LAUREN HOWELL

​Lauren began her dance training in Folsom, California in ballet, jazz and hip hop at Hawkins School of Performing Arts. Eager for a change after dancing on a competition hip-hop team for 3 years, Lauren tried a jazz and contemporary class with Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya, and it was a perfect fit. She joined Jacob’s new company, Hawkins Contemporary Jazz Company, her freshman year of high school and continued until her senior year. While on HCJC, Lauren worked with choreographers such as Norbert de la Cruz III, Francisco Gella, Peter Chu, Jason Martin, Teddy Tedholm and Kendra Bracy. Under the direction of choreographer Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya, Lauren has participated in the Palm Desert International Choreography Festival in Palm Desert, CA for the past five years and was a dancer in three of the grand prize ensembles; Juliet in 2015, Glory in 2017, and When the Dark Moves in 2019. Lauren is currently pursuing her education at California State University Sacramento majoring in Kinesiology. Being a part of SCDT for the past 4 years has allowed Lauren to become more involved with her community and has encouraged her to grow as a dancer and performer. She is excited to participate in the many new projects SCDT has coming up this season.