Andrea was born in Cordoba, Argentina, and got her B.A. in Studio Art from the Universidad Nacional De Cordoba in 1998 as well as a degree in Graphic Design from the Colegio Nacional de Monserrat. After moving to the U.S. she graduated Summa Cum Laude at CSU Chico with a B.A. in Art Education in 2003. She received her teaching credential and a Master of Arts in Education from Chapman University in Sacramento in 2005. Andrea also taught at NCSA as one of our Artists in Residence from 2004 – 2005 and 2006-2007.
Asia has studied at the American College in Paris, CSU Fullerton, and Orange Coast College with a focus on fine arts and child development. She began working in school art programs in 1991 and has been a part of NCSA since 1995. Her goal in working with young people is to inspire self-confidence, positive self-expression, and respect for oneself and the world.
Samantha has been teaching in California’s public schools for over 20 years. She holds both Art and Multiple Subject teaching credentials, and is a member of the California Arts Educators Association. She became an NCSA parent in 2010, and joined the staff in 2012.
Samantha is an avid sketchbook artist, and especially loves to draw while traveling. She believes that drawing is a wonderful way to understand the world, and that the practice of observing and drawing is an important part of leaning in all subjects. Art making is a powerful way to understand other perspectives and values, and can teach us so much about our shared and diverse human experiences. In the art classroom, Samantha aims to balance technique exploration with skills practice, artist study with personal expression, creative freedom with parameters and deadlines, and community with individualism. Samantha is inspired by the way young children find so much joy in art making, and one of her goals is to help all students hold on to that joy.
Camille has been with NCSA since 2018 and enjoys working with students of all ages. She is a creative teacher who believes students are capable of more than they know. She encourages students to challenge themselves and explore new mediums. She has her fine arts degree from San Francisco State University where she focused on painting and sculpture. Camille has worked with professional artists and runs her own art practice that includes digital art, painting, ceramics, leatherworking, copper work, and mixed media arts. She received her teaching credentials from Long Beach State University that focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity in education.
Gabriel has been teaching @ NCSA since the 2010-2011 school year and has been teaching in CA public schools for 16 years. Born and raised in upstate NY, Gabriel moved out to California in 2005 after graduating from Ithaca College with a BA in K-12 general music education and instrumental music education. Since his start at NCSA, Gabriel has taught a mixture of main lesson integrative music classes and instrumental music electives classes. Currently, Gabriel teaches T/K - 5th grade main lesson music and also teaches a Beginning Band elective and a Jazz Band elective in 6th-8th grade.
Outside the context of music and NCSA, Gabriel has been an active alternative health care practitioner for over 8 years within the mind-body system of Functional Symmetry.
Dance class will comprise of deep stretching to elongate limbs and improve flexibility, strengthening and conditioning to train the body increasing performance abilities, and dance technique using various approaches and modalities while also investigating origin of movement. A very important component of taking dance is being open to exploring a variety of genres, topics, and movement as well as creating work stemming from our own life experiences. Dancers will be prompted to think, examine and explore topics and choreograph accordingly.
Chanthou has an MA in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Movement Studies and BS in Dance and Theatre from California State University, Sacramento. She has been teaching dance for over 20 years and specializes in Afro-Caribbean and Afro Cuban folkloric dance and has been trained in Modern, Contemporary, Jazz and Choreographic Principles. Hip Hop was her first love and dance is a way of life for her.