Jodie Gates is a choreographer, director, arts educator, stager, and dancer. Formerly, she was the Artistic Director of Cincinnati Ballet and the Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy, as well as a principal ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and international guest artist.

She is Founder and Artistic Director of Laguna Dance Festival based in Laguna Beach California, and Founding Director of the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles. Jodie was a tenured Professor at the University of Southern California and University of California, Irvine. She is an accomplished choreographer, commissioned by several dance companies including Staatsballett Berlin, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, and Vail International Dance Festival, as well as choreographer for television commercials, a special event for singer/songwriter John Legend, and collaborated for a global ad campaign for Los Angeles Tourism. She is an artistic collaborator with William Forsythe, staging ballets for Forsythe Productions. She has staged ballets for Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Teatro alla Scala Ballet, and Zurich Ballet among others.

Her performing career began with the Joffrey Ballet in NYC where she originated many roles and worked with a host of renowned choreographers. She is featured in several publications and has appeared in numerous television programs and festivals. Her guest appearances include galas at The Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg Russia; dancing Odette/Odile with Fernando Bujones in Swan Lake with Ballet de Monterrey Mexico; Juliet in John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet at Lincoln Center in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and The Music Center in Los Angeles. She appeared at festivals in Spoleto Italy, The Edinburgh Festival, The Nijinsky Festival in Hamburg, Germany, and The Melbourne Festival in Australia. She has danced at the Bolshoi in Moscow, Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt Germany, Theatre du Chatelet and Theatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, among other established venues in the United States.

Jodie received a Psychology of Leadership Certificate from Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and studied with the Higher Education Leadership Program for Women at Bryn Mawr College. Honors include recognition for Arts Leadership by the American Association of University Women, Altria/ABT fellowship from American Ballet Theatre, and a recipient of the esteemed Jerome Robbins New Essential Works program. Most recently, she was awarded the distinguished 2021/2022 Residency Fellowship from The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. Her Fellowship acknowledged her most recent work addressing systemic racism and inequities within the culture of ballet.

Joy moved to Laguna Beach in 1999 with her husband Tom and quickly became involved in the community. For eight years she served on the Board of Friendship Shelter, a homeless shelter for adults. She spent a year as a docent at the Marine Mammal Center sharing all she knows about pennipeds with visitors.

Joy functioned as Volunteer Coordinator for the Laguna Dance Festival for four years prior to joining the board. Joy brings more than twenty years of experience in business development, marketing, sales and professional relations working in the pharmaceutical industry to the table. She loves yoga, travel, hiking and scuba diving. She is excited and honored to be involved with the Festival as it continues to bring world class dance to Laguna Beach. She is a graduate of UCSB in Biology and earned an MBA from the University of Utah.

Krystal Matsuyama-Tsai (she/her) is a movement artist, curator, and educator based in Southern California. As a performer, she has had the honor of working with companies such as Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BARE Dance Company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Entity Contemporary Dance, and choreographers including Bryan Arias, Douglas Becker, Peter Chu, Jodie Gates, Charlotte Griffin, Alex Ketley, Donald McKayle, and Mia Michaels. Her passion for education has provided opportunities to teach in Costa Rica, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and across the West Coast.

Constantly researching her voice as a Japanese American, Krystal seeks to grow a deeper understanding of our unique identities and collective humanity through her practices as a movement artist and creator. With her love of fostering community, finding opportunities to engage in collaboration with artists across disciplines excites her. Krystal holds her MFA and BFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and is currently on faculty at Chapman University. As a multi-hyphenate artist, she also is Artistic Associate for Laguna Dance and artistic collaborator with Peter Chu’s  contemporary dance company, chuthis.

Amanda Koenig is a Southern California native whose love for dance began at just three years old. She honed her craft through years of dedicated training, ultimately earning a B.A. in Dance from California State University, Long Beach. When injuries redirected her path, Amanda found a new calling behind the scenes — channeling her passion into Arts Administration. Her leadership journey began as a founding member of the administrative team at the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. There, she quickly rose through the ranks, serving as Administration Manager and eventually Director of Administration. Amanda’s commitment to excellence, organization, and the transformative power of the arts made her an invaluable asset. Today, she brings that same energy and vision to Laguna Dance, where she finds deep fulfillment in supporting young dancers and fostering a love for the performing arts. 

Angel Anderson comes to Laguna Dance with a diverse background.  With a degree in Fashion Design from Brooks College, her AA complimented with certificates in Design and in Dressmaking from Orange Coast College, and a Graphics Design Certification from the University of California, Irvine, she started her career by designing and merchandising for brands such as Barefoot Miss, Athena Swimwear, Spot Sport, Gimmie International, and Line-Up For Sport. 

After her career in fashion, while staying home to raise her three kids, Angel volunteered and chaired many events for both school and sports and was an active member of the PTA and PFSO. With her daughter, she became very involved in the National Charity League and the Assisteens of Orange.

Adding to these child-raising years, Angel went back to work as the West Region Assistant for Pearson Education where she coordinated various conferences, reservations, and training events while working directly under two of the companies Vice Presidents. Now, currently employed part-time with a caterer, working all types of events, Angel brings her crazy background to the table at Laguna Dance as their Operations Manager.

Valerie Chen is a Taiwanese American artist whose love for dance and movement creation began in Irvine, California. Valerie received a BFA in Dance at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance with a Concentration in Dance Performance. Her work with social media began during the Covid 19 Pandemic where she created content for Aarika Rhodes’ Congressional Campaign in 2022. She also created materials for many BODYTRAFFIC summer intensives. She later joined the USC Kaufman Communications Team where she continues to widen her skills in social media management as well as photo/video editing and website design. Upon graduating Valerie joined South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) as a main company member. She is currently a guest artist with SCDT and freelance artist based in Los Angeles.