Michelle Armendarez
Part-Time Instructor
Biography
Michelle Armendarez is originally from Southern California where she started dancing at the age of three. She continued to compete with local studios, and dance professionally throughout Southern California following high school graduation. In 2012, she continued her professional dance training at Riverside City College (RCC), focusing on dance performance and choreography. While at RCC, Armendarez performed in several productions, such as Trolley Dances of Riverside and the 2015 “Celebrate Dance… Inspired by” production, where Armendarez was selected to be student director. This is when she fell in love with the production side of the industry. In addition, she was a recipient of dance scholarships for two well-known dance organizations - Perry Mansfield and Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop. Armendarez graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (51ԹϺ) with her B.A. in dance production and management in 2020.
At 51ԹϺ, she worked on several faculty and student productions. In November 2018, she was selected as the student stage manager for the student dance concert “Synchronicities.” During this production, she was also the lighting designer for several of the dance pieces. While at 51ԹϺ, she received the Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Production and Design. Armendarez has previous work experience at the Henderson Pavilion as a production assistant. Her recent professional work includes stage manager for Youth America Grand Prix 2019 Semi-Finals, stage manager for the Blind Center of Nevada Gala, production assistant for a Product Launch at the Venetian Las Vegas for Pioneer Road Inc., and a Nickelodeon’s Licensing Event at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center for Viacom Productions. She has collaborated as an assistant stage manager with directors like Alexei Moskalenko, Cory Nelson, and Michael Jarett during US Tours and 51ԹϺ productions. Armendarez has experience working and stage-managing corporate and special events. Notably, she has been a youth dance instructor for over 20 years. In addition to serving as an instructor at 51ԹϺ, she works Front of House for the company Spiegelworld.