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< Back IDA Nomination: Come Together MJ Wolff Mar 1, 2022 Previous Next

< Back Caitlin Mead Faculty: Ballet & Tap Caitlin Mead began her dance training at the age of two in the Conejo Valley and has trained and competed over the years in various styles of dance, including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Modern, and Hip-Hop. She competed for several years at industry dance conventions and competitions as well as attended summer dance programs with American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Peridance Capezio Center, and was invited by ABT to join their Junior Associate program. In 2021, Caitlin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Chapman University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and a minor in Entrepreneurship, receiving departmental honors. While at Chapman, Caitlin received professional training from acclaimed faculty and guest artists and performed in high-caliber productions as well as choreographed numerous pieces. Following graduation, Caitlin continued her training at Millennium Dance Complex, Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, and Exactitude in Los Angeles and New York City, training with industry professionals. Caitlin is excited to join SCPA and provide her students with a strong technical foundation while also striving to share her love of creativity, expression, and passion for dance with others.

< Back ADCC Studio Of Excellence: Applause Apr 16, 2022 Congratulations Dancers This is placeholder text. To change this content, double-click on the element and click Change Content. Want to view and manage all your collections? Click on the Content Manager button in the Add panel on the left. Here, you can make changes to your content, add new fields, create dynamic pages and more. Your collection is already set up for you with fields and content. Add your own content or import it from a CSV file. Add fields for any type of content you want to display, such as rich text, images, and videos. Be sure to click Sync after making changes in a collection, so visitors can see your newest content on your live site. Previous Next

< Back Julie Rhoton Artistic Director Julie has been a dance educator for over forty years. Before joining us here at SCPA, she owned her own successful dance studio: Inspirations Performing Arts Center, located in Moreno Valley, well known for its quality of dance instruction. After thirteen years in business, Julie closed Inspirations PAC and took time off to travel, teach and judging dance competitions. Soon, she began to miss studio life and found her way to us and accepted the position of SCPA's Artistic Director. Twenty years have passed since Julie started here at South Coast Performing Arts and we wouldn't change a thing. Julie is family to us and we share the same philosophies about dance, the development of dancers and studio life in general. Though we have created numerous Programs together, Julie is especially excited about our SCPA Fundraising Program where we highlight a non-profit charity with an annual fundraising campaign, partnering with our studio families and dancers to do good in the world together! #taliastrong #SCPAstrong #dancersmakingadifference In 2018, Julie's Tribute dance for our Talia: 'Saturday Smile' was nominated as a Industry Dance Award finalist for Best Lyrical, Modern, Contemporary Performance. Besting this acknowledgement was having "Saturday Smile" being invited to perform in the actual Industry Dance Awards show night! SCPA and our Saturday Smile dancers shined on this special night! In addition to studio life, Julie partnered with Keri LaGrand to author a 'Stretch and Strength' syllabus for dance educators. With the success of their first syllabus, two more syllabi's were created: "Advanced Stretch and Strength' and "Crazy Hard Exercises". As a prominent dance educator, Julie still travels teaching Master Classes emphasizing fundamentals of technique and using technique as an access for expression. Dancers that Julie has trained have worked in videos, commercials, theatre, film, television, have become professional choreographers and more than a few have opened their own dance studios. Though Julie has won numerous honors and accolades over the course of her career, what is closest to her heart is inclusion. Creating a space where children and young adults can feel a sense of belonging, to be themselves, in a nurturing, challenging and supportive environment through dance. Dance studio life is pretty wonderful, and so is our Julie! julie@southcoastperformingarts.com

< Back Gina Quintana Faculty: Creative Movement Gina comes to us with over twenty five years of teaching experience. A graduate of University of California, Irvine with a degree in dance, Gina has taught ballet, jazz, tap, modern, creative movement, and cotillion in studios and schools throughout central and Southern California. When she isn't in the studio she can be found at elementary schools with The Wooden Floor, and in hospitals teaching dance for Parkinson's disease, and Discovery Arts, bringing the arts to hospitalized children. She also teaches at UCP in their recreation department, and spends her evenings performing at Disneyland. Gina is grateful for her many opportunities to share the joy of dance! gina@southcoastperformingarts.com

< Back Colin Harabedian Faculty: Hip Hop Colin Harabedian is a dancer and choreographer from Carlsbad, CA. His specialty is in hip hop and contemporary dance, with focuses on hip hop, breaking, popping, and house dance. His history and experience in both the street dance, dance studios, concert, and the commercial dance world has led him to build a very well rounded and seasoned career that he brings into his classes and students. As a teacher, he feels that it’s important to share the proper foundation to students, regardless of style, and provide an open and safe space to learn and grow. He believes that when teaching hip hop, teaching multiple styles creates a stronger foundation for students to pull from in their choreography, freestyle, and general practice of the dance and culture. His teaching style focuses on building the tools to be able to freestyle, knowledge of dance, growth as a dancer, literacy and fluency of movement, strength and control, and mental and physical stamina. He loves getting to work with kids of all skill levels and watching them improve in their movement and their love of dance grow. Having a positive role in students’ lives is something he holds very dearly. Being able to play a small part in their journey as a dancer and person is a joy for him, and he loves watching the next generation of dancers that are coming up. colin@southcoastperformingarts.com

< Back MJ Wolff Creative Director Originally from Charleston, SC, MJ's passion for dance ignited at the age of three and has since been the driving force of her journey. For a decade, she dedicated herself to competitive dancing, seamlessly transitioning this dedication into her college career. As the captain and choreographer of the Coastal Carolina University’s Coastelttes Dance Team, she performed alongside the Spirit of the Chanticleer Marching Band, captivating audiences at sporting events. Her leadership extended to Spirit Productions, where she served as dance captain for six remarkable years, showcasing her talent in productions such as Illusions of Magic, Cirque Extreme, Christmas Wonderland, and Hot Jersey Nights. MJ's expertise as a dance educator spans fifteen years, marked by her recent accomplishments at the 2023 Industry Dance Awards for her choreography and at World of Dance with ThaMost performing under the guidance of Jonathan Sison. Currently pursuing an MFA in Dance at CSULB, MJ's dedication to her craft continues to evolve. Additionally, she holds the role of Creative Director at South Coast Performing Arts in Tustin, CA, where she inspires and nurtures emerging artists in the dance community. mj@southcoastperformingarts.com

< Back Ashley Sutherland Parker Faculty: Ballet, Jazz & Combo Ashley was born and raised in Orange County, CA and began dancing at The Irvine School of Dance. She continued to pursue ballet training with Ballet Pacifica in Irvine, CA. Over her dancing career, Ashley attended prestigious Summer Intensive Programs such as School of American Ballet , Pacific Northwest Balle t, Miami City Ballet and Joffrey Ballet School . Ashley joined the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program in New York City from 2007-2009. Throughout her career she had extensive training in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary & Jazz dance. Ashley officially joined the SCPA faculty in 2015 - teaching a range of styles and ages! Her passion is sharing the love of dance with her students. ashley@southcoastperformingarts.com

< Back Carolyn Lovett Ballet Director West Coast native Carolyn Lovett is an award winning choreographer and dance teacher. She received her early training from Anthony Sellers and Marnell Heimes of the Orange County Dance Center. Carolyn continued her training on scholarship at the Stanley Holden Dance Academy under Mr. Holden and Margaret Hills. Later she studied under Maredith Baylis, Basil Thompson and Cho San Go at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. Carolyn has been teaching Ballet, Lyrical and Modern Dance in Southern California for 40 years. Many of Carolyn's students have been accepted to and received scholarships to notable Ballet Company schools including The Australian Ballet, Houston Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, The Rock, Pacific Northwest Ballet, The School of American Ballet, Princess Grace Academy of Classical Dance (Monaco) and Washington Ballet. She has also had students hired into Professional Ballet Companies as well as second companies and trainee programs. carolyn@southcoastperformingarts.com

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< Back Lauren Roberson Faculty: Hip Hop