strives to balance idealism with action, serious conviction with humor, and the chaos of artistic practice with nicely organized Excel spreadsheets. She loves being outdoors with her family and never passes up the opportunity for a good pun.

A COLLECTIVE OF HELENA-BASED DANCE ARTISTS

Laura Brown grew up dancing tap, Jazz, and modern in Helena Montana. She has danced in supporting and lead roles for Cohesion Dance Project’s annual “Nutcracker on the Rocks” and performed work by visiting choreographers through Cohesion’s guest artist residency program. Laura leads rehearsal as and is an outreach teacher, spreading her love for dance around the Helena community. She loves being outdoors when she gets a chance and has really enjoyed dancing in this piece.  

A COLLECTIVE OF HELENA-BASED DANCE ARTISTS

Evey Carsten is a recent graduate from Helena High School. She has been dancing since she was three at the Creative Arts Center, training in ballet, modern, and jazz. She spent three years as a member of Premiere Dance Company and has attended summer intensives around the country including the Snowy Range Dance Festival in Wyoming. Evey spends her free time making art and cuddling her pets.

A COLLECTIVE OF HELENA-BASED DANCE ARTISTS

Ellie Mercer is an upcoming junior at the University of Montana, pursuing a BS in Medical Laboratory Science and BA in Dance. Ellie grew up in Helena and has loved dance since she was three and has been a part of many dance productions at the University and the Missoula community. Ellie is excited to continue connecting with dancers from around the world and loves to fully commit to any process she is in.

A COLLECTIVE OF HELENA-BASED DANCE ARTISTS

Rebecca White grew up training at various dance studios in Helena, Montana. She graduated from UM in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Choreography and Performance and has performed in a variety of productions while pursuing opportunities to grow as both an artist and performer. She is excited to continue sharing her passion for dance with new audiences.