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.

Arianna Buttler, Youth Dance Instructor

Rashidi Omari, Hip-Hop Instructor, Co-Director Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company

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 Antonio Castro began training in 1968 at age 9 in Tetsu-Cho style of Shorin Ryu Karate directed by Sensei Frank Hargrove. Falling completely in love with the beauty, power and grace of the practice of martial arts, Antonio continued to train hard, and at age 15 was trained in self-defense and Shotokan Karate and became an assistant instructor at Berkeley High School. At age 16 Antonio became the youngest person ever to be awarded a black belt at Samurai Dojo Oakland under the direction of the internationally known Shihan (Master) Tomosaburo Okano in the Ken Ko Ju Ku Assocation of Shotokan Karate. One year later in 1977 Sensei Louis Correa awarded Antonio with a black belt in Matsu Nami Kai Shotokan Karate. In recent years Sensei Antonio has continued to seek perfection of character through the practice of many martial arts ranging from Moo Duk Kwan, Wu Chien Pai Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Sensei Antonio is presently a member of Zen Bei Butoku Kai and under the expert tutelage and guidance of Hanshi (master) Rod Sanford and Sensei Rick Elliott 4th Dan in Shorinji Ryu and was recently awarded US and international certification as a ranking black belt in Shorinji Ryu Karate from Kokusai Butokukai. Sensei Antonio has facilitated martial arts programs in New York, Oakland, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Hayward and has been a martial arts instructor for Destiny Arts Center since 2002.

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 Sandan, (3nd 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.

Briya Daniels, Youth Martial Arts Instructor

Renysha (NeeNee) Franklin, Youth Dance Instructor

Natasha (Tasha) Jacobs, Hip-Hop Dance Instructor, Co-Director Destiny Junior Company

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, Director Destiny Arts Youth Martial Arts Team

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.

Ariel Luckey, Co-Director Destiny Junior Company

Born and raised in Oakland, California, Ariel Luckey is a hip hop theater artist whose community and performance work dances in the crossroads of education, art, and activism. Ariel’s lyrical language and political vision have inspired and transformed audiences from the streets of Seattle's WTO demonstration to Café Cantante in Havana, Cuba to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City. He has been a featured artist and performed at theaters, conferences, community centers, and classrooms across the country. In 2008, the Utne Reader named Ariel one of “50 Visionaries who are changing your world.”

Ariel is the founder and director of the Free Land Project. The Free Land Project produces dynamic hip hop theater performance art, keynotes, workshops, forums, educational materials, and cultural events throughout the United States. In 2009, Ariel received the National Performance Network’s Creation Fund for the commission of his solo hip hop theater show Free Land. Drawing on years of experience on stage, in the streets, and in the classroom, Ariel brings his passion for creativity, play, politics, and performance to Destiny Arts. Ariel sees his community work in the world as an extension of his most precious and important work as father to his two sons.

Mariana Martinez, Martial Arts Instructor

Sifu Mariana Martinez has been a part of the Destiny family for nearly 14 years. A former dance and martial arts student at Destiny and a member of the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, she now works with our youngest martial artists, the Teddy Bears. Mariana earned her black belt in 2006 and has been on the Destiny staff for over 5 years. She is currently studying public health at the University of California, Berkeley.

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.

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.

Jelani Prosser, Hip-Hop Dance Instructor

Teyahnee Ridgle (Ms. 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"

Denice Simpson , Modern/ Jazz Dance Instructor

Denice C. Simpson has over 23 years experience as a professional dancer trained in modern, jazz, West African and hula. After receiving her Master's in World Arts and Cultures with an emphasis on Dance Education from UCLA she relocated to Hawaii for five years where she began to study traditional and contemporary hula. She is and has been a member of Dimensions Dance Theater for over 23 years as a principal dancer. She also continues to work, study and perform with her halau, Halau Hula Namakahonuakapiliwale in Waianae, Hawaii

Jujuana Williams , Theater Instructor

Performing arts has been apart of Jujuana’s life since she was six years old singing on stage for the Christmas play at her church. Since her debut, she fell in love with singing, dancing and acting. But acting became her favorite! Jujuana graduated from UC Santa Cruz earning her bachelor degree in Theater Arts. She has performed in many plays and has toured in Demark with the Oakland Ensemble Youth Theater group. Although teaching theater is now her job, it doesn’t feel that way because theater is her passion. Jujuana is very excited to be teaching her second year at Destiny Arts Center. The greatest thing about teaching at Destiny is seeing her students grow and develop into little aspiring Superstars!

YOUTH INSTRUCTORS:

Sifu Briya Daniels

Arianna Butler

Renysha Franklin