FIRST THURSDAYS ART WALK
The Laguna Dance Festival will host a performance during the October Art Walk at the Dawson Cole Fine Art Gallery located at 326 Glenneyre, Laguna Beach at 6:30pm. Performances will take place in the outdoor Sculpture Garden.
An opportunity to experience art in motion, featuring dancers from the Laguna Dance Festival. Exceptional contemporary solo dance performances and a duet, inspired by the visual movement of acclaimed artist Richard MacDonald. “The guest dancers include Tea Devereaux, Mark Daftari, Chryssa Hadjis and Jacqueline Schiffner, who will dazzle you with thier artistry and athleticism. These dancers are the most creative contemporary performers coming to the modern stage,” says Jodie Gates, Founder/Artistic Director, Laguna Dance Festival.
Tea Devereaux
Originally from Dallas, Texas, TEA DEVEREAUX began her training at Next Step Dance Performing Arts Center. She continued her studies at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where she had the honor of performing works by Kyle Abraham, Dwight Rhoden, Jessica Lang and more. Tea is a YoungArts winner in modern dance and a USC Kaufman’s Artistic Commitment Scholarship Recipient. She has taught modern and improvisation for students at the Innovative Dance Inc. summer intensive where she discovered her desire to work with future aspiring dancers and artists. Tea has also started her own business that combines her love of teaching with her love of fitness. She aspires to be in a professional contemporary dance company while also teaching the importance of cross training and health to young adults. As she continues to nurture her art, Tea hopes to share her hunger and excitement for wellness with young adults while also sharing her love of dance with audiences around the world.
Mark Daftari
Mark Daftari was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and then moved to Los Angeles where he began expanding his knowledge of dance in a professional setting as part of the inaugural class of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Working towards his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Mark has received a wide variety of training in multiple genres, giving him the tools to successfully work in today’s increasingly diverse dance landscape. With the desire to work both in the concert and commercial realm, Mark has built relationships with professionals from both sides of the dance community including influencers William Forsythe and Jodie Gates, as well as Yanis Marshall. Mark took on additional industry based classes while working towards his BFA through the intensive curriculum of USC Kaufman. Right after graduating, his first industry based job was with choreographer Parris Goebel for Sam Smith’s music video “How Do You Sleep”. Shortly after being exposed to the industry, Mark consistently booked job after job; working for Demi Lovato, Sean Bankhead, Disney, Idina Menzel, Banks, Todrick Hall, Paula Abdul, and many more.
Chryssa Hadjis
CHRYSSA HADJIS is originally from Temecula, CA and has dedicated her years of artistic training to establish herself as a highly versatile dancer. She received her most formative dance training at USC Kaufman where she performed an array of works by esteemed choreographers such as William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Jodie Gates, Barak Marshall, Alejandro Cerrudo, Dwight Rhoden, Andrew Winghart, Matthew Neenan and YNOT. In addition to pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, her recent professional opportunities include dancing in the Baby Mama music video for Brandy ft. Chance the Rapper, appearing on the television show Good Morning America, performing and featured at the Laguna Dance Festival, and choreographed and starred in a commercial pitch for Coke and Beats by Dre. Prior to her preprofessional training she danced at Murrieta Dance Project (MDP) from 2006-2017 under the influences of Erin Babbs, Will Johnston, and Lisa Ebeyer. During her time at MDP, she also had the opportunity to train and perform works by well-known artists in the commercial industry – including but not limited to Travis Wall, Mandy Moore, Kirsten Russell, and Teddy Forance. She is a certified 200-hour yoga teacher and is represented by Go 2 Talent Agency for industry purposes. Chryssa aspires to dance professionally within the concert and commercial fields of dance in hopes to share her love for performance with any audience and community.
Jackie Schiffner
Jackie Schiffner is a dance artist, fitness professional and leader in the fitness industry. As a young dancer, Jackie studied at Orange County Dance Center in Huntington Beach, CA and spent several summers progressing her training at the School of American Ballet. Upon graduating high school, Jackie attended the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance as part of the inaugural class of 2019. During her time at USC she performed works by William Forsythe, Jodie Gates, Dwight Rhoden, Paul Taylor, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine and Barak Marshall. Aside from performing, Jackie strengthened her interest in education and leadership during her college years. Following her 2019 graduation, Jackie attended the inaugural year of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Contemporary Ballet Program and then moved to Columbus, OH to dance with BalletMet II followed by the main company of BalletMet. Recently, she has explored her interest in fitness and fitness management by venturing into teaching cycling and becoming the District Sales Manager of a CycleBar franchise. Jackie is ecstatic to be returning to the stage and diving back into dance!
Thursday, October 7, 2021 – 6:30 PM
Dawson Cole Fine Art
326 Glenneyre Street
Laguna Beach, California 92651
+1 949 497 4988
PRICE
FREE