WACSMASH 2024: THE PRODUCERS
Natalie Garay’s journey in the dance world began at age three in Temecula, CA. Her passion for dance became evident when she started doing pirouettes on the softball field instead of focusing on catching the ball. Over the years, she has immersed herself in various dance realms, including recreational, theatrical, competition-based, dance team, and academic-based settings. She has trained in various dance styles including, Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, and commercialized dance forms. Natalie finds dance captivating because it uniquely engages all the senses and blends athleticism with artistic expression.
NATALIE GARAY
Claire Ciserella, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, is a dancer, poet, and film/photography artist who reflects life experience as a conduit for her artistry. She grew up training at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in ballet, post modern release technique, hip hop, and repertoire from Hubbard Street 2. Starting her college career at San Diego State University, she transferred up to UCLA and is in her second year. In the future, Claire hopes to perform and choreograph in both commercial and concert dance and to one day travel around the world, performing and integrating her other art interests/formats.
CLAIRE CISERELLA
Nina Morasky is originally from a beach town just south of San Francisco where she grew up doing spoken word and classical violin, before moving to Berkeley for high school. In Berkeley, she became deeply involved in photojournalism which became her primary medium, allowing her to intertwine her love for photography and social justice. This led her to apply into the WAC major, where she has been able to extensively investigate the power of art to create social transformation. She has also been completing a minor in Film & Television and working on projects for various productions such as WACsmash, Spring Sing, and UCLA graduate thesis films. Nina is interested in the power of film to imagine and present new ways of navigating real-world issues. She hopes to pursue a career in filmmaking after graduating next spring.
NINA MORASKY
Steph Singh grew up training in dance at her local studio in Portland, OR. Training in Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, and Musical Theater, Steph has loved the opportunity to broaden her dance training and experience in UCLA WAC/D. Steph is currently a fourth year double majoring in Dance and Architectural Studies with a passion for film and photography and hopes to intertwine these disciplines in her future career.
STEPHANIE SINGH
Josephine Tassoni grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and spent her childhood developing a passion for creative expression. She is in her fourth year at UCLA as a World Arts and Cultures major and Professional Writing minor. She creates through visual and written mediums to explore herself and the human experience as it morphs and expands through interaction with new spaces, people, communities, and ideas. In the future, Josephine hopes to pursue journalism and non-profit work within artistic spaces to advocate for change, healing, activism, and solidarity, eventually creating her own collaborative arts-activism based publication.