OUR LEGACY TEAM

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 Crystall White Winkler, Director, M.S., B.A.,  began studying dance at age 8 in Detroit under the direction of Gwendolyn B. Smith at Northwest School of Dance. At age 13, she augmented her training at Marygrove College in Detroit with mentor Madame Penny Godboldo. In 1985, Crystall began the Certificate Dance Program at the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York. 

 Crystall has been featured in countless performances, incorporating all forms of dance including Modern, Jazz, African, Dunham Technique and Ballet at Marygrove College where she has been a featured dancer as well as performing member of the corps. Crystall has also had the rare opportunity to perform with the European Tour of Broadway’s“Black and Blue” where she traveled to Switzerland, Germany and France, performing the world famous choreography of Herny LaTang and Cholly Atkins.  Crystall has also toured with, “Tap Girls” in Lake Tahoe, NV, Los Angeles, CA and Atlantic City, NJ.  Additionally, Crystall was a performer and guest choreographer for the Los Angeles Academy of Fine Arts Chocolate Nutcracker narrated by Debbie Allen. In addition to all of Crystall’s performing credits she has choreographed, directed and staged numerous recitals, full length dance productions and local performances of the classical ballet, “The Nutcracker”.  Crystall is a true dance enthusiast and wishes to share her love of learning and discipline for the great art form of dance with students everywhere. 

Gina Ellis, A native Detroiter, Gina danced on the commercial and concert stages in New York for 18 years.  She has had the pleasure of working and assisting choreographer’s such as Tony Award Winning George Faison, Louis Johnson, Cab Calloway, Dinhann Carroll, Tremaine Hawkins, Debbie Allen,  Melba Moore and Denzel Washington, to name a few.  Ms. Ellis has appeared in the Broadway and National Companies of The Wiz, Perlie and the European production of Body and Soul.  She was also the assistant stage manager of the national company of Five Guys Named Moe.  She has appeared in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and the HBO’s Josephine Baker Story.  Returning to Detroit in 1994, Gina worked on the Super Bowl XL as assistant choreographer for the Stevie Wonder pre-show.  Recently retired from Renaissance High School after 20 years last summer she assisted and appeared in the 40th Anniversary of the Broadway and movie celebration of The Wiz.

 A​ ​professional​ ​rhythm​ ​tap​ ​dancer and choreographer in​ ​her​ ​own​ ​right,​ ​Taylor​ ​has​ ​performed​ ​on​ ​a plethora​ ​of​ ​stages​ ​ranging​ ​from​ ​Los,​ ​Angeles​ ​to​ ​Germany.​ ​She​ ​has​ ​had training​ ​from​ ​several​ ​pioneers​ ​of​ ​the​ ​art​ ​form,​ ​including:​ ​Robert​ ​Reed,​ ​Dianne Walker,​ ​Chloe​ ​Arnold,​ ​Maud​ ​Arnold,​ ​and​ ​Jason​ ​Samuels​ ​Smith​ ​to​ ​name​ ​a​ ​few. At the age of 15 Taylor became the youngest person to participate in the Jacob’s Pillow dance program and has performed in various Tap Festivals and Showcases across the world as a part of Jacob’s Pillow Dance, St. Louis Hoofers Club, and as a founding member of Tappin’ Soles of Detroit. Taylor began her dance training with Ms. Crystall at Artistry In Motion Dance School, and continues that tradition of dance as a proud teacher at Legacy.  Miss Taylor is in her final year of Law School this year and we cannot be more happy for her success!

  Originally from Detroit, Martha Bryan earned her degree from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program. She has had the honor of working professionally with Francine E. Ott/The Walk, nathantrice/nRituals, Golden Hour Dance, and Ronald K. Brown and Arcell Cabuag. Martha has performed in both commercial and concert dance platforms, some of which include The Recognizing Women Project, Revelations Cast of 50 at New York City Center, and the Ripples of Hope Gala, honoring former president, Mr. Barack Obama. She has trained at American Ballet Theatre, The Gelsey Kirkland Academy, Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, Complexions, and Broadway Dance Center, and has trained under Ana Marie Forsythe, Carolyn Adams, Matthew Rushing, Graciela Kozak, Renee Robinson, Ray Mercer, and Christopher Huggins. In addition to performing, Martha had the privilege of teaching at The Ailey School and recently received her teaching certification for the Lester Horton Technique. An  advocate for proper body alignment and technique, she also promotes individual and artistic expression, freedom, exploration, and choice. Martha continues to freelance in both NYC and the Detroit area. She is currently a company member of Intertwine MVMT Collective and teaches locally in Detroit.

Ms. Deleah works in the medical field and has a foundation called Identity Your Dreams. The Identify Your Dreams Foundation was created in 1996 after the tragic death of Dean J. Samuel. The foundation was birthed to not only encourage youth who have violently lost parents to SURVIVE but to also empower them to THRIVE. They teach children that by discovering the gift that is deposited inside each of them, they will begin to unlock the hidden treasure that brings meaning to life through HOPE and PURPOSE beyond the pain. Ms. Deleah teaches our youngest population of Kinderdance I students (ages 3-4) and also our Tiny Tot Hip Hop students (ages 4-8) and they absolutely love her!

Kennedy Phelps is a dancer, choreographer and teacher in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. She is currently working as a guest artist with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Kennedy is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has received a BFA in Dance. While at Western Kennedy has performed in works by Paul Taylor, Yin Yue, Kate Skarpetowska, Jennifer Archibald, Mike Esperanza, BAIRA, Monique Haley, and Brendan Duggan, and was a member of Western Dance Project under the direction of Whitney Moncrief. Coming soon, Kennedy will be featured on the cover of ROC magazine’s Issue 03: Embodied. Bio Coming Soon!

 Marletta Marsha Boyd II was born and raised in Northwest Detroit and group up dancing at Artistry in Motion Dance School, teaching her first class at the age of 14. After receiving her B.A. in Finance at Howard University Marletta moved to Seattle Washington to work for Microsoft Corporation as a Finance Manager. Dance being her passion, she immediately joined the dance teams for the NBA’s Seattle Sonics and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm basketball teams, and later joined a traveling West African dance troupe, performing for a local king in rural Ghana. In 2011 Marletta returned home with the goal of being a catalyst of change for the Metro Detroit area. Marletta is the Director of Corporate and Foundation Philanthropy for The Children’s Center and is responsible for developing and growing efforts around corporate engagement. In addition to working at Legacy she assists with the Liturgical Dance Ministry  

 Brooke Taylor is a senior at the University of Michigan pursuing Dance and Education. As a 17 year trained dancer in ballet, modern, tap, and jazz, her passion is the intersection of art and activism. This new found passion has led Taylor in creating work that focuses on telling black stories and educating audiences. Taylor has choreographed Once On This Island through MUSKET, a student theater organization at Michigan. She has planned two artistic protests, entitled Drive In For Justice and Dance For Floyd for The Black Lives Matter Movement. She founded Black Scholars In Dance, or BSID, an organization at Michigan dedicated to creating a community of African American dancers in the Dance Department. She has interned with the International Association of Blacks in Dance and was selected to represent the University of Michigan's Dance Department as an Arts Administration Intern with the company Step Afrika! In 2021, she was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit award in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In 2019, she was awarded the Coca-Cola college scholarship and was selected out of a field of 95,000 students from all over the country for her academic excellence, leadership, and community involvement. Most recently, you can see Brooke Taylor dancing in the Netflix film, Tyler Perry’s A Jazzman’s Blues, choreographed by Debbie Allen! After graduation, Brooke will be moving to New York with the dream to dance on Broadway! 

Teresa White, B.A., M.S.

Received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Michigan. She absolutely loves working with the Kinderdance students especially and has a unique ability to get a 3-4 year old to sing, dance and learn dance steps like no one else! She is a highly sought after teacher; her classes are fun and exciting and fill up very quickly. Ms. Teresa began dancing as a very young child at Northwest School of Dance and actually began teaching at the age of 13; she is well versed in the subjects of ballet, tap, and jazz. Ms. Teresa, along with Crystall White Winkler and Gwendolyn Smith co-founded Artistry In Motion Dance School, where they successfully operated the very first African American Dance School in Southfield for nearly 10 years and trained many of the Legacy teachers (Ms. Erica, Ms. Marletta & Ms. Taylor); she is also Ms. Crystall’s sister-in-law. Professionally, Ms. Teresa teaches Kindergarten and was awarded the acclaimed and prestigious, “National Teacher of the Year Award” for her outstanding teaching abilities as an Educator. We at Legacy are so proud of her and all of her accomplishments!