Alex Bootzin – Founder. Private Instruction in Advanced Piano & Voice Alex along with his late wife Martha, co-founded the Spindrift School of Performing Arts back in 1994. Alex’s training and experience include a B.A. degree in Piano Performance and a M.A. in Musicology from the University of California. His education includes many years of study with European master teacher, Dusi Mura. Alex is committed to sharing his experience and knowledge with young people. He is also active as a pianist and music director throughout the Bay Area and is currently the Associate Music Director at First Presbyterian Church of Burlingame. He also leads a jazz quartet called Nucleus.
“The arts are a metaphor for life, and as such, play a vital role in a young person’s balanced and well-rounded development. They can do the same for adults, regardless of their age! Music, especially, touches the emotions in a way that few other mediums can. Studying and playing music can be an avenue for all manner of growth, healing, breakthrough, and success. My goal is for my students to express themselves in a way that draws forth who they really are.” Email Me
Noelle DeWeese – SSPA Executive Director, Dance Instructor: Tap, Hip Hop & Jazz, Pre-School Dance, Acting & Musical Theatre. Noelle began teaching at SSPA in the summer of 1998 and became our Executive Director in 2003. She holds a B.A in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University with a minor in Business. Noelle has studied ballet, modern, tap, hip-hop, jazz and theatre in the Bay Area, New York, and London and has appeared as a featured performer for the British American Drama Academy in London.
“I love watching children succeed through the performing arts. Many children come to us with a desire to learn and with hard work and discipline they attain a life-long passion! I love the collaborative artistic community SSPA provides. We’re training musicians/dancers/actors all day long. I feel so fortunate to have a team of incredibly talented and inspiring instructors that bring out the best in all their students!” Email Me
Natalia Luna – SSPA Artistic Director, Instructor: All levels of Acting, Ballet, Pointe, Hip Hop, Jazz and Musical Theater. She can also teach Stage Combat and Puppetry and Mask Making. Natalia has been teaching at SSPA since 2002 and also serves as SSPA’s Artistic Director. Natalia holds a Bachelors degree in musical theater with emphasis in directing and a minor in costume and makeup from SFSU. She as danced for the Sacramento Ballet Apprentice Company, the Cockett Dean Ballet Company and is a recipient of the Elly Award for best supporting actress in a musical at SFSU.
“I enjoy working in an environment where I have the freedom to challenge young actors & dancers as artists, as well as myself. I am constantly learning and developing as an instructor. I feel that it is important for instructors to grow and the students at Spindrift have helped me do so.” Email Me
Paul Kwapy – Instructor: All levels of Acting, Improvisation, Speech, Movement, Character Study & Development. Paul began with SSPA in 2004. He is our technical director/ set designer for all our main stage shows and directs our summer Actor’s Studios. Paul studied with the acclaimed Chicago’s Second City Improvisational Theatre. He studied theatre at University of Colorado and has worked for the Colorado Renaissance Festival, Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Repertory Theatre and has been performing since he was 7 years-old with many hundreds of performances under his belt.
“The purpose of theatre is INVOLVEMENT. I’ve always felt one of our purposes in life is to become comfortable in our own skin. I hope to provide tools to achieve this through theatre training. Students gain abilities and confidence by learning speech, movement, discipline and performance skills that are required in theatre. These are key steps to providing that pathway for students to achieve those social interaction skills that serve them well in whatever they do in life. Email Me
Carla Pauli – Instructor: All levels of Acting, Scene Study, Improvisation, Auditioning. Carla joined us in 2010 and began class instruction with us in the Winter of 2011. She has studied at American Conservatory Theater Studio for over 2 years. She has also studied Meisner Technique with Rachel Adler, Singing at Shari Carlson Studio and dance at San Francisco Dance Center and ODC. Carla has worked with various theater companies in the Bay Area including OpenTab Productions, Brava, Woman’s Will, Thunderbird Theater and Pacifica Spindrift Players. She has also appeared in several independent feature and short films as well as webisodes and commercials and is currently represented in San Francisco by Tonry Talent Agency.
“Children’s view points and creativity always inspires me to continue to look for truthfulness in my own work and to keep nurturing the element of “play” on the stage. Working at SSPA has opened up for me a whole new perspective to the art of acting. Often times it is the most inexperienced actors that will allow themselves to live within the given circumstance of a scene without any preconceived notions or fear of judgment. They allow themselves to explore and play and build with a careless freedom that is nothing less than magical. As an acting teacher and an actor, there is nothing more exciting than to witness and nurture the growth of these little actors.”Email Me
Jenna Monroe – Dance Instructor: Modern Dance, Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz, and Theatrical Dance. Jenna started dancing at the age of 16 to further her musical theater talents and feel in love with dance. She came to Spindrift as an intern for the summer of 2005 and never left. She majored in Dance at SFSU with a concentration in Performance and Choreography. Her love of modern dance began at San Francisco State dancing with Cathleen McCarthy, Susie Whipp, Paco Gomes, and Wendy Dimond. She was a member of University Dance Theater from 2003-2007. Her choreography has been performed at the American College Dance Festival and at McKenna Theater. She currently co-directs a Modern Dance Company, Requisitedance (www.requisitedance.com) which SSPA sponsors.
“I love SSPA. This is my artistic home. My work is inspired by the kids I teach.”Email Me
Brianna Anthony – Dance Instructor: for: all levels Ballet, Pointe, Modern, and Jazz dance. Brianna began teaching at SSPA in the Fall of 2006. She has a BA in Dance from CSULB, is a member of RequisiteDance and has studied under dance greats Joe Goode, Bliss Kohlmeyer, Douglas Neilsen, Keith Johnson, Lauren Johnson, Alaine Haubert, Allison Deane and Barbara Crockett.
“Ever since I discovered my love of dance, it has become a lifeline, as necessary as breathing. There is nothing quite so wonderful as being able to share this, to watch something that brings me such great joy become the passion of another.” Email Me
Helena Pacholuk – Piano Instructor: All levels of private piano instruction and piano classes. Helena has been with SSPA since January of 2008. She has a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and a Clear California Teaching Credential (pre-K through grade 12/adult classes).
“My primary goals in teaching are to inspire my students to a love of learning about and creating music, and to promote independent thinking skills and self-confidence.” Email Me
Philip Keil – Piano Instructor: All levels of Piano. Philip has been teaching with SSPA since 2008 as a private piano instructor and then in 2010 was instrumental in developing and launching our Coastside Children’s Chorus. He became a professional performing musician at the age of 13 and has enjoyed a career playing keyboard instruments; training and directing choirs; conducting orchestras; coaching singers; teaching music theory privately and music appreciation in the classroom.
His academic training at the University of Pittsburgh and the Juilliard School of Music was in theory and composition. From Trinity College, London (U.K.), he earned the Licentiate in organ performance. Philip is one of the founders of the famed Northern California Peninsula Ragazzi Boy’s Choir.
“As a piano teacher at SSPA, I welcome self-motivated students, children and teens, who respond to a creative and improvisational style of coaching and direction.”Email Me
Annie Li – Music Instructor in: Piano & beginning Violin, Bass, Guitar. Annie started working with SSPA in the summer of 2009 doing musical direction for the Broadway Bound musical camps. She attended UC Davis where she received a B.A. in Music. She also holds a Kodaly certificate of Music, Level One from St. Mary’s.
“I enjoy teaching music because it is very fun and rewarding to see my students learn and grow. When they are able to play and perform a piece they have worked on for a while, it is very exciting. Everyone is proud of this accomplishment. Also, having the ability to play music is wonderful. Therefore teaching music brings me joy because it is a hobby that can be shared with anyone.” Email Me
Andre DeVilliers – Guitar Instructor. All levels of acoustic and electric guitar. Andre has been with SSPA since 2007 teaching guitar class, outreach and private guitar. He started playing guitar when he was a teen and played in garage bands and at open mics for the next 10 years.
Andre spent a three year apprenticeship with Johnny Ciccolella where he developed a passion for Spanish classical music. He became a member of Gato Papacitos, a creative Spanish jazz ensemble and performed with them for several years. He has a B.A. in music from Humboldt State where he dedicated himself to honing his craft and developing an authentic voice, performing solo as well as with a variety of ensembles. While there he helped develop the department’s performance repertoire.
In addition to music, he has been involved in the theater community. For over 15 years he has professionally pursued acting, sound design/engineering, stage management, set fabrication and technical direction.
“Since moving to San Francisco I have continued to play professionally and teach individual lessons. I know what it is like to be passionate about guitar and how challenging it can be to learn. I also understands that everybody learns music in a different way. I truly love teaching and aim to bring out the rockstar in every one of my students.” Email Me
Diana Lee - SSPA Private Voice, Piano & Cello Instructor. Teaches all levels of piano and cello and beginning voice with a specialty in audition prep for musical theatre or other auditions. Diana Lee is a classically trained pianist and cellist teaching, performing and freelancing in the Bay Area. She maintains a private studio in the East Bay and works as an accompanist for studio classes, recitals, and competitions. She is the Artist-In-Residence at Lawton and Claire Lilienthal Alternative Schools in San Francisco where she teaches the Musical Theater Elective classes. She was the Musical Director of the San Francisco Arts Education Project Players for The Pajama Game (2009), Fiorello! (2010), and the world premiere of Everything Goes!: The Music of Cole Porter (2011), and the rehearsal pianist at the Oakland School for the Arts for Bye Bye Birdie (2010). In 2010, she successfully created a Vocal Audition Workshop Series for the middle-school students in the Players, helping them with the process of applying to and auditioning for the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts Vocal Department. She is a cellist in the Bear Valley Music Festival Orchestra, and served as the principal cellist for SFArtsED’s summer productions of Carousel (2010) and Guys and Dolls (2011). Most recently she played cello in The Last Five Years with the Poor Man’s Players (2011) and Ragtime with Youth Musical Theater Company (2012). She was the Musical Director for A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum at Pacifica Spindrift Players, and is excited to continue her work in Pacifica with SSPA. This summer will mark her first year as the Musical Director for the Spotlight Stars camps at Cabrillo. Email Me
Katy Stephan – Voice Instructor, Songwriting. In the Summer of 2006, Katy began with our teens as musical director for our teen summer program and has done musical direction for our Winter productions as well. Katy studied at Cal State East Bay, and sang for many years with the Pacific Mozart Ensemble. With them She was a soloist on the Grammy-nominated recording of Bernstein’s Mass with conductor Kent Nagano and the Deutsche Symphonie. She has also been a soloist with the Oakland East Bay Symphony. She has written original music for theatre productions by Word For Word, Porchlight Theatre, Upon These Boards, The California Shakespeare Festival, Azeotrope (Seattle) and others. She is the recipient of a Bay Area Critics Circle award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2005.
“I believe in the truth that Martha Graham described: There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” Email Me