Enlighten: Uplift & Inspire

Hilary Sweeney shares her journey from ballet dancer, chemistry researcher and aerialist to opening her own business, Westchester (NY) Circus Arts. She describes her experience of auditioning for Cirque du Soleil as well as what it has been like to find love in unlikely places. She believes people of all ages should not have to “runaway” with the circus or be born into a circus family in order to benefit from the artform. She was a Westchester Business Council’s 40-under-40 Rising Stars Award Recipient for her work with Westchester Circus Arts.

LINKS:

http://www.westchestercircusarts.com/

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NY Times Feature

Giancarlo de Trizio, immigrated from Molfetta, Italy to pursue his musical passion and study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. His determination, courage and tenacity is palpable, as he shares stories of the past 10 years living in the US. As a talented drummer, Giancarlo has performed at the Blue Note Jazz Festival (NYC), Beantown Jazz Festival (Boston), NYC Summer Stage and the Desert Daze Music Festival (CA). He toured with the Broadway productions of “In the Heights” and “Book of Mormon”, and currently substitutes on the Broadway shows “Hamilton”, "Dear Evan Hanson" and "The Lion King".  As a busy, respected free-lance drummer in NYC, Giancarlo performs, records and collaborates with many artists. He has taught master classes at the Musicians Institute (LA), Berklee College of Music (Boston), the University of South Florida (Tampa) and the University of Central Florida (Orlando). Giancarlo has been a juror at Guitar Center’s DRUM OFF, the largest drum competition in the world and is a voting member of the Recording Academy, which awards the GRAMMYs every year. GC proudly endorses Pearl Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Heads and Vic Firth Sticks. His observations of how culture shapes perception, his insight into personality characteristics reflected in the musical instrument one chooses to play and his personal experiences on immigration are fascinating. I’m confident that this “alien with extraordinary abilities” will intrigue and inspire you! Links:
 Facebook
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 Twitter GC will be performing at the world premier of ONE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE DAY. 
An off-Broadway show produced by the Prospect Theater Company 
at the ART/NY Mezzanine Theatre, April 4-29, 2018.
 http://www.prospecttheater.org/one-thousand-nights-and-one-day

Betsy Gelb explored all sorts of new ways to exercise before deciding that yoga resonated most deeply for her. In fact, within her first year of practicing, she immersed herself into an intense yoga teacher training. Having recently met Betsy, as my new yoga teacher, I was delighted to have a teacher who confidently and gracefully embraced aging (she recently turned 70), challenged us to cultivate upper body strength and shared her philosophy about breath, yoga, health, silence and the power of turning inward. Betsy says that her niche in yoga is that she is simultaneously the oldest and the youngest: she typically is the oldest person in the class, however having come to yoga so late in her life, has the youngest practice.   I discovered that before she found yoga, Betsy had a full, diverse career. She was a psychiatric nurse at a methadone maintenance program, taught nursing at St. Vincent’s Hospital, was a psychiatric nurse supervisor at Jacoby Hospital, was a teaching fellow at NYU, wrote a curriculum for mental health nursing and she was the editor for RN Magazine. In addition to her extensive work in the field of nursing, Betsy was a docent for the Whitney and Guggenheim museums, taught art literacy in NYC schools, ran her own women’s clothing business, offered baking workshops a local bakery called “Taste the Love” and collaborated with her husband, musician/composer Larry Gelb, in writing the book for their musicals. One of the musicals Betsy and Larry created, “Love So Dear” is based on the true story of how LSD was introduced into the United States. Betsy shares intriguing details from her thorough research of the corruptive relationship between the CIA and LSD. I was fascinated with my yoga teacher’s depth of knowledge and wisdom in such a wide range of topics. Links: www.imaginmusic.com YouTube video of the recording, "God is in the Mayo", from the musical "LSD"

Michael Heitzman is a gifted director and writer, who happens to be one of the funniest humans I know! His eclectic, creative background includes playing baritone horn, singing in his high school chorus and performing in plays and musical theater, his college double major of theater and telecommunications and his post college internship at Mary Tyler Moore Enterprises, as production assistant for television writers and producers. Michael believes that his variety of experiences as actor, musician, dancer, television script writer, even ‘temp’ for a head hunter allowed him to speak the multiple languages necessary to direct successful collaborative processes.

Michael most recent, critically acclaimed production of 42nd Street at Drury Lane Theater in Chicago, captured his vision of seeing this classic show through a contemporary lens, representing our vibrant melting pot, with ethnic diversity, gritty choreography and creative innovations.

Other recent productions Michael has directed include: Legally Blonde, Big River at Sacramento Music Circus, and Beauty and the Beast, Shrek The Musical and Disney’s The Little Mermaid at North Shore Music Theater for which he was nominated for seven of Boston’s IRNE Awards, including Best Director. Michael will be directing the following upcoming productions: Newsies at California Musical Theater/Sacramento Music Circus and Beauty and the Beast at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.

For the last 8 years, Michael has been the Resident Director of the Lucille Lortel Awards, celebrating excellence in Off-Broadway productions.

He is also the director and co-writer of VICES, which was nominated for 8 Jefferson Awards, including Best Director.

A 2009 Dramatist Guild Fellow, he and longtime writing partner Ilene Reid are co-writers of the Grammy-nominated song “Throw That Girl Around” from the Broadway musical “Swing!”  Michael and Ms. Reid are currently working with director/choreographer Josh Rhodes on their new musical “Solana”.

Michael and Ilene, along with David Holcenberg, wrote the musical "Bingo", which had a successful off-­Broadway run and continues to have numerous productions both nationally and internationally. You may have previously heard my conversation with Michael’s husband, David Holcenberg in episode #6. If you haven’t, I encourage you to give it a listen.

Links:

michaelheitzman.com 42nd Street review: Chris Jones, critic for Chicago Tribune “A Production for the Ages”

heitzmanreid.com

samuelfrench.com

Other Credits: Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast" (associate director, Moscow, Paris, Amsterdam) Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" (associate director, Paper Mill Playhouse, Pittsburgh CLO, Dallas Summer Musicals, 5th Avenue)

Terese Dana has been an applied behavior analyst (ABA) for nearly 30 years, focusing on social skills for children on the autism spectrum. She works with children, educators and families in Maine, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey. Terese shares rewarding experiences with children on the spectrum, the resources she has created for educators and families, as well as new projects she continues to develop. You can learn more about Terese, her focus on advancing social learning & emotional growth, along with the resources she provides, on her web site tdsocialskills.com.
 Terese describes the impact 9/11 had on her family, living 30 minutes north of NYC, the feeling of not being able to protect her children, not just from the WTC attack, but the impending danger of the nearby nuclear power plant, Indian Point and her family’s subsequent relocation to Fryeburg, Maine. She shares the transition her family endured and the solidarity they felt through her town’s International Academy. 
 Terese and I first met through our daughters, when they were classmates in 2nd grade and I am grateful that we have nurtured a heartfelt long-term, long-distance friendship.

Links: TDSocial Skills: Advancing Social Learning and Emotional Growth

Fryeburg International Academy

Autism Speaks


Alpine Learning Group/Bridget Taylor


The Laura Foundation (YouTube video)

TD Social Skills Resources (available on her web site):

Social Skills Training Video Series on DVD: “Fitting In and Having Fun” Volume 1 Elementary School “Fitting In and Having Fun:Moving On To Middle School, Tips from Students for Students” Volume 2 Middle School “Fitting In and Having Fun: Confident and In Control” Volume 3 Elementary School “Fitting In and Having Fun: Unspoken Expectations” Volume 4 High School Life

The File Factor: Emotional Empowerment System