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Dominic Williams

Hip-Hop Dance

 

Portland native Dominic Williams is a self-taught urban dance specialist.  His styles include Hip-Hop, Popping, Tutting, Krump, Freestyle, Parkour and Free running. 

 

Dominic began his dance career at Rosemary Anderson High School, and it quickly blossomed into a love of teaching. While still in high school he developed a club for fellow students where he taught Freestyling and began to explore social issues through utilization of feelings, interaction, vibe and connection to music. 

 

Dominic has worked for Northwest Children’s Theater teaching lyrical Hip-Hop to young children and is currently teaching Krump/Hip-Hop fusion at Beach Elementary School with a focus on imaginative choreography and self-expression through movement.

Susu Pampanin

Drumming World Rhythms

 

Susu Pampanin is a world-renowned percussionist specializing in Egyptian Classical and Middle Eastern styles.  Susan began drumming at the age of twelve and within a year she was invited to sit in and perform with Arabic bands in the San Fransisco Bay Area. 

 

Susu has cultivated a proficiency and interest in many other genres and styles of world percussion including North African, Afro-Cuban, and Brazilian. Susu is internationally known for her virtuosity in Arabic drumming and is one of the few female Middle Eastern drummers highly respected by the Arabic professional music community.  

 

She has played on over twenty recordings and recently took part in a recording project with the world-famed Henkesh family - artists from Mohamed Ali Street in Egypt.  She plays several other instruments as well, including the Oud and Nai.

 

Susu is a member of Aswat Ensemble, Aswan Women's Ensemble, the Georges Lammam Ensemble, and is a founding member of the Pasha Band and Caravan Band.  She has been a guest artist with the National Arab Orchestra, based in Detriot, and she teaches yearly at “Born To Drum” International Women’s Drum Camp and Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp in Mendicino.

Lucian Paono

Peruvian Folk Dance

Luciana Proaño is a Portland based Peruvian dancer and artist dedicated to multidisciplinary and cross-cultural work. Her unique aesthetic style shows that her Peruvian heritage and world travels are blended deeply in her subconscious.

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Luciana says of her teaching philosophy, “I teach for people to discover something about themselves while enjoying collaboration and community. Mythology fosters open minds in a diverse world where we are a microcosm of that diversity. In the use of archetypes, diversity has convergence.” 

 

Luciana is part of Young Audience Arts for Learning, a program which brings arts into the schools in Oregon and Southwest Washington.  Kids love her dynamic teaching style and boundless energy. 

Betty Hamilton

Traditional Dress Making

 

Betty Hamilton has been involved with sewing and textile arts for over 65 years and is one of the best loved sewing teachers in the Yakima Valley.  She received her degree from Yakima Valley Community college in home economics and continued her education at Central Washington University in pattern drafting. 

 

Betty also worked closely with Debbie Goello of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Betty taught sewing classes in Seattle, and after returning to the Yakima Valley she managed Bernina Sewing Center where she taught sewing and quilting classes to adults as well as children.  She loves teaching and has endless patience with children and adults (who generally need it the most).  She is also a prolific and artistic quilter.

TerriAnne Guitierrez-Dandiya

East Indian Folk Dance

 

TerriAnne Gutierrez studied all forms of Indian dance during the 25 years her family lived in Bangalore, India.  She spent many years studying the classical Indian dance form, Kahtak from world renowned instructors, Cliff and Betty Jones in Sonoma County California where she was honored to be a part of their professional performing dance company for seven years. 

 

TerriAnne has brought her love of Indian dance to children by teaching in many Bay Area public schools, festivals and camps.  She established Sirens Studio in 2001 as a space to create, produce, present, and teach; multicultural dance, theater, and music, engaging a diverse group of Sonoma County and Bay Area artists, audiences, and students. Many racially mixed, and culturally specific ensembles consider Sirens Studio & Theater their artistic home, creating a thriving inter-generational community.

Carolyn Hamilton-Saidi

North African Folk Dance

 

Carolyn Hamilton has been a performer and teacher of Middle Eastern Dance for over 20 years.  Thirteen years of her career were spent in Cairo, Egypt where she became one of the top performers of regional dance in weddings, nightclubs, on television and in movies.  Her show included 20 musicians and 4 folklore dancers, with whom she presented authentic folklore as well as fusion and modern tableaux.  She has performed throughout the Middle East and has taught in 35 different countries around the world.  She is the founder of Camp Negum, a live music and dance camp which ran for 8 years and was held in 5 different regions within Egypt, combining the local music and culture with master Egyptian teachers and Musicians.  Carolyn has also produced 6 best-selling CDs of Arab music.

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Since returning to the states from Egypt, Carolyn continues to teach.  She performs in San Antonio with the National Arab Orchestra, with the George Lamam Ensemble at the Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp and was the only dancer invited to perform at the 20th Anniversary of the Arab Festival in the Seattle Center.

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For the last four years, Carolyn has been the director of youth programs at Englewood Christian Church including After School Arts, a free art program which brings local artists and art teachers to teach fine art to children ages 7-14.  She also facilitates a dance/movement prayer group at Englewood.

Amirra Malak

Set Designer

Amirra Malak is an Egyptian American artist living in Oregon while also inhabiting the spaces between cultures, countries, geographies, and identities. She feels most at home in liminal spaces, especially in the natural world and is interested in using light, pattern, movement, time, sound, and visual sensation to create meditative healing experiences. Her work includes drawing, painting, textiles, meditative video, interactive and immersive video installations, and curated online spaces. She is currently exploring bridging past and future through the combination of ancient craft and modern technologies in video and textile installations inspired by Egyptian Khayamiya tent applique.

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Amirra shares her belief that humans are makers and creators by nature with her two children and her high school students in Hood River where she has been an art teacher for eighteen years. She strives to create equity and access to college level art curriculum for all students through building and maintaining an inclusive AP art program at Hood River Valley High School and serving on the Hood River County School District Equity Committee. She also served on both the Arts Academic Advisory Committee and the Advanced Placement Art & Design Development Committee for the College Board. She was awarded the College Board Regional Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts for her equity work within the AP Art & Design program

Tusuy Peru

Peruvian dance and culture

Tusuy Peru has been celebrating Peruvian dance and culture in the Northwest since 2009.  We strive to bring you and imaginary voyage to the diverse cultures of Peru, portraying original outfits and every region.

Rosie Saldana
Art Exhibitor

For artist Rosie Saldana, she is inspired by many sources: her interest in art history; her exploration of her culture, self and heritage.

Saldana writes, “Growing up a fourth-generation Mexican-American ‘Chicana’ but having little cultural history and few traditions, I use my art to find and embrace my own identity and to not only embrace my cultural history but celebrate it.”

Saldana graduated from Heritage University with a bachelor of visual arts degree. She knew when she pursued college that this would be her focus. She hopes to eventually go back to college and pursue a degree that will allow her to teach art history. Saldana works for Tieton Arts & Humanities as a program assistant and volunteer coordinator.

 

M.A.S.H. K-pop

Performing at Welcome Dinner

M.A.S.H.
Guest Performers at Welcome Dinner

M.A.S.H is a dance group in the Yakima Valley from A.C Davis High School which specializes in learning and performing Kpop dances. As a group, they show their appreciation for the dance culture of Korean pop, make friends, and share a passion for dance.

Dancers aren't born, they're made through the blood, sweat, and tears they put into their efforts. In M.A.S.H, everyone has the potential to be a great dancer if they really want to be.

 

M.A.S.H started as a small group of dancers with big dreams in 2019 debuted at the 2020 Davis Follies. Now they are well known in the Yakima Valley for not only being the first Kpop dance team but also for having a positive environment for dancers to learn and grow. M.A.S.H. performs at school events, film dance covers, and competes in competitions. They foster raw talent to maturity with hard work, training, and a true love for performing. 

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