Monica Ordoñez
Founding Artistic Director
Monica Ordoñez is a Big Easy Award-winning choreographer based in New Orleans. Originally from Miami, Florida, she discovered her passion for choreography at a young age, rooted in a harmonious connection between movement, music, and cohesive narrative. Shortly graduating from Tulane University with a double major in Dance and Paralegal studies, she was selected by the Paul Taylor Dance Company as one of six choreographers to present work at the Marigny Opera House’s 2012 New Dance Festival, catapulting her into the dance scene in New Orleans. In 2014, Monica conceived Mélange’s mission and cofounded the company with Alexa Erck. Monica pours enormous thought and meticulous research into her works to fulfill a vision that is purposeful, truthful, theatrical, and dynamic. She has choreographed numerous big easy award nominated productions that each uniquely integrate storytelling, history, and themes of humanity that inspire, educate, and entertain, often bringing little known stories to the forefront. Monica is grateful to have worked with so many talented dancers, musicians, collaborators, and artists that help achieve a rich vision and is excited to continue growing and inspiring positive change in the world through dance.
Alexa Erck
Founding Executive Director
Alexa Erck Lambert is originally from Wilmette, Illinois. Alexa began taking ballet class at the age of 12 and studied at the Center of Creative Dance and Ballet Chicago. She performed with Ballet Entre Nous and Kinesis Dance Company before heading to Tulane University where she studied Cellular Biology, ballet and modern dance and performed with Newcomb Dance Company. In New Orleans, Alexa performed with Tsunami Dance Company, New Orleans Dance and Alternative Collaborations. Alexa also had the opportunity to work with teenagers at New Orleans Hope Stone to facilitate the choreography of a ‘public health’ dance. In 2014, Alexa co-founded Mélange with Monica Ordoñez. Alexa is an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and mom to two sweet boys aged 1.5 and 4 years.
Aaron Brewer
Aaron is a New Orleans based Performer and Yoga Instructor. He received his MFA in Theatre and Film from the University of New Orleans and most recently played Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors with Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre. He’s thrilled to be dancing with Melange in the Upstairs Lounge. His favorite past roles include Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing and Ernst Ludwig in Cabaret.
Adrienne Simmons
Adrienne Simmons is a dancer, singer, and actor, who began their formal ballet training at the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre. Adrienne has trained at intensives nationwide including DanceWorks Chicago, University of the Arts, Broadway Dance Center, Steps on Broadway, Peridance Center, Brenau University, Dallas Ballet Company, The Washington Ballet, and Nashville Ballet. She is pursuing bachelor's degrees in business management and theatre at UNO as well as her master’s in business administration. Recent credits include The Ballet Goes to Broadway (JPAS), Fantômes (Mélange), The Nutcracker (New Orleans School of Ballet), and Onepiece (Crescent City Theatre Alliance). Adrienne focuses on work with inclusive representation for diverse audiences in hopes of widening perspectives.
Cade Garafola
Cade Garafola, 21, is a performer and writer from New Orleans, LA. In the past, Cade studied Musical Theatre, including tap, jazz, ballet, vocal, and acting training at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, with additional dance training from the Metropolitan Dance Theater of New Orleans. Following his time in New Orleans, he studied Film and Television production at the University of Colorado, where he took on executive creative roles in a number of short films, including "Dependent" and "The Coldest Night of the Year" (2022). Today, he is a student at Tulane University, studying Environmental Studies and Public Health. Recent theatre and dance credits include Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn (JPAS), The View Upstairs (JPAS), 42nd Street (Tulane Summer Lyric), and Newsies! (Tulane Summer Lyric).
Clinton Parfait
Clinton received his dance training from LSU and the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre in modern, ballet, and jazz. He danced with Mélange from 2015-2019 and performed in Once Upon a Dream, Herstory, Journey of Dreamers, La Résistance, and Love Letters. After a brief break, Clinton is honored to return to perform with the company as a lead dancer of “The Upstairs Lounge” show.
Daví Eddie Lockwood
Daví Eddie Lockwood is a first generation Colombian American living bicoastal between Stamford, CT and New Orleans. They’re a full time artist, producer & designer creating works of art under the stage name Eddie Lockwood. They’re a traveling burlesque star and silk veil dancer. Find out where to see them next by checking out their production company at Prettieboi.com
Edward Spots
New Orleans native Mr. Spots, began his dance training with Baderinwa Rolland “Mama” at the very first New Orleans Charter Middle School in New Orleans. After taking his first ballet class under Diane Carney and Harvey Hysell, he began his formal ballet training at the Schrammel Conservatory of Dance. He then attended the Walnut Hill School for the Fine Arts as a Ballet Major on a full scholarship in Boston MA, graduating in 2009. Mr. Spots also trained at Joffrey Midwest in Michigan, The Joffrey Ballet School in NYC and The Washington School for Ballet in DC. In 2010 he entered The Ailey School as a scholarship student in NYC. Then he was giving the apprenticeship for the Ailey II company. His professional touring career began with Ailey II, where he performed and taught internationally in more than 8 countries and toured domestically. He has danced with Urban Ballet Theatre, New Orleans Ballet Theatre, Civic Scranton Ballet, Delaware Dance Company, and Marigny Opera Ballet. He has worked with many choreographers including Daniel Catanach, Camille A. Brown, George Faison, Jennifer Archibald, Francesca Harper, Troy Powell, Judith Jamison, Earl Mosley, Thang Dao, , Jennifer Muller, Sonia Dawkins, Willy Laury, Benoit-Swan, and Robert Battle. He has been seen on FOX's hit tv show So You Think You Can Dance, and Bulgaria’s Dancing with The Stars. Mr. Spots has modeled for Dance Magazine, Essence Magazine, and the New York Times, and appears in the recent Omni bus film; “American Rhapsody" directed by Garret Bradley. He was recently featured in an International Walmart commercial directed by Seth Rogan and choreographed by Tricia Miranda, which aired during the 2017 Academy Awards.
Elijah Krieger
Elijah Krieger is thrilled to be dancing with Mélange! With deep roots in theatre he has filled many hats including light design, directing, set design, choreographing, production wench, and any other job to broaden his experience in the arts. He trained at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts studying musical theatre and recently played “Gabe” in the musical Next to Normal. He received his formal dance training at The Dance Project of Slidell where he completed 10 years of ballet, jazz, and contemporary training. He would like to thank his oldest sister for beginning and continuously supporting his adventures in the arts.
Jakki Kalogridis
Jakki is an artist, dancer, choreographer, costume designer, and writer. She holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Recent collaborations include TANGENT SPACES, a multi-media trilogy featuring sound by Kerrith Livengood; Fast-Paced World with sound and projections by Mendel Lee; The Negative Space Project, a movement/sonic installation with sound design by Kerrith Livengood; Untitled (Ode to a New Atlantis) with music by Miles Hancock, projection art by John Boesche, and choreographed lighting design by Elliot Hubiak; Emergence, with music by Miles Hancock and featuring live band Loose Willis; Elements, a short film with choral director Kristen Hedegaard; and The Library, with sound design by Clare Marie Nemanich. Kalogridis was a recipient of the Moe Family Dance Award in 2022. She has been a Featured Designer at New Orleans Fashion Week and was awarded New Orleans Fashion Designer of the Year in a Raw Showcase in 2014. From 2001-2019, she taught numerous colorguard and band programs across NC, LA, and MS and was founder and Program Director for New Orleans Colorguard Arts, The Proposition, and Fortitude Independent.
Jay Canova
Jay is a New Orleans native and a Northwestern State University graduate with a BS in Theatre. While the study of acting and directing was his focus, he was always excited by movement. After studying different dance styles with varying results, he landed a role in NSU’s Modern in Motion. Since graduating in 2017, Jay has performed in productions around the city, including The Polar Express, as well as the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company’s The Mutilated and Suddenly Last Summer. He is honored by both the opportunity and challenge of being cast alongside the wonderful dancers within Mélange. As a former professor of his said, “the point of performing is to move others to move others.” It is his hope that through art and community we all push for a brighter, more empathetic future.
Joel Ellis
Joel Ellis is a New Orleans-based actor and filmmaker who has most recently appeared in the short films Couch Knife(2022) and The Woods(2021). His next short, Xulectra, will be released this December. A graduate of Tulane University, Joel discovered acting while fulfilling a requirement in pursuit of his Computer Science degree. Since then, Joel has studied under Doug Spearman, Jenny Mercein, and Amy Chaffee and is an avid practitioner of Fitzmaurice Voicework. Find him on Instagram: @joelhochman
Joel Sunsin
Joel Sunsin is grateful to be able to tell Adam Fontenot’s story as well as be a part of all of the other stories that are being told in this very special production of Mélange Dance Company's, The UpStairs Lounge. He dedicates his performance to his family, his boyfriend, Michael Hue, and his fur baby, Brûlée. Special thanks to Monica and the cast of insanely talented dancers of Mélange Dance Company to be able to share the stage with them every night.
Julia Lemann
Julia Lemann is a dancer, jewelry artist, and professional stilt walker born and raised in New Orleans. She first fell in love with movement as a competitive gymnast, and has gone on to explore forms from ballet & modern, to musical theatre, to commercial hip hop and martial arts. She was a Choreographer and Creative Director for Fusion Dance Troupe at Boston University, and has been a youth instructor locally for the Country Day Creative Arts Program, Artivism, Dancing Grounds, and the International School of Louisiana’s Circus Arts Program. Through a widely varied training experience, Julia has become fascinated with the multitude of distinctions and intersections between different styles of movement. She is excited to be a part of her second production with Mélange Dance Company.
Justice Hues
Justice Hues is a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for telling the stories of people in the margins. They studied Musical Theatre at Northwestern State University in their hometown of Natchitoches, LA. Eventually moving to New Orleans in 2021 to widen the scope of their artistic opportunities. You may have seen Justice locally as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots (Rivertown), Hannah Jelkes in Night of the Iguana (TWTC), and Siobhan in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Le Petit). They will be returning to the Upstairs Lounge in September as Dale in JPAS’ production of The View Upstairs. Justice is humbled and honored to be a young Trans-person able to openly tell trans/queer stories without shame.
Dedicated to Regina Adams.
UNITED WE STAND.
Kristina Ganssle
Kristina Ganssle is originally from Baltimore, MD and has lived in NOLA since 2017. She studied dance and photography at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she was grateful to train with Curt Haworth, Christine Cox, Roni Koresh, Kim Bears-Bailey, and Jesse Zaritt. Upon graduating, Kristina freelanced and danced with Deep Vision Dance Company and The Collective in Baltimore, where she worked collaboratively with dancers, musicians, and other artists to perform, participate in arts based community outreach projects, choreograph, and help organize/dance in art and movement festivals. She does photography for local dance artists (including Mélange!) and works at the Children’s Hospital as a nuclear medicine technologist.
Lauren Saizan
Lauren Saizan is a dancer originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. She has appeared in several Mélange performances including RISE, Fantômes, selections of HerStory, and The UpStairs Lounge.
Sophia Rose
Sophia Rose is a visual artist and dancer originally from Montclair, NJ. Sophia’s artistry reflects her background in dance and music, as well as her studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned her BFA. Her work has been exhibited in cities such as New York, Richmond, Montclair, Baltimore, and New Orleans. She’s excited and honored to be a part of Mélange Dance Company.
Ti Zampino
Ti Zampino is a 2023 graduate from the Loyola University College of Music and Media. He has been performing and working in theatre throughout his educational journey those 8 years. They began performing professionally with Tulane Summer Lyric and the Jefferson Performing Arts Society over the past year with Oliver, The View Upstairs, and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Ty Robbins
Ty Robbins (Horace Getchell)- is honored to join the interdisciplinary talents of Mélange for the first time. He holds a BFA in Acting from Oklahoma City University. Originally from New Orleans, Ty has moved back as a first-year graduate actor seeking his MFA at UNOs School of the Arts where he serves his graduate assistantship. He most recently was seen in the city in Jesus Christ Superstar as Simon Zealotes. Ty is a vocalist at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Lakeview. He has found work both on the stage and in theme parks. Credits: Walt Disney Entertainment, Cedar Fair Entertainment, Assassins (Guisseppe Zangara), The View UpStairs (Patrick), Songs for a New World (Man 2), The School for Lies (Oronte), The Last Daughter (Doctor) Measure for Measure (Provost; u/s), Enron (Skilling; u/s). He is excited for those in the audience today to fall into the love that was The UpStairs.
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