Body Current Dance

Kayla Bixby began dancing at the age of four. She is from San Francisco where she studied ballet with Jayne Zaban of Dance Arts Center. Upon her admittance to the Dance Department at CSULB, she began her training in modern and contemporary dance forms, as well as continuing to study ballet. Kayla graduated with high honors this past May, 2010 with a BA in Dance. She is currently working as a Company Trainee with Backhausdance, a contemporary dance company in Orange County, for which Jennifer Backhaus is the Artistic Director & Choreographer. Kayla is a ballet and contemporary dance instructor & intends on attending graduate school to receive an MFA in Dance in order to eventually teach in a university setting.

Kimberley Hannah, a native of Ventura, began her training at the Oakley Ballet Center where she is currently a member of the faculty. Ms. Hannah has attended such prestigious summer programs as Boston Ballet and Ballet Chicago. She has performed professionally with the Channel Islands Ballet as well as the San Diego City Ballet. Kimmie is currently completing her BFA in Dance at California State University, Long Beach.
Ms. Hannah joined Body Current Dance in March 2009.

Belinda Lutes was born and raised in Denver, CO where she began her training at the Academy of Colorado Ballet. While at the Academy, Belinda performed in the Colorado Ballet’s productions of The Nutcracker, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Don Quixote. She also attended Denver School of the Arts, a public performing arts school. In 2004 DSA was awarded with “The Changing Image of Art” award, and Ms. Lutes performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with DSA. At the age of fifteen, Ms. Lutes attended the San Francisco School of the Arts, where she was awarded the Artistic Excellence in Dance and the Yvonne McClung Choreography Award. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Dance at the California State University of Long Beach. Ms. Lutes joined Body Current Dance in the fall of 2009.

Bridgette McNulty received her early training at Huntington Academy of Dance under Marnell Himes and continued her training at Southland Ballet Academy under the direction of Salwa Rizkalla. She joined Festival Ballet Theater in 2005 where she performed a wide range of soloist and principal roles and worked with choreographers, Jodie Gates, Shawn Stevenson, David Allen, Melissa Barak, and Lorin Johnson. A semi finalist in the Spotlight Awards for 2004, 2005 and 2006, she placed 3rd in the Youth American Grand Prix for contemporary dance in 2006. In 2009 she performed “Six Sonatas” with Monat Dance at the McCallum Theatre’s Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in Palm Desert. During her college career she received the Carolyn Cunningham scholarship at Cal State Long Beach where she is receiving her B.A. in Dance graduating this spring 2011. She continues to dance with Monat Dance and Body Current Dance and will continue to look for new opportunities in the dance world to further her career.

Yumi Nakatani began dancing at the age of eight at The Melissa Kong Ballet Studio in Hong Kong. She received further training at The Metropolitan Ballet Company, and has performed principal roles in productions such as The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, as well as Carmen, where she had the opportunity to collaborate with international opera singers at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Yumi continued her training by participating in American Ballet Theater summer intensive program, Orlando Ballet summer intensive program, Doug Varone and Dancers summer workshop, Ledges and Bones summer workshop, and State Street Ballet, where she was invited to dance in the production of Swan Lake. In 2010, she graduated from California State University, Long Beach as a dance major, and worked with Lorin Johnson, Sophie Monat, Holly Johnston, Susan McLain, and Keith Johnson. She was a recipient of Betty Dupont Dance Scholarship, Lana Alper Dance Scholarship and Dance Department Scholarship. Yumi plans to continue pursuing her professional dance career seeking opportunities in contemporary/modern ballet companies both nationally and internationally.

Joey Navarrete began his dance training in High School in Fontana, California, at AB Miller under the direction of Nicole A. Robinson. He helped create the program which is today a dance conservatory, where he periodically lectures and teaches. Joey is a BFA candidate at Cal State Long Beach and plans on pursuing massage therapy, along with performance and choreography, after graduation. He has had the opportunity to dance for Cyrus Parker- Jeanette, Susan McLain, and Keith Johnson. He attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance summer intensive in 2011 and studied with Summer Lee Rhattigan. He has also traveled to Tijuana to train with Lux Boreal Danza Contemporanea in order to expand his movement range and Spanish- speaking vocabulary. Joey is thrilled to join Body Current Dance for their performance in August at the Ford Amphitheater.

Thaihoa Nguyen took his first formal steps toward dance training in the Department of Dance at California State University, Long Beach, where he completed his BFA dance degree in 2011. Having previously studied interior architectural design, in addition to other artistic forms, Thaihoa hopes to integrate all of his creative experiences into his search for his own voice as a performer and choreographer. At CSULB, Thaihoa is a recipient of the Dance Department Scholarship and the Fine Arts Affiliate Award. In 2011, his solo choreography and performance was chosen to attend the ACDFA Adjudicated Concert and selected as a finalist to proceed to the final Gala Concert. He has collaborated and worked with Cyrus Parker-Jeannette, Susan McLain and Sophie Monat in performances of modern and ballet. Thaihoa strongly believes in dance as an inter-personal and intra-personal experience as a means to move audiences and to share a common ground.

Andrew Palomares began his dance career in 2002 with a Mexican folk dance group while also studying ballet, modern and jazz. In 2008, Mr. Palomares began his studies at California State University, Long Beach, where he is currently completing his BA in Dance while continuing to perform professionally with both contemporary dance and Mexican folk dance companies. He has attended such prestigious dance workshops such as the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance Summer Intensive, where he trained with Summer Lee Rhatigan, Alex Ketley, Christian Burns, Chiharu Shibata, and Batsheva company dancer Bobbi Smith. Mr. Palomares has worked with such choreographers as: Michele Jenkins, Sophie Monat, Keith Johnson, Dorcas Román and Lorin Johnson. Mr. Palomares joined Body Current Dance in the fall of 2009.

Emma Inez Storey began dancing at the age of four at the Moore Than Dance school in Walhalla, SC. In 1995, at the age of seven, she began her study of ballet at Inland Pacific Ballet Academy. Ms. Storey has received additional training from such schools as San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and the American Ballet Theater summer intensive program. She has danced with Inland Pacific Ballet as a company member and performed in such productions as: The Nutcracker, Giselle, Cinderella, Coppelia, The Little Mermaid, and Dracula. Ms. Storey is currently pursuing her BFA in Dance at the California State University, Long Beach. She was the Betty DuPont Scholarship recipient for 2008-2009 and has worked with choreographers Lorin Johnson, Regina Klenjoski and Andrew Vaca, among others. Ms. Storey joined Body Current Dance in March 2009.

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BCD Company Members 2008-2009

Emily Edgell
Kaitlin Muse
Katherine Schafer Ostrout
Luke Stockton