Jennifer Leung Johnson, producer, director, choreographer
Jennifer Leung Johnson is a creative whose background and experience in the performing, visual and healing arts have shaped her into the integrative artist she is today. Through screendance and installation work, she combines her specialties of movement and visual art to create immersive research-based experiences that seek to magnify and bring to light the nuances and details that make us human.
Jen has studied an eclectic array of dance forms that include Ballet, Jazz, Breakdance, Contemporary, Modern, and Classical Chinese Dance. She obtained her Bachelor’s of Arts at Brigham Young University in 2007 with a focus in Modern Dance Performance. As a choreographer and educator, she has taught in private studios, established Creative Dance Programs in Utah and Michigan and taught for an outreach program with Ballet Renaissance in Detroit, Michigan. She currently teaches at Dancenter Salisbury in Salisbury, Maryland. After certifying as a 200hr Yoga Instructor with Citizen Yoga in Detroit, she incorporated principles from the healing art into her dance teaching work. Since 2010 she has worked as a documentary photographer capturing the essence of families, weddings and businesses. She is currently gaining her MFA in Dance at Montclair State University.
In her graduate studies, she researches the neurological and perceptual impact of psychological trauma and its physical manifestation within the brain and body through the lens of East Asian studies and neuroesthetics. She developed the interdisciplinary dance installation and screendance 間 Between Heaven and Earth which seeks to shed light on the beauty of hardship and acknowledges the magic in the subtleties of personal experience. Sorrow can live in harmony with happiness in this life. Light is beautified by shadow, cool made clear by the warmth, yin incomplete without yang. Our heartaches belong in the same space as our joy, they are what make us whole.
Website: jenleungjohnson.com
nstagram: @jenleungjohnson
Satya Hinduja, composer and founder of Alchemic Sonic Environment
Satya Hinduja is a composer, sound artist and producer working with a range of musical instruments, voice, field recordings and alternate tunings for spatial sound environments.
Satya’s artistic practice embodies the synthesis of multiple trajectories: scoring for films and mixed-media installations and production, remixing and DJing (as Sound Underground). It was during this journey she discovered the interconnectivity between Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Kinesiology, Quantum Theory and Vedic philosophy.
This path has evolved into her current project as founder of Alchemic Sonic Environment [ASE], a multisensory deep listening experience designed to invoke states of reflection, receptivity, and exchange.
Merging her mother cultures’ origin of meditative sound with the art of music, ASE is steadily evolving into a research and education platform exploring the nature of health as a process. Bridging ancient practices of sound and energy medicine with emerging technologies, Satya’s work researches the essence of resonance and seeks to redefine the transformative power of sonic perception.
Since 2011 she has been collaborating with artists, neuroscientists and healing arts practitioners while exhibiting at various platforms such as Sages & Scientists Symposium, World Government Summit, Berklee India Exchange and the International Yoga Festival.
She is a formally trained musician with a Bachelor of Music in Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music (Boston) and a Masters in Electronic Music Production from Dubspot (NY). An ardent learner, she is in continuous studies with respected international sound arts and healing specialists including Aurelio C. Hammer (Svaram Musical Instruments & Research), EMPRES (Electronic Music Practice and Research Collective) Oxford University, Dr John Belieu, Joshua Leeds, Alexandre Tannous and Raz Mesinai.
She was born in Mumbai and is currently based in New York.
Website: satyahinduja.com
Instagram: @satyahinduja, @alchemicsonicenvironment
Katy Dahl, dancer, makeup
Katy grew up telling everyone she met that she was a professional ballet dancer, beginning at the ripe age of 5. Yet she had never even taken a dance class.
She began her studies at a local dance studio in her hometown of Salt Lake City, UT where she explored jazz, tap, contemporary and more; though she always knew where her heart was, ballet. One teacher encouraged her to audition for Salt Lake City’s premiere ballet companies’ training school, Ballet West Academy. She was accepted and trained there for three years, expanding her knowledge of many more styles of dance. She attended Brigham Young University Ballet Summer intensive along with Ballet West Summer intensive in 2005, and 2006 followed by Houston Ballet summer intensive in 2007.
After graduating high school and Ballet West Academy in 2008, as well as learning how hard it was to become a professional in the dance world, she discovered the art of hairstyling. It became the creative outlet she would continue to explore as a profession for 13 years and counting. In 2013, dance came back into her life when she decided to chase her biggest dance goal and audition for the NBA’s Utah Jazz Dancer team. She danced with the Utah Jazz from 2013-2016 which took her on adventures around the state and the world. It gave her opportunities to serve her community. From visiting children’s & VA hospitals, to educating kids about being active in elementary schools all over the city.
She continues to live in Salt Lake City with her husband and two fur-pups, happily ever after.
Instagram: @katyslc
Morgan Hawkins, dancer
Morgan Hawkins began her dance training at All That Jazz of Charleston under the direction of Virginia White where she was able to compete with Nexstar, Showstoppers, Starpower, and Showbiz National competitions. She has performed with Walt Disney and Royal Caribbean cruise lines. Hawkins continued her dance training at Spelman College under the direction of T. Lang. She has had the opportunity to work with UniverSoul Circus (touring), T Lang Dance (Atlanta), and Armada Dance (New York), Atlanta Lyric Theatre, and Independent Artist Playhouse. She has choreographed for The National Black Theater Festival, North Carolina Black Rep and Spelman Dance Theater of Spelman College. She is a judge for Turn It Up Dance competition and a current MFA student at Montclair State University for Theater and Dance. Hawkins continues to evolve her brand by creating new and innovative ways to express movement through dance.
Marina Hutchinson, dancer
Born in New Zealand, raised in Wisconsin, and then adding a diverse blend of ethnicities from unique backgrounds in a blended family, Marina has rhythm and flow pumping through her veins. World dance has always been a passion for her and learning movements from all different cultures is something that brings value and understanding to her adventurous life. As she has learned dances from New Zealand, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Austria, Puerto Rico, Brazil, China, Russia, etc, she has found the main thing that can bring anyone together and find love is dance. She has professionally competed in Latin Ballroom, emphasis on Paso Doble and has an undergrad minor in Ballroom from Brigham Young University. She also loves the outdoors of her current home of Utah, hiking and rock climbing with her Swedish life partner, Dave, and their dog, Copper.
Instagram: @marina_omyolife
Sarah Reynolds, dancer
Sarah Reynolds studied dance at a local studio in Salisbury, Maryland for sixteen years. She has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, musical theater, and modern. She danced with the pre-professional company, Eastern Shore Ballet Theater, for six years performing a variety of roles. Sarah has taught a variety of dance disciplines for three years.
She has always had a passion for dance, but during high school she discovered her passion for science research. Sarah currently attends Wor-Wic Community College for her associates in Physics and Engineering. She plans to transfer to a four year university to pursue a concentration in quantum and theoretical physics.
Roni Martin, hair stylist
Roni is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and Graham Webb Academy of cosmetology in Arlington, Virginia. She has been an art director, set designer, and hair stylist on various short films, feature films, music videos, and photo shoots. She is a master hair stylist with 16 years of experience and 3rd generation in her family.
Instagram: @roni_aveda_hair
Robert Johnson and Sarah Halcott, pottery
Hi we’re Sarah and Robbie, we have been learning and practicing the art of clay since 2005. We started Amused Studios in 2007 to sell our wares at festivals and wholesale to local businesses or nonprofits, we started teaching pottery at art galleries and taking private students in our home studio. We currently teach at The Art League of Ocean City where Rob is also the studio manager. We continue to make custom orders for a variety of local art galleries, retailers, individuals, ect.
We learned our craft at Salisbury University where Sarah began taking ceramic classes in 2005 with Marie Cavallero while earning a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. Sarah introduced Rob to the studio then started taking clay home to work on pottery together. We were hired as studio technicians in 2007, we learned under the guidance of teachers in the 3-D department at SU. We have had opportunities to learn from many other great artists including James and Marjorie Hill who both taught at SU until retiring, Marjorie was brought up in a pottery studio her mother Gladys Remde was a potter and her father a woodworker. The lineage of pottery was passed down generations to us. James Hill also taught sculpture as well as ceramic arts and has been an influential force which can be seen in Robbies work. Rob also took workshops with Steven Hill, another big influence on his style which can be seen in Rob’s use of sprayed glazes and undulating forms. Meeting John Cheer, seeing his work in person and taking workshops with him was a pivotal influence especially in Sarah’s work and his influence can be seen in Sarah’s wall art series. We also worked with Karen Bearman at SU, a gentle guiding force encouraging us not to take it too seriously, and to enjoy what we do, she still teaches at Hinkley Pottery Studio in D.C. Learning from so many artists and from such a diverse group has lead to a deep respect for the art of clay. We hope to extend our experience to others who want to learn about the ancient and ever evolving art form.
Sarah and Rob have had many shared experiences through classes, workshops, and studying art but we have internalized the experiences differently and have allowed ourselves to utilize the experiences differently by creating their own styles and aesthetics. Our biggest hope is that we do not teach others to make work like ours, but instead, find their own voice in clay.
Website: amusedstudios.com
Instagram: @amusedstudios
Michael Pugh, pottery
Mike Pugh is a potter at Friendship Farm & Pottery, LLC in Worton, Maryland. He learned to craft traditional American pottery in the North Carolina tradition from Jerry Beaumont in Phoenix, Maryland. Before opening his pottery at the historic Quaker Friendship Farm, Mike Pugh earned degrees in Architecture and History, practiced architectural preservation, taught for DC & Baltimore City Schools, and even worked at the Lynch Grain Elevator. In his work, he seeks to understand the rich vernacular of his Chesapeake surroundings. Mike Pugh creates wheel-thrown, functional wares that draw inspiration from the rich traditions found in slip-decorated redware and crockery of the Mid-Atlantic. He employs sgraffito, drafted incising, and calligraphic script to tell his story and to describe what he observes around him. Topics include protest-to-poetry.
Website: www.friendship1782.com
Instagram: @friendshipfarmandpottery
Marilee Schumann, pottery
My pottery is primarily functional. I try to be aware of the convenience and comfort of the user, so my pots may become favorite tools in the kitchen or on the table. And I want to make beautiful pots that enhance the beauty of the house, with simplicity and elegance. And finally, I am interested in the role pottery plays in the history of human culture, its place in domestic life, in ritual, and in artistic expression. I believe that our lives are improved by using handmade, locally made, individually made objects.
Chestertown is home to Riverarts Clay Studio, where I teach pottery classes. Our clay studio is full of enthusiastic potters and students. Teaching is an important part of my mission to promote the use and making of handmade, locally made, one of a kind things.
Instagram: @mschumannpottery
Paula Smith, pottery
Pottery is something real. A real connection to a real person. Paula Smith makes pottery because she believes in that connection. It’s food, and family. It’s farmers markets, and small coffee shops. It’s handmade dishes, and friends. Paula’s work Is largely influenced by the beauty of nature, both elegant, and playful.
Originally from Montana, Paula studied under a well-known Montana production potter, Robert Markle (Who studied under Val Cushing at Alfred University in the 70s)
She has taught many classes and has volunteered at many events promoting ceramics. Paula and her husband, David Smith own Little Lane Pottery. You can find them on the side of the road on the way to Assateague.
Instagram: @littlelnpottery
Facebook: Little Lane Pottery
