Our program would not be the same without the dedicated teaching staff who share their talents, artistry, and professional experiences with transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project. We proudly introduce you to our teaching artist team……
DEBORAH STERN’S dance career has spanned 30 years. She began her training in New York City where she grew up. She studied with world-renowned dance companies Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Harkness Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and Luigi Jazz. She has a Masters Degree in Dance from Smith College where she studied dance under a full scholarship and teaching fellowship. Deborah has directed dance departments at the Dalton School (NYC), Woodcreek High School of the Performing Arts (Ca), Franklin High School of the Performing Arts (Ca.), and Sacramento Community College (Ca.) She was an adjunct professor of dance at UC Davis (Ca), and was artistic director of the UC Davis dance company, Dance Repertory Workshop. Deborah has choreographed for the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada Choreographers' Forum, Fusion Dance Company, Desert Dance Company, Choreo 8, and the Off Broadway production Three for the Money." She is revising her signature work, “Longing For Peace" a modern ballet performed in 2003, for transcendance. Deborah, who is a newcomer to San Diego, is delighted to have the opportunity to work with transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project.
ZARA JEFFREY began studying dance twelve years ago at the age of sixteen within a high school dance program. She has studied in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Musical Theater, Ballroom, Latin, Hip- Hop, Improvisational, Ethnic Dance and Music, and Yoga. In 2002, after four years of intense study, she completed her AA Degree in Dance from Grossmont College. Within this same year she began training with a local cutting edge dance company, Eveoke Dance Theater. Being accepted into their “Professional Training Program”, she grew in her already existing classical training, learned Hip Hop Dance, and developed teaching skills through assisting in the youth classes. However, her studies there continued for only one year so that she could go on to pursue her goals in dance at San Diego State University. Through the dance program at SDSU she received several performance opportunities in student, faculty, and University Dance Company shows. In 2005 she completed her studies at SDSU receiving her BA in Dance. As well as her study of classical dance, Zara has studied and performed ethnic styles of dance and music such as, Middle-Eastern, West African, Spanish, and Brazilian. Dance has been an enriching experience, transforming many avenues of her life. Currently, she is working for the San Diego Artist’s Models Guild as an Art Model. This experience has opened her up into the art world, posing for fine art, graphic art, sculpture, painting, and photography. Through this work she has created a discipline of stillness and focus within. She has used these passed few years of stillness to manifest her place within the Dance and Art Community in San Diego, bringing her to transcedance Youth Arts Project. Her ultimate goal is to heal lives through the process of movement and stillness. She is honored to be part of a project like transcendance, and hopes to give as much to the youth, as she receives from the experience.
PHIL SISSON, is co-founder and manager of KidSchool Foreign Language Center in Solana Beach, California, and a performing artist. He completed his undergraduate studies in Literature at UCSD, earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Acting and Dramatic Arts at UCLA, and studied Acting Technique and Theater at the Michael Chekhov Actor’s Studio in New York City. As well, he earned a California Teaching Credential at Chapman University and has studied Public School Administration at San Diego State University. Among his extensive teaching assignments, Phil has taught ESL, 5th-8th grade core curriculum, and Spanish in the San Diego City Schools, as well as dance at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. Phil began performing on stage at age 9. While living in Uruguay, he was signed to perform in his own national television show called Oro Solida (Solid Gold). He has written and produced a musical recording entitled, The Dream. His current recording, We’re One People, was recently released. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Phil has lived and traveled in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and Uruguay. He is currently the Acting Coach for the transcenDANCE students also.
grace shinhae jun is a choreographer, educator, performer, and scholar. The inherent need for movement and the love of hip hop culture inspired her to begin bkSOUL: a performance company that shares culture, language, and soul. In addition to bkSOUL, grace has performed with a variety of local and national artists, including Jean Isaacs, Allyson Green, and Gabe Masson. She currently teaches at UCSD, Southwestern College, San Diego City College, and serves on the New Wave Showcase panel for Sushi Performance and Visual Art. In addition to collaborating with the spoken word poets Ant Black, Rudy Francisco, and Kendrick Dial, grace works in theatre and was commissioned by the La Jolla Playhouse for Will Power’s hip hop theatre play Honey Bo and the Goldmine. Holding a BA in History from UCSD and an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College, grace has returned to UCSD in pursuit of a Ph.D. Recently married, grace and her husband, Dr. Jesse Mills are committed to social justice activism and community building.
MARA HARRIS, Yoga Explorer / Yoga Coach – her offering of yoga and improv dance is inspired by an eclectic background in the movement arts (Tai Chi, Contact Improv Dance, African Dance, Rhythmic Gymnastics). Mara believes allowing the spirit to play by harmonizing mind, body and will through a unique blend of yogic styles. Her intention is to convey yoga as a sacred and advantageous means to delve into subtle aspects of mind, body and energy; she teaches the premise that when conditions of compassion and acknowledgement are present, transformation happens exponentially. Mara holds a B.A. from the University of Oregon and became a certified yoga teacher through the Nataraja Yoga and Meditation Center in San Diego. There she received training in Hatha Yoga-Sivananda Style and also completed their two-year Expert in Life Program. Mara was one of 25 yoga teachers selected in the first lineage of certified AcroYoga teachers in the United States, completing the AcroYoga Teacher Training in August 2006. Mara has taught yoga and AcroYoga in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego and has danced in India and Mexico. Mara began teaching yoga in 1999; she currently teaches at University of San Diego, Frogs-Club One in Mission Valley, Downtown San Diego Athletic Club, OB Namaste Yoga Center, The Studio at North Park, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, and provides individual one-on-one yoga instruction and is honored to serve in her second season as a Teaching Artist for the transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project using yoga/AcroYoga and Contact Improv dance as tools to train the youth.