School Faculty
Amanda Hinchey
Originally from Winchester, Massachusetts, Amanda attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and received her BFA in 2009. Amanda has danced professionally with Loraine Chapman the Company, Mari Meade Dance Collective, Amalgamate Dance Company and is currently also dancing with WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company. She was one of the recipients of 2010-2011William R. Kenan Fellowship at Lincoln Center Institute for Arts in Education.
Elizabeth Douglas
Elizabeth Douglas received her B.A. in Dance from the University of Buffalo, and her Masters in Dance Education from New York University. She is also certified in Dance K-12, Elementary Labanotation, and Level One Somatics. Elizabeth has been affiliated with several children’s dance, arts outreach, and dance theater organizations in the Syracuse, NY and New York City areas. She currently works with Harkness Dance Center, In Grandma’s Attic, Education in Dance, and Intercataction. As a dancer, Elizabeth has worked with noted choreographers Douglas Dunn and Alwin Nikolais.
Jungeun Hong
A native of Korea, Ms. Hong earned her BFA from Pusan National University in Korea, and her Masters Degree in Piano Performance from Manhattan School of Music. There, as a student of Phillip Kawin, she was awarded the 2005 KASF (Korean American Scholarship Foundation) Award for her academic excellence and musical talent. She has performed in master classes presented by Oxana Yablonskaya and Arie Vardi, among others. Ms. Hong has taught piano professionally for over 10 years to students of all ages and levels.
Kimberly Prosa
A native of Oregon, Kimberly studied ballet under Joan Sanders-Siedel of Nederland Dans Theatre and N.C. School of the Arts. She received her B.F.A from Purchase Conservatory of Dance and an M.S. in Human Services in non-profit management. Kimberly has performed works by Dance Theatre of Oregon, the Eugene Ballet Company, Purchase Dance Corps, Stephanie Tooman and HT Chen & Dancers. She studied theatre arts appearing in off broadway productions and doubled for the principal character in Academy Award winning Black Swan. Kimberly has re-staged works and choreographed in NYC, Oregon and West Africa and teaches ballet, pilates and contemporary dance. Currently she works at Doctors Without Borders/Medicins Sans Frontieres.
Connie Procopio
Connie Procopio graduated from University of South Florida with a BFA in Dance, and performed one season with Moving Current Dance Company in Florida. In NYC, she trained primarily at the Limon Institute and has performed for Sue Bernhard/DanceWorks, Alan Danielson, Maxine Steinman, Raphael Boumailla, Kathryn Alter, and the Avodah Dance Ensemble. Her own choreography has been performed at festivals in Calabria, Italy; spectacle de variete de la Maison du Canada in Paris, France; Limon Institute; Chelsea Pier; Bric Studio; School of Performing Arts in Connecticut; University of South Florida Theater/Dance Departments; Hostas Cultural Arts Center; Dance Theatre of Lynchburg.
Lucie Baker
Graduated with a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School. She has performed with Jane Comfort and Company, Tamar Rogoff Performance Projects, Erica Essner Performance Co-Op, Bennyroyce Dance Productions, Yara Travieso, Sidra Bell Dance New York, Adam Barruch Dance and ARC Dance, and others. She studied folk and social dance at Lady of the Lake Dance Camp and with Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble. Her choreography has been performed both domestically and internationally. Ms. Baker is also committed to community building and educational outreach through the arts as a volunteer with Artists Striving To End Poverty (A.S.T.E.P.).
Hiroko Nagahata
Received her Masters from Manhattan School of Music, attended the Juilliard School Evening Division and is receiving her D.M.A. from Michigan State University this season. Ms. Nagahata won several music awards and has performed in Music Festivals in New York, Russia and Paris. She has taught piano to children through advanced level students in Japan, New Jersey and New York.
Emiko Sato
A native of Japan, Emiko Sato earned her Bachelor of Music degree at Doshisha Woman’s College of Liberal Arts where she studied with Bulgarian pianist Svetla V. Protich and received the Mtsusita Kimiko Scholarship (1997), Ishimura Masako Award (1999) and the Niijima Award (2000). She was awarded the Master of Music degree in 2003 and the Professional Studies Diploma in 2005, from Mannes College of Music, where she received a scholarship to study solo piano and chamber music. She has performed in several NY venues, including Steinway Hall. Ms. Sato is currently a DMA candidate at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Megumi Yonezawa
Megumi Yonezawa received her BM in the dual majors of Jazz Composition and Performance concentration in Piano from the Berklee College of Music. Her musical experience includes playing for such artists as the Greg Osby Four (Blue Note Recordings), Phil Wilson and The Rainbow Big Band, and Ben Elkins and The Back Bay Brass. A few of her awards include the Hokkaido Culture Foundation Oversea Artist Award, the Jazz Performance Award from Berklee College of Music, and the Asian Tour Scholarship from Berklee. Megumi has been professionally recorded on Greg Osby’s Public(Blue Note Recordings).
Emily Woo Zeller
Emily Woo Zeller received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley in Dance and Performance Studies, and minor in Nutritional Sciences. She is a 200-RYT, having completed her yoga training with Laughing Lotus Yoga Center. As a professional singer, dancer, actor, and voiceover artist, Emily has performed on both US coasts and in Hong Kong. She is the recipient of the Roselyn Schneider Eisner Award for Highest Achievement in the Creative Arts and the Tristen Award for Best Actress. In addition to working with Chen Dance Center, she teaches dance, yoga, and fitness with the YMCA and STARR, Inc.