ANDREA RENEE BRACHE received her early ballet training from California Dance Theater in Agoura Hills, working with Patrick Frantz, formerly of the Paris Opera Ballet, and Artistic Director Kim Maselli. She was able to attend several intensive summer programs and perform numerous classical and contemporary ballets, including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet, at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. While attending Chapman University on scholarship, Andrea earned a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Advertising. She was first introduced to modern dance at Chapman and trained with Sean Greene and Jennifer Backhaus. Andrea also continued her ballet training under the direction of Kristen Olson Potts, with whom she worked as a guest artist for seasonal performances. During her time at Chapman, she received many awards and had several opportunities to perform at the notable Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In 2003, Andrea became a founding member of Backhausdance. As a Backhausdance member, she is part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Arts Teach and ArtsConnect programs. Andrea was awarded a Lester Horton Award for the 2006 season for "Outstanding Achievement in Performance, Small Ensemble" for her performance in eXit, a trio. She again received a Lester Horton Award for the 2007 season for "Outstanding Achievement in Performance, Small Ensemble" for her performance in Push, a duet, one of four sections of Backhaus’ work Shift. Andrea is grateful for the daily support given to her, which allows her to pursue her love of dance. She continues teaching ballet, modern, contemporary ballet and pointe in Orange County and thoroughly enjoys working with her students.