RICA ANDERSON believes the arts build RHONDA BENIN’S impressive resume ARMANDO CASTELLANO and his wind quintet, empathy and compassion and provide a includes performances at SF Jazz, Yoshi’s, Quinteto Latino, are dedicated to expanding convening point for raising the quality of MOAD, The Healdsburg, Sonoma, Burlingame, the cultural boundaries of classical music, and community relations and personal Sausalito, Fillmore, and Calistoga Jazz to make that music available, relevant, and development. Rica is the Manager of Festivals. In addition to singing, Rhonda is inspiring to entirely new audiences. Armando is Student Engagement at Cal Performances producer and founder of the Women’s a French horn player and educator, and has where she develops and implements arts History Month’s show “Just Like A Woman” a taught throughout the Bay Area in both English education programs. She is an instructor tribute to Bay Area . She is a and Spanish and is currently an adjunct faculty with Alameda County Office of Education’s member of the Grammy nominated vocal member at San José City College. Integrated Learning Specialist Program, and ensemble Linda Tillery and The Cultural is a Multicultural Education Program Heritage. She appears on the CHC’s seven Diversity Facilitator for UC Berkeley’s Office Cd’s and has toured 30 countries performing of Equity and Inclusion. She has taught at and recording with legendary artists such as the NorCal affiliate of the Lincoln Center , , , Institute, and toured as a . , Keb Mo, Santana, Patti manager/performer/educator with Kaiser Austin, Janis Ian, Jackson Brown, Hugh Permanente’s Educational Theatre program. Masekela & Sweet Honey In The Rock. She has performed with many Bay Area Rhonda is on the teaching staff of Healdsburg companies, and for 15 years has produced Jazz‘s Operation Jazz Band, Arts the free monthly series, Actors Reading Project, LEAP, Cal Performances, Youth In Writers. Arts, The Bay Area Jazz Society and conducts her own school assemblies and workshops.

MELANIE DEMORE has a remarkable voice, JULIE DOUGLAS celebrates the MOEKETSI GIBE, percussionist and musician, weaving all the fibers of African American folk empowering, connecting, expressive, grew up in post-apartheid South Africa. He with soulful ballads, spirituals and original collaborative, playful power of theater and obtained his Performers Diploma in African music. Melanie facilitates vocal workshops for the arts. Making theater can change the Music and Dance with a focus on drumming professional choirs, community groups and for world and how we experience what is at the University of Cape Town. Since moving people who just need to raise their voices. Her possible. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts to the U.S., Moeketsi has worked as teaching Sound Awareness program has been from the U. C. Santa Cruz and an MFA artist for organizations such as Destiny Arts presented in prisons, schools and youth from Dell’Arte International School of Center, Attitudinal Healing Connection and organizations through-out the US and New Physical Theatre. She gets to be silly on a Get Empowered. He has been an Zealand. Melanie was a California-Artist-in regular basis as a hospital clown with The accompanist and performer with Residence with the Oakland Youth Chorus as a Medical Clown Project. She teaches Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp, and performs conductor, musical director/conductor for the students of all ages in theater companies, with Zulu Spears Band of South Africa, and Bay Area Woman's Chorus and a capella schools, summer camps and community Chinyakare Ensemble Music and Dance of singing teacher at St. Paul's School in Oakland. groups around the Bay. Zimbabwe. Moeketsi also toured with Zuma Zuma, an African acrobatic music and dance show. Moeketsi’s philosophy is based on an African proverb "Motho ke motho ka batho" meaning "a person is a person because of people.”

DOLORES R GRAY holds an MFA in THAMSANQA HLATYWAYO learned STEPHEN KENT is a multi-Instrumentalist and photography and printmaking from the traditional dance and singing growing up in composer whose musical career has taken him University of Michigan and is a multimedia South Africa. A performer, choreographer, across five continents and includes the UK, studio artist with numerous solo and joint drummer, and a cappella singer, he enjoys Spain, East Africa, Australia and the US. As a exhibitions. She has developed and taught sharing aspects of South Africa with people performer on the Australian Aboriginal educational art programs in K-12 schools of other national and ethnic backgrounds. Didgeridoo he has pioneered its use in across the Bay Area, and also teaches art Thamsanqa was co-founder, Artistic contemporary music across the globe in fundamentals as basis for storytelling, Director and performer with Uzulu Dance collaboration with numerous musicians. He photography, digital photography and Adobe Theater of South Africa. He performed with has composed musical scores for theatre, Photoshop to children and adults. Dolores the Broadway show Sarafina. He founded circus and dance companies, which has was a recipient of a multi-year grant “Artist in Jikelele Dance Theater, and wrote and established him in the world music scene, Schools Residency” from the California Arts directed a stage play Shanty Town which exploring a broad range of playing styles and Council. She applies arts education to diverse Jikelele performed at San Francisco ethnic musical genres programs such as “Language & Visual Arts Dance Festival. Reading Improvement” and “Art + Math in the Classroom.”

MANDJOU KONÉ was born into a well- known ERIK LEE was born and raised in Oakland, DAVID W. McCAULEY starts his opening of the griot family in Mali and studied traditional California. He received his formal dance annual Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp with, West African singing, dancing and playing of training in modern dance and BA degree in “remember who you are, imagine who you wish instruments like the Djembe, Bala, Dundun, Dance Performance Studies from U.C. to be, and give it your all!” David enjoyed Kora and Tama. She also danced and Berkeley. Since 2009, Erik has danced with almost 15 years with the Alvin Ailey American performed with the National Ballet of Burkina Covenant Worship Center’s Worship In Arts Dance Theater Foundation, as a student, Faso. She is a dance educator and has been Ministry, and has served as Artistic Director instructor, and performer. Recently David teaching and performing over the past twenty since 2014. In 2011, he joined Dimensions became an adjunct faculty member of the years throughout the US, most recently as a Dance Theater and continues to work as a Center for Art, Religion, and Education. He has lecturer at UC Santa Cruz. company member. Erik holds an MFA in been directing AileyCamp at Cal Performances Dance from Mills College. Erik has served as since its inauguration in the fall of 2001 and is a Berkeley-Oakland AileyCamp Group one of Cal Performances master teaching Leader for three years, and is now Co- artists. Managing Director.

CHARLOTTE MORAGA began her study of MICHEAL MPYANGU’S unique approach to RICKI NELSON currently works with public and Kathak with Pandit Chitresh Das in 1992. She dance, and his take on dancers’ interaction private school music programs, as well as El joined the Chitresh Das Dance Company in with music, relates complex nuances of Sistema-inspired after school programs. 1996 and has been a featured solo artist in timing, footwork, and rhythm to the Drawing upon his experience from the Sistema his award-winning works. She has strengths of each participant. Micheal views Fellows Program in 2014 at the New England choreographed many works for the company individual learning differences as strengths Conservatory in Boston, Ricki is working to and currently serves as Artistic Director. for developing superior dance dynamics. develop after-school music programming for Charlotte has performed solo concerts in His diverse dance background (Ugandan Bay Area youth that not only inspires musical Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune India, and in tribal and contemporary, roots rumba, excellence, but also promotes a passion for many Classical Indian Dance and Music Cuban rumba, salsa, cha‐cha, Argentine community engagement. Ricki's most recent Festivals across the US. Charlotte is tango, Dominican bachata and merengue) community engagement collaborations have dedicated to educating people about, and has influenced his critical study and analysis been with the National Youth promoting, Kathak –both as a performer and of poly‐rhythms and contributes to his keen Orchestra of the USA, NPR's From the Top, and a teacher. She is largely responsible for understanding of musicality and corporal Cal Performances. Ricki holds a Master's development of the Chitresh Das Dance awareness. He has performed, instructed Degree and Professional Studies Degree in Company arts education programs in and conducted workshops to all ages and Clarinet Performance from the San Francisco California schools. Charlotte has given many levels in Africa, Great Britain and the United Conservatory of Music, as well as a post- lecture demonstrations at museums and States. graduate certificate from the Sistema Fellows universities throughout India and the US. Program at the New England Conservatory.

PAULA PARKS is a bilingual Spanish/English TYLER PARKS loves to laugh and is thrilled JEFF RAZ explores the intersection educator with a passion for community to be spreading joy through the performing of circus, theater and music from many building. She received a graduate degree in arts. He holds a Masters in Education from different angles - as a clown, an actor, a Education, and then decided to run away UC Santa Cruz and a rubber chicken from teacher, a director and a playwright. Jeff with the circus. Her journey as an acrobat the Clown Conservatory in San Francisco. founded The Clown Conservatory in San and coach started in Argentina, then led to Tyler co-founded the internationally Francisco, the only comprehensive professional her living and teaching in 3 countries and acclaimed physical comedy troop Pi, and clown training program in the United States, traveling to 26 more. As co-founder of Circus has taught for many circus institutions and he directed the program until 2010. Jeff is of Smiles, she oversees school-based including: The Prescott Circus, Kinetic Arts now the Bay Area Casting Partner for Cirque du enrichment programming and supports Center and Circus Smirkus. Through Circus Soleil, the Artistic Director of the Medical Clown developing educators. Her strong belief is of Smiles, Mr. Mustache (as he is known on Project and a director with the global consulting that any skill can be taught with a social- stage) has performed family-friendly circus firm Stand & Deliver. emotional focus and a little imagination. shows for thousands of families in the US and as well as on tour through Asia, Central America, and South America.

GALEN ROGERS is a taiko and dance STEPHEN TEXEIRA believes there is a LUCCA TROUTMAN is an electro-acoustic professional based in the Bay Area. He memory between one moment and the composer, director and performer originally studied taiko at the San Francisco Taiko Dojo next; a memory that no amount of posing from Hartford, Connecticut. She holds a BA in under Grand Master Seichi Tanaka, the or smiling for the camera will ever reveal. It psychology and music from Smith College in person who brought modern taiko to is in those moments that we are most real, Northampton, Massachusetts and recently America in the 1960s. Galen co-founded most vulnerable, most beautiful, most graduated with her MA in composition from Oberlin College Taiko and is now the ourselves. He take pictures. He pays Mills College where she refined her director of Jiten Daiko, a taiko ensemble attention. Stephen has been a journalist, compositional and performance techniques based at the Buddhist Church of San marketing consultant, a non-profit under the tutelage of renowned experimental Francisco. He also teaches taiko, gamelan, communications manager, and has taught artists. She currently teaches and performs and to high school schoolchildren all over the Bay Area how to throughout the Bay Area and enjoys creating in students at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts focus ideas and images in photographs that all of its forms. and Marin Academy. He studies Balinese move others to action. dance and gamelan with Gamelan Sekar Jaya, a Berkeley-based Balinese performing arts ensemble, and he practices capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, and gaga, Ohad Naharin's dynamic movement language.

JESSE WIENER is a teaching and performing artist. She spent her early years exploring various forms of movement in Minneapolis, MN including modern dance, PHIL PICKERING (FOUNDER), CAROLE ONO AND musical theater and aerial arts. She got her CHERYL MOCHALSKI, are members of Tatsumaki BA in Environmental Studies at Oberlin Taiko of Richmond, CA. They find great joy in College where she minored in Dance and creating taiko music with the group and in expanded her movement practice to sharing that music with the greater Bay Area include taiko drumming. Past dance community, in festivals, school assemblies and projects include works with Nina Haft, classrooms (elementary and high school) all Kyoungil Ong, Holly Handman-Lopez, Ann over the Bay Area. They have hosted many Cooper Albright, and Lili Weckler. Jesse taiko workshops with members of other noted currently delves into dance creation and professional companies such as Kodo and performance with Nina Haft and Company Ondekoza from Japan. and Molly Rose-Williams and Company, and is a co-artistic director and performing member of Jiten Daiko, a Bay Area based taiko ensemble. Her passion for child development and the performing arts informs the ways she cultivates encouraging and explorative environments for children. When Jesse is not dancing or drumming she teaches creative movement and artistic literacy to preschool and elementary age children.