Jazz composer, Jazz Performer, Jazz Ensemble

Dinna Alexanyan began training at a young age with Western Ballet Theatre and Zohar school of dance in the South Bay Area of California. Her studies continued at UC Santa Cruz, where she trained under various Jazz dance and theatre professors.. During her undergraduate years she also spent some time in East and West Africa, learning the traditional dances, as well as teaching Street Jazz to the students at Nairobi University. Dinna entered the world of hip hop when she joined Dee Merideth's dance company in Santa Cruz and performed and choreographed with them for over a year. Her graduate years were spent in San Francisco and the East Bay, training with New Style Motherlode's dance company and further exploring the world of teaching, production, management, music videos, public relations and choreography. Dinna's past credits include performances in numerous venues, including Theatre Artaud in San Francisco and the Civic Center in Santa Cruz, as well as the production, choreography and performance of the acclaimed "Rhyme & Reason" at the Justice League in San Francisco - the first ever fashion show presented through hip hop dance. Presently, she continues to work with Rhythm Dance Company in San Francisco and as the CEO of Sybarite Productions – an artist management and production company.

April Armstrong is a Music Educator, Professional Actress, Singer and Storyteller. As a Teaching Artist, Ms. Armstrong works with students from 3 years old to high school in song writing, drama, historical improvisation (ie., the Harlem Renaissance), musical theatre and creative dance. She has taught on the faculties of the Lincoln Center Institute, Henry Street Settlement, Carnegie Hall "Link Up", The Masters School, Third St. Music Settlement and the Bloomingdale House of Music. As a Storyteller, Ms. Armstrong tells stories for all audiences. Among her venues are Historic Hudson Valley, Queens Council for the Arts, Central Park Conservancy, Scarsdale Historical Society, Westchester Council for the Arts, Warner Library in Tarrytown , Van Burtable width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"> en Public Library in Newark, NJ, among others. She has written a one-woman show about the black aviatrix, Bessie Coleman, called Brave Bessie and is published in the Wall Street Journal best seller, The Big Moo. Ms. Armstrong's theatre career includes Broadway national tours, regional theatres, television, and film. Ms. Armstrong holds a Bachelors of Music from Manhattan School of Music and a Masters of Arts in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Danny Ashkenasi has been a teaching artist focusing on music, composition, writing, acting, singing and other theatre and music related disciplines since 1990. He has worked with MNMP for four years, co-creating curriculum with Jennifer Raine as well as mentoring music teachers of special needs students in schools throughout NYC. He has worked with the Metropolitan Opera Guild's Creating Original Opera (COO) program for 16 years, co-creating curriculum, leading COO opera companies in schools throughout NYC and training teachers from all over the USA and the world to create their own COO companies. For 7 years he has been teaching and developing new music theatre curriculum at the inclusion Brooklyn Childrens School, where he is also the choir director. He is an accomplished composer with numerous produced music theatre pieces to his credit, including "The Song of Job 9:11", "Beyond" and "The Tell-Tale Heart - a musicabre" which were featured at the NYC Fringe festival 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively(earning 2006's "Outstanding Music and Lyrics" award), and "Hexen" which has been a constant fixture in German theatres since 1991. He also performs extensively as an actor in theatre, television and film. Raised in Berlin, Germany, he received a BFA in Drama from NYU and works professionally as a director, actor and composer in both the USA and Germany.

Peter Basil is a multi-percussionist by profession and has dedicated himself to the investigation and teaching of rhythms from around the world. Currently, Mr. Basil is working with arts organizations in the Tri-state area, sharing his knowledge and passion as a performing and teaching artist in schools as well as in major events and festivals through the Northeast. He is the Executive Director of Rhythm of the Arts and Mexico Beyond Mariachi.

John Belia, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and schooled in Brooklyn elementary schools, studied Harmony and Composition at the “Buenos Aires Conservatory of Music”, and with private music tutors. He started his musical career by writing songs and performing at the age of 16 when he recorded his first record single. From then on, his participation in the Buenos Aires music scene has been prolific. He’s composed, arranged, and produced for the biggest names in Argentinean popular music, and performed for years as a solo artist as well as in bands.
Since 1986, Mr. Bellia has composed music internationally for TV, radio, advertising agencies, and original music for theater, writing the score for several plays at the most important theater house in Buenos Aires: ‘Teatro Municipal Gral. San Martin’. In 1995 he composed, arrangements, and co-produced an MTV Unplugged for one of Argentina’s biggest rock stars.
That same year he composed and produced music and songs for a children’s TV show, ‘Tardes de Sol’, receiving an award for ‘Best Children's CD’ by A.C.E. (Association of Show Business Critics of Argentina). This led him to be commissioned by the Government of Buenos Aires to compose a Hymn, ‘Este Es El Lugar’, for the city’s public kindergartens. Today, ‘Este Es El Lugar’ is sung in Buenos Aires schools at every official act by students, teachers and parents.
In virtue of his extensive and prestigious career, John Bellia has been praised by the American Federation of Musicians of the US and Canada, and has been granted an O-1 visa, reserved for outstanding artists, by the US Government. He is currently a US resident. For many years, John Bellia has taught music, directed choirs. and conducted music workshops in Elementary, Middle and High Schools; coached top recording artists (Sony Music, EMI); gave seminars and clinics on MIDI, Sampling, Sound Editing, and Modern Recording Techniques for popular music, cinema and commercials; and tutored private students.

Claire Benton began her dance training studying ballet at the Fine Arts Center in Lynchburg, Virginia. After graduating with a Bachelors degree in Dance and Studio Arts from Hollins University she move to New York. She has performed nationally and internationally with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance company, Nathan Trice/Rituals, Colleen Thomas, and Wood Dance. She has taught dance to children of all ages for organizations that include Hudson Repertory Dance theater, Ballet Tech, Kinderdance, Alvin Ailey and Manhattan New Music Project.

Matt Bogdanow is a teaching artist and musician whose music has been called “uncommonly enjoyable” by The NOISE magazine. He is a Berklee College of Music graduate in Professional Music and is the author The Backbone of Drumming – A Systemic Approach to Learning the Drumset. Matt has toured nationally and abroad with groups such as Brotherhood of Groove and The Super Casuals and his drumming is featured on numerous studio recordings as well as live albums. In addition to Manhattan New Music Project, Matt teaches for Marquis Studios, Wingspan Arts and Kids Creative, as well as offering private music lessons. More information, including a current performance schedule, can be found on the web at www.MattBogdanow.com.

Shellie Bransford educator and performer, has been a teaching artist and program developer since 1983 creating programs for teachers and teaching artists with Washington Performing Arts Society, New York University, New York Philharmonic, Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts as well as the Royal Opera in London. Shellie is a trainer with the New York City Department of Education Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Music and Theater and Program Developer for the National Young Scholars Program with Envision EMI, LLC. She is on faculty at Fergus and Clark Academy for the Performing Arts, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, as Director of Curriculum, as a member of the voice department and as an acting coach. She collaborated in the creation of the Young Artist Program - an ensemble and individual studio lesson approach for young people - and The CoOP, an arts integration program that provides students the opportunity to design their own course. Most recently The CoOp presented The French Cafe, a study of French culture through a painting by Renoir, French Art Songs, Cabaret and popular songs, and French cuisine. As event manager she has planned and managed concerts, theatre and events in honor of Nelson Mandela; for the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; and for Jessye Norman Sings for the Healing of AIDS with Maya Angelou, Whoopi Goldberg, Elton John, Bill T. Jones, Toni Morrison, Max Roach, Anna Deavere Smith and Director George C. Wolfe, among others. Shellie helped to create and performed in Everybody Says Don't: Broadway Breaks the Silence presented as a result of a grant from Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts that illustrates the importance of the arts in challenging the community to respond to issues of social justice. Shellie Bransford worked for twenty years with the Metropolitan Opera Guild as Program Director, Teaching Artist and contributor to the internationally acclaimed Creating Original Opera Program.

Jean Brookman received her MFA from Brandeis University’s Professional Theatre Design Program. She has taught Design and Costume History at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio and Ohio Wesleyan University. Since 1999, she has been a teaching artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild Education Department, working in their “Creating Original Opera Program”. Her professional credits include costume design for several off Broadway and regional companies. Jean is resident designer for the Depot Theatre in Westport, New York.

Andrew Drury Described as 'a thoughtfully avant-garde drummer and composer' (Nate Chinen, New York Times), Andrew Drury works internationally in the areas of jazz and free improvisation. A former student of jazz legend Ed Blackwell, Drury has performed and recorded with artists such as Michel Doneda, Mark Dresser, Wayne Horvitz, Jason Kao Hwang, Myra Melford, Wadada Leo Smith, Chris Speed, John Tchicai, Kenny Wolleson's Marching Band with Butch Morris, and Jack Wright, among others. He appears on 15 CDs,including three as a bandleader, and has been awarded grants from the NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, the Seattle Arts Commission, the Artist Trust, the Puffin Foundation, and others. Drury has led over 700 workshops and trainings with music teachers, students of all ages with a wide array of physiological and emotional issues, graduate students at Columbia University's School of Social Work, homeless people in shelters in Indiana, Native American populations, and young people in remote areas of Nicaragua and Guatemala. In 2000 the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation identified him as 'one of the . most skilled and experienced community artists in America.

Vincent Ector is a percussionist and teaching artist. Trained in Music at University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, he also studied privately with drummers such as, Mickey Roker, Ralph Peterson Jr., and Armand Santarelli. He performed with a series of jazz luminaries that include: Freddie Hubbard and Grover Washington Jr. Most recently, Vincent produced “Rhythm Master”, his first CD as a leader that features Eddie Henderson on trumpet and two of Vincent’s original compositions. Vincent can also be heard on recordings by: Jimmy Bruno featuring Bobby Watson, Pete Yellin, Onaje Allan Gumbs and Charles Earland. He performs regularly in New York City with several ensembles such as The Spirit of Life Ensemble, The Next Legacy Orchestra (Brooklyn Conservatory of Music) and The Jason Linder Big Band. Vincent has been featured as a Clinician at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Lincoln University and runs Arts For Kids Inc., a non-profit organization that provides workshops and professional development for schools in the Tri-State area (www.artsforkids.net) especially for children with special needs. He is also an Artist-in-Residence for Arts Horizons Inc. Most recently, Vincent was a featured teaching artist in the 2001 Harcourt/Brace Media Literacy Video Series, which will be distributed nationally, as well as internationally.

Nina Gabriele-Cuva is a professional actor (Yente in Fiddler on the Roof - Lincoln Center), a director, (Some to Watch Over Me – Off-Broadway), an award winning writer, and theatre administrator/founder. Her many years experience include teaching all facets of theatre, drama, creative writing, and directing productions for grades K-12, performing arts centers, community organizations, guidance councils, and music academies throughout NYC and Westchester. She has worked as a guest director, Lecturer, and adjunct for Lehman College’s theatre Department and the College of New Rochelle. She is also presently working with The Stephen Sondheim Young Playwrights Inc, P.A.C.T., and The Westchester, Rye, Pelham and Portchester arts councils’ arts-in-residence programs. Nina has developed many creative drama, writing, and theatre art residencies for special needs, at-risk, emotionally disturbed, and English-as-a-second language children. Recently Nina wrote the short story “Really Hairy and the Greatest Magic In the World” with elementary school children which was further developed with middle school children into a musical production produced by the Westchester Conservatory of Music. Nina, was born in and still lives in the Bronx. The arts opened up such possibilities for her. She hopes that bringing the arts to these many children will show them that magic does indeed exist.

Elizabeth Hanson is currently teaching and performing Brazilian music in New York City. As a percussionist she has played with groups like the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Boulder Philharmonic and the American Institute Opera Orchestra in Austria. While living in São Paulo she recorded on a CD of Brazilian music called Espaço Imaginario. Elizabeth has a degree in percussion performance from the University of Michigan and has studied marimba with Keiko Abe in Tokyo and more recently spent two years researching and playing Brazilian folk and instrumental music in São Paulo.

Daniel Heffernan is a visual and theater artist whose paintings and videos have been internationally exhibited. Since 1992, Daniel has served as a faculty member for the Institute of Arts and Humanities of New Jersey. In this capacity, he has co-directed and designed performance productions for teen-age artists in which students created multi-media performance works that tour throughout the north east. Tour locations include: Fringe Festivals of New York and Philadelphia, the Kennedy Center in D.C., Young Peoples Theatre in Toronto, and Articule in Montreal, Quebec. Disciplines included theatre, movement, visual arts, video art, and music. He has also worked as an educational consultant most notably with the Galef Institute, an arts-oriented school reform organization based in Los Angeles, California. Daniel holds a Master of Fine Arts from New York University as well as Bachelor degree in International Relations from the University of Illinois at Champagne, Urbana. This spring, Daniel was invited to be a resident artist at the Jentel Foundation where he spent four weeks concentrating on his individual work. Daniel currently lives and works in New York City.

In addition to his work at MNMP, Peter Hoyle is currently employed as Director of Education for the New Jersey Opera Theater, as a teaching artist for the Dreamyard Drama Project, as Senior Teaching artist at the Metropolitan Opera Guild (MOG) Education Department. He has extensive experience creating and leading professional development for teachers throughout the U.S. with the MOG Creating Original Opera Teacher Training Program, The Whole Schools Initiative in Mississippi, the Bronx Region 1 Drama Teachers Professional Development, and the M.O.G. Professional Development Institute.
Hoyle’s collaborations with teachers have inspired student work in the areas of visual art, musical composition, music theater, poetry, character education, set design and construction, and film-making using arts skills in the service of curricular exploration. He has taught both music and visual art at institutions including the Holderness School, the Boston Museum School, the Middlesex School system in Massachusetts, and in over 30 public schools in the New York metropolitan area.

Clark Jackson is an award-winning actor and writer who most recently was nominated for a Best Actor IRNE Award for his performance in Permanent Collection at New Rep Theatre in Boston, and was awarded a Dean Goodman Choice Award for Outstanding Principal Performance for his role in Yellowman at Berkeley Rep Theatre. Clark also won a Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of Oscar Charleston in Lee Blessing’s Cobb, performed at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City and produced by Kevin Spacey. Other NYC stage credits include Le Ménage (La MaMa E.T.C.), Jamaica Avenue (Soho Repertory Theatre/NYC Fringe Festival), Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Mint Theatre), and Cuba and the Night (Theatre for the New City). Regional credits include Lobby Hero (Studio Theatre), Yellowman (Pittsburgh Public Theatre), Fabulation (People’s Light & Theatre Co.), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (People’s Light & Theatre Co.), Waiting For Tadashi (George Street Playhouse), The Tempest (Hamptons Shakespeare Festival), and Travesties (Luna Stage). Film credits: The Arrangement, Rapmatics. TV credits: Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Wonderland, Honky Sausages and Guiding Light; national commercials for “Applebee’s” and “T-Mobile”. As a writer, Clark co-wrote Streetcar, a contemporized adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, placing the original characters and events in the context of the Rodney King beating, verdicts and subsequent riots. Streetcar was performed at Stanford University. Clark also wrote a semi-autobiographical screenplay titled Better Land (Revelations), and is currently developing a solo theatrical piece titled The Life and Death of Objects. Clark also has other important areas of interest: he has worked with thousands of New York City public school students as a teaching artist in the areas of theatre, movement, creative writing and improvisation, in classes ranging from advanced students to the severely emotionally disabled; he also worked at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan in New York City as a production facilitator in their television workshop where he produced, wrote and facilitated half-hour television workshops teaching kids ages 4-12 the basics of television studio production. He recently completed his first film as a director/producer, Ghosttown Ballers, a short documentary that has screened at the National Center for Afro-American Artists in Boston, South Bronx Film Festival, and Harlem International Film Festival. Clark is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale School of Drama. He was born and raised in Atlanta, GA and lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Lisa Karrer is a teaching artist, composer, director and performance artist who uses Homemade Instruments, Indonesian Gamelan, voice and extended vocal techniques to create opera, new music theater, multi-arts performance, soundtracks for dance, installations, and new arrangements of world music pieces. She has received numerous grants, commissions and travel awards to perform her works in New York City, Indonesia, Israel, the Baltics, and throughout Eastern and Western Europe. As an educator, Lisa has been teaching Homemade Instrument, Music and Performance Technique Workshops in the New York City schools, including regular curriculum and Special Education; and in residencies at venues such as the Avampato Discovery Museum in Charleston West Virginia, the Sternberg Museum in Hays Kansas, Delaware County's CROP program, elementary schools and summer programs in Hawaii, and Polli Talu Arts Center in Estonia. She is also a Board member of Manhattan New Music Project in New York City.

Judith Lane has worked since 1994 as a Teaching Artist in the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s “Creating Original Opera” Program. She has also designed and conducted independent writing and performance workshops with school children in California, New York, and Germany. Ms. Lane studied music composition and creative writing at Bennington College, and received an MFA from NYU’s Musical Theatre Writing Program. She continues to write and compose musical theatre, and was commissioned to write and direct two operas for the Children’s Opera Company of Ossining. Ms. Lane has been three times acknowledged with the BRIO Award (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) for playwriting from the Bronx Council on the Arts, and has received numerous ASCAP Awards for music composition. She is a published children’s book author and has been in awarded residencies at many art colonies in the US, Spain and Costa Rica.

Annie Levy is a director, theatre educator and performer. Working with student populations from second grade through college, Annie teaches drama, movement, improvisation and writing as well as facilitates and directs student created original theatre pieces. She is the resident director and education coordinator of the Northwoods Theatre Company and a recipient of a Steven Spielberg Theatre Fellowship. She is a member of Storahtelling, a ritual based educational theatre company, HWY Rachel, a traveling community impact troupe, Cherub Improv, a volunteer organization that partners with underserved communities to lead workshops in improvisation. Some of her recent directing credits include Caryl Churchill's VINEGAR TOM, David Rabe's A QUESTION OF MERCY, Brecht's THE JEWISH WIFE and the world premiere of THE HERO OF KABUL by Marc Goldsmith. Other directing credits include Deborah Levy's PUSHING THE PRINCE INTO DENMARK, the world premier of LOOKING UP at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Off Broadway premiere of NURSE! As a performer, Annie has worked with the Lee Strasburg Institute, members of Bread and Puppet Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She holds a Bachelors of Arts from Barnard College, Columbia University and a Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence.

Darnetha Lincoln M'Baye, MNMP Teaching Artist

Harboring a love for dance since childhood, Darnetha Lincoln M'Baye began studying and performing dance in 1991 while at Wake Forest University. She appeared in modern, jazz and hip-hop pieces, and co-choreographed two pieces featured in the 1993 and 1994 fall concerts. In 1995, her dance vocabulary expanded into African dance after joining African Caribbean Dance Theater. She was also a guest performer with Orchesis Contemporary Dance Theatre of Florida A& M University. Later, in New York City, she worked with several professional companies, including Mamadou Dahoue and The Ancestral Messengers, Bousso Dance Company, Aminata Gueye Dance Company, and currently, Sing Sing Rhythms. Darnetha brought her energy on stage into the classroom in 2002 when she began teaching African dance classes. She held ongoing open classes at Columbia University and has given workshops around New York City for teens and adults. For the past two years, she has taught and choreographed for Long Island University’s Post Concert Dance Company. When she is not on stage or in the classroom, Darnetha gives private dance lessons and teaches classes in Wolof (traditional Senegalese) language.

Denise Lock has been a teaching artist since 1988. She has a longstanding relationship with The Metropolitan Opera Guild’s education department in the classroom as well as leading professional development workshops. Denise has also worked as a teaching artist for Community Works, Arts Horizons, Friends of the Arts, New Perspectives Theatre, Creative Educational Systems, the STARRR Drama Program and Columbus Preschool; educating and empowering students to express their creativity through theatre, music, visual arts and literacy. As a professional actor/singer Denise has performed extensively throughout the USA, Europe and Japan.

Paula Lockheart has been a composer, song-writer and performer for over 20 years in North America and Europe, performing under her own name as well as for various New York big-bands, Dixieland groups, and blues bands. She co-authored the musical-theatre show, "Song of Singapore," which ran off-Broadway for over a year, and still runs in out-of-town productions.
Paula has an MA in Ethnomusicology, and has certification in Kodaly and Orff Schulwerk. She is also trained at the Center for Music and Young Children in Princeton, NJ. She took a course in Creative Dramatics with Navida Stein for the Actors Work Program. She has been teaching Music Together®, a parent-child program for infants and their adult caregivers for 6 years. She has been a teaching-artist in the public schools of NYC, working in both general education and special education, in all 5 boroughs, for 7 years.

Sarah Loveland was trained in music at Juilliard and Mannes College of Music (Masters of Music), acting at Eugene Lang College and movement as a Teaching Artist with New York City Ballet's Nutcracker Project. Major teachers have included Lois Wann, Jerome Roth, and Linda Strommen (oboe); David Krakauer (chamber music/clarinet); Julie Lieberman (violin and vocals). She also studies Egyptian bellydance and has a New Year's goal of learning tap (in her free time). Sarah was the recipient of many young artist awards and scholarships including the Great Neck Symphony Young Artists Competition, and has participated several times in the Saratoga Summer Festival (NY) and Sarasota Music Festival (FL). Sarah is also a published writer (Zany's New York) and is currently working on a piece called The Hungry Ghosts. She is an accomplished composer and can be heard on several recordings. Sarah erformed in touring and resident productions of: Oklahoma!, Peter Pan, The King and I, Phantom, Kiss Me Kate, Oliver, Strike Up The Band, and has extensive experience with opera/operetta and ballet with various New York productions including John Jay College, Brooklyn College, NYC Ballet, Erie Philharmonic. A member of the Broadway Curtain Up! Orchestra, she has arranged and music directed productions of "A Christmas Carol" and "The Wizard of Cause and Effect".

Jessica Lurie is a composer, instrumentalist (alto and tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, accordion, voice), musical educator and improviser. She received her Bachelors in Music from Wesleyan University and has been teaching individuals and group workshop on technique, composition and improvisation since 1995. She has taught in Washington State through the Washington State Arts Commission, Seattle and King County Arts Commission. In addition to teaching for Manhattan New Music Project, she is a teacher with Orchestra St. Luke’s, and the Brooklyn Conservatory. She tours internationally with The Jessica Lurie Ensemble, The Tiptons Sax Quartet, The Living Daylights, La Buya, performing at school s, universities, prisons, workshops and music festivals internationally. She is currently in residence with Great Small Works Theater Company and Cirkus Amok of NYC.

Lynn Marlowe is currently a teaching artist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Wingspan organizations. She is also a choreographer at many middle and high schools in the New York City area. Lynn started as a professional dancer and has appeared in Broadway, National Tour and Regional shows. She was the dance captain for the original 42nd Street National Tour. Lynn is married to Hal Shane, a member of the "Manhattan Rhythm Kings" and has a 18 year old son, Casey.

Silvia Nevjinsky Goncalves was born in Lisbon, Portugal, where she began her dance training in High School with Rui Horta and at the Gulbenkian Ballet School. From 1984 to 1989, she was a principal dancer with the Lisbon Dance Company, a contemporary repertory company. Since moving to New York in 1989, she has appeared as a guest artist with several dance companies including Empire State Ballet, New American Ballet Ensemble,Ballet for Young Audiences and David Storey Dance Works. She was a member of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 1991 to 1995.In August of that year, she joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company and was a featured dancer until June 2005, originating several roles. With these companies, she performed all over the USA, South and Central America, Asia and Europe. Additionally, she has appeared in two “Dance in America” PBS specials with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, “The wreckers’ ball” and “Acts of Ardor”, in the Oscar nominated documentary “Dancemaker”, in several music videos, industrials and special events, including the Walt Disney Premiere of “Pocahontas” in Central Park. Her teaching experience includes teaching Modern Dance in New York City, San Luis Obispo, Skidmore College, Wilmington, San Paulo, Lisbon, Oporto, Toulouse and Antwerp; Choreography and Dance appreciation in the New York City Public Schools as part of the City Center Outreach Program and at ABT’ s Summer Arts Institute; Yoga at the Paul Taylor Dance Company Summer Workshops. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hunter College of New York, a National Dance Institute of New Mexico teacher training certificate, and a Stage to Classroom Dance Teacher certificate. She is a certified Yoga Instructor and a Posture Analysis Specialist.

JAHNEEN [Jeannine Otis] has been teaching music at the Trinity Lutheran School in Staten Island and is the musical director for Theatreworks USA’s production of Freedom Train currently touring the US including Town Hall, The Fox Theatre in Atlanta and the Grand Ole Opry and the Director of Music at historic St. Mark’s Church in the East Village of New York where she both performs, directs the Choir and coordinates an artist-in-residence program that gives new artists a chance to showcase new musical concepts. Jahneen is the coordinator of both Safari East Cultural Productions collaborating with the world renowned bassist, Vishnu Wood. Safari East Productions explore the roots of the African-American Culture of the diaspora through concerts and workshops presented nationally and internationally including Lincoln Center, London, and a current on-going program in the New York City School system sponsored by the United Way of New York. She has been the coordinator of the Marymount College Arts-in-Education Certificate Training Program and is most recently she is the arts-in-education director for SUNDOG Theatre and a recipient of a Dana Foundation grant through the Actor’s Work Program for development of an arts-in-education programming in LA. The Three Kings, a piece composed by Ms. Otis in collaboration with Lois Bohevesky of the Hudson Vagabond Puppets and Liz Swados, noted composer for Broadway, film and television, is held annually at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine and serves as a vehicle for outreach to provide young people living in homeless shelters their very own holiday celebration. In 2006 over 1500 young people participated.
The musical roots of singer and pianist Jahneen are founded in the pure sounds of Gospel, Rhythm & Blues and Jazz. She is a graduate of Wellesley College [Presser Music Scholar], the first and only African-American to win that award and she also holds a Masters Degree from Emerson College in Boston where she was a teaching fellow. With her strong musical foundation, Jahneen moves effortlessly and convincingly through the genres of classical, American Pop, Jazz and traditional and contemporary Gospel. She first toured as a vocalist with the group Kool and the Gang. One of the group’s founders, George Brown, continues to be one of her musical mentors. Another important collaborator and supporter has been saxophone legend Grover Washington, Jr. Her talents can be heard on the recording Do Dat, a smooth jazz classic she performed with Washington. Likewise, she has worked with trumpeter Donald Byrd, folk hero Pete Seeger and Oscar winning film composer Eliot Goldenthal (Juan Darien) to name a few. Her recordings include the recently re-released “Magic Song”, which was performed with the Helsinki Philharmonic. Her dance rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as a featured soloist with the group Paradise reached the Top Ten on the High Energy Dance Charts in the USA, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia. It has become an ‘anthem’ for Pride celebrations all over the world. She is also a featured vocalist in ‘It’s My Party’, a Warner Film production starring Eric Roberts, Gregory Harrison and Olivia Newton John about aids which premiered at Sundance. Her music continues to evolve she has recently experimented with works combining Gospel, R&B, Hip-Hop, Jazz and sometimes classical music. Most recently Jahneen is the associate producer of a Hip-Hop Praise CD for the Episcopal Church.
Also a gifted actress, Jahneen has appeared in numerous plays, including The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, Extraordinary Measures by Eve Ensler and James Lescene, STEEL for the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard written by Derrick Walcott and music by Galt McDermott, the musical theater review “This Joint is Jumpin’” at New York’s Supper Club and in Las Vegas and various tours of ‘Porgy and Bess’ throughout Europe in the role of the Strawberry Woman. As Strawberry Woman she has appeared at many world famous Opera Houses including the legendary Theatre la Fenice in Venice , and the Rome Opera.

Victoria Oltarsh has been writing and directing plays, as well as teaching drama and working in the field of children's theater, for over 25 years. Since 2002, she has been employed by The Metropolitan Opera Guild as a teaching artist. In collaboration with the classroom teachers, Victoria develops programs where all aspects of the arts are infused. Victoria leads ongoing Professional development training in Theatrical Improv and Creative Writing for the teachers involved in these projects. Victoria also teaches Improv Theater Jam and Theater Sports to Teens at Pulse Performing School in Bedford Hills, New York.
Victoria began her education as a Music Major [piano] in college, then transferred into a Music Therapy program at East Carolina School of Music. After college, Ms. Oltarsh received advanced training at The Dance Therapy Institute in New York. Early in her career, Victoria had her own dance theater company called Dance Expressions, which toured college campuses. She is a published lyricist on Atlantic records for her song, "Lucky Charm". Victoria directed her original play adaptation of ,"The Nightingale", with a troupe of 5 adult actors which toured Private, Public Schools, and Art Centers in the Tri State area for two years.

Greg Paul has been a teaching artist for the past five years, working with such companies as The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Wingspan, and The Neighborhood Playspace. He is also the founder of PlayWork student theatre workshop, Stage One Productions, and The Arts Gymnasium under the auspices of Juggernaut Theatre Company,of which he is a founding member. In addition to teaching Greg is also a director and playwright. His most recent play The Amazing True Adventures Of Buckbean Bushytail was recently awarded a generous development grant from New York State Council of the Arts. Mr. Paul is currently developing a full-length play entitled Phobe as well as numerous smaller scripts. In addition to his musical theater credentials, Greg is also a seasoned designer, carpenter, and puppeteer.

Jennifer Raine has been creating and implementing arts programs as a New York City teaching artist since 1999, working with such organizations as the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Marquis Studios, and Midori and Friends. Since 2003, she has served as the Head of Curriculum Development for the Manhattan New Music Project. In addition to her extensive work within the New York City public school system, Jennifer conducts student and staff development workshops throughout North and South America and Europe, both independently and as a staff member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the International Schools Theater Association. Workshops focus on facilitating creation of original student work across all arts disciplines, specifically music, drama, movement, visual arts and creative writing.
Jennifer's formal training is as a trombonist; in 2002 she received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She enjoys working with children because she misses the element of play in her adult world, and because they seem to be the only ones who think her jokes are funny.

Kevin Ray, MNMP Teaching Artist Kevin Ray has been a teaching artist facilitating Creative Drama and Theater Arts residencies since completing the Arts in Education Workshop at the Actors' Work Program in 2002. In addition to teaching, Kevin has also directed, music directed, set designed and choreographed musical theater with New York City students. He has developed and facilitated many Creative Drama and Theater Arts residencies with Periwinkle National Theater's Department of Education. In addition Kevin has worked with the 92nd StreetY, Creative Educational Systems and Wingspan Arts. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Musical Theater from New York University. As a professional actor, Kevin is a proud member of Actor's Equity and has appeared in many regional theater productions as well as national tours of *The Who's Tommy* and *A Chorus Line*.

Athena Reich, MNMP Teaching Artist Athena Reich has enjoyed tremendous success over the years as a singer/songwriter and actress. She has shared the stage with such performers as Jim Carrey and Sarah McLaughlin, and TV appearances include CNN, PBS, and The History Channel. She has released four CDs and toured extensively across North America. As a teaching artist, Athena teaches songwriting, choir, vocal technique, mask-making, acting and more through organizations such as Oregon State University, Montcalm College, Manhattan New Music Project, TADA!, Ontario Science Center and Amazon White Rabbit Records. She sings and plays piano and guitar and can get a room full of kids to sing their heart out.

Alda Reuter, MNMP Teaching Artist Alda Reuter comes from a family of artists who celebrate the culture and traditions of Latin America. As a dancer as well as an accomplished percussionist, she is always exploring the close relationship between music and dance. She is the Artistic Director of Mexico Beyond Mariachi, bringing an appreciation of folklore, culture, and traditions of Mexico through music and dance to thousands of young students and audiences of all ages..

Jane Rigler flutist, composer, improviser, educator and producer of events is an active featured performer in contemporary, improvisation and experimental music festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe, presenting both acoustic and electroacoustic shows as a soloist as well as within ensembles. Expanding upon her classical background (B.M., Northwestern University), she gained her M.M. and Ph.D. (UC San Diego) resulting in her book The Vocalization of the Flute which demonstrates a variety of imaginative ways the voice and flute interact based upon non-western traditions, Western 20th-21st Century works and her own compositions. Jane has given master-classes, seminars, workshops, and taught at a variety of universities, conservatories, conventions and performing art schools throughout the U.S., South America and Europe. While living in Spain she performed and organized more than 500 concerts for children. She organizes events such as the Relay~NYC! held in MoMA, NY in 2005, and the Spontaneous Music Festival in Brooklyn, NY to be premiered with local school children in November 2006. She has also received Brooklyn Arts Council grants and several artistic residencies, from Harvestworks, Art Omi and RPI's Create iEar. She is currently Technology Program Coordinator for the Manhattan New Music Project where she is designing and developing a new interactive sensor-driven music composition program for kids with disabilities, called the Music Cre8tor.

Ethan Schlesser is a musician, composer, musical director, and works as a teaching artist in the field of vocal performance and creating original musical theater. Having studied music and piano since age 7, Ethan graduated from the University of Miami¹s music program in 1989 and currently directs the Urban Academy High School Pop/Gospel Choir, and directs the ³Create A Musical² program for young people (ages 10 14) at the Berkeley Carroll Creative Arts Program. In 1996, Ethan worked for the NYC Board of Education as a middle school chorus teacher for 4 years (the inspiration for his original family musical ³It¹s All In Your Mind²) and in 2000 founded the Brooklyn Youth Vocal Ensemble, a Brooklyn-based high school show choir. Ethan has written and produced the music for the Life Lines Community Arts Project in Sunset Park and in 2001 founded and continues to produce the ³Jingle Bell Jamboree², a Brooklyn holiday community concert. In 2002, he received the Borough President Citation for Community Service and was recognized as an outstanding songwriter by the John Lennon Foundation. When he was a younger man, Ethan performed and toured with many musical artists and productions, including Gloria Gaynor, and ³Our Young Black Men Are Dying A Gospel Musical².

David Simons work in music for theater and dance has brought him to Zagreb and Tallinn, Seoul and Yogyakarta, Munich and Berlin, Guantanamo, Honolulu, and Bali. In 2003 he was resident composer at the Rockefeller Foundation¹s Bellagio center in Italy, preparing a piece for NEWBAND and the Harry Partch microtonal instruments. Other awards include two NY Foundation for the Arts fellowships, Artslink and Arts International travel grants, Meet the Composer commissions, and international artist residencies. "Music for Theremin and Gamelan", commissioned by the American Composers Forum was performed at Sacred Rhythm Percussion Festival in Bali 2000, and in NYC at Knitting Factory and the 2005 CalArts Alumni concert at The Kitchen. Simons' writings on music and sound are published in Radiotexte(Semiotexte#16), EAR magazine, and Soundings. As a Teaching Artist David has worked with MNMP's Creative Music Educators program to develop music curriculum for Special Education, teaches World Percussion for the Brooklyn Philharmonic in the schools, and homemade instrument building and composition workshops throughout the US and abroad.

Nancy Volante has a B.A. in Theatre and Psychology, Columbia Pacific University, San Rafael, CA; Certified Movement Specialist, The New School, NYC, Certified Life Coach, The Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching, NJ. She was Artistic Director of Moving Theatre, New Works Theatre, and The Acting Space from 1998-2004. Nancy received her theatre training from Commedia Dell Arte, NYC, Anne Bogart, Site Company, NYC, Second City, NYC, Chekhov School for the Performing Arts, NYC, The Actors Institute, NYC, The Actor’s Center, NYC, Dance Training with Mark Morris, Lynn Simonson, Cindy Green, Miguel Lopez and Adrienne Hawkins. She has performed an original piece ”Stone Talk” at the 92nd St. Y, NYC, So Grand Studio, NYC, The Actor’s Institute, NYC, Choreographed for New Renaissance Theater, NYC, New Works Theatre, Produced, co-directed and performed, “Wasp” by Steve Martin. Moving Theatre, Created, co-directed and performed Le jeu de la vie, CT. Nancy was the movement director for the Off-Broadway Show “Bubble Meises”. She has also performed with Impulse Dance Company, Boston, MA, Ski John and Dancers, NYC, Monica Levy Group, NYC. Performed dance pieces by Rael Lamb, Warren Spears, and Marcus Schulkind. Nancy is currently working on a documentary…Our Next Citizens