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Linda Eve Elchak (McCreary)
(Artistic Director, Founder) is a passionate mother, dancer, choreographer, and educator. Linda has had the privilege of being trained with teachers from the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, the Mark Morris Dance group, the American Ballet Theatre, the New York City Ballet, The International Ballet of Cuba, the Denishaw School, and Isadora Duncan Dance Repertory. Linda focused her attentions at a young age in dance education to develop her skills and knowledge in “dissecting the body” for proper dance training. Linda uses her talents to teach dancers how to access their potential and was responsible for overseeing the Resident Artist Program at The Center for Contemporary Dance in Orlando, Florida, where Nao Dance collective was born and raised. Nao Dance collective, this year (2010), has been accepted into The Black Box Theater Orlando where they are currently housed.
Linda's passion is to reach as many people that she can to help influence their outlook on the dance arts. The technical training she provides dancers is not a fast one, and independently trains professional dancers to access their own body wisdom to dance longer and stronger throughout their career. Linda Eve Elchak is also the founder and artistic director for Nao Dance Collective; Central Florida’s Premier Structured improvisational Dance Company. Nao Dance Collective travels to surrounding areas to bring art to communities that would normally not have access to it.
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Nikki Peña
(Associate Artistic Director) is an artist and educator. She has trained with numerous professors at Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, and Valencia Community College. Nikki has also had the opportunity to attend various dance festivals, including the American College Dance Festival in San Francisco, California and the annual Florida Dance Educators Organization conference. As an educator, she has also spent time organizing, documenting, and archiving performances, conferences, and curriculum. Nikki is also the first Dance Educator in Orange County Public Schools to be awarded the Grand Bohemian Scholarship to further her dance experience. Her goal as an educator is to present her students with the tools to develop themselves as both dancers and human beings. She is currently the head of a dance program at a high school in Orlando, Florida as well as the Associate Artistic Director for NAO Dance Collective.
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