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FUSION Performing Dance Academy
FUSION Performing Dance Academy
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  • Dance Company
  • Our Team
  • FUSION
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  • HOW TO HELP

Our Team

Executive/Artistic Director and Founder

Executive/Artistic Director and Founder

Executive/Artistic Director and Founder

Albertossy Espinoza


Born in Ecuador and raised in Chicago, Albertossy is an internationally known actor, dancer, choreographer, director, producer and instructor. He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AGMA. His dance career began as a Theater Dance major at Northern Illinois University (NIU). After three semesters at NIU, he was scouted by

Albertossy Espinoza


Born in Ecuador and raised in Chicago, Albertossy is an internationally known actor, dancer, choreographer, director, producer and instructor. He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AGMA. His dance career began as a Theater Dance major at Northern Illinois University (NIU). After three semesters at NIU, he was scouted by Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater and offered a company scholarship. Albertossy soon became an apprentice and started touring with the company, nationally and internationally. He also toured nationally and internationally with Soul y Duende Spanish American Dance Theater, Walt Disney Productions, Regina Klenjoski Dance Company, Djanbazian Dance Company, Jazz Antiqua Dance & Music Ensemble and Los Angeles FUSION Dance Theater. His other credits include teaching abroad, guest choreographing for various dance companies and performances in West Side Story, Annie Get Your Gun, Babes in Toy Land, The Pajama Game, and El Barbero de Sevilla. In Chicago he was also a proud member of Joel Hall Dancers, Teresa y Los Preferidos Spanish Dance Company and Winifred Haun & Dancers. Albertossy’s works as a choreographer have been presented nationally from Chicago to California and internationally in Spain, France, Guatemala, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. 

In Los Angeles, Albertossy has choreographed for the Canadian TV series "Boystown,“ a feature film, “HEELS” and three music videos, "Life is for Living," featuring Julissa Aguirre, “Una Vez Mas,” featuring Elena Andujar and “Fuego Malagueña” featuring internationally acclaimed artist Esteban. Albertossy has worked with Lula Washington Dance Theater, Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre, Zina Bethune Theatre Danse, Djanbazian Dance Company and Santa Clarita Ballet. Currently he works with Mojácar Flamenco and San Gorgonio Ballet. In 2004 he founded Los Angeles FUSION Dance Theater (LAFDT) and made his company debut at SOLA Contemporary Dance Festival. The company has performed in various Los Angeles based dance festivals and was invited to Guatemala to perform the piece “TRAPPED.” LAFDT was also nominated for a prestigious Lester Horton Award. In 2008 Albertossy founded FUSION Performing Dance Academy (www.fpdacademy.org), a 501(c)3 non-profit dance facility to share the art of dance with the underserved community. In 2010, Albertossy was invited by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre dancer, Vernard Gilmore to perform in New York City for Summer Stage. His experience of sharing the stage with Alvin Ailey dancers was a dream come true. In January 2011, by the request of the Board of Directors of Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles, Albertossy stepped in the role of President for the organization after serving on the board for three and a half years. He served another three years as President. 2011 also brought Albertossy to the Malibu Stage Company as a principal dancer and choreographer for the incredible “Victor Victoria” musical. His highlight was when the Legendary Dick Van Dyke expressed how impressed he was with the choreography. In 2012, Mr. Van Dyke asked Albertossy to choreograph the production of “Cabaret” which he was producing. 2013 brought Albertossy the opportunity to teach Master Modern, Latin Rhythm Cardio and Flamenco Fusion classes throughout Los Angeles, and he was invited by the LA Opera to perform in their production of Carmen with Maestro, Placido Domingo. Albertossy joined the LA Opera again in February of 2015 for “The Barber of Seville.” He was asked to play a principal character of the opera, Ambrogio. He recently returned to LA Opera for their production of, “El Gato Montes”. In 2017 he was invited to join the Ballet Hispánico (BH) team as a teaching artist from BH's network of affiliated artists for their CAP program. 2018 brought a certificate of recognition from the City of Los Angeles recognizing his contribution to sharing the arts in the community. This same year his nonprofit organization received a certificate of recognition for 10 years of service by the City of Los Angeles and City of Commerce. 2019 brought Mr. Espinoza more recognitions from the City of Los Angeles and the City of Monterey Park. He was also asked by Comisión Permanente de Fiestas Patrias Ecatorianas to be a Marshal and to lead the 21st Ecuadorain Parade in Los Angeles. At the request of the board of directors, In September 2019, Mr. Espinoza was asked to return to the Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles organization as its Board Chair. In 2022 Mr. Espinoza was invited by the prestigious Chicago dance company, Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater to perform with the company at the historic Auditorium Theatre. Another dream come true for Mr. Espinoza. 

As a versatile dancer, Modern, Jazz, Ballet, Flamenco, Musical Theater and Folklore, Albertossy has been able to share the stage with some incredible and prestigious dancers and choreographers. 

In his pursue of acting, Albertossy made his debut in one of the lead roles in an independent film, “The Price of the American Dream.” Since then, he has had a lead role on five more features, three short films and a Canadian TV series. Currently he is preparing to start work on a feature as, choreographer, dancer and actor. 

Albertossy credits his mother for giving him the strength, will and drive to push onward in all aspects of life. He is tremendously grateful to his family, friends and teachers for their love and support and especially recognizes his good friend and foremost supporter, Carolyn James.

Hip Hop Instructor

Executive/Artistic Director and Founder

Executive/Artistic Director and Founder

Erika Lopez


Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Erika Lopez now resides in South Pasadena and is still pursuing her career in the arts. 

At age 6 Erika Lopez began her dance journey under the wing of Albertossy Espinoza, Executive/Artistic Director of Fusion Performing Dance Academy. She was inspired by the dance movements and music

Erika Lopez


Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Erika Lopez now resides in South Pasadena and is still pursuing her career in the arts. 

At age 6 Erika Lopez began her dance journey under the wing of Albertossy Espinoza, Executive/Artistic Director of Fusion Performing Dance Academy. She was inspired by the dance movements and music of the East Coast. That is when she began her emphasis in hip hop and street dance. 


In 2015 Erika became involved with an organization funded by the Flourish Foundation, Urban Movement. While attending Abraham Lincoln High School and participating in the group, Urban Movement, she began her professional career by beginning to give back to the community in the Los Angeles County. She began teaching in 2016 as Co-Captain of Urban Movement. 


She later was determined that she wanted to continue pursuing opportunities to give back to the community. She was able to fulfill that goal thanks to the Non-Profit organization, where she had her start, Fusion Performing Dance Academy. Erika now teaches the styles of Hip-Hop, Popping, Locking to the students at Fusion. 


Erika Lopez is a teaching artist looking to push the boundaries of street dance and contemporary by fusing these forms based on her lifestyle. Her work is heavily influenced by her educational and street background and she wishes to give back to her community around the world to new generations

Hip Hop Instructor

Executive/Artistic Director and Founder

Hip Hop Instructor

Elizabeth "Liz" Altamirano


Elizabeth Altamirano has been teaching Hip Hop dance and culture at Esteban Torres High School for three years under Versa Style Performance, Education, Community. Versa Style, formerly known as the Flourish Foundation, is a non-profit organization that focuses on teaching Hip Hop dance and culture to the youth o

Elizabeth "Liz" Altamirano


Elizabeth Altamirano has been teaching Hip Hop dance and culture at Esteban Torres High School for three years under Versa Style Performance, Education, Community. Versa Style, formerly known as the Flourish Foundation, is a non-profit organization that focuses on teaching Hip Hop dance and culture to the youth of Los Angeles. As a former student under VSPEC, she developed a passion for street dance and culture after auditioning for her high school’s dance team Rhythm Impact. Here she trained under Versa Style dance company member Allison Gray, and developed a passion for dance after realizing that she could use dance as a form of self-expression, language, and passion. After attending the University of California Santa Cruz, she returned to share her knowledge and passion to the next generation. 

Throughout High School Elizabeth, aka Liz, began training in Hip Hop dance after auditioning for the school’s dance team her freshman year. She trained in various styles including Hip Hop, House, Whacking, Locking, and Popping. She trained five days a week, 4 hours a day, and gained knowledge about the fundamentals of Hip-Hop dance and history. She participated in both in-school performances and community performances like Versa Style’s annual anniversary Festival. In 2016 she auditioned for Versa Style Next Generation, the pre- professional company associated with Versa Style Dance Company and trained under company members Ernesto Galarza, aka Precise, and Anthony Berry, aka Berry-Groove. After moving to Santa Cruz for two years, Liz realized that she wanted to pursue dance teaching and returned to Los Angeles to continue her passion and returned to join Versa Style Next Generation. Now on her third year in VSNG, she continues to train weekly and perform for the community and other events. 

Liz is also currently pursuing her Dance Teaching Certificate at Glendale Community College along with a transfer degree in Kinesiology. She hopes to obtain teaching credentials at California State University Los Angeles soon to continue with her passion of dance and dance teaching. Once certified, Elizabeth Altamirano hopes to fuse her passion for dance and her heart for social justice change. Throughout her high school dance career and with the help of Allison Gray, she discovered that her voice in dance can be harnessed to bring social justice issues to light, issues like racism, islamophobia, homophobia, and xenophobia, to name a few. Through dance she learned compassion and empathy for those around her, and for problems she didn’t relate to, prompting her to want to teach others that as well. 

Our Team

Folklorico Instructor

 Ashley Magaña

 

Ashley Magaña was born in Torrance CA, and was raised in San Antonio Texas. There she fell in love with dance at the age of four and began dancing Mexican Folklorico at the age of six. She studied many other styles of dance, ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hiphop, and so much more. Ashley was in the competition company at her studio (San Antonio Dance Academy), which has led her to many exciting opportunities. She has worked with world renowned choreographers like Brian Friedman, Tessandra Chavez, Kyle Hanagami, and Joe Brown, to name a few. She has also been in several Spurs commercials, has made 2 appearances on Good Morning San Antonio, and danced for the 300th celebration of San Antonio. Currently she is working on her Bachelors of Fine Arts at Long Beach University. She will graduate in 2023. Ashley is so excited to be a part of this dance family, and is ready to work, grow, and dance.

Dance 2 Make A Difference

D2MAD


Dance To Make A Difference (D2MAD), was created with the sole purpose of inspiring and motivating the youth of the community to use the art of dance as a form of self-expression. A tool to teach basic life skills such as positive thinking, teamwork, promoting unity, diversity and discipline. We encourage artistic expression using music and movement through out their lives. Thanks to the California Arts Council and LA County Arts & Culture we are able to offer this program for FREE.

Board of Directors

Carolyn James - Secretary

Lisa Levingston - Treasurer

Lisa Levingston - Treasurer

  

Ms. James was raised in the northern suburbs of Illinois and has studied dance (tap, ballet and jazz) since age five. Ms. James received her Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Merchandising from Northern Illinois University (NIU). During her tenure at NIU, she excelled in modern, ballet and African dance classes.  Ms. James joined the dance troupe Orchesisand served as President for one semester. Following graduation, she moved to California to pursue her dream of working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.  Since her arrival in the city of bright lights and “take twos,” Ms. James has worked on productions such as “Boys Town” and the features “Heels” and “Crossing Frontiers” as a production assistant. She is currently working in the entertainment industry and remains an advocate of the arts, and, specifically, FUSION Dance Theater and FUSION Performing Dance Academy.

Lisa Levingston - Treasurer

Lisa Levingston - Treasurer

Lisa Levingston - Treasurer

From an early age Ms. Levingston has embraced two passions: numbers and the arts. She  worked as a restaurant book keeper in high school and progressively worked  her way through college in the capacity of  accounts payable and  receivable positions. Lisa maintains a Bachelor of Science in Business  Administration and Accounting from CSU Dominguez Hills. In addition, she  is a licensed financial planner and tax preparer in the state of  California. Lisa is elated to contribute to the success of FPDA and part  of the creative  collaboration of music, body, and interpretation of  story through the movement of dance. 

Raélle Dorfan

Lisa Levingston - Treasurer

Angelica Arredondo

Ms. Dorfan was born and raised in  Johannesburg, South Africa. She immigrated to California in  1999, where she graduated from UCLA World Arts and Culture Dance  Department, Summa Cum Laude. After training under the Royal Academy of  Dance ballet program & continued studies at the Pretoria Technikon  School of the Arts, where the program included Ballet, Contemporary,  Jazz, Tap, Flamenco, Modern, Pilate's, Singing, Musical Theater &  African dance, Raélle continues to pursue her passion for the arts -  producing, performing, choreographing and teaching at various schools  and studios in and around the Los Angeles area. Raelle has performed at  various venues such as the Levitt Pavillion, Hermosa Beach Playhouse,  Japan American Theater, LA Convention Center and UCLA's Freud Playhouse.  Raélle was education director of RKDC's residency program at the  Torrance Cultural Arts Center, Associate to the director  of Cadence Arts Network, an agency representing renown dance companies  and world music ensembles. She is currently serving as Executive Director of Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angles. Raélle is thrilled to be a board member  of Fusion Performing Dance Academy, where she believes hard work is the  essence, and dreams will be born!

Angelica Arredondo

Jorge Perez - Advisory Board

Angelica Arredondo

Bio coming soon

Jorge Perez - Advisory Board

Jorge Perez - Advisory Board

Jorge Perez - Advisory Board

Jorge Pérez, Executive & Associate Artistic Director of Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, was born in  San Juan, Puerto Rico. He began his formal study of Spanish dance with  Dame Libby Komaiko in 1985, through a scholarship opportunity. He  continued his artistic training in the United States and in Spain,  studying with such dance legends as Edo, Paco Alonso, Victorio Korjhan,  Juanjo Linares, Roberto Lorca, Timo Lozano, Manolete, Carmela Greco,  Paco Romero, Candela Soto, and Juan Mata and Ana González, founding  members of the National Ballet of Spain.

Jorge studied ballet with Anna Czajun. He is a graduate of  Northeastern Illinois University, receiving a B.A. in Speech  Communication/Performing Arts, and a minor in dance. He has been honored  with the Artistic Ambassador Award from the Ruth Page Foundation and  NEIU in recognition of his artistic achievements and contributions to  dance internationally. In 2002, he received an Appreciation Award from  Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago, for his exceptional contribution to  the arts in Chicago. In 2004, Jorge was honored with the Twentieth  Anniversary Award from the St. Louis Cultural Flamenco Society. In 2014,  he graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program,  and has led the company through its recent success and growth. Jorge  also serves on the executive board of Audience Architects.

His accomplishments are listed in Who’s Who among Hispanic Americans, Who’s Who among Business Leaders of America, Who’s Who in Dance and, Who’s Who among Hispanic Entrepreneurs in Chicago, as published by Negocios Now.

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