Our Teachers  |  Classes

Zakia Ahmed has been teaching for over 25 years and has a loyal local following; she is excited to offer classes with the West Windsor Arts Council.  Ms. Ahmed has a Master’s of Fine Arts from the Institute of Fine Arts in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Her works are on exhibit in the Bangladesh National Museum, Bangladesh Shilpkala Academy, and in many private collections worldwide.

Helene Angley “That Tall Blonde Comic” is a host, producer and CEO of her own comedy company, where she performs in comedy shows throughout the east coast. With her comedy roots tied to all the makes her family and life fun, she began in Improv and has been teaching and performing Stand-Up comedy for over 6 years. She offers a keen insight to creating great 5 minute beginners set, to developing a longer 15 to 20 minute set and how to best market oneself in the comedy industry.  Credits include a 3 year monthly running show at Grover’s Mill Coffee House in West Windsor, NJ, performing at a variety of clubs in NYC, from Gotham Comedy Club, The Laugh Lounge, The Metropolitan Room to Foxwoods Casino in CT. But most of all she enjoys bringing laughter to those in need!

David Austin discovered he had natural dance talent after being exposed to hip-hop culture in Trenton as a youth in the late 70's, and quickly becoming one of Trenton's best and well-known B-boys.  In the late 80's, he found the soul classics and house music rhythms that gave birth to the distinctive dance style he is most known for today.  Mr. Austin attended Temple University and played a major role in ushering loft and house dance styles into Philadelphia's underground club scene.  He performed with many hot acts of that day including Poor Righteous Teachers and Bas Noir.  He has performed nationally and internationally with world-renowned hip-hop theater dance troupe Rennie Harris Pure Movement.  He is currently teaching classes, developing dance performances, and educational projects for DanceSpora Inc. for which he is co-founder and co-artistic director.

Corinna Bisgaier has been working to transform children’s educational experiences through the arts for over 10 years as a teacher, arts education administrator, trainer, and program designer.  Through Young Audiences, she worked on the design and implementation of Arts for Learning Lessons, an innovative program that teaches hard-to-reach literacy concepts through the arts. She has a Masters degree in English Education from NYU and a Bachelors degree in English with a minor in African American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She is currently the Program Director for the West Windsor Arts Council.

Peter Bisgaier began working as a professional actor as a child in Haddonfield, NJ.  He earned a BFA in theater from the University of Southern California in 1994 and then spent several years working in theaters around the country before settling in New York City.  There, he founded the Empire Theater Company and produced several successful plays including the World Stage Premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” which he also adapted for the stage.  Mr. Bisgaier is also as a screenwriter and won a grand prize for his screenplay “Klaus” which is currently under option.  Additionally, Mr. Bisgaier is an artist-in-residence with theater groups and schools and works as the Production Manager for the West Windsor Arts Council.

Judy Buckley has studied at the School of Visual Arts and the Art Students League in New York City and has been teaching at Princeton High School for the past seven years.  Much of her subject matter reflects travels to Peru, France, and Eastern Europe, as well as local landscapes. Her paintings in watercolor and oils have been shown in West Hampton, NY and Princeton, NJ in addition to many juried exhibits in New Jersey.

Linda Domino has over six years experience teaching yoga to people of all age groups from elementary school to older adults.  She has been teaching classes in the Princeton area for several years and is excited to offer classes so close to her own neighborhood. Ms. Domino hopes to share her passion for yoga with others, and help foster an enthusiasm for yoga with all!

Anna Evans gained her Master of Fine Arts from Bennington College. Her poems have appeared in the Harvard Review, The Atlanta Review, Rattle and 32 Poems. She has been nominated five times for a Pushcart Prize and was a finalist for both the 2005 and 2007 Howard Nemerov sonnet award, and for the 2007 Willis Barnstone Translation Award.  Anna is also the Editor of The Raintown Review and of the formal poetry e-zine Barefoot Muse.  Read more about Anna at http://home.comcast.net/~evnsanna/poems.htm.

Michele Farrell is a former working actress who chose to move from New York City to West Windsor to raise her family.  During her seven years of study, not only did Farrell hone her own acting technique under Hagen’s careful eye, but she also learned how to teach from a master.  During her years as a professional, Ms. Farrell appeared on several Soap Operas including Another World and All My Children.  She has been featured in numerous Television Commercials such Red Lobster and Levi's as well as several Radio Voice Overs.  Her Theatre work includes multiple Off-Off Broadway productions as well as originating the role of "Carmella" in Carmella's Kiss which went to Off Broadway.  Her film work includes industrials such as PSE&G and NIKE as well as features.  As a writer, Ms. Farrell had several of her One Act Plays produced by the Mercury Rising Theatre Company in NYC.  Most recently she co-wrote a screenplay, entitled “Off Tilt”, which is currently in development with Tayrona Entertainment group.

Susan Finegold  After studying English Language and Literature at Oxford University in England, Ms. Finegold spent 13 years teaching Advanced-Level English in Sussex and Oxfordshire, and took yoga classes as pleasant relaxation. In the US, while Ms. Finegold worked as an editor of academic books, and ran a publishing house at her children’s elementary school, she took up yoga again, and happened upon Iyengar Yoga.  She loved the strength, flexibility, and calmness it developed.  So she combined her two great loves – teaching and yoga – by training to teach Iyengar-inspired yoga with Joanne Carter and Carol Cook, with whom she continues to study, of Simply Yoga in Kingston. She has also studied with Bobbi Goldin, Dean Lerner, and Kevin Gardner.
 
Siobhan Hutchinson works with a wide range of clients in challenging situations and encourages them in a warm partnership for self-empowerment in healing.  Clients report experiencing increased range of motion, balance, relaxation, reduced stress, and an overall sense of well-being.  They learn fun and easy techniques to tap into the body’s natural healing ability, as well as enjoying individualized one-on-one sessions.  Along with holding a Master’s Degree in Holistic Health, Siobhan is an accredited T’ai Chi Chih®, Seijaku, Guigen Qigong, Reiki Master/Teacher, and Energy Medicine Practitioner. She has studied in China and continues her studies with a variety of holistic practitioners. Her passion is stress relief and walking in serenity.  More on her website here

Michelle L. Marigliano teaches various arts specialties including Creative Movement, Yoga, and Saori Weaving.  Her specialty is in encouraging children’s creative thinking and decision-making capabilities while building their confidence.  She has 17 years of teaching experience with special needs children.  Ms. Marigliano enjoys giving children an opportunity to enhance awareness of their own talents.

Tara McGowan is a visual artist, who has lived and studied in Japan for many years. She speaks Japanese fluently and her programs bring Japan to life through story, song, and image. Tara is currently a doctoral candidate in the Language and Literacy in Education division at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has also been teaching graduate-level elementary education courses on Children’s and Adolescent literature. Her book, The Kamishibai Classroom: Engaging Multiple Literacies through the Art of ‘Paper Theater’ was published by Libraries Unlimited in 2010. Tara earned a BA from Princeton University in Comparative Literature and East Asian Studies and returned to Princeton to receive her teaching credential. She spent a year at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama and at Kyoto University, studying Japanese folklore on an Ito Foundation Fellowship. She has returned to Japan often to perform and study with kamishibai artists.

Susan Mitrano received a BFA cum laude from Syracuse University with a major in graphic design and a minor in photography.  She enjoyed a 15-year career as a designer and art director in the advertising industry with clients such as AT&T and Kraft.  During a career break, she discovered her love of watercolors and has been painting since 1999, studying with Robert O’Brien, AWS in Vermont and others locally.  She recently received a BA in Art Education and K-12 teacher certification from The College of New Jersey.  Ms. Mitrano is a frequently requested substitute art teacher and teaches classes at community art centers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A West Windsor native, her early private training included pastels, pen and ink and acrylics. 

Loring Nagle feels quite fortunate to be sharing yoga with a wide range of ages.  She hopes that by encouraging involvement of yoga in life at a young age, children will be better equipped to evolve into peaceful, content, and empowered human beings.  A path of strong mental and physical capabilities is Loring's wish for little, young, and tall yogis to experience while learning to take care of themselves in a very busy world.  Her journey includes completing the YogaKids Foundations Training and Advanced Practicum, a Yoga Ed. Foundations Training, and Srivatsa Ramaswami's Vinyasa Krama Teacher Training Program.  CEC&EE, CYKT, CYT

Jeehee Pak, the chief instructor of J art Studio in San Jose, California, has over twenty years of experience teaching art to children and high school students who want to apply to art college.  She has been focusing on the interactive relationships of visual art intelligence and other academic subjects through visual discipline by thinking, planning and refining our talents. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Masters of Design Principal Theory in Dogguk University in Korea. She is currently teacher for classes of Figure drawing, Watercolor painting and Cartoon/Illustration at the West Windsor Arts Center.

Anastasia Popova was born and raised in northern part of Russia in family of educators and crafters. She learned how to sew, crochet and knit at a young age. Anastasia enjoys helping others and sharing the joy of learning something new. Her crochet career began when she designed and produced a line of kids' clothes and accessories for local boutiques.  She then started teaching private and group crochet classes to adult and kids.  She has even written several patterns and taught classes based on those patterns. Recently, she has been designing for crochet magazines and self-publishing.  Most recently, Anastasia’s work has been featured on the cover of Crochet magazine.

Jean Prall Rosolino is the founder of Youth Stages, LLC, an arts-in-education organization representing professional actor-educators and providing theater arts programming for children of all ages and abilities.  She received her Master’s degree in Educational Theater from NYU and has had extensive experience in teaching and performing for children with disabilities both in New Jersey and in Minnesota.  To learn more about Ms. Rosolino’s work, visit here.

Jharna Rastogi is the Co-Director of 'Timeless Music', a performing arts organization, established in Princeton, NJ in 2000, and has dedicated her life to explore, enrich and promote the performing and visual arts of India. Her productions reflect a unique combination with experimentation of the classical and contemporary, presenting ancient Indian traditions in new versions for modern audiences.  Jharna learnt her classical style under the tutelage of Ambika Sukumaran, (who is an accomplished film star and classical dancer herself). Today, apart from enchanting audiences by being a dancer/ choreographer, she also has her third degree Reiki (the Grand Master level), White light, and Transcendental meditation which allow her to help her students and private clients achieve a sense of clarity, focus, harmony of oneself, and an overall state of well being.

Kevan Rupp Lunney began her fascination with textiles while taking naps under her grandmother's depression-era quilts. She began sewing on her own machine at age 9.  By high school she made all of her own clothes and began to experiment with tailoring and pattern making.  She studied Fine Art at Otterbein College, and then transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City to study fashion design. After a career in New York City designing sleepwear, she designed hand-painted silk lingerie under her own label, Serenity. She made numerous baby quilts, ribbon-winning guild and county fair quilts and quilts with her children's schools. She is very proud of her 2003 Library Quilt Project ,which produced eleven quilts with 300 children in her town, all of which hang permanently at the library in East Brunswick, NJ. Now, Lunney exhibits her work, curates exhibits, teaches and lecture. More on her website here

scienceSeeds founder Michal Melamede, BS (Stanford), MS (Columbia), founded the child-friendly approach to complex science and engineering concepts following a successful run of 20 years as entrepreneur of a software development and consulting business on Wall Street.  The underlying philosophy of scienceSeeds is to encourage children to take risks while exploring and learning complex concepts in a hands-on, family-friendly envrionment.  Dan Rotundo, BA (Linguistics & Philosophy),  scienceSeeds' senior instructor is their chief tinkerer and a lover of design and architecture.  Dan is working towards a degree in speech and language therapy.  More on scienceSeeds is available here.

Sebastiano Stia is a graduate of Thomas Edison State College and Norwich University, with a BFA in Photography and an MS in Education/Administration respectively. He has over 19 years experience teaching photography to students both in the classroom and on-line. Sebastiano’s belief in photography stems from aspects of both humanistic and intellectual idealisms that he has experienced and continues to experience in everyday life. He tries to interpret his surroundings in simplistic yet definitive images to express his personal vision encompassing conventional and conceptual reality. These beliefs also strengthen his resolve of “truth in images.” In an evolving digital realm, truth in photography must be held to its core. As a teacher of this art, Sebastiano expresses concern and demonstrates the need to uphold these convictions or be held accountable in the destruction of the photography profession.

Katie Truk received her BFA from Alfred University.  She has been teaching multi-media classes to children and adults of all ages and levels since 2001 through personal lessons, visiting artist grants, and in places such as Creative Hands in Madison, Let’s Create in Boonton, Messy Artist in South Orange and the Summit Art Center.  In her studio, the medium of choice is pantyhose.  She combines the translucent and sensual nature of pantyhose and the rigidity of wire to create sculptures of complex depth and personality.  These sculptures have been featured around the tri-state area.  Explore her work at www.katietruk.com

Mickey Waring is a graduate of Princeton University and Beirut University College. Ms. Waring has illustrated magazines in the United States and abroad. She is a member of the Metuchen Cultural Arts Commission and a recent contributor to the Visual Arts Connection.  She has been a driving force in the arts community of Metuchen over the past 22 years.  See the world from Mickey’s perspective at http://mickeywaring.com/gallery.html.

Candace Woodward-Clough has been a freelance dance instructor since 1976.  She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater-Dance from the University of Connecticut, and has danced in or choreographed several Off-Broadway productions, movies, videos, and soap operas.   Her teaching credits are extensive and include many venues throughout New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.