DANCE FACULTY

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Hyeree Jeong is the Director of Edgewater Performing Arts. 

Hyeree studied at the Elmhurst Ballet School, in association with the Birmingham Royal Ballet in the United Kingdom. 

She earened her Masters in Ballet from Sejong University and has performed as a dancer in the Korean Ballet Theatre. 

Hyeree is American Ballet Theatre  Certified teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT teacher training intensive in  pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT National Training Curriculum and Affiliated  teacher from American Ballet Theater.

She also possesses various experience in contemporary, tap, jazz, and flamenco, korean traditional dance  as well as dance choreography and drama. 

Ju Yeun, Lee went on to Hanyang University in Seoul where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. Ju Yeun

came to New York to continue her dance training and education. She graduated from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, with a Master of Arts in Teaching Dance in Higher Education and American Ballet Theatre Pedagogy. As a student in the NYU Master’s program, 

Ju Yeun continued her dance studies and gained a p rofessional certifica tion ABT’s National

Training Curriculum Primary Level to Level 7 in dance education from American Ballet Theater and Ballet Teaching for Kids from Korea Kids Physical Association. 

 Hyerim Hwang is originally from Seoul, Korea. She began her formal training in 2006 at Sun Hwa Art School and was invited to join the Universal Ballet Company. She completed a Bachelor’s De-gree in performing arts and graduated with honors from Kook-min University. Professionally she has performed a wide range of classical and contemporary roles as a freelance dancer with New York City based companies. 

Hyerim is an ABT Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT National Training Curriculum. She is also a certified Pilates instructor by IPEA pilates association. 

She holds a Certificate in Business program from Baruch College in NYC.

Mrs. Tsartolia was born in Athens, Greece where she received her BFA in dance from the State School of Dance. A recipient of scholarships from the Alexander Onassis and Merce Cunningham Foundations, Mrs. Tsartolia graduated from the Merce Cunningham Studio, NYC in 1997. She performed in the US and Europe with Mandafounis Modern Dance Company, Octana Dance Theatre, Connecticut Ballet and Analysis Dance Company, among others. She joined RIOULT Dance NY in 1998. She has performed numerous world premiers and repertory pieces with the company around the globe as a soloist and lead dancer until 2014. Since 2000 she has worked as a teaching artist, as the Educational Artistic Advisor and later as the Director of Youth Programs for RIOULT’s Arts and Education program “DanceREACH”.

Mrs. Tsartolia has taught technique and repertory workshops in the US, France, Greece and Bermuda. She has restaged RIOULT’s choreography for the Frank Sinatra School, Civic Ballet, in Bermuda and the Hellenic Dance Company in Athens, Greece. She has served as the assistant to the choreographer, for all the children’s parts, in the productions “Small Steps, Tiny Revolutions” (2008) and “Fables” (2011). Since then she has restaged these productions numerous times in U.S and France. Mrs. Tsartolia created the “RIOULT Summer Dance Camp” program in 2010 and the “RIOULT Modern Dance Series” in 2013, serving as a master teacher and choreographer. She has choreographed and presented her work for Youth Ensembles of RIOULT and CIVIC Ballet. 

Connor Bermingham is a graduate of Pace School of Performing Arts in NYC where he received his BFA in Commercial Dance. Recently, Connor toured internationally as a lead dancer on Azamara Club Cruises. He also was a member of Broadway Dance Lab in NYC where he worked with professionals curating new works for broadway musicals. Connor had the privilege of dancing with Misty Copeland in front of the National Symphony Orchestra for Leonard Bernstein’s centennial tribute. His choreography has been featured in the prestigious Young Choreographer’s Festival in NYC. He was also seen on the hit television show So You Think You Can Dance, where he made it to the top 20 stage boys. Connor has trained on scholarship at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Joffrey Ballet and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Favorite stage credits include: Bob Fosse's: Sing Sing Sing, Jerome Robbins: Billion Dollar Baby, Tyler Peck and Robbie Fairchild's: Moments, Mia Michaels: Reactions, featured dancer in Eddie Money’s revival tour, and Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats. Connor is represented by CESD Talent Agency in NYC. He’s worked as a dance choreographer and instructor in NYC and across East Coast.

Michael Yun has served as cover conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and has assisted with the Lyric Opera of Baltimore, Opera Theatre of Montclair, Mannes Community Orchestra, and Miami Music Festival Symphony Orchestra. He has also taken part in festivals in Spain, Italy, and Canada. As a pianist, Mr. Yun has won first prizes at the New York Music Festival Competition and the New Jersey Teachers’ Association Competition. He is also a two-time recipient of a scholarship award from the Council of Korean Churches of Greater New York. He earned his Master’s degree in orchestral conducting at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with the legendary Gustav Meier, and Markand Thakar, a protégé of Sergiu Celibidache. Other conducting teachers include Agrippino Bellino, Scott Jackson Wiley and Ronald Braunstein. Mr. Yun received his degree in piano performance from the Mannes College of Music where he studied with Yuri Kim. Currently, he is conductor of the Heritage Choir.

Leeza Katz is a vocalist and classical guitarist. She received her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Arts and Performance from the Eastman School of Music. She also specializes in classical guitar where she studied with Nicholas Goluses at the Eastman School of Music. Leeza studied guitar at The Juilliard School pre-college division with Tali Roth from 2010-2015.

In the summer of 2019 she was the guitar and ukulele teacher at Belvoir Terrace where she taught children from ages 7-16, organized concerts, and helped her students reach a higher level of musicianship. 

Along with her classical training, Leeza is vocally trained in the styles of jazz and musical theatre. Her guitar training includes classical, flamenco and pop. 

With her passion for music and teaching,  Leeza makes sure to create a positive experience and connection between her student and the music.

Ms. Tama Nakata, a native of Japan, earned her Bachelors of Arts from Osaka University in Osaka, Japan, where she concentrated in Germanistik (German Studies) and  English. Under Dr. Koji Sonoda, Ms. Nakata completed the Method of Teaching Japanese program at the Japanese American Society in New Jersey, and has certification  to teach Japanese as a Second Language. Ms. Nalata has been teaching Japanese at language schools, weekend schools, and American companies since 2001. She has experience instructing all manner of students, including children as young as seven, college students, and adults. She is a skilled and proficient instructor with the ability to  teach Japanese at the beginner, intermediate, or advanced level.