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Our Story
Spectrum Dance Company has been a dream in the making for the last 6 years. In 2026, our founder, Morgan Phillips, was working as a Registered Behavioral Technician, alongside teaching dance classes in Huntsville, AL. She began to notice how many behavioral programs she worked with clients on could easily translate to the language of dance. During this time, she began to dream of creating a studio home for dancers with different abilities, to not only give them a space to explore but to encourage real, measurable growth.
After moving to the Los Angeles area in 2022, Morgan spent time learning about the disabled dancer community in Southern California and began to expand her vision to include opportunities for disabled dancers to showcase their talents. In the end of 2025, circumstances aligned to give Morgan the chance to put her dream in to action. Spectrum Dance Company was officially established in the State of California and federally recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization on November 28, 2025.
A few months later, Morgan took a hip hop class where she met Aukai Cain and learned he also worked with individuals with developmental disabilities. She knew from the beginning that her dream could not be possible working alone. After getting to know Aukai a little more, she knew he was the perfect person to join her efforts in creating an inclusive dance education and performance space.
In October 2026, Morgan and Aukai officially joined forces to work alongside each other as Co-Executive Directors of Spectrum Dance Company. Together they plan to build a renowned inclusive dance space for individuals with developmental disabilities and learning differences to grow as individuals and thrive in confidence as dancers.
Our Board
Morgan Phillips is the Founder, President, and Co-Executive Director of Spectrum Dance Company. With over 13 years of dance training and performance experience, she is actively pursuing a professional dance career while remaining deeply committed to arts education and community impact.
Morgan has been teaching dance for 10 years, including seven years specializing in instruction for students with special needs. Her teaching philosophy centers on fostering confidence, independence, and equal opportunity for dancers of all abilities. She is passionate about creating inclusive environments where students can grow artistically while developing life skills that extend beyond the studio.
In addition to her work in dance education, Morgan brings professional experience in behavioral and developmental support services. She has worked as a Registered Behavioral Technician providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, led various special needs dance classes in local dance studios, and developed and led a dance program within a Creative Arts Program for adults with developmental disabilities. These roles have strengthened her expertise in adaptive instruction, individualized support strategies, and program development.
From 2017 to 2020, Morgan served as Director of a dance studio in Huntsville, AL, where she oversaw operations, organized fundraisers, and led community outreach initiatives. This leadership experience informs her strategic vision for Spectrum Dance Company’s growth and sustainability.
As an individual with ADHD, Morgan brings lived experience that shapes her advocacy for neurodiversity and inclusive arts programming. She is dedicated to building a dance community where every individual—regardless of ability—has access to high-quality training, creative expression, and meaningful opportunity.
Morgan Phillips
Founder, President, and
Co-Executive Director
Aukai Cain
Vice President and
Co-Executive Director
Aukai Cain is a hip-hop dancer, choreographer, and instructor originally from Hawaiʻi, now based in Los Angeles. With three decades of experience in the dance industry, Aukai has worked with renowned artists for five MTV concerts, countless award shows, and over 60 music videos.
Beyond his entertainment career, Aukai has played an integral role in developing two nonprofit organizations that partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the Palmdale school system. He brings experience in nonprofit development, community engagement, and program growth to his leadership at Spectrum Dance Company, where he is committed to expanding access to inclusive dance education and performance opportunities.
For the past eight years, Aukai has taught dance to children and adults with disabilities, including autistic and neurodivergent dancers and individuals with Down syndrome, ADHD, dyspraxia, vision impairments, and motor function differences. Through his teaching, he strives to create meaningful connections with each dancer, adapt his communication and instruction to individual needs, and foster an environment where every dancer can develop their skills and experience success.
Aukai’s teaching philosophy is to help others fall in love with dance the way he has. He takes pride in discovering new ways to connect with his students and in watching them grow in confidence, ability, and artistry.
Sabrina Gimenez, Spectrum Dance Company's CFO, is a Clio-award winning Film and TV editor by day, and by night, a children's Hip Hop dance instructor at Unbound Dance Studio based in Pasadena, CA.
After years of struggling to maintain focus in school and work, as well as regular criticism about emotional regulation and hyper rejection sensitivities, she was formally diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder at 26 years old.
A late neurodivergent "bloomer" in life, a lifetime of behaviors and coping mechanisms suddenly made sense through the scope of their ADD diagnosis. As a result of their own journey, and implementing a treatment plan to support their blossoming career in film, they realized how important it was to advocate for demographics that are chronically overlooked and under diagnosed with ADD.
A lifelong dancer and lover of musicals, Sabrina had always felt emotionally and mentally grounded when movement was involved. As she started her career in film, she began to incorporate dance and performance in her spare time to balance out the stress of masking and over performing at work.
Once it clicked that dancing was therapeutic and necessary to their daily routine, Sabrina sought out opportunities to do it on a regular basis, joining LA Unbound Dance Company in 2016, performing in numerous Hip Hop, Contemporary, Tap, Jazz, and Musical Theatre pieces over the last 10 years.
She currently teaches 7-13 year olds at Unbound Dance Studio on Monday evenings, as well as advising on the Spectrum Dance Company Executive Board in her spare time.
With their experience teaching several neurodivergent students the last few years, their favorite part about being a teacher and advocate is watching the progress these students make in class, and the confidence they grow in themselves above all else.
Sabrina Gimenez
Chief Financial Officer
Robin Corder brings a strong background in nonprofit marketing, fundraising, and community engagement to her role as Secretary of Spectrum Dance Company. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Professional Marketing with a concentration in Digital Marketing, graduating in May 2021.
Robin has six years of professional marketing experience within nonprofit higher education, including 3.5 years with the University of North Alabama’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering and 3 years with Heritage Christian University. In addition, she volunteered for two years providing marketing support for a student organization at the University of North Alabama. Her work has included strategic communications, digital marketing initiatives, brand development, and fundraising support, equipping her with the skills to strengthen organizational visibility and donor engagement.
Robin also has hands-on nonprofit fundraising experience and has successfully operated her own small business for four years as a certified Alabama cottage food baker, demonstrating initiative, financial stewardship, and entrepreneurial leadership.
Her commitment to inclusive communities is both professional and personal. Diagnosed in early childhood with absent seizures and later with Asperger’s syndrome, Robin received years of speech therapy and support services that shaped her understanding of accessibility and advocacy. She has volunteered at Rainbow Omega, serving adults with developmental disabilities, and brings lived experience that informs her dedication to organizations serving diverse populations. Her connection to the disability community extends through her family as well; her husband is a social worker, and his cousin has Down syndrome.
Robin’s background in dance and cheerleading during her youth further strengthens her connection to the performing arts. She is passionate about supporting Spectrum Dance Company’s mission to create inclusive opportunities in the arts and is honored to contribute her skills in governance, organization, and strategic communication to advance its impact.
Robin Corder
Secretary
Thessa M’loe grew up in Lawrence, Kansas where she was first introduced to her love for the stage and theater at the young age of 9. She was part of a children’s theater company called “The Seem-to-be-Players,” which allowed her to embark on numerous theatrical journeys.
The art of performing sparked her love for acting and dance and created a hunger for more. With this drive she auditioned for and enrolled in The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. There she gained a new respect and knowledge for acting and dance through her studies, and outside performances in the New York Fringe Festival off Broadway, and even the TV series, Law & Order.
After graduating in 2005 she took her aspirations to a new level by moving to the great city of Los Angeles where she hoped to focus more on film and television. In LA she has shot several commercials, such as Budweiser, short films and feature length films, several of which have been in festivals winning awards, and she has even performed keys with Taylor Swift at the VMA’s! She currently has a feature in festivals, LA4ORCE, and is starring in another dark, mysterious feature film, Noir, awaiting to enter festivals soon.
While awaiting these films to enter festivals, she found her love for dance once more and started assisting dance classes at a Creative Arts Program and Learning Center for individuals with disabilities. This experience of teaching dance to clients with special needs reinvoked her passion for dancing and the happiness, healing, and quality of life it can bring to those living with disabilities. With this, each project and story is a compelling learning journey, and she is extremely excited to continue that journey by being part of the Spectrum Dance Company team and helping express, create, and redefine inclusion through dance!!