aboutdancEsteemteachers
Takami Craddock
Dance Director
Takami Craddock was born and raised in Japan. She received her BA in Modern Dance at Nihon University College of Arts. After she moved to United States, she began performing and teaching in New York, Baltimore, Washington DC, and San Francisco. She was then the co-founder of San Francisco Butoh Festival 1994 - 1999. Through this festival she worked intensively with Butoh pioneers, Akira Kasai and Setsuko Yamada. She created the performance group "Toumei" (which means clear color) in 2000, now renamed MoBu Dance Group ("MoBu" means true dance in Japanese kanji characters). Mobu Dance is a hybrid contemporary dance style influenced by Japanese butoh and explores concepts of time, space and imagery. The group has collaborated with various artists in the Bay Area. Takami has been invited to lead workshops and perform in Tokyo, Thailand and France. She also is passionate about teaching children. She worked with the Performing Arts Workshop for a decade and taught all over in the Bay Area public schools Kindergarten through 5th grade. In 1998 she started a children's dance program called "DancEsteem" for children 3 to 18 years old. This May (2011), DancEsteem celebrated its 14th Annual Performance at the Cowell Theater Fort Mason and had the first graduate students from DancEsteem!
Mela Amaiya
Teaches Hip Hop II
Mela Amaiya is a multidisciplinary dancer, performer and teacher. She is committed to studying cultural based dance forms, including Cuban, Haitian, Middle Eastern and Congolese, as well as urban Hip Hop. In the last 15 years, she has performed and taught Nationally and studied Internationally. She recently completed her MA in Women’s Spirituality, and intends to form international alliances with dance, youth exchange programs, and clean water rites in her future work. She is currently dancing with Afoutayi, a Haitian Dance, Music and Arts Company; performing her own inspired fusion style; raising her beautiful daughter; and teaching.
Marisa Castillo
Teaches Ballet III & Pre-point
Marisa Castillo is a native Californian and has been involved in the San Francisco Bay Area dance scene for over a decade. She started her teaching career at the ODC Dance Commons in 2006. Other teaching credtis include Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, Brisbane Dance Workshop, Stanford University and the University of San Francisco. Her ballet training included many fine teachers in the Bay Area including Karen Morell with whom she gained her knowledge of the Vaganova Classical Russian Ballet technique. Her years of studying Feldenkrais with Augusta Moore has given her a unique understanding of alignment, movement and artistry. Marisa Castillo has also studied in the professional division of the Ailey School in New York City. Ms. Castillo has worked with local choreographers and has danced with a number of companies including Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Cloumbia City Ballet and Santa Clara Ballet. Marisa enjoys teaching all ages from children to adults.
Terese Hoibbye
Teaches Ballet Intermediate & Point
Terese Hoibye holds a BFA in dance education from the Norwegian Ballet College. After college she continued her dance studies in New York at Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and Peridance Center. She started dancing when she was 7, performed extensively since the age of 10, and has appeared on Norwegian National TV and at the Norwegian National Theatre. She spent 4 years in New York where she danced with Jodi Liss Dance/Ideas and produced Dancing Planet International Dance Festival. Since moving to the Bay Area she danced with Anima Mundi Dance Company, The Lively Foundation, HerPic Performances (who she performed with at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Tango and More, and in several productions at Mariposa Studio’s. She also performed and presented her own work at the Norwayday Festival in San Francisco.
Terese has taught for over 15 years in Norway, New York and the Bay Area. Her teaching experience ranges from young children through adult in both Ballet and Contemporary. She served as Program Director and Ballet Mistress for CTA in Walnut Creek for 3 years and has taught for California Academy of Ballet in Martinez, DLOC in Pleasant Hill and Ashkenaz in Berkeley. She currently teaches at ODC and MoBu in San Francisco, Conservatory of Classical Ballet in San Leandro, and Fitness In Transit in Oakland.
Fredrika Keefer
Teaches Hip Hop Teens
Fredrika Keefer was born and raised in San Fransisco's Mission district. She has trained in hip hop, ballet, jazz, modern, and taiko drumming for over 10 years now. She graduated from School of the Arts high school and is now performing, teaching, and choreographing all throughout the bay area. She works with orgonizations such as Dance Brigades Dance Mission, Mubu Dance Studios and Destiny Arts Center. She has also done tons of out reach classes in the public schools and after school programs in San Fransisco such as "GLO" at Alvarado and James Town. Fredrika has traveld to Oregon, Cuba, and Saint Marteen to teach Hip Hop and contemporary dance. She has worked with artist such as Kim Epifano with Epifany Productions and Allan Frias's Mind Over Matter and now dances professionally with Dance Brigade and Alayo Dance company.
Amanda McGovern
Teaches Ballet Intermediate & Point
Originally from the bay area, Amanda is delighted to be sharing her love of dance through teaching for the past 7 years. She has been dancing for 27 years and presently performs with Peninsula Ballet Theatre. She holds a B.A. in performance, a certification in gyrotonic, and has danced with many ballet and modern dance companies such as Oakland Ballet, Nevada Ballet, Lisbon Dance Company, Kunst-Stoff, and Robert Moses. She received training at SF Ballet, Joffrey, Milwaukee, Ballet West and ODC. She also enjoys creating solo choreography for benefits. She feels strongly that dance is a happy art form and learned intelligence that can contribute to whatever an individual or group wants to achieve.
