Natia Dune

occupation: dancer, actress, and PR and events coordinator for Ion Studio NYC

“All of the characters in [Anton] Chekhov’s ‘The Three Sisters‘ are extremely tragic, but Elena is my favorite. She has lot of hope. She wants to go to Moscow. The idea of going far away where life seems better – I connect to her.” Natia Dune

If there were ever a case for learning outside of the traditional classroom, it’s Natia, a dark beauty whose life reads like one of the many classic pieces of literature that she is an expert in. While I am trying to figure out how to keep this to one paragraph, I have windows open to all of her routine references, Proust, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Baudelaire and her favorite of all, The Master and Margarita (for its dream-like kindness and devils) by Bulgakov, someone I have never heard of but is now on top of my huge stack on my bedside table. I also made an immediate dash to the All Saints site once she extolled their aesthetic virtues, Natia’s obsessed with every leather piece. She studied ballet beginning at eight-years-old, far from her home of the Republic of Georgia, as in succeeded from Russia in 2003, where she lived through the revolution and remembers being cold in a big house with memories of her family huddled around the one oil heater and where “there was no food at all.” Her dance teacher had escaped the Ramonovs and was given her school by

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Donna Harrison

“You have to take into account that there are always people who will try to take your joy away. If you have a conviction, you really have to stand your ground and go for it. We are all here for a purpose.” Donna Harrison

Turbans are Donna’s signature and the symbol of her indomitable spirit. She began wearing them after she lost her hair from the grief of her mother’s death. Now they are the reason she is stopped everywhere for what she refers to as her “Chinese smorgasboard” wardrobe. Donna was a ballet dancer for most of her career. She fell in love with ballet at an early age but was faced with the fact that she was not the “typical” ballet dancer at the time. Donna says that the prejudice she faced propelled her and made her say to herself, “I love this form of art and I am going to move past this ignorance and do this.” On the day of her audition with the renowned Alvin Ailey Dance Company (where Donna danced in the reperatory company for 5 years), she found herself riding the elevator with the legendary dancer and choreographer, “who everyone in the dance world considers God,” Agnes de Mille. Ms. de Mille “looked at me and said, ‘Are you going to the Alvin Ailey audition?’ and I said, ‘Yes ma’am, I am.’ We stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, then she turned to me and she said, ‘I feel your determination in this elevator. Alvin’s a fool if he doesn’t pick you.’ I looked at her and couldn’t believe she had said those words. I later learned that she was one of the judges.” Working at Ailey was where her eyes were opened to the avant garde people of New York and she increasingly threw off her parochial plaids for what is now her “gypsy” style. At a recent event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Donna works, she recounts a story of Carolina Herrera stopping her about her dress that cost her $10. “I was standing near the entrance of the African art. Ms. Herrera comes right up to me and says, ‘My darling, you look very chic. Is that one of my designs?’ And I said, ‘No, it’s Jessica McClintock.’ She said, ‘Oh, it doesnt’ matter darling, you look excellent. Carry on.’ I felt like a million bucks.”

If you like Donna, you might also enjoy Tziporah Salamon, Carlyle Hanson, or Ellen Fisher.

Nova Landaeus

occupation: actress, dancer, and model

“I’ve always wanted to play Juliet in ‘Romeo and Juliet.’” Nova Landeaus

Nova has the emotional depth, range of expression, and vulnerability that screams film ingenue, akin to a young Natalie Wood in Leonard Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’ and Elia Kazan’s ‘Splendor in the Grass’. She can slide into character in her girly trench, fedora, and peacock pumps as easily as she can wear tribal face makeup in Victorian meets Surreal Circus, as muse for designer Michael Calloway. Nova is self-possessed beyond her years, which she attributes to the unconditional love of her mom and having had the unique perspective of being home-schooled. She was never subject to the boxes and labels put upon you by most typical school system experiences, and hanging out with kids her own age solely is actually odd for her. It wasn’t until her intensive pursuit of a professional ballet career at The Joffrey that she started to experience the usual peer pressures. However, the freedom and confidence to be and to explore herself is evident in that Nova is as comfortable as a provocative screen siren, in the pillow case she made out of a dress, as she is as a fragile heroine in her grandfather cardigan and riding boots.

Check out Nova’s website.

Jolieba Jackson

occupation: dancer/actress

We met Joleiba in a cafe in LA. Her refreshingly uncomplicated style and of course, her amazing hair, drew us right in. She puts an immense amount of thought into everything she owns and therefore each item that she wears is laced with a great deal of meaning for her. She looks killer in the one of a kind “Mondrianesque” leggings that are designed by the same person that makes them for MIA and are a bold flip side to her more “earthy” inspired dresses and jewelry.
Jolieba’s Website