Meet The Team

Deja Hill

Meet Deja, our visionary director and San Francisco native. Graduating early with a Business Management degree, she brings extensive training in various dance styles. Her experience spans teaching, choreography, and competing in New York, guiding our studio with innovation, expertise, and artistic passion.

Jaliana Semien

Jaliana, a recent UC Santa Barbara graduate with a B.F.A. in Dance and a B.A. in Sociology, has excelled in local and international dance studios. Trained by renowned mentors at SOTA, she furthered her career in Europe. An award-winning choreographer and seasoned performer, Jaliana brings her passion and expertise back to her hometown.

Madison-Noelle Chang

Madison Noelle, a San Francisco native, has performed and competed in prestigious events like Youth America Grand Prix and NYC Dance Alliance. She earned scholarships to Peridance Center and Rock School of Ballet. Madison, who teaches ballet, tap, and Polynesian dance, holds a B.S. in Dance/Arts Management from Oklahoma City University. Recently, she choreographed "The Nutcracker" for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Ballet Theatre.

Elisabeth Fortescue-Hall

Native San Franciscan mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Fortescue-Hall holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music. A RASOTA and BAVA alumna, she studied with notable instructors and performed in various styles. Elisabeth now teaches voice and music theory at RASOTA and private lessons at Inspire Music.

Nina Palada

Nikolina Palada began her dance training at The San Francisco Ballet and ODC Dance Commons. She then trained at Ruth Awasa School of the Arts in San Francisco. She graduated from Saint Mary’s College in 2020 with a double major in Dance  & Choreography and JCL. She has been teaching dance to kids since she was 10 years old; she currently teaches modern, ballet, and contemporary to kids. She has been dancing with the Davalos Dance Company since 2021.

Hanna Persky

San Francisco native Hanna Persky began her dance training at Presidio Dance Theatre in 2006. She traveled internationally and was an advanced dancer and choreographer in the pre-professional program at San Francisco School of the Arts. Hanna graduated as a Marine Corps member with a B.A. from USC.

Jasmine Cruz

San Francisco native Jasmine Heart Cruz trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and modern at Westlake School for the Performing Arts. She attended prestigious programs like Hubbard Street Dance Intensive and English National Ballet School. Jasmine, a Dance Spirit Magazine Cover Model Search Winner, now dances with Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York City.

Joshua Gasper

Since 2010, Joshua Gaspar (“J4”) has trained in funk styles, isolations, and Hip Hop choreography. Performing from the Bay to San Diego, his passion ignited after appearing on So You Think You Can Dance with Stephen “Twitch” Boss. Now at CSU Fullerton, he creates impactful Hip Hop projects.

Drina Canjura-Kaufmann

Drina Canjura-Kaufmann is from San Francisco, CA, proudly half Salvadorian. Raised in the Mission District immersed in Latin culture, she started dancing at 8 and holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with minors in Spanish and Anthropology, training extensively in Contemporary, Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Belly dance.

Iva Dixon

Iva Dixson, a San Francisco native, began her training at San Francisco Ballet and later at the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts under Elvia Marta and Andrea Hinman. After traveling with the Rome International Dance Academy, she has collaborated with various choreographers and filmmakers upon returning. Recently, she danced with Vangelis Dance Company and joined RMK.