Our Mission
Created in the midst of the pandemic, Fall Into Art exists to create an inclusive environment for all people and all art forms through interactive classes, festivals, and community based events. We aim to use our platform to empower the experiences of our community and showcase their talents.
How It Started
In summer of 2020, Fall Into Art Festival was born. What began as an idea for a curated dance gallery, turned into a multimedia arts festival, including local vendors and production teams.
Fall Into Art Festival was created as a symbol of hope and a place of education for our community of Paterson, NJ. Since the entire F.I.A. team calls Paterson our hometown, we felt that reaching out and giving back to the community was necessary and essential.
Our Team
Damani Van Rensalier
•Artistic + Executive Director•
Damani Van Rensalier is a passionate performing artist reigning from Paterson, NJ. She is a graduate of Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, NJ and holds her BFA in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. After graduation, Damani signed with CESD talent agency which helped land her Broadway debut in the Tony award winning musical, Hadestown. In 2020, she helped with the creation of Fall Into Art; a non-profit organization that exists to create an inclusive environment for all people and all art forms through interactive classes, festivals, and community based events. Damani has taught at various programs in the New Jersey/New York area including her alma mater, PCTI, American Youth Dance Theater in NY and other local dance programs. Fresh off of performing on tour nationwide with the hit musical, Hamilton, you can now catch Damani performing with the Broadway company!
Nyasia Fraser
•Director of Finance & Development•
Nyasia Fraser is a dancer, educator, and arts advocate. Nyasia has been dancing for 22 years and grew up studying ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary, and lyrical. She obtained her BFA in Dance from Montclair State University in 2018 and continued her education at New York University.
In May of 2020, Nyasia graduated with her MA in Dance Education and was given a graduation award that recognized her dedication to the community and high academic achievement. Nyasia Fraser has made it her priority to provide an environment that promotes creativity and individualism that allow dancers to bring out their inner artist.
Diana “DJ” Julcapoma
•Digital Media Manager•
Diana Julcapoma is a dancer, choreographer and educator. She holds a BFA is Dance Performance from Montclair State University. She has performed in works choreographed by Stacey Tookey, Al Blackstone, Ashlé Dawson, Doug Elkins, Christian Von Howard, Frederick Earl Mosley and Maxine Steinman. DJ has had the pleasure of dancing for Latin artists, such as Don Omar, Maluma, MoMo, Yunel Cruz and Maribel Guardia. Her credits also include a music video with Rick Ross and Dave East. She has performed at venues such as Time Square on New Year’s Eve, Barclays Center, Prudential Center, NJPAC, Symphony Space, and Six Flags Great Adventure.
Diana has been teaching dance for 7 years, at local dance studios, high schools and through dance residencies. Currently, she is a co-founder of Fall Into Art - a non-profit organization creating more opportunities for art in Paterson, NJ. Her goal is to inspire people through dance and movement, while fulfilling her dreams of traveling the world.