Tami Nixon, owner 707.251.9200 Tami@studioartsnapavalley.com Tami's mother was a dancer in Hawaii, and when Tami was a young child her mother shared with her the joy of dance by teaching her basic ballet steps in their kitchen. Tami began her formal training at age 16 at Annabelle's School of Ballet in San Carlos, Ca. She also studied at College of San Mateo. At age 20 Tami moved to Napa and began taking dance classes at Napa Valley College and Academy of Danse under the direction of Pam Kratz Rogers. Tami performed in many musicals at Napa Valley College including Cabaret, Sound of Music, Music Man, She Loves Me, and Dames at Sea to name a few. Tami also sang in Opus I Chior and studied voice at Napa Valley College. Tami began teaching at Sunrise Montessori of Napa Valley and aquired her BA in Early Childhood Education and her Montessori Teaching Credential from University of Santa Barbara in 1985. While teaching at Sunrise Montessori she was also instructing dance and Academy of Danse and running and teaching at her very successful Makai Swim School in Napa. Tami then devloped her own preschool dance program which she brought to several preschools and child care centers in Napa. She offered classes at Napa Regional Dance Company for 9 years creating her Children's Dance Ensemble as well as teaching afterschool dance classes at Blue Oak School and directing and teaching at the Napa Valley Language Academy afterschool programs. Last year Tami aquired her Kindermusic Teachers Certificate and is now adding classes for children 0 to 13 years. Tami is now very excited to bring her many talents and expertise to her new venture, studio arts napa valley. A place where she teaches all ages and shares her studio with her many talented friends and collegues that she has met along they way. And yes, she still teaches swimming lessons! Backstage Dancewear Lynn Leal, owner 707.251.9409 Lynn has been in business in Napa for over 20 years. She was unfortunately flooded out of her Pearl Street location on December 31, 2005. She is now very happy to offer the same quality dance and workout apparel and accessories at Studio Arts Napa Valley. If you need it, Lynn can get it for you! Cindy Barry 707.332.0019 Cindy Barry has been teaching art for over 10 years in public and private schools in Arizona and California. Many of her students have been selected for art shows and several  have received college scholarships under her guidance. With a specialization in 2-dimensional art, she enjoys drawing with graphite and prismacolor, as well as painting with watercolor and acrylics.   Cindy holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing & Design and has a Masters in Education.  In addition, she holds an art credential with the State of California. Remi Cohen 707.337.8540 Remi has been dancing since she was a child, but really fell in love with dancing when she began to explore world music and dance at the University of California at Berkeley. She has studied under the direction of CK Ladzekpo, world renowned African dance and drum teacher and leader of the SF Bay Area's West African Music and Dance Ensemble. At the same time, she began to study bellydancing with Nanna Candelaria and was a founding member of Nanna's Oakland based Troupe Tabu. Her love of Afro-Cuban dancing began when Jose Barroso, a Cuban native and artistic director of the SF?s Obakoso dance troupe, was California Arts Council Artist-In-Residence Grant recipient for the years 1995-2000. Remi has practiced multiple forms of Afro-Caribbean dancing and drumming including Cuban based folkloric dancing and drumming from Santeria and Palo, Rumba, Samba, Capoeira, and Salsa. Her dance teaching experience began in 1999 when she led a bellydancing based world music dance ensemble out of Davis, California. She currently teaches Afro-Caribbean dancing in the Napa Valley and focuses on such movements as Cuban Santeria Orisha dancing, Palo, Arara, Rumba, Mozambique, Puerto Rican Bomba, and Brazilian Samba. In her spare time, Remi is a vineyard manager in the Napa Valley. Aimee Guillot 415.595.0403 Aimee Guillot has worked professionally as an actor in New York, Los Angeles, and other cities nationally as well as internationally. She taught undergraduate drama at UC San Diego where she received her MFA in Acting and was voted one of the top 100 teachers at the university. Aimee has taught in Bay Area elementary schools as a teaching artist for Theatre Works in Palo Alto, and for Berkeley Rep Theatre. She is also teaching at Blue Oak School, here in Napa. Carol Guinn 707.337.6849 Carol has studied American, Latin, and European ballroom dance styles in both Southern and Northern California. In Carol’s classes you will explore the basics of ballroom dance including Swing, Fox Trot, Cha Cha, and Rhumba. You will also lean to identify each rhythm, the fundamental steps, proper posture and ballroom etiquette. Roland Johnson 707.447.0142 Roland has been teaching and performing Hip Hop dance throughout the greater San Francisco Bay area for over 12 years. He has opened for artists such as Too Short, Mark Wahlberg, Rob Base, and Tupac. Fidelma Keenan, T.C.R.G. 707.542.1367 Fidelma is a first generation Irish American. She has been involved in Irish Dance since four years of age and continued dancing to competition levels as the Western State Champion. Twenty years ago she fulfilled her dream of opening an Keenan Irish Dance School in Sonoma. She teaches children of all ages through adults. She is now very happy to offer Traditional Irish Dance classes to the community of Napa. Dee Dee Lawton  707.928.0384 dee@kindermusikwithdeedee.com Kindermusik and Piano teacher DeeDee Lawton arrives from San Francisco, by way of New York, to share her many talents with the community of Napa. DeeDee holds a degree in music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has studied Early Childhood Education at Alfred University, New York, as well she has studied voice and musical theatre at ACT in San Francisco. DeeDee has been teaching Kindermusik for over 7 years and piano and flute for more than 18 years. DeeDee has been named "Maestro Instructor" of Kindermusik which puts her in the top 5% in the world. Her very successful Kindermusik program in San Francisco was voted "2006 Best Music Class in the Bay Area" by Bay Area Parent Magazine which she will continue to teach at. She has written and performed in many plays and solo performances in New York. DeeDee says, "I find true joy and passion in working with children through music and movement as well as exploring various musical instruments." If you are looking for an enthusiastic, compassionate, talented music teacher...DeeDee is the one! DeeDee will be offering Kindermusik and Private and Semi-Private piano lessons on Mondays. Check out her website @ http://www.kindermusikwithdeedee.com Dawn Perrin 707.257.6674 Dawn has been sharing her love of ballet with children and adults of all ages for the past twelve years here in Napa. Her love of the art form began at age 7 when she began ballet classes at The Cantarella School of Dance with Nancy Pierce. She continued her training there until graduation and was a member of the Berkshire Ballet under the direction of Madeline Cantarella Culpo. There she danced in many of the classics including Giselle, Les Sylphides, and Coppelia. She also received training at The Pennsylvania Ballet School, School of American Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School where she was a scholarship student. Dawn’s professional career began at age 17 where she was selected as a member of American Ballet Theatre II. She then went on to become a member of The Joffrey Ballet and later danced with The Houston Ballet. During her career Dawn was grateful for the opportunity to perform many leading roles throughout the United States and internationally. Some of her favorites include renowned classics such as Romeo and Juliet, The Dream, Spring Waters, Raymonda, Napoli, Swan Lake, Four Temperaments, La Fille Mal Gardee, Taming of the Shrew, and Graduation Ball. Paul Taylor’s Cloven Kingdom, Gerald Arpino’s Secret Places, James Kudelka’s The Heart of the Matter and Dream Dances and Forgotten Land by Jiri Kylian are a few of her modern and contemporary favorites. A highlight of her career was when she was honored with the role of the Sugarplum Fairy in the world premiere of The Joffrey Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker in 1987. Dawn lives in Napa with her husband, Raymond Perrin and their four children. Raymond is also a former dancer with American Ballet Theatre and The Joffrey Ballet. Jen Philips 707.251.1544 Jen is a professional photographer whose primary work is in outdoor portraiture, wedding and special events photography, as well as scenic and landscape photography. Her photographic style focuses on making use of natural light and capturing the candid moment within a scene- the goal: photos attempt to truly reflect life in motion. Jen’s current work is entirely in the digital SLR form, both in color and black and white. Jen lives and works in the Napa Valley. Katie Roberts 707.280.2052 Having both modern and classical training, Katie Roberts studied studio art and art history at Princeton University with a semester abroad in Florence, Italy and has continued to study art at the Art Students League of New York City and with artists Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronsky. In 2003, she earned her masters in art education from the University of Houston. Subsequently, she had her thesis, Anding the Art Dynamic, published in The Journal of Social Theory in Art Education. As a practicing artist and teacher, she has shown her work in Houston, Napa, and the Bay area and has taught extensively at many local schools, Copia, and other museums as a specialist visiting teacher and artist. . Leslie Timm 812.4035 Leslie has worked with children for more than 8 years and owned and operated a pre-school in the Bay Area. Leslie holds an AA in Liberal Studies as well as an AS in Social Sciences and is now completing her BA in Art Studies. Jeannine Schoos Jeannine is a graduate of New York University's BFA program. She has performed in places like Boston, Providence, and New York.  As a teacher, Jeannine has taught students of all ages and abilities, most recently teaching at an art outreach institute in New York,  As a choreographer, Jeannine has worked on multiple films and with students at New York University and Festival Ballet Providence, just to name a few. After years of teaching and dancing on the east coast, Jeanine is excited to begin working with students in Napa.