Deborah Morgan

Julie Chircop

Deborah Morgan established the Deborah Morgan Dance Studio in Turlock, California, in 1977 on a part-time basis with 50 students while she completed her studies at San Jose State University which led to the 1978 awarding of a Bachelor's Degree with Honors in Performing Arts with a concentration in Dance and a Music minor.

Continued expansion of the Turlock studio enrollment necessitated a move to larger quarters in 1984 with two separate studios and dance floors. 1994 marked the opening of our north Modesto site to serve the demands of the area. The fall of 2007 marks the opening of a new Turlock location; this enables DMDS dancers to enjoy a wonderful, new, safe location.  

Over the 30 years that the Deborah Morgan Dance Studio has been in operation the studio has not only been successful at the local level, but has also received recognition both nationally and internationally.  The Deborah Morgan Dance Studio has competed and won top honors at several national dance competitions literally across the United States and has performed at the World Fairs held in Canada and Australia as well as having received an invitation to perform at the 1990 Fair in Japan. 

The 1993 15-day six-country performance tour of Europe was initiated by a special invitation to perform twice at Euro-Disney in France.  1994 and 1995 honors included performance by Deborah Morgan Dancers at Disneyland and on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.  With this past summer's competition at Disneyland, Deborah and her nationally recognized performing group "Bodies Electric" have earned over 40 national and regional dance awards.  The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland and the performance tour throughout England were the focus of the 1997 tour; the reception that the Deborah Morgan Dancers received was unforgettable.

2001 was an exceptional year for Deborah and Bodies Electric, their invitation to return to Disneyland Paris was the source of an unforgettable trip through France and England as the Production Group celebrated their 20^th Anniversary. The past six years Deborah has given her Production Groups the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas, Disneyland and New York (three times).

Beyond Deborah's success with grooming her dancers for performance & competition acclaim she has also been highly regarded individually by her peers through award recognition (regional "Teacher Of The Year" award; national listing in "Who's Who in American Business") and by her repeated teaching invitations for appearances for both students and teachers at various national dance conventions.

A reliable professional and methodical approach to dance education for children applied with a caring attitude has been the cornerstone of Deborah Morgan's teaching and of the training she has provided the teachers on her staff; this reliability is but a portion of the quality that has been evident for the past 30 years.

Julie Chircop has been a part of the Deborah Morgan Dance Studio family for nearly 20 years, starting like all our beginners do by taking ballet, tap and tumbling.

At age six, Julie was accepted as a member of the dance studio’s newest division of the production groups, “Baby Bodies”, a new group that became the pride and joy of the studio.  Julie’s enthusiasm, along with her talent, helped enable the group to perform at many local and regional venues as well as attend regional dance conventions / competitions.

Julie became a part of the class assistant program at the age of eleven and she continued with the program throughout high school where her success evolved into part time employment at the studio.  From the time that Julie auditioned and was accepted as a “Bodies Electric” member she assisted at both Modesto and Turlock studios and added studio office management to her schedule as well.

In 2001 Julie toured as part of “Bodies Electric” to Las Vegas where she attended Tremaine Dance Convention / Competition; the following summer she was part of an unforgettable “Bodies” trip to France and England that included an unprecedented two show performance at Euro Disney Paris.

In 2003, Julie attended the Hoctor Dance Convention / Competition in Disneyland, Anaheim.  During this trip the “Bodies “group performed at the Carnation Stage in Disneyland.  The icing on the cake was the opportunity to participate in a mock audition for the Mickey Mouse Club.

2005, Julie traveled with “Bodies” to New York once again, where she attended a Tremaine Dance Convention; this trip included taking class at Radio City Music Hall, (which was led by a world famous Rockette) and participating in a mock audition for the Rockette Dance Line.

While an active member in Bodies Electric for over fourteen years Julie attended numerous dance conventions/competitions, traveled to Europe, Las Vegas, Disneyland, and New York (four times).  “Bodies Electric“ membership also meant that Julie would have the opportunity to perform at the Miss Stanislaus Scholarship Program for a number of years.  Having completed the DMDS teaching program Julie has taught Summer Dance Camp at the studio for several years, regular combination classes at Turlock, and has played a major role in office management for both Modesto and Turlock studios.

Julie Chircop is a graduate of California State University, Fresno, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Dance. While pursuing her degree, Julie took part in the extra-curricular University Dance Theater, a student run performance group where she instructed and choreographed in various dance styles including hip hop, modern, contemporary, cultural dance, and even baton twirling.