Céline Alwyn. A native of San Francisco, Céline received BAs from Santa Clara University in both Dance and Psychology in ’02 and an MA in Contemporary Dance from the London Contemporary Dance School in ‘08. While in the U.K., she toured with companies Bare Bones and EDge, dancing in works by Garry Stewart, Ben Duke, Stephen Petronio, Athina Vahla, and Rui Horta. Céline was an original cast member in Broadway’s production of Bombay Dreams and was more recently seen playing the role of ‘Oceane’ in Cirque Du Soleil’s international touring production of Dralion. She is currently working with Little Seismic Dance Company for choreographer Katie Faulkner. Céline is a dedicated dance educator and choreographer and is currently teaching creative movement and contemporary dance to students of all ages in schools and studios all over the Bay Area.

Félicé Ana de Ní Aódagaín, ballet teacher, has been training and performing in ballet and contemporary movement for fourteen years. She started assisting in children’s dance classes at the Eugene School of Ballet when she was fifteen years old. In 2002, while studying at Ballet Pacifica Conservatory in Irvine, California, she came under the tutelage of Jayne Persch, creator of Foundation/Briah Technique©. One objective of this technique is to inform dancers about injury prevention through healthy alignment of the bones and the muscles. Her training as a teacher of dance began with Ms. Persch while acting as her assistant for a children’s ballet class. Félicé Ana continued to pursue teaching with Summer Lee Rhatigan and Rebecca Daly while a member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. In 2005, she taught classes and workshops in creative movement and ballet for the Conservatory, and has since understood that teaching children to dance is one of the great joys of her life. Félicé Ana is excited to teach and learn with the students of Brisbane Dance Workshop.

Nicola Bosco received her Advanced and Associate certification from the Cecchetti Ballet in Florence, Italy, 1994. She studied at the Scoula di Danza Hanlyn under the direction of Raymond Lukens and Franco De Vita. Upon her return to the Bay Area she danced with Peninsula Ballet. Roles that she has performed in Comeedia, Notturno, Peter and the Wolf and Nutcracker.

Kelly Bowker, Modern, received her BFA in dance from the University of Michigan. She has danced with Clancyworks Dance Company, Catscratch Theater and has completed an apprenticeship with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange on the east coast. Since arriving in the Bay Area she has performed with Her-Pic Productions and presented her own choreography at ODC and Dance Mission Theater. She has over six years of dance and gymnastics teaching experience in three different states and is also a certified Pilates instructor. Kelly teaches the Wednesday Modern classes.

Tara Brandel received her BA in Dance Theater from Laban Center for Movement and Dance in London. Her work has been performed in London, Berlin and Ireland as well as locally. She has performed for Dance Brigade, Sara Mann and others. She is the recipient of the London Arts Boar's New Choreography Award and a recipient of several awards from the Irish Arts Council. She has her own dance company by the name of Mna Rua Dance Productions. Rachel Howard, a Dance Critic for the San Francisco Examiner, said, "Tara Brandel is an intense performer."

Caren Cadile, Dance Instructor, has been studying a variety of dance styles since the age of three. She has performed in Asia and Europe and is currently performing in various Show cases and festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Caren's academic studies resulted in receipt of a B.S. in Business Administration from SFSU. Her dance studies include training with Tandy Beal, Ana Halprin, Cheryl Chaddick, Ron Brown, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Eddie Brown, Linda Sohl-Donnell, Rosangela Sylvestre and Betho Filho of Bahia, Brazil. As a member of the African-Brazilian dance company, Aguas da Bahia, she recently performed in the 2002 Ethnic Dance Festival. She is also a member and co-choreographer of the diverse and dynamic group Dancers Without Borders. Caren teaches Brazilian and rhythm tap dance to adults and children at Dance Mission in San Francisco. In Spring 2002 Caren was the artist-in-residence at Bryant Elementary, teaching musical theater dance and creative movement to children. For the last two years, she has led classes for the San Francisco & Oakland Swing Dance Festivals and the SFAEP Summer Arts Program. Caren enjoys sharing her joy of dance and music with the community.

Marisa Castillo, Ballet has been involved in the Bay Area dance community for the past 10 years. She has studied the Vaganova Russian syllabus with Karen Morell. She is a dedicated student of Augusta Moore and knows the benefits of Feldenkrais and Augusta’s unique approach to ballet. She has danced with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Santa Clara Ballet, North Coast Dance, and Columbia City Ballet, to name a few. She also furthered her studies in the Certificate Program at The Ailey School in New York.

Shannon Day, Voice Instructor, got her bachelors in voice at the University of South Florida. She currently sings with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. She is an accomplished jazz singer and is beginning to establish herself in the world of musical theater as well. Shannon is also a much-respected teacher. She has taught at the University of South Florida and for the American Conservatory Theater. She currently teaches with San Francisco Arts Education Project, Brisbane Dance Workshop and is the vocal/music director for the Event Players, San Francisco's premier musical theater company for children.

Krista DeNio graduated from the U.C. Berkeley Dramatic Art/Dance department and has worked and performed in San Francisco over the last four years in the realms of dance, theater, performance art, contact improvisation, vocalization, bodywork and creative movement for children. She has taught movement for kids in San Mateo through the Recreation Department as well as in San Mateo and San Francisco public schools. Her most recent performance work has been her on-going collaboration with Violent Dwarf, a dance/theater/music trio, including "An Invitation to a Beheading", and "a Sin in Progress", which they recently toured in Europe. Krista is currently directing and producing a dance-theater piece, W-2WeWantU, to be premiered in its final form in November 2000, as a full, multi-media installation and interactive performance experience.

Amy DaSilva's roundabout journey toward dance began in Land O'Lakes, FL where she studied dance at the local studio for several years before moving on to competitive cheerleading in high school. Amy relocated to the Bay Area after recieving a degree in Art History from New College of the University of South Florida, and began to study dance again at City College of San Francisco in 1999. Since then, she has been constantly engaged and inspired by the diverse dance community here, and has studied Brazilian, Haitian, and Cuban folkloric and contemporary styles in additon to modern dance. Amy has performed with PURe (sic), Aguas da Bahia, Collaborative Performance Troupe, and Paco Gomes, and currently dances with Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers and Alayo Dance Comapny. She believes in the unique expressive potential of each person's body, and the freedom that comes with cultivating a joy of movement.

Renee DeWeese, Dance Instructor, has been training and working as a professional dancer in New York City for the last five years. She received her BFA in Musical Theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Renee is now happy to be back home in the Bay Area where she teaches at Pacifica's Spindrift School of Performing Arts and performs with various local theater companies. While not performing herself, Renee enjoys sharing her love for dance and the arts with children.

Noelle DeWeese has studied, performed, and created theatre and dance through various companies, schools, and studios throughout the Bay Area and beyond. She holds a B.A in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University and a minor in Business. Noelle has also studied dance and theatre as a featured performer for the British American Drama Academy in London, where she worked on many original and classical performance projects and shows. While doing theatre Noelle has also studied ballet, modern, tap, hip-hop, and jazz with various choreographers from the Bay Area, New York, and London Noelle is an active board member for the Spindrift School of Performing Arts and the Pacifica Spindrift Players. Currently, Noelle teaches adults and children theatre and dance for several companies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and also enjoys choreographing for specific projects and shows. While teaching and choreographing, Noelle continues to perform for various theatre companies and events.

Nicole Helfer, Tap, began her artistry in dance at the age of 5, studying hip-hop, jazz and tap dance. She has devoted the last 12 years of her life to cultivating her passion for teaching dance to youth in the Bay Area. She currently teaches classes for Dance Mission Theatre, Kid Stock, Inc., Steppin' Out Studios and Spindrift School of Performing Arts. She is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a degree in Performing Arts and Non-profit Administration. Her training includes various dance techniques such as Modern, Ballet, Dunham Technique, Tap, and Hip Hop. Her study of theatre includes the Meisner technique, LeCoq physical theatre and puppetry. She is also an accomplished classical soprano and has performed with the Berkeley Opera, Velocity Circus, and is the co-founder and choreographer of the Miscreants Cabaret. Nicole is known as a multi-faceted artist who combines voice, movement and theatre into her choreography, performances and teaching.

La Ray Gifford begain her dance training with Brisbane Dance Workshop at age four. She has gone on to study throughout the Bay Area and has held many regional and national dance titles. La Ray has an extensive background in jazz, hiphop, and tap dance as well as a graduate from San Francisco's Royal Academy of Bellydance. For the past four years she has been a choreographer and technique coach for several regionally and nationally ranked high school dance teams. She has perfomed as a soloist for various musical groups and artists and as featured dancer for a SF Moroccan Restaurant.

Melissa Ginsberg is a graduate of SFSU who received a BA in Dance in May, 2005. She continues to study Dance and Kinesiology at SFSU and is working toward a teaching credential in Physical Education with an emphasis in Dance. Melissa began her study of dance at the young age of five at the San Mateo Recreation Dance Department. Her first performance was as a "snowflake" at the Holiday Festival of Dance at the College of San Mateo. She has studied Jazz, Hip Hop and Tap through various local studios and has performed with local Jazz and Hip Hop groups. She enjoys trying out different styles of dance such as Salsa, Tango, Modern, Ballet, Afro-Haitian, Dunham and whatever else captures her interest. Melissa began teaching Hip Hop and Tap at the age of 18 at the San Mateo Recreation Centers. Since then she has taught at the Burlingame and Millbrae Recreation Centers and Brisbane Dance Workshop and is currently teaching Jazz, Hip Hop and Tap at the San Mateo Recreation Centers and Millbrae Dance Academy. Melissa is also involved in the production and choreography for this year's New Moves Children's Show at SFSU. This semester Melissa began guest teaching for dance teacher Coleen Lorenz at Notre Dame Highschool in Belmont and is having a lot of fun. She continues to train through the San Mateo Recreation Dance Department, Rhythm and Motion in SF and various workshops and master classes.

Douglas Johnson, Hip Hop received an Associate of Arts in Dance from Grossmont Community College in El Cajon, Ca. and has danced and taught with EVEOKE Dance Theater in San Diego, Ca. While in the San Diego Area, Dough taught in-school and after-school hip-hop, modern, and creative dance programs at all levels, from pre-school and through college, as well as teacher training workshops with Young Audiences of America.

Michael Koob, Dance Instructor, trained in Wigman technique under Hellmut Gottschild at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He went on tour the US and Europe with Gottschild's ZeroMoving Dance Company for 6 years. He has also performed on the East coast with Melanie Stewart Dance and Dance Construction Company. On the West coast, Koob has choreographed and performed with Six Thumbs Dance Theatre and has been a guest artist and guest choreographer for Asian American Dance Performances. He is currently the Artistic Director of the dance company TRANSIT. In addition to teaching for BDW, Koob is in his ninth year as an Artist-in-Residence with the San Francisco Arts Education Project and also teaches at many public and private schools in San Francisco. Koob was with BDW five years (we think).

Michael Koob 1961 - 2012

With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Michael Koob,
one of our Master Artists-in-Residence. He died on the morning of Dec. 31, 2011.

Michael was an inspiration to us all as an artist, a teacher and a friend. He was courageous, modest, funny, iconoclastic, handsome as all get out, passionate and one of the very best teachers this organization has ever seen. He taught from his heart and the very center of his artistry which was considerable. We loved him. He loved us. And the children, the parents and the schools adored him. Miraloma has just named their theater for him.

How we will miss him.

Natalia Castillo Luna is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where she completed a degree in Musical Theatre. She is a classically trained ballet dancer and has studied with Crocket Dance Co. in Sacramento, Ca, Deanne Dance Co in Sacramento, Ca. and the Sacramento Ballet Co. Natalia has also spent a number of years studying other dance forms such as modern, lyrical ballet, ribbon dancing, hip-hop, tribal dance, salsa, soba, and contact improvisation.

Kayla Montiel, Musical Theater. Kayla is an alumni dancer of BDW and a 2007 graduate of S.F. School of the Art’s Vocal Department. Her choir is ranked fifth in California, has sung with world renowned men’s choir Chanticleer, and has been under the direction of Chapman University’s Dr. William Hall. The ultimate highlight was singing at Carnegie Hall, NYC, in June 2007. Kayla has also performed her original compositions at several intimate venues around the San Francisco Bay Area. She has danced with Elvia Marta of SOTA, Caren Cadile of BDW, and performed musical theater with the Westlake School of the Performing Arts under Beach Blanket Babylon’s Erica Wyman. She plans to become a Music Therapist at University of the Pacific.