Washington Performing Arts Teaching Artists

Bernard Mavritte (Classical & Broadway Vocal)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
In my performance, I attempt to convey the message of each song and bring the listeners into the experience by showing photographs of the composers and giving a brief biography of each composer. I like to make it a fun experience by giving prizes to audience members. I cover a wide genre of music including: Classical, Broadway Shows, Popular Songs, Folk Songs, Negro Spirituals, and Gospel Music.

Bernard Mavritte was born in Washington, DC where he received his education in the public schools, and later studied Education and Vocal Studies at Howard University. He also studied Choral Conducting at the Inter-American University in Puerto Rico. He taught in DC Public Schools for many years as well as performed internationally. He also hosted a DC radio show on a leading Gospel Music station. In 1965 he toured Europe as the Assistant Musical Director for James Baldwin’s play The Amen Corner, and served as the Choral Music Director for the Tony Award winning play The Great White Hope for which one of his own compositions was used. He has performed for President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Barbara Streisand, Leonard Bernstein, Sammy Davis Jr, Duke Ellington, and others. He is also featured on the soundtrack of ABC television special Back to Glory where his arrangement of “The Colored Volunteers” is heard. Currently, Bernard is the CEO of the publishing company Branches Music and his own record label. He has recorded five CDs and continues to perform in DC and beyond. He serves as the director and a musician for the Chancel Choir of his church, and enjoys performing regularly for Washington Performing Arts’s Enriching Experiences for Seniors program.

Caron Dale (Vocal Music & Movement)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Caron offers an energetic, participatory concert with lots of singing, movement, rhythm and discussion. Her concerts are entertaining, educational and heartfelt. There’s always something to learn whether it’s singing in a different language or details about a composer. Everyone can walk away with a smile on their faces and a new bounce in their step! Caron sings and plays guitar in a variety of musical styles (folk, blues, light jazz, light rock, world and more) through sing-a-long, musical games, and customized programs.

Caron Dale is a singer/songwriter who has been heard to say that she continually searches for the center of her spiritual tootsie pop — always exploring, questioning, writing and singing! Her song, “Marching Feet Can Make It Right” won the 2018 Great American Song Contest in the R&B/Hip Hop category. She is founder, manager and lead singer of Lox & Vodka, the renowned klezmer, Jewish and American music group. Some Lox & Vodka highlights include: Kennedy Center Artists in Residence, Washington Post Best Pick, US Presidential performances, featured band in Festivals and concerts in Charleston, SC, Chambersburg and Harrisburg, PA, Richmond, VA, Baltimore, MD, Smithsonian Institute and the Lincoln Memorial Rally for Respect and many embassy events. Caron is also the founder and CEO of Chords of Courage, a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the conversation from the demoralizing and cynical to the hopeful and inspirational one song at a time. They work with students to write powerful songs about people of great courage and then perform acts of STEPPING UP!, community service, in the spirit of the brave person about whom they just wrote a song. Chords of Courage firmly believes that by creating socially conscious music with young people today, we help create socially conscious citizens for tomorrow.

Christine Kharazian (Classical Music & Visual Arts)

Music & Painting: Sounds and Colors and What They Unveil
What do a Monet painting and a Debussy piece have in common? How does the swing of Duke Ellington’s music resonate with the worlds Jacob Lawrence and Beauford Delaney painted?

In this interactive program, students discover the fascinating relationship between sound and color across cultures and centuries. Masterpieces of Vivaldi, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel, Khachaturian, Joplin and Duke Ellington are paired with works of Leonardo da Vinci, Goya, Monet, Renoir, Jacob Lawrence, and Beauford Delaney. Together, we’ll explore how art and music don’t just mirror history but also shape the way we see and feel the world of their time.

• Appropriate for Grades 3–12 (can be adapted for younger grades)
• Requirements: tuned piano & digital projection screen

Students leave with fresh insights, inspired to listen, look, and imagine in new ways.

Christine Kharazian is a concert violinist from Armenia with a rich background as both performer and educator. She has performed with the Armenian National Opera’s Symphony and the Sharakan Ensemble of Ancient and Medieval Music, and since moving to Washington, D.C. in 1999, she has been an active performer in classical, jazz, and world music. Her versatility spans Gypsy Jazz, Brazilian Choro, and other world and ethnic music traditions, as well as collaborations with theater and ensembles such as Orchester Praževica.

She has taught violin and string orchestra at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Sidwell Friends, and as well as at Fillmore Arts Center and Fairfax public schools, bringing her interactive approach to a wide range of students. Christine is also the author and presenter of innovative programs that connect music with other art forms, making classical music engaging and relevant for today’s students.

Christine’s original composition Valse Astolfi won Second Prize in the international Unsigned Only competition (2021).

Denaise Seals (Visual & Media Arts)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Overview: “Message to the World” is an enriching arts experience designed for multigenerational audiences. This immersive, media-savvy program engages participants in thoughtful and creative self-expression through art, discussion, and the exploration of popular commercial ads and jingles.

Program Highlights:

• Creative Self-Expression: Participants are invited to express a single-worded “Message to the World,” showcasing the vital contributions older adults make to society as creators and community members.
• Interactive Media: The workshop incorporates video playback and recording, allowing participants to see and hear their messages come to life.
• Discussion and Analysis: Engaging discussions around popular commercial ads and jingles help participants understand media influence and develop their own unique messages.
• Community Sharing: Workshop highlights and participants’ messages are edited and compiled into a video, which is shared with the community to celebrate the voices and creativity of older adults.

Objective: To empower seniors by providing a platform for creative self-expression and to highlight their valuable contributions to society through a media-rich, interactive workshop.
Outcome: Participants will leave the workshop with a sense of accomplishment and pride in their ability to convey powerful messages. The community will gain a deeper appreciation for the creativity and wisdom of its older members.
Call to Action: What is YOUR Message to the World?

Denaise Seals is a Videographer/Teaching Artist based in Washington, DC. Her company, Slingshot Video has produced programming for numerous DC independent artists, non-profit, community and arts organizations for more than 30 years. Her work has taken her across the United States, to Burkina Faso, France and Kyoto Japan and has received millions of views on social media platforms, national television and international screens. Denaise received an Arts & Humanities Fellowship for artistic excellence for “significant contributions to the District of Columbia as a world class cultural capital.” Her award-winning MEDIA SAVVY workshops have been presented to hundreds of DC youth and families through in-school residencies, festivals, after school and summer programs. View Media Savvy workshop excerpts here.

Finding Rhythm (Music & Science)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Join Finding Rhythm for a musical and scientific journey through your musical brain! Covered by NBC4, DCist and dubbed “The most DC thing” by WUSA9 news, Finding Rhythm teaches children how rhythm grows their brains, and helps them find the source of their individual power… and their connection with community. Finding Rhythm had its world premiere at the Kennedy Center Family Theater in 2023, and is now an educational curriculum in elementary through high schools across the nation’s capital. Their single, Soul. Beat. Connection., inspired by Washington DC’s indigenous and official music, go-go, invites families of all backgrounds to honor and reflect on the origins of musical rhythm, and to respect the power of rhythm in brain growth and community healing. In this interactive performance, the Scientist, Father Rhythm, and Sister Song will share their music and teachings, and help children to find their rhythm and grow their brains.

Dr. Jessica is a music neuroscientist and the creator of the Finding Rhythm project. Dante’ Pope is a touring musician, educator-advocate, and the music arranger and producer for Finding Rhythm. Rochelle Rice is an award-winning jazz, soul and folk vocalist and host of Tell Her This podcast. Sylvia Soumah is the founder of Coyaba West African Dance Theater.

Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble (Percussive Dance)

PROGRAM OPTIONS
Keeping the Beat: Multicultural Influences in American Music and Dance
Footworks conveys the power and joy of percussive dance while illuminating the multicultural roots of American music and dance, including African, European, and Native American traditions. Live music and an exciting array of percussive dances are performed, including step dance, gumboot dance, tap, clogging, and hamboning, along with inspiring audience participation.

Irish Roots and American Branches is a celebration of Irish culture with live music and percussive dance and their descendant American styles. With intricate footwork and high-energy music, this show is a celebration of Irish and American culture. Footworks’ talented dancers, musicians, and singers will take you on a journey through Ireland’s rich cultural heritage, featuring sean nos steps, jigs, reels, and illuminate an American story with tap, Appalachian clogging, and more. Footworks will get you tapping your feet, singing along, and feeling the joy of traditional music and dance so come along and join in the fun!

Build A Better World
Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble presents “Build A Better World”, a family-friendly show for all ages that includes live music, dancing, audience participation, and lots of fun that will inspire students and audiences of all ages to do their part to build a better world. Come join world-class artists as they perform an interactive and uplifting show that is sure to get you smiling, toe tapping, singing and clapping!

Celebrating over 45 years as a performing arts ensemble, Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble is an internationally recognized, roots-based music and dance company showcasing the cultural diversity of percussive dance. Footworks has a reputation for exceptional performances, bringing the joy and energy of percussive dance and music to audiences worldwide. All of Footworks programming is a celebration of cultural diversity and the joy of live music and dance.

Footworks is recognized for over 45 years in Arts-In-Education and is dedicated to teaching and working with youth and adults of all ages. Footworks’ prides itself in making learning fun and accessible for all ages and skill levels and in getting everyone dancing, singing, and feeling the joy of music, rhythm, and dance.

Footworks offers a wide range of services including theater productions, festival performances, community concerts, workshops, arts-integrated school assemblies and residencies, and youth and community outreach programming. The Washington Post declares, “The eruptive joy of Footworks dancers is as contagious as laughter!”

KanKouran West African Dance Company (African Dance/Drums/Vocal)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
KanKouran showcases the dances and instruments of Senegal, Guinea, and Mali. Students explore nonverbal means of communication and participation through dance and percussive instruments, and learn African cultural traditions through the arts. Accompanied by the djembe and doundoun drums, the dancers also use such instruments as the balafon and shekere. The program objective is to increase the audiences understanding and appreciation of African culture via the presentation of traditional African dance and music.

KanKouran West African Dance Company was founded in Washington, DC, by Artistic Director and Senegalese native, Assane Konte. The Company’s success is perhaps best judged by its longevity and the large number of company members who are involved in diverse academic, professional, and entrepreneurial pursuits, who credit KanKouran with instilling within them the discipline, pride, and commitment to self and community which have made their life pursuits meaningful as well as successful. Since 1983, KanKouran has established itself as a premier center for the study and performance of traditional West African dance. Weekly classes for adults and children have been a key component of furthering the Company’s mission and establishing an appreciation for African performing arts. The Company has also worked extensively to bring African dance and drum to children of all ages through various in-school and extra-curricular programs. KanKouran performs concerts based on the traditions and rituals of West Africa and has showcased at numerous national and international venues, local and federal government agencies, civic and private organizations, and educational institutions throughout the U.S.

kankouran.org

Karen O. Brown (Visual Arts)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
As a professional arts educator and visual artist, Karen draws students into learning curriculum as they discover the joys of artistic expression. She teachs workshops, residencies and professional development with a concentration on arts integration, cultural studies, social justice and ecology for Howard University’s African Studies Department, Africa Access, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and Teaching for Change and numerous public libraries. She has led professional development workshops for Native American Teachers in North Dakota for the Smithsonian’s Education Outreach Program and conducts workshops for the District of Columbia Public Schools to train early childhood educators. She is currently working with Howard University and Princeton University on a project focused on Ethiopian manuscripts.

Karen has permanent art installations at the DC Arts Commission, Children’s National Medical Center and the DC Convention Center as well as a mural based on the art of the Ndebele people of South Africa. With a background in art and anthropology, Brown is an avid traveler, and has studied and worked in Poland, Russia, Japan, India and Haiti and has traveled to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Eastern and Western Europe, and South Africa.

Her international travels inform and enrich her creative and imaginative approach to teaching. Her education includes graduate studies in textiles, ceramics, sculpture, 3-D and surface design, bookmaking, and photography.

Karen’s teaching methods reach all types of students and their individual learning modalities. Content is deepened as art is infused into every aspect of classroom curriculum. She is passionate about her work with students and teachers and loves bringing creative and thoughtful learning to all.

Karin Paludan (Vocal Music)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Singing is My Superpower!
A joyous, inspiring and interactive program celebrating the power of the human voice. We all have a voice we can use to change the world! Join soprano, Karin Paludan, as she introduces students to the magical world of classical vocal music and inspires them to discover and celebrate the strength and power of their own voices. Through vocal exercises, storytelling, collaborative singing, guided imagery and audience participation, students will gain tools to explore and celebrate their “super power” within – learning and discovering ways they can strengthen and use their voices to empower themselves and change the world. Singing can be your “super power” too!

Karin is dedicated to reaching and connecting to audiences of all abilities, and specializes in inclusion and collaboration. She works with teachers to ensure that her performances meet the needs of every student.

An “outstanding voice,” according to the Washington Post, soprano, Karin Paludan works in opera, recital, operetta, cabaret and musical theater, and also works extensively in educational and community outreach through Washington Performing Arts, the National Symphony Orchestra and Music For Autism. Performing as a soloist in opera and recital she has performed throughout the United States with such companies as Community Concerts, New York City Opera, the Utah Festival Opera and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, at The Kennedy Center, The Library of Congress, The National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian. Karin is also a past regional Metropolitan Opera National Council award winner. An artist committed to connecting communities through the power of music, she believes we all have the potential to raise our voices and change the world. Karin is dedicated to reaching and connecting to audiences of all abilities, and specializes in inclusion and collaboration. She works with teachers to ensure that her performances meet the needs of every student.

Marcie Wolf-Hubbard (Visual & Mixed Media Arts)

Marcie shares her love of drawing, painting, and collage/mixed media, much of which is inspired by nature. She provides guidance and encouragement to participants in her art sessions. Marcie is a proud winner of the 2022 Nancy Frankel Artist Award. This annual prize recognizes one of America’s greatest artists and is presented in an effort to continue her legacy in the culture.

Marcie has received numerous grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. Grants include Artist Residencies, Artist & Scholars Grants, and Professional Development grants. Artist Residencies have also supported her work in the community. Marcie teaches students of all ages, including individuals with special needs and seniors with dementia. She will make adaptations ensuring success for all participants. She is a provider of Wraparound Services offering Expressive Arts to individuals with emotional health struggles. As a mother of two deaf children (now adults) Marcie is able to communicate in Sign Language.

Her paintings and sculpture in encaustic (wax) and mixed media have been exhibited widely on the East Coast. Marcie has illustrated for magazines and books, as well as worked as a courtroom illustrator. Marcie is an instructor at Glen Echo Park, Yellow Barn Studios, and the Smithsonian. She received her B.A. from the University of Maryland in Studio art and studied Fine art & Illustration at the Maryland Institute, College of Art. Marcie is the Education/Social team leader in Ch/Art, a community arts organization in Northwest Washington, DC, and Maryland. She is an active member of Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic (TAMA.) Washington Sculptors Group, Member.

Not 2 Cool Jazz Band (Jazz Music)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Not 2 Cool Jazz Band is a professional music group in the Baltimore-Washington area, led by trumpet/piano player Michael Grasso. They play a mixture of standards and classic jazz in the spirit of Chet Baker and Miles Davis. Focusing on music from a bygone era, they have an intimate and lyrical sound that follows the west coast style of cool jazz. They perform bossa nova, New Orleans, swing music, and soft rock, with an emphasis on tasteful and timeless melodies from the 1920s through the 1970s.

Reverb (A cappella Music)

Reverb is a Wammie Award-winning a cappella vocal group who sings an uplifting blend of soul, pop and Gospel classics and original songs written and arranged by group members.  Reverb has performed along the East Coast and toured East and Southern Africa, the Persian Gulf and the Caribbean.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The five male singers of Reverb take audiences on an a cappella musical journey through African-American history, focusing on the social issues of 1619, 1866, the 1960s, and today. Audiences participate by answering and asking questions, singing, and playing hand-held percussion instruments. Reverb’s repertoire engages audiences and provides insight into issues that are still thought provoking today.

Rhythm Wranglers (Percussion Music & Storytelling)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Rhythm Wranglers
The Rhythm Wranglers duo presents a participatory lecture/demonstration throughout which the artists perform short works on a wide variety of percussion instruments, whose origins and sonic properties are compared and contrasted. The program is adaptable for all audiences, and features segments on mallet percussion, Persian drum rhythms, Cuban conga rhythms, and even a spotlight on the phenomenon of the cajon’ in varied styles, including hybrid drum set. Peppered with units of vocal call-and-response, rhythm games, and the like, this rapid-fire program challenges audiences of all ages, and entices them with insights into such musical domains as meter, melody, syncopation and polyrhythm.

Bahkini Battery of Havana Select
Concerts by the Bahkini Battery of Havana Select feature bata drumming and singing from ancient Yoruba traditions, as they have been preserved and developed in Cuba. The intense, complex combination of rhythms and tones produced by the three batas (in effect a conversation by six hands) is varied and beautiful. Applying their collective 50 years of experience, in Cuba and Stateside, the trio plays authentic bata “tributes” for several of the colorful folkloric figures, often with exquisite Cantos, or songs. Narratives woven throughout the performance bring these characters’ distinctive attributes to life. When possible and practical, the group’s Director, Steve Bloom, leads the audience in simple, joyful dance moves.

Since 1969, Steve Bloom has performed and/or recorded in over a dozen countries. His work in Afro-Cuban folklore, Celtic music, and in Persian percussion has taken him to the Lincoln Center, to top-tier folk festivals around the U.S., and in 2006 Bloom performed for the United Nations General Assembly, presented by Ban Ki-Moon. He has been engaged for the last four years as “Resident Creative” at the National Building Museum.

Since receiving his Master’s Degree in Percussion Performance from Indiana University, Kevin Mott has toured and performed extensively in Europe, the Middle East, and has also been designing and building Marimbas and Xylophones, and offering master classes at universities and conservatories around the country on Marimba repertory, technique and design.

Sandra Y. Johnson Band (Jazz and Blues Music)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
We perform jazz, blues, and R&B oldies, including Motown for seniors. We try to make the program interactive by asking the audience the names of the group performing or the lead singer, especially when we perform R&B/Oldies. We encourage the audience to dance and a couple of us might dance with them.

Sandra Y. Johnson, a native Washingtonian and performs straight-ahead Jazz, Blues, and R&B/Oldies music, including Motown. Sandra joined the Women’s Fellowship Choir at her church in 1985, and the Blacks in Government Gospel Choir, Department of Labor Chapter, in 1986 where she was the section leader and coordinator of the choir’s activities for fourteen years.

Sandra was a member of the WPA Men & Women of the Gospel Choir from 1995 – 2015 that performed annually at the Kennedy Center, where she had been chosen as a soloist. Sandra every first Sunday of each month at the Gospel Rescue Mission in Washington, D.C. from 1995 until they closed in 2014.

In 2001, Sandra became a student at the Elliston Jazz Studies Workshop under the direction of Ronnie Wells and Ron Elliston. She also studied privately for a year and a half with the late Calvin J. Jones, University of the District of Columbia’s Coordinator of Jazz Studies. She currently studies with Connaitre Miller, Professor of Jazz Voice at Howard University, Washington, DC.

Sandra’s first “gigs” were at The Islander Restaurant, Westminster Presbyterian Church Jazz Series, The Old Post Office Pavilion, and Twin’s Jazz Lounge on U Street. Since 2002, she has performed at several jazz festivals to include the Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship (FMJS) Fund’s East Coast Jazz Festival at the Double Tree Hotel in Rockville, 2006 Potomac Jazz & Seafood Festival, The 2010 and 2011 Taste of Georgetown, Herndon Labor Day Jazz Festival, 2012 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival and many outdoor concerts. Sandra also performed several times at the Henley Park Hotel and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. From 2005 – 2010, she performed every Friday night at Laporta’s Restaurant in Alexandria, VA. She performed at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s “Take 5” in 2008 and again in 2011. Sandra also performed at the Phillips Collection in May 2012. Sandra performed a “Tribute to Billie Holiday” at the Walter’s Art Museum in Baltimore, MD in 2014 and 2015. She performed a musical “Tribute to Gloria Lynne” at the Anacostia Art Museum in July 2015. (For a full list of previous performances, click here.) She entered and won 2nd Place at the 2006 and 2007 Billie Holiday Vocal Competition in Baltimore, MD.

Story Tapestries (Storytelling)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Story Tapestries: Arianna Ross and The Ensemble executes performances and residencies that uses the arts as a means to bridge barriers and help individuals foster a deeper connection to what they are learning and teaching. Story Tapestries creates international, dynamic programs that weave the power of dance, music, theatre, hip-hop, rap, written word, visual art and spoken word with any school subject. For over 20 years, Arianna Ross and her ensemble of artists have performed across the United States in festivals, concert halls, colleges, libraries, and schools. They believe in the power of the arts to Empower, Educate and Engage.

Main Artists Available, offering customized arts integration programming:

• Arianna Ross (Storyteller, Dancer, Writer, and Theatre Artist)
• Valerie Baugh-Schlossberg (Director, Devising and Movement Artist, and Musical Theatre)
• Regie Cabico (Slam Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Writer, Theatre Artist)
• Bomani Armah (Hip-hop Artist, Poet, Songwriter, Producer, and Performer)
• Ashlee McKinnon (Hip Hop Dancer, Choreographer, Jazz Dance, Musical Theater, Modern Dance)
• Drew Anderson (Hip Hop Artist, Parody, Spoken Word, Poet, Songwriter, Producer, and Performer)
• Noa Baum (Storyteller and Theatre Artist)
• Jamaal Collier (Hip Hop, Poet, Writer, and Performer)
• Praneetha Akula (Dancer)
• Emma G (Musician, Songwriter)
• Suzanne Richard (Theatre Director, Writer)

Artist Art Forms Available:
All Theatre Topics:

• Acting Technique, Voice, Movement, Puppetry, Devised Theatre, Playwriting
• Dance Topics: All Forms, Technique, Choreography
• Music: Melody and Song Creation, Parody, Rhyme
• Storytelling: Building a Story, Voice, Reflective
• Poetry: (Spoken Word, Slam, Written)
• Hip Hop: Music, History, Dance, Spoken Word, Beat Boxing
• Visual Art: All mediums
• Media Arts
• Creative Writing
• Arts integrated lessons: Discovering the Power of the Written Word, Empowered Math Understanding, Stories in Motion, Math plus Dance=Learning, Explaining Science Through Story, Spoken Word, Slam Poetry, Hip Hop and Shakespeare, to just name a few.

PROGRAM OPTIONS
CLICK HERE to view a sample of Story Tapestries programs.

Ziva’s Spanish Dance Ensemble (Spanish Dance)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Teaching Artist Ziva Cohen guides students through a historical journey of the roots of flamenco Spanish dance. Using footwork, hand movements and basic choreography, students are led through an authentic flamenco routine. Participants learn about the influences that led to the creation of these unique dances. Through dance and positive energy, Ziva teaches students the importance of leadership, teamwork, and collaboration, helping build students’ confidence in many aspects of their lives. Residency activities conclude with the students performing an authentic Spanish dance, including costuming and accessories.

Ziva’s Spanish Dance Ensemble engages students of all ages with dances that were inspired by the culture of Spain’s Andalusia region. A skilled professional dancer and instructor, she blends traditional Spanish and modern dance, resulting in unique neoclassical choreography. Her ability to connect with students through creative expression while educating them about the historical influences of dance, has made Ziva one of the most sought-after teachers in the Washington, D.C., area.

Guest artists have come from a variety of dance and musical fields such as jazz, modern, tap, Indian, African, and Moorish. The Ensemble has appeared in venues throughout the Washington, DC, area including the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Corcoran Gallery of Art, George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, Alden Theatre, Jack Guidone Theater, Dance Place, and the Atlas Theater. Ziva’s Spanish Dance Ensemble provides programs for diverse audiences, including embassies and numerous private engagements throughout the region.

A certified yoga instructor, she hosts special sessions for students focused on ways to combat bullying by improving mental and physical health as well as improving a student’s body image and increasing self-esteem.