Mann-Wen Lo, Violin

Violinist Mann-Wen Lo performs extensively throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician. Featured on radio and TV broadcasts in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and France, she has been a recurring artist at some of the most prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Walt Disney Hall and Taiwan National Concert Hall. Her recording with the Mana Music Quartet, featuring the music of Queen Liliʻuokalani was awarded Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2021 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award.

Mann-Wen has performed as a soloist with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Taiwan Strings, Tokyo University of the Arts Ensemble, and American Contemporary Ballet in Los Angeles. She has served as guest concertmaster at the Pasadena Opera, American Contemporary Ballet, and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and as guest assistant concertmaster at the Dallas Chamber Symphony. She has been a featured recording artist under labels such as Warner Classics, Navona Records, and CMH Label Groups.

As a chamber musician, Mann-Wen has collaborated with members of world-renowned string quartets such as the Juilliard String Quartet, the Cleveland Quartet, Quatuor Ysaÿe, and the Takács Quartet, among others. Mann-Wen has been invited as a guest artist to concert series such as Camera Lucida in San Diego, Le Salon de Musiques, Castleton Chamber Players, New Asia Chamber Music Society, and the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles. In addition, Mann-Wen has been invited to festivals including Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Saito Kinen Festival (now Seiji Ozawa Festival), ANA Music Week, Hawaii International Music Festival, Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, Rencontres Franco Américaines de Musique Chambre, and Festival Internacional de Música Académica de Panama .

Mann-Wen’s exploration beyond Western Classical music has led to collaborations with Grammy award winning artists such as Bèla Fleck (banjo), Kalani Peʻa (Singer), Jake Shimabukuro (ukulele), and Pandit Partha Bose (sitar). She is a recording artist with the Vitamin String Quartet, a pioneering project in classical crossover, known for its popular renditions across a wide array of genres and styles.

Mann-Wen currently serves as a violin professor at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, as well as a recurring faculty member at summer festivals including Deutsch-Polnische Festival für junge Musiker in Bremen, Montecito International Music Festival, and Texas Music Festival.

Cindy Ahn, Violin

Cindy Sohyun Ahn is a consummate artist who maintains an active performance career as a violinist with the Kinetic Ensemble and a substitute violinist with the Houston Symphony.

Cindy earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from the Shepherd School of Music, where she studied under Paul Kantor. Born in South Korea, she moved to the United States in 2006 and began studying violin at the age of 11. Under the guidance of William Fitzpatrick, she attended the Orange County High School of the Arts from 2009 to 2015, winning the school's concerto competition in 2014 and performing in numerous recitals and concerts throughout Orange County.

From 2012 to 2021, Cindy attended the prestigious Aspen Music Festival, where she was featured in the Spotlight and String Showcase series. From 2015 to 2017, she was honored with the Dorothy Starling Award and fellowships to return to Aspen. In 2018, she won second prize in the Mika Hasler Young Artist Competition and was invited to join the Kneisel Hall Music Festival for intensive chamber music studies with renowned musicians such as Laurie Smukler, Ronald Copes, Joel Krosnick, and Barbara Mallow.

Cindy has also worked with and participated in masterclasses led by prominent musicians, including Phillip Setzer, Stephen Clapp, Sung-Ju Lee, Kurt Sassmanshaus, Connie Heard, Paul Kantor, Ray Chen, Frank Huang, Mark Steinberg, and Don Weilerstein. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and love of music with her audiences and students.

Eunghee Cho, Cello

Born in Davis, California, Korean-American cellist Eunghee Cho was awarded Second Prize and the special award for Outstanding Chinese New Piece Performance at the Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition (China). He also earned top prizes in the Gustav Mahler Prize Cello Competition (Czech Republic), AEMC International Chamber Music Competition (Italy), Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition (USA), among other competitions and has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras around the country including the Sacramento Philharmonic, Fox Valley Symphony, Cape Symphony, Atlantic Symphony, Symphony by the Sea, UC Davis Symphony, and Sacramento State Symphony Orchestras. He has held the Joyce & Donald Steele Chair as Principal Cello of the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra and is regularly invited to collaborate as guest principal cellist with orchestras around the country including Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Boston Festival Orchestra, Dallas Chamber Symphony, and Cape Symphony.

Eunghee currently serves on the cello and chamber music faculty of University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where he also directs the Moores Cello Ensemble, CelloFest Houston, and Texas Music Festival’s Chamber Music Program. He has been invited to present masterclasses for Boston Conservatory, Towson University, La Jolla Music Society, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Artis Naples, Royal Conservatory of Music, and Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society, and he is the Artistic Director of Mellon Music Festival in Davis, CA. Eunghee has also served on the summer teaching faculties of Texas Music Festival, International Cello Institute, Montecito International Music Festival, Heifetz International Music Institute, Texas Strings Festival, and Festival Internacional de Música Naolinco.

His chamber music collaborations include performances with artists such as Midori Goto, Inon Barnatan, David Shifrin, Paul Neubauer, Maeve Gilchrist, Elton John, Keith Murphy, Alec Benjamin, François Salque, and with members of the Cleveland Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Calder String Quartet, Silk Road Ensemble, A Far Cry, Da Camera Society, and Aaron Diehl Trio. He has collaborated directly with composers in world and national premieres of their works including with José Elizondo, Andrew Norman, Michael Gandolfi, Jeremy Crosmer, and Julia Adolphe. Previous festival engagements include La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, Keuka Lake Music Festival, Highlands Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Festival International d’Echternach, and Rencontres Franco Américaines de Musique Chambre in Missillac, France.

Eunghee graduated as a Steven & Kathryn Sample Renaissance Scholar from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance and a Minor in Biology as a student of Andrew Shulman. He completed both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at New England Conservatory under the tutelage of distinguished pedagogues Laurence Lesser and Paul Katz. Eunghee has actively participated in classes at the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival and Académie Musicale de Villecroze in France and has worked closely with Ralph Kirshbaum, Kim Kashkashian, and Midori Goto. His cello instruction began with Julie Hochman, Richard Andaya, and Andrew Luchansky.

Season Summers, Oboe

Season Summers is the Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Lamar University and San Jacinto College. Previously, Dr. Summers served as the Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Lindenwood University, Sam Houston State University, and Lee College teaching applied oboe, studio class and reed class. She has also taught Aural Skills, Music Appreciation, Music Fundamentals, American Music and Chamber Music at the collegiate level.

Dr. Summers serves as Principal Oboe of the Lake Charles Symphony (Louisiana). As an active freelancer in the Houston area, she has performed with such organizations as Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), Opera in the Heights, Aperio, Musiqa, Energy Corridor of Houston Orchestra (ECHO), Houston Choral Society, Masquerade Theatre, The Latin Philharmonic, and Texas Master Chorale. She has also performed with many symphonies throughout Texas including the Baytown Symphony, Brazos Valley Symphony, Corpus Christi Symphony, Temple Symphony, and Waco Symphony.

Passionate about oboe pedagogy, Dr. Summers teaches at the Bocal Majority and Operation O.B.O.E. double reed camp, and creates content for her YouTube channel dedicated to assisting young oboists with the development of healthy fundamentals and efficient practice habits. She frequently dedicates time to high school and collegiate level master classes and has been the featured oboe clinician at the Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA) convention, Sam Houston State University’s Center for Music Education, and the American Band College convention in Oregon. In 2021, she was chosen to select the Texas All-State oboe audition etudes and presented virtually at the TBA convention.

Dr. Summers received a BM from Baylor University, a MM and a Graduate Certificate in Performance from Northwestern University and her DMA at Arizona State University.

Her primary teachers include Linda Gilbert, Doris DeLoach, Ray Still, and Martin Schuring.

In her free time, Dr. Summers practices yoga daily and volunteers at a local animal rescue. She also prioritizes time in her garden and exploratory bike rides around Houston. She and her husband Graham love pampering their cats and spending quality time outside.

Graham Tobin, Flute

Graham Tobin enjoys a multifaceted career as an educator, conductor, and freelance musician. He studied at the Queensland Conservatorium and Northwestern University before returning to Australia as an Artist Teacher of Saxophone at the Queensland Conservatorium and the University of Queensland. 

In Houston, Mr. Tobin served as Director of Bands at The John Cooper School before joining the faculty at San Jacinto College, where he teaches Music Fundamentals, applied woodwind lessons, and directs the Wind and Jazz Ensembles. 

As a performer, Mr. Tobin is a multiple woodwinds specialist, regularly performing with organizations such as Theatre Under the Stars, Broadway Across America, and the Houston Symphony.

Tonya Burton, Viola

Violist Tonya Burton enjoys a diverse career of both solo and ensemble playing. She recently won third place in the 2023 American Prize for Instrumental Soloists, “Best Classical Artist” in the D.C. Wammie awards, and a track from her debut solo album won a 2022 Wammie award for “Best Classical Song.” She is also an official member of the Recording Academy.

An artistic leader, Burton has been a core member of the Kinetic Ensemble since 2016, both performing and programming for the Houston-based string orchestra known for showcasing diverse, under-represented and newly composed classical music. Kinetic’s album Kinetic,recently debuted as number one on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums chart in 2023. The ensemble has also been featured onDaniel Knaggs: Two Streams on the Cappella Records label and Pierre Jalbert: String Theory under the Orchid Classics label.

Burton is also a core member and curator for Monarch Chamber Players, a group dedicated to making high-quality chamber music accessible through free concerts in unique venues across the Houston area. She is also an Affiliate Artist with the Apollo Chamber Players, and notably performed with them at Carnegie Hall for a sold-out audience in 2023.

Burton frequently performs with chamber groups around the United States, including Musiqa, Aperio, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles, and is a Resident Artist for the Caroga Arts Collective in Upstate New York. Burton’s rich career as a chamber musician has led to collaborations with leading musicians in the field, including Donald Weilerstein, Jeffrey Irvine, Mark Kosower, Ben Kammins, Katherine Murdock, Richie Hawley,Fabio Di Càsola, and Natsuki Fukasawa.

In addition to performing, Burtonis currently on faculty at Sam Houston State University, maintains a thriving home studio, and gives frequent masterclasses in the greater Houston area. She received a Master’s in Music from Rice University studying with James Dunham, a Bachelor’s of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Jeffrey Irvine, and served as Katherine Murdock’s Teaching Assistant while working on her Doctorate at the University of Maryland.

Andrea Benabent, Piano

Dr. Andrea Benabent, a distinguished Spanish pianist, has earned recognition in numerous national and international competitions, including first prizes at the 8th Brilliant Talent Discovery Awards International Competition in Singapore (2024), the II Franz Liszt Center Piano Competition in Spain, and the “Mestre Serrano” Piano Competition in Valencia, Spain. 

She holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance from the University of Houston, where she studied under Dr. Andrew Staupe and Dr. Tali Morgulis. Andrea also graduated from the Royal Higher Conservatory of Madrid and Sam Houston State University, where she studied with Elena Orobio and Josu de Solaun, the first prize winner of the XIII George Enescu International Piano Competition in Bucharest.

During the 2015/2016 academic year, Andrea was a student of Professor Pascal Nemirovsky at the Royal Academy of Music in London and received a scholarship to attend the Alps Summer Music Festival in Tignes, France. In 2018, she was awarded a fellowship to participate in the Miami Piano Academy and Festival, where she studied with Giselle Brodsky and Jorge Luis Prats.

Since 2022, Andrea has been a member of the Young Artist Program at DACAMERA in Houston, actively promoting the musical heritage of Spain. She performed in the successful concert series Octubre Hispánico 2022 for the Consulate of Spain in Houston.

Andrea has graced prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Wortham Theater Center and Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston, Duke’s Hall in London, and Palau de la Música in Valencia, among others. Passionate about flamenco, she incorporates the genre into her compositions, drawing inspiration from artists such as Pablo Ruben Maldonado, David Peña Dorantes, Maria Toledo, and Lola Fernández.

Andrés Felix, Cajón

Andrés is a flamenco percussionist and free lance guitarist with extensive performing experience.  He was tuned to his Spanish heritage  since childhood and developled interest in the musicality and rhythmic complexity of flamenco.  He received guitar instruction at the Festival Flamenco de Albuquerque, NM and from flamenco guitarist Jeremy García in Houston. He also received cajón (boxdrum) instruction from the late Maestro Timo Lozano.  

During  2011 - 2016, he attended workshops at the Houston Spanish and Flamenco Festival imparted by percussionists Enrique el Peru and Chris Howard.  

As a recording artist, Andrés’ percussive dexterity is highlighted in Jeremy García’s Nuevo Día.  On stage, Andrés accompanies song, guitar, and dance and tours nationally with Solero Flamenco in concerts, events and workshops.

Jeremy García, Guitar

Jeremy is an accomplished classical and flamenco guitarist, award-winning composer, arranger, recording artist and educator.  Currently serving as the Affiliate Artist of Guitar at the Moores School of Music, García’s philosophy of teaching centers on guided instruction - a true mentorship designed to unlock the student’s fullest potential in artistic, scholarly, and creative expression.  

He maintains an active career as a concert artist emphasizing classical and flamenco and in orchestral and chamber music collaborations.  Notable engagements include the Houston Grand Opera's "Suite Española" (2021), the Moores Opera Center's "Ainadamar" (2023), Fremont Symphony Orchestra, Lander, Wyoming, (2022) and the Helena Symphony in Montana (2017).  In Helena, García premiered an original work for flamenco ensemble and orchestra,  "Suite Andaluz."   This three movement work highlighted the antique popular songs recorded by Federico García Lorca in 1931.  On the same concert, García performed Joaquín Rodrigo's "El Concierto de Aranjuez."  More recently, he appeared as a featured artist with the Grammy Award-winning Apollo’s Fire - Baroque Orchestra (2024) on a 6 concert tour of Chicago and Cleveland.  

Continuing his desire to introduce new audiences to classical music influenced by flamenco, García was awarded a grant in 2024 by the Houston Arts Alliance to create new works based on the music of Federico García Lorca and Manuel de Falla.  This new vision features collaborations with fellow University of Houston - Katherine G. McGovern College of the Arts faculty, including Mann-Wen Lo, Professor of Practice - Violin, Eunghee Cho, Professor of Practice - Cello, and Dr. Gabriela Estrada, Assistant Professor of Dance.  

As a festival artist, Jeremy performs, gives master classes, lectures, and workshops in festivals such as the 2024 Texas Guitar Festival at the University of Texas in Dallas, the Brownsville Texas Flamenco Festival (2021), The Classical Minds Festival (England - Virtual Performance, Workshop and lessons - 2021) and the Hill Country Classical Guitar Ensemble Festival and Competition (2019).  

García's latest album, "Nuevo Día" (Frameworks Records, 2023), features original compositions and reimagined flamenco infused arrangements of classical Spanish Masters Tárrega and Albéniz. For his composition “Zalamera,” García won the top prize in the Séptimo Concurso de Composición para Guitarra Fidelio (2023) in Madrid, Spain.

He is the co-founder of Solero Flamenco, Houston's premier professional flamenco performing company. (2009).  Along with co-founder Irma La Paloma, Solero Flamenco was invited to perform for the Queen of Spain - La Reina Sofia (2023).  Solero Flamenco has also performed in six cities across the US between 2021 and 2023 in original productions hosted by Candlelight Concerts by Fever.  With a sincere desire to share the art of Flamenco, Jeremy and Irma directed the Houston Spanish and Flamenco Festival (2011-2016) and created a program of gratuitous interactive performance/demonstrations for Houston’s youth called, Flamenco for Kids and Teens.  The Houston Spanish and Flamenco Festival was supported by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Humanities Texas, San Jacinto College, and was endorsed by the Consul General of Spain in Houston.  

With education and engagement a top priority, García currently serves as the Associate Artistic Director of the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition.  Furthermore, he is a frequent clinician and ensemble director for the Guitar Initiative’s Summer Guitar Conservatory, held annually for HISD students.     He holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Texas A&M Corpus Christi and a Master of Music in Performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Irma La Paloma, Cante

Irma is a flamenco artist, singer, poet and composer. She is Co-Founder/Artistic Director of Houston’s Premier Flamenco Performance Company, Solero Flamenco (2009).  Irma performs and collaborates with local and international artists delivering Cante (Flamenco song) with sincerity and passion.  She is a dedicated ambassador of flamenco arts and education. 

Borne of Spanish descent in Havana, Cuba, she began her flamenco training with Spain’s Olga Bustamante at Concepción Arenal and with María Asela Bermúdez at Escuela de Baile Monterroso y Antas de Ulla.  She performed Flamenco and Spanish Regional Dances in Havana’s Centro Gallego and Teatro García Lorca.  Her family later established residence in Madrid where she was further embraced by her heritage.  Her love of poetry and lyrics led her to concentrated study of cante and dance accompaniment.

Recognized for her artistry and work ethic, La Paloma is a sought after collaborator.  Irma served as Choreographer for Houston Grand Opera’s digital production, "Suite Española - Explorando Iberia” (2021).  She performed and recorded her original work, ”El Corazón Manda” in Kathak-Flamenco - A Celebration of Cultures (2019).  In 2017, she performed selections from Manuel de Falla’s “El Amor Brujo” with the Helena Symphony in Montana, Allan R. Scott, Conductor.  She also composed and recorded vocals in Jeremy García's Cafe Khytaro release, “Distancia" (2008).  

Irma currently tours nationally as featured vocalist in Solero Flamenco Candlelight Concerts presented by Fever Original Events.  She performs in Houston Airports’ Performing Arts Program, Harmony in the Air.  She keeps a busy performing schedule and enjoys composing and developing new works for performance and publication.  

John Reed, Artist

John works at the intersection of the Arts, Education, Technology, and Science, with a focus on environmentalism. With the understanding that any action that transcends “self-interest” is inherently community oriented, he has created classes and programs that explore creativity as a catalyst for positive social change within the community, often working with community organizations. As part of a Fulbright Research Fellowship in 2011–12, he began developing international programs in sustainability that integrate the Arts, Humanities, and Technology.

His artistic output is diverse, ranging from large-sculptures and public works to experimental music and musical instruments. Utilizing the tools and language of one discipline to problem-solve in another, his work creates a “logical parallax” that helps reveals the structure of the dominant discourse. Current projects include an herbivorous intifada, explorations into “musical construction tools,” and a device for substituting metaphors for physics.

Solangel Lali Calix, Baile

Lali is a flamenco and Spanish classical dancer with excellent castanet technique learned from Maria Magdalena, one of Spain’s prominent players. Her love of dance began in her native Honduras and culminated in extensive training in Spain where she studied Flamenco, Ballet Clásico and Español at Amor de Dios School, Madrid with Ciro, María Magdalena.  In Sevilla’s Escuela Flamenca, she studied with Juan Polvillo. 

She later established Alianza Flamenca New Orleans as Co-Director with guitarist John Lawrence. From 1994-2005 she was the flamenco instructor at the New Orleans School of Ballet. She performed at El Matador, in the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and made several guest appearances in the states. Lali has been a professional flamenco dancer for over 40 years.  Based in Houston, she enjoys teaching technique, choreography, and castanets.  She performs and tours with Solero Flamenco.

Andrea González, Baile

Andrea is a flamenco dancer, choreographer, and instructor and has been a solo artist of flamenco since 2010. As a native of San Antonio, TX she commenced her studies of flamenco and ballet folklórico de Mexico with San Antonio dance legend, Teresa Champion at a very early age. She expanded her studies to classical ballet and pointe, jazz, and tap in addition to flamenco and ballet folklorico at San Antonio Dance Academy under the direction of Rosemary Cavasos Tatum. Andrea also studied with Michelle Rodriguez at The Academy of Dance Arts and a member of her professional dance company, Flamenco Fuego de San Antonio. As a graduate of the arts magnet school, North East School of the Arts (NESA), Andrea acted, sung, and danced in many musical theater productions and developed her choreographic strengths. She participated in the American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive in Austin and received a scholarship from the National Foundation of Advancement of Arts. As a finalist in the NFAA’s Arts Recognition and Talent Search scholarship program in flamenco, she had the opportunity to study with Rosa Mercedes, artistic director of Duende Ballet Español of Miami, Florida.

Andrea attended the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque where she studied flamenco with Eva Encinias-Sandoval. During her years at UNM, she performed with two professional dance troupes; Gbotsui Afrikan Dance Troupe and the Blythe Eden Dance Company, touring New Mexico, New York, and CA. Andrea has traveled to Spain and attends the International Flamenco Festival in Albuquerque as much as she can to study with esteemed flamenco artists from Spain. Andrea remains disciplined in her art through online classes with Cristina Aguilera, Irene “La Sentio,” Briseyda Zarate, and Concha Jareno. She has shared the stage with many talented flamenco artists in her years of solo work and other collaborations. Andrea continues to grow with every opportunity she has to dance and share her knowledge of flamenco.

Andrea currently tours nationally as a flamenco dancer with Solero Flamenco Candlelight Concerts presented by Fever Original Events. She has been a member of Solero Flamenco since 2021 and has been given the wonderful opportunity to create wonderful artistic creations with her fellow company members. She is a wife, a mother of two children and is pursuing a master’s degree in social work. Andrea’s hopes are to bring her passion for helping children and families and her passion for flamenco together in beautiful harmony. She enjoys nurturing others through dance and expression and will be teaching private lessons beginning in 2024

“Dance has and will always be a part of my life because for me it is spiritual, healing, and very personal. Flamenco is my connection to my ancestors, it is therapy, my meditation, my sanctuary because it not only moves my body through space, but it creates a vibration within my heart and soul.”

Dr. Gabriela Estrada, Baile

Gabriela is a multicultural dance artist, educator, choreographer, journalist, and filmmaker committed to promoting diversity, equity, and belonging. Estrada holds a BA and an MFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and a Ph.D. in Flamenco Interdisciplinary Studies from the Department of Sociocultural Anthropology and Philology at the University of Seville, Spain. Her creative and pedagogical experience embraces western theatrical dance forms, musical theatre, and flamenco, as well as Spanish and Latin American dance.

Estrada’s academic research, publications, and creative work have specialized in the reciprocal influences between ballet and flamenco derived from interdisciplinary collaborations, as exemplified in Ballets Russes’ Tricorne. Examples of her work include choreographic advocacy initiatives such as Not a Single Carmen More!, the short documentary film ENI9MA: The Legend of Félix, the feature-length screenplay False Premises, and the monograph titled The Choreographic Development of The Three-Cornered Hat Through the 20th Century, written in both, English and Spanish.

Estrada maintains dynamic collaborations with arts and cultural institutions in the US and abroad, such as the Instituto Sonorense de Cultura (Mexico) and Flamenco Vivo (New York City). In Mexico, Estrada founded and directed Dance Collage School of Dance, affiliated with the Royal Academy of Dance, from which her DCG dance group emerged. As founding faculty at the University of Sonora’s Theatre and Dance program, she developed courses in dance science and movement analysis. In Spain, Estrada led musical theatre dance education initiatives that invigorated Seville’s tap dance pedagogy and programming. Her dance education experience also includes teaching at Ballet Hispánico, where she managed its community engagement programs, and at East Carolina University, where she co-chaired the Inclusion and Diversity Action Committee.

Currently, Estrada serves the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) as Advisory Board Director of Research and participates with the Dance Studies Association’s Long Nineteenth Century and the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Dance Studies working groups. Estrada is also an active member of the New York Women in Film and Television, Mexico’s Women in Film Association, and Sundance Collab. 

Cecilia Garza-Luna 

Cecilia is a sophomore at the University of Houston pursuing a BA in Dance with a Minor in Education. Garza-Luna’s early training began at Profusion Performing Arts. Garza-Luna then joined Kingwood Youth Ballet (KYB), an apprentice company of Kingwood Dance Theatre, a pre-professional ballet company based in Kingwood, Texas. With KYB, Garza-Luna performed various storybook ballets, repertoire at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts and performed as Clara in the “Nutcracker” in 2019. 

Garza-Luna became a member of the Summer Creek Starlettes Drill Team where she served as a Lieutenant her senior year. Garza-Luna was able to assist and create several of her own choreographies under the Starlettes. Garza-Luna is currently providing technique classes and choreography for high school and middle school dance teams. 

At the University of Houston (UH), Garza-Luna is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Dance Student Association and a member of the pre-professional performing company, UH Dance Ensemble.