CONVENTION FACULTY 2023

Troy and Marisa are a married couple who have been dancing together for 10+ years. Since 2010, Marisa has been a dancer on a collegiate hiphop team called High Profile which was then directed by Troy Corrales. Since then, they have participated and won titles at prestigious competitions such as Hiphop International, World of Dance, Prelude, and more. Collectively, Troy and Marisa have worked in the professional industry for companies such as Paul Mitchell, Missy Cochran Entertainment, Dragon Talent Group, and more. Since 2014, Troy has been a dancer and co captain at the Jabbawockeez show at the MGM Grand. Troy is also a professional photographer/videographer. Troy and Marisa currently creatively direct Playground Dance Company and the Desert Oasis Diamondback Dance Crew. This duo operates in excellence and does whatever it takes to see their dancers grow and thrive. If there’s anything entertainment, dance, or production wise that you need, these two can provide. 
 
Eddie Strachan Convention Judge

Eddie Strachan is a dance choreographer, teacher and creator based out of California. His award winning work spans for over a decade. He’s been a faculty member for various dance conventions and recently was the former director of Radix Dance Convention. Currently, Eddie choreographs and teaches for different companies, studios and dance teams around the country.

 

Lauren Yakima competed on the NBC hit show World of Dance and danced on Disney Channels Summer Singalong. Within the past couple years, she was in music videos for singers AJ McLean, Christina Ricucci and Sam Tsui. She has performed at the Capezio ACE Awards, with the Radio City Rockettes as the role of Clara as well at Tony Robbins Birthday Fundraiser. She has been a member of RoyalFlux, a contemporary company directed by Jaci Royal. Lauren has most recently just finished touring with JoJo Siwa as a dancer in her Nickelodeon D.R.E.A.M Tour.

Janaya French was a part of the Top 20 dancers on Season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance. Since her time on the show she has appeared on various TV shoes and Films such as; Dancing With The Stars, The Goldbergs, Glee, Teen Beach 2, Ted 2, American Housewife, CMA Country Christmas special, and one of her favorites Grease Live. She also has performed on many awards shows; the Grammy awards with James Corden, the Emmy awards with Stephen Colbert, People's Choice Awards with Jane Lynch, the CMA's with Thomas Rhett and Fall Out Boy and the Latin AMA's just to name a few. Janaya also toured the country twice with Maks and Val from Dancing with the Stars on the Our Way tour and MVP confidential tour. Most recently she has worked with artists such as Kelsea Ballerini on the People's Choice Awards, Shania Twain on The AMA's and can be seen in episodes of Penny Dreadful.

Alyssa Guerrieri is an educator, choreographer, and performer with experience of over 20 years from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A former Miss Dance of America, Alyssa has studied in all genres of dance and has performed on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance, The Greatest Showman, and various music videos and live stage performances in Los Angeles, CA. Alyssa took on the lead role in Marinda Davis’ live production of UNbreakable, storytelling the human experience through live contemporary movement. She received her undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University. Most recently, Alyssa received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California, where she now practices in Pittsburgh as a full-time clinician, treating a multitude of athletes of a variety of different specialties and conditions. Alyssa is eager to continue to meld PT with her experience in professional dance and is especially humbled to share her passions with all of the dancers this weekend! 
 
Courtney Ortiz, a native of Baltimore, MD is proud to be a YoungARTS award winner. Her professional dance and teaching career has allowed her to travel the world performing in places such as: Dubai, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Australia, and France. Her career spans from stage to screen with credits including: the 1st National Tour of Finding Neverland, Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, Company Member with The Chase Brock Experience, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes and the first ever revival in 30 years of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway at The Muny’s 100th Season! You can also catch Courtney’s feet tap dancing in the hit FX series "Fosse/Verdon" where she was the dance double for Young Bob Fosse! One of her favorite and most memorable credits was performing original Jerome Robbins’ choreography throughout Europe on the International Tour of the classic musical West Side Story.Outside of performing, Courtney has been an in-demand dance educator and adjudicator for over 10 years. She has taught for numerous dance conventions nationally and internationally sharing her love of dance with the world. Currently, Courtney is on faculty with REVEL Dance Convention where she has been teaching Jazz and Broadway Jazz since their very first season. She is on guest faculty at the legendary Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center in New York City and also serves as the 2023 audition choreographer for RWS Entertainment Group where she travels worldwide to audition dancers for future opportunities on cruise ships. Courtney is the proud owner of Impact Dance Adjudicators and the host of their popular dance podcast Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast. Follow her on Instagram @courtney.ortiz to stay up to date on when she’s teaching next and tune in to her podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!