Emma Andres is a professional ballet dancer and contemporary/classical ballet choreographer who has experience working in the techniques of jazz, contemporary, modern, and ballet.    Andres earned her BFA in Dance Choreography at UC Irvine where she was a recipient of the merit-based William Gillespie Scholarship. During her time at UCI, Andres had the pleasure of working with distinguished faculty, including Lar Lubovitch, Diane Diefenderfer, Molly Lynch, Vitor Luiz, Tong Wang, Loretta Livingston, and Dr. Ama Wray.  She has performed nationally and internationally, including in Shanghai, China, and Panama.  She is currently the Dance Analyst for UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts, and ballet teacher and resident choreographer for Pasadena Civic Ballet (PCB). Andres is a Ballet Teaching Artist for the Music Center in Los Angeles and is the Co-Artistic Director of SCOPIXdance, a new dance organization emphasizing exciting choreography from up-in-coming choreographers. Andres is the founder, artistic director and choreographer of Little Women Ballet.  A ballet company on a mission to inspire ballets about women and their stories.

Tylor Bradshaw started his ballet career at Lauridsen Ballet Centre under the direction of Diane Lauridsen. There he performed productions of The Nutcracker, Coppelia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Pan, and numerous new works with South Bay Ballet (now Ballet California). From there he attended Milwaukee Ballet Summer Intensive and Oklahoma City Ballet where he was offered a second company position. With Oklahoma City Ballet’s second company, Tylor performed Swan Lake, The Little Mermaid, La Sylphide, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Firebird, and more. From there he was offered a corps de ballet position with California Ballet in 2019 under the direction of Jared Nelson. He was able to perform in Jared Nelson’s new Nutcracker, works by Andrea Schermoly, Reka Gyulai, Emily Miller, Thom Dancy, and Amanda Daly. Bradshaw retired from professionally dancing in 2022 from Golden State Ballet.

Contempo Ballet is a non-profit dance company founded by Master Teacher and Director/Choreographer, Jose Costas, in Southern California. The company’s core purpose is to introduce audiences to cutting-edge contemporary ballet, sponsor educational, artistic and performance opportunities through Dance Concerts, Training, Artistic Collaborations, and Community programs for all people. Its mission is to promote multicultural appreciation of artistic expression through Dance that unites, inspires, educates, empowers, and forever transforms the lives of the people in our ever-changing society.

Contempo Ballet values, supports, and is committed to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. We are also dedicated to improving racial and social justice in our work.

Jose Costas Contempo Ballet’s unique style and soul comes from Jose Costas himself. Mr. Costas’ vast experience as a performing artist, his global multicultural approach to Dance Choreography, passionate personality, and love for multi-media and dance is the perfect recipe for a dynamic dance company. The Company’s repertoire is based on contemporary ballet fused with other dance genres and digital media, and it is inspired and driven by the community.

Jestoni “Jet” Dagdag  is a choreographer, dancer, instructor, and dance producer based in Long Beach, Ca. He was born in the Philippines, and moved to the United States at the age of 14. He was introduced to his first formal dance class at Fullerton College, and soon became deeply passionate with the artform. A few years later, he transferred to the University of California, Irvine. There, he earned a BFA in Dance Performance in 2015, and received an Excellence in Dance Performance arts award. He’s had the pleasure of performing as a freelance dancer with several companies all throughout Los Angeles and Orange County such as Re:born Dance Interactive, Festival Ballet Theatre, Southern California Dance Theatre, Multiplex Dance, Shaun Boyle & Artists,  Kelly Alvarez & Artists, and Palm Dance Collective.

In 2017, DAGDAG Dance was founded to provide performance opportunities for local dancers and musicians. Most importantly, to work closely in a collaborative and professional environment. Since its inception, the company has presented original danceworks and has participated in dance festivals, school events, and fundraising events across Southern California. In November 2019, DAGDAG Dance produced its first full length show at the DIAVOLO in Los Angeles, Ca. The company’s unique style is rooted from Jestoni’s modern, jazz, contemporary and classical ballet background. As an artistic director, Jestoni hopes to bring out the best from his collaborators, and to continue learning from them.

Vannia Ibarguen, graduated from the University of Maryland with an MFA in Dance, is an international performer, choreographer, instructor, and artistic director of VIDA – Vannia Ibarguen Dance Arts. Vannia was a Soloist at the Ballet Municipal de Lima, being finalist at the XIII International Ballet Competition in Peru. She discovered Modern and Contemporary Dance and decided to train in Argentina, Cuba, and the United States. Vannia received the Best Dancer and Choreography Award in Argentina in 2005. As a dancer, she has performed in Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Hong Kong, and in a dozen cities in the US. Among the artists she worked with are Lucy Telge, Mikhail Koukharev, Renato Zanella, Mario Galizzi, Nejla Yatkin, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, John Jasperse, Tere O’Connor, Donna Uchizono, Victoria Marks, Miya Hisaka, Liz Hoefner-Adamis, Kindra Windish, among others. Vannia was awarded the Anne Zirulnik Student Scholarship for exceptional promise in Dance Education in the NDEO Conference in New York in June 2009. Vannia has received awards for her choreography in the United States, Peru, Argentina, Cuba, and Colombia. She is also the Artistic Director of Global Water Dances, a biennial event where more than 180 cities around the world create outdoor dances to raise awareness about water issues in the local and global community. As dance educator, Vannia promotes body-awareness and somatic practices within the technique to help her students build a solid foundation and achieve longevity in their dance careers. Vannia is a Certified Movement Analyst (CMA), Certified Yoga Teacher, Dance Faculty at the Cerritos College’s Dance Department, Board Member of the California Dance Education Association, and a Professional Fellow at the Arts Council for Long Beach, California.

For more information: www.vanniaibarguen.com // www.globalwaterdances.org

Zoe Marinello-Kohn is a professional ballet dancer, choreographer, actor, artist, composer and dance instructor. Zoe received her ballet training at the San Francisco Ballet School and the Academy of Ballet in San Francisco. Since then Zoe has worked professionally with the San Diego Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota, Elle Vie Dance Company and the Osage Ballet. Zoe is a company member of the San Diego Ballet where she frequently performs in Principle and Soloist roles and is currently in her tenth season with the company. In addition, she serves as the Education and Outreach Programs Manager and Lead Teaching Artist for the San Diego Ballet.

Zoe has choreographed works for the San Diego Ballet, Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota,the Ignite Choreographers Showcase, the San Diego Dance Theater’s Young Choreographer’s Showcase and Prize, The Synesthesia Dance Experience in Los Angeles and most recently the Journey Through the Senses’; Live Ballet and Piano exploration of Synesthesia in Greystones, Ireland.

During the pandemic Zoe turned to film to continue her work and her dance films have been featured in the Rising Arts Leaders, San Diego Arts Fest 2020 and made the official selection at the Wicklow Screendance Laboratory Festival in Ireland in 2022.  Zoe’s art is inspired by self-exploration and a drive to understand the reaches of consciousness.Her work also reflects relevant occurrences of our time including social, cultural and environmental commentary.

Alison Mobley is a Los Angeles-based choreographer and filmmaker passionate about bringing movement to life on stage and screen. With a foundation in classical ballet, she trained at the San Francisco Ballet, Chautauqua Institute (scholarship), and Boston Ballet, where she performed with the company as part of their Advanced Pre-Professional year-round program. Alison later danced with State Street Ballet before moving to Los Angeles to pursue film and TV.

For over a decade, Alison has performed and choreographed with LA Unbound. As a filmmaker, she has produced and choreographed for Funny or Die and directed the award-winning short film Office Cheer, which she also wrote and choreographed.

Driven by a belief that dance is for everyone—dancers and non-dancers alike—Alison is on a mission to celebrate movement and expand its presence on screen, creating inclusive works that inspire, entertain, and connect.

For more, visit alisonmobley.com.