AUG. 17-20: KRYSTAL MERAZ & MIKEY CONOL, KYLE HANAGAMI & ELLEN KIM, AND JANENE GARNER

AUG. 17-20: KRYSTAL MERAZ & MIKEY CONOL, KYLE HANAGAMI & ELLEN KIM, AND JANENE GARNER

MEET KRYSTAL MERAZ

Krystal Meraz is a dancer who devotes her time to learning and excelling in the dance industry/community. She was first introduced to the expressive form of Ballet at the age of six. With ten years of training under her belt, she auditioned and was accepted to the School of the Arts in San Francisco in which she graduated with the Class of 2003. As a student in this artistic disciplinary school, she was introduced to other styles of dance such as Modern, Afro-Haitian, and Lyrical. Upon graduating she ventured out of the traditional and sought to train in as many styles as possible, of which include International Latin, Salsa, and the one that kept her hooked: Hip Hop (New Style). Since the age of eighteen, she has been an active member of companies such as, Xplicit ('02-'03), Culture Shock Oakland ('04-'05), Khamai (2005), Funkanometry SF ('05-'08), and currently The Lost Kids ('08-Present). Just last year, she was chosen for the female role in Disney's High School Musical 3 the video game. This was a tentative three month long process of re-creating scenes, both acting and dancing, for video motion capture. She has also done freestyle performances for artists such as Mya, Fabulous, Bun B of UGK, and DeLaSoul.Krystal has a strong passion for dance and an undeniable love for music. She is ready and willing to learn and continue growing as a dancer.

Xplicit (Clint Calimlim) '02-'03
Culture Shock Oakland (Kim Sims-Battiste) '04-'05
Khamai (Lee Lee Brewster) 2005
Funkanometry SF '05-'08 Dancer
The Lost Kids '08-Present Dancer
High School Musical 3 Video Game/Motion Capture January-March '08

School of the Arts C/O 2003 Ballet/Modern Director: Elvia Marta

Evenodds' (Local artist) "That Swagg" Music Video- Choreographer/Dancer
Netta Brielle's (Local Artist) "Dirty Boyz" Music Video- Dancer


KRYSTAL'S VIDEOS:


MEET MIKEY CONOL

Born and raised in the Philippines, Michael Conol moved to San Francisco in September of 98. He got his first dose of the everyday expanding craft when he attended his first dance class at the age of 16. After that he became hooked. He was thirsty for more and was willing to do whatever it took to be better. Michael who turned a simple class into a passion, began feeding his desire to dance by back up dancing for various Filipino artists. However that wasn't enough to satisfy Michael and his growing talent. So he decided to join his first dance group which was called "FUSION DANCE TEAM". After fulfilling his personal endeavors with that group, he then found himself joining a group called "FUNKANOMETRYSF". Michael has performed at several dance showcases and challenging competitions such as BATTLEFEST LIVE/360, VIBE, BODYROCK, COLLABORATION SHOWCASE, HIPHOP DANCEFEST, URBAN PARADISE, ELE8, and many more. As of the moment he's currently dancing with THE LOST KIDS.


MIKEY'S VIDEOS:


MEET KYLE HANAGAMI

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Kyle Hanagami began dancing in 2005 with the hip hop team from University of California at Berkeley. Soon after, he joined Funkanometry SF as 2006 company member where he quickly excelled in creating unique and innovative choreography. In 2008, he said his goodbyes to Funkanometry SF and moved on to start his own company with Ellen Kim called The Lost Kids as co-artistic director. In his four short years of dancing, Kyle has taught classes across the U.S., at studios such as Debbie Reynold's Dance Studio in LA and Broadway Dance Center in New York, as well as in Canada, South America, Australia, and Europe. You'll be sure to see more of him and The Lost Kids in the years to come. GET LOST!

KYLE'S VIDEOS:


MEET ELLEN KIM

Ellen Kim is a passionate dancer and choreographer from the Bay Area, training independently in dancing and choreographing for over 6 years. She began dancing with City Shock SF under the direction of Darnell Carroll when she was a sophomore in high school. After dancing with City Shock for five years, she later became a dance captain and contributing choreographer for the group. Ellen has also danced with other groups such as No Label (Yusef Nasir), Khaotic (David Collier), Culture Shock Oakland (Kim Batiste), Khamai (Leelee Brewster) , and Funkanometry San Francisco (Emerson Aquino). After joining Funkanometry SF in 2004, Ellen's passion for dance, as well as her amazing performance abilities, earned her a spot on the Funks SF Artistic Circle as one of their leading Dance Principals. She has since choreographed many pieces for the company, and continues to inspire and set a high standard for her fellow company members through her leadership and dance talent. She has performed with LL Cool J, Amerie, Christina Milian, and has opened up Snoop Dog’s concert in Las Vegas. In 2008, she was motivated to start her own company with Kyle Hanagami called The Lost Kids. Six individuals from the Bay has come together to use their love for dancing to help out their communities by holding workshops to raise money for different charities.
Ellen Kim has been blessed to share her passion for dancing with people from all parts of the world covering cities from the Bay Area, East Coast, Canada, Australia, UK, and all the way to Oslo, Norway. These amazing opportunities to share her love for dancing and choreographing keeps her motivated and very inspired. Teaching and spreading her passion for dancing to all different kinds of dancers keeps her going strong!! Being able to share something so fun and special with others is all Ellen wants to do!!! LIVE IT UP!! God Bless!!

ELLEN'S VIDEOS:


MEET JANENE GARNER

JaNene first discovered her love for dance at an early age. At the tender age of 2 she took her first ballet class. It was then that JaNene had found her passion. The following years brought classes in ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. By the age of 9 JaNene was taking point and was part of “The Performers” group at the prestigious Academy of Dance Studio in North Hollywood, California.
JaNene’s dancing was interrupted after a sudden move to the Bay Area. Unable to find a dance studio that suited her, she stopped attending classes. However, she never LOST her passion for dance, often memorizing choreography from music videos for fun. In 2005 while living in Atlanta, Georgia JaNene was introduced to Gotta Dance Studio, where she took advanced hip hop from some of the top industry dancers in the area. A move back to the Bay Area left JaNene once again in search of “dance”. She has since been a member of Funkanometry SF, UFO movement, and most recently (and permanently) The Lost Kids.
JaNene’s dance style is a mix of many things and has been described as explosive, groovy, technical and even rough at times. She has performed all over the states in various dance showcases, competitions, and workshops; most recently, dancing alongside bay area based artists Zion I, Netta Brielle, and Ariel. JaNene aspires to continue professional careers in the work she loves, both dance and physical therapy.

JANENE'S VIDEOS: