About Miss Ella
Ballet Background
Starting ballet at age seven, Miss Ella went on to study at the Oregon Ballet Theater in Portland, Oregon for four years. In 2002, Miss Ella studied ballet and improvisation at L'Arabesque in Epernay, France. During her undergraduate studies Miss Ella studied ballet and Afro-Cuban folkloric dance, among other dance forms, at Portland Community College and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. In 2003, Miss Ella began teaching beginning ballet in Bangalore, India to elementary students. In December of 2015, Miss Ella graduated with a Masters in Dance and Performance Studies from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. During the summer of 2016, Miss Ella taught ballet and basic tap at the Page Academy of Dance in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Currently Miss Ella teaches at several locations around Portland.
Miss Ella age 4
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 roomates and nannied for a French family.
After returning to the United States, Miss Ella has continued taking French classes in college. During her master's program in dance ethnology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, she began tutoring elementary school children in French.
On a daily basis, Miss Ella teaches her 3 year old daughter French through conversation, movies, games and books.
Miss Ella age 5 in Kindergarten at the French American School