Lauren Scotch is a member of the Class of 2023 at Steinbrenner High School, where she is graduating with Beta honors for her successful completion of community service activities and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She has trained in Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop at the Contempo School of Dance with Lindsey Gunn, Carla Armstrong, Marisa Titus, and Emma Meyers. The faculty at Contempo School of Dance has been inspiring, mentoring her, improving her dance techniques and building her mindset as a dancer and person, cultivating a growth mindset in all aspects of her life. She has also been an assistant for Revel Dance Convention with Duncan Cooper, Trevor Sones, and Will Bell and a company member with the Artists Simply Human Dance Convention. She attends the Art of Movement Summer Intensive at the Orlando Ballet as a part of the “hybrid” program, which recognizes dancers who are strong in ballet and contemporary techniques. She additionally trains and helps assist classes with Relative Motion, an injury prevention program developed by Cara Dixon and Jaimie Goodwin.
Outside of dance, Lauren has been a Future Business Leaders of America club member and vice president of the Warriors Against Cancer club. She has also been recognized as a National Merit Commended Student, scoring in the top 3% of test takers on the NMSQT PSAT. Lauren is also a member of the Steinbrenner Honor Court, which recognizes the top 11 ranked students in her graduating class. She is graduating with the AP Capstone Diploma, acknowledging her successful completion of student-led research.
Lauren has been awarded the USF Presidential Scholarship. After high school, she plans to pursue a double major in biomedical sciences and dance performance at the University of South Florida. Her goal is to pursue a career as a physician while remaining involved in professional dance. She has already earned early acceptance into the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s class of 2031, allowing her to pursue her interests in dance and medicine.

Helen Hansen French received her BFA from The Juilliard School and her MFA from Hollins University.  In 2001 she was invited to join Buglisi Dance Theatre (NYC), where she rose to principal dancer and served as rehearsal director. Tobi Tobias of the NYC Village Voice hailed her as “altogether luminous,” and Nancy Wozny of ArtsHouston says her “generous and radiant performance stands out.” She has toured nationally and internationally and has been instrumental in staging BDT’s works at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pieve International School in Italy, North Carolina Dance Theater, and numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States.  She has also been a member of Karen Reedy Dance, performed with Nilas Martins’ Dance Company, participated in a residency at White Oak Dance working with choreographer Adam Hougland, and performed in the Guggenheim’s Works/Process program with Brian Reeder and Pam Tanowitz. As a choreographer and movement maker Mrs. French focuses on collaborations and exploring the relationship between dance and other art forms. She has been awarded a 2015, 2016, and 2017 Individual Artist Grant from the City of St. Petersburg and a 2016  and 2021 Creative Pinellas Professional Artist Grant.  In 2021 Helen was selected to be the Artist Laureate for Creative Pinellas. Her highly collaborative work has been shown in theaters, museums, galleries, and non-traditional performance spaces. Helen is an artist in residence at the Palladium Theater, where she co-produces Beacon: a performance series for St. Pete, now entering its eighth year. As an educator and arts advocate, she has served on numerous dance faculties, including George Mason University and The Juilliard School. Helen is on faculty at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School.  She is a founding member of the St. Petersburg Dance Alliance and the Board Chair of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance.