JACKIE EHLE INGELFIELD | VISUAL ARTS
Jackie Inglefield has been an art teacher with Upturn Arts for 3 years. She received her BFA at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her artwork has been displayed in art galleries all over the country, including the Ogden Museum in New Orleans personal collection of Wynton Marsalis. Jackie has received awards and accolades for her sculptures of a guitar, a saxophone, the State of Louisiana, and a “derelict crab trap”, all using her favorite medium – recycled plastic.
DARIA DZURIK | MUSIC
Daria Dzurik received her BFA in Music and certificate of World Music from Florida State University College of Music. Daria has toured with the Coral Reefers, played with Panorama in Trinidad, and has released her own album, “Hipnotic”, with her band, Daria and the Hip Drops. The band is a mix of pop, funk, Caribbean and is fronted by Daria and her steel drum. Daria is Master Teaching Artist with Upturn Arts focusing on singing and vocal techniques with the students.
BOYANNA TRAYANOVA | MUSIC
Boyanna Trayanova received her Master of Science in Computer Science from Tulane University. Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, she has performed for diplomats and dignitaries in Cuba as part of a cultural exchange sponsored by the Bulgarian Embassy. She is a member of One Love Brass Band, a local band with ska and reggae roots putting a Caribbean twist on New Orleans brass music. Boyanna has been a Teaching Artist with Upturn Arts for two years sharing her love and knowledge of African drumming.
ANNIE GAIA | THEATRE & MUSIC
Annie Gaia is Upturn Arts’ resident performance coach and Jill-of-all-trades. She received her BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Mississippi. As the spokesperson for Positive vibrations Foundation, Annie works closely with Upturn Arts as the emcee for fundraising events and festivals, including Bayou Boogaloo. Annie has also appeared in a feature role in the film, The Artist. Her local band, Sea Battle, which was founded in Brooklyn, NY, is “deconstructivist hip hop” and offers workshops for all ages on the art of improvisational, open-mic rapping.
Sophia rabinovitz | dance & yoga
Sophia Rabinovitz comes to New Orleans after traveling around the world dancing her heart out! She has performed in London, Rome, New York City, and Philadelphia and is trained in a variety of different dance styles. She loves Hip Hop and particularly enjoys infusing Whaacking and BGirling into her performance. Sophia holds a BFA in Dance and a BA in Anthropology from Temple University along with her MA in Dance Cultures from the University of Surrey. She strongly believes in the power of movement to express ideas, educate, and encourage growth. Coinciding with her love of dance is her love of all things physical! Sophia is an ACSM certified personal trainer and a Yoga Alliance certified yoga instructor. She loves accomplishing new feats of strength and exploring all the amazing ways our bodies can move, ideally while wearing cheetah print or maybe a superwoman costume!
elle ciccarone | Dance & Yoga
Elle Ciccarone, a Pennsylvania native, received her BFA in dance performance and choreography from Belhaven University in 2015, where she received the Bezalel Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. Since then, she has performed and created works for a non-profit professional company, Front Porch Dance. In 2016 she was selected as a project tier choreographer for the National Choreography Intensive. Now a New Orleans transplant, Elle enjoys teaching creative movement, contemporary, ballet, tap, hip hop, and yoga, with many different companies in the Nola area. She is a part of Artivism Dance Theatre, which aims to bring social awareness through relatable, professional dance. Elle is excited to be a part of Upturn Arts for the 2017 season, and absolutely loves sharing her love for yoga, creativity, and movement with all of the Upturn Arts students.
CHRISTINE TODD | DANCE & MUSIC
Christine Todd studied classical ballet at New Orleans area dance studios and at the Dallas Ballet School’s summer intensive. Later, she trained in Modern Dance/Choreography and performed at ACDF while attending the Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts. She taught dance in metro New York area elementary schools while earning her BA in dance and developmental psychology from Sarah Lawrence College. Since returning home she has studied floor barre, ballet, yoga and somatics, taught modern dance and performed with Gabrielle Pickard and the Anne Burr Dance Company. She received her Children’s Yoga Teacher Certification from Next Generation Yoga and has passed the Music Together® Teacher Training Workshop developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey. Last summer she participated in Urban Bush Women’s Summer Leadership Institute. She currently teaches adult modern dance at City Park Movement and Art and Dance, Yoga and Zumbatomic for Hope Stone Kids New Orleans.