FESTIVAL FEATURED ARTISTS
BRANDY MIMMS
PROFESSIONAL DEAF DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER.
Brandy “Unique the Deaf Dancer” Mimms was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and currently lives in Bryant, Arkansas. In 2018 she received her Bachelor Degree of Fine Art in Dance at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In June 2019, she founded her own professional dance company “Listen With Your Eyes Dance Troupe,” with the goal to share her passion and stories among the Deaf and hearing community. This platform provides opportunities for other dancers and choreographers to gain experiences in their career. She also performed live at the “Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival” from 2017 through 2019 in San Francisco and virtually in 2021. Her company made its debut in October 2019 at Southwest Community Center. Brandy’s dream is to become a well-known Deaf dancer and choreographer.
Brandy will be featured at our “Concert for Love” on-line show on February 12 at 5 pm and live-on-stage at our Together in Harmony in-person show on July 16 at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas, TX.
Justin Ruger
AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR.
Justin is the author and illustrator of the children’s book titled “Henry Meets a Honey Bee.” He was diagnosed as hard of hearing from birth. He was told he will go completely deaf in his old age. His hearing has progressively gotten worse since. When he was a child, people thought he was rude and disobedient because he would not follow commands or pay attention to his parents. After testing with an audiologist, his family found out the extent of his hearing loss. – “I remember when I got my first hearing aids at ten years old. I asked my mother ‘what that sound was’. She was confused until I told her it sounded like singing. She then realized that it was the first time I had ever heard a bird singing. It was music to my ears and thus started my love of birds and nature.” - Justin said.
Justin has a bachelor's in Computer Engineering and Computer Science and a Master's Degree in Applied Physics. – “Henry Meets a Honey Bee is a testament to what the human body can overcome and that just because you are born with a hearing loss, deaf, or experience traumatic injuries you can still be part of society and create whether you are a child or an adult.” The book is available on Amazon or you can get personalized copies from Hippie Chick Apiary.
Justin will be presenting his book at our “Earth Day” show on April 16 at Alcuin School and also at our “Together in Harmony” in-person show on July 16 at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas, TX.
https://www.hippiechickapiary.com/product-page/henry-meets-a-honey-bee
NIKITA HATTANGADY
AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR, FILMMAKER
Nikita Hattangady is a writer and filmmaker in the DFW metroplex in Texas, USA. Her internationally award winning romantic-comedy , Falafel, has travelled to over 50 festivals across the world. She is currently in pre-production of her new film, a coming of age drama set in Mumbai. Nikita is Head of Programing at Indica Pictures, a platform for artists focusing on films about the Indic Heritage.
She authored and illustrated a children’s book on diversity in America, We Are American, tis used in various schools as a teaching tool. Nikita’s greatest passions are spending time with her family, traveling, and storytelling. She has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration.
CARLO NICOLAU
composer, violinist, pianist and producer.
Carlo moved to New York in 1988. He began composing and producing music for advertising. He won a CLIO award for scoring music for a Bud Light campaign that aired during the 1994 soccer World Cup. He opened Big Rumble Music in 1995 and then Razorhead Music, a music production company dedicated to writing music for TV, film, and radio. He composed music for the Children’s Television Sesame Street project “A is for Asthma” and won a NY Film Festival Award, and an Aurora Gold World Medal Award.
After studying at the National Conservatory in Tours, France, he returned to Mexico City at age 17 to perform in symphony and chamber orchestras. He was the founder, violinist, pianist and composer for the chamber rock ensemble “Nazca.” As a film composer, Carlo co-wrote the original music for the feature film “Santitos” (1999 Sundance Film Festival winner) and composed the score for the independent feature film “Fast Horses” in 2000. Carlo has also received grants from The Rockefeller Foundation and Meet the Composer in support of his work with renowned modern dance choreographers such as Stephen Petronio. These performances have been presented at Lincoln Center.
Carlo recorded the violins for Nova Pangea’s song “Joy” and is to be confirmed his live performance with the band at the “Together in Harmony” in-person show on July 16.
MARÍA ANTONIA RAMIREZ
POET
María was born in Zimapán Hidalgo, México, she has lived in Texas for more than twenty years. She graduated from Texas A & M University-Commerce in Texas with a Bachelor of Science. As a poet, she had participated at the State Fair of Texas, The Latino Cultural Center, Texas Southmost College in Brownsville, Texas, At Paragraphs Library at South Padre Island, Career Day in schools in Dallas and at Nova Pangea’s Together in Harmony on-line shows.
She collaborated in the edition of “Anthology Collection” in Dallas, Texas and has participated in writing workshops at Pleasant Grove Library. She has also participated with international collaboration groups along with other writers around the world, some of them promote Peruvian culture.
Today, she works at a mental health clinic in Mesquite as a therapist. She is administrator of “Piezas de mi Alma” (Pieces of my Soul) celebrating art, poetry and culture.