Professional Performing Arts School
PPAS
Established	1990[1]
Type	Public[2]
Principal	Keith Ryan [3]
Teaching staff	30 academic teachers [4]
Students	485[5]
Grades 6,7,8,9,10,11,12	6-12 [6]
Location	328 West 48th St. (between 8th & 9th Avenues), New York City, New York, USA
Coordinates	40°45′42″N 73°59′19″W / 40.761536°N 73.988506°W / 40.761536; -73.988506Coordinates: 40°45′42″N 73°59′19″W / 40.761536°N 73.988506°W / 40.761536; -73.988506
District	10036
Campus	Urban
Athletics	dance, drama ,vocal, musical theatre
Yearbook	2009
Website	http://www.ppasinfo.org/ or for students http://www.ppasnyc.org/

The Professional Performing Arts School or PPAS is a New York City public school.

History[link]

The Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) was created in 1990 to meet the needs of two groups of students: those who wanted to pursue professional work in the arts as they earned a junior/senior high school diploma and those who wanted to study the arts as an avocation.^[7]

It is the special mission of this small, personalized school to develop, refine, and showcase students in dance, drama, and vocal music while also providing them with a rigorous, meaningful academic curriculum.

Every student auditions for a performing arts major. Performing arts instruction is delivered by professional dancers, actors and musicians through professional studios.

Academic staff give students opportunities for daily study through a rigorous, comprehensive, sequential, fully integrated academic curriculum. The course of study, ending in a New York State Regents endorsed diploma, is centered around an interdisciplinary, multicultural, inquiry based approach to learning which prepares students for college and/or a professional career in the arts.

Applying to PPAS[link]

For the most current information go the Apply to PPAS page at the official site of PPAS.

[edit] Notable alumni^[8]

• Shenell Edmonds, Actress ("One Life to Live")
• Britney Spears. Singer (Successful pop artist)
• Eddie Alderson, Actor (One Life to Live)
• Kristen Alderson, Actress (One Life to Live)
• Aleisha Allen, actress (School of Rock, Are We There Yet?, Are We Done Yet?)
• Andrea Bowen, Actress (Desperate Housewives)
• Claire Danes, Actress (My So-Called Life, Stardust, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series in "My So-Called Life")
• Billy Crawford. Singer/Actor
• Melonie Diaz, actress (Raising Victor Vargas, Be Kind Rewind, Feel the Noise)
• Elena Satine, Actress/Singer
• Jesse Eisenberg, Actor (The Social Network, The Squid and the Whale, 30 minutes or Less") (Academy Award Nominee for Best Actor)
• K. Foxx, Hip-Hop radio personality, video star.
• Josh Peck, actor (Drake and Josh, The Amanda Show) voice actor, comedian, director, producer
• Alicia Keys, singer, pianist (Winner of 15 Grammy Awards)
• Julianna Rose Mauriello, actress (LazyTown)
• Paul McGill, Actor, dancer (Man on Wire, Fame, A Chorus Line (Revival))
• Asher Book, Actor, dancer, singer (boy band V Factory, Fame)
• Paul Iacono, Actor, director (The Hard Times of RJ Berger, Fame)
• Max Ehrich, Actor, dancer (High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Ugly Betty)
• Jessica Lee Goldyn, actress and dancer (A Chorus Line)
• Connor Paolo, Actor (Gossip Girl (TV series))
• Danielle Polanco, Dancer/Choreographer (Step Up 2)
• Victor Rasuk, actor (Raising Victor Vargas, Feel the Noise, Stop-Loss)
• Alisa Reyes, actress (All That, The Proud Family)
• Karina Pasian, singer, pianist, (Grammy Award Nominated for album First Love)
• Gregory Malek-Jones, Dancer, Singer (The Nutcracker, Gregori)
• Mark Indelicato, Actor (Ugly Betty)
• Tru Collins, Singer, actor ("Trans Siberian Orchestra, Guiding Light)
• Taylor Momsen, Actress, singer (Gossip Girl (TV series), The Pretty Reckless, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!)
• Chris Trousdale, actor, singer (The Biggest Fan, former group Dream Street, All That guest appearance)
• Lee Thompson Young, Actor (The Famous Jett Jackson)
• Sarah Hyland, Actress (Modern Family)
• Addison Timlin, Actress (Derailed, Californication)
• Louie Torrellas, Actor, Comic (Yankees on Deck, Miracle's Boys)
• Travis Magee, Dancer, Photographer (Lucinda Childs Dance Company")
• Daniel Ulbricht, Dancer (New York City Ballet)

Partnerships[link]

• The Actors Institute
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
• The Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet
• Juilliard Pre-College
• National Chorale
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre
• Rosie's Theater Kids
• School of American Ballet
• Waterwell

External links[link]

• Official website Professional Performing Arts School
• Informational site of Professional Performing Arts School

References[link]

James Maslow
James Maslow performing with Big Time Rush at Herald Square in New York City on August 15, 2010
Background information
Birth name	James David Maslow
Born	(1990-07-16) July 16, 1990 (age 21) New York City, New York, U.S.
Origin	La Jolla, California, U.S.
Occupations	Singer, actor, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums
Years active	2000–present
Associated acts	Kendall Schmidt, Logan Henderson, Carlos Pena, Jr.

James David Maslow (born July 16, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for playing the role of James Diamond on Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush and is a member of the boy music group with the same name.

Early life[link]

Maslow was born in New York and grew up in La Jolla, California.^[1][2] He was raised Jewish^[3] (in an interview with Clevver TV, when asked his favorite holiday, he replied Hanukkah).^[4] At the age of six, Maslow began training as a singer when his parents placed him in the San Diego Children's Choir.^[1][5] He attended La Jolla and Torrey Pines elementary schools, Muirlands Middle School, and San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts.^[5] He had a small role in the San Diego Opera's production of La bohème when he was 10 years old.^[5][6][7] He attended acting camp at the La Jolla Playhouse, got his first agent when he was 14, and performed as Marius in a production of Les Misérables.^[5] Quitting the School of Creative and Performing Arts mid-way through the 10th grade, Maslow switched to Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA). He graduated from CoSA in 2007 in the musical theater department.^[5]

Career[link]

He made his television debut in 2008 as Shane in the iCarly episode, "iSaw Him First".^[6] He also appeared in "urFRENZ" in 2009.

Big Time Rush[link]

Big Time Rush is an American pop singing group that formed in 2009. The other three members are Kendall Schmidt, Carlos Pena, Jr., and Logan Henderson, all on vocals.

Nickelodeon cast for the new sitcom in 2007. Maslow sent in his audition tape and received the role of James Diamond two years later.

He and his bandmates have recorded many songs, which include the theme song, "Big Time Rush", "Any Kind Of Guy", "City Is Ours", "Halfway There", "Famous", "Shot in the Dark", "Stuck", etc. An album of original songs from the first season plus some others was released October 11, 2010, entitled B.T.R. It sold 67,000 copies in its first week and was certified Gold by the RIAA six months later in April 2011.

He has a scar on his elbow, which he received while performing a hockey-related stunt for the first episode of Big Time Rush.^[8]

Other projects[link]

Maslow first appeared in a UrFrenz episode, in which he portrayed a character named Brandon. He has expanded into the movie venue, including the 2011 film, Master's Tree (as yet unreleased), as well as a currently unknown film works project, set to be released in early 2012. Maslow has said that he would like to work on more film projects in the future.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• James Maslow at the Internet Movie Database
• James Maslow on Myspace
• James Maslow on Twitter

Billy Hufsey
Billy Hufsey in October 2008
Born	(1958-12-08) December 8, 1958 (age 53) Brook Park, Ohio
Other names	Bill Hufsey
Occupation	Singer, Actor, Musician
Years active	1981 - Present
Website
http://billyhufsey.com

Billy Hufsey (born December 8, 1958 in Brook Park, Ohio) is an American actor and singer.

Career[link]

Billy Hufsey emerged as a major television singing sensation from 1983-1987, playing the role of Christopher Donlon on the syndicated drama, Fame. He went on to play Emilio Ramirez on the daytime drama, Days of our Lives from 1987-1991. The producers of Days of Our Lives were so impressed with Billy's voice, they had him write and perform several songs for the show, including "I'll Be There" and "Only This Time". He also toured the world from Italy, Israel, Canada to Las Vegas and many more.

Billy's other television credits include Married With Children, Webster, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital, Rags to Riches, and Baby Talk. He has also had roles in several movies, which include Tomcats, Zero Tolerance, Crazy Girls Undercover, Cold Nights Into Dawn, Ninja Dragon, Round Trip to Heaven, Off the Wall, and Graduation Day.

In the 1980's, Billy also had the #1 selling poster in the world. The poster was used in a scene in the British film The Fruit Machine and is still popular today.

on December 12, 2008 Billy performed a free Christmas concert in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to raise money for "Feed a Family", a local charity that provides food to families that are hurting and in need. At this event, over $219,000 was raised.

On January 4, 2009, Billy starred on VH1's Confessions of a Teen Idol, a reality show in which former teen idols attempt to revitalize their entertainment careers. He says that he enjoyed his time in the house with the other six idols, as they all learned from each other. While on the show, Billy got the chance to record his new single, "Better Man", and shoot a video for the song. The video was aired on VH1 and now can be seen on his personal site http://billyhufsey.com/ Billy also recorded and released his album, "Confessions" in 2009. Billy says, "My music is so personal. When I create a song, it gives voice to my soul and reveals my essence. And when I give interpretation to an existing song, I identify with it and the version expresses a piece of my heart".

Later in 2009, he was in the film, "Radio Needles". And in 2011, he starred in the Jadagrace show.

In addition to his musical and acting talents, Billy is also an undefeated Golden Gloves boxer and has a black belt in karate.

2012, Billy is currently a coach and manager for aspiring actors/actresses and singers between the Los Angeles and Las Vegas area helping young people live the dream he once lived.

Sources[link]

External links[link]

• Billy Hufsey at the Internet Movie Database
• Billy Hufsey "Live" Interview On Uncensored Net Noise Jan 9, 2009
• Billy Hufsey 1980s Shower Poster Image

Victoria Justice
Background information
Born	(1993-02-19) February 19, 1993 (age 19) Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Electropop, pop, dance pop
Occupations	Actress, singer-songwriter, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Columbia Records Sony Music Entertainment
Website	VictoriaJustice.net

Victoria Justice (born February 19, 1993) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and dancer. She debuted as an actress at the age of 10 and has since appeared in several films and television series including the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 and Victorious. She has made appearances in several theatrical releases, including Unknown as well as the 2006 thriller The Garden. She has appeared in several Nickelodeon series, including True Jackson, VP, The Troop, The Penguins of Madagascar and iCarly, as well as on the Nickelodeon game show BrainSurge as a contestant. In 2010 she starred in the Nickelodeon film The Boy Who Cried Werewolf.

Aside from acting, Justice is involved in her musical career. She has performed several songs for the soundtrack to the Nickelodeon musical Spectacular!, in which she starred. She has recorded a number of songs for the Victorious series. Justice has announced the release of her debut album, which is expected to be released sometime during 2012.

Early life[link]

Victoria Justice was born on February 19, 1993, in Hollywood, Florida, to Serene and Zack Justice.^[1][2] Her mother is Puerto Rican and her father is of English, German, and Irish descent. She first developed an interest in acting when she was 8 years old after watching a children's commercial. She and her family relocated to Hollywood, California, in 2003. In 2005, she auditioned and was accepted into the musical theatre program at Los Angeles' renowned Performing Arts Magnet school. Her family moved from Hollywood, Florida, to Los Angeles when she was 11 after Justice had stated she wanted to be a part of filming commercials as well as television series and films. Justice has done commercials for companies such as Ralph Lauren, Gap and Guess. She appeared in national commercials for Mervyn's, Peanut Butter Toast Crunch and Ovaltine.^[3]

Career[link]

[edit] 2003–09: Beginnings and Zoey 101

Justice began her acting career when she was 10 years old, when she made a guest appearance on the Gilmore Girls episode "The Hobbit, the Sofa and Digger Stiles". Justice portrayed Jill #2 in a walk-on role.^[4] After her appearance in the series, her family moved to Los Angeles, when Justice stated she wanted a career in acting. The following year, Justice guest starred on the second episode of the Disney channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, in which she plays a young pageant contestant named Rebecca. Later, Justice was awarded a role in the 2005 drama-thriller Mary. Justice portrayed the role of Stella, a young girl who begins seeing visions of Mary Magdalene. After informing her family of this, they take her to see a psychiatrist, who places her on medication. Later that night, when Mary comes back, Stella takes her medicine and ignores her. This leads Mary to give Stella's sister the task instead.^[5] The film debuted at 2005 Venice Film Festival, before being showed at several other Festivals, including the 2005 Toronto Film Festival, Deauville Film Festival and San Sebastián International Film Festival.

During the same year, Justice was awarded a main cast role in the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 as Lola Martinez, a new student who is also an aspiring actress.^[6][7] When she found out she had earned the role, she said "I was extremely happy; I was bouncing up and down and screaming. That was a really great moment."^[8] The season 2 episode that introduced Justice's character debuted on September 11, 2005. Justice also had roles in two other films that year. She had a cameo appearance in the R-rated film When Do We Eat?, as well as earning the role of Rose in the Hallmark television film Silver Bells, the following of which has become a Hallmark Hall of Fame film. In 2006, while filming episodes for Zoey 101, Justice made a guest appearance on an episode of the series Everwood, in the episode "Enjoy the Ride". Justice made her theatrical film debut that year, when she was given a cameo role in the film Unknown. The film was a financial failure, and received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a 39% approval rate, and only has a 44% approval rate on metacritic.^[9][10]

2006 also saw Justice in her first major theatrical role, when she was awarded the supporting role of Holly in the thriller film The Garden. The film was met with negative reviews from critics.^[11] 2007 and 2008 saw Justice focusing on the third and fourth seasons of Zoey 101, which was coming to a close. Justice released a promotional single midway through 2007, while she was still filming Zoey 101. The song was a cover of the Vanessa Carlton song, "A Thousand Miles".^[12] When being interviewed in 2010 about her musical career, Justice has stated "My family could always tell, ever since I was little, that [music is] something that's always come natural to me and that I've always wanted to do. It's something that's just been in my blood. Ever since I was little, I was taking tap classes, jazz classes, hip-hop classes, acting classes. I just always wanted to cultivate that and do that more. But, the moment where I actually realized, "Woah, this is something that I can actually do for the rest of my life and maybe be successful at," was actually the pilot of Victorious when I did the performance number for the first time. I just remember standing on stage and seeing all these people looking at me and I was nervous. And then, the music started and I started dancing around and really feeling it and having an amazing time, and that's when it clicked for me that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life."^[13] May 2, 2008, saw the airing of the final episode of the series.

In 2009, she announced plans to guest star on an episode of Nickelodeon's series The Naked Brothers Band. The TV special, titled Valentine Dream Date featured Justice portraying herself.^[14] Justice made no plans of going back into the recording studio until 2009, when she starred in the Nickelodeon musical, Spectacular!. Justice's character performs three songs during the course of the film. Justice starred alongside Nolan Funk and Simon Curtis in the musical film, which aired on Nickelodeon on February 16, 2009.^[15][16] The film has become one of Nickelodeon's most popular movies, attracting an audience 3.7 million viewers on its premiere night.^[17] The film received a generally positive review from several critics, holding a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of 2011.^[18]

After the success of The Naked Brothers Band special in which Justice guest starred, producers insisted on placing her in yet another episode. The episode, titled "The Premiere", debuted on April 11, 2009. Shortly afterward, it was announced that Victoria Justice would be guest starring on a special episode of the hit television series iCarly.^[19] The episode, which aired on August 8, 2009, saw Justice portraying ring fighter Shelby Marx. September 26 saw the release of the True Jackson, VP episode "True Crush", which featured an appearance by Justice. On its original airdate, the show received 3.6 million viewers.^[20] On November 30 Justice appeared as herself on the latest Nickelodeon show, called BrainSurge. The game show saw Justice competing as a celebrity contestant as part of a series special. Justice announced that year that she would be working on a thriller film, set for theatrical release. It was later announced the film would feature Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse.^[21] Unlike initial plans of a theatrical release, the film had a limited preview release on December 12, 2009, and was returned to post production. Despite this, the film's worldwide release has been canceled.^[22] Justice guest-starred on the Nickelodeon television series, The Troop, in which she portrays an Eris Fairy.

[edit] 2010–present: Victorious and other projects

Justice confirmed that she would be receiving her own musical show on Nickelodeon, explaining the show's genesis thus: "I was on Zoey 101. When I was 12, Dan Schneider cast me as a new character, Lola Martinez. From there, I worked with him for three years, on three seasons of Zoey 101. And, after that, Dan found out that I could also sing and dance as well as act, so he thought it would be really cool to create a show for me on Nickelodeon, called Victorious."^[13] The pilot for the show, which was presented as a special for the series, debuted on March 27, 2010, and received 5.7 million views, making it the highest rated premiere for a live-action Nickelodeon series.^[23] The original broadcast of this episode was an extended cut, all subsequent airings had various scenes and lines were removed to conform to its time-slot.

Justice performing in 2011

Justice returned to the recording studio to record music for the series in 2010. She recorded the series first featured song, which also serves as the theme song, titled "Make It Shine". The single had little success charting in the U.S., however it did manage to reach 16 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart. Several other songs have been featured in the series, including "You're the Reason", "Finally Falling", "Beggin' on Your Knees","Best Friend's Brother" and "Tell Me That You Love Me". Justice performed her third official single, "Freak the Freak Out", during the Victorious special episode of the same name.^[24] Justice later guest-starred on the animated series The Penguins of Madagascar, voicing the character of Stacy in the episode "Badger Pride". Justice starred in the 2010 Nickelodeon television movie The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, playing Jordan Sands, a girl who is transformed into a werewolf following her move to a creepy manor.^[25] The film was a major success for the network, drawing in 5.8 million viewers for the premiere.^[26] The film received generally positive reviews from critics. The film currently holds a 69% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews.^[27] In 2011, the cast of iCarly, along with the cast of Victorious starred in a crossover episode, titled iParty with Victorious. This marked the second time Justice has guest starred for iCarly, first as Shelby Marx.

In a 2010 interview with the Associated Press, she stated that she is recording an album but will take her time with the process, rather than rush it, and write the songs on the album. But, she is very excited waiting for it.^[28] In March 2011 The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Justice had landed the lead role in the coming of age comedy Fun Size (set for release in October 2012). Justice will play the part of Wren and the movie will also feature stars such as Johnny Knoxville, Chelsea Handler and Josh Pence.^[29] She has recently released onto iTunes a song from Victorious called "Countdown," released on February 18, 2012. It was co-recorded with her co-star Leon Thomas III. The latest single she has released was on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, with Take A Hint, being released to iTunes on March 3, 2012. This was her first duet with Victorious co-star Elizabeth Gillies.^[30]

Other endeavors[link]

Philanthropy[link]

Justice has taken part in a few charity events. She has supported charities such as the United Nations Foundation, which benefits numerous causes such as AIDS, Children, Environment, Health, Human Rights and Peace.^[31] On September 30, 2010, Justice announced she would be joining the Charity Campaign Girl Up. When asked about joining, she stated "I’m so excited to become a Champion for Girl Up and to help make a difference for girls who aren’t given the same opportunities that most of us take for granted. I know that there are plenty of girls throughout the country who are just like me—ready and motivated to stand up for the rights and well-being of girls in the developing world. I am confident that, together, we will rise to the challenge." Justice joined Girl Up on September 30, 2010, for the campaign’s official launch in New York City and will go on to support the “Unite for Girls” tour, which travels to cities across the U.S. to activate and engage teens from coast to coast. She will have the chance to visit Girl Up-supported programs in developing countries to observe first-hand the impact they can have on girls and communities.^[32] During an interview with Seventeen magazine, Justice stated,

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Soundtracks[link]

Singles[link]

As featured artist[link]

Promotional singles[link]

Awards[link]

See also[link]

Puerto Rico portal

• List of Puerto Ricans

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Victoria Justice

• Official website
• Victoria Justice at the Internet Movie Database