Matthew Kazmierczak was on season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance, where he made top 6 boys and went on to the U.S. and Canadian tour. He has since appeared on shows such as Dancing With The Stars, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, and America’s Got Talent. Matthew’s has the opportunity to dance on the Primetime Emmy Awards and American Music Awards with the iconic Mariah Carey.
He’s been in films such as La La Land staring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and Vice with Christian Bale and Steve Carell. After completing tours through Japan and Switzerland dancing alongside other top dancers in the industry, world-renowned Olympic gold medal figure skaters, and international singing sensations Emeli Sandé and Pegasus, he joined Travis Wall’s Shaping Sound as the lead male dancer for the “Dance Reimagined” tour.
Now he’s currently in Los Angeles still pursuing his dance career and teaches and choreographs all around the U.S. and Canada.
Courtney Thurston grew up in Clifton, VA just outside of Washington, DC. She has trained at schools such as The Rock School, The Joffrey Ballet, ABT, The Washington Ballet, and Broadway Dance Center. Some of her childhood works include: Debbie Allen’s production of “Alex in Wonderland” and ABT’s Christmas special “The Nutcracker”.
Courtney graduated from Pace University located in New York City with a BFA in Commercial Dance and Pedagogy. Her work includes body doubling Julianne Hough for an endometriosis commercial choreographed by Marinda Davis. She can also be found on the big screen, where she danced in a movie titled “In The Heights” which premiered in the summer of 2021! For the past four years, Courtney has toured with JUMP dance convention judging competition and running their JUMPstart program. Her past works include assistant choreographer for the “Sugar Bowl” halftime show, and assistant choreographer alongside Mia Michael’s for many different events and performances around the country. She has been a main dancer in ads for Canon Camera, McDonalds and Degree. Courtney was also featured on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” season 10.
Since graduating, Courtney has developed an interest in psychology. She studied abroad to receive her 200hr yoga teacher training . She has been certified in mindful mediation coaching and is in the process of receiving her positive psychology certification. She shares her passion of dance and wellness by traveling the country teaching at different studios and events!
A fun fact about Courtney is that she held the world record for consecutive back handsprings from 2013-2016.
Our favorite MDM alum, Chad Vaught was born and raised in a small suburb of Wichita, KS and quickly developed a love for art and entertainment at a young age.
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In 2017, Chad graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. Post-graduation Chad moved to Dallas, TX and became a company member with DBDT: Encore! for their 2017/2018 season and then joined Bruce Wood Dance for their 2018/2019 season. Some live stage productions that Chad has had the pleasure of performing include: Dallas Theatre Center’s production of Hairspray, Plan-B Entertainment’s production of Chicago, The Dallas Opera’s production of Samson et Delila and Carmen.
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Commercial credits include: Walmart, Wee Cheer, Air Hogs, Lionel Train Bank, Travel Branson, NBC5 Winter Olympics Texas Connects Us, and many others. He appears in Netflix’s movie musical, The Prom, under the direction of Ryan Murphy. You can also see Chad in the Dance League USA season pilot under the direction of Desiree Robbins. Chad performed in and choreographed Saint Victoria’s music video, Broken Record. Print credits include: Adidas, Fitniks, Dance Magazine, Sport Chalet, Coleman Company Inc., Risk Styles Magazine, and others.
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He currently resides in Los Angeles where he is the founder of Clear Dance Initiative. He continues to teach and choreograph across the country while pursuing his love of performance.
