Activity Search

Biography:
Mahmud is a college student and professional dancer with Manga African Dance, Inc. She has been with the company since its inception in 1990 and has gone from apprentice dancer in the childrens ensemble to a full-fledged principal dancer in the adult division. She has made a living teaching dance to children and adults alike in the Atlanta area. By the age of 14, she was qualified to teach African dance to children, and by 18, she began teaching classes as a substitute for her mother, Ramatu Afegbua-Sabbatt as well as setting her first choreographed piece on students from the Nigerian Youth Alliance. Now, at 20, Aisha is teaching childrens dance and drum classes, as well as coaching forthcoming members of Manga African Dance in song and dance technique.

Biography:
native of the Pacific Northwest, Alma fled the rain of Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., to make sunny Atlanta her home. The award-winning journalist holds a Bachelor?s of Fine Arts degree from Seattle University. She enjoyed an exciting career as a news reporter, columnist and Internet producer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before leaving after 20 years to become a full-time, freelance writer. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Essence and Black Enterprise Magazines. In addition to freelancing, media consulting, editing manuscripts and working on her own book, Alma is dedicated to teaching the next generation of journalists how to master the craft of writing. Her motto is ?never a day without a line.?

Biography:
Atlanta Ballet Community Programs The Centre's external in-school and community programs confirm the commitment Atlanta Ballet holds to support and enrich our community through the art of dance. These programs are tailored to fulfill the needs and desires of children in surrounding schools and community centers. The Centre also brings these children into our different venues to experience the beauty and magic of Atlanta Ballet.

Biography:
Chad Thomas graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Ga. with a B.F.A. in Animation in 2007. He has worked at Eyewonder Inc. as both a marketing intern and video encoding specialist. Additionally he has taught both adult and youth classes at SCAD-Atlanta and the West End Performing Arts Center. As an artist he tends to creates his artwork digitally and rarely creates any artwork without any minor adjustments or being colored digitally with a computer.

Biography:
Mr. Edward Franklin is a native of Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Franklin began his dance training under the watchful eyes of Cindy Herman and Gary Harrison. For the past twenty years, Edward has worked extensively throughout the United States and Europe as a performer and instructor. Mr. Franklin has performed with companies such as, but not limited to, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Philadanco Dance Company, Ronald K. Brown/ Evidence Dance Company, Kevin "Iega" Jeff / Deeply Rooted Productions,Oakland Ballet,Manga African Dance Company, The Wylliams / Henry Dance Theatre and The Harrison Dance Company. Mr. Franklin has had the opportunity to work with many well known choreographers/Directors such as Judith Jamison, George Faison, Diane McIntyre, Debbie Allen, Dwight Rhoden, Louis Johnson, Joeffrey Holder and Gary Harrison, just to name a few. Edward takes great pride in sharing his knowledge and passion for the Arts. Paying homage to the Artists/Dancers who came before him, Mr. Franklin strives to enrich the lives of others through his creativity and devotion to "DANCE". Ache?

Biography:
Certified and Registered Yoga Instructor

Biography:
Jade Lambert-Smith spent ten years as an acting teacher then artistic associate at the Alliance Theatre before taking a position as an acting instructor at Spelman College. In addition to the Alliance, Jade has worked with several theatre companies in Atlanta including Theatrical Outfit, Theatre in the Square, Horizon Theater and 7 Stages. Currently Jade works as a freelance director and coaches privately in the Atlanta area.

Biography:

Biography:
Chambers received a BFA in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta, a program that allowed him the latitude to develop his own personal style while he apprenticed for talented artists. He studied the figure with Master Draftsman, Glenn Vilppu in Naples, Italy and also worked with Atlanta painter and illustrator Elio Guevara. Renowned sculptor Martin Dawe then invited Chambers to work with him in his midtown Atlanta sculpture studio, Cherrylion. Over a span of eight years, Chambers advanced to Martin?s head apprentice and continued to gain recognition for his work. Some of Chambers? most significant commissions a bust of Georgia legacy Vera Jackson, a six foot Koi fish for midtown Atlanta restaurant "Steel", and a bust of "Abe Jackson" dog and best friend of an Atlanta celebrity. In concertwith Cherrylion, Chambers has collaborated on numerous projects for clients like Soho Myriad, Johnson Studio, Four Seasons, the Hilton, St. Regis, the Hyatt and the Marriot Hotel Group.

Biography:

Lyrric Jackson is a 2013 Spelman College graduate. She received her Bachelors in Theater with a concentration in Dance. She has studied ballet and formal dance technique under Kenneth Green, T. Lang, Meredith Moore, Otis Sallid, and Kathleen Wessel. She performed with the Spelman College Dance Theatre Company for three years of her undergraduate career and choreographed for four of the concerts presented during her time with the company. She is the owner of the Ruth Cosby School of Ballet and Music in Greensboro,GA, a dance instructor for the Fulton County Southwest Arts Center, the Assistant to the Executive Director of the Center for Puppetry Arts, and the Director of Membership Services for UNIMA-USA.

Biography:
Michele McCullough Hazard is an actor, drama educator, director, poet, and a collage artist. She is also one half of the production team of H~Thyme Productions founded by her and her husband Neal R. Hazard in 2006. She has been a professional artist since 1994, and has done work with Theatrical Outfit (Gee?s Bend), Horizon Theater (In Darfur), the Alliance Theater (Crumbs from the Table of Joy), Georgia Shakespeare Festival (The Tempest), Theater in the Square (A Raisin in the Sun), Push Push Theater (The Glass Menagerie), and others in the Atlanta area. She has also done work with Memphis Black Repertory (Shakin? the Mess Outta Misery), and has acted as an artist in residence at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she took part in a project called Transforming through Performance. One of her first professional experiences took her all the way to Tokyo, Japan where she performed with Ku'Nauka Theater Company, in a theater piece performed in the style of bunraku puppet theater. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater/Drama from Spelman College, as well as a Master of Arts Degree in Education from American Intercontinental University. She currently teaches theatre/drama at the Atlanta Girls' School. Her personal mantra is, "Long live the renaissance woman!"

Biography:

Masters in Drawing, Painting and Printmaking from Georgia State University as well as a Masters in Oriental Painting, from Hongik University in Seoul, Korea. We look forward to her sharing her knowledge and new perspectives with Abernathy students!

Biography:
With a lifetime of experience, coupled with 19 years of professional training and application, Nathaniel brings fresh, creative marketing solutions with unparalleled customer service every step of the client relationship. He maintains a high-level of creativity while eating deadlines for lunch! Before becoming the CEO of his own new media and advertising design firm, he held various positions within the creative realm, including art director, graphic designer, senior art director, production manager, visual merchandiser and designer, and creative director. His services include, but aren?t limited to, the following services: ? New Media/Web Site Design ? CD-Rom Development ? Multimedia Presentations ? Graphic Design ? Corporate Identity and Logo Development ? Digital and Traditional Illustrations ? Strategic Consultation A multitude of companies have benefited from his award-winning creative energy and delivery, including: The Carter Center, Bank of America, National CASA and the Morehouse School of Medicine. Nathaniel is also the Executive Director and Founder of Atlennium, Inc. It is a youth organization committed to the success of our young people for the next twenty years and beyond. The slogan is "Going Against All Odds For Our Young People!" which represents the ultimate level of commitment as it pertains to the best interest of our youth. His many talents and abilities includes being a fine artist, poet, music composer, performer and prolific speaker. Dare to come to the EDGE!

Biography:
Neal R. Hazard is an actor and playwright who has worked at various theaters in and around Atlanta such as Horizon Theater (The Bluest Eye), Theater in the Square (The Piano Lesson) Push Push Theatre (Pill Hill), Soulstice Repertory (Othello), Georgia Shakespeare Festival (Julius Caesar), Georgia Ensemble Theatre (To Kill a Mocking Bird), and others. He has done several independent films and has appeared on Tyler Perry?s The House of Payne. To his writing credit, he adds the premiere of a short film he wrote, starred in and executive produced with his wife, Michele McCullough Hazard, titled AM Session, which was a finalist in HBO?s Short Film Competition in October of 2007 and aired on HBO and her sister channels for 1 year?s time. Another of Neal?s works, The Intervention, is a short play that was produced at TheatrExpresso in Los Angeles, California in December 2005. LA Magazine is quoted as saying; this play has ?several sharp pieces of comic dialog.? He has recently adapted The Intervention into a short film, which he also directed. His personal mantra is ?Talkers don?t do and doers don?t talk.?

Biography:
Pam Joyce is the Artistic Director of Fly-By Theatre company, an Atlanta based performance group that combines the disciplines of theatre and dance. Ms. Joyce has successfully directed and managed theatre in Atlanta and Minneapolis. She has a BFA from the University of Evansville and an MFA in Theatre Directing from the University of Minnesota. She has also trained with world-renowned artists Anne Bogart and Ruth Zadora . She resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Biography:
Ramatu Afegbua-Sabbatt is a native of Nigeria, West Africa and began her career as a dancer, musician, actress and storyteller in elementary school. Committed to community-based arts education, Ms. Afegbua-Sabbatt is listed on the teaching artist rosters of Fulton County's School Arts Program, Georgia Council for the Arts' Residency Artists Directory and Young Audiences/Woodruff Arts Center. She is also an instructor with Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education Program at the West End Performing Arts Centre. Ms. Afegbua-Sabbatt is founder of and dancer with Manga African Dance Inc. Ms. Afegbua-Sabbatt dances at public events and is featured in the annual Osun Festival dance celebration, Manga 's signature event.

Biography:
Dancer, Teacher, Choreographer Tre McClendon, a native Atlanta resident, was born to W. Oliver and Denise McClendon. Being the son of the owners of McClendon School of Dance, Tre has been surrounded by dance his entire life. Taking his first class at the age of 2, dancing was instilled as an important foundation in his life. He starting teaching his first classes at he age of 16 at McClendon School of Dance and since then has taught at workshops, arts centers, and dance schools all over the metro-Atlanta area. Tre is a recent graduate of Morehouse College, majoring in Computer Science. While in school, he continued to pursue his tap career. Tre helped create and now performs in a tap show that teaches children the origins of tap dancing in America. This show called Beat and Rhythm: The Evolution of Tap has gone into more than one hundred elementary, middle, and high schools all over the state of Georgia. His ultimate goal is to become one of the premier tap names in America. Driven. Inspired. Energetic. Electrifying! These are all words that describe the powerful tap force that is Tre McClendon

Biography:

An Atlanta native, Ursula Kendall is a professional dancer, choreographer, and new mom. She has taught residencies at North Carolina School of the Arts, Wake Forest University, UNC Greensboro and UNC Charlotte, as well as at venues around the world - Gambia, Guadeloupe, The Netherlands, and the UK.

Biography:
Wlanvi Zinsou has been teaching music since 1997. She earned a Maser's Degree in Music Education from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor's of Music in Music Therapy from Florida State University. She is a certified teacher and a member of the Georgia Music Teachers Association. In 2007 her orchestra received the Outstanding Orchestra Award. She is currently establishing a youth orchestra housed at the Southwest Arts Center. Ms. Zinsou also resides in the Cascade Community.