Ballet Los Pampas, the husband and wife team of Laura Valdes and Pedro Escudero, was founded in 1990. They have performed and taught throughout the United States, specializing in Tango, Milonga and the folkloric dances of Latin America. Their choreography for the multi-media production, Carlos Gardel-Retro Nuevo, debuted at the Spectrum Theatre of Montreal. They toured Spain with the "Tango Revue" of Argentina, and perform annually in the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia, the largest national festival in Argentina. In New York area they have performed at Repertorio Espanol, Queens Theatre in the Park, the Westchester Performing Arts Center and the Thalia Spanish Theatre.

Capoeira Foundation features Leandro Santos da Silva, who was born in Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil and began his capoeira training with Mestre Jelon Vieira (Director of the Capoeira Foundation and Dance Brazil) in 1995. He attained the level of professor in 2009 and demonstrates and teaches throughout Brazil, the United States and Europe. Leandro and his partner Janete Silva, were members of Dance Brazil, Orquestra da Bahia and are presently Director/ choreographer/dancers of the National Black Arts Festival held in Atlanta, Georgia.

Melvin Dean is a steel drum virtuoso and the founder of Steel the Show, a company that provides a full spectrum of music and entertainment services. He has performed at numerous venues from private parties to world festivals including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the American Black Festival in Montreal, and the NFL Super Bowl parties. He attended Baruch College, studied at the Jazz Mobile Workshops in Harlem and teaches steel drum to groups at the St. Nicholas Community Center in Harlem and the Minisink Center.

Gwendolyn Dorell earned her master's degree in flute performance at the Eastman School of Music and received her teaching artist training at the Community Word Project, a selective teaching artist training program with a focus on literacy and community awareness. As a teaching artist for Education Through Music, she has focused on strengthening students' skills in math and literacy. Gwen is a teaching artist for various arts education programs such as the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, Young Audiences New York, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Education Program. In 2007, she joined Symphony Space's CAP in Latin American Studies co-teaching Brazilian music workshops in the classroom with Elizabeth Hanson, percussionist, to expose students to the commonalities in music that different cultures share.

Bobby Gonzalez, fluent in Spanish and English, is a nationally-acclaimed multicultural motivational speaker, storyteller, and poet. He draws on both his Native American (Taino) and Latino (Puerto Rican) roots to offer a unique repertoire that celebrates his dual heritage. Bobby has made presentations at many institutions including Yale University, the University of Alaska, and the University of Alabama. As a storyteller he has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Radio and Television and the Detroit Institute of Arts. The author of "The Last Puerto Rican Indian: a Collection of Dangerous Poetry," his poetry has been published in numerous periodicals and performed at the National Museum of the American Indian, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Nuyorican Poets Café and the University of Michigan at Flint.

Elizabeth Hanson, a percussionist, teaches and performs Brazilian music in New York City. She has played with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Boulder Philharmonic, and the American Institute Opera Orchestra in Austria. While living in São Paulo, Brazil, she recorded a CD of Brazilian music called Espaço Imaginario. Liz has a degree in percussion performance from the University of Michigan and has studied marimba with Keiko Abe in Tokyo. More recently, she spent two years researching and performing Brazilian folk and instrumental music in São Paulo. Liz is the lead teaching artist for the Brooklyn Phiharmonic and works for several arts-in-education organizations including the Manhattan New Music Project, Marquis Studios, and Global Arts to Go.

Nicole Haroutunian is a fiction writer and artist living in Woodside, Queens. In addition to working as a teaching artist at Symphony Space, she is a museum educator at the Museum of the City of New York, the Morgan Library and Museum and the American Folk Art Museum. Nicole is an editor at Underwater New York, an anthology of writing, music and art inspired by the objects submerged in the waterways around NYC.

Christopher Lea, a visual artist, has extensive experience as a teaching artist in residencies at the Lincoln Center Institute, Symphony Space, and Studio in a School. Trained in London, Rome, and New York, Chris has exhibited his work at many galleries, including Petra Bungert, Littlejohn Contemporary, and Julian Pretto galleries. Chris provides an experiential context for learning by engaging students through inquiry. He creates a comfortable environment for them to express themselves and develop problem-solving skills. Through various creative activities that encourage observation, reflection and interpretation, he enables students to grasp the complexity within a work of art.

Misha McGlown is a multi-media artist specializing in wearable art, jewelry design, and metalwork that reflects her deep interest in African culture and other ancient civilizations. A prolific and multitalented artist, Misha publishes an Internet magazine that covers art, fashion, fun, and social consciousness. "Travels Study," Misha's recent work in oils and acrylics, celebrates indigenous life around the world. She has exhibited at Columbia University and curated "Evolution: The Changing Face of Harlem" there, featuring the works of 25 Harlem artists.   Visit www.omomishagallery.com.

Arturo O'Farrill, 2009 GRAMMY Award winner, also won the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award in 2003. Born in Mexico and raised in New York, O'Farrill's development as a solo performer included working with such greats as Dizzy Gillepsie, Harry Belafonte and Wynton Marsalis. In 2002, Arturo created the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra for Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra is now in residence at Symphony Space Arturo is on the faculty at Purchase College and has received commissions from Meet the Composer, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Philadelphia Music Project.    

Lance Paladino is an expert in graphic design, illustration, studio art, visual essay, and the Old Master painting technique known as Fantastic Realism. He has exhibited his work in various media throughout New York City, Chicago, and Austria. His commercial work includes illustrations for museum diorama and poster design for the underground music scene. Lance is an adjunct Professor at York College.

Petra Pankow, a native of Germany, has a background in cultural studies and museum education. Upon completing her MA in Freiburg, Germany, she spent three years as an instructor at Michigan State University, where she taught classes in German, American Studies, Film and Literature. She has developed curricula and educational materials for the Smithsonian American Art Museum, MoMA, and Symphony Space. She specializes in conducting inquiry-based visual art classes and museum tours for the Guggenheim, MoMA, the Japan Society, and Symphony Space.

Rose Pearlman has exhibited her works at the Vermont Studio Center, The Red Mill Gallery, Johnson State College, Tisch Hall and her photos have been printed in Smithsonian Magazine and F-Stop Magazine. She was an art teacher at Johnson Elementary School, and at the Clarina Howard Nichols Center in Vermont. Rose has developed effective strategies for overcoming social and economic barriers in her teaching of at-risk teenagers and K-12 students in public schools. Rose has also developed neighborhood wellness programs teaching yoga and art for abused children and women. Rose is a skilled photographer, designer of handmade fashion accessories, and a graphic artist.

Kristie Valentine is a visual artist who uses the interior spaces of newly-constructed suburban homes as an inspiration for her paintings and prints. Her comprehensive knowledge of visual art from around the world adds to the excitement of her art classes. Her works have been exhibited at the Quill Studio, Exhibition Space 156 and St. Francis College in Brooklyn. She is on faculty at Adelphi University and St. John the Divine Cathedral School.