Michael Susten

    Michael was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa. He grew up dancing at Bobby Gees Motion N' Dance, as well as Bucks County Dance Center. He spent his summers at the Young Performers Theatre Camp (Y.P.T.C.) at the Annenberg Center in Center City. He was accepted into the High School for Creative and Performing Arts (C.A.P.A), where he became a Dance Company member his freshman year. He participated in the New York City Tap Festival, The Broadway Dance Center Intensive, and The Rock School's Jazz Intensive. In the summer of 2002, Michael was accepted to enter the JCC Maccabi Games, and traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to represent Philadelphia. He brought home six gold medals that year for the Philadelphia Dance Team. In 2004, he got his first job dancing at Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa. There Michael got the chance to perform in shows & parades, and brought characters like Big Bird & Cookie Monster to life. That summer he was one of thirty, selected out of hundreds to attend the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts in Erie, Pa. He spent five weeks there as a modern major, and was chosen to choreograph the musical production of Company. Later that year he was asked to perform The Four Seasons with "The Nest" (A New York based Dance Company). During his four years at CAPA, Michael got not only to dance, but also to choreograph for ABC's Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Over those four years, Michael got the chance to experiment with different styles of choreography, and became well respected by his peers and teachers. By the time he graduated, he had choreographed well over fifty dances. He graduated in 2005 as Dance Captain of the CAPA Dance Company. Upon graduation, Michael received awards for Jazz Dancer and Choreographer of the Year. He was asked to come back to the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and to also choreograph and dance back-up for American Idol's LaToya London. Michael enrolled into the University of the Arts in 2005. As a freshman, he was exposed to new styles and techniques. At the end of the semester, he was offered his dream job as a dancer at the Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Florida. Michael took the year off from school and moved to Florida, where he danced in The Festival of the Lion King, Magic Kingdoms Welcome & Trolley Show and The Family Fun Day Parade. He moved back to Philly and returned to UArts, where he is now a junior jazz major. He continues to teach the Freshman-Senior classes at CAPA, and is still a seasonal employee for Walt Disney World. Michael is the founder and director of Xhale, and has always dreamed of starting a dance company. He thanks everyone who has helped him along the way for making his dreams come true.