Austin Dance Festival Executive Team
Natasha Small
Executive Director
Originally from Salisbury, North Carolina, Natasha Small graduated with a B.A. in Dance Studies from Appalachian State University. She currently serves as the Executive Director for the Austin Dance Festival, and is the Co-Director of ZATERO Dance, a modern dance company based in Austin, TX.
Since moving to Austin in 2015, Natasha has worked with multiple theatre and dance companies as a dancer, choreographer, and arts administrator. She also worked for the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin from 2015-2024. During her time at UT Austin, Natasha served as the Undergraduate Admissions Coordinator, Guest Artist Liaison, and Receptionist and Assistant to the Chair.
Ilana Wolanow
ADF Co-Founder and Festival Producer
Ilana Wolanow is a lifelong dancer, community leader, educator, and entrepreneur. Ms. Wolanow has been a constant presence in the Austin dance world for over 30 years, performing as a guest artist, teaching movement classes, and serving as an active leader in the dance community.
Ms. Wolanow is proud to be the Co-Founder and Producer of Austin Dance Festival and Dance on Film, and to serve as the President of the Board of Directors for the KDH Dance Company. With three professional teaching certificates, Ms. Wolanow worked as a public school teacher for 23 years, earning a Teacher of the Year nomination and numerous accolades for her leadership roles within her department. She currently owns a successful small business in Austin, Texas.
Stephen Pruitt
Technical Director​
Stephen Pruitt, Resident Lighting Designer and Technical Director, has been working as a photographer, installation artist, designer, writer, director and performer for over thirty years, since abandoning a career in engineering which would have made him very rich by now.
Based in Austin since 1997, he is the resident production designer for Forklift Danceworks and Tapestry Dance Company a company member with the Rude Mechs and has designed for Salvage Vanguard Theater, A’lante Flamenco, Cirque Vida, Conspirare, and countless other theaters, dance companies, and events. Stephen has been the resident designer with KDH Dance for some large number of years and some large number of productions, each and every one of which has been the absolute best.
Lisa Kobdish
Co-Producer, Dance on Film
Born and raised in Austin, Lisa is a dance artist known for her athletic, collaborative approach. She holds a B.F.A. in Dance from UT Austin and an M.A. in Dance Performance from Trinity Laban in London, where she toured internationally with Transitions Dance Company.
Lisa has contributed to professional dance work in both Austin and NYC, performing with Kristin Sudeikis Dance and Depth Dance, and producing shows with Romulus NYC and Semillas Dance Collective. From 2016 to 2020, she was a company member with KDH Dance Company and continues to perform as an aerialist with Austin’s renowned Blue Lapis Light. Other collaborators include BLiPSWiTCH, TY&CO, Ventana Ballet, Jennifer Sherburn, Ellen Bartel, Andrea Aerial and more.
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Lisa teaches Pilates and modern mat classes at Ritual Moves and Austin Bouldering Project, and regularly choreographs and adjudicates for the McCallum Dance Department. She co-produces Dance Carousel and has proudly co-produced the Austin Dance Festival’s Dance on Film series since 2017.
Outside the studio, Lisa practices traditional archery, mountain biking, hand standing, bouldering, stilt walking, and seeks out adrenaline-fueled adventures.
Jennifer Williams
Festival Producer
Originally hailing from the quaint town of Dayton, Texas, Jennifer is a multifaceted dancer, choreographer, and a passionate advocate for human rights. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as well as a Master’s in Social Work from Texas State University. Over the course of her career, Jennifer has worked with various choreographers and dance companies nationwide, from Hawaii to New York. Her repertoire includes performances in reconstructions of works by the esteemed Paul Taylor, original pieces by Keiko Fujii, and notable musicals such as The King and I, featuring Richard Chamberlain and Tony Award nominee Jan Maxwell.
Since relocating to Austin, she has danced for with local talents such as Ellen Bartel, Chaddick Dance Theater, Jennifer Sherburn, Barbara Jo Stetzelberger, Katherine Hodges, Ariel Dance Theatre, among others. As a dedicated member of the Austin arts community and beyond, Jennifer proudly serves as the Vice President of the KDH Dance Company board, Co-Producer for Austin Dance Festival's Dance on Film, and Assistant Director of the Small Plates Choreography Festival. Outside of her artistic endeavors, she enjoys spending time on trails and any body of water with her daughter, traveling to connect with friends and family, and staring off into space while contemplating new choreography...
Kathy Dunn Hamrick
Founder of KDHDC and ADF
Kathy founded KDH Dance Company (fka Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company) in Austin, Texas in 1998. As Artistic Director, she premiered the company’s first work, “So Close,” at Café Dance in 1999 with founding dancers Gaye Greever, Marlo Harris, Renee Nunez, and Kate Warren. Over the next 25 years, Kathy created over 50 dances for the company that were described as “strikingly athletic and wonderfully expressive,” “heavenly,” “smart” and “masterful.”​ Kathy committed her professional life to dancing, teaching, choreographing, presenting, mentoring, and advocating for modern dance and dancemakers.
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In 2015, Kathy founded Austin Dance Festival, the company’s largest and most ambitious dance event. Each year, people come from all over the country to attend dance showcases and take master classes that highlight the outstanding work being done by a diverse roster of dance-makers in the field of modern dance, contemporary dance, experimental dance, and improvisation.
The festival grew to include a Youth Edition for aspiring professionals ages 13-18, community dances, and a Dance on Film Screening.In 2018, Kathy was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame as “a model for the artist who approaches each project in a spirit of experimentation and reinvention.”And in 2024, Kathy left her role as Artistic Director and passed the baton to the next generation of arts leaders: Alyson Dolan as Artistic Director, Drew Silverman as Executive Director and Resident Composer, and Natasha Small as Executive Director of Austin Dance Festival. She continues to teach, mentor, advise, volunteer, donate, and do anything else possible to support their vision for the company and for the community.
