Beverly Richards Dance Center
Celebrating 42 Years
Guest Faculty
Suzi Chopourian
Susan Chopourian has been teaching and choreographing for over 30 years. She was raised in a performing arts family which presented her the opportunity to study with such greats as Gus Giordano, Beverly Fletcher, Judy Ann Bassing, and countless others. Her competitive history started with Terpsichore Awards which was created by her parents, Helen and George
Chopourian in partnership with Sherry Gold and expanded to include Headliners, Showstoppers, DMA regionals and nationals, and many more. Susan has enjoyed success as a competitor, teacher, choreographer, and judge all along the eastern coast and now calls The Dance Center in Dedham, MA her dance "home."
Catherine Ball
Catherine is a rising junior studying at the Northeast School of Ballet Conservatory Program in Reading, MA. As a Lynn native, she began her studies in dance at Leanne Leslie's School of Theatrical Dance with jazz and tap combined classes. She also began studying pre-ballet at Northeast School of Ballet at the age of 3. When she turned 6, she joined the ballet and contemporary classes at Leanne's. Always busy creating new dances on her own and hosting shows in the living room, Catherine continued to study with both studios and trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, contemporary, ballroom, and many other styles. She participated in the Northeast Youth Ballet's production of The Nutcracker since she was old enough to audition, and has been featured in many roles such as cookie, party girl, Spanish lead, and Snowflake.
Catherine joined the Conservatory in 7th grade, studying part-time at St. Mary's High School. She now studies at Tecca Academy, an online public school, and does the Conservatory full-time. She has performed with the Northeast Youth Ballet company in many roles, most recently as the Silver Fairy and Little Red in their premiere of Sleeping Beauty. Catherine attended the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet summer intensive in 2022 and studied under professionals such as Nathalia Arja, Samantha Geller, Derek Rocas, and Tim Fox. This summer she is studying under Sasha Janes at the Chautauqua Institution.
Amanda Edmunds
Amanda Edmunds is from Revere, Massachusetts and has been dancing since the age of three. Amanda has earned her BA in Dance from Salem State University with a minor in Education. During her senior year she received the Creative Award for her capstone solo choreography entitled "The Duet". She has won numerous high score awards along with multiple scholarships from the Dance Masters of New England. She has performed in Debra Mason's: What The Dickens and she performed in the company Contemporarily Out Of Order with Wendy O'Byrne. She is currently a company member of Dance LAB Creative founded by Libby Bulligner. Being a part of the Dance LAB Creative has inspired Amanda to found her own adult contemporary dance company that goes by the name of Emotions in Motion. Amanda dances to entertain, persuade, and inform her audiences of her thoughts, ideas and passions. Amanda is currently a dance instructor/studio administrator for many different studios in the North Shore and dances professionally in the entertainment industry. She is fueled by watching her students grow as dancers, humans, and artists. BRDC welcomes Amanda to our dance family.
Addison Johnson
Addison is a hip-hop dancer of 25 years starting at the young age of 10, where he began with a youth breakdance crew at his local church. Addison’s passion and talent have led to an impressive resume of live performance/video work with companies such as Disney, Paul Mitchell, Walmart, Make-A-Wish Foundation, LinkedIn, Intel, and brands such as Lululemon, Converse, and Reebok.
Additionally, Addison has had the opportunity to work creatively with music artists such as Tyga, G-Eazy, Faith Evans, Sage the Gemini as well as numerous American and international artists. Addison has also been on staff at IDA in Hollywood, California, as well as DISTRCT ARTS in Las Vegas, Nevada. Through his hard work and dedication, Addison has earned the position as Creative Director for 3BMD, a media company specializing in content creation and performance branding. Currently, Addison is training and developing artists in Los Angeles, California and tours with Celebrity Dance Conventions as a teacher.
Ricky Whitfield
Ricky is a California native, now living in Florida. He currently works as a Resident Director/Choreographer for the Norwegian Cruise Line.