Michael McManus was born and raise in Bennettsville, South Carolina. He received his training at Crystal McInnis School of Dance in Laurinburg, NC. Michael graduated from the University of South Carolina with his Bachelors in History and a minor in dance. As a student, Michael received training from Thaddeus Davis, Dale Lam, and Susan Hancock. Michael also had the opportunity to perform at the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC. His self choreographed piece Recrudescence earned him recognition by university faculty and was also selected to perform in the American College Dance Festival regional event. Michael currently teaches hip hop, jazz, and contemporary at multiple studios in the Salt Lake City area. He also takes every opportunity he can to guest choreograph at studios throughout the Southeast. This past summer, Michael was fortunate enough to be a mentor at the University of South Carolina Summer Dance Conservatory where he fostered the growth of over 100 children and had the opportunity to partner with Artists for Africa in training 11 dancers from Nairobi, Kenya. Most recently, Michael toured with the Wideman-Davis Dance Company debuting “Migratuse Ataraxia” in Birmingham, Alabama. Michael has also performed with Unbound, a professional dance company under the direction of Caroline Lewis Jones and Susan Hancock and was a special guest performer with Salt Lake based company Divinity, under the direction of Krissie Edwards and Nikole Black.

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