Laguna Dance's founder and artistic director, sharing what she has shared so generously so many in the dance world - and more! Jodie will teach her joyous ballet class and hyper-musical William Forsythe repertory, alongside our incredible lineup of guests this summer.

Ray Basa, a Los Angeles native, fell in love with the freestyle aspect of dance in high school but it wasn’t until the age of 20 when he decided to pursue a career in dance. He trained in many styles at Debbie Reynolds and the Edge Performing Arts Studio including commercial hip hop and contemporary. He has also been fortunate to train under the Versastyle dance company in house dance and various styles of hip-hop foundation.

To get a deeper understanding of house dance, Ray traveled to Philadelphia to take classes under original house dancers like Caleaf Sellers, Brian Green and Marjory Smarth. Since then he has traveled to various countries including Spain, Japan, Mexico, India, to name a few, to teach workshops and spread his love of dance.

He has choreographed multiple dance numbers from music videos for various house artists to live stage performances for music festivals like “Lightning in a Bottle” and “Electric Forest”. He has worked with industry choreographers Anthony Thomas (choreographer for Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation), Rosero Mccoy, Marty Kudelka, Harry Shum, Scotty Nguyen, Chucky Klapow, and Robert Schultz, to name a few.

With an urge to give back to the community he joined Cultureshock Los Angeles as their assistant artistic director from 2013 to 2015. Ray Basa is represented by MSA and is still dancing through life with an infectious smile on his face, motivating others to approach life with the same passion! Some of His Credits Include: Nickelodeons’ Victorious, Coca Cola, Disney’s Shake it Up, Rockin Rio, Asia Entertainment Toronto Canada, John Tesh PBS special, and Juliette Lewis.

JJ was born and raised in Japan. After moving to LA in 2006 she immediately signed with a dance agency and received her work visa. She has worked for artists such as Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Pink, Paula Abdul, EVE, T-Pain, Logic, Chemical Brothers, Q-tip, Chromeo and more for award shows, music videos, and tours. She was on Emmy Award-winning show “So You Think You Can Dance” season 12 on FOX as a finalist, and also on “Dancing With The Stars” She has appeared in numerous commercials and TV shows such as, Target, Old Navy, Minute Maid, Toyota, Lexus, Tide, Knott’s Berry Farm, Disney American Idol Experience, Ellen, Jimmy Fallon and more.

Being half Japanese and half English, she uses the unique look for modeling. She has modeled for Levi’s, 7UP, Lyft, Danskin, Roxy, Quick Silver and more. She is trained in Hiphop, House, Waacking, Locking, Popping, Ballet, Jazz and Ballroom. Her unique style comes from all the different styles mashed in together and thats what makes her special.