Senior Projects 2022 Profiles
Jasmine Kaiulani Lee
checking in
Jasmine Kaiulani Lee is a 4th year Dance Major at Sonoma State, graduating this Spring 2022. Jasmine began dancing at age 3 with Tahitian and Hula. She has since added Ballet, Tap, Afro-Brazilian Samba and Afro-Cuban to her resume, with a current focus in Hip Hop and Modern Dance. Jasmine has danced and choreographed for four Fall Dance productions, one having represented SSU at the 2020 American College Dance Association West regional conference and has been involved in three Spring Dance productions. She has been working on her Senior Project, “checking in,” since Winter 2021, with the intent to normalize and raise mental health awareness in society and its relation to suicide prevention. With only love and gratitude, Jasmine wishes the best to the Dance program, her wonderful mentors and supportive peers as she closes out her final semester at Sonoma State.
Alessandra Balestrieri-Jennings
Reflection
Alessandra Balestrieri-Jennings is a third year dance major and early childhood minor at Sonoma State University. She has been dancing since she was 2 years old. She has had the honor of performing in Fall Dance 2019, Fall Dance 2020, Spring Dance 2021. She choreographed and performed in last semester’s production of Fall Dance 2021. She will be performing in Spring Dance 2022 this semester in-person. Alessandra is excited to be collaborating with a fellow student to put on her senior project that will be performing live this semester. She hopes to follow her dreams of becoming an elementary school teacher and dance teacher after graduating from SSU.
Jay Haralson
Jay Haralson is a Theater Arts major with a concentration in dance. She is from Ukiah, a small town in Northern California, where she has lived most of her life. There, she trained with Carol Martinez at Carol’s Dance Studio in Ballet and Jazz. Jay continued on to Mendocino College where she trained with Eryn Schon Brunner, Rachel Young and Kirsten Turner in Modern, Jazz, Hip Hop and Ballet. In Fall of 2018, Jay transferred to SSU and will be graduating in Spring 2022. When she is not a student of dance, she is a teacher of dance and has taught at the following: Near and Arnold’s School of Performing Arts & Cultural Education, Willits Dance Academy, and The Studio on State. She was a part of Dynasty Dance Crew based in Santa Rosa, CA. In her free time, you can find Jay rolling through Starbucks with her bestie, taking evening strolls, or procrastinating on “adulting-related” tasks.
Terra Bransfield
This (Continues To Be) Not Political
Terra (moi) has been working on this piece since the fall of 2020. Zi started with This Is Not Political, proceeded with This Is (Still) Not Political, and is now presenting This (Continues To Be) Not Policial. Zi started this piece because zi found zirself needing an outlet to work through many questions zi has had in regards to society's outlook on identity, especially those that don’t conform to social constructs and expectations.
Marissa Salinas
System
Marissa Salinas is a 5th year Dance and Business Administration major. Marissa has been dancing for 10 years and has been involved in 5 spring dance productions and choreographed 3 times for the Fall Dance productions. She has been working on her research project “system” with the Koret Scholarship Program and has now turned her research into her Senior Project that will be performed live on stage during the 2022 Spring Festival. She loves being in the Dance Program at SSU and is so excited to be back on the stage and part of this year's Spring Festival.