The Company

Co-Founder, Creative Director, Marketing Designer

Amanda Zawisza (she/her) is a mutli-disciplinary artist originally from the Metro-Detroit area and currently residing wherever in the world her performance career takes her. She is an athletic dancer with a vast resume including Tokyo Disney Resort (Oriental Land Company), Disney Cruise Line, ConteXture Dance Detroit, a variety of freelance projects, training with the Rockettes, Sydney Dance Company, Visceral Dance Chicago, Dance Italia and more. She is an enthusiastic student, having graduated from Wayne State University achieving a BFA in Dance with Honors (2019), a BSED in Kinesiology focused on Exercise & Sport Science (2020), and a minor in General Psychology (2020). She is also a passionate movement educator, maintaining the status of Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength & Conditioning Association since 2021.

Amanda is one of the founding members of étude, taking on the roles of Creative Director and Marketing Designer. She is responsible for overseeing all marketing and publicity efforts – everything from company promotion to artist projects. She is a self-taught graphic designer and has an experiential background in marketing & communications, working various roles throughout her undergrad for Theatre & Dance at Wayne, the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre & Dance, American Dance Festival, and Dance Workshop. Amanda is passionate about developing cohesive campaigns that speak to the efforts and vision of the artist or project at hand, ensuring authentic representation and encouraging engagement with audience members. She loves diving deep into an artist’s vision and generating material that the artist can connect to and is eager to share. 

Art is essential, supporting artists is non-negotiable. Amanda is so honored to be a part of étude, an organization that seeks to inject more art into the community, a team that holds artists and supports them in a myriad of roles, and an entity that breathes connection and care into everything it does. This work is near and dear to her heart, and as she continues to perform – often in roles that take her away from home – she is so proud of étude: past, present, and wherever the future may lead. 

Co-Founder, Vice-President, Artistic Director

Maddy Petz (she/her) is an enthusiastic creator from Romeo, MI with a career focus in dance and performance.  She received her BFA in Dance at Wayne State University where she was the recipient of two Copperfoot Awards, in addition to being the runner-up of the Maggie Allesee Choreography award (2019). Recently, Maddy was able to return to her alma mater as a Resident Choreographer, where she set a new work titled “Keep It, It’s Yours” (2024) on the Company One students. Currently, Maddy is a company dancer with Take Root, where she performs globally, is a certified Dance for Parkinson’s instructor and is the leader of the “Soulful Steps” program where she teaches individuals who are navigating their journey with cancer at Gilda’s Club. She is also an instructor at Kercheval Dance and the coach of the Grosse Pointe South Dance Team, where she’s had the opportunity to choreograph award-winning routines and inspire a younger generation of dancers. 

One of Maddy’s most proud career milestones was choreographing “A “PRETTY. ODD.” Experience, which premiered as a part of étude’s inaugural season in 2022. She is grateful to have been étude’s first official artist, allowing her to experience what it was like from a client perspective, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for her role within the company. Maddy now has over 4 years of experience navigating the many obstacles involved in executing a wide range of productions from dance, to theater, to music. As Artistic Director of étude, Maddy works side by side with the artists in every step of their journey. Whether it’s providing feedback during the creative process, assisting with overall communication or organization of the production, or helping to create more networking and marketing opportunities for artists, Maddy makes it a priority to support étude’s clients in any way that she can. To the core, she believes that Detroit is filled with some of the best artists in the industry and is excited that her work at étude allows them the opportunity to share these gifts with the community!

Co-Founder, President, Administrative Director

Bella Brown (she/her) is a Detroit-based freelance movement artist, arts administrator, and events management specialist with experience in various performance settings. She graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. It was during her time at the Maggie Allessee Theatre and Dance Department that she discovered a deep, unwavering passion for the production of Performance Art, Dance, Theatre, and Music. Bella is the recipient of a Copperfoot Award for Excellence in Choreography and Performance. As the Event Manager at The Congregation Detroit, Bella gets to bring her passion for performance and the ethical tenants of étude to venue management. Creating and activating spaces for community and art making is what drives her in her 9-5 as well as her work with étude. 

As the President and Administrative Director for étude, Bella has spent the last 4 years working intimately with the performing arts industry professionals of Detroit. From concert dance and outdoor theatre to rock shows and rehearsals, her work spans the full scope of production. Whether it’s generating ideas, developing new material, deciding on venues, or plotting light queues Bella and the étude team can do it all. Her favorite part of the work is being deep in the creative process and, of course, fairly paying the artists involved in the work. 

In addition to Event Management and co-founding étude, Bella continues to perform and dance at every chance she can while continuing her passion for teaching as an on-call dance instructor for many studios throughout Metro Detroit. Her happiest is when she is in the studio, sweaty, creative problem-solving with her friends and collaborators.