Our Team
Jeannette Sermak-Proulx
Owner & Director
Jeannette has been teaching since 1981. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the California Institute of the Arts, a Bachelor of Arts in English/Dance from Loyola Marymount University, and a Polish Folk Dance Teaching credential from Bursa Szkol Artystynych Lublin, Poland.
Jeannette taught Dance for Musical Theatre at Hamilton High School, as well as beginning Modern Dance at RD Colburne School of the Arts, a division of the University of Southern California. Jeannette has choreographed for the Greater Los Angeles Children’s Theatre, the Magnificent Melodrama and Vaudeville Company, and for MTV. She performed as a dancer for the Long Beach Opera, Normandy Casino, Universal Studios, and in regional commercials. Jeannette Sermak-Proulx has directed Plaza Production One since its inception in 1984.
Jill Adomaitis has a diverse background in Ballet, Creative Movement, Mime, and Dance History. She has taught dance since 1981. She was a full-time faculty member at Columbia College and a Ballet master at South Carolina Ballet Theatre.
In Washington state, Ms. Adomaitis taught for the Washington Contemporary Ballet and volunteered as a movement therapist aiding families to work through crisis and recovery in a holistic way. Jill’s performing credits include Boston Ballet II, Connecticut Ballet, South Carolina Community Touring Company, South Carolina Ballet Theatre, and the Dinosaur Dance Company. Jill Adomaitis has been on staff at Plaza Production One since September 2015.
Amanda Carmassi graduated with honors from Azusa Pacific University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She has been teaching and performing dance since 2003. Amanda was captain of her high school hip-hop team in the San Francisco Bay Area, then created many annual charity events serving as Dance Organization Director at Azusa Pacific University. She has since placed at World of Dance competitions and performed with Natural St8 at Hip-Hop International, Maxt Out, and many other venues in Southern California. She has worked with several recording artists, including Jessica Domingo, and has been featured in many choreography concept videos. Amanda has taught in Northern California and Oregon, and currently enjoys performing with Zulu Maniacs and the Survey Corps Dance Crew. She has loved teaching for A Place Called Home in South Central Los Angeles and for Plaza Production One since 2013. Her goal is to inspire her students to become their best selves, in dance and in life.
Paige Deets is a dancer, teacher, and award-winning choreographer in the Chicagoland area. She was born in Homer Glen, Illinois, and trained at Elite Dance Academy from ages fourteen to eighteen. She attended Western Michigan University and graduated spring of 2015 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. During her time at WMU, she performed in works choreographed by faculty members Kirsten Harvey and Erica Peterson, as well as new works by guest artists Peter Chu, Lauren Thompson Hall, Ashley Deran, Liv Schaffer, and Josh Manchulich. In 2015, she performed excerpts from Ohad Naharin’s Deca Dance. She was also a company member of The Western Dance Project touring company for its 2014-2015 season under the direction of Whitney Moncrief. Paige has since danced on scholarship at Visceral Dance Center for two seasons while dancing with Trifecta Dance Collective and Project Bound Dance Company. In fall of 2016, she traveled to Kibbutz Ga’aton in Israel to study under the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and live for five months. She trained under Danielle Ohn and performed many works by artistic director Rami Be’er and members of his company. While in Israel, she was able to work with dancers and choreographers from all over the globe. She has since moved to Los Angeles, California, and plans to continue dancing, teaching, and choreographing in the area. Paige specializes in Creative Movement, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Ballet and joined the Plaza Production One team in Fall 2017.
Abigail DiGrazia began her dance training at the age of 4 at Backstage Dance Academy in Turlock, CA. At the age of 6, she started her journey with Center for Urban Performance and Service (CUPS), where she trained for 16 years in all disciplines, including ballet, tambourines, flags, jazz, hip-hop, tumbling, and aerial. Throughout her childhood, she attended numerous workshops to enhance her training, including the CCSDC at Julien School of Dance (3 years) and the Word in Motion Dance Festival (4 years), where she trained under professional guest artists. She also attended Modesto Junior College with instructors including Coleen Patterson, Lori Byhrni, Kim T. Davis, and Philip Flickinger (from Sacramento State) gave her a new found passion for her love of Modern dance. Abigail then decided to transfer to California State University of Fullerton where she could then continue her passion for Modern dance, studying different style of Modern dance such as: Horton, Graham-based, and Limon-based. During her time at CSUF Abigail has trained under faculty such as: Alvin Rangel-Alvarado, Debra Noble, Lisa Long-Dravasovich, Gladys Kares, Courtney Osevek, and Muriel Joyce. At CSUF Abigail has had many opportunities to work with many guest artist such as: Nancy Colahan, Joshua Romero, and Leslie Scott. She has had the privilege of performing at the American College Dance Association Festival, with Modesto Junior College and CSU Fullerton. Abigail graduated from CSU Fullerton with a degree in dance and now resides in Los Angeles, California, where she has taught dance at a school in South Central LA and many other studios in Orange County.
Jennifer Donaldson has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California Irvine. She has taught dance throughout her teens and for all of her adult life. Miss Jen is an accomplished choreographer in musical theatre and is also an instructor in fencing. She is married and has three daughters: Aurora, Cyra, and Brecklin. Miss Jen has been on the staff of Plaza Production One since 1995.
Monik Jones began dancing at the age of 8 in church. She trained at the Los Angeles High School of the Performing Arts and earned her Bachelor of Arts in World Arts and Cultures, concentrating in dance with a minor in education, from UCLA. She went on to the University of California Irvine where she was mentored by the legendary Donald McKayle and earned her Master’s of Fine Arts in dance. Miss Monik has founded Monik’s Creative Movement Education program where the goals are to focus on gross motor skills, coordination, rhythm, creative expression, and self-confidence through the medium of dance. Ms. Jones teaches all forms of dance but is best known for her reputation as a liturgical dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She is the Artistic Director of Vessels of Praise Liturgical Dance Ministry from the Judson Baptist Church. Ms. Jones has developed a liturgical dance curriculum that she teaches across the country. She joined the Plaza Production One team in September 2006.
Julienne Mackey is a dance educator, performer, and producer based in Los Angeles. She taught dance in public schools, studios, master classes, and professional classes. Their practice focuses on students’ personal growth with building students’ movement capacity, knowledge of dance, problem solving, creativity, and expression. She graduated from UC Irvine with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior. As a professional dancer, they performed in museums, movies, music videos, concert halls, and commercials in styles including Modern, Partnering, Improvisation, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Jazz, and Jazz Funk for Charlie XCX, Jordan Peele, MOCA LA, ESPN, Snoop Dogg, and more. Mackey works toward making dance accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
Emily McGuire is a recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory and has received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance Performance with an Emphasis in Ballet. Emily received her early dance education from Contempro Dance Theatre studying classical and contemporary techniques under Jennifer Lentz and Autumn Dziegrenuk. She has performed several works choreographed by Adam Hougland, Alison Cook Beatty, Francesca Harper, MADBOOTS Dance, and Omar Carrum and Claudia LaVista while at the Boston Conservatory. Emily was also a soloist in excerpts of Don Quixote and Raymonda restaged by Adriana Suarez and Gianni DiMarco. While collaborating with Berklee students and a professional film crew, Emily was able to be a part of a music video featuring a new artist, Marillyn. Additionally, she has performed professionally with David Sun’s Boston-based contemporary ballet company, SundanceX. Emily has recently moved to California to pursue her dreams in the performing arts.
Candis Morrison is a recent graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She began dancing in middle school and began teaching in high school. While in college, she was one of the directors of her collegiate hip-hop team. She helped prepare 50 or more students for basketball halftime performances, special school events, and collegiate dance competitions. While finishing her last two years at UCLA, she began working with Monik’s Creative Movement to teach dance to preschool students. She also began volunteering as an intern teacher for two dance programs that were designed to use dance as a way to help the development of social, cognitive, and emotional skills of people with disabilities. Now, she teaches World Dance, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Creative Movement with Plaza Production One. She believes dance should be fun, expressive, and accessible to all people.
Liza Risk holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Loyola Marymount University with a minor in dance. She also holds a Master of Arts in Human Behavior from National University. Liza is certified in Silver Sneakers and the American Fitness Association of America. She currently teaches kids Zumba/Creative dance for children, as well as Zumba Gold for seniors and Bootcamp Barre. Liza has been part of Plaza Production One since September 2015.
Leilani Roth graduated with honors from the Citrus College Dance Program and was the first student to receive the State of California Certificate of Achievement in Commercial Dance from that college in 2006. Leilani is the 2012 recipient of the Beth Spicer Scholarship Program and pioneered Mount San Antonio College’s Dance Teacher credential program. Miss Leilani has choreographed for Pasadena City College, Citrus College, Mt. San Antonio College, and the Electric Lodge in Venice, Ca. Miss Leilani currently teaches ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and barre and focuses on the fine art of dance while embracing the passion of dance etiquette. Leilani Roth joined the Plaza Production One team in September 2015.
Mandy Williams was born in Essex, England, and attended the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Performing Arts in London. Mandy traveled extensively as a dancer and eventually resided in Orlando, Florida, where she performed for Disney, Universal Studios, and Dinner Theaters. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2006, Mandy has narrated numerous audiobooks for Penguin Random House and Deyan Audio, some of which have received awards and recognition. She continues to perform live and share her passion for the arts by teaching music, dance, and theater to all ages, from 2 to 80. Miss Mandy’s Creative Movement class is always a popular choice as the children are mesmerized by her charm.