People: Instructors

Jennifer “Jenay” Anolin, Hip-Hop Dance Instructor

Prior to joining Destiny, Jenay had 15 years of ballet training, 4 years of jazz training and 8 years of hip hop training, having started dancing as a young girl. She has danced with Oakland Ballet Company, New Style Motherlode, Five-10 Hip Hop Group, ACA Hip Hop Dance Team among others. She received her BA from UCLA in the World Arts and Cultures Dept. in 2006.

Lauren Benjamin –Hip-Hop Dance Instructor

Laura’s varied dance training includes Hip Hop, House, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Ballet and Breaking. She dances with both the Phoenix Dance Company in Fremont and Traci Bartlow’s Starchild Dance Company in Oakland. While at Mission Dance and Performing Arts she provided instruction and choreography for five nationally competitive teams while directing the hip-hop department of twenty-seen classes and five faculty members.

Rashidi Byrd, Hip Hop Instructor

Rashidi was brought to the stage through his passion for dance. Hip-Hop, B-Boying, Popping, Locking and House are integral parts of his extensive repertoire. He has been performing professionally for eleven years and has been teaching dance for six. He is a member of DREAM Dance Company and is an MC for Hip-Hop crew Company of Prophets as well as live bands Loco Bloco and Unsmokables. In addition to dance, Rashidi teaches workshop in lyricism, Hip-Hop history, violence prevention and conflict resolution. He uses these subjects to teach confidence, violence prevention skills and community building among youth.

Antonio Castro, Martial Arts Instructor

Sensei Castro brings more than twenty years of martial arts teaching experience, primarily with youth, to Destiny. A black belt in Shotokan Karate who studied Tae Kwon Do and Wu Tao Kuan, Sensei Castro is an integral member of the Destiny Arts Center team.

Michele Elefante, Teddy Bear Martial Arts Instructor & Adult Self-Defense

Sensei Elefante is the head instructor of the Okinawan Karate Club of San Francisco and holds the rank of Nidan, (2nd degree black belt) in both Shorin Ryu and Shotokan Karate. She has studied martial arts for 16 years, working with youth for 14 of those years. She has been an instructor at the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation’s (NWMAF) special training camp, the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists (PAWMA) training camp and at the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors (AWMAI) conference.

Anthony Daniels, Head Martial Arts Instructor

Is one of Destiny’s founding members, and has taught martial arts, youth leadership, self-defense and conflict resolution to youth of all ages for over 20 years at Destiny and in many other after-school programs in the Bay Area, including the California School for the Blind, Job Corps, the Chestnut Court Housing Projects, and Parks and Recreation programs. Sifu Anthony holds a first-degree black belt in Judo and a fifth degree black belt in Wu Chien Pai Kung Fu. Sifu Daniels has taught martial arts at Destiny since 1988. He started studying at age 13 and received his Black Belt in Kung Fu in 1982 and in Judo in 1988. He has over 20 years experience teaching youth and adults throughout the US, in Switzerland and Mexico.

Simón Hanukai, Co-Artistic Director, Destiny Arts Youth. Performance Co.

Simón Hanukai began co-directing the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company in 2003. He has also served as Destiny’s Program Director from August 2004 - June 2006. Simon has been performing community theater since 1994, and taught theater in middle and high schools for 4 years in New York and California. Simón holds a masters degree in education and teaching credential from the University of San Francisco’s Center of Teaching Excellence and Social Justice. He performs with the theater group, ‘Head Rush’, and co-founded the ‘Naked Souls Collective’, an artist alliance that brings together local visual performance and literary artists to perform locally and nationally.

Natasha “Tasha” Jacobs, Hip-Hop Dance Instructor

Natasha has been dancing professionally since 2000 with Mystic Flava, a Buddhist dance collective and Six Times Crazy, an adult hip-hop dance collective, performing at the Palace of Fine Arts, Masonic Auditorium, Pride Parade, Hip Hop Festival III and IV, the Jon Sims Center for the Arts, among others. She holds a B.A. in Psychology for California State University, Hayward.

Sijay Nynke Koopmans - Volunteer Martial Arts Instructor

Nynke finds it a great honor and privilege to serve the Destiny community. She is constantly inspired by the maturity and creativity of the youth. She has been studying martial arts since 2000 and at Hand to Hand Kajukenbo Self-Defense Center since 2002. She volunteers her time to other youth organizations, one being Challenge Day. She is also a founding director for Mystic Family Circus, founder of GoddessUnite community, an active member of the Yoga Tai-Chi Collective and land owner/ co-creator in the natural habitat restoration of 7000 acres in Mexico: www.ecovillagebeyax.com

Matt Lucas, Martial Arts Instructor

Sifu Lucas started training martial arts in 1982 at age 6, beginning with Judo and Shoren Ryu Karate, then studied Tae Kwon Do under Grand Master Min Suk Song (head judge of 1988 olympics). Sifu Matt received a black belt in the World Tae Kwon Do Federation in 1992 and competed on a national level, as well as intense study of Myser Ashtanga Yoga, under Guru Todd Roderick. Later discovering Toas Nabard Kung Fu, a rare exotic Persian fighting system, created by Grand Master/Founder Marco Safakhoo. Sifu Lucas began teaching Toas Kung Fu in 1997 in Pensacola, FL.

Amie Miller, Modern/Ballet/Jazz Instructor

Amie began dancing at age 5 in the San Francisco Ballet pre-professional division. She studied and performed there until age 11. She attended the SF High School of Performing Arts as a freshman, and then an arts magnet high school in the East Bay. During high school she also studied at Destiny Arts Center with Sarah Crowell. Amie earned a BA in Dance Ethnology and Performance/Choreography from San Francisco State University. She has studied abroad at the London Contemporary Dance School in London, England, flamenco in Sevilla, Spain, and at the Alvin Ailey School in NYC. Amie has performed professionally with the Carmen Carnes Dance Ensemble and the Sarah Bush Dance Project. Amie currently teaches Pilates in private practice and for the Hilltop High School Pregnant Minors program, both in SF.

Akimasa Moore, Capoeira Instructor

Akimasa Moore or “Professor Cravo,” as he is known in the Capoiera world, has been practicing/training for over 13 years. Under the world-renowned Master or “Mestre” Acordeon, he has performed and taught many workshops in the Bay Area and abroad as far as Brazil and Jamaica. In July of 2000 Akimasa graduated to the rank of “Professor” or teacher and shortly afterwards began his own Capoeira group “Capoeira Sangue Blood” which translates to Capoeira Strong Blood. In addition to being a Capoeira instructor, Professor Akimasa has worked with the youth as both a pre-school teacher and an after-school director for more than 15 years.

Jelani Prosser – Hip Hop Dance Instructor

Alicia Raquel – Hip Hop Dance Instructor

Alicia Raquel is a Bay Area writer, poet, dancer, singer, theater artist and youth worker. She first performed at age 6 and began leading other youth at age 12. For the past 4 years she's been involved at Destiny Arts Center in a variety of ways, including performing, writing for, and stage managing shows for the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, and, more recently, teaching classes in Dance, Theater and Violence Prevention at ASCEND, LeConte and NOCCS elementary schools. She graduated from MetWest High School, California State Summer School for the Arts and Art in Action Youth Leadership Training, and is currently working with the Art in Action collective. She has performed at venues around the country and recorded music with artists such as the Faculty Boyz, Gorilla Savages, Sunni, Mz. Diamond, Dynamic, Mia Meow and more.

Teyahnee Ridgle “Miss T”, Hip-Hop Dance Instructor

Teaching hip hop at Destiny Arts Center since 2006, Miss T brings years of dance, theater and modeling experience to the position. In addition to teaching at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, the YMCA in Albany and Backstage Pass Productions in San Jose and San Pablo , she has been a background dancer on videos for Paco, Tyquan and Suga "T"

Nicole “Nikki” Klaymoon Smith, Theater Instructor

Joined Destiny in 2007 as a theater instructor. She has written and performed two one-woman shows directed by Rennie Harris: Ms. Spellings of Be which was performed at the Electric Lodge Theater in Los Angeles, the Illadelph Legends of Hip-Hop Festival in Philadelphia and the Bates Dance Festival in Maine. The Sixth Vowel was performed at the Bay Area Hip-Hop Festival in Berkeley, the Fringe Festival in Scotland and the Miami Project Hip-Hop. Ms. Klaymoon holds a BA in Dance from the University of Los Angeles, as well as a Vinyasana Flow Yoga Teacher Certification.

Jujuana Williams

Bio Coming