Teachers
Daynee Lai-Krauss
Daynee Lai-Krauss
Daynee Lai-Krauss
Co-Founder (with Ehud Krauss)
Co-Artistic & Executive Director
JAZZ
Daynee received her primary training as a dancer and choreographer at Zohar Dance Studio and has performed with and choreographed for Zohar Dance Company since 1983. In New York, she studied at the Martha Graham School, Broadway Dance Center, and with Luigi. She has taught j
Co-Founder (with Ehud Krauss)
Co-Artistic & Executive Director
JAZZ
Daynee received her primary training as a dancer and choreographer at Zohar Dance Studio and has performed with and choreographed for Zohar Dance Company since 1983. In New York, she studied at the Martha Graham School, Broadway Dance Center, and with Luigi. She has taught jazz and ballet in Europe and was a charter and principal dancer with Zohar Dance Company. Daynee’s jazz style is based on Ehud Krauss’s technique that is influenced by Luigi, Graham, and Ballet. In addition to teaching, Daynee is Zohar’s Artistic and Executive Director.
Vivian Sam
Daynee Lai-Krauss
Daynee Lai-Krauss
Co-Artistic & Executive Director
JAZZ, MUSICAL THEATRE DANCE
Vivian studied with Hama (Luigi’s protege) in Los Angeles and was his assistant for 5 years. After dancing professionally in Los Angeles, Vivian moved to the Bay Area and started teaching at Zohar. Her shared heritage in the Luigi technique made her a natural addition to Zohar’s d
Co-Artistic & Executive Director
JAZZ, MUSICAL THEATRE DANCE
Vivian studied with Hama (Luigi’s protege) in Los Angeles and was his assistant for 5 years. After dancing professionally in Los Angeles, Vivian moved to the Bay Area and started teaching at Zohar. Her shared heritage in the Luigi technique made her a natural addition to Zohar’s dance family. She left to perform on Broadway in Miss Saigon and continued onto the 2nd National Broadway tour as the Dance Captain/Swing/understudy for Gigi and Ellen. After touring, she settled back in the Bay Area and taught Musical Theater and Dance at The American Conservatory Theater. She has performed throughout the Bay Area (TheatreWorks, Woodminster, AMTSJ) and choreographs for local high school musical productions as well as the first musical for ACT/YC at The Strand (original production of I’m Still Standing). She teaches her private dance clients Musical Theater Dance for pre-screens for college applications/auditions. Her past students: Darren Criss (Glee, etc); Ari’el Stachel (The Band’s Visit & Tony Winner); Laura Corina Sanders (Eastman School of Music; Wolftrap Opera Company; and others. When she is not teaching, she enjoys spending her time with her two sons and husband.
Lisa Burnett
Daynee Lai-Krauss
Lisa Burnett
MODERN
Lisa holds an MA in dance education from Stanford University under the tutelage of Inga Weiss and an MFA degree in dance from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts under the tutelage of Larry Rhodes. She has studied and performed with Doug Varone & Dancers and Aaron Osborne. In addition to her teaching at Zohar, she has a p
MODERN
Lisa holds an MA in dance education from Stanford University under the tutelage of Inga Weiss and an MFA degree in dance from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts under the tutelage of Larry Rhodes. She has studied and performed with Doug Varone & Dancers and Aaron Osborne. In addition to her teaching at Zohar, she has a private pilates practice and teaches Pilates through the HIP program at Stanford. Lisa has been blessed to be teaching modern at Zohar since 1986 and has great appreciation for the community that has come together through her class.
Kristine Elliott
Frances Epsen Devlin
Frances Epsen Devlin
BALLET
Kristine Elliott received her formative ballet training from Richard Gibson. Her professional career began with the Stuttgart Ballet where she danced leading roles in ballets by artistic director and choreographer John
Cranko and toured extensively to Japan, Israel, Europe, and Scandinavia, as well as to Russia and in the United Sta
BALLET
Kristine Elliott received her formative ballet training from Richard Gibson. Her professional career began with the Stuttgart Ballet where she danced leading roles in ballets by artistic director and choreographer John
Cranko and toured extensively to Japan, Israel, Europe, and Scandinavia, as well as to Russia and in the United States. After five years with the Stuttgart Ballet, Kristine joined American Ballet Theatre as a soloist and worked closely with director Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Following her performing career, Kristine now teaches and coaches ballet nationally and internationally. She works with American Ballet Theatre as a guest teacher for the company and for summer intensive programs. Kristine has been associated with Zohar since 1990.
Frances Epsen Devlin
Frances Epsen Devlin
Frances Epsen Devlin
ACTING/VOCAL TECHNIQUE/VOICE COACH
Frances Epsen-Devlin has been teaching Singing, Musical Theater, Acting and Voice & Speech while directing the Spring Cabarets at American Conservatory Theater since 1997. Frances has toured nationally and performed regionally in musicals and plays with A.C.T., Pasadena Playhouse, Houston Grand Opera, and
ACTING/VOCAL TECHNIQUE/VOICE COACH
Frances Epsen-Devlin has been teaching Singing, Musical Theater, Acting and Voice & Speech while directing the Spring Cabarets at American Conservatory Theater since 1997. Frances has toured nationally and performed regionally in musicals and plays with A.C.T., Pasadena Playhouse, Houston Grand Opera, and more. Frances holds a B.S. in Theater/Vocal Performance from Northwestern University and an MFA in Acting from A.C.T.
Lee Ann Payne
Frances Epsen Devlin
Lee Ann Payne
TAP
Lee Ann Payne (Zohar’s Tap Teacha!) is a local theatre director and choreographer, Lee Ann choreographed ANYTHING GOES (Hillbarn Theatre, TBA award choreography, SFBATCC Best Production), THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (South Bay Musical Theatre, TBA award nominee choreography), ME AND MY GIRL (Jewel Theatre), and productions at numerous venues in the Bay Area.
Marny Trounson
Marny Trounson
Marny Trounson
BALLET
"Marny" Marilyn Trounson was born and raised in San Francisco. She danced professionally with the Royal Ballet. In addition to performing soloist and principal roles, she had roles created for her by Sir Kenneth MacMillan and Sir Frederick Ashton. Marny is a gentle and caring instructor providing dancers with a nurturing environment to practice and grow.
Chris Vettel
Marny Trounson
Marny Trounson
ACTING/VOCAL TECHNIQUE/VOICE COACH
Chris Vettel - A performer and teacher for over thirty-five years, Chris grew up in the shadow of New York City, on the north shore of Long Island, in the small village of Oyster Bay. Receiving his master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music in Vocal Performance, he sang for four seasons with the Opera
ACTING/VOCAL TECHNIQUE/VOICE COACH
Chris Vettel - A performer and teacher for over thirty-five years, Chris grew up in the shadow of New York City, on the north shore of Long Island, in the small village of Oyster Bay. Receiving his master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music in Vocal Performance, he sang for four seasons with the Opera Company of Boston, its touring branch, Opera New England, and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (in the final concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein). His musical theater performing credits include National Broadway Tours (Annie, Sunset Boulevard), the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Santa), Off-Broadway (Cactus Flower, Wanda’s World), at many regional theatres across the U.S. (Papermill Playhouse, Goodspeed Musicals, Stages St. Louis, etc.) and in the Bay Area (TheatreWorks, San Jose Rep, Berkeley Rep, San Jose Stage, etc.) As a teacher, he has been a private voice instructor for forty years, was on the faculty of the State University of New York, taught musical theatre workshop for ACT’s ‘Young Conservatory’ and has, for the past eight years, taught in the music department at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill.
Daniel Gautier
Marny Trounson
Daniel Gautier
ACCOMPANIST
A gifted artist, Daniel infuses his contemporary music with a holistic theme. In addition to accompanying the modern classes at Zohar, Mr. Gautier devotes his time to writing music and painting. He has presented works fusing his music, painting and love of dance at Zohar. He is currently a regular class accompanist for Zohar Dance Studio, Western Ballet, and Stanford University.
Jen Cuevas
Tiffany Jianto
Tiffany Jianto
JAZZ (sub)
Jen Cuevas has been dancing for over 25 years. She started her formal training in college at California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) in the disciplines of modern, jazz and ballet. It was there that she cultivated her love for musical theatre after being cast in the show Once On This Island. She continued her training
JAZZ (sub)
Jen Cuevas has been dancing for over 25 years. She started her formal training in college at California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) in the disciplines of modern, jazz and ballet. It was there that she cultivated her love for musical theatre after being cast in the show Once On This Island. She continued her training at Dance Arts Center with Berle Davis and DanceAttack-Los Gatos. Following a short break for the birth of her son, she returned to dance with Daynee Lai-Krauss and Vivian Sam at Zohar Dance Company. Jen has performed with several performing companies and has directed and choreographed several musical plays throughout the Bay Area. Her main focus is musical theater and the Luigi style of jazz.
Tiffany Jianto
Tiffany Jianto
Tiffany Jianto
JAZZ (sub)
Tiffany discovered her love for dance when she was 12, as a child and poured her free time outside of piano lessons and badminton training into ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop classes. While studying for her Computer Science Bachelor's Degree and Music Minor at UC Berkeley, she also danced with the jazz group in The Movement, one
JAZZ (sub)
Tiffany discovered her love for dance when she was 12, as a child and poured her free time outside of piano lessons and badminton training into ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop classes. While studying for her Computer Science Bachelor's Degree and Music Minor at UC Berkeley, she also danced with the jazz group in The Movement, one of the premiere student-run dance groups on campus with performances and shows throughout the year. She started dancing at Zohar Dance Company in 2016 and fell in love with the Luigi technique and the lyrical and musical theatre jazz classes. In her other free time, she also enjoys performing in various musical theatre productions, and she has been in shows with The Palo Alto Players, Los Altos Stage Company, Hillbarn Theatre, and Sunnyvale Community Players. Tiffany likes to challenge herself to practice different dance styles to constantly grow and improve and tries to bring this to her dance classes as well. She is very grateful to have found the Zohar community and passionate about sharing Zohar's jazz style to others in the jazz class.
Jan Penagos
Tiffany Jianto
Jan Penagos
JAZZ (sub)
Jan Penagos started her dance training in ballet at Cambridge and Boston School of Ballet but found her true home when she discovered jazz in her college years. She studied under Sandy Hagen in Boston and under Denise Leitner in Los Angeles. Both Sandy and Denise are direct lines from Luigi and also Hama. When Jan moved to the B
JAZZ (sub)
Jan Penagos started her dance training in ballet at Cambridge and Boston School of Ballet but found her true home when she discovered jazz in her college years. She studied under Sandy Hagen in Boston and under Denise Leitner in Los Angeles. Both Sandy and Denise are direct lines from Luigi and also Hama. When Jan moved to the Bay Area, she was elated to discover Zohar Dance Studio which she immediately realized had roots in the jazz style she had fallen in love with. She danced as a member of the Zohar Dance Company starting in 1998 until it ended; she has remained at Zohar not only for the dancing, but for the incredible community. She believes Zohar fosters the growth of every dancer, honoring each dancer's journey and technical skills. Jan is personally pushed to become a better dancer each day. She has created lifelong relationships with other dancers because of the opportunities to dance, laugh, and perform together. She assists and subs for Daynee and Vivian's class.
Susan Prohaska
Susan Prohaska
Susan Prohaska
JAZZ (sub)
Susie’s passion for dance started in the water as a synchronized swimmer growing up in Ohio. In high school in southern California, she split her love of water from her love of dance, by swimming competitively and transitioning to dance through cheer/songleading and jazz classes. At UC Berkeley, she took modern, jazz and ballroo
JAZZ (sub)
Susie’s passion for dance started in the water as a synchronized swimmer growing up in Ohio. In high school in southern California, she split her love of water from her love of dance, by swimming competitively and transitioning to dance through cheer/songleading and jazz classes. At UC Berkeley, she took modern, jazz and ballroom, but too many science classes prevented her from pursuing dance as much as she wanted. She found Zohar after graduating and moving to Palo Alto and has never stopped dancing since! She loves the lyrical styles of Jazz at Zohar based in ballet with influences of Luigi, Martha Graham, and Hama, among others. In addition to taking jazz at Zohar with Ehud, Daynee and Vivian, she took ballet at Western Ballet, and recently has started taking tap with Lee Ann Payne. She believes that everyone needs to experience creativity, art, and balance (literally and figuratively) in their lives. Dancing and the community at Zohar have provided those things along with fun, humor and many lasting friendships, as well. She has performed in numerous studio performances over the years and was a member of the Zohar Dance Company. Susie teaches the jazz warm-up Break It Down series, substitute teaches jazz classes, and serves on Zohar’s Board of Directors.
Esther Selk
Susan Prohaska
Susan Prohaska
JAZZ (sub)
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Susan Prohaska
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Ehud Krauss
Founder 1946-2016
Ehud Krauss, 70, beloved Palo Alto dance teacher and Founder and Artistic Director of Zohar School of Dance passed away at his home on October 15, 2016.
Ehud Krauss was born and raised on a Kibbutz in Israel. Ehud was a member of the Israeli Olympic Volleyball team when a back injury led him to discover his passion for dance. Ehud studied dance with Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Robert Joffrey, Gus Giordano, and Luigi in New York, and performed as a soloist and principal dancer in Europe, Canada, and the United States. An accomplished performer and choreographer, Ehud has been a fixture in the bay area dance community since the mid-1970's.
Ehud started teaching in local high schools and community colleges and founded Zohar School of Dance in Palo Alto in 1979. A gifted choreographer, Ehud’s innovative jazz works inspired and moved audiences with their beauty and range. Always forward thinking and wanting to bring the dance community together, he began Dance Mosaic, an annual summer dance festival bringing all dance forms together on a single program. It was during this time that Ehud’s true vision of making dance available to all that he began the outreach program IndepenDANCE for children in East Palo Alto that had no afterschool programs. That program, which began with 30 middle school-aged girls being bussed to Zohar’s dance studio on California Avenue, soon expanded to 6 elementary schools in East Palo Alto with Ehud building a dance studio with sprung-wood floors at each site. At its peak, IndepenDANCE was at 3 high schools, 2 middle schools, and 10 elementary schools and included 4 instructors with classes in East Palo Alto, Redwood City and San Jose. Never shying away from a challenge, Ehud worked with the most serious offenders in Juvenile Hall and taught Juvie Jazz at both Santa Clara County and San Mateo Juvenile Halls. His influential work led to the development of a course at Stanford University entitled “Dance in Prisons” and provided graduate students with first hand exposure to the Hall, teaching dance to youths that have never had formal dance lessons, and hearing about their stories.
With his constant desire to grow as a teacher, Ehud taught children with special needs. He had a special gift of making everyone feel as though they could dance. No matter what the disability… sight, hearing, wheelchair-bound, Autism or Downs Syndrome, Ehud would work his magic and make even the observer participate. These programs exemplify Ehud’s vision and commitment to serving the community through dance and sharing the splendor of dance.
Zohar Dance Studio under the direction of Ehud and his wife Daynee, has brought the joy, artistry and spirit of dance to the community through classes in jazz, ballet, and modern dance in Palo Alto since 1979. The studio continues to offer adult classes with the Bay Area’s finest teachers committed to providing professional dance instruction and the opportunity to perform. Students range from beginning aspiring artists and dedicated amateurs to professional dancers all enjoying the splendor that dance brings.
In his spare time, Ehud loved to fish, bike and spend time with Daynee and their daughter, Maile. Ehud is survived by his wife, Daynee and daughter, Maile. And in Israel his sister, Michal Sadur and brother, Nir.
Ehud Krauss