The Collective
Kelsy Rupp
Artistic Director | Founder
KMRDC’s Artistic Director, Kelsy Rupp, is a choreographer, dance educator, and movement artist located in Western Maryland.
Kelsy's training began at The City Ballet School in Hagerstown, MD where she studied classical ballet, pointe, jazz, and modern techniques with their highly esteemed faculty and guest artists.
During her tenure at Radford University, Kelsy studied and performed a multitude of works with the outstanding faculty at RU as well as guest artist Christopher K. Morgan. While in school, Kelsy accepted a position with d a n a h b e l l a DanceWorks, which led to a touring dance career and experience as a rehearsal assistant while still completing her undergraduate studies. During her senior year, Kelsy choreographed and produced her first modern dance concert, inter(person)al progression, under the direction of mentor danah bella. Upon graduation from Radford University, Kelsy was named the Outstanding Graduating Senior of the Radford University Department of Dance. Other achievements include receiving the Pegeen & David Albig Dance Scholarship, The Arts Society Scholarship, and a Who’s Who of American Colleges and Universities. Kelsy has attended, performed, and presented work at nationally recognized festivals such as The American College Dance Association, Route 11 Dance Festival, Tennessee Dance Festival, Charlotte Dance Festival, Moving Collective, and more. Her pieces "Fly" and "Jazz(ing) at Takoma Station" were presented internationally on a tour of Ireland and Scotland in partnership with Mid Maryland Performing Arts Center and Voices Without Borders. Kelsy has also danced with Light Switch Dance Theater under the direction of Sandra Atkinson where Kelsy’s interest in the intersection of art and social justice began.
Kelsy holds an MFA of Choreography from Wilson College and is currently serving as the Interim Director of Dance and a full time Arts Faculty member at Mercersburg Academy in southern Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth Buchheister
Company Member
is a dancer, dance instructor, and choreographic artist located in Maryland.
She first began her dance education at The Frederick School of Classical Ballet at the age of six. She knew she wanted to pursue a career in dance and went on to study at Gettysburg Dance Center in 2011 and then The City Ballet School in 2014. While at the City Ballet School, she studied ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, tap, and hip hop and joined The Western Maryland City Ballet Company. She has performed in various full length ballets including The Nutcracker, Peter Pan (John), and Cinderella (the stepmother). She has also attended summer intensives at The Joffrey School (NYC), Joffrey Academy (Chicago), and The Ailey School. After graduating high school in 2019, Elizabeth continued studying dance at The Ailey School in New York City. There she has studied the Horton and Graham modern techniques, as well as West African, contemporary, and jazz in addition to continuing ballet. She will graduate from their certificate program in 2023 and plans to pursue a career in choreography.
Regina Lachemann
Company Member
is a dancer from Hagerstown, Maryland.
She began dancing at 7 years old and automatically took to the performance aspect of dance. She studied at Barbara Ingram school for the arts where she was instructed in a multitude of dance styles. In her high school years she attended conventions and masterclasses at BDC, The House of Tap festival in D.C., etc. Regina has also performed in a number of theatrical performances as an actress and a dancer in high school as well as college. Regina has some years of being a dance instructor under her belt as well. Regina received her associates in Arts Science in 2020 at Hagerstown Community College Regina was a part of the HCC dance company for 2 years prior to transferring.
She is currently studying at Shippensburg University as a Human Communications Major, with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies with plans to graduate in the spring. She is also going into her second year being a member of In-Motion Dance Troupe at Ship where she is still training in all styles of dance.
Tara Nalley
Company Member
is a dancer and dance instructor from Hagerstown MD.
Tara began her dance journey when she was 10 years old. She has studied with Barbara Ingram School for the Arts and most recently received her A.A. in Dance from Hagerstown Community College. Tara not only loves performing, but has grown passionate about dance education as well.
Currently Tara is a dance instructor at Ballet and all that Jazz and has been artistically collaborating with Kelsy Rupp for the past several years.
Kylee Sherbert
Company Member
is a dance instructor, choreographer, and artist from Hagerstown, MD.
She is currently on faculty at The City Ballet School and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California in San Francisco, CA. While training at LINES Kylee worked with notable dancers and choreographers and also trained extensively in GYROTONIC and GYROKINESIS which has deeply impacted her movement approach. Kylee is a graduate of The City Ballet School where she studied under Danielle Horochwoski as well as a graduate from Barbara Ingram School for the Arts. She is a former company member with The Western Maryland City Ballet Company.
Laney Moran
Student Apprentice
is a dancer and dance student located in Hagerstown, MD.
She began dancing at the City Ballet School from ages 3-13 and later became part of Bloom Dance Studio where she graduated in 2020. She was also a member of SEED Dance Company during her time at Bloom. She is currently a student at Hagerstown Community College where she is majoring in dance.