Zelma
Photo Credit: Nii Tete Yartey
2024 Jury
Professor Zelma Badu-Younge, Ph.D.
Dr. Zelma Badu-Younge, Professor Emerita of Dance at Ohio University (June 2024) and recent Director of Ohio University School of Dance (2022-2024), brings a wealth of international experience to her work. She received her training from some of the most esteemed institutions in Canada, the United States, and Ghana, including The National Ballet School of Canada, l’ Academie des Grands Ballet Canadiens, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, and University of Ghana’s School of Performing Arts. Her academic journey includes a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance focusing on Choreography (Concordia University), an M.F.A. in Dance Ethnology (York University), and a Ph.D. in Culture and Values in Education (McGill University).
Read More
Professor Emerita Badu-Younge’s impact on the arts is not limited to her performances and choreography. She has served as a cultural ambassador, promoting the diversity and richness of dance traditions. Her work has been celebrated with numerous awards, including the Ohio Arts Council Individual Creativity Excellence Award for choreography (2016 and 2008), the NAACP Image Award for Excellence in Faculty Academics and Research, and the Ohio University Kennedy Lecture Series Co-Sponsorship Grant. She has also been a nine-time co-recipient of Ohio University’s Arts for Ohio Award. Her contributions have been recognized in Canada as well, with awards from government and artistic organizations, including the prestigious Chalmers, Laidlaw Foundation, and Canada Council for the Arts Awards. Her nomination for Outstanding Choreography by the Dora Mavor Moore Awards in Canada and her cover story in Dance Teacher Magazine’s September 2017 issue further underscore her role as a cultural ambassador.
Professor Emerita Badu-Younge currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Chimera Project Dance Theatre, a Toronto-based contemporary dance company; Vivies Dance and Theatre Academy (East Legon) Accra, Ghana; is an Education Assessor for the Ohio Department of Education’s Ohio Assessments for Educators Conference (2017—present); and is a former member of the OhioDance Board of Trustees, where she was Outreach and Education chairperson. In addition, she served as Canadian Heritage’s Artistic Assessor for The National Arts Training Contribution Program and was a Specialist for Jury for the Canada Council for the Arts.
Professor Emerita Badu-Younge has instructed, lectured, performed, given workshops, or choreographed widely on four continents; and, as a scholar, professional dance artist, and teacher, has been selected as a Fulbright Alternate – Ghana (2021-2022), invited to sit on committees for The Congress on Research in Dance/The American Society for Theatre Research, and the Ohio Department of Education’s “Committee for the Arts and Innovative Thinking.” She was a guest speaker at Princeton University’s 3rd International Symposium on the Music of Africa (Princeton, NJ), at the Society of Dance History Scholars conference on Dance Dramaturgy at York University (Toronto, Canada), a Keynote Speaker for dance IMMERSION’s: Connectively Moving our Dance (Toronto, Canada), a Juror for Animaze: LE MIAFF Montreal Animation Film Festival ONLINE 2020 EDITION (Montreal, Canada) and a presenter at Orff in Africa “Music is Dance, Dance is Music” conference (Ho, Ghana). In addition, she presented papers at the World Dance Alliance — Global Summit 2014 at Centre National de Danse Contemporaine (CNDC) in association with the University of Angers (Angers, France) and the International Council for Traditional Music, World Conference (ICTM) at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music 2013 (Shanghai, China), the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick 2017 (Limerick, Ireland), ICTM’s 45th World Conference at Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok, Thailand in addition to being, invited to teach and perform in Chennai, India, for Leadership Engagement in Artistic Performances – Leap in India.
Professor Emerita Zelma Badu-Younge, one of the most charismatic cultural fusion artists, captivates her audience as she steps on stage. This mesmerizing performer is considered one of the most electrifying choreographers in Canada, with her high-energy synthesis of West African traditions combined with other world dance forms. She danced with The Philadelphia Dance Company — Philadanco (Philadelphia, PA) and the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company (New York, NY) and is now the Dance Director, Choreographer, and dancer for Azaguno. This multi-ethnic ensemble focuses on research, preservation, and performance of African, African American, Caribbean, and Latin American Music and Dance Styles.
Professor Emerita Badu-Younge co-collaborated, created new works, and conducted workshops at the National Theatre of Ghana with The National Dance Company, National Drama Company, and National Symphony Orchestra of Ghana in the production of DIEMA (2015), AZA (2016), and a 3rd production titled AGRO (2018) in celebration of the theatre’s 25th Anniversary. She co-founded and produced the Ohio University Global Arts Festival (2018– present), World Music and Dance Concert (2011 – present), African Music and Dance Concert (2003-2013), and Nuit Blanche Athens (2013, 2014, 2016).
Most recently, Professor Emerita Badu-Younge performed with Azaguno for the 20th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Drum Festival, One Beat, One World: Connecting Through The Drum, Drum Carnival, and 5G Live Concert with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and other international artists at Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region (S.A.R.).
Lousnak
Photo Credit: Christyna Pelletier
Lousnak
Canadian-Armenian multidisciplinary artist, Lousnak was born in Lebanon. At the age of eleven, she fled the war, first to London, then Paris, before settling in Montreal in 1982. As an advocate for remembrance, Lousnak has chosen memory as her humanitarian and political commitment. In the late 1990s, she created Talk Genocide, an event which combines songs, dance, poetry, theatre, visual arts, film and photography, takes place periodically around April and aims to raise public awareness of past and present atrocities through the arts. Her latest work White Flags is a participative installation in memory of children killed during wars. www.lousnak.com
Ipyana Ponder
Ipyana Ponder
Ipyana Ponder, born in 1980 is a VFX, VR and Stereo Compositor with over 14 years of experience. He’s worked with companies such as Legend 3d, Dneg, Gener8 and Felix&Paul Studios. He Holds a bachelor’s degree from the Art Institute of San Diego and continues to pursue knowledge from numerous sources.
Born in California and now residing in Montreal Quebec, his screen credits include 50 plus movies and shows including Alice in Wonderland, Transformers, Wonder Woman and more. He’s sharpened his eye for VR by working with the award-winning Felix&Paul Studios for the ISS Space Explorer Missions, and now works to improve cleanup for postproduction in VR
Read More
Filmography
Bhahmaestra: GreenScreen work and lighting,
Space Explorers: VR Compositing
The Infinite: VR Compositing
Mission to the Moon: VR Compositing
Jim Henson: Planar tracking and Placement
DeepSpace9: Lead Color Correction for reboot
Shrek 1,2,3 (Stereo Compositing Artist, Depth Artist)
Top Gun (Roto Paint Depth Artist)
The Little Mermaid (Roto Paint Artist, Depth Artist)
The Green Hornet (Depth Artist)
Priest (Roto Paint Depth Artist)
Pirates of the Caribbean (Depth Artist)
Green Lantern ( 2d and Stereo Roto Paint Artist, Depth Artist)
Transformers Dark side of the Moon (Roto Paint Artist, Depth Artist)
The Smurfs (Roto Paint artist, Depth Artist)
Hugo (Roto Paint Artist, Depth Artist)
Man of Steel (Roto Paint Artist, Stereo Compositing Artist, Nuke Lighting)
Filmography Continued…..
The Amazing Spiderman 2 (Roto Paint Artist, Nuke lighting)
Hugo (Roto Paint Artist, Depth Artist)
Insurgent (Roto Paint Artist)
Batman Vs. Superman (2d and Stereo Roto Paint Artist)
Wonder Woman (Technical Breakout artist)
The Amazing Spiderman 2 (Roto Paint Artist)
Aquaman (Roto Paint artist, technical break out artist
The 100 (Wire Removal, Green Screen and Roto Paint)
Wonder Woman 1984 (Technical Break Out Artist)
Avenger infinity War (Technical Break Out Artist)
Mission Impossible-Fallout (Technical Breakout artist)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (Technical Breakout artist)
Pacific Rim (Technical Breakout Artist)
Black Panther (Technical Breakout Artist)
Padmaavat (GreenScreen, Lighting,Technical Breakout Artist)
The Great Wall (Technical Breakout Artist)
Kong Skull Island (Technical Breakout Artist)
Suicide Squad (Roto Paint Artist)
In The Heart Of The Sea (Roto Paint Artist)
The Jungle Book (Roto Paint Artist, Depth Artist)
Pan (Roto Paint Artist)
Poltergeist (Roto Paint Artist)
The Divergent Series (Roto Paint Artist)
Jupiter Ascending (Roto Paint Artist)
The Grand Master (Roto Paint Artist)
English 
French