The Dance Waterloo Team
Morgan Teel
Founder | Artistic Director
Morgan Mackay Teel is the Artistic Director & Founder of Dance Waterloo. When she isn’t producing a new choreographic project for Dance Waterloo, you can find her working with an individual, partner, group, and business clients as a Certified Enneagram Coach, helping them find fulfillment and joy with how they spend their time in life. She is also a Recruiting Coordinator for a tech start-up. Morgan holds an MFA in Dance from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from The University of Southern Mississippi. Her artistic works have premiered nationally in Florida, Wisconsin, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Indiana, and New York as well as internationally in Italy.
Noelle Billings
Executive Director
Noelle Billings is a Dancer, Choreographer, and Teaching Artist based in Austin, TX. She received her BFA in Performance and Choreography from the University of Southern Mississippi where she was fortunate to work with artists such as Kelly Ferris Lester, Elizabeth Lentz-Hill, Michael Estanich and Lucy Riner, Brian Martinez, and Derreck Williams. Noelle’s junior choreographic project, We Begin To Build Something Else (2017), was adjudicated at the American College Dance Association (South) conference in 2018 and was selected for both the Gala Concert and as an alternate for the ACDA National Concert. In addition, her thesis research, Half Empty/Half Full (2018) was presented at the USM Honors College and the Undergraduate Research Symposium in 2018. After graduation in May 2018, Noelle moved to Austin, TX to join Dance Waterloo as a Dancer and Teaching Artist, performing in works by Founder and Artistic Director Morgan Teel and Choreographer Laura Merkel for Rule of Three. Noelle began choreographing with the company in 2019 for Vital, performed at Symphony Square, and transitioned into the role of Executive Director in 2020. In June 2021, she began graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as an MFA candidate under the direction of Daniel Burkholder. Through UWM, Noelle has produced two new concert works, Twice (2021) and Blue World (2022), and has been fortunate to learn from and work with artists such as Dr. Mair Culbreth, Jan Erkert, Joel Aguilera, Lizzy Woodson, Ferne Caulker-Bronson, DeMar Walker, Alfonso Cervera, Katy Pyle, and Fulbright Scholar Simone Ferro. Noelle is beginning her thesis research in Fall 2022 and will graduate with her MFA in May 2023. Most recently, Noelle helped produce On The Horizon, Dance Waterloo’s largest performance to date, in which she choreographed a new work, Cycles (2022), and danced in two new works by Laura Merkel and Lily Kazanoff. In addition to her work with Dance Waterloo, Noelle co-directs the Intersection Dance Team at Arts Avenue Theater and Dance, and serves as Executive Consultant for Brian Martinez’s Boykin Dance Project.
Mia Moi
Project Director
Mia Moi was born and raised in Houston, Texas, where she received professional classical ballet training and multi-disciplinary competition experience. Since moving to Austin, she has refined her training in tap, jazz, heels, hip-hop, and contemporary and performed with dance collectives like Ventana Ballet, ARCOS, Early Era Collective, Articulate Austin, and Tapestry. Mia continues to freelance with local Austin companies in performance, choreography, teaching, and film. From teaching at various studios to featuring in short films and commercials, Mia strives to grow her dance discipline in all areas. She also holds Bachelors’ degrees in Communication Leadership and Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Stephanie Albrecht
Director of Digital Strategy & Development
Bio coming soon!
Jessica Gray
Contracts & Compliance Specialist
Jessica Gray started dancing at the age of 2 in Rowlett, TX. She pursued dance in many ways as a young child and in her high school years. She competed with both her drill team and competitive studio teams and was also in theatre and musicals. She attended The University of Texas at Austin and received her BFA in August of 2015. While attending UT, Jessica had the pleasure of working with many current choreographers and with the classical works of choreographers, the late Robert Battle (Brooklyn) of BattleWorks, Paul Taylor (New York), Charles O. Anderson (Austin), Kate Watson-Wallace (Brooklyn), and her favorite Mark Morris (Brooklyn) of Mark Morris Dance Group. She also got to choreograph in many student-run shows as well as her final main stage show as a senior member of Dance Repertoire Theater. Upon graduating in 2015, Jessica auditioned for us and has been a season regular for 5 years. Jessica has taught dance all over Austin and is currently a teacher at Head To Toe and Dance Elements.
Laura Merkel
Choreographer
Laura Merkel graduated with a B.A. in dance performance from Hofstra University, summa cum laude. After graduation, Laura lived in NYC for a couple of years, dancing in modern and jazz dance companies and training in yoga and Pilates. In 2016, she relocated to Austin, TX, and joined Dance Waterloo. In this company, she has the pleasure of working as a dancer, choreographer, teaching artist, and bodyworker. Outside of her work with Dance Waterloo, Laura teaches young dancers at Dance Xplosion and she started her own online fitness business, Laura Merkel Fitness. In 2019, she collaborated with fellow Dance Waterloo member, Rachael Hulse, to create a 2 hour-long dance installation, “Save/Reload,” as part of Revolve Austin. Laura is grateful to have found a home among Austin’s dance community!
Andie Duong
Dancer | Teaching Artist
Andie Duong grew up dancing in Des Moines, IA where she studied ballet, contemporary, modern, and tap. While working towards her BFA in Dance at UT Austin, Andie performed in several of UT’s Dance Repertory Theater’s shows including Fall for Dance, Momentum, Fortitude, and Transcendence – which Andie also choreographed a piece for. Before graduating in 2019, Andie worked with choreographers such as Andrea Beckham, Gesel Mason, Kirven Douthit Boyd, Erica Gionfriddo, Adrienne Hurd, Ananya Chatterjea, and Netta Yerushalmy. Andie has been living, working, and dancing in Austin since, and began working with Dance Waterloo in 2020.
Lily Kazanoff
Choreographer | Dancer | Teaching Artist
Lily Kazanoff (she/they) is a choreographer and dancer based in their hometown of Austin, TX. Lily is a professional grant writer and international researcher dedicated to hyperlocal yet high-impact projects. She loves to travel and learn new languages – and discovers ‘found’ movements along the way. Fusing semiotics with play, Lily has created pieces featured by the American College Dance Association regional finals, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School of Austin, and Live Action Set. In this past year, Lily has continued her decade-long collaborations with Dana Duren/Venus Wheeler Collective and began teaching, dancing, and choreographing with Dance Waterloo.
