Emerge Staff
Chelsea Rose
Studio Director of Emerge Performing Arts
Chelsea Rose is a dedicated dance professional who discovered her passion for dance while growing up in the Twin Cities. Her journey led her to the West Coast, where she had the opportunity to work on various film, stage, television, and music video projects, building a dynamic performance career.
Returning to the Twin Cities, Chelsea transitioned into teaching and choreography, finding immense joy in sharing her love for dance and inspiring young dancers. Her choreography has been celebrated for its creativity and entertainment value in the competitive dance scene.
Chelsea currently teaches in the Musical Theater department at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Her work also extends to Collide Theatrical Dance Company, Ashland Productions, Spotlight Education, and Twin Cities Theater Camp, along with guest teaching at various studios across the Twin Cities.
In addition to teaching and choreographing, Chelsea remains an active performer in the St. Paul-Minneapolis metro area, with credits including commercials and numerous productions with Collide Theatrical. She has performed at renowned venues such as The Ordway and History Theatre.
Chelsea created Emerge because she is passionate about creating a safe and nurturing environment where dancers can grow and evolve into creative artists. She is thrilled to continue fostering the next generation of dancers in a space that celebrates individuality and artistic expression.
Kelsey Charlotte
Kelsey Charlotte is a choreographer and mover based in Minneapolis. Kelsey graduated with a BA in Dance from Gustavus Adolphus College. During her time at Gustavus her work was recognized by The American College Dance Festival in 2012 for her solo choreography as well as performing in the 2014 Gala concert. Kelsey attended Accademia del' Arte in Arezzo, Italia in 2013 where she studied under Giorgio Rossi, Rita Petrone, Ashai Lombardo and Mark Allen and other artists in Italy and Germany. She is now an undergraduate recruiter for the dance program. Other notable work has included Stephen Koplowitz, D.I.G. (Dancers Investigation Group) Sacramento, CA, SEVEN DANCE which she Co-founded in 2014. Her teaching background includes studios around the twin cities as well as Teaching Artist at Sacramento State. Kelsey has received several accolades for her inventive choreography.Kelsey currently dances for Christopher Watson Dance Company- a multigenerational modern company. She has also been a part of STRONG movement since 2016. STRONG movement is a dance collective directed by Darrius Strong and in collaboration with Cheng Xiong and Gabbie ‘The Baddie” Abram. STRONG movement is her passion and heartbeat. Kelsey looks to inspire and build up communities through movement.
Averie Mitchell-Brown
Averie Mitchell-Brown is a University of Minnesota - Twin Cities graduate and aspires to touch as many lives as possible with her love, light, and talent. She strives to make any aspect of dance her life, taking classes in ballroom, West African, break dancing, jazz and contemporary. She has worked with well known artists like Al TAW’AM - The Twins as a crew member, Best Ensemble Sage Award winning group S.H.E - She Who Holds Everything. Averie has also worked with Kenna Cottman in Voice of Culture drum and Dance company, Aneka McMullen in Epitome No Question, Bboy J-Sun, Leah Nelson, and many more. Working with other artists and dancers of different styles helped her improve as a dancer holistically and helped her become more knowledgeable about the origins of the dancing community here in the Twin Cities. She lives her life as a multidisciplinary artist with a focus in dance. When not dancing, she is touching the lives of many as a Wedding DJ and traveling with her family.
Ashley Gonzalez
Ashley Gonzalez is a tap dancer, performer, teacher, and choreographer, born and raised in Central Minnesota. After attending her first tap festival in August 2013, Ashley began to pursue tap dance. From there, she started to attend tap festivals all around the U.S. to learn from professional tap dancers that were thriving in the tap industry. She began training under the direction of Chloe Arnold and Ricci Milan, growing and exploring in the art form. She has expanded her training by studying under Sarah Reich and Aaron Williams where she has had a strong focus on technique and musicality, while continuing to travel all over the world to learn as much as she can from professionals with various different styles. Ashley has performed with Rhythm Street Movement in Driveway Tour, Waking Up, Humbug, and other various shows. In the past, she has performed at the 2018 Governors Ball Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, the 2018 MLB All Star Pre-Party Concert in Washington DC. Ashley performed at the Voices of the People Welcome Celebration for the 2017 Presidential Inauguration. She performed in the Disney Newsies Broadway Musical at the University of Northwestern. In addition to this, Ashley has performed and competed internationally, receiving a bronze medal for her tap solo at the IDO World Performing Arts Cup in Seoul, South Korea. She also received a bronze medal at Dance World Cup Championships in Offenburg, Germany for a tap duet. Some additional performances consist of Rejuv Medical Summit, Angel Foundation Charity event and National Tap Dance Day to name a few!
Olivia Geffre
Olivia Geffre is a dancer, performer, and choreographer based in Saint Paul, MN. She grew up dancing and performing competitively in the Twin Cities. Olicia attended high school at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists in the dance track. She has trained in modern, contemporary, jazz, tap, hip-hop, West African, and ballet. Throughout her time in competitive dance ace de, Olivia received top scoring adjudications for her movement, as well as a choreography award for a piece made in collaboration with Kelsey Charlotte and Dana Marquis. She attended the Joffrey Ballet school in the summer of 2019, where she expanded her knowledge in ballet, modern, and contemporary movement. In summer of 2022, she received a certification in teaching yoga, expanding her ability to incorporate a focus on mindfulness and kinesthetic knowledge in her classes. Her greatest strength is making everyone in the classroom feel comfortable trying their best, and helping them be determined to do so. She is always looking for the opportunity to give students a healthy and safe environment to express themselves through dance.