Workshop Faculty
Genesis workshops have two, possibly different – possibly complimentary, goals. For some, Genesis workshops represent an opportunity to deepen, even further, an existing interest or talent. For others the workshops are opportunities to try something completely different and possibly unfamiliar. Regardless of your approach, no prior experience is necessary for any of the workshops. Workshops meet three times each week.
Workshop instructors are professionals and educators in their medium.
2011 Workshop Instructors
Mixed Media Madness: A Visual Arts Workshop
Ellen Alt
The visual world is on constant broadcast. Images from everywhere are exceedingly available. The whole planet can exist on a page. Not only exist but also carry on a conversation. Ellen's work is about these conversations. Microscopic, historical, satellite, and computer imagery overlay texture, objects, drawings, and prints. The result reflects our times: clarity and harmony mixed with layers of information, unanswered questions and mystery. Ellen Alt was born in Buffalo, New York in 1954. She received an M.A. in studio art from New York University and a B.F.A. in art education from the College of Art in Boston. Ellen's main artistic expressions are mixed media, collage and assemblage. She has exhibited in the United States, Israel, Germany, England, Russia, and China. She currently lives in New York City. Ellen is also a member of the BIMA arts faculty.
Creative Movement
Micas Bernas
Micas was born and raised in Manila, Philippines, started her dance training at the age of 7 under Christina Bichara School. She then received full scholarship from the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance School (CCPDS) in 1992 to study ballet, modern and other techniques under the tutelage of Noordin Jumalon, Victor Ursabia, and Camille Ordinario. She was promoted to company apprentice and steadily rose to become a soloist performing major roles in Ballet Philippines (BP) productions of Nutcracker, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Darna to name a few. She has worked with acclaimed Filipino choreographers like Agnes Locsin, Denisa Reyes, Tony Fabella, Alden Lugnasin, Novy Bereber and toured with BP to Hong Kong, Japan, China and Cambodia. Mica was also chosen to participate in the ASEAN production of REALIZING RAMA in 2003 and 2006. As a regular faculty member of the CCP Dance School, she taught beginner to advanced levels of ballet, modern and creative movement and was often invited to choreograph for the summer dance showcase. Her piece BELO ME OVER was featured in BP's Young Choreographers Showcase in 2005. Since moving to New York in 2006, Mica has worked with Max Luna III, Connecticut Ballet, Zig Zag Ballet, H.T. Chen & Dancers, White Wave Dance, Leonides Arpon and Gallim Dance. She has taught modern technique classes for Dance Theater of Tennessee, Life Dance Company, and Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company. She has also been working with Marta Renzi, choreographer and filmmaker for COTTONWOOD, MY FERAL VALENTINE and THOSE DAYS. Mica's dancing has been screened at dance film festivals from Italy, Brazil, Spain, Argentina to the Netherlands. In the fall of 2009, she made her New York debut as a choreographer presenting her works PINA and YOU START, I FINISH in a YangTze Repertory Production entitled TRACES. She has been a member of the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company since 2007 and holds a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Communications.
The Lie that Tells the Truth: Creative Writing
Jon Papernick
Jon is the author of The Ascent of Eli Israel, a collection of short stories set during the collapse of the Oslo Peace Accords. His fiction has appeared in Nerve, Memorious, Reading Room, Confrontation, Lost Tribe: Jewish Fiction from the Edge, and Scribbler on the Roof. He writes a column called “Perfect Jew”, for Jewcy.com. His new novel, Who by Fire, Who by Blood is being published by September by Exile Editions. Jon is also on the writing faculty of BIMA at Brandeis University.
Exposing your World: The View from the Lens of a Digital Camera
Edna Perlman
Edna comes to Genesis from Tel Aviv where she teaches photography and photographic theory at the Kibbutz College of Education, Technology and Arts. Edna has worked as a photojournalist in Yediot Ahronot Newspaper and as a freelance photographer for the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kameri theatre, the Bet Lessin theatre, the Orna Porat Children's theatre, for Alut institute for autistic children in Israel, and many more. She has created artistic work and has had numerous exhibits in Israel as well as in the UK. Edna has been teaching photography for 25 years in various institutions in Israel, working with adults and high school students on darkroom techniques, studio photography and digital photography. Edna completed an MFA in photography in Goldsmiths College in London and a PhD at Sussex University, researching family albums in Kibbutzim in Israel. Edna is currently continuing her research and teaches photographic critical theory in the Visual Literacy M.Ed Program in Tel Aviv. At present she is research associate at HBI at Brandeis University.
Making Music from Scratch: Discovering Inspirational New Sounds
Warren Senders
Warren Senders has lived the life of music for over thirty years. He's taught at schools, colleges and universities all over the world and currently teaches improvisation and multicultural education at New England Conservatory of Music. He is an internationally recognized performer of Indian classical music, a jazz composer/bassist, and a long-time student of West African drumming. In his spare time he makes musical instruments out of things other people throw away.