Amy DANIELSON, Founder & Instructor In 2006, Amy Danielson founded GENESIS: SARAJEVO, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading dance and artistic opportunities throughout Bosnia and beyond. Amy conducts dance intensives twice a year in Sarajevo and has expanded to the surrounding cities of Mostar and Gradacac. Originally from San Antonio, TX, Amy graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree from Oklahoma City University. She is an actress, dancer, and choreographer, and has taught dance to children of all ages, including master classes to Ballet Philippines. She has appeared in The American Spirit Dance Company, In the Mix (NYC), RileyDance (NYC), The Tempest (NYC), Beirut! (L.A.). Her original dance piece, Conception, premiered at Triskelion Arts Theatre in Brooklyn, NY, and Inertia premiered at Peak Performance in Ridgefield, NJ. She currently teaches at Movement Studio L.A. in Los Angeles, CA. Melisa GREBOVIC, BiH Project Coordinator & Instructor Melisa is from Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina and graduated from Tuzla University with a graduate degree in English Language and Literature. It’s evident through her high energy classes and warm, dedicated spirit that one of her greatest passions in life is to dance and to share her love of dance with others. Melisa also eases communication between students and instructors during the Genesis: Sarajevo intensives when language barriers arise. Along with being an instructor and choreographer for Genesis: Sarajevo, she is a popular choreographer for Dance Studio Sandoval in Tuzla. She has performed as a dancer in the Miss Bosnia and Herzegovina for Miss World 2003 Pageant, the Bihacki Festival, and C’ekat cu te under the direction of Adnan Mujkic. The Genesis: Sarajevo dancers love working with Melisa, and we love what she brings to the company with her hip-hop classes, enthusiasm, and persevering spirit. Namik TRUTOVIC, Instructor (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Coming soon! Joelle MARTINEC, Instructor Joelle’s unique style, challenging classes, and ability to inspire dancers has put her in demand as a master teacher and choreographer throughout the world. She has been a favorite instructor of dancers and teachers on the dance convention circuit for many years. Joelle is the founder of the new Los Angeles based company Unbound Dance Ensemble and is in the process of creating their premier show. She has worked with the likes of The Cohen Brothers (Fargo) in “The Big Lebowski”, Marguerite Derricks (Austin Powers) in “A Time For Dancing”, Jerry Evans (The Mask) in “Romy and Michelle: In The Beginning”, and Michael Rooney in the MTV music award winning video “It’s Ohh So Quiet”. Joelle has done many stage shows for Buena Vista Special Events and The Platinum Guild. She has also been a guest artist for The Wes Veldink Movement and a soloist for Liz Imperio’s Instincts Live Media Dance Company where Lewis Segal of the Los Angeles Times called her performance "feisty". In 2008 Joelle assisted Denise Leitner on the LA production of "The Who's Tommy" featuring Tony Award Nominee Alice Ripley, Nona Hendryx and "Wicked's" Jenna Leigh Green and is getting ready to start work on J.T. Horenstein's Dance The Question. Joelle is also a faculty member at the Edge Performing Arts Center and a master teacher for the cast of Cirque du Soleil Le Reve in Las Vegas. Joelle choreographs for numerous organizations, dance companies, and commercial projects. Her award winning choreography can be seen on stages throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Her passion and enthusiasm is contagious to not only the dancers, but to everyone around her. Zoran ABADZIC, Instructor Coming soon! Lejla MUHIC, Instructor Lejla Muhic is a freelance dancer and choreographer from Sarajevo who learned from contemporary choreographers and theatre directors such as EROL ALEXANDROV ,GORAN BOGDANOVSKI, JANEZ JANŠA , HOWARD KATZ , DORIJAN KOLUNĐIJA ,MARTA LADJANSZKI ,GREGOR LUŠTEK , SILVIA MARCHIG ,IRMA OMERZO, JASMINA PROLIC, MARTIN SONDERKAMP, ISABELLE SHAD, ALEXANDRA JANEVA, KAREN PETTERSON AND DANCERS, JUAN CARLOS GARCÍA / Lan Nima Imperial, among many others. She also teaches dance to children in Sarajevo at children’s camps. She likes to do face painting for kids and ladies. She is a member of the educational program Nomad Dance Academy 2009. And she loves salsa! Ashley FARGNOLI, Instructor Ashley Fargnoli is a dance activist and advocate of promoting dance in post-conflict countries. Originally from Philadelphia, Ashley has a M.A in Cultural Project Management from The Institute of Political Science, France ( Sciences Po) and a B.A from Barnard College, Columbia University. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at Barnard, she learned how dance was used to foster rehabilitation and reconciliation in Rwanda after the genocide. She therefore shifted her efforts towards using her 18 years of classical and modern dance training with the Pennsylvania Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Barnard College as a tool for working with sensitive and marginalized populations. Ashley has conducted dance workshops for Roma children living on the outskirts of Mostar, BIH and directed a performance entitled "Children sing and dance for peace" with UNICEF, France. She recently spent eight months in Kolkata (Calcutta), India teaching dance to victims of trafficking and violence and learning about how dance therapy can be used for psychosocial rehabilitation. Meghan WAY, Instructor Meghan Way is originally from St. Peters, MO, and now resides in Los Angeles, where she is currently pursuing a career in dance, teaching, and choreographing. Her versatility and energy have allowed her to perform in industrials for Redken, Tarbell Realty, and in pieces for Keri LaGrand, Joelle Martinec, Nichelle Bane, and Doug Caldwell. Meghan danced commercially for Carvel Ice Cream and John Robert Powers where she performed alongside the stars of, “High School Musical.” She is also honored to be a member of Gregg Russell’s company, Tapsounds Underground. Her various other live performances include Harrah’s Casino New Years and Disneyland’s Snow White. Meghan teaches at the EDGE Performing Arts Center. She also educates and choreographs for various studios around the US, Canada, and this year she is excited to venture to Guatemala and Sarajevo. She has taught on convention for DMA, Dance Olympus, and Gregg Russell’s 3D Dance Network. She also started judging for Hall of Fame, Starlight, VIP Dance, and Odyssey dance competitions. Meghan has additionally had the opportunity to choreograph for Carnival in Los Angeles. She is a member of the performing arts company, Urban Poets, at her church, Mosaic, with whom she had the opportunity to travel around the country and overseas to Europe. Meghan wishes to thank God, and her loving family and friends for constantly believing in her and never giving up. Thank you thank you thank you! Valerie LUSSAC, Instructor Valerie was raised and currently resides in Toulouse, France where she is the founder and choreographer of the tap company, Tapage and manages the tap school, Court of Riffs. She has studied and worked with the great names of tap such as Sarah Petronio, Dianne Walker, Heather Cornell, Charles Honi Coles, Gregory Hines, Eddie Brown, Sam Weber, Lynn Dally, and Fred Strickler. Valerie’s style in tap is combined with contemporary and jazz techniques creating an expressive language through the feet and the body. Her creations are rhythmical and technical, and her choreography explores and expresses the emotions of life ranging from sadness, love, humor, anger, doubt, and certainty. Jenifer SARVER, Instructor Jenifer is a soloist with the ballet of the Opera Lodz in Lodz, Poland. Her roles include the principal role in The Nutcracker (Clara/Grand pas de deux) and solo roles in The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. She has previously danced with the Slovene National Ballet in Maribor, Slovenia; Cork City Ballet in Cork, Ireland; and California Ballet and San Diego Ballet in San Diego, California. She has danced the entire classical repertoire, and highlights include the Le Corsaire pas de deux, Snow Queen and Arabian Princess in The Nutcracker (Choreography by Norman Walker), Peter Breuer’s Bolero and Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes. Ms. Sarver received her BA in Dance Pedagogy from Butler University in 2004. She is currently working on a long-distance Masters in Dance degree with the University of Utah. She also trained at Houston Ballet Academy, Boston Ballet School and the Washington School of Ballet. She has been a long time teacher with San Diego Civic Youth Ballet in San Diego, CA, and has also taught at numerous other San Diego dance studios. She performed the role of Dream Laurie in San Diego’s Starlight Theater’s presentation of Oklahoma! She was a guest teacher at ballet schools in both Cork and Dublin, Ireland, and is very excited to be in Sarajevo this summer! Maja HADZIOMEROVIC, Board of Directors Maja Hadziomerovic was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and has lived in four different countries and on three different continents. Maja brought together our first group of girls in Bosnia, and she coordinated our very first dance intensive in the summer of 2006. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a degree in Neurobiology and is currently working for the Corporate Executive Board in Washington D.C. Besides her curiosity for the human brain, she is a human rights activist and has done volunteer work ranging from relief missions in Haiti to public health reform in Bosnia. She enjoys traveling, reading, painting, horse-back riding, and believes that "Biology gives us a brain, Life turns it into a mind. Mona MURATOVIC, Associate Communication throughout our dance intensives would not be so clear without Mona. She assists within the dance classes and translates whenever necessary. Born in Sarajevo, 1982, Mona is a senior at the Academy of Drama, department of acting. Simultaneously, she is a freshman at the University of Philosophy. Since 1996 she is an active member of the Association "Orphelines de Bosnie." One of the co-founders of the Foundation "Land of Friendship and Peace," where she volunteers as an animator and riding instructor. The most famous projects that she is currently working on are: "Hamlet" JDP Belgrade production, the musical "All that Jazz," "Velika Bijela Zavjera" KT55, the comedy series "Sex i Selo", as well as other various movies and theatre shows.
cre-ate (kree-eyt) -verb 1. to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary process. 2. to evolve from one’s own thought or imagination, as a work of art or an invention. 3. to cause to happen; bring about; arrange, as by intention or design. 4. bring into existence.