School Faculty
Elizabeth Douglas
Elizabeth Douglas received her Masters and B.A. in Dance and Dance Education from the University of Buffalo. She is also certified in Dance K-12, Elementary Labanotation, and Level One Somatics. Elizabeth has been affiliated with several children’s dance, arts outreach, and dance theater organizations in the Syracuse, NY and New York City areas. She currently works with Harkness Dance Center, In Grandma’s Attic, Education in Dance, and Intercataction. As a dancer, Elizabeth has worked with noted choreographers Douglas Dunn and Alwin Nikolais.
Enika Gjokoreci
Enika Gjokoreci taught piano professionally for over 20 years throughout Europe and the US. She has a BM in Piano Performances and Teaching, completed an Associates Degree in Business, and passed the NY Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills Exam. Comfortable in both public and private class settings, she’s instructed children and adults in such institutions as the Artistic Lyceum in Tirana (Albania), the Staten Island Conservatory of Music, and the Lynbrook School of Music in Long Island. She currently teaches at the DEA Music School in Staten Island, the Bronx House School for Performing Arts, and as a substitute music teacher as P.S. 108.
KIRSTEN HO
Kirsten Ho trained in R.A.D. Ballet in Hong Kong, and graduated from the Hong Kong Arts Academy for the Performing Arts. At the London Studio Centre, Ms. Ho received a B.A. in Theatre Dance and Contemporary Dance. In England, she performed and toured with musical theater and dance productions throughout the U.K. before coming to the United States. In New York City, she graduated from the Independent Study at Ailey and has performed with Abigail Levine, Jennie Liu and Muna Tseng. She recently completed a year assisting for the junior division ballet program at The Ailey School.
Jungeun Hong
A native of Korea, Ms. Hong earned her BFA from Pusan National University in Korea, and her Masters Degree in Piano Performance from Manhattan School of Music. There, as a student of Phillip Kawin, she was awarded the 2005 KASF (Korean American Scholarship Foundation) Award for her academic excellence and musical talent. She has performed in master classes presented by Oxana Yablonskaya and Arie Vardi, among others. Ms. Hong has taught piano professionally for over 10 years to students of all ages and levels.
JOANIE JOHNSON
Joanie Johnson, originally from Pennsylvania, earned a BA in dance from Slippery Rock University and will graduate in September from The Institute of Integrated Nutrition. She is a dancer, dance educator, pilates instructor and the founder of Motivated Nutrition. (http://www.motivatednutrition.net) She dances professionally with H.T. Chen and Dancers and Valerie Green/Dance Entropy. She is involved with the non-profit organization, House of the Roses, as a full time movement teacher, dancer, and member of the Artistic Advisory Committee. She is on faculty at Chen Dance Center as a dance instructor.
Alvin Lee
Alvin Lee received his Masters in Music from the Manhattan School of Music in May, 2005. He’s led a fresh but exciting career as a private piano teacher, assistant musical director for the musical ‘Columbus’, and accompanist for soloists, chamber musicians, and vocal performers on both coasts since 1998. He’s performed with such ensembles and orchestras as the MSM Philharmonia, MSM Jazz Orchestra, and the TACTUS contemporary ensemble
Jasna Popovic
Jasna Popovic attended the Academy of Music in Belgrade and later the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Munich, Germany. She has a BM in both Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy. She also has won several awards, including Second Place at the National Piano Competition in Belgrade and Fourth Place at the International Competition in Rome. Jasna has had the honor of working with several renowned artists such as composer Rodin Scedrin, pianist Vadim Suhanov, and double-bassist Roman Patkolo. She has made recordings of ethno-classical Serbian music honoring Queen Elizabeth and is currently working on her solo debut album.
Connie Procopio
Connie Procopio graduated from University of South Florida with a BFA in Dance, and performed one season with Moving Current Dance Company in Florida. In NYC, she trained primarily at the Limon Institute and has performed for Sue Bernhard/DanceWorks, Alan Danielson, Maxine Steinman, Raphael Boumailla, Kathryn Alter, and the Avodah Dance Ensemble. Her own choreography has been performed at festivals in Calabria, Italy; spectacle de variete de la Maison du Canada in Paris, France; Limon Institute; Chelsea Pier; Bric Studio; School of Performing Arts in Connecticut; University of South Florida Theater/Dance Departments; Hostas Cultural Arts Center; Dance Theatre of Lynchburg.
Kimberly Prosa
Kimberly Prosa is from southern Oregon and began her training at the Pacific School of Dance studying ballet, modern and jazz. She attended ABT’s summer intensive in 2001 placing in the highest level and the Paul Taylor summer Intensive in 2005. She is a 2006 graduate of SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She has performed works by Dance Theatre of Oregon, Eugene Ballet Company, H.T. Chen and Dancers and with the Purchase Dance Corps. Kim also has a background in both dramatic and musical theater.
Emiko Sato
A native of Japan, Emiko Sato earned her Bachelor of Music degree at Doshisha Woman’s College of Liberal Arts where she studied with Bulgarian pianist Svetla V. Protich and received the Mtsusita Kimiko Scholarship (1997), Ishimura Masako Award (1999) and the Niijima Award (2000). She was awarded the Master of Music degree in 2003 and the Professional Studies Diploma in 2005, from Mannes College of Music, where she received a scholarship to study solo piano and chamber music. She has performed in several NY venues, including Steinway Hall. Ms. Sato is currently a DMA candidate at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Tanesha Sumerset
After graduating from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Fl, Tanesha Sumerset attending Florida Community College at Jacksonville were she was a memeber of the Repertory Company for 3 year. In 2006, Tanesha relocated to Miami, Fl to complete her BFA at New World School of the Arts under the direction of Daniel Lewis. Currently Ms. Sumerset lives in New York where she teaches classes and dances in Arch Dance Company, which is directed by Jennifer Archibald.
Megumi Yonezawa
Megumi Yonezawa received her BM in the dual majors of Jazz Composition and Performance concentration in Piano from the Berklee College of Music. Her musical experience includes playing for such artists as the Greg Osby Four (Blue Note Recordings), Phil Wilson and The Rainbow Big Band, and Ben Elkins and The Back Bay Brass. A few of her awards include the Hokkaido Culture Foundation Oversea Artist Award, the Jazz Performance Award from Berklee College of Music, and the Asian Tour Scholarship from Berklee. Megumi has been professionally recorded on Greg Osby’s Public(Blue Note Recordings).