The core mission of Perpetual Motion/Modern Dance Oklahoma, Inc. (Perpetual Motion) is to stimulate and inspire the development of arts and culture in Oklahoma through modern dance performance, education and choreography.  Perpetual Motion is also committed to creating a collaborative network of artists and institutions to establish and sustain a unique multidisciplinary arts performance and education program for the community.

Michelle Dexter (Artistic Director) is a co-founder of Perpetual Motion/Modern Dance Oklahoma, Inc and is adjunct faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma.  She completed her Master of Fine Arts in Dance at Texas Woman's University in May 2005 and her BA in Dance at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2001.  Michelle has studied professionally at various institutions such as the Bill Evans summer intensives, the Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago and Dance New Amsterdam in New York City. 

During her tenure at TWU, Michelle was awarded the Excellence in Choreography scholarship.  Michelle has choreographed and performed for numerous concerts and festivals, including four American College Dance Festivals, where her piece "Echoes" was selected for the 2007 ACDFA Gala concert and as well as her piece "In the Wake" in 2004.  She was also commissioned to choreograph a work that was performed at the National Mental Health Association's Annual Conference in Washington D.C. in 2000. 

As Artistic Director of Perpetual Motion, Michelle has produced several concerts including the first annual Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival that took place in August 2006.  She has participated in several public school residencies and after school programs and most recently served as a coordinator and teaching artist for the "Dancewise" project, a pilot dance education program for the Putnam City School District in Oklahoma City.  Michelle has been commissoned to set choreography at Texas Christian University, Texas Tech University, and Muscle Memory Dance Theatre.

Meredith Black is a native of Oklahoma.  Her professional career started at age 10 when she began performing with Theatre Upon a StarDanceSwan. After graduation from Classen School of Advanced Studies and the Visual and Performing Arts, Ms. Black danced with Kinetic Architecture in NYC/New Jersey.  Ms.Black has shown artwork all across America, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art.  She was the winner of multiple honors including the White House Project Woman's Leadership Award and the National Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Portfolio Award for her work addressing the issues of rape. Ms. Black holds a BAFA Summa cum laude in Studio Art and a BA Summa cum Laude in Dance from the University of New Mexico.  Ms. Black performed and choreographed in many productions while living in New Mexico including collaborations with Jennifer Predock-Linnell, video artist Joyce Neimanas, and composer with Panaotis and with her company B.L.A.C.K. at VSA/north forth art center.

Rebekah Hampton is in her second season with Perpetual Motion/Modern Dance.  She is currently a staff instructor for the School of Ballet Oklahoma, Dance Unlimited, and Academy of Ballet and Theatre Arts in Edmond, OK.  She was recently on staff at Bellevue Dance Center and Charles Harding School of the Arts in Nashville, TN and performed for 2 seasons with the Nashville-based, modern dance company, Epiphany.  Growing up in Edmond, OK, she trained with A.R.T.S., Metro School of Fine Arts, the Oklahoma Arts Institute and Ballet Oklahoma before moving to Jacksonville, FL to tour nationally & internationally for 3 years with Renascent Productions where, in addition to being a principle performer & choreographer, she was also the creator & director of Renascent School of the Arts.

Rebekah has over 13 years experience teaching all ages and all levels in ballet, jazz, modern dance & body conditioning, and has been brought in as a guest instructor for various studios and workshops in Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee & Kentucky.  While her principle forms are classical ballet and modern dance, Rebekah's multi-disciplinary training includes jazz, tap, hip-hop, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, martial arts, weaponry, stage combat, physical conditioning, drama & mime.

Kayla Jenkins recently received her BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma where she was also a member of the Kaleidoscope Dance Company. She has also danced for the OKC Yard Dawgz arena football dance team for the past four years. Her teaching experience includes Victory School of the Arts, Legacy Ministries, and National Dance Alliance along with choreography for Unfold, Resonation, and Wait Praise and Worship DVD's affliated with Victory Church. Kayla's solo work "Inside" was selected for the 2007 American College Dance Festival at Texas Christian University. She is currently serving as a teaching artist for the 2007 Dancewise project through the Putnam City School District. This is her first season with Perpetual Motion.

Kimberly Kieffer-Williams (Choreographer) is a graduate of the University of South Florida where she studied Middle Eastern Humanities and Dance.  She started dancing in college to improve her posture and was hooked for life.  Since then  Kimberly danced with many companies prior to moving to Oklahoma including Commotion Dance Theater in Florida, and Zuzi Move It, O-T-O Dance and New Articulations Dance Theater in Arizona. Before setting forth from Florida Kimberly discovered   aerial dance.   Combining aerial movement and apparatus with  traditional modern dance has become Kimberly's passion.  Kimberly  is incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to bring  aerial dance to Oklahoma City.  Here, she intend to search for new  ways to fly.

Amy Nevius (Founding Member) is currently the co-director of Dance Dimensions, in southwest OKC.  Dance Dimensions is an expansion of a community outreach dance program through OKC Parks and Recreation.  She completed her B.A. in Dance in 2001 at the University of Central Oklahoma.  She is a teaching artist for the OKC Arts Council, where she participates in numerous projects, including Play in the Park and  Special Populations ..  She has been the Director of Dance at multiple locations including Sellers Community Center and Oklahoma Gold Gymnastics as well as teaching at Victory School of the Arts and Academy of Dance Arts.  Her choreography has been performed at The University of Central Oklahoma, Northeastern>State University, and New Mexico State University.

Jessica Taylor is completing her Master of Arts in Dance Education, K-12 certification, from the State University of New York at Brockport. Jessica resides in Oklahoma and teaches at Modern Dance Arts in Norman. She recently taught at Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts in Buffalo, NY. Since 1995, Jessica has been teaching and choreographing workshops and musicals in public schools, dance studios and churches in Chicago, Utah and Upstate New York areas. While at SUNY Brockport, she held the position of Graduate Teaching Assistant. Jessica has worked intensively with the Chicago Festival Ballet and Bill Evans. Jessica founded the contemporary dance company, Rhema, and the children's performing dance company, Rhema Youth. This is her first season with Perpetual Motion.

Rebecca vonBargen (Choreographer) began singing and making dances with her sister and any/all pop singers of the 80's. She is a graduate of Arizona State University with a B.A. in Spanish, and has performed for many years from her native California, to Houston and Austin, with such companies as Suchu Dance, Psophonia, Planet Funk, Leslie Scates, and Ariel Dance Theatre. Her dance style is influenced by her study of various concentrations, including modern,jazz, hip-hop, latin ballroom dance, and gymnastics.

Leah Watson received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Modern Dance Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma.  While attending OU, she performed with the Modern Dance Repertoire and was the recipient of the Mary Clark Miley Scholarship and the Choctaw Nation Scholarship.  Leah was raised in Altus, Oklahoma where her interest in dance was encouraged by her mother Jackie Watson.  In Altus, Leah studied ballet, jazz and tap from Leah Wall at Off the Wall Productions.  In high school, Leah attended the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute where she studied with Clay Taliaferro and Kevin Mentor.  Leah also studied on scholarship at the Urban Bush Women Summer Dance Institute in Tallahassee, Florida.  Leah has performed in Florida, California, and Hawaii as well as numerous cities throughout the Midwest.  This is Leah's second season with Perpetual Motion/Modern Dance Oklahoma.