Kate Downes Walker, Sussex Dance Academy Director, has over 28 years of
dance experience and seven years of teaching experience. A native
to Sussex County, she began her dance training at the Marion Tracy Dance Studio in
Dover and later became a member of the Delaware Regional Ballet Company under the direction
of Tatiana Akinfieva-Smith. She has danced with the Rainbow Dance Theatre in Palm Springs,
California, and is a former member of the Salisbury University Dance Company where she had the
opportunity to study with nationally-recognized guest artists. She has choreographed three works
for the Company and had taught Master classes. Her choreography was also presented at the
inauguration of Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner.
Walker has studied with Raymond Lukens, Director of the Boston Ballet II, Nan Giordano of Giordano Jazz Dance
Chicago, among others. She regularly attends classes at the Broadway Dance Center in New York
City to stay current in her field. At the center she has studied with Kat Wildish, a former member
of the American Ballet Theatre, Frank Hatchett, and Charles Kelley. Walker has studied the Vaganova
and Cecchetti methods of classical ballet. She is a member and graduate of Dance Educators of America
in New York where she also completed her certification in Dance. She currently teaches dance to
students in grades 3-8 at the Southern Delaware School of the Arts where she is also the part-time
school nurse. Walker graduated form Wilmington College with a B.S. in Nursing. She finds the connection
between dance and nursing to be quite beneficial to dance instruction. Understanding the natural
anatomical laws governing human movement and body mechanics, she is able to relate them to the student's
acquisition of dance technique in class.
Flossie Vogel began teaching at the age of 15. She received her early training in Philadelphia and New York and was the youngest member of Dance Educators of America in New York at age 17. Her career has included owning Flossie Vogel's Dance Factory in Delaware for 50 years. She had choreographed over 20 major musicals for the theater and was the choreographer for the Miss Delaware Pageant/Miss America for over 30 years. Flossie remains active in her field and has always considered her career a "labor of love". She is thrilled to be sharing her expertise with the Academy's students.
Terri Lingo is a long time pupil of Fossie Vogel, having studied with her throughout her school career. Her studies also include Jazzworks Dance Studio in Philadelphia and the Marion Tracy Dance Studio in Dover. She was the choreographer for the Junior Miss Delaware Pagent for three years, as well as for local high school productions. Mrs. Lingo is happy to share her love for dance with our students.
Sussex Dance Academy Accomplishments