Ruth Rachel Przybojewski

Director/Founder

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Ruth Rachel Przybojewski was a student of ballet since the age of two and half and began her training at The Cleveland Ballet. She has continued to dance throughout most of her adult life studying various forms of dance such as ballet, pointe, contemporary, lyrical, jazz and theater jazz. She has studied at various studios around the Cleveland area, In January of 2018, she joined Cleveland Modern Ballet. She performed in The Nutcracker, The Lion King and performed the role of Ursula in The Little Mermaid. Ruth Rachel taught dance classes at Cheryl Lynn’s Dance Studio. She has previously choreographed and was a Company Member for Reverie Movement Collective and choreographed for Cleveland Dance Project.Ruth Rachel continues dancing because it is a special way to express all types of emotion. She would like to thank her parents for enrolling her in ballet at a young age. She understands all the sacrifices they made to ensure that she fulfilled her passion. One of her favorite quotes is by Martha Graham: “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”When Ruth Rachel is not practicing an arabesque, a plié, or pirouette, she is a Customer Contact Manager. Ruth Rachel holds an MBA from John Carroll University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism & Promotional Communication from Cleveland State University.Ruth Rachel is involved in the community and served as a City Advocate for Downtown Cleveland. She served on the Cleveland Leadership Center’s Leadership Council. She also volunteers at the Westside Catholic Center.. Ruth Rachel was a member of The Cleveland Leadership Center: Bridge Builders Class of 2019, was awarded Dominion Energy’s Volunteer of the Year in the Education category for 2019 and was named 2017-2018 Junior Achievement’s Young Professional Member of the Year.In her spare time Ruth Rachel enjoys traveling, Cleveland sports, spending time with her family and staying active in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and watching a beautiful Lake Erie sunset.

Angela’s love for dance began at a very young age; she danced for 15 years at Cheryl Lynn’s Dance Studio, and spent two years training at Cleveland City Dance. She continued her training into college, earning her undergraduate degree in Dance from Slippery Rock University.In 2008, Angela was honored to be one of only two students selected for SRU’s Dance in India Initiative, spending a month in Chennai, India, where she immersed herself in the study of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form. This transformative experience deepened her appreciation for global dance traditions and cultural expression.Angela later became a certified Zumba instructor, blending fitness and rhythm to bring joy to movement. She also helped to create and teach a Special Needs and typical peers dance program during her time as a behavior therapist at KidsLink school back in 2013. After a long hiatus, Angela jumped back into the performance space for Reverie Movement Collective last fall. Now a stay-at-home and homeschool mom, she is joyfully stepping back into the creative world, eager to share her passion and love of dance with others once again.

Angela Godbey

Assistant Director

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Laura Hankey

Assistant Director

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Laura Hankey is a graduate of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania where she received her degree in Emerging Technology and Multimedia with a minor in Fine Arts. Laura moved to Cleveland in 2012 where she has worked as a graphic designer, seamstress, dance instructor, program coordinator, and professional dancer.
Throughout Laura’s career, she has used these skills to share her passion for the arts with as many people as possible. Whether it's coordinating performing arts programming, instructing young dancers, designing memorials, or performing at schools, nursing homes, and theaters, Laura is deeply passionate about sharing her art with everyone she can reach! Laura hopes to continue down paths that allow her to be creative and innovative. She is excited to see where it takes her next!

Jess Tischler is a Cleveland native with 20+ years of movement experience. Her movement background ranges from studio techniques (Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, and Modern) to Competitive/Collegiate Cheerleading and Acrobatics.Throughout the years, Jess has had the opportunity to teach, perform, and choreograph with various programs in the Cleveland area. As an inaugural member of Cleveland Dance Project, Jess continues to choreograph and perform in a wide variety of styles and pieces. She utilized her training in Modern, Contemporary, and Jazz techniques during her tenure as a member of MadJax Dance Company, under the direction of Madi D. Jackson. During her time in Richmond, Virginia, Jess added a love of Latin dance to her repertoire, dancing with Salsa Connection Dance Company, and continuing her Jazz and Contemporary trainings at Richmond Urban Dance. Upon returning to Cleveland, she most recently performed as a Community Member with Reverie Movement Collective, further delving into Contemporary and Improvisational techniques.A genuine love of movement and breaking away from traditional techniques is the guiding force in Jess’s dance style. She has always used movement as a balm for life and a point of connection with other human beings. Jess is so very grateful for the opportunity to share this piece with Heartfelt Movement and its community of dancers.

Jess Tischler

Marketing Director

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Leah Hansler Akcollu discovered her passion for dance in college, where she started her journey taking classes and performing two evening-length pieces with Denison University's modern/postmodern dance department. She has continued to hone her craft and love of performing over the past several years throughout Cleveland, expanding her repertoire to a wide range of styles including contemporary, jazz, heels, hip hop, ballet, swing, Latin fusion, hip hop, Afrobeats, and Bharatanatyam. Much of her dance experience comes from her 10 seasons dancing with Cleveland Dance Project, and she also delved deeper into contemporary styles and storytelling as a 3-season company member with Reverie Movement Collective. Over the past couple of years, Leah has also performed in holiday shows with local choreographers at the Van Aken District and at Cleveland Botanical Garden's Frost exhibit. She loves the joy, freedom, and community that comes from dance, and it has quickly become an important part of her life!Leah is grateful and honored to make her choreographic debut, which has been a dream for her and feels like a natural next step in her dance journey. She is excited to return to her roots in modern dance and create art with the Heartfelt Movement community.

Leah Hansler Akcollu

Choreographer Season 2

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Sam Morrison

Choreographer Season 2

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Sam Morrison has been dancing since 2012, starting with his high school’s “Menz Dance” program in the Chicago area. He earned a minor in dance from Case Western Reserve University, where he studied modern Martha Graham technique, choreographed multiple pieces and performed with the Mather Dance Collective. Sam has since performed with Cleveland Dance Project and taught classes for Humankind Health. He spends time exploring various genres of movement and incorporating them into his foundational modern technique. Outside of dance, Sam is a software developer and enjoys spending time with his cats.

Nicole Wells started dancing at the age of 3, training in ballet, pointe, jazz, and tap at Dance Central in Cambridge, Ohio. For 13 years, Nicole graced the stage in various performances and actively participated in Dance Central’s community outreach programs, bringing dance into local schools and nursing homes.At age 16, Nicole began teaching jazz and ballet at Attitudes Dance and Performing Arts in Cambridge, Ohio. She continued to teach and perform with Attitudes while pursuing a degree in psychology at Ohio University Zanesville. While there, Nicole fostered her love of movement and captivated audiences for three seasons with her performances as a collegiate-level cheerleader.Since her return to the stage in 2019, Nicole has trained in a wide range of styles—burlesque, belly dance, hip hop, jazz, musical theater, modern, and contemporary—at studios throughout Northeast Ohio, including Heartfelt Movement, Cleveland Eclectic Dance, Tallmadge Academy of Dance, and Cleveland Dance Project.With more than two decades of dance and teaching experience, Nicole brings positivity, encouragement, and genuine enthusiasm to every class, creating a welcoming space for dancers of all backgrounds. She is excited to bring her creativity and positivity to Heartfelt Movement as a choreographer this season.

Nicole Wells

Choreographer Season 2

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