Alumni
 Christina Day grew up in Folsom, CA and danced under the direction of Deirdre Hawkins from the age of six. After Graduation she ventured off to Boston, MA to attend The Boston Conservatory as a Musical Theatre major. A proud member of Actors Equity, her credits include The National Tour of ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ and ‘Annie’, ‘Sound of Music’, ‘Evita’, and the ‘Wizard of Oz’ at Sacramento Music Circus. She currently dances with Core Dance Collective under the direction of Kelli Leighton. |
 Luke Hawkins has been tap dancing since the age of seven where he began training at his mother’s dance studio, the Hawkins School of Performing Arts. Under the mentoring of tap master Jerry Burke, Luke won three national dance competition titles.His first professional job came at 8 years old when he played Young Don Lockwood in California Musical Theatre’s production of “Singin in the Rain,” which was followed by seven other Music Circus productions. A favorite childhood role was that of Rudy Pazinski in Sacramento Theatre Company’s production of “Over the Tavern.” After two years of training at the Boston Conservatory, Luke moved to New York and tapped his way into roles in Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” City Center Encore’s production of “No No Nanette, “ and “Xanadu” on Broadway. Regionally he has played Huck in “Big River,” Tulsa in “Gypsy” (Barnstormers Theatre NH), and Turkey in “Johnny Guitar” (Speakeasy Stage Co. Boston). Internationally, he was the lead tap dancer in the European tour of Magic Of The Dance. In 2010, Luke traveled to Amman, Jordan with the New York Tap Ensemble to perform for the US embassy. Most recently, Luke performed in Cirque du Soleil’s production of “Banana Shpeel.” TV credits include “One Life to Live” and “Gossip Girl.” This summer, Luke will be performing in CMT’s Music Circus productions of “The Producers,” “Anything Goes,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “Miss Saigon.”
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 Melinda Vaggione – having “grown up” at the Hawkins School, Melinda excelled in ballet, lyrical, tap, jazz, musical theatre and voice. She was a principal dancer with the Folsom Lake Civic Ballet as well as Hawkins’ contemporary and tap troupes before they became iMPACT and Sound Out tap companies. In the year 2000, Melinda was the recipient of the Sacramento Area Dance Alliance’s prestigious LaVerne Krei Memorial Scholarship of $1,000, awarded to outstanding dancers in the Sacramento region. During Melinda’s high school years, she danced the lead roles in Folsom Lake Civic Ballet’s productions of Alice in Wonderland, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, and Coppelia. Her community theatre involvement led her to many roles with Sierra College and American River College Theatre Arts Departments, and professional work with Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre and Sacramento Theatre Company (Cinderella, title role). Following her graduation from Folsom High, Melinda went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of California, Irvine, with Honors in Musical Theatre, wherein she performed in numerous college productions. Upon graduation from UCI, Melinda was quickly cast in productions with the Downey Civic Light Opera, the Musical Theatre West/Long Beach Pop Symphony, the Tuacahn Center for the Arts (lead role as Wendy in Peter Pan) and a singer/dancer with Princess Cruise Lines. Melinda recently closed a show at the El Dorado Theatre in Reno, Nevada, with the lead role of “Peggy Sawyer” in 42nd Street, and then performed in A Christmas Carol and Alice in Wonderland at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers, Florida. Melinda was delighted to have the opportunity to play Peggy Sawyer in “42nd Street” at both the El Dorado Theatre in Reno, NV and at the Surflight Theatre in Beachhaven, NJ. Up Next: Melinda will be appearing in the main stage shows aboard Disney Cruise Line’s Magic while sailing the Mediterranean and Caribbean. |
