Ellen Kennedy – Music Together®
A seasoned commercial and TV producer for nearly 20 years, Ellen turned her sights on music for children in 2006. Inspired by the day-to-day life with her then 3-year-old son, and pregnant with twins, Ellen and her husband Matt formed the “kindie rock” band Ellen and Matt, and recorded and released their first CD, “Best Friends”. Over the next three years, Ellen and Matt received critical acclaim and developed a following playing shows in New York and all over Los Angeles, including concerts at Dragonfly DuLou! Ellen also taught traditional Hebrew and Jewish music to the religious school children of Ohr HaTorah congregation for two years. She loves trying out all of the Music Together songs on her three rambunctious sons, and is excited to be a member of the Dragonfly DuLou family.
Sheila Geiger – Music Together®
Sheila is a guitarist and has been a songwriter and performer for the past 20 years in Los Angeles and the East Coast. She has been a registered Music Together teacher for ten years and loves bringing the joy of making music to families. Sheila’s mom was a music together teacher and Sheila has taken the program with her own son, when he was a little tot. Before Music Together she studied art and animation as well as owned and operated her own retail floral business. She lives in Glendale with her 5 year old son, a little white dog and a black cat. Sheila is thrilled to bring her experience and love of music to the families at Dragonfly DuLou!
Sarah Reynolds – Music Together® & Improv for Kids
A life-long advocate for the performing arts, Sarah is passionate about the impact that early exposure to music, song, and dance has on a child’s development and she is thrilled to be joining the Dragonfly DuLou community. Sarah is a graduate of The New England Conservatory of Music, with a Masters in Vocal Performance and Concentration in Music Education. She flourished as an early childhood music teacher for Isis Parenting and Tiny Tunes Studio, as artist-in-residence for Young Audiences of Massachusetts, and in her tenure with Boston Public. A former cast member of the ImprovBoston theatre in Cambridge, MA, Sarah co-created and performed in a fully improvised and interactive Family Show (Nickelodeon Parents’ Pick Award 2009) and continues to teach youth and adult improv classes. In addition to her career as an educator, Sarah is a professional singer and voice teacher.
Michelle Hanley- Ballet for Kids
Michelle Hanley began studying dance at the age of 19 and has not stopped since! With extensive training in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Improvisation and African dance from the Newport School of Ballet, University of Oregon, and Stites Performing Arts Center in Portland, Michelle embarked on her teaching career in 2000 as a Creative Movement teacher for children ages 3-12. Her enthusiasm and talent for working with children and sharing her love of dance has led her to teach in a variety of dance institutions and community centers and brought her to Dragonfly DuLou in 2008. We are thrilled to welcome back Michelle from a 6-month sabbatical in South America where she participated in a Spanish language intensive, backpacked through 5 countries, studied Argentine tango, and volunteered as a dance teacher!
Simona Montanari Ph.D- Bilingual Child Workshop
Professor of Language Development and Second Language Aquisition at California State University, Los Angeles, Professor Montanari is an expert in bilingual and second language development and is a mother of two trilingual daughters. She is proud to offer this important workshop to families at Dragonfly DuLou!
Nancy Beyda – Toddlers and Twos
Nancy Beyda has three children and has been a doula and childbirth educator for the past decade. She has been working with new parents and babies for the past three years.
Richard Pass - CPR and First Aid
Richard’s experience includes many years as a clinical practitioner in clinical care areas, including large ER departments. Save a Little Life began when Richard decided to take a simple yet quality educational program to the community.
Kate Movius - Bradley Childbirth Method
Reknowned Certified Chilbirth Educator Kate Movius has many years of experience guiding couples through childbirth. A mother of two, Kate’s teaching style is gentle, informative and inspiring!