Quicksilver founding director Nancy Havlik has some 30 years of experience teaching interactive creative movement and dance workshops for older adults. With Quicksilver music director Adam Gonzalez, Nancy presents interactive workshops for people living independently and for seniors with aging-related health challenges in community centers, day health programs, and nursing homes throughout the Washington metropolitan area. She emphasizes encouraging students to move freely and with pleasure within each person’s ability level. Nancy is also artistic director/choreographer of Dance Performance Group, a small experimental company of professional dancers and musicians. She studied dance/dance improvisation with Robert Dunn, Simon Forti, Susan Rethorst, and John Jaspers, and physical theater with Saskia Hegt. Nancy has Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Speech Pathology from Northwestern University and worked as a speech pathologist for Easterseals and as a speech therapist for preschool children with Head Start.

“My goal is always to help each dancer in their journey towards discovering their own creative voice, their unique story.”

Cellist Adam Gonzalez has been the music director of Quicksilver since 2019. He has taught at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and Montgomery College, Maryland, and was director of Instrumental Music at the Waldorf School in Baltimore. Since 2007, Adam has taught classes in Music History, Music Theory, and Composition at Frederick Community College. He also maintains an active music studio at his home, where he teaches students of all levels ages 8 to 98. Adam started his professional career in Mexico City, where he played with the Mexico City Philharmonic. He then moved to New Mexico, where he organized the Helios String Quartet and the Placitas Artists series, now in its 33rd season. Adam has performed in a wide variety of styles as a freelance cellist in Washington, D.C. His commercial recording work has included music for the History Channel and National Geographic. He is a graduate of Wheaton College and has a Master’s Degree in cello performance from Boston University.

“Artistic freedom, collaborating with talented artists, and community service – what a great combination!”

Alexandra Russell’s love of dance started with folk dancing in her teens. Over the decades she has dabbled in ballet, modern, and jazz dance, while enjoying social dancing for fun. A fondness for swing and salsa led her to the tango, which she started dancing in 2006. Now a tango instructor and historian, Alexandra serves as Program Manager for Older Adult Outreach for Tango Mercurio, an arts-education nonprofit. She became an Arts for the Aging Teaching Artist in 2019 and joined Quicksilver the following year. In 2021 and 2023, she served as Washington, D.C. Site Leader for Quicksilver’s contributions to the Global Water Dances, which she produced and directed. Alexandra has undergraduate and Master’s Degrees in Translation (French and Spanish into English) from the University of Paris, France. She worked for decades as a translator and editor in international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, where she founded a dance club.

Dance, like all true art forms, connects people. It’s my refuge from misanthropy.

Glenna Batson
Judith Bauer
Judi Berland
Susan Coco
Abby Crowley
Michael Davis
Gretchen Dunn
Margaret Easter
Roberta Geier
Kathy Hankins
Dorothy Levy
Jenean McKay
Mary Lou Melley
Naomi Morse
Peg Schaefer
Wendy Shay
Betty G. Shuford