Career Transition For Dancers is proud to introduce our newest addition to the administrative staff, Ricardo J. Garcia. Ricardo will join us as the Administrator of the Chicago office. He began his dance training at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, where he earned a BA in Dance. Upon graduating, he joined the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, under the direction of founder Jeraldine Blunden and subsequently Kevin Ward. Currently, Ricardo holds a Master’s of Science in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy from Bay Path College and is on the faculty of The Chicago High School for the Arts.
Ricardo has worked with such acclaimed choreographers as Bill T. Jones, Doug Verone, Donald McKayle, Ronald K. Brown and Dwight Rhoden, among others. He has also performed with The Joffrey Ballet, Illinois Ballet, Peoria Ballet, Rhythm in Shoes, Walt Disney World and most recently with Luna Negra Dance Theater. He has taught classes throughout the US and Russia and has choreographed for Luna Negra Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II, South Dayton Dance Theater, Stivers School for the Arts and Piel Morena Contemporary Dance. Ricardo was the recipient of the Josie Award for Outstanding Male Dancer of the Year in 2002.
“To this position I bring over fifteen years of experience in the field of dance, acute knowledge of the nonprofit sector and a true passion for Dance. I became a dancer-client of Career Transition For Dancers in 2010 and I feel that my appointment to this position serves as a testimony that the mission of the organization really works. It is my honor to join the Chicago team and I look forward to expanding our reach to the Midwest and beyond.”
Ricardo will work collaboratively with our Career Counselor Maryellen Langhout to heighten the awareness of Career Transition For Dancers’ programs and services available to professional dancers, apprentices, students and pre-professionals in the greater Chicago area and throughout the mid-West, including Puerto Rico. Together, Maryellen and Ricardo will increase CTFD’s outreach through initiatives such as Career Conversations, a series of seminars dealing with the ‘hot topics’ of transition led by a panel of professionals within the Chicago dance community.
We are thrilled that Ricardo is joining the CTFD family!
Career Transition For Dancers 