Guest Artists

Envision Dance Curriculum is supported by professional dance artists from throughout San Diego. They lend their expertise and artistry by teaching as part of our regular class schedule, choreographing, and offering special master classes.

Joyce Lien Kushner

Joyce Lien Kushner is a SoCal native, trained in modern, contemporary, jazz, ballet, and tap. She is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique® (PBT) instructor. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from UCLA. As a dance teaching artist, Joyce has trained dancers of all ages and has performed and collaborated with artists all over California - Modern City Repertoire, Strong Pulse Dance, Epiphany Dance Theater, Surhabi Suraf, Sarah Bush Dance, Amy Lewis, Five Feet Dance, and Chris Black Dance. In 2015, Joyce founded TILTshift Dance. Now in San Diego, Joyce continues to teach and make work.

Odessa Mae Uno

ODESSA MAE UNO IS A FILIPINO AMERICAN MOVEMENT BASED ARTIST CURRENTLY WORKING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. WITH A MISSION TO MAKE DANCE AN ACCESSIBLE ART FORM, HER CURRENT PRACTICE INVOLVES DEVELOPING AND NURTURING SPACES THAT ENCOURAGE MOVEMENT AS THERAPY, INVESTIGATION, AND CELEBRATION. THE FOUNDATION OF ALL OF HER WORK ENDLESSLY REFERENCES HER BELIEF IN THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY, LOVE, AND INTEGRITY. SHE CURRENTLY CHOREOGRAPHS HER OWN WORKS AND PERFORMS WITH VARIOUS PROJECTS AND COMPANIES THROUGHOUT SAN DIEGO INCLUDING FRESH CONGRESS DANCE, DISCO RIOT, MARAYA PERFORMING ARTS, MALASHOCK DANCE, AND SAN DIEGO DANCE THEATER. UNO RECEIVED HER BFA IN DANCE FROM CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS WHERE SHE STUDIED PERFORMANCE, CHOREOGRAPHY, AND PEDAGOGY.

Guillermo Castro

Guillermo Castro from San Diego, is a UC Santa Barbara graduate with a BFA in Dance. His training began at the age of 13 under Rayna Stohl and Ericka Moore, and he has had the pleasure of working with local choreographers Khamala Somphanh, Zaquia Mahler Salinas, and Sadie Weinberg. He has performed with Unity Dance Ensemble, Selah Dance Collective, Nebula Dance Lab, The UCSB Dance Company and was an apprentice with Santa Barbara Dance Theater. Guillermo has performed works by Jose Limon, Shen Wei, Andrea Shermoly, Stephanie Miracle, Brandon Whited, Nancy Colahan, Edgar Zendejar, and Ephrat Ashire, amongst others. He moved back to San Diego, and is excited to be dancing with DISCO RIOT.

Lauren Christie

Lauren Christie is originally from Memphis, TN, where she trained at the Ballet Memphis School. She earned her BA with Honors in Public Communication and French with a dance minor from American University in Washington, DC. Lauren performed throughout the Mid-Atlantic region with DC-based Christopher K. Morgan & Artists from 2012-2018. Since moving to San Diego, Lauren has danced with many local artists, and is a current company dancer with DISCO RIOT, Malashock Dance, and San Diego Dance Theater. Lauren also teaches yoga and dance, and choreographs her own work.

Wadeaa Jubran

​Wadeaa grew up in the Bay Area and began dancing at the age of four. She trained alongside multiple companies during her dance career, including Morgan Hill Ballet Company and South Valley Ballet Company, where she became Artistic Director in 2017. Wadeaa has performed in and directed productions including Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, La Fille Mal Gardee, and more. She has created ballet, conditioning, and yoga curriculum specifically geared towards anatomical education, improvement of muscle functions, injury prevention, and mindfulness while dancing. Wadeaa moved to San Diego in 2019, where she has since expanded her love of ballet to a new area and received her PBT Certification. She believes you will learn the most from the teachers that truly love what they are teaching. Wadeaa strives to express her passion for ballet through her teaching in hopes of seeing that same excitement ignite in her students.

Master Class Teachers include:
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Juan Carlos Blanco (Afro-Cuban)
Khamla Somphanh (Horton Technique)
Ami Davis (Nutrition and Wellness)