Michael j. johnson

Founding Artistic Director

Michael grew up in Virginia, where he began his study of dance at The Richmond Ballet. With a strong foundation, Michael furthered his training at Butler University’s Department of Dance. After earning a degree in Arts Administration with a Concentration in Dance, Michael was invited to join The Boston Ballet, performing corps, soloist, and principal roles from 1996 to 2005.  Michael has danced the classics here and abroad with world-renowned dancers, including Carlos Acosta and Sarah Lamb of the Royal Ballet, and performed contemporary works by acclaimed choreographers, including Rudi Van Dantzig, Bruce Marks, Nacho Duato, Mark Morris, George Balanchine, Rudolf Nureyev, John Cranko and Christopher Wheeldon. He has also studied musical theatre, salsa, and ballroom and performed Jazz and Jive in Los Angeles.

Mónica M. Muñoz

Executive Director

Mónica M. Muñoz joined Founding Artistic Director Michael J. Johnson in the early days of Kids Dance Outreach, first as a volunteer, then as a Teaching Assistant, and later became the Associate Director; in 2022, she was named the organization’s first Executive Director.

She was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; Mónica trained from a very young age with the Conservatory of Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, where she then went on to begin her professional career as a dancer. Upon graduating high school, she moved from Puerto Rico to dance professionally with Milwaukee Ballet and later on the Louisville Ballet, where she performed a vast classical and contemporary repertoire and worked alongside national and international choreographers.

In 2013, Mónica earned her B.A. in Dance Pedagogy from Butler University. Beyond KDO, Mónica has served as adjunct faculty at Anderson University and is currently adjunct faculty at Butler University.

Dana vanderburgh

Associate Director, Community Engagement & Programming

Dana Vanderburgh was born and raised in Massachusetts and fell in love with dance when she was three years old. She went on to further her classical ballet training at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA, first in their after-school Community Dance Academy and then in their high school conservatory dance program under the direction of Michael Owen. After graduating from Walnut Hill in 2013, Dana moved to Bloomington, IN, for the ballet program at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. A series of chronic injuries led Dana to stop her professional ballet training a year later. However, she soon became involved with Movement Exchange at IU, a chapter of an international dance service nonprofit, and was inspired to pursue a joint BA/MA degree in international studies, where she researched the role of dance in generating social change. Through this intersection of community engagement and intellectual inquiry, Dana discovered how to translate her passion for dance into a passion for exploring and advocating for the power of dance to empower individuals and communities. She began her journey with KDO in 2021 as Community Engagement Coordinator after serving as the Executive Director of Movement Exchange and stepped into her current role with KDO in 2023. In her work with KDO, she loves supporting a Team of amazing individuals who make the magic happen and is continuously striving to find innovative ways for KDO’s community and programming to grow in sustainable ways that further our transformative impact throughout Indianapolis and beyond. Dana is also a Ph.D. Candidate in Social-Cultural Anthropology at Indiana University where she is continuing her academic research on themes related to dance, community building, and environmental justice.

Megan Quiring

Operations Coordinator