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GRETCHEN JAX

Founding Member

Gretchen Jax graduated from Winthrop University with a BA in Dance Performance. She performed in Meredith Monk’s Obie Award winning Quarry at the 2003 Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. She has also studied and performed the works of Sandra Neels, David Parsons, Marjorie Palmer Perry, and  Mary Beth Thompson Duke Young.  She was the recipient of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Alpha Psi Omega Best Choreography Award from Winthrop University. In 2006 she was one of eight selected to study at the School of Jacob’s Pillow Choreographer’s Lab. Jax is the co-founder of Sinergismo, a group of dancers, artists, poets, and musicians using collaboration as a means to produce choreographic works.  Jax has been teaching at the Charlotte Ballet Academy since 2004.  She has taught modern at Davidson College for the past 13 years and serves as a mentor to their student run dance company, The Gamut. Jax also teaches weekly dance classes for special needs adults and seniors.  She has been the lead Dance for Parkinson's teacher at Charlotte Ballet for the past two years.

Biographies: Bio

JON PRICHARD

Founding Member

Jonathan Prichard is a Charlotte-based artist who creates drawings, paintings, prints, and property-based performances that explore visual representations of psychological states and situations.  He finds artistic inspiration in the challenges, obstacles, absurdities, and impossibilities of life.  He works to transform these circumstances into stylized beauty and cultivation of wisdom.  He is interested in the interconnectivity of artistic disciplines and enjoys collaborating with dancers, musicians, poets, and artists from other backgrounds.  Prichard received an M. F. A. in sculpture (2010) and a B.F.A. in painting and printmaking (2003) from Winthrop University where he has also taught 3D design, drawing, performance, and relief printmaking.  Prichard works for Culture and Heritage Museums of York County where he makes natural history and interactive children’s exhibits.

Biographies: About

BRITTNEY PRICHARD

Founding Member

Brittney Blaskowitz Prichard received a B.A. in English from Winthrop University in 2002 and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte in 2008 where she studied with North Carolina Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers, Bob Hicok, Alan Michael Parker, and others.  Her chapbook, Lessons in Disaster, was published by the University of South Carolina’s Poetry Initiative in the same year.  She has also had poems in North American Review, Peeks and Valleys, Main Street Rag, and elsewhere. Her latest chapbook, Reverberate, was published by Finishing Line Press, and she is currently working on a full-length collection of poems. Prichard is a full-time English instructor where she teaches composition, literature, and creative writing courses. This summer, she completed a writing residency at the Weymouth Center for the Arts in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Biographies: Bio

JACKI MCCARTHY

Founding Member - Resident rapper

Jacki McCarthy received her B.A. in visual art and dance performance from Winthrop University in 2004. As an undergraduate, she was honored as one of four student choreographers to show her work at the 2003 American College Dance Festival Gala in Miami, FL, and she became a founding member of Sinergismo. She has performed at venues throughout the Southeast including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Sumter Museum of Art, Friends of North Carolina Dance Theatre and the Charlotte Dance Festival.  Most recently, she performed in “Circle Dance,” a dance for film project created by L.A. based artist Jon Rajkovich. After graduating, she began teaching creative movement, ballet, and jazz technique at North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance. She also served as Summer Intensive Coordinator and later as a Fundraiser for the company. From 2005-2012, she mentored the Gamut Dance Company at Davidson College and taught jazz technique for the Davidson Dance Ensemble.

Biographies: Bio

GENE BLEDSOE

Resident Composer

Gene Bledsoe is a native North Carolinian and has lived in Charlotte since 1982. He earned his B.A. in Piano Performance at UNC- Wilmington and a M.M. in Orchestral and Choral Conducting at Kent State University in Ohio. Once North Carolina Dance Theatre made its permanent move to Charlotte, Gene was asked by Sal Aiello to become the pianist and first Music Director for NCDT.  Gene is now the Director of Facilities for NCDT along with still playing regularly for the school of dance and the company. He is also the Music Director for South Park Christian Church. Gene has been at both of his jobs in excess of 25 years now and is the longest full time employee of NCDT. Gene began his association with Sinergismo about 4 years ago and really enjoys playing a part in such a diverse and entertaining group of performers. He has contributed both musically as well as physically and continues to enjoy this fun association.

Biographies: Bio

AMELIA BINFORD

Amelia has been involved in dancing for over 30 years. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance Performance and Dance Education Certification from Winthrop University. While at Winthrop, she performed in many shows with Winthrop Dance Theatre and Rhythm Quest, as well as, several student choreography showcases. Amelia has toured with Dance Caravan and has also performed with Sinergismo Dance Company of Charlotte, North Carolina. She has performed with the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra, Carolina Voices, and the Singing Christmas Tree.

Amelia is the Artistic Director/Owner of Momentum Dance in Fort Mill, SC and is currently teaching Modern, Jazz, and Tap Dance at Northwest School of the Arts in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System. She had the choreographer for NWSA’s production of Les Miserables and has served as Assistant Choreographer for 14 productions and many other NWSA productions including Big Fish, and several Spring and Winter Dance Concerts. She has choreographed 12 of NWSA’s Middle School Musical Productions including Seussical Jr. and Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Amelia has been the Choreographer for C.A.S.T.’s production of Marat/Sade with which she won the Metrolina Theater Award for Outstanding Choreography in a Drama for Marat/Sade. She has also presented many other original works for the GAMUT Dance Company of Davidson College, Winthrop University’s ST-Arts Program, Carolina Voices, Northwest School of the Arts, and Momentum Dance of Fort Mill, South Carolina. Amelia looks forward to continuing creating new works for the stage, inspiring others through the art of dance, and living the life of an artist.

Biographies: Bio

ALEX ZSOLDOS

Alex Zsoldos, a West Virginia native, graduated cum laude from Davidson College with a B.A. in Art History. She is a founding member of the Gamut Dance Company at Davidson College. She served as president, vice president and technical director of the Davidson Dance Ensemble, helping to expand the group and advocate for the addition of a dance minor to the college curriculum. She was also a member of the Davidson Dance Team and helped coordinate B.E.S.T.Dance, a weekly dance class for local high school students with developmental disabilities. She was awarded membership in Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, for outstanding leadership in the creative and performing arts. Zsoldos currently works in public relations and content marketing for Wray Ward, a creative communications agency based in Charlotte, NC. Through her performance, choreography and visual art, Zsoldos explores themes of identity, groupthink and the development of meaning through repetitive action. She enjoys baking, knitting and playing with her adopted dog, Ptolemy.

Biographies: Bio

ALLISON PAKSOY

Allison Paksoy, a native North Carolinian, received a B.A. in Psychology from Elon University and an M.S. in Public Relations from Boston University. Allison began dancing at the age of 5 at a small studio in Shelby, NC. Since then, she has taken various classes in ballet, modern and tap. Allison joined Sinergismo in 2012.  In her free time she likes to spend time with her husband, Thomas, and cat, Yukon.

Biographies: Bio

ABBY PELTIER

Abby Peltier started dancing at age 3 1/2 and hasn’t stopped yet. Throughout high school she took tap, ballet and jazz classes at Ardell Stone School of Dance in Roanoke, Virginia and in college, Abby danced in the Bucknell Dance Showcase every semester. In 2009 she choreographed the tap piece I Wish for the Showcase and in 2011 she and fellow physicist Erin Sculley started the “human physics demonstration” movement on campus. By combining their loves of dance and physics they were able to gather large groups of students, faculty, and staff to create human demonstrations of the thermodynamics behind a melting solid and the creation of the solar system. She graduated from Bucknell University in 2011 with a B.A. in Physics and began working at Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina.  She will be beginning work on her Ph.D in Optical Science and Engineering in the fall at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Abby joined Sinergismo in the fall of 2012 and is excited to continue performing with the ensemble.

Biographies: Bio

GIGI BLEDSOE

Gigi Bledsoe joined Sinergismo in 2017.  Full bio coming soon.

Biographies: Bio

JEREMY JAX

Technical Director

Biographies: Bio
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