About IMA
Intercultural Movement Arts Academy is a place where movement, diversity and education come together. It was started in 2020 by Miss Ella in order to combine her passions and inspire the next generations. IMA is always looking at ways to expand their offerings and create community.
Dance Background
Starting ballet at age six with her mother, who was a ballet instructor, Miss Ella went on to study at the Oregon Ballet Theater in Portland, Oregon for four years. In high school, she started branching out and took classes in West African dance, Belly dance, and learned Salsa and Cha Cha from her father. In 2002, Miss Ella studied ballet and improvisation at L’Arabesque in Epernay, France and went on to teach beginning ballet to elementary students at Shanti Bhavan in Bangalore, India. During her undergraduate studies Miss Ella continued her studies in ballet and joined an Afro-Cuban/Brazilian folkloric dance company, Axe Dide, in Portland, Oregon. In 2015 she received her Masters in Dance and Performance Studies from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. After graduating Miss Ella taught ballet to children at the Page Academy of Dance in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Since moving back to Portland, Oregon, Miss Ella has taught and continues to teach at several private schools , at her studio, and online.
French Background
At age 5, Miss Ella started Kindergarten at the French American School in Portland, Oregon. She continued to take French classes in middle and high school. In 2001, Miss Ella volunteered abroad for three years. Of the many countries she lived and worked in she spent 11 months in Epernay, France as a nanny. In 2004 she lived in Mexico City with French roommates and nannied for a French family. After returning to the United States, Miss Ella has continued taking French classes in college.
During her masters program she began tutoring elementary school children in French. For the school year 2019-2020 Miss Ella was a classroom assistant at the private French Immersion school, International Leadership Academy, in Portland, Oregon. For the 2020-2021 school year she ran her own French Immersion school pod with a blended classroom of grades Preschool to First grade. Miss Ella continues to offer online French tutoring for children 4-7.
Science Background
Since she was little, Miss Ella has always loved nature and especially forests. In high school Miss Ella participated in a horticulture FFA program. Wanting to continue learning about plants she studied Botany at UH-Mānoa and received her Bachelors in Science with a focus in Botany in 2008. During her studies at UHM she also studied Hawaiian traditional medicine, Lāʻau Lapaʻau, with Kumu Levon ‘Ohai. After graduating Miss Ella joined the Herbaculture Internship Program with Herb Pharm in Medford, Oregon. She continues to share her passion of plants and science with children through her various programs.