Want to sponsor this event? Email us at cdpcompany501c3@gmail.com for details on how you can support healthy dancers in Cleveland and gain exposure in the dance community, starting at rates of $50

Big thanks to our sponsor thus far: Cleveland Dance Project

3:00-3:15 Welcome & Mindful Meditation/Intention Setting with Molly Weiss

Molly Weiss is President of the CDP Company Board. She is a dancer and choreographer based in the Cleveland area whose passionate and vibrant attitude helps her to succeed as a performer and a teacher. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2017 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Creative Writing; her passions lie in the arts. She began competitively dancing at age six and hasn't stopped since, trained in the styles of jazz, hip-hop, ballet, contemporary, tap, musical theatre, and acrobatics. During her time at University of Michigan she was a member and choreographer of a hip-hop dance crew, as well as performed in music videos and took classes through the U of M dance department. After graduating, Molly taught at various dance studios and choreographed for high school show choir and musicals. During this time she also trained on Cleveland's elite hip-hop dance crew, Elevāted, which led her to performance opportunities such as World of Dance and the Cleveland Cavaliers game. In 2018, Molly became the founding Artistic Director of Cleveland Dance Project Company, a 501c3 contemporary fusion dance company committed to promoting wellness for dancers and exploring the benefits of movement for physical and mental health. She furthered her choreography and performance experience by getting involved with Cedar Fair Entertainment as the Park Choreographer at Valleyfair Amusement Park, and had the opportunity to serve as Associate Choreographer for two of their immersive festival events, ‘Grand Carnivale’ and ‘Tricks and Treats.’ Molly is excited by the opportunity to embrace the athleticism, beauty, and art of dance.

3:55-4:25 Rethinking Self Care with Delaney Jones

Rethinking Self- Care will help participants explore and examine the current norms and societal messaging around “self- care" in the U.S.; and expand their view of what self-care can look like through learning about research around human brain development and sociology. Humans are communal creatures, and when we can understand our thoughts and behaviors in the context of our environments and in the context of human evolution, we can better take care of ourselves and our communities.

Delaney Jones (MSSA, LSW) is a graduate of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences where she studied Community Practice for Social Change. Delaney’s professional and educational background, focused in the area of child/ family wellbeing, intertwines a micro- level study and practice (behavior, family dynamics, trauma), with a macro- level focus and practice (policy and program development). Delaney currently serves as the Community Coordinator for the Safe Babies Program in Cuyahoga County where she is working alongside local child welfare, judicial, and social services leadership to plan, implement, develop, execute and evaluate the Safe Babies program model. Delaney is passionate about influencing systems and cultural changes to better our community.

4:30-5:15 Mat Pilates with Lauren Stenroos

A 45 minutes Pilates Mat class. A full body workout focusing on energetically connecting and activating the core through breathing and alignment principles.   

Lauren Stenroos is a professional dancer and rehearsal director at Cleveland Ballet. She joined Cleveland Ballet as a founding company member in the inaugural season (2015) and is celebrating her 10th season as a dancer with the company. She has originated many principal and soloist roles and has danced in nearly every ballet in the history of the company’s repertoire. Some of her favorite roles are Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Woodland Glade Fairy in Robert Weiss’s Sleeping Beauty, Sugarplum Fairy and Dewdrop in The Nutcracker, A Twisted Sister in Lynne Taylor Corbett’s Dracula, Swanilda in Ramon Oller’s Coppelia, Hipployta in Ramon Oller’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Queen of Hearts in Margo Sappington’s Alice, and Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote. She also enjoyed performing in Ilya Jivoy’s Symphony of Life, and many other smaller neoclassical works. Prior to joining Cleveland Ballet, Lauren danced professionally with Dayton Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, Texture Contemporary Ballet, Ballet Montana, Nashville Ballet II, and Lake Erie Ballet. During those years, she performed corps de ballet, soloist, and principal roles, as well as performing works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Septime Webre, Amy Seiwert, Gina Patterson, Stuart Sebastian, Jon Rodriguez, James Sewell, Sallyann Mulcahy, Lesley Bories-Scalise, Paul Vasterling, and Alan Obuzor. Over the years as a professional, she has continued her training, studying with Lesley Bories-Scalise, Sallyann Mulcahy, Melissa Mitchell, and Pamela Pribisco. Lauren has served on the faculty at many ballet schools across Northeast Ohio, including The Academy of Cleveland Ballet, Canton Ballet, Wayne Center for the Arts, Nan Klinger Excellence in Dance, Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School, Olmstead Performing Arts, Beck Center for the Arts, and has guest taught for Ballet West artEmotion Cleveland Intensive, Mercyhurst University, Ashland Regional Ballet, University of Akron Dance Institute, Martell School of Dance, and many other local schools. In 2024, she represented Cleveland Ballet as a guest judge at the National Ballet Competition. Lauren holds a B.A. degree in Dance with a Music Composition Minor from Mercyhurst University. She is also a certified Pilates Instructor on the mat and reformer, and recently completed her Pilates Chair certification with ballet applications through Master Pilates and GYROKINESIS® Trainer Alicia Head. She assisted Alicia Head and physical therapist Kendall Alway with a presentation about turnout at the 2023 International Association of Dance Medicine Science conference (IADMS) in Columbus, Ohio. Lauren is also a classically trained musician and composer and has created original compositions for dance.

Jessica Bennett’s dance career led to her curiosity in Yoga, because many choreographers were using the practice to warm up the mind and body for rehearsals and performances. Her yoga practice became a priority, for not just physical benefits, but for emotional and spiritual health as well. In 2014, she completed her 200 hr RYT at Yoga Vida NYC, a program grounded in Vinyasa with influences of Ashtanga. Jessica completed the Yoga intensive at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, where she was able to sharpen her skills and knowledge of yoga philosophy, pranayama, meditation, and chanting. Learning from lifelong yogis in the homeland of the practice was incredibly influential on her teaching. In 2017, she completed her Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training certificate through Blooma Yoga at Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health in Massachusetts. Her interest and passion for breath work was deepened because of its benefits for pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. She is currently completing her masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Akron where she hopes to integrate her passion for mindfulness and movement with her focus on mental health and becoming a licensed counselor. Jessica can be found teaching a variety of classes at Yoga Place, Yoga Central, CDP Studios and for private clients.  Jessica's classes are a movement meditation with an emphasis on alignment and breath. When leading a class, she hopes to meet each student where their body, mind, and soul are at! 

The Dancer Wellness Workshop, as a part of our Community Wellness Project, is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.