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.
JUSTINE ADES | DANCE
Justine Ades, a New York City native, attended Tulane University in New Orleans, majoring in Sociology and Dance. She is an Upturn Arts favorite, bringing hip hop music and dance moves to summer camp and classes for the last two years. She is a member of the B.U.K.U. Dance Krewe as well as an instructor and choreographer for Dancing Grounds.
INDIGO GILYARD | THEATRE
Indigo Gilyard, a New Orleans native, has been studying acting and theatre since a very young age. She attended the L.A. County High School for the Arts and the California State Summer School for the Arts while appearing in numerous television commercials as a child. Indigo has appeared in Any Day Now, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and most notably, in Weeds as “Vaneeta” for which she received a nomination for the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is a Master Teaching Artist with Upturn Arts since July 2016 and specializes in teaching on-screen auditioning techniques for TV and film.
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.
kerrie belsome | Dance
Kerrie Belsome received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from Louisiana State University, after which she earned her Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Civil Law degrees from the L.S.U. Paul M. Herbert law school in Baton Rouge. Upon graduating, she was employed for many years at a New Orleans law firm in the Civil Litigation Department, never imagining she would have the opportunity to return to her roots as a dancer and teach her lifelong passion of dance.
Kerrie believes dance is a positive and exciting form of self-expression for young people; it also instills many meaningful, long lasting life lessons such as determination, encouragement and purpose, all of which are incorporated into her classes.
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.
VANESSA FUNG | VISUAL ART
Vanessa Fung | Visual Arts
Vanessa Fung came to New Orleans about two years ago from the Bay Area, California to serve for a year with a program called City Year, where she worked and taught in a local elementary school. Since then, inspired by the city’s vibrancy and creativity, Vanessa has fallen back in love with the process and importance of making art. She now teaches art at the Louisiana Children’s Museum and after school art classes through Upturn Arts. Specialties include origami, wire sculpture, painting (all mediums), silk painting, multi-media collage, mural restoration and printmaking.
olandra lickter | dance & visual arts
Olandra discovered Salsa dancing in 2007 and has since immersed herself in Blues dancing, Tango, and Lindy Hop, traveling nationwide and training with top dancers to develop her skills. She utilizes her unique knowledge of the body as a Certified Massage Therapist, and she received a B.A. in Anthropology with a minor in Latin American Studies which compel her not just to inspire people to dance, but to cultivate community, cultural appreciation, and positive social skills. Olandra teaches Blues dancing at Dance Quarter, hosts Winter Palace Blues (a monthly dance event with live music), and is part of the Crescent City Swing Performance Group. Originally from the Foothills of California, Olandra has been with Upturn Arts for 2 years and has found home in New Orleans!