San Francisco native Katy Alaniz Barnhill has studied over 20 forms of cultural dance in addition to ballet, modern, tap, jazz, and hip-hop. Over her career in dance she has received scholarships from San Francisco Ballet and UCLA World Arts and Cultures Program. She has studied dance with masters: Pdt.Chitresh Das (Kathak), Vladimir Riasantsev (Russian Character), & El Farruquito (Flamenco). Katy travels the globe enriching her practice of cultural dance and teaching choreography that integrates her years of study. Invited by the US government to be a Cultural ambassador for dance in 2007, her choreography has been presented in San Francisco, New York, Maui, Guam, India, Spain, Brazil, and Pakistan. She and her company World Dance Fusion have received support from TATA Tea(India), Tribeca Performing Arts Center, The United Nations, The William and Flora Hewlett foundation, and the Ministry of Culture and Government of Pakistan.