Tessa Crawford originates from Columbia, Missouri where she started dancing at the age of 3 and competitively dancing at the age of 5. She did most of her training and competing at Columbia Performing Arts Centre. After high school Tessa was one of 16 accepted to The Hartt School Dance Division BFA program, under the direction of Stephen Pier. In May of 2014 Tessa graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Hartt School with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. Tessa has been fortunate enough to have gained additional training by attending programs around the country such as Cedar Lake 360, Tulsa Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and Northwest Dance Project. She also has traveled overseas to study at The Julidanse Festival in Amsterdam, NL. Since college Tessa has been based in both New York City and Los Angeles, CA where she was a freelance artist. She has been lucky enough to work with a New York City based company called The DASH Ensemble, under the direction of Gregory Dolbashian. Tessa has been a part of many projects and tours with The Dash Ensemble. She has worked in the commercial industry as well. Tessa can be seen in music videos with Samantha J, Nikki Exotika, and Arez Flow along with live shows with artists including latin singer Reykon. Tessa was also fortunate enough to be a part of a new show in NYC called “Que Sera Sera”, under the direction of Shirlene Quigley, where she performed both ensemble and featured roles. Along with her performing career she has been teaching and choreographing for studios around the country. Tessa is extremely excited to be coming full circle and returning back to CPAC as a faculty member!