Roco Dance & Fitness - Youth Instructors

Annie Rosenthal Parr | Alison De Oliveira | Becca Rozell | Bridget Bartholome | Bella Qureshi | Erica Jeffrey | Emily Bass | Gabrielle Thompson | Jamie Fraser | Jenni Bregman | Jessie Feller | Jena McRae | Jennifer Maecker | Jennifer Meek | Joe Gray | Joan Lazarus | Kalika Ansel | Kerstin Stuart | Micaya | Maggie Sapienza | Miles Kenedi | Nicole Klaymoon |Samuka | Shana Walt

Annie Rosenthal Parr


		Annie founded RoCo Dance and Fitness in 1993. She received her B.F.A. in dance from N.Y.U.'s Tisch School of the Arts and was a member of the Della Davison Dance Company and Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. Annie is a choreographer and performs regularly in the Bay Area. She is an adjunct professor of dance at UC Berkeley and teaches in festivals and abroad. Annie's teaching method keeps dance accessible to all levels, making her one of the Bay Area's most popular dance and fitness instructors. Classes: Modern

back to top

Alison De Oliveria


		Alison De Oliveira, co-founder of Pack The House Productions, is from L.A. She is a highly sought after choreographer and dance teacher among studios, Universities, and industry professionals. Alison was an internationally ranked gymnast, then coach and judge. She trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and hip-hop and has appeared in music videos, independent films, and industrials. Classes: Hip Hop \| Jazz

back to top


		Becca Rozell graduated with honors in dance from Skidmore College. Since college she has lived in Boston and NYC where she has at taught at many studios including The Boston Conservatory and Peridance. She has worked with Nicola Hawkins, Alison Gonzolez, Stomp, Andrew Janetti, Vanessa Paige, VL Danceworks, Deborah Abel and Weber Dance. Becca's choreography has been presented in Brooklyn, NYC, Saratoga Springs & Boston. Classes:Modern/Jazz \| Hip-Hop

back to top

Bridget Bartholme


		Bridget Bartholome has been a dance instructor for over ten years. She danced professionally with the New Orleans Dance Collective, 940 Dance Company, and was the dance critic for REVIEW Magazine in Kansas City. Bridget was trained at Houston Ballet and graduated with honors from The University of Arizona with a degree in Cultural Anthropology. Classes: Ballet \| Intro To Dance

back to top


		Isabella Qureshi was born and raised in Marin County. She began her early dance training at age 4 in ballet and jazz at Dance Theatre 7 in Fairfax under Jody White, David Roxander, and Georgia Ortega. She earned her BA in dance with a concentration in visual media at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. She now teaches jazz and ballet, and choreographs for Yes Theatre in the Ross Valley School District. Classes: Jazz

back to top


		Erica studied dance at the Pittsburgh Ballet School before joining Ballet Internationale. After dancing professionally for several years, she attended Indiana University as a Wells Scholar and has degrees in Ballet and Mediation & Conflict Resolution. She most recently appeared the Marin Theatre Company's "Me and My Girl." Classes: Ballet \| Intro To Dance

back to top


		Emily Bass received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a distinction in Dance from The Ohio State University. There she performed at the Kennedy Center for the Arts during the Collegiate Dance Festival and has since studied under the instruction of Bebe Miller, Ming Lang Yung, Kathleen Hermesdorf, and Susan Hadley. Emily is very excited to join Rocco Dance as her passion for teaching is an increasing drive. Classes: Modern

back to top

Gabrielle Thompson


		Gabrielle has toured with Landini Dance Co. and performed as a guest soloist with Highly Unlikely for Dance Mission, Harry Denton's Rouge, West Coast Dance, Ballet Counterpointe and David McNaughton. Gabrielle is the co-director of the dance department at Ursuline High School and directs the jazz dept. at Dance innovations where she trains students and choreographs for state and national competitions. Gabrielle recently became an honorary member of Dance Masters of America. Classes: Jazz \| Ballet

back to top


		Jena McRae has performed and taught hip-hop dance professionally since she was 16 years old. In her classes, she hopes to instill an appreciation for hip-hop's foundational vocabulary and musical canon. She received her Bachelors degrees from UCLA in Dance Studies and History, specializing also in modern, salsa, and other African-diasporic dance forms. To deepen her dance education on a scholarly level, Jena earned her Masters degree in Ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick in Ireland. Jena is also a certified yoga instructor with YogaTree SF. Classes: Hip Hop

back to top


		Joe Gray has been teaching, choreographing, and performing for 10 years. His biggest influence is the legendary Jabbawockie Gary Kendall. Joe has performed all over the US, China, and South Korea. He is the founder of the professional hip hop company Shadow Optix. Joe focuses on the core elements of hip hop including: breaking, popping, locking, tutting, and more. When he is not dancing, he is producing music, videos, and graphics. Classes: Hip Hop

back to top


		Jamie is a local Bay Area Choreographer. Trained by the Legend "GARY KENDELL", Executive Producer/Director of "ONEFORGEE",Toured all over the world with "Monsta Shop Bumpin'" show for 9 years, ready to pass on what i have learned to another generation. ROCKIN THE BEAT! Classes: Hip Hop

back to top

Jennifer Maecker


		Jennifer graduated highest honors with a BFA in dance from theUniversity of Florida and has been teaching, choreographing andperforming for over ten years. She has worked with: Moving Ethos,Fuzion Dance Artists, Gerri Houlihan, Capacitor and Printz DanceProject. Jennifer was a recipient of the Dance Educator's Fellowshipto Bates Dance Festival and received an Emerging Artist Award for herchoreography with Fuzion. After 3 years of teaching and choreographing for Booker High School's VPA progam (Sarasota, FL),Jennifer is thrilled to be back teaching modern and managing the studio. Classes: Modern

back to top


		Jennifer graduated magna cum laude from Point Park University with a concentration in jazz and modern dance performance. She has performed with Thodos Dance Chicago, Lucky Plush Productions, Concert Dance Inc., and Hedwig Dances all based in Chicago. In S.F. she has danced with Kunst-stoff and Capacitor.Jennifer is also a certified yoga instructor and believes in the importance of well being and artistic expression. Classes: Modern Modern Jazz

back to top


		Jenni Bregman began dancing at age 7 in Newport, Oregon. She graduated magna cum laude from Willamette University in 1999 and moved to the Bay Area, where she has been teaching and performing since. She currently performs with Printz Dance Project and teaches Contemporary Jazz at San Francisco Dance Center. Classes: Modern Jazz

back to top


		Jessie Feller began dancing at the age of 3 at Marin Ballet and continued her advanced training at Marin Dance Theater. Jessie graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College with a BA in Urban Studies and Hispanic Studies and holds a Masters from the London School of Economics and Political Science. At Vassar she had the privilege to study and work with reknowned Graham and Taylor company members and ballet masters. In 2007, she co-founded her own modern dance company - VaBang! Dance Company - which is based in SF and NYC. Classes: Ballet Modern Jazz

back to top


		Joan has served as Executive Director of Oakland Ballet, General Manager of the Cowell Theater and is Executive Director of Summerfest/dance. She has taught at the University of Oregon, Mills College, San Francisco Ballet, Dance Circle of Boston, The Princeton Ballet, and Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. Classes: Ballet \| Modern

back to top


		Kalika Ansel studied ballet in the professional program at Dance Theatre 7 with David Roxander. Working directly with Jody White for four years as her rehearsal assistant, she learned the techniques of teaching, rehearsing, and preparing for a full length performance. She assisted Maggie Sapienza and fell in love with working with the younger students in the Preschool Program. She now works with beginning through advanced dancers and has become a great companion and motivator for the students she works with. Classes: Ballet

back to top


		New to the Bay area, Kerstin Stuart currently works as a choreographer, dancer and instructor. She holds a BA in Dance from UC Santa Barbara and has studied with Joe Goode. Kerstin has performed with Cid Pearlman, Stephanie Nugent, Karl Schaffer, Fran Spector Atkins, Monterey Dance Collective and 3Cities3Choreograhers tour. Classes: Intro to Dance \| Modern

back to top

Maggie Sapienza


		Maggie Sapienza began dancing at the age of ten with David and Elyse Roxander. She joined Dance Theatre Seven's Professional training program in 1995. Maggie was hired full time at DT7 as the first staff member trained exclusively by DT7. She directed the Preschool Program for over 7 years, co-directed the Professional Program, and was Ballet Mistress for the full length ballet Surealia. Upon retirement of the Roxander/White family, Maggie took over as owner and director of DT7 from 2006 to 2009 Classes: Intro to Dance \| Ballet

back to top


		Micaya has been a dancer, instructor, and choreographer for over 20 years. Formally trained in ballet, jazz, modern, and African dance forms, she began teaching hip-hop in the early 1990s. She is the producer of the San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest and the director and choreographer of SoulForce Dance Company. Micaya’s choreography has been featured in corporate events as well as music videos, television, nightclubs, festivals, theaters, cabaret, and touring productions. www.micaya.com or www.sfhiphopdancefest.com Classes: Hip Hop

back to top


		Miles has been teaching breaking to children since 1999. He trained with S.O.U.L, Culture Shock, and is currently a member of Urban Apache hip hop youth outreach, Baysic Project Performance Crew, and the world famous Rock Force BBoy Crew. Miles has performed for the Sacramento Kings half time show, the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest, Oakland Raiders, New York Hip Hop Theater Festival, Korean Bank BBoy Competition, and the UK BBoy Championships. Classes: Breaking and Boys Hip Hop

back to top

Nicole Klaymoon


		Nicole Klaymoon received a BA in dance from UCLA. Her work has been showcased at Miami Project Hip-Hop, Oregon Shakespear Festival, Illadelph Legends of Hip-Hop Festival, the Electric Lodge in L.A. Bootleg Theatre, Fruede, and American College Dance Festival. She has collaborated with d. Sabela Grimes and performed in works directed by Rennie Harris and Marc Bamuthi-Joseph. Classes: Choreography Lab \| Modern \| hip hop

back to top


		Shana has extensive training in jazz, tap, ballet, and gymnastics and received a full scholarship to the Academy of Performing Arts in San Diego. She was a member of Unity Dance Ensemble and traveled throughout the US, Coasta Rica, and Sweden as a performer. Unity Dance Ensemble awarded Shana as 'dancer of the year' in 2005. She has taught dance for adults and youth in Hawaii and San Diego at The Academy of Performing Arts and the Culture Shock Dance Center. Classes: Modern/Jazz

back to top


		Samuka teaches Capoeira. Bio Coming soon. Classes: Capoeira

back to top

Click here to view the adult instructors.

Adults | Youth | About Us | Contact | Directions
Copyright ©2004 Roco Dance & Fitness. All Rights Reserved.