Rebecca Cervantes – MYT Director/Instructor
Hip Hop & World Dance
CLASS DESCRIPTION
This class focuses on creating community and inspiring self-expression through dance games. Students are encouraged to freestyle, improvise, choreograph, and find their own way of moving in their space through fun, creative exercises. We also learn and perform dances from all over the world, including Hip Hop, Salsa, and Merengue.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Rebecca Cervantes has been teaching dance to kids and adults all over San Francisco since 1994. She started teaching Hip Hop at the Mission YWCA, worked with adults at Rhythm & Motion and now teaches all over SFUSD and at The Marsh. She loves bringing kids the joy of dance and creating opportunities for them to perform in community events all over San Francisco.
Wayne Harris – Instructor
Storytellin’ with Mr. Wayne
CLASS DESCRIPTION
A weekly storytelling program that invites students to explore the stories in their family and community. Utilizing the techniques and skills needed for traditional storytelling.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Wayne Harris is an award-winning solo performer, writer, educator, curriculum innovator, and musician. A gifted artist with wide ranging interests, he has accumulated an impressive body of work over the years that includes 7 full length plays, presentation for schools. directing, and designing for pageantry groups as well as various musical projects.
Bruce Pachtman – Instructor
Digital Storytelling
Stop Motion Video Class – Fall 2022
CLASS DESCRIPTION
We begin each session by reviewing a compilation reel of the work the students created in the previous class as well as a video created by a professional animator using the same materials that the students will explore that day. Instruction is provided on the iPod, tripod, and the application we use. Over the course of a term, students are introduced to a wide variety of materials: cardboard boxes, clay, colored paper, white boards, green screens, legos, and uncooked pasta. A day is set aside for the students to bring in materials from home. All videos are compiled at the end of class and sent to the parents of the students.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Bruce Pachtman began teaching storytelling with The Marsh Youth Theater in 2015. When not in the classroom, Bruce co-produces the Solo Sundays solo performance series and BIG SHOT, a storytelling series about meeting famous people. He has appeared: in a long running solo show which he also wrote, as a storyteller on Porchlight, as a central character in a movie directed by Chris Columbus and as a member of highly regarded sketch comedy groups in New York City.
Maica Folch – Instructor
Creative Dramatics & Bailando con Trapecios
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Maica Folch was born and educated in Catalonia, Maica Folch has been an energetic presence in the San Francisco art education community for over twenty years. Maica draws on her circus, theater, dance background to teach theater, dance and trapeze at the Marsh Youth Theater, the San Francisco Youth Theater, and in the San Francisco public elementary schools.
Mariella Morales – Instructor
Dances of the African Diaspora
CLASS DESCRIPTION
Students are encouraged to discover movement within their own individual bodies through the vehicle of dance. These classes explore dances of the African Diaspora. She creates a safe space for ALL students using dance as art and discipline.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Mariella Morales, a San Francisco native was introduced to dance at the age of 7 when she would accompany her mother to her dance classes. Her love for dances of the African Diaspora was due to her attendance at SF School of the Arts (SOTA), where she was introduced to Dunham Technique and African Haitian. Ms. Morales’ academic credentials are: received an A.A in Dance from City College of San Francisco (CCSF) in 2004; completed a B.A. in Dance from San Francisco State University (SFSU) in 2007; and earned a M.S. in Kinesiology at SFSU in 2012.
Juan de Dios Soto – Instructor
Latin Rhythms Dance and Percussion
CLASS DESCRIPTION
This class offers movement and rhythms from the Latin and African diaspora. Students are introduced to Afro-Peruvian percussion basics on the Cajon drums. We explore the rhythms through movement, dance, choreography and percussion.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Juan de Dios Soto came to San Francisco, CA from Lima, Peru in 1990. From childhood he was exposed to Afro-Peruvian music and dance, and began practicing the Cajon drum as part of his family’s Afro-Peruvian inheritance and traditions. He co-found the Tradition Peruana Cultural Center (TPCC) in 1995 and teaches dance and percussion throughout the SF Bay Area.
Clara Kamunde – Instructor
Theater Arts and Drama Games
CLASS DESCRIPTION
This class emphasizes creativity and collaboration while making up and acting out our own characters and stories. Students work in small groups and partners to improvise, create and perform for one another.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
The power of creativity and play to catalyse learning inspires Clara’s work as a performer, teaching artist teacher and storyteller. Clara believes in the power of theatre to nurture imagination, creativity and critical thinking learning and to build community. She is thrilled to be working with the Marsh Youth Theatre.
Charlie Lavaroni – Instructor
“Classical” Theater: Plays! Playhouses! And Playfulness!
CLASS DESCRIPTION
This class focuses on rein-visioning “classical” theater through the lens of playfulness and Play! We will explore and deconstruct “classical” Shakespeare, Greek myths and other “canonical” work in an imaginative and embodied way through: playing games, making heightened text accessible, and being in connection with each other.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Charlie Lavaroni (they/she/he) is a bi-coastal actor and Teaching Artist. They have proudly performed at: SFBATCO, Shakespeare & Co., SF Shakespeare Festival, Livermore Shakespeare Festival (SPARC), Big Idea Theatre, and the Davis Shakespeare Festival. She has played roles ranging from Nell Gwyn to Hades (and plenty of Shakespearian ladies in-between). He has trained at Shakes and Co’s month-long prestigious intensive and is a Company Member at Killing My Lobster. Gemini Sun. www.charlielavaroni.com
Daniel Macri – Instructor
Making Music
CLASS DESCRIPTION
Music classes focus on building community through collective music practice. Participants are encouraged to learn, play, and create together recognizing that our collective efforts yield greater results than individual contributions alone. Whether through body percussion, recorder playing, singing, or other musical elements, the focus is on the process—experiencing the joy of setting goals and achieving them together, with an emphasis on the musical journey rather than the destination. This experiential learning approach fosters creativity, collaboration, and a deep sense of connection within the group.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Daniel Macri was born in Argentina in a family of musicians and is a dedicated music composition educator from Juan J Castro Conservatory of Music in Argentina. with a strong background in teaching and workshop facilitation, he is committed to culturally responsive and inclusive arts education. He has successfully led music workshops for diverse communities, including refugees, older adults with dementia and underserved children. With expertise in community engagement, bilingual instruction, and interdisciplinary arts programs, he inspires and supports the creative development of all students, fostering inclusion and accessibility.
Daniel Gill – Instructor
Making Connections Through Puppetry Arts
CLASS DESCRIPTION
Through experimentation, creation, and play, children experience the potential of puppetry arts for self-expression, storytelling, and connecting with peers. Children will engage in puppet-making processes, such as rod puppets, hand puppets, and marionettes, and explore narrative development and interpretation. Puppetry arts engage children in materials exploration, expansive creativity, self-expression, and performance.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Daniel Gill is an educational puppeteer, early childhood educator, and teaching artist with an extensive background in early childhood education as a preschool teacher and Expressive Arts specialist. He has worked in inclusive and special education settings and holds a certificate in Early Childhood Education and a Masters in Early Childhood Special Education from San Francisco State University. Daniel has completed professional development courses in puppet performance at the O’Neill Puppetry Conference, educational puppetry conferences through Puppeteers of America, and completed the Puppet Therapy Diploma program. He uses puppets as teaching tools in his teaching artist work with students; including adaptive theater classes in Autism-focus classrooms (StageWrite’s ADAPTS program), puppet theater classes (Marsh Youth Theater), and visual arts classes in inclusive classrooms (San Francisco Children’s Art Center).