Ferlyn Alarcon Fonseca | CEO & Director; Hip Hop, Contemporary, Modern & Bebop Tap

Bernadette Ondevilla | Hip Hop & Breaking

Bernadette Ondevilla began dancing jazz, tap and ballet in Chula Vista High School at the age of 15. Attending UCSD thereafter she became versed in contemporary, dance theatre and contact improvisation, minoring in dance and receiving her BA in Psychology ’09. Bernadette started to teach and create choreography which has been featured through numerous high school conference workshops and notably though UCSD Kaibigang Pilipino’s Cultural Celebrations. Her biggest influence was being a part of Culture Shock San Diego ‘11 where Bernadette delved heavily into hip hop choreography and breakin’. Noteworthy performances include Club Atlantis, Odysseus at the Old Globe, backup for Baby Bash, FUSION ’11, Tiger Bomb Music Video, “Fearless” movie dance extra, and UCSD Winter Works. With a strong immersion and interest in fusion work and performance she continues to diligently study funk styles and contemporary with the hope of finding others who are also interested in this kind of work. At 22 Bernadette currently attends San Diego City College studying modern, choreography, education pedagogy and in addition to avidly taking classes and garnering gigs here and there.

Clayne Hammon | Ballet

Clayne Hammon began dancing in 2004 with the Springfield Ballet, in Springfield, MO where he had his first on stage role as the Nutcracker. He continued to dance with the Springfield Ballet for 4 years, after which he moved to St. Louis to finish up his degree in Dance at University of Missouri St Louis in 2011. During his studies, he transitioned from classical ballet to modern dance. He had internships with Modern American Dance Company, and last year he was artistic director and company choreographer for Consuming Kinetics Dance Company in St. Louis, MO.

Melissa Gallegos-lenz | Contemporary & Modern

Melissa Gallegos Lenz was a national competitor in figure skating for 13 years. She is a triple gold medalist through the USFSA as well as being a PSA certified instructor. She received her B.A. in Dance from the University of California San Diego with honors and earned the Patricia Rincon Diversity Award. She studied under some of the best instructors and mentors: Patricia Rincon, Terry Wilson, Alyson Green, Darcy Naganuma, Eric Geiger, Liam Clancy, and Judith Sharp. Her UCSD credits include: PPPP (2011), Winter Works (2012-13), Arts in Action Connected (2012), New Directions (2013) where she choreographed Fool’s Paradise. She acquired her A.A. in dance through San Diego City College where she performed, choreographed, and collaborated for City Moves (2009-10) and Random Acts of Dance (2009-11.) She has had the delight and honor of dancing for the Patricia Rincon Dance Collective since 2012. Her credits with PDRC include: Blurred Borders Dance Festival (2012), The Myth Project: Nonsense (2013), The Myth Project: Altar (2013) through the La Jolla Playhouse Without Walls Festival. During the summer of 2013, Melissa danced for Naganuma 2 in New York City; where she performed, collaborated, and documented the process through site specific film footage. Currently, she works for Visionary Dance Theatre as a dance manager as well as a dancer in the company, and at 3 Be3ts Dance Company as a modern instructor. As her experiences grow in dancing, teaching, choreographing, and performing she is excited and eager to share and learn. Her inspirations include mind and body connections with emphasis on explorative, improvisational, and technical release movements.

Veronica Velasco | jazz

Since her beginning Jazz class, Veronica Velaso’s passion for dance has grown tremendously. One of her biggest inspirations was her high school dance instructor, Gail Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell taught Veronica to work hard in what she loved, to believe in herself and to never give up. It was during these formative years that Veronica learned it was useless to ever say the words “I can’t,” but instead to keep working and eventually you can master any style. She danced and cheered throughout high school and earned the “Best Dancer” title in her class. It was also during her Senior year that she earned the right to dance a solo and choreograph her first show piece. After graduating, Veronica attended California State University, Long Beach and continued receiving an education in Dance. She continued to choreograph and it was during this time that she solidified her goal to teach dance. Throughout the subsequent years, Veronica has received the opportunity to dance with various dance companies throughout California, such as Heart and Soul Dance Company and the Culture Shock San Diego Dance Troupe-Afta Shock. She has received training in several dance styles including, but not limited to, Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Tap and Ballroom. Veronica has performed in several student and staff choreography dance shows at SWC and Mesa College, and worked with and continues to learn from incredible dancers, instructors and choreographers that have shown her the real soul and essence of dance. Veronica enjoys being a guest artist in many dance workshops throughout California and absolutely loves being part of the San Diego Dance Community. Her biggest joy is to share her sincere passion for dance and to be an inspiration to other dancers on their journey to continue doing what they love.