UpRooted Dance

Keira Hart-Mendoza-Artistic Director, Choreographer, Performer) Keira Hart-Mendoza recently moved to the Washington DC area after living in Charlottesville Virginia for two and half years.  Keira was teaching various dance courses at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville including Modern, Ballet, Jazz, and the Art of Dance.  Keira is currently teaches at Joy of Motion Dance Center.  She holds an MFA in Dance from Arizona State University and BA's in Dance and Media Arts & Design from James Madison University.  Working interdisciplinary and collaborating with artists in all fields is an essential aspect of Keira's work.  She has worked with musicians, filmmakers, engineers, actors, motion capture technology, and fashion design.  Keira's choreography and Dance for the Camera work has been shown in Arizona, Washington, Virginia, and Washington DC.   She also won "Best Student Work" for her video piece entitled "Seeing is..." at the American Dance Festival's Dance for the Camera Film and Video Festival 2005.  She's collaborated with BosmaDance, Shane O'Hara, Kelly Bartnik, and others. Keira has had the opportunity to attend numerous dance and film festivals including the American Dance Festival in Durham North Carolina, Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston Maine, Breaking Grounds Dance Festival in Toronto Canada, an Independent Dance Summer Study in London England, The M.E.L.T. Festival in NYC, and the Dance for the Camera Film and Video Festival in Salt Lake City Utah.  Keira's choreography has been shown nationally and internationally in Arizona, Washington, North Carolina, Across the state of Virginia, the DC-Metro Area, and in Mexico.  She has also worked as a guest artist at James Madison University, the University of Virginia, Dance & Co., and worked closely with Arizona State University's Dance Arizona Repertory Theater Company for two years. 

April Gruber (Dancer)- April Gruber is currently pursuing her MFA in Dance Performance at the University of Maryland.  At the University, she also serves as the Take Five Coordinator for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.  In this capacity, she presents a free performance series to the community featuring renowned music, theater, and dance performers.  This summer, she acted as the Program Assistant for Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, an annual ballet summer intensive workshop for promising young dancers.  Gruber previously served as the Education Director and Booking Coordinator for Dance Alloy Theater, managing, coordinating and developing the company's community outreach and residency programs, annual Summer Intensive Workshop, the Dance Alloy Theater School, as well as company management.  She taught for the company's school and outreach programs, as well, providing instruction to children and adults throughout the Pittsburgh region in ballet, jazz, modern, creative movement, ballroom dance, and improvisation, including Penn State University, New Kensington campus.  Choreographing for various productions, she has collaborated with the University of Pittsburgh and Squonk Opera.  She has also been a guest master teacher at the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, and Duquesne University.  April Gruber is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of James Madison University where she received her Bachelors of Arts in Dance and was named Outstanding Dance Graduate.

Pirjo Garby (Dancer) Pirjo began training in modern dance as a teenager at Kontulan Nuorisotalo (KN) in Helsinki, Finland.  She performed with KN's youth dance group and later joined Eija Aspholms's QuickSteps ensemble.  Pirjo eventually became a youth dance instructor and choreographer at KN. After a hiatus from dance, she moved to Washington, DC and began performing with Tyrone Murray's Afro-jazz dancers.  Pirjo is also member of FloydProject Dance Company and works with Daniel Burkholder in his My Ocean is Never Blue dance project.  She has also explored the world of classical ballet, and other jazz & modern forms in DC and New York City.

Stefanie Quinones Bass (Dancer)-graduated with a BA in dance from James Madison University and toured with a West Virginia dance company before relocating to D.C. in 2001. In addition to her recent work with Uprooted Dance Company, Stefanie currently dances with Daniel Burkholder/The PlayGround, and BosmaDance.  She was previously a long- time company member of Jane Franklin Dance, and has performed works locally by artists Alvin Mayes, Vincent Thomas, Katrina Toews, Ursula Payne, and Christine Stone Martin. In 2004, Stefanie produced, choreographed, and performed in a concert of shared work with Jessica Marchant at Dance Place.  Stefanie received her Masters degree in clinical social work from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2008, and is also pursuing a career in social service.  

Carrie Monger (Dancer) received a minor in Dance from James Madison University.  She has taught jazz, tap and modern dance to all ages.  Carrie moved to the Washington, DC area in 2002 and has danced with a variety of area choreographers. She has also performed with banished? productions, "an interdisciplinary theatre production company that is dedicated to the recreation of wonder and the re-awakening of the senses." She has also performed with Bosma Dance and Daniel Burkholder/The Playground.

Also currently dancing with the company on a pick-up company member basis~  Ann Hubbard, Sara Hoke, Megan Jean Kelly, and Margaret Hurwitz.