Guest Artist Series

 Karla Garcia - Dancer & Choreographer

Originally from Oxon Hill, Maryland, Karla Garcia made her Broadway debut at age twenty in Hot Feet, a dance musical directed by Maurice Hines. Garcia went on to perform in the national tours of Wicked and Addams Family followed by other Broadway performances such as West Side Story, Gigi, and Hamilton: An American Musical. Karla made history as the first Filipina cast member in Broadway's Hamilton.

She was a top 7 female television finalist on FOX's So You Think You Can Dance Season 5, and a principal dancer for 9 episodes of NBC's Smash, Season 2. Garcia was one of six 'Broadway Bound choreographers' selected to present at 2018 Dance Break Showcase. She is currently a choreographer of a brand new show Other World, written by Hunter Bell,  Jeffrey Bowen, and Ann McNamee. Karla is also the Associate Choreographer for an upcoming Broadway show Days of Wine and Roses. She has presented work for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for numerous years and is the theater faculty at Broadway Dance Center.

 Website: https://www.karlagarciadance.com/

John Donato - Fine Artist & Muralist 

John Donato is an accomplished and celebrated American fine artist and muralist. John is best recognized for creating large-scale community murals and widely collected whimsical works of fine art on canvas and wood. Whichever size or material, John's creations are uniquely styled, fun, engaging and inspiring. 

John's art is often described as having "smile impact" - irresistible compositions that capture attention, induce smiles, and nudge observers towards a more joyful mindset. 

John works on communities, schools, non-profits, and businesses. A well-known community collaborator, John develops and facilitates large and small art projects which help communities, children, teachers and administrators reinforce educational and social goals. The programs offer community, employee, or student participation and transform interior and exterior into stunning public artwork. 

Donato's ability to transform spaces into inspirational and uplifting learning environments is having a measurable positive effect on the communities ans schools that host him. The style and process has resulted in common response from students, teachers, community members, and the public; describing persistent gravity pulling them into the artwork each time they see it and continuing to influent and challenge them to advance their own perspective and awareness. 

Website: https://www.artsmack.com/

Stacey & Teddy Newton - Production and Animation

Stacey Newton, a creative film producer, specializes in story development, animation process, and pipeline management. During her 12 years at the Pixar Animation Studios her love for story grew. There, she worked with the development team on Ratatouille, Wall-E, Inside out, and Finding Dory. Her strength is bridging the ambiguity of the creative process with the reality of production deadlines. She helps storytellers get unstuck while inspiring authenticity in their work.

Over the last fours years her feature development partners include, Andrew Stanton, Glen Keane Productions, and Teddy Newton.  Stacey also develops and consults for many clients ranging from TV, to video game, to AR projects. Stacey recently produced the Academy Award winning animated short film, Hair Love. She is presently, developing Rich Moore’s next animated feature at Sony Pictures Animation.

Teddy Newton’s unique sense of humor mixed with his ability to whip out characters with only a few strokes of a pen, gave rise to his career in the animation field.

Teddy has contributed as a designer and story artist to many of the top animated films in the industry, including: The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Toy Story 3, Incredibles 2, as well as many Pixar short films, such as, Presto, Jack-Jack Attack, Your Friend the Rat, Partly Cloudy, and Day & Night, which he also wrote and directed. The film played theatrically with Toy Story 3 and was nominated for an Academy Award. It won both a VES and an ANNIE award for outstanding short film of 2010. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids, making art and developing animated projects. 

Zola Williams - Dancer & Actor

Zola Williams is originally from Bowie, Maryland, where she started dance at age 5. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, Zola remained a competitive dancer, competing at multiple regional and national dance competitions, winning many titles. 

After graduating from high school, Zola matriculated to Towson University in Maryland. A year later, she transferred to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she received her BFA in dance performance, specializing in Ballet.

Soon after graduating college, Zola joined the Las Vegas company of The Lion King. For two and a half years she graced the stage with this company. After the show closed, Zola toured on-and-off with The Lion King, eventually becoming Dance Captain. 

Zola then made the move to Los Angeles, where she had the pleasure of working with many great choreographer's such as Stacey Tookey and Peter Chu for Season 10 & 12 of So You Think You Can Dance? She danced for the princess of Dubai's Royal Wedding, Art on Ice, Shia LaBeouf Live and more. Zola also has made a few videos with her dance partner, DJ Smart Jr, one of which has over 4 million views! 

You can also find Zola in Marvel's Black Panther and Avengers:Infinity War as Dora Milaje, and the opening sequence in Ted 2. Keep your eyes open, because you will definitely continue to see Zola on the small and big screen!

FADE Senior Showcase

This event virtual presentation will feature our current senior members of the FADE Program as they showcase their primary focus in the arts. This is a wonderful evening to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and talent of our senior class. Enjoy a wonderful evening of Art, Dance, Music, and Theatre.  Virtual Presentation will be shared at a date to be determined on the Guest Artists Page.

The String Queens - Music Trio

Praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, The String Queens (TSQ) is a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine!

With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age and into today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that transport audiences through time and a multitude of musical genres.

Based in Washington, D.C., TSQ members have been featured in famed performance venues across four continents including: Carnegie Hall, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Howard Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Shanghai Grand Theatre, The Moscow Conservatory, and Blues Alley, to name a few.

TSQ members have collaborated with artists throughout the music industry, including Ledisi, Solange, Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monae, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Common,  Andra Day, and the late Aretha Franklin, among others.  As chamber and orchestral musicians, TSQ members have performed under the batons of legendary musical directors Ray Chew, Adam Blackstone, and many more.    

Recognized by D.C.’s leading news network WUSA9 as “school teachers by day and concert performers by night”, TSQ is excited to launch a series of concerts and education outreach programs with Washington Performing Arts as the 2019-2020 Ensemble-in-Residence for their signature community engagement initiative titled “Mars Arts D.C.”. 

In late 2019, TSQ premiered their debut album at legendary jazz venue Blues Alley. The album is now available for purchase on the TSQ website and all major digital outlets. Additional information about their debut album can be found here.

RHYTHmaya Dance 

September, 2019

Our Managing Director, Sheila Oak Maggin, will be providing an interactive dance presentation about India and its celebratory culture highlighting music and dance. We will do a brief introduction of India explaining how each different region varies with languages therefore the dances also vary. We perform and compare each form.  We will also engage the audience to teach actual steps so everyone has an opportunity to dance!

Sheila Oak Maggin, is a classical trained dancer in the Northern Indian Classical form of Kathak which dates back to 500 BCE. She was the first noted dancer to complete her formal graduation on the entire East Coast of this unique dance form in 2002.  Sheila is also a noted Bollywood, Middle Eastern, and Hip Hop trained dancer and received her minor in dance from George Mason University. She currently is a finance professional and also manages all 150 students in the Kathak and MD Bollywood branches of Rhythmaya.  www.rhythmaya.com

Casey Kaleba - Stage Combat Choreography 

October 2019

Casey Kaleba has coordinated violence for opera, television, music videos, and more than 500 productions with professional, community, and academic theatres. That work includes arranging fights at the Guthrie Theatre, Spoleto Festival USA , Ford's Theatre, Folger Theatre, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Wolf Trap Opera, and Olney Theatre Center.  Casey has staged fights for knights, musketeers, princesses, zombies, wolves, pirates, ninjas, and at least one alien tentacle.  Recently he has served as the audition choreographer for Marvel Universe Live and worked for several years smashing things with swords on the YouTube show Men At Arms: Reforged.
www.toothandclawcombat.com 
Tweet me @ToothClawCombat

BRAHIM! Band - featuring Tyrone Allen (BMHS Class of 2013)

January, 2020

Formed in Rochester, NY, BRAHIM! is a fusion octet. The music includes as much improvisation as composition, not limited to vocals,  DJing, horns, rapping, and or the band’s two drummers. Abe Nouri fronts the band while singing, playing trombone, and the occasional synthesizer. BMHS alumni Tyrone Allen plays bass, synthesizer and contributes compositions to the band. After graduating from BMHS, Tyrone went to Eastman School of Music where he met most of the members of the band.
Tyrone graduated from BMHS in 2013, and went on to study classical and jazz bass at Eastman. From there he received his Masters degree from the Global Jazz Institute at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Tyrone now resides in Brooklyn, NY where he is a full-time musician. 

Cindy Berry Sullivan - Artist

January, 2020 

There is an energy I hope to convey in my paintings and drawings that I imagine is similar to the energy musicians hope to convey to their listeners.  Much of my work is created with a soundtrack for the piece as inspiration.

Each painting is begun with an urge to physically interpret the visual and the emotional through the materiality of oil paint. Each mark on the canvas, whether controlled or accidental, is met with a countermove based on the outcome.

Though born with a hand tremor I have learned to use my hand movement FOR me to support my expressive style and intuitive use of color. I hope the work "moves" you!  

www.cindyberrysullivan.com

FADE Senior Showcase

This event featured our senior members of the FADE Program, as they showcase their primary focus in the arts. This is a wonderful evening to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and talent of our senior class. 

Alisha Peek - Alvin Ailey II & BMHS Alum

February, 2020

Alisha Rena Peek '14 of Upper Marlboro, Maryland is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance. She began her formal dance training at the Washington School of Ballet and later went on to train at Dance Theatre of Harlem Kennedy Center Residency, Kirov Ballet Academy, and The Art of Technique with Troy D. Brown.

As a scholarship student, Ms. Peek attended summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Boston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and The Ailey School. She also appeared in the new FX series Pose and has worked with choreographers such as Robert Battle, Uri Sands, Marcus Jarrell Willis, Bradley Shelver, and Darshan Bhuller. This is Ms. Peek’s second season with Ailey II.

Since Alisha has left Bishop McNamara she has not only been touring with Ailey II, but she has been giving back to her community by teaching workshops when she is home. Her mission is to inspire the next generation of dancers to shoot for the stars, because anything is possible.