Padma Chebrolu
Indian Dance/Movement
Padma Chebrolu is an accomplished teaching and performing dance artist and is the artistic director of the Cultural Centre of India (CCI) which she founded about 30 years ago in Cincinnati. Her exemplary artistic abilities, leadership, and creativity have created tremendous impact on the arts education and public appreciation for the heritage arts in Ohio’s schools and community organizations.
Padma is the recipient of the 2021 Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) in recognition of the dedication and significant contributions she had on the community through the advancement and preservation of traditional arts.…
Diana Chittester
Music, Singing/Songwriting, & Guitar
Diana Chittester has been building a reputation as one of the area’s most gifted guitar players, intimate songwriters, and forceful vocalists over the past decade, releasing a series of albums that display her growing confidence and ability to communicate feelings that are deeply personal yet universal. Diana has shared the stage with Lyle Lovett, Gin Blossoms, The Accidentals, Joan Osborne, Peter Mulvey, Chris Trapper, Lisa Loeb, and Colin Hay; performing at performing arts centers (PACs) and venues across the eastern U.S. and Canada including Kent State PAC, Stocker Arts, Showplace Centre, Evening Muse, Music Box Supper Club, and The Ark.…
Keri Chryst
Music, Jazz, Improvisation, & French Culture
Ohio native, Keri Chryst (Olentangy High School, class of 1992), has been living and working as a professional vocalist, composer- arranger, and educator in Paris, France since 2003. She specializes in both vocal and instrumental jazz music (Bachelor of Music in jazz studies, 1997, and masters in jazz pedagogy, 1998, Northwestern University) and is also well versed in a variety of styles including Broadway, pop, soul, gospel, and classic choral literature.
For much of the year, Keri travels internationally to perform with big bands and jazz combos or with the jazz vocal trio “Sweet System“.…
Risa Cohen
Music & Dance/Movement
Risa Beth Cohen, M.S.Ed. is an educator, singer/songwriter, and storyteller. She works with people of all ages and abilities, leading music circles and storytelling workshops. As the Founder and Creative Director of Sing into Reading, Risa is passionate about teaching literacy through music and movement. Risa holds a B.F.A. in acting from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood/ Elementary Education from Bank Street College. In 2016, she was the Featured Teller at “Tellebration” in Toledo, Ohio. She is able to craft music and movement classes to align with any topic, ensuring that they are developmentally appropriate and fun.…
Kimberly Crislip Jarvis
Dance/Movement
Kimberly Crislip Jarvis is an esteemed teaching artist, choreographer, and administrator, known for her exceptional contributions to the creative arts. With an impressive educational background, Kimberly holds degrees and certifications from respected institutions such as the Scandinavian Institute for Physical Culture in Denmark, the American College of Sports Medicine, Malone University, and the University of Akron.
Throughout her career, Kimberly has collaborated with Kent State University, Ballet Magnificat! in Jackson, Mississippi, and Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, where she had the privilege of working alongside esteemed dancers such as Merce Cunningham, Meredeth Monk, Craig Patterson, Patricia Lent, Susanna Chaffey, Jennifer Way, Milton Myers, and Dianne McIntyre.…
Griset Damas-Roche
Dance/Movement, Flamenco
Born in Havana, Griset Damas-Roche studied ballet from a very young age at the Instituto Superior de Arte de Cuba before joining the world-famous National Ballet of Cuba. Then she achieved the Soloist spot in Ballet Espanol de La Habana. In 1998 she moved to Bogotá, Colombia, where she opened the doors to flamenco dance for more than 3,500 students as a teacher and choreographer. For about 17 years she successfully directed her own school and dance company. In 2014, Griset moved to Columbus, Ohio, where she began teaching at the established Flamenco del Corazon studio.…
Sheela Das
Music, Multi-Instrumentalist & Songwriting
Sheela Das is the artistic director and founder of Creative Concepts in Music. With more than a decade of teaching through the arts, she has directed, produced, and delivered compelling workshops and original stage productions for students, community members, and professional venues alike.
From songwriting workshops, instrumental music, and playwriting and puppetry camps, to classroom residencies, Sheela brings her multi-instrumental talent to the joy of hundreds of audiences each year. She has composed more than 350 original, interactive songs to teach the curriculum in grades K-12 in subjects from social emotional learning to language arts and science.…
Richelle Denes
Visual & Traditional Arts, Printmaking, Illustration, & Ceramics
Printmaker, ceramicist, and illustrator, Ricki Dénes was born in Columbus, Ohio, but spent time spilt between there and Marietta, Ohio. Recently graduated, she attended Ashland University to get her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Art Education degree. While not taking many art classes growing up, once she got to university, she took a variety of art classes and fell in love with printmaking, ceramics, and storytelling. In Ricki’s own artwork, she loves to explore her emotions and create art about animals. Despite her focus on printmaking and ceramics, she loves to learn other art media like cross-stitch, watercolors, sculpture, and a recent goal to learn how to knit.…
Amy Dennison
Music, Wind Instruments, Instrument Making, & Active Music Making (preschool – seniors)
Amy Dennison retired in September 2021 from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). During her 20-year tenure at UC she held the positions of program manager, director, director of education and assistant dean. She is the coauthor of “One Voice – Music and Stories in the Classroom.” Primarily a woodwind specialist, Ms. Dennison also plays several string instruments including the mountain dulcimer, the cello, and most recently, the ukulele. She performs in a harp/flute duo, the New Horizons Orchestra (cello), and the wind player in the Twi-lites, a cover band that features music for the baby boomer crowds.…
Jerzy Drozd
Visual Arts, Comics & Graphic Novels
Jerzy Drozd leads cartooning workshops for children and teens in libraries and schools, as well as for teachers who want to bring comics to the classroom. He wrote and drew Science Comics: Rockets with his wife, Anne Drozd, and is one of the artists of The Warren Commission Report. He also podcasts about comics and how to make them.
Jerzy has drawn special projects for Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Marvel Comics, VIZ Media, and others. He is currently creating a webcomic with writer Dan Mishkin about a magical school called Amazon Academy.…
Sarah Dugger
Visual Arts, Design, Surface Design, Silkscreen, Painting, & Murals
Sarah Dugger has 25 years of experience in the commercial textiles and fine art fields. After graduating from Bowling Green State University in 1997 with a BFA in Surface Design she started working in NYC and then San Francisco designing textiles for Nicole Miller, Victoria’s Secret and Pottery Barn. She was a part of the Salami Factory co-op in Fairfax, California which inspired her to pursue fine art painting. Over the course of the past 12 years she has consistently juried into group and solo exhibitions in such places as; The Brownsville Museum of Art, Columbus International airport and the Hamptons Fine Art Fair.…
ESQYRE
Music, String Quartet, Classical Music, & Orchestral Performance
The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. A former BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall. In its home town of New York, the ensemble serves as season artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
The Escher Quartet tours the U.S. extensively, performing in numerous cities and venues including New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Rockefeller University, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, La Jolla Music Society, Savannah Music Festival, and Chamber Music Society of Detroit.…
