JULIE BENNETT was born in Glendora, California, and studied ballet and tap growing up. She received a BA degree from CSU Hayward, in English, and an MA degree in Dance from Mills College. She had her own dance studio, "Centrifigus," in Mt. Shasta for six years. She then worked for Siskiyou County Schools as a sign language interpreter for hearing impaired students. She received her teaching credential from CSU Chico in 1988 and taught kindergarten through third grade for twenty-five years. She became a member of Shasta Taiko and has performed with them for over fifteen years.
BETTY LADZEKPO has a long history as a teacher and performer. She is a principal dancer with the Ladzekpo Brothers African Music and Dance Ensemble. Ms. Ladzekpo has performed at major venues throughout the U.S. including the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, and the African Cultural Festival ("The Afrikans Are Coming"). Ms. Ladzekpo is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley in African Dance and is on the faculty of the East Bay Center for the
Alisa Clayton received her formal training from Academy of Ballet in San Franciso and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York City. She has performed with The Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company and Purple Moon Dance Company in San Francisco as well as MAAFA and Black to the future in Seattle, WA. [on leave, 2015-2016]
WANDA WELLBOURN was born and raised Siskiyou County. I graduated from McCloud High in 1971 I have been playing taiko, with Shasta Taiko (www.shastayama.org), since 1990. Carrying on a family tradition, Wanda started playing ukulele in 2012; her grandfather, Tony Correa paid his passage from Hawaii to California in 1917 as a ship's musician. She is an avid supporter of the arts, music, and sports. In Wanda’s words, “I am so grateful to be able to give back to my home community of McCloud with the programs offered by Young Imaginations.”
YANQUIN ZHAO, is one of the world’s foremost yangqin performers. As an emerging artist in 1982, she won China’s first nationwide competition for folk music instrumentalists and embarked on a worldwide performing career. By the 1990’s, she moved to the U.S. and introduced traditional Chinese music to American audiences with her ensemble Melody of China. She has also become an innovative figure in the world of American jazz music. Yangqin Zhao has been a teacher with Young Imaginations since first arriving in California and teaches privately as well as presenting educational programs including the San Francisco Symphony’s program for public school children.
FACULTY & STAFF
JERROLD MOORE, PhD, has been one of California’s leaders in music education for decades – earning him the title of Music Educator of the Year after he served for ten years on the board of the California Music Educators Association. Jerry earned degrees in Music Education from Humboldt State University, Eastman School of Music and Kent State University. His teaching career and his parallel performing career throughout Northern California included elementary through community college – with over 30 years of jazz and world music leadership at College of the Redwoods. Since moving to the Bay Area, he continues his fascination with jazz as an ar-ranger/performer, as well as bringing jazz and other world musics to public school children.
CLOEE COOPER spent much of her teens dancing and choreographing with a multi-cultural dance troupe in Kosovo. She has collaborated with artists and organizers around the country to elevate racial and immigrant justice. Cloee brings over 10 years of training and dance education experience in Hip Hop, Balkan, Jazz, Modern and Contemporary dance to the classroom. She received her B.A. Magna Cum Laude at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.
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