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neonblake
BLAKE COHELEY – NEW ORLEANS, LA - Blake started dancing at the age of three and has been in the studio ever since. Blake has had the opportunity to train with great teachers like Jerome Robbins, Gus Giordano and Bella Lewisky. He has toured internationally with Tops in Blue, (the ...Read More
BLAKE COHELEY – NEW ORLEANS, LA - Blake started dancing at the age of three and has been in the studio ever since. Blake has had the opportunity to train with great teachers like Jerome Robbins, Gus Giordano and Bella Lewisky. He has toured internationally with Tops in Blue, (the United States Air Force Active Duty Entertainment Showcase), as well as toured nationally with Oliver, West Side Story, Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof, Bye-Bye Birdie, Annie and 42nd Street (just to name a few). Blake has taught all over the world and his unique teaching styles, combined with his personality and strong varied techniques, keep him in constant demand on the road. He judges for several major dance organizations/competitions and has had the opportunity to actually train judges at the international level. His students are now in dancing and performing in major theme parks, on Broadway and in professional dance companies. Blake had his own studio in Jackson MS where he started his own children’s dance company (an non-profit dance troupe of 28 dancers) called the Union, and brought dance to hospitals, service industrials and even movie premiers. He is an award winning director/choreographer of musical theatre, industrials, national competition winners and has had the opportunity to inspire many young artists along the way. He has directed and choreographed great shows like Side Show, Working, Floyd Collins, Starmites, Anything Goes, H2$, Godspell, Gypsy, Nunsense, The Fantastiks, South Pacific, Steelpier, Copacabana, Footloose, A Chorus Line, Godspell, Tommy, Singing in the Rain, Jane Eyre, Bat Boy and many others. His passion is dance but his love is animals – (he has six dogs, plus many other animals – exotic birds, cats, an iguana and many more). Blake serves as the Dance Teachers United (a southern regional dance teacher organization). He specializes in Tap, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical and Musical Theatre. Blake has a Masters Degree from Buxton University, London, England. His varied and wide background have led him to teach Marching Band at Bay High, Panama City, Florida and also Dance at the Jackson Public School’s Academic and Performing Arts Complex in Jackson, Mississippi. After six years in United States Air Force, several Broadway tours and touring the world teaching and performing he has settled down and is now happy in the Big Easy and enjoys teaching, choreographing and inspiring young artists. Blake is the Chair of the Dance Department at NOCCA/Riverfront and has recently been awarded the International NETWORK of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education Teacher of the Year for 2007.
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