Our Artists

Gary D. Ferguson

Executive Artistic Director | Director of Dance | Choreographer | Director

Gary D. Ferguson’s passion for dance, music, theatre, and movement began as a student on scholarship with the Alvin Ailey and Gus Giordano Dance Companies and evolved to a full time career rooted in musical theater and dance. In addition to years of Broadway, National and International tours, multiple Radio City Rockettes Companies, Vegas residencies, theme parks and cruise ships, Gary has many theatrical credits throughout the Bay Area where he has directed all aspects of musical theater productions and educational programming. Gary joins SSPA after a successful tenure as Associate Artistic Director for Los Altos Stage Company and Education Director for Los Altos Youth Theater. He is an active member of NDEO (National Dance Educators Organization), Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, and AGVA (Association Guild of Variety Artists). Gary holds a M.B.A. in International Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Management with an emphasis in Dance Management. Gary is extremely excited to be joining the SSPA family as Artistic Director and Director of Dance. He will helm all mainstage musicals beginning with Mamma Mia. He will also be bringing his musical theater expertise to the Spindrift Dance Company. Gary is also excited to share a few new classes with the SSPA family. A few of the classes to be on the look out for include a Rockette Boot Camp, Turns and Leaps Class, Adult Tap, Adult Musical Theater Jazz and Dance Team/ Pom audition clinics. 

Gary Craig Schoenfeld Jr.

Director of Theatre & Principal Teaching Artist | All levels of Acting, Improv, and Musical Theatre

Gary joins the Spindrift Team with a long list of performance & directorial credits Gary has been a teacher with SSPA since early 2016 and teaches all levels of Musical Theatre and directs Play Production classes. He is also part of an outreach team dedicating to bringing quality theatre opportunities to schools all around the Bay Area. He has always hoped he would have a job like this. He is ready and eager to help inspire the next generation of great artists.

Kaori Nakano DeNoia

Piano Instructor | Beg & Int Piano (Virtual/In-Person)

Kaori Nakano DeNoia graduated from Japan’s prestigious music school, Kyoto Horikawa Music High School, where she studied vocal performance. She earned her BA from Kobe College and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with an MA in vocal performance, having studied with Herman Leroux and received a first place prize in the American Art Song Competition. She received preschool and teaching credentials from San Francisco State University, studied pipe organ with Wyatt Insko, and has Kodály training from Holy Names University. Kaori is passionate about teaching and has served as a choir director, pianist and organist for many organizations. These include the San Francisco Girls Chorus (20 years), A.P. Giannini Middle School choir, Christ United Presbyterian Church, and her very own children’s choir Kirakiraboshi Children’s Choir in Japantown. She currently teaches music to K-8th grades in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties and teaches private piano and voice students at Spindrift School of Performing Arts in Pacifica

Luke Doughty

Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, Banjo, and Piano Instructor | All levels (Virtual/In-Person)

Luke has played guitar for 20 years and has been teaching music for 10 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Master’s degree in Philosophy from San Francisco State University. He has studied music theory extensively, both within the university and independently. The primary styles of music that he focuses on are gypsy jazz, early blues, classical, rock, and Irish music. Luke has also spent years playing slide guitar and working with a variety of open tunings. He teaches both acoustic and electric guitar. In addition to guitar, Luke also plays and teaches Ukulele, Banjo, and Piano. Luke lives in San Francisco and presently plays in several groups around the Bay Area. He also composes music and has worked with local filmmakers to produce original scores for a variety of projects.

Larry Ferrara

Guitar Instructor | All Levels  In-Person (Vaccinated students only)

Distinguished as a performer and teacher Larry Ferrara has the distinction of being the first guitarist to receive a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His teachers have included Julian Bream in master classes, and George Sakellariou in studio lessons. A committed educator himself, Mr. Ferrara has taught for many years at the collegiate level at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and full time at City College of San Francisco. In addition to currently teaching at the Spindrift School of Performing Arts, Mr. Ferrara also teaches in the Pre-College, and Continuing Education divisions at the San Francisco Conservatory, and also teaches guitar and guitar ensemble at San Francisco State University.

As a performer Mr. Ferrara has played major recitals in San Francisco, Toronto, Barcelona, Los Angeles and at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York. He has served on the Music Advisory Panel to the National Endowment of the Arts and is the author and performer of a best selling sequence of music books titled, The Student Repertoire Series for Guitar Vol. 1 and 2 , with accompanying CD’s, published by Guitar Solo of San Francisco. Mr. Ferrara has a solo CD of American Guitar Works on the VGo label and a CD on the GSP label of the Pacific Guitar Ensemble where he plays along with David Tanenbaum and Peppino D’Agostino. In addition, Mr. Ferrara won the top humanities prize in the California Virtual Campus (CVC) competition for, “Best Online Teaching Website,” based on his course in music appreciation.

Hyun Suk (Suki) Jang

Music Instructor | Beginning Piano | All levels of Voice  (In-Person, students must be vaccinated)

Hyun Suk, “Suki” is a native of Seoul, Korea, performs and educates widely as a soloist, chorister, voice/ piano teacher and conductor. She has studied voice with many teachers and coaches in Korea, Germany, Italy and the United States. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in voice performance from SeJong University in Seoul, Korea, as well as a Master’s degree and Performance Certificate in voice performance both from DePaul University in Chicago. She taught voice at the University of Chicago and at New Trier High School and piano and theory at the Soar program (Statewide Opportunities for Art and recreation through DePaul University Community Music in Chicago). She was also a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and a Rockefeller Chapel Vocal Artist in Residence. She was also the conductor and artistic director of Little OL Korea Children’s Choir, an ambassador of Korean culture to America society through music and dances. She has performed numerous opera roles and oratorio works as a soprano soloist. She also performed the roles of Wardrobe M’tree, Confidante and understudy of Carlotta Giudicelli of The Phantom of the Opera in Seoul, Korea. She is the winner of various competitions, and she has appeared as a winner of the Chinese Fine Arts Society Competition at the Chicago Cultural Center. Currently, she sings with SF Symphony Chorus and has been a conductor of Children’s and Youth Choirs and soprano soloist at Episcopal Church of St. Matthew in San Mateo for 7 years. Besides music, she lives in Pacifica and enjoys running all around Pacifica. She participated in various races including a virtual 100 mile race which she ran 100 miles around the bay from Pacifica-Purisima Creek Trails-Bay trails-SF-Pacifica and featured in the Pacifica Tribune. She is also a coach of The Live the Dash Run Club.

She is deeply delighted to share her varied professional experiences, musicality and her optimistic personality with the talented youth generation at Spindrift School.

Riddhi Kapoor

Dance Instructor | Bollywood/Bhangra

Dancing makes me the ‘happiest’ and gives me the adrenalin to learn, perform and grow everyday. Dancing is the greatest connect one can have with the self and my dream of connecting people through dance and finding dance as the ultimate medium of expression is slowly coming to fruition. My motivation to learn dance started at the age of three. My mother’s need to instill a sense of hobby in me led me to embrace dancing as a creative form to express my emotions. My varied cultural background has changed my perspective and my teaching expertise imbibes this diversity making it a fascinating learning experience for my students. 

I have been teaching Bollywood dance in the Bay Area for both adults and kids for more than 6 years and to me dance is a way of celebration, frolic and happiness! 

I like to be a Fellow dancer to my students and not just an instructor and love seeing people Love dance.

www.dancewithriddhi.com

Leigh Ann Koelsch LRAD

Dance Instructor | Choreographer

Leigh Ann graduated from The College of The Royal Academy of Dance in London in 1993 with
a classical ballet teaching degree. She has prepared students of all ages for RAD ballet
examinations, performances and competitions. Leigh Ann has choreographed and co-directed
many productions over the years including Nutcracker, original story ballets and mixed
repertoire recitals. She has also worked with both Coastal Repertory Theater and Half Moon
Bay High School on musicals such as Pajama Game, Crazy for You, Once Upon a Mattress and
Guys and Dolls
“My teaching philosophy is that every student deserves safe and correct ballet instruction that
also taps into the joy of dance. Kindness and respect are an huge part of my teaching. I enjoy
spending time with young people and watching them grow through their experiences in the
studio, no matter what their goals are in dance. Imagination is a key element at every level.”
Leigh Ann is a Coastside native and mother of two sons. She is looking forward to joining the
staff of SSPA after many year of enjoying the performances of her nieces Serena and Sophia
Sargent!

Ami Nashimoto

Cello Instructor | All levels | Piano | Beginning through Int/Adv. (In-person Cello, vaccinated students only- piano is virtual)

Ami is a prominent member of the Bay Area music scene, playing with numerous ensembles and bands including The Holloway String Quartet, Mission Baroque, All My Pretty Ones, as well as playing in numerous orchestras and pit orchestras. She studied chamber music under coaches including the Alexander String Quartet, Martina Trumpp, and Yuval Yaron; cello under Carol Rice, Geoffrey Rutkowski, Mario De Secondi, and Sandy Wilson; and played in master classes taught by such artists as the Juilliard String Quartet, Toby Appel, and David Requiro. She studied cello at the Ruth Asawa SOTA, UC Santa Barbara, San Francisco State University for a MA in Music, and at the Musikhochschule Trossingen in Germany.

Tracy E. Reeves-Fletcher

Dance Instructor | Choreographer

Tracy is an East Coast native, who moved to the Bay area 12 years ago from Chicago. She has
been teaching dance for over 20years, in both small dance studios, and college campuses.
Born in Chicago, but raised on the East Coast, like most little girls she started dancing at the
age of 6. Then as a teenager attended The Governor’s School for the Arts, a performing Arts
high school program, in the Tidewater area of Virginia. She graduated with a focus in Modern
Dance performance. She then attended Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond VA,
graduating with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, with a focus in Modern Dance performance and
Choreography. After pursuing some professional development, she then attended the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, in Greensboro North Carolina. She attended UNCG
as a Patricia Roberts Harris teaching Fellow for all three years of the program obtaining a
Master’s of Fine Arts also in Dance performance and Choreography. Throughout her education
she has been teaching a myriad of dance forms from Creative movement to Contact
Improvisation. Her dance forms include ballet, tap (Broadway & rhythm), jazz, Hip Hop,
modern, contemporary, lyrical, ballroom and African. Her specialties include Advanced Rhythm
Tap and Contemporary. Tracy has a passion for dance movement and is looking forward to
watching your children express themselves through dance.