Mojalet Company Dancers
ROBBY JOHNSON - Assistant to the Director
ROBBY JOHNSON, Assistant to the Director, is an actor, dancer, musician and scientist. He is a graduate of UCSD in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, with minors in both Dance and Theater. Robby has trained with a host of fantastic dance educators over the years including Jean Isaacs, Faith Jensen-Ismay, grace jun-mills, Peter Kalivas, Bradley Lundberg, Gabriel Masson, Christopher Pilafian and Terry Wilson to name a few. He has also had the pleasure of performing with Allyson Green, Betzi Roe, Erica Buechner, San Diego Dance Theater, Melissa Nunn, Patricia Rincon, Patricia Sandback, and Yolande Snaith. Robby works in neuroscience research, participates in music at his church, and even tries to cram in some acting on stage, film, or in a crowd of those seeking entertainment. He is currently enjoying his local and international adventures with Mojalet Dance Collective and has done so since 2005. Robby plays nicely with others, enjoys cooking, eating, traveling, and taking bubble baths.
ALIA ISMAY
ALIA ISMAY was born in Poway California and has danced basically her whole life, but started official training around the age of 8 in the annual Summer Dancin' Workshop in Ramona; soon after she began taking workshops and adult company classes taught by her mom, Faith Jensen-Ismay. She has been training with Mojalet ever since and has been a vital performer for the Mojalet Senior Co. Alia has performed and toured in Switzerland and Germany with Mojalet and served the company as a teaching artist and choreographer for Eclectic Expression Dance Co. , Jamolet and Core Group. Alia received her Bachelor's degree in Journalism from San Diego State University in 2016, then moved to India for a year to do Public Relations work for an anti-human trafficking organization. In 2020, Alia spent a year in Lugano, Switzerland to earn a Masters of Science in International Management . She is excited to be back in the US and performing with Mojalet and balances her life as Director of Sales and Marketing for Sparrow Imports.
AVERY GOUDSWAARD
AVERY GOUDSWAARD found her passion for dancing when she was 4 years old. She is currently attending San Diego Mesa Community College, and is majoring in psychology. She has danced at 3 dance studios along the east - coast. She has been in the Nutcracker, many different parades, and danced along side with kids bop. She connected with Faith through Mesa and now she's grateful to say she is part of the Mojalet dance family and is excited for her future.
KATHRYN MCLEAN
KATHRYN MCLEAN first discovered her love of dance at a young age while growing up in the small town of Fallbrook, Ca. She began training with Faith Jensen-Ismay while a student at Palomar College and continued her journey in dance with Mojalet in 2001. Kathryn has had the privilege of performing works by artists Patricia Sandback and Betzi Roe throughout the years and is forever grateful for the many performance opportunities and global adventures with Mojalet. Kathryn is part of Mojalet's Educational Outreach programs performing for thousands of children each year. She currently teaches an Eclectic Expression class at The Vine Arts Village. When she is not dancing, Kathryn is busy raising her two children Juliette and James with her husband Jakob in Oceanside. Kathryn has a passion for the arts, horticulture and the outdoors and thrives on new adventures with her family!
NICOLE WOODING-WHITE
NICOLE WOODING has been training in classical ballet since she was 4 years old. Her training includes San Diego Civic Youth Ballet for 14 years under Xavier Hicks and Penny Huffor and she performed roles such as Sugar Plum, Snow Queen, Dew Drop (Nutcracker) Evil Stepsister (Cinderella) Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night's Dream). Nicole has performed and choreographed with the Mesa College Dance Company from 2009-2014. Outside of SD, she preformed at the Detroit Opera House Theater with the American Ballet Theater for 3 summer seasons from 2004-200, and trained under Andre De La Roche and Rosy Loconte at DanzARt.srl in Bari, Italy in the 2015 summer season. Nicole works as a coach and ballet teacher for Emerald City Academy of Rhythmic Gymnastics (since 2010). She is currently working towards becoming a physical therapist assistant. Nicole began training with Faith Jensen-Ismay at Mesa college in 2012, and has been dancing with Core Group & Mojalet Dance Collective since 2014 and is so happy and in love with the wonderful dance environment it provides.
NEFTALI VALLE
NEFTALI VALLE His full name is Neftali Valle, but you can call him Nef or Neft for short. Nef was born and raised in southern San Diego in Barrio Logan. He attended the University of California, San Diego and graduated with a BA in Ethnic Studies and Critical Gender Studies with a minor in Law and Society. He started his formal dance training after college at at San Diego Mesa Community College. He took hip hop, modern, jazz and ballet with instructors such as Donna Flournoy, Blythe Barton and of course Faith Jensen-Ismay. Faith started Nef in Core Group, the dance company in training, then proceeded to invite him to Mojalet. Nef has participated in Mojalet’s Educational Outreach Programs in which the company visits schools to teach children how they can incorporate dance into everyday activities and learning. Other dance related experiences include dancing at Culture Shock Dance Center in the Shock Army dance group led by Anthony Rodriguez as well as San Diego Dance Theatre’s Trolley Dances. Outside of dance, Nef works as a secretary for the County of San Diego during the week, and a barista at Peet’s Coffee & Tea on the weekend. Nef brings a lot of passion and commitment to the work he does and hopes to continue dancing for the rest of his life in any capacity, whether it be professionally or as a personal hobby.
CHRISTINA WURZ
CHRISTINA WURZ is originally from the Bronx, NY and started training at the Bronx Dance Theater. From there she attended the famous New York City High school of Performing Arts. She completed her formal dance education with a B.F.A. in dance at the University of Hartford, Hartt School in Connecticut; there she was trained by the world famous ballerina Alla Osipenko and Martha Graham protégé Peggy Lyman. Some of her accomplishments include Mojalet Core Group, Full Force Dance Theater, BalletNeo, San Diego Dance Theater, Terry Wilson and Dancers, Burklyn Ballet Theater, Dance Connecticut’s Touring Ensemble, New West Ballet Theater and West Coast Ballet Theater. Christina currently owns New West Ballet School in San Marcos where she directs classical ballet productions and trains the next generation of ballet dancers. Christina began training with Faith Jensen-Ismay in 2013 and performing with Mojalet in 2014 in the Rhythm Talk Swiss collaboration production, "On The Move".
Core Group Dancers
JANET ALVIS - Board Member
JANET ALVIS has had a passion for dance since she was a young child, and has trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Contemporary Dance. In addition to pursuing her love for the arts, Janet manages a dental practice in Alpine, is very active in her church, and enjoys time with her amazing family. Janet is passionate about working with the Mojalet Company and Core Group as a dancer, choreographer, and as a Board member to help facilitate the many Outreach opportunities to members of the community of all ages and diversity.
TRISHA CAMP
TRISHAA CAMP fell in love with dance at a very young age...I took ballet at the park and rec behind our local police station with my sister. Eventually she stopped going but the teacher didn't notice the difference in the new lil black child in her tap class. She continued to dance and train wherever she could. Trish danced with the high school team Rhythm in Motion at Mar Vista. This was where Trish met Faith for the first time! She continued to dance in college at SWC and City College. Trish gave up dancing at 23 to raise my 3 kids, but the love of dance didn't die. She tried out for the San Diego Chargers on a whim and cheered for a few years. Trishaa went back to school completed her degree in mathematics/physical education/dance. She has been a dance educator for over 20yrs and currently teaches at Scripps Ranch High School. This is Trish's 1st year officially joining core group and she is happy to share her art with you! Thank you o her 5 beautiful children supporting your dancer mom.
AMYLIN CANARIA
AMYLIN CANARIA grew up predominantly in San Diego with a love of the performing arts. In her youth she played the piano, flute, and percussion. She earned her BA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in performance from California State University, Long Beach. It was during her third year that she took her very first dance class and fell in love with communicating and expressing through movement. Her training later extended to classes at Cypress College, Malashock and San Diego Mesa College where she eventually met Faith Jensen-Ismay. Her training includes ballet, jazz, tap, modern, some ballroom, and even less belly dance. I’m addition to Faith, she has trained with and/or performed works by Marie Hoffman, Colleen Shipkowski, Aulani Chun, Nancy Boskin-Mullen, Donna Flournoy, Traves Butterworth, Michael Mizerany, and Khamla Somphanh. Amylin enjoys the rehearsal process along with performing and looks forward to perfecting her craft.
ALYSSA COMBS
ALYSSA COMBS started dancing when she was 6 years old, training in ballet with New West Ballet School. She gained exposure to other dance styles including jazz, hip hop, and contemporary on her Varsity high school dance team. She attended UCSD for aerospace engineering and used dance classes for electives wherever she could. She also joined the contemporary dance team. After graduating she continued to take ballet classes on and off until finding Mojalet, where she is enjoying growing more in the contemporary and modern styles. When she isn’t dancing, Alyssa enjoys playing piano and spending time with her loved ones.
RHONDA FISHER - Advisory Board Member
RHONDA FISHER received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Secondary Education from Arizona State University in 1990. She continued to dance and teach for several years after graduating but decided to change careers and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Arizona State University in 1998. She has been a nurse specializing in the surgical field for 16 years and is currently the coordinator for the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement program well as the Infection Control Program at an outpatient surgical center. After many years of being out of the dance community she is now able to balance both her career as a nurse with her passion for dance through the wonderful opportunities given to her by Faith Jensen-Ismay and the Mojalet family.
RYAN LEE HARIS
RYAN LEE HARRIS didn’t find his passion for dancing until college while attending SDSU. He began as a freestyle dancer in hip hop and then joined and performed with Kruccial Element. He also has a background in ballroom dancing via Arthur Murray and Balboa Park Ballroom Dancers. Ryan Lee has been dancing with the Mojalet family since 2015. Though Faith was his first technique teacher years before that at SDSU (jazz), they would reconnect at Mesa College. Ryan Lee also enjoys choreographing and is blessed to have the mentorship of Faith Jensen-Ismay.
LAUREN LUHMANN - Board Secretary
LAUREN LUHMANN began dancing while an undergraduate at UC San Diego, taking classes in ballet and jazz. She continued taking classes following graduation, training in modern dance with Faith Jensen-Ismay at Palomar College from 1992-1998. After a nine-year hiatus, Lauren returned to dance with Faith as an original member of Mojalet's Core Group, and has also been an extended cast member in special projects with Mojalet. She has also served on Mojalet’s Board of Directors since 2014, and as Secretary since 2015. Lauren holds a BS in Bioengineering and a minor in Music from UC San Diego, an MA in Biomechanics from San Diego State University, and a Paralegal Certificate from University of San Diego. She began her professional career working in the medical device industry, but in 2005 transitioned to a career as a paralegal working in environmental law at a global law firm. Lauren is grateful to Faith for the incredible experiences she has been offered as a dancer, and for the wonderful Mojalet community that has become her second family. As a board member, she is delighted to utilize her professional skills to help support Mojalet’s mission.