We’re delighted to share the news of the youngest members of our Great Performances family! Ali Ciafre, Assistant Director of Catering at The Plaza and Aya Mohamed Chef de Cuisine at Great Performances recently had beautiful daughters. We’re so excited to see the GP family grow and flourish, even during these challenging times.
INTRODUCING PERRY ELIZABETH
Our colleague Ali Ciafre and her husband Nick welcomed their first child, a happy and healthy baby girl named Perry Elizabeth into the world on September 16th. Perry was born 9lbs 1oz and 21in and is so loved by all around her!
Ali is Assistant Director of Catering at The Plaza, and has been a member of the team for just about 7 years.
INTRODUCING SORAYA YASMIN
Soraya was born on September 18, 2020 at 6lbs 5oz and 19 inches. Soraya is Aya Mohamed’s first born child, joining Aya’s two wonderful daughters from my husband, Gabrielle and Gizelle. #girldad She’s a very happy baby who is very attentive to the sound of music and her sisters’ voices. She’s a great cuddle and absolute joy to be with.
It’s definitely a joyful experience minus the sleepless nights. Nothing short of a busy season at GP I’d say. She was named after one of my aunts, and it happened to have my name in it too.
Aya can’t wait to get Soraya in the kitchen so we can all be cooking and eating together. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who know Aya (a GP chef de cuisine) and her husband Aaron (a GP freelance event chef) who met at Great Performances—“definitely a GP love match”—making Soraya a true GP baby!
Get to Know The Great Performances Team
TATSIANA ASIPENKA
Food Photographer
My two hobbies for a long time have been cooking and photography. The more time I spent in the events industry the more inspiration I was getting just by watching different chefs/designers/planners. I started my “colorful vegan kitchen” project a few years ago to show the world that eating plants is not only healthy but they are also very photogenic. Especially if they are on my plate:)
I don’t have a separate account but you can find a lot of colorful vegan dishes that I made and took photos of if you scroll down my Instagram account and I also have an album (67 photos) on my Facebook account.
ROBERT BUCKWALTER
Painter
All of my paintings are in the medium of oil on canvas and I paint generally in the style of realism, with a focus on how light, from whatever source, creates atmosphere.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
JOEY
Joseph Perniciaro | Producer
I am excited to announce a Veteran’s Day benefit weekend reading of Sundogs, I am producing by Howard Emanuel. About the play: In a haunting yet humorous meditation on hope, belief, and love, SUNDOGS explores the emotional and spiritual rebellions of Joseph Garnier, a US Army Sergeant who awakens one day hearing the pounding of drums. He believes The Drums are the key to resurrecting order amid the chaos of his American life. But not even he is prepared for what will perish and what will remain as the sun sets, long-held secrets are revealed, and The Drums continue their crushing crescendo.
Starring Armie Hammer, Jenn Gambatese, Maurice Jones, Tobias Segal, Grace Porter, and Jordan Bridges.
Sunday, November 8th, 2020, 7:30 pm
For tickets, please visit http://tinyurl.com/PPVSundogs
Benefitting The WPA and Stop Soldier Suicide or Facebook page Stop Soldier Suicide.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
DAMIR
Damir Catovic | Photographer
I am simultaneously working on the several collections of the images which will, hopefully one day all end up in the appropriate books. They include Central Park, Streets of NY, Street Portraits, Self Portraits, Landscapes, Abstracts, etc.
ALEX GREENBERG
Photographer, Filmmaker & Writer
I am a photographer, filmmaker, and writer and have been using the time during the shutdown to work on a few projects to keep me busy (and sane).
One of those projects was to cover the protests and events throughout the city which occurred immediately after the death of George Floyd. It is clear there is a significant desire to end ongoing injustices in this country like never before, and with my camera I wanted to help document what was occurring for a few reasons. First for the obvious need to preserve the moment and the message it carries, but also to show how diverse this movement really is. These protestors have been from all walks of life and all ages, and I believe that is part of the reason it has had such a significant impact around the country.
On a lighter note, another project I have been working on has been a collection of long exposures and time lapses, including that of certain iconic places around the 5 boroughs which are usually filled with people and now lay empty.
The third project I have been working on a collection of essays I have been writing, on various topics, consisting of anything from politics to short stories to poems.
SOCIAL MEDIA
@greenlenscreations
DANIELA DAKICH
Filmmaker
I make movies that make me laugh. About ordinary people doing extraordinary stuff.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Matthew Provencal
Writer & Producer
I have been working on a Fantasy Pilot for the last year and a half. I ACTUALLY submitted this project for the $5000 GP Grant at the beginning of this year. I have been funding for it for the last 10 months and have a total of $34,200 with a new goal of $40,000. Once the money is raised and once it is shot and edited, I plan to submit it to TV Networks (Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, ETC). i am actually still looking to finish the casting for it, and am looking for actors of color and ethnicity to fill the remaining roles, (I already have 1 GP person involved in the project). Thank you for reaching back out to me as I would LOVE the support from the GP family!
SOCIAL MEDIA
@matthew.t.provencal
@kings_blade_pilot
@MattProvencal
ADDITIONAL LINKS
ROSALBA PAULINO
Painter
My name is Rosalba Paulino and I am a painter. While I was in quarantined, I was learning more about art and fashion as well as sharpening and honing my artistry. I’ve been venturing into season color analysis and color theory which turned out to be complicated and yet very exciting
SOCIAL MEDIA
@art.love814
TAMII SAKURAI
Tap Dancer & Choreographer
I am a tap dancer: I teach, choreograph and perform tap dance. My “project” simply is to keep dancing and sharing my ideas through the pandemic.
I have been teaching online classes since April. These are interactive classes via Zoom, where I demonstrate and answer questions as we dance. Tap shoes are not required for participation.
I also have been performing online. I post small rhythmic ideas as #timesteptuesday on Instagram every week. I also have shown pre-recorded work on YouTube. I have performed a live set on Instagram. I am flexible and open to ideas!
SOCIAL MEDIA
@tamii.sakurai
@tapiitamii