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DANCE FOCUS:

Leslie Nolte has emerged as an innovator in arts education in the Iowa City creative community for two decades. ICon started as a seed of an idea and has grown into fruition under her leadership. She is excited for this new endeavor to broaden arts education to students in the Midwest. Under her direction, Nolte Academy has become a premiere arts program with 30 specialized instructors and 1,100 students. As part of Kennedy Center's Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child program, Leslie brings workshop dance instruction to area schools with lower socioeconomic status, helping to guarantee access and equity to the arts for all students. Leslie has also been a guest lecturer at The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. Leslie is a busy mom of five who also finds time to act in local theatre, teach Pilates at her studio, support various arts endeavors and deepen her personal yoga practice.

Sarah Barragán joined Nolte Academy as the Ballet Director in 2019. She was born in Dayton, Ohio and began her dance training at the Jon Rodriguez School of Dance and the Dayton Ballet School. At the age of 16 she was accepted to the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. Sarah received a Bachelor in Science in Ballet Performance from Indiana University, and MFA from the University of California, Irvine. She previously taught at the Maple Conservatory in Irvine and was the Artistic Director of the UI Youth Ballet before founding and directing City Ballet of Iowa for 10 years. Sarah is an ABT® Affiliate Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and has successfully presented students for examinations since 2011. Sarah is delighted to join Leslie Nolte with the mission of providing a classical ballet education in a nurturing environment, supporting the growth of each young artist. She is invested in creating alongside Nolte Academy Ballet Faculty and Staff learning experiences for dancers that not only teach the fundamentals of ballet technique, but also the discipline and focus which are transferable skills in life. ​

Robyn Watson is a graduate of Temple University with a B.A. in Theater, and hails from Philadelphia. In 2016, she served as the tap instructor for the Broadway sensation Shuffle Along, and recently collaborated with Grammy award nominee and MacArthur Genius award recipient Rhiannon Giddens. She has studied under the direction of Tony award winner Savion Glover for the past nine years, and continues to perform with him. In 2017, Robyn was a featured artist for the Grammy nominated live album American Originals: 1918 with the Cincinnati Pops. Robyn has been recognized as one of the "20 Hot Tappers, 20 and Under" by Dance Spirit Magazine. She has been a performer for more than 20 years and a tap dance educator for more than 15. Robyn is also a skilled costume designer and writer.

Rylee Villhauer received her BA in Dance Studies and a BA in Enterprise Leadership from the University of Iowa in 2019. Rylee began taking creative movement at Nolte Academy when they opened in 2000 and danced there until she graduated high school. She began teaching at Nolte Academy her senior year of high school. Throughout her time dancing at Nolte, she participated in many years of Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Spring showcases and many outreach events. She was an active participant on Nolte’s competitive dance team for eleven years and has many award-winning solos, duets/trios and group dances. She was on Iowa City West High’s Varsity dance team all four years of high school and is currently one of the Liberty High School Varsity dance team coaches. ​

Katie Milani is a graduate of the Nolte Academy where she received most of her formal dance training. During her time, she was a member of the Affect Dance Company. Under the direction of Leslie Nolte, Milani strived to expand her vocabulary of dance through numerous styles and techniques. It was during her time at the Nolte academy that Milani grew a deep desire to become a professional dancer. Milani went on to attend Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Penn., where she received her BFA degree in Dance. During her time at Point Park, she performed works by Martha Graham, Lar Lubovitch, Bennyroyce Royon, Doug Bentz, and others. Upon graduating, Milani moved to New York to attend the Martha Graham Dance Company’s Accelerated Professional Program. There she learned and performed numerous original works created by Martha Graham. While living in New York, Milani received a classical certification in Pilates from Gramercy Pilates NYC. She currently teaches at a studio in Manhattan. After attending the Martha Graham Dance program, Katie Milani attended numerous dance auditions and professional workshops in New York City. She worked as a dance assistant for the Radio City Rockettes during the Rockettes Summer Intensive program under the direction of Julie Branham. Milani landed the role of a Radio City Rockette in August 2019 and finished her first season performing in the 2019 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes.

Jayme Braverman, a native of Iowa City, Iowa, began her dance training at Nolte Academy under the direction of Leslie Nolte. During her early years, Jayme had the privilege of working with numerous world-renowned dancers including Lloyd Knight, Louie Marin, Oscar Ramos, Joseph Kudra and Jenna Riegel. Her experiences at Nolte Academy inspired Jayme to pursue a career as a dancer. She went on to attend Point Park University and earned a BFA in Dance with high honors in the spring of 2020. At Point Park, Jayme trained and performed under the direction of the esteemed faculty including Garfield Lemonious, Kiesha Lalama, Jason McDole, and Daniel Karasik. In addition to performing, Jayme has a passion for teaching the next generation, and takes every opportunity to share her knowledge with the younger dancers. Jayme is a lover of dogs, traveling, and enjoying moments with people who are near and dear to her heart. If she is not in the dance studio, Jayme is probably working on her current sewing project, challenging her mental dexterity with a jigsaw puzzle, or spending time with her dog, Phoebe.

THEATRE ARTS FOCUS:

Patrick Du Laney is a professional actor, director and educator and has most recently performed on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He has worked in Chicago, performing in The Adding Machine and Cabaret, and toured nationally with Gypsy, A Christmas Carol. Patrick first came to the Iowa City area in 2008 for the Riverside Shakespeare Festival, and now considers the area his home. He is a founding member of The Alaska Shakespeare Festival. Patrick holds an MFA in Acting and Directing from The University of Missouri, Kansas City and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Kristen DeGrazia is in her fifth year with Nolte Academy teaching Voice, Acting and Musical Theatre. Before relocating to Iowa, Kristen spent five years performing on Broadway in Les Misérables, Sunset Boulevard, Side Show and King David. Kristen spent a year and a half with the national tour of Les Misérables, playing the role of Fantine. She spent several years performing with theatres in the Chicago area, including Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and Northlight Theatre, where she played the role of Violet in Side Show (Jeff Award nomination.)  Locally, Kristen has performed with University of Iowa Summer Rep, Riverside Theatre, City Circle Theatre Company and Old Creamery Theatre. Kristen holds a B.F.A in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan.

Mia Fryvecind Gimenez is a theatrical director, private voice teacher and faculty at Nolte Academy and now ICon. When she arrived in Iowa in 2015, Leslie Nolte asked Mia to music direct School of Rock.  Since then she has directed Nolte’s productions of James and the Giant Peach and Side Show. Mia brings with her a lot of background in the performing arts. She has performed with conductors and directors from all over the globe including Juilliard, Paris National Opera, New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.  Mia has appeared on the stages of great American companies including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, TheatreWorks, Broadway by the Bay, Aspen Opera Theater Center, Pine Mountain Music Theatre, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Ray of Light Theatre-San Francisco, Altarena Playhouse-Oakland, Redwood Symphony and Lamplighters. Favorite roles range from Don Giovanni (Zerlina) to Tartuffe (Dorine) and SideShow (Violet) to Sweeney Todd (Beggar Woman), Les Miserables (Fantine), and The Secret Garden (Lily). Locally, Mia performs with Riverside Theatre (Rotten Eggnog (Rebecca)), City Circle (Sweeney Todd (Mrs. Lovett)), ICCT (Anything Goes (Reno Sweeney)), Old Creamery (Elephant & Piggie (Piggie)), Nolte Productions (Rock of Ages (Justice)) and the University of Iowa (Fun Home (Helen)) and Sunday in the Park with George (Dot)). Mia is honored to work with the CRANDIC’s talented youth to continue to develop their skills in the performing arts.

Katy Hahn first joined Nolte Academy as a theatre instructor in 2016, teaching both acting and musical theatre classes. She works all over the state of Iowa as a professional director, dialect coach, youth instructor, and actor for stage, screen, and voice over projects, in addition to being a performance-based adjunct theatre instructor at both the University of Northern Iowa and Coe College. Katy has also taught theatre performance courses at the University of Iowa, Florida Atlantic University, and Hawkeye Community College. She has appeared regularly onstage at Riverside Theatre in Iowa City, and has toured regionally and nationally with Working Group Theatre. Katy holds a BA in Theatre Performance from the University of Northern Iowa and an MFA in Acting from Florida Atlantic University, and she is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA).

VISUAL ARTS FOCUS:

Kyle Sydney Powell has 25 years of experience designing and teaching art lessons to preschool through college age students in the classroom, and additionally in art clubs, art camps, and museum education programs. She has an MFA with honors, in Drawing, from the New York Academy of Art, and a BA in studio art from the University of Puget Sound. Kyle is a practicing fine artist currently working in the mediums of photography, drawing, and mixed-media. Nature, and our relationship to it, is a recurring theme in her work. She has self published two books, Maezie’s Pumpkin Patch - an illustrated children’s book, and You Are Loved- a photography gift book. In her free time she can be found outside among the trees, water, and sand with camera or pencil in hand.

Deb Talan has been writing songs since she was 14 years old. Her style has changed a bit since writing the forever-unknown smash-hit “Through the Window” about feeling numb, like life was going on somewhere out there but not accessible to her. She played clarinet, wrote songs on piano and later taught herself to play guitar in college. Early on, she was heavily influenced by Shawn Colvin, and started a band in Portland, Oregon with her friend, Mark. The band, Hummingfish, had many songs that people danced to until they were all sweaty in that hipster-grungy-geeky-Northwest-kind-of-way. Deb relocated to Boston and began playing in Boston coffee houses, opened shows for Catie Curtis (a songwriter hero of hers) and met Steve Tannen, with whom she formed The Weepies. Together, Steve and Deb toured across the country and the world. They married and recorded five albums together. The Weepies have had songs placed in many movies and TV shows. After a time in L.A., they moved to Iowa to raise their three sons. Deb recorded a solo album in 2017. She and Steve are now divorced. Through her many personal struggles, Deb has found music to help and heal. She has a lot she could say these days, but she prefers to listen. Playing songs for people is a close second. Music heals. Songs can be prayers.

ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM:

Beth Brown is an arts educator and educational psychologist. She is Curriculum Director for ICon. Her first love is working with children, and she has developed music curriculum for children ages 3-17, teaching music for nineteen years in the Iowa City Community School District pre-k to high school. She is currently at Longfellow Elementary School as the general music educator and serves as the Internal Coach for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. She directs Iowa City Youth Choir, Nolte Nutcracker Chorus, and is a founder and former director of the Performing Arts Preschool at Nolte Academy. Beth is a certified Orff-Schulwerk teacher and has completed Levels I and II of World Music Drumming. She has a BM in Vocal Performance and Music Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on developmental science. She is an adjunct professor in the University of Iowa College of Education, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in instructional design, cognitive learning theories, and child development. She enjoys working with both inservice and preservice teachers in a variety of capacities, including mentoring, teaching, writing, and presenting in the arts education field.

Marita May O'Connell is the Company Manager at ICon and Nolte Academy. Marita studied violin performance at the Eastman School of Music in NY and later transferred to Luther College in Decorah to gain a degree in Music Management. At Luther, she was a member of Nordic Choir and also was Concertmaster of the Luther College Symphony Orchestra. Since graduating in 2014, Marita has performed and toured with a variety of country and Christian worship bands in Nashville, TN. Professionally, she has been the lead fiddler for Busch Gardens Williamsburg's show Celtic Fyre in Virginia, fiddled in the first US national tour of Rockin' Road to Dublin, and has played with onstage rock orchestras for 2 Cellos, Foreigner, and Disturbed. Locally, Marita has performed with the Cedar Rapids Follies, Revival Theatre Company and with Theatre Cedar Rapids, both onstage and in pit orchestras. Previously to Nolte, Marita has held many admin, childcare and event positions in both Cedar Rapids and Nashville, most recently being the front desk manager at Schultz Strings in Cedar Rapids. 

Amber Capps is a graduate of The University of Missouri's School of Journalism and is passionate about information. She is Communications Director for ICon and Nolte Academy. Amber has always had a keen sense of observation, and strives to use that skill to her advantage. She works behind-the-scenes at Nolte Academy, helping to disseminate information. Amber has two grade-school aged daughters, is married to Jeff and corrals a hyper Springer Spaniel named Happy. She is also very active in PTO at her children's school. When not working at her laptop, you'll find Amber running, attempting to practice mindfulness and cooking.

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