THE LINE UP
"Gettysburg" Opening piece with Full Cast
"Thillana Semi-Indian Classical Piece with Isha Ferraz
"Love You" Contemporary with Devin Fulton
"Broken Sleep" Aerial on Silks with Serra Benson
"Shakira" Bellydance with Paulina Carey
"Hip Hop Mix" Hip Hop with Byron Bucao
"Brawlin" Contemporary with Devin Fulton
"Contemporary Mix" Contemporary with Gina Gerard
"Tribute to Puerto Rico & Frukos Bugaloo" Bomba-inspired and Salsa with Isha Ferraz featuring Nico Ruiz
"Heretic" Bellydance with Paulina Carey
"Air" Aerial on Trapeze with Serra Benson
"Feelings Don't Lie" Contemporary with Devin Fulton
"Fly Home" Closing Piece with the Full Cast
Enjoy the show!
THE ARTISTS
Serra Benson - Aerialist
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Serra Benson has been doing aerial dance for the past twelve years and is a resident instructor at Hamsa Studio. Besides doing silks, Serra also performs on trapeze, sling, rope and hoop as well as stilts. She has performed aerial in many full stage productions at the Lobero theater in Santa Barbara. In 2013, Serra was given the opportunity to perform at an aerial dance festival in France where she did a partnering routine on the invented apparatus "aerial frame". Her favorite thing about aerial is overcoming fears and mindsets that something is impossible. By day, Serra enjoys teaching 3rd grade at Oak Grove School.
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Paulina Carey - Bellydancer
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Another resident instructor at Hamsa Studio, this International Academy Of Middle Eastern Dance Superstar will take you on a journey embraces the creative and theatrical elements of dance. Paulina began her belly dance career with the UCSB Middle East Ensemble in 1995. Her artistry and talent shine through with every performance and her skill and enthusiasm as a teacher are widely recognized. Paulina has taught and performed workshops nationally and internationally.
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Devin Fulton - Contemporary Dancer & Artistic Director
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Devin is also a resident instructor at Hamsa. Her performing credits include LA Contemporary Dance Company (founding member), State Street Ballet, Plexus Dance Theatre, and more. She choreographed and creative directed two music videos for emerging artist Samson Szakacsy. Devin was the founder and artistic director of The Pin-Down Girls, a super sexy, sometimes silly dance company from 2008-2014. The company’s performance credits include a debut at the Playboy mansion, the Rooftop Bar at The Standard Hotel, a tribute to Dr. Jerry Buss, owner of the L.A. Lakers, the Coverboys USA Tour, countless fashion shows, and sold out productions in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara. They were also voted Best Dance Company of Ventura County two years in a row. She was the choreographer for Colbie Caillat's "Hold On" music video.
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Isha Ferraz - Indian Classical, Latin Dance, Show Producer
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Isha Ferraz is a passionate dancer and choreographer, 14-year movement instructor, and the founder/owner of Hamsa Studio. At a young age, she discovered her passion for the arts, completed a B.A. in classical vocal performance and began her career as a dance instructor and choreographer. In her first piece she features an Indian semi-classical fusion piece choreographed in her principle dance style - Kuchipudi. In her second piece she pays tribute to her Puerto Rican culture with a latin piece celebrating the first dance style she learned from her mother as a little girl!
Isha has traveled the world performing internationally. She has choreographed dozens of Bollywood and semi-classical performances with one of her choreography videos reaching over 1.5 million views on YouTube. Isha is grateful to her gurus, mentors, Hamsa community of students and instructors, her family and husband Brian for their love and support. |
Byron Bucao - Hip Hop Dancer
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Byron was born and raised in the City of Oxnard, CA. He started dancing in an all-male hip hop group called Full Effect in 2000. Byron then became a part of Channel Islands High School’s All-Male dance team who went onto winning numerous competitions including 3 USA National titles. To further his training, he moved onto the college dance scene where he spent two years dancing and choreographing for Cal State Long Beach Pac Modern, which won and placed at many competitions. He also danced for Non-Stop and Mavyn Dance Company. He now currently runs a dance company of his own in Oxnard called The Alias which consist of over 150 dancers ranging from the age of 4 to collegiate level. He created the Alias Dance Company 17 years ago and has brought them all over California to win multiple championship titles. He has also had the honor of bringing his dancers on America’s Got Talent, George Lopez Tonight Show, Dance Mom's, Dancing With The Stars and to be a part of Chris Brown’s Yeah 3x music video. Dancing and teaching has opened many opportunities for Byron to pursue his dancing career. He co-owned a studio for 4 years in Carpinteria, was a private instructor for the children of Metta World Peace formerly know as Ron Artest and has choreographed for numerous dance teams such as UCLA’s Samahang Modern, CLU’s dance team, UCSB’s dance team, 14K Jules Dance Company, Premier Dance Company, FLK Dance Crew and many more. Byron is eager to help better others as well as himself to become a stronger person as well as a stronger dancer.
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Gina Gerard - Contemporary Dancer
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Gina Gerard started taking ballet at age 6 at Agoura Hills Dance in Agoura Hills, CA. She quickly branched out to multiple genres including tap, hip-hop, musical theatre, acro, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary. She danced competitively on the Agoura High School Varsity Dance Team from 2008 - 2012 winning multiple awards and was team captain from 2010 - 2012. Gina now lives in Ojai with her husband and two daughters and is grateful to be part of the Hamsa family. |
The Tech Team
Gavin Ames - Lighting Designer and Production
Brian Nager - Cinematographer
Sound Engineer - Taylor Fulton
ABOUT THE STUDIO
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"We are all about joy, connection, and supporting a healthy body, a healthy mind and a whole lot of soul." |
Hamsa Studio was founded in the fall of 2016 with a mission and vision to bring the community of Ojai together through inspired movement and creative, life-positive events. We are passionate about the arts and creating a safe space for people of all ages and backgrounds to come and enjoy the benefits of movement. We have some of the most experienced and insightful instructors in Ojai offering guidance from a background of decades of teaching experience. Hamsa Studio has also played host to weekly classes and literally hundreds of music and dance productions, community gatherings, spiritual retreats, conscious events, and workshops. We are proud of what we have built as a community of instructors, students, and Hamsa supporters and we hope to serve the Ojai Valley for many years to come. Thank you for your support and well-wishes!