Teaching Artists

Senior Teaching Artist

Bree is a longtime teacher at Spindrift School of Performing Arts, where she brings her passion for dance and theatre to life in every class. She holds a degree in Theatre, Dance, and Education and has been involved in the performing arts since the age of 7. Bree grew up training locally with both Spindrift and Coastal Repertory Theater, and now shares that same joy with her students. In addition to teaching, she has directed multiple theater productions and led a variety of dance classes. Bree loves being part of the Spindrift community and is looking forward to another incredible year. 

Claire is a high school performer and teaching artist based in the Bay Area. She attends Terra Nova High School in Pacifica, where she is also the goalie for the girls water polo team.

Claire has been performing for nearly a decade and has appeared on stages throughout the Bay Area, including Spindrift School of Performing Arts and CMT San Jose, where she performed on the mainstage in Frozen. She is currently in production for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Coastal Repertory Theatre in Half Moon Bay. Her recent roles include Gretchen in Mean Girls, Audrey in Descendants, and Logainne in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

She was also featured as a Kid Critic for CBS KPIX-10, interviewing cast members of Mrs. Doubtfire on tour. Off stage, Claire is passionate about singing, theater education, and helping younger performers find their voice. She is thrilled to be working as a teaching artist and looks forward to meeting you.

Sierra is a choreographer, director, and educator established on the West Coast. Her choreography integrates acrobatics, contemporary, and modern dance, while her teaching practice emphasizes athletic conditioning, collaborative creation, somatic healing, and artist agency.

Sierra’s training began as a competitive gymnast before transitioning into musical theatre and ultimately focusing on dance with an emphasis on modern floorwork. She earned her MFA in Choreography and Teaching Pedagogy from Mills College in Oakland, CA, after completing her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts/Dance and a minor in Child Development at California State University, Fresno. Following her academic training, Sierra obtained a professional training certificate as an apprentice with the Limón Dance Company, along with numerous accolades in the field of acrobatics, floorwork, and mindful movement.

She has trained with and performed works by pioneering choreographers and companies, including Robert Moses’ Kin, James Wilton, Trisha Brown Dance Company, and CONTRA-TIEMPO, among others. Sierra also gained over three years of training in Afro-Latin techniques and Orisha dances, including Maracatu, through immersive study in Brazil and in Los Angeles with CONTRA-TIEMPO.

Professionally, Sierra has served as Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Dance at Hussian College of Art & Design, Director of High School Programs at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), and Acrobatic Competition Lead for Heartbeat Dance Academy. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge, mentoring emerging artists, and contributing to vibrant creative communities.

Diego grew up in California’s Central Valley and has been passionate about the arts for as long as he can remember. A graduate of San Francisco State University’s School of Performing Arts, Diego is eager to share his knowledge and inspire the next generation of artists. His background includes years of dance training, extensive involvement in community productions both on and off stage, and more recently, acting in film. Beyond performing, Diego collaborates with friends through their collective, Film by Friends, producing projects that highlight the creativity of Bay Area artists. Some of his favorite roles include Usnavi in In the Heights, Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, and Levi in Bloodroot, an upcoming animated feature. 

Christina is thrilled to be joining Spindrift School of Performing Arts where she will be serving as Musical Theatre and Dance teacher.  Her training began at the age of 2 in piano, dance, voice, and acting and she has performed throughout her life in companies including Coastal Repertory Theatre, Pacifica Spindrift Players, Young People's Teen Musical Theatre Company (YPTMTC), and at St. Ignatius College Preparatory HS. She has served as a Performing Arts Teacher in an Private Independent school in San Francisco and has 20 years serving as an educator in San Francisco and Pacifica.  

With a diverse background in dance, visual art, and Pilates, along with many years of stage performance, Amy brings both creativity and depth of experience to her work with students. She began her dance career with the modern dance company Pax Fiat in the greater San Diego area and has spent over 15 years teaching dance to children in the U.S. and abroad. Before her present role at Spindrift as a dance teacher/choreographer she taught introduction to musical theater through play, drawing and visual arts to kindergarten students. Amy is deeply passionate about nurturing creativity, confidence, and a love of movement in every person she works with.

Elizabeth brings over 25 years of dance experience to the Spindrift family! She began her dance journey at Studio One for the Performing Arts in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where she eventually became the owner and Artistic Director. In 2002, she earned her BA in Cinema with a minor in Dance from San Francisco State University. Elizabeth spent many years working in TV and film in Los Angeles before returning to the Bay Area. For the past several years, she has taught at Dance Effects and CDC, sharing her passion and expertise with students of all ages. We’re thrilled to welcome her to the Spindrift family!

Kennedy Johnson is thrilled to join Spindrift School of Performing Arts as a Teaching Artist after spending the summer supporting camps and performances. A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, she trained on both the New York and Los Angeles campuses and brings a strong foundation in musical theater, choreography, and performance.

Kennedy has assisted with a variety of youth productions across the Peninsula, including choreography for Beauty and the Beast at Highlands Elementary and support roles with productions at San Mateo and Burlingame High Schools. She is also an active performer, with recent credits including The Prom (FMT), Annie (Coastal Rep), Fiddler on the Roof (PA Players), 9 to 5 (Coastal Rep), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (San Jose Stage), and The Drowsy Chaperone (WVLO).

Having grown up on the Peninsula immersed in theater and dance, Kennedy is passionate about giving young performers a creative space where they feel seen, supported, and celebrated. She brings energy, empathy, and a love for the performing arts into every class she teaches.

Sawyer is a versatile choreographer and dance educator at Spindrift School of Performing Arts, where she teaches across a wide range of styles including modern, contemporary, jazz, musical theater, and hip hop. She has choreographed for productions and leads classes that support students at all levels, from beginners building foundational skills to advanced dancers refining their technique and performance.

Trained in dance since the age of three, Sawyer has continued her study of jazz, modern, musical theater, contemporary, and ballroom through college and beyond. She brings a strong technical foundation together with creativity and play, ensuring that her classes challenge students while also keeping movement joyful and engaging.

Her teaching philosophy centers on building confidence, artistry, and community in the studio. Drawing inspiration from choreographers such as Ohad Naharin and Irmgard Bartenieff, she incorporates mindfulness and expressive exploration into technical training. Sawyer encourages students to view dance not only as performance but also as a pathway for creativity, resilience, and self-expression.

At SSPA, Sawyer is committed to creating an inclusive and inspiring environment where students feel supported to take risks, grow as performers, and discover their unique choreographic voices.

Kimberly is a native of San Francisco, attended SOTA San Francisco and AMDA in New York City before performing in a European tour of 42nd Street (Millie). She appeared in numerous productions and companies throughout the Bay Area. As she continued performing locally, Kimberly developed a strong desire to give back to the next generation of artists through teaching. With over 25 years of experience in theater as an actress, choreographer, and director, she has previously worked with SSPA as both a choreographer and dance teacher. Most recently, she founded Center Stage Theater Arts in Pacifica, where she directs full productions with students from kindergarten through 8th grade.

centerstagetheaterarts.com

Tony is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a dedicated pianist, composer, and music director. Originally from Seattle, he grew up performing at Seattle Children’s Theater and later trained as a music director through the 5th Avenue Theatre’s Rising Star Project, where he co-led West Side Story and composed a series of original five-minute musicals. While at the Conservatory, Tony premiered several original works and recently music directed On a Clear Day You Can See Forever for Seattle’s Ballyhoo Theater. He’s thrilled to bring his energy and creativity to the Spindrift team.

Gary is a Bay Area native (born in SF) and has lived on the Bay Area peninsula and south bay for his entire life. As a performing artist he has been involved with singing, dancing, and acting since a young child he spent his youth with P. S. Performance, a bay area competitive performing arts company. He has been heavily involved in Bay Area Musical Theater and appeared in over 200 musicals with various theater companies as an actor, stage director and choreographer. He serves on the Board of Directors for Z-Space theater (SF), Woodside Community Theater and React Theater (Seattle).

He has been involved in Stage Presence productions since 2023 having Stage Directed/Choreographed Mean Girls, Into The Woods, Beetlejuice, Little Shop of Horrors, Carrie, and Hadestown Teen Edition. 

His passion with the youth theater arts sector is the cultivation of a safe environment to develop skills as amateur artists (singing, dancing and acting), as well as core life skills (kindness, being responsible, self-confidence).