Bonnie Curtis

Bonnie Curtis, owner and instructor at Curtis Studio of Dance, was born into a performance family. Dance training began in Florida at the Grace Thomas Studio of Dance. Strong training in ballet, allowed her to excel in pointe, tap, acrobatic, adagio, musical comedy, and jazz. Her ballet teacher, Grace Thomas, was a very accomplished ballerina and teacher. She was asked by a college sports coach as a young woman to teach ballet to his team culminating in their winningest season. That coach was Knut Rockney and the team was the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Grace also was one of the first women to have a touring ballet company. She formed an "Adagio Team" using a combination of ballet, lyrical and acrobatic together with partnering. Bonnie was a member of this team. Bonnie worked one on one with Virginia Thomas in tap and was a soloist since the age of five as well as performing with her mother and brother all over the east coast. She danced with the Palm Beach Ballet Company and enjoyed a very long and exciting performance career on stage, theater-in-the-round, and on television, performing a variety of dance forms. Along with the dance training, she studied classical piano for ten years. Bonnie used her dance background in her other love-that of one and three meter springboard diving, becoming top diver in the United States. She constantly refers to this training as a guide for improving muscular strength and endurance for her students as well as teaching the value of body mechanics and preparation for any move. Bonnie has been teaching dance for 39 years at CSD; she greatly enjoys putting on successful young dancers' productions and working with her winning competition corps. She is an active member of the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance and was a founding member of Carpinteria Valley Arts Council. Visit www.artscarp.org.

Bosco

BOSCO has performed live for the NBA, Pony, Adidas, Nike, Sony/BMG, Great Clips, L’Oreal, HP computers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. His choreography can be seen used by Kelly Rowland, Tyra Banks, Katt Williams, and Damien Wayans. He has toured with artists in Puerto Rico, Japan, Mexico, Italy, and most recently with Corbin Bleu on his 2008 United States Tour. He’s danced in the feature films You Got Served and the Seat Filler, acted in the motion picture Dirty Deeds, and also acted in Green Day’s video Boulevard of Broken Dreams. As for television, Bosco has appeared on episodes of My Wife and Kids, America’s Next Top Model, So You Think You Can Dance, the 2006 Miss Universe Pageant, and the 2008 MTV Movie Awards with Chris Brown. He also shot a commercial for I Pod, and did a print/TV advertisement for American Idol. He has appeared in Chelo’s video Yummy featuring Too $hort, Ashley Tisdale’s He Said, She Said, and Daddy Yankee’s video Impacto feat. Fergie. He has taught at conventions, numerous studios, judged at competitions, and set overall high score choreography all across the United States. He is proud to be an instructor at Curtis Studio of Dance. Visit www.boscodance.com.

Suzy Miller

For 25 years, Suzy has been an internationally acclaimed choreographer. Her resume includes national television credits, film, M/TV videos, musical theater, TV commercials, rock and roll stage shows, celebrity nightclub acts, and dance-intensive fashion shows for top name clients. She has worked with many celebrities and has won many industry awards, including five Emmies, a Peabody, and television's coveted Iris award. She has written satires and comedic sketches that have been used in television sitcoms, television pilots, magazine format TV shows, and assorted theatrical revues, as well as a regular column for L.A. Dance Magazine. Her competition choreography has consistently won Best Overall, Best in Show, and Best Choreography at all the major conventions. Suzy teaches master classes and is CSD's competition choreographer.


Jack Wiley

Jack Wiley has danced as a soloist and principal with ballet and modern companies in California and Arizona. He trained in ballet at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, and with Kelly Brown, Xenia Chlistowa, and Jon Cristofori, and in modern with Daniel Nagrin, from whom he learned "Strange Hero," Mr. Nagrin's signature piece. He was an original company member of State Street Ballet and has a BFA in dance from the University of Arizona. He has taught, choreographed, coached, produced, and directed ballet and modern dance. His modern style is a mixture of Limon, Horton, and ballet.

Jack will be teaching modern, as well as, coaching and choreographing ballet for CSD.

Marie Sperber

Marie has been dancing for 19 years. She has studied ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, modern, hip hop and musical theater. At the age of eleven, she was chosen to join a modern dance company performing A Wing and A Prayer, touring the western United States. In 2003, she moved to Los Angeles where she has enjoyed performing at various venues. Marie has been teaching at numerous studios in the Los Angeles area, as well as, choreographing and preparing dancers for competitions. Her dance piece Tribal Tap won the 2006 Encore Choreographer's Award. Marie is an excellent technician and has an uncanny ability to bring the best out of all dancers from young dancers to advanced pre-professionals. Marie teaches jazz and hip hop at CSD.

An exquisitely accomplished , Pamela "La Morena" Lourant is in demand. She began her professional career in 2003 by competing and winning Santa Barbara's prestigious and coveted Flamenco Soloist of The Year. This September, Pamela will begin teaching and choreographing for groups and soloists, which will be part of her first school of dance & dress design company, "FLAMENCO BY DESIGN". "La Morena" has worked with some of California's best musicians, dancers, and choreographers which include Timo Nunez, Jesus Montoya, Jose Tanaka, Roberto Armaral, Linda Vega, and many others. Having traveled to Madrid, Sevilla, and Jerez, Pamela studied with the leading flamenco artists of today. Dedicating years of passion, love and commitment to teaching her students and being fortunate enough to learn and perform with the best--Pamela Lourant has created a style all her own. Some of her credits include:

• FOX's hit T.V. series "ALIAS"
• PLACIDO DOMINGO'S LUISA FERNANDA at the Los Angeles Music Center
• Opera Santa Barbara's production of Carmen
• Irvine Flamenco Festival in Irvine, California
• The PBS Special "BENISE: NIGHTS OF FIRE" as a soloist
• A featured performer in Jose Tanaka's Soniquete Flamenco
• Roberto Armarals "ESPANA CLASSICA"
• The Profant Foundation's Fiesta Finale
• FOREVER FLAMENCO at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood, California.