Meet The Staff
Chris Shepard
Chris Shepard is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance . He has performed with Rhythmically Speaking for over eighteen years and is the Community Outreach Director for R.A.C.E. Dance Collective. He also has worked with the Pollard Theatre in: In The Heights, Shrek The Musical, The Color Purple, Hairspray, Fences and Bring it on.
Naisha Morris
Naisha Morris has a love for Dance. Naisha has shared her love of dance through teaching in various studios and performing in the Greater Oklahoma City area over
the past 15 years.
Naisha received her BS degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of Central Oklahoma.More currently, Naisha is a Lead Teaching Artist, as well the Program Assistant for Prairie Dance Theater’s in school and after school youth program.
Naisha also serves the local community though assisting with the coordination of dance programs for Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation where she is also a Program
Specialist with an emphasis on Dance and Musical Theatre.
Naisha’s professional performances include Psuedo Dance Theater 2004-2010, Dance Theater of Oklahoma 2003-2004, Prairie Dance Theater 2003-Present and Psalmode
Cheryl Homen
Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative, Cheryl Homen, has danced all her life. She trained with Pat Oplotnik, Oklahoma’s local tap artist extraordinaire. Because of her love for entertaining, she has performed in many arenas. Naming just a few of her endeavors, she played the drums for "Dark 30," was in the film “Rudderless” and performed as Bebe Benzenheimer in Carpenter Square Theater's “A Chorus Line.” Cheryl is a Dance Masters certified teacher in tap.
Kamille Pitts
Kamille Pitts is the Ballet and African Instructor at MSDI as well as the Artistic Director for Community Outreach Programming. She has trained at the National Dance Institute where she completed the teacher artist training and is a member of the National Dance Educators Organization. Kamille also completed her college studies at Randolph Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia where she studied under the tutelage of Pamela Risenhoover, Mary Henson, Genia Melinkova, Yoav Kadar, Becky Jung, Chuck Davis, and Helen McGehee naming a few. Kamille recently completed her Master’s Degree in Forensics from the University of Central Oklahoma. Her teaching experience includes a wide range of listings, such as an academic tutor at Francis Tuttle Technology Center, The Freedom School, Capitol Hill, Artist in Residence for The Arts Council of Oklahoma City, Crutcho Public Schools and Marcus Garvey Independent Charter. As a LOYAL graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City, Kamille has a keen awareness and passion for community service. As such, she also devotes her time to serving as a board member for a local not-for-profit organization Neighborhood Services Organization.
With 24 years of experience in dance, Kamille began her training at the young age of 11 at Inner City Dance Institute, where she first embraced her love of dance with emphasis in ballet. Kamille has danced professionally with Psuedo Dance, Randolph Macon Dance Company and several years with Oklahoma Contemporary Dance.
Other Master Artists who’ve contributed to Kamille’s advancement in dance studies includes Baba Chuck Davis, Finis Jung of Alvin Ailey in New York, Derrick Minter of Ailey II, Bril Barrett, Reginald McLaughlin, Nasha Thomas-Schmidt of Alvin Ailey New York, Laura Ward, Founding Director Emeritus Inner City Dance, Stacey Thomas-McFarland, Carmen De Lavallade, Theresa Howard former principal with Alvin Ailey, Waverly Lucas of
Ballethnic, Atlanta, Georgia, Urban Bush Women, Cleo Parker-Robinson, Lula Washington and Donald McKayle.
Nikael Chiles
Honor McFarland
Honor McFarland-Smith has “been blessed” to be a dancer for over 20 years. Starting at the age of 3, she began her studies at Inner City Dance Institute in 1993. There she studied, tap, ballet, pointe, (including an opportunity to work with Yvonne Chouteau, one of the “Five Moons” of Oklahoma), modern, jazz, hip-hop, flamenco, and African. Throughout the years, she has studied with Maggie Mitchell at Modern Dance Arts in Norman OK, and Alexa Fioroni at The Ballet Conservatory, that gave her the privilege of working with Wei Wu and Marcello Angelini of Tulsa Ballet, in Oklahoma City, OK. She has also taken Summer Intensives at Furmen-Grey Isenhour with Jody Isenhour in Midwest City, OK, and Academy of Dance Arts with Desiree Roan in Yukon, OK.
Honor has performed in the 4th, 5th, 6th , and 8th annual shows for the Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival that takes place during the summer season. Those shows featured choreography by Heather Burns (Afro-Cuban), Michelle Dexter and Kayla Jenkins of PerpetualMotion/Modern Dance (Contemporary), Rachel Bruce-Johnson of Bell House Arts (Modern), Hui Cha Poos of R.A.C.E Dance (Jazz), and Cody Dean of Dean’s School of Dance(Contemporary).
The variety of Master Classes include Derick Minter of Ailey 2 (Modern), Jacob Sparso of Oklahoma City Ballet (Ballet), Bril Barret of MADD Rhythms (Tap), Austin Hartel with Hartel Dance Group (Modern), Hazel Lopez of International Dance Studio(Salsa), Reggio “The Hoofer” McLaughlin (Tap), Theresa M. Howard(African), Race the Space with members of R.A.C.E Dance (Contemporary and Hip-Hop),international choreographer Bill Evans (Modern), and Ronnie Underwood from Oklahoma City Ballet and who was a series regular on the UPN show “Breaking Pointe.”
Honor is now a Tap and Jazz instructor and chorographer at Metropolitan School of Dance, formally known as Inner City Dance, where her love and passion for dance took off years ago.
Her favorite dancers, to name a few, are Martha Graham, Savion Glover, Ann Miller, Katherine Dunham, Pina Bausch, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
In addition to dance, Honor has an Associate’s Degree in Family Services and Child Development from Rose State College and her B. S. from the University of Central Oklahoma in Child Development with plans to pursue her Masters as an Infant/Child Specialist.
Dacia Hooks
Dacia first found her love of dance while a student at Inner City Dance Institute, Oklahoma City, OK. She was a dance and teacher with the school for several years before co-owning and operating Clear…As Dance Institute, Oklahoma City, OK, from the school’s inception in 2004, until the doors closed in 2015. Dacia has performed in many festivals, concerts and special performances with Inner City Dance as a student. She also performed professionally in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Festival in Oklahoma as well as many other plays and concerts in Oklahoma, Texas and Mexico. Dacia has performed in community theater and musicals where she sings, dances, and acts. Dacia is blessed to be able to share her knowledge and talents through teaching and performing at her church and in the community.