Faculty (N-Z)
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 Tung “Tony” Nguyen recently finished California State University, Sacramento with a degree in business general management and in theatre arts with an emphasis on dance and choreography. He has performed with numerous companies including: Joe Goode Performance Group, Red Bucket Dance Theatre, Dancer Investigation Group, Eukinetics, Core Dance Collective, and more. He has taught at Hawkins School of Performing Arts since 2010 and enjoys not only dancing but cooking, photography, and life’s adventures. |
 Erin Nobbe received her primary dance training under the direction of Marguerite Phares. At age 10, she joined the Phares Theatre Ballet. During the eight years she was with PTB, Erin trained with many professional choreographers and teachers, spent two summers with the Boston Ballet, and gained an extensive background in ballet, modern, jazz and character dance. At the age of eighteen, Erin began her professional career with Ballet Iowa under the directorship of internationally known Konstintin Uralsky and Irina Vassilini-Uralsky. Erin was a principal dancer in several classical and neo-classical ballets. Upon returning to Sacramento, Erin began teaching at Hawkins School of Performing Arts in 1999. She has been a guest dancer for Phares Theatre Ballet and worked as a guest choreographer for the Ballet Folsom. Erin took several Hawkins’ students to the international ballet competition “Youth America Grand Prix”. The students had an opportunity to work with internationally known teachers and directors in a workshop at the San Francisco Ballet School. Erin is now staying busy with teaching, private instruction, guest work with Folsom Lake Civic Ballet and, of course, her five year old son, Colin.… |
 Wynton Odd was born and raised in South Sacramento, California. While in high school, he began interning at Studio T Urban Dance Academy, under the guidance of Tamaira Sandifer. He soon moved up in the ranks to staff assistant and started teaching Hip-Hop beginning/intermediate classes (all ages) and beginning breakdance classes. While attending Studio T, his hunger for dance grew and he began taking a wide range of classes from Hip-Hop to Capoeira. As doors opened, he trained with Boogie Monstarz and Press PLAY under his mentors/trainers: Joe Larot, Brandon Greathouse, Phil Tayag and Jason Magsuci to name a few. Wynton also performed, showcased and taught at various places in Sacramento, Yuba City and surrounding areas with his Studio T “Sac Street” team, taught by Tamaira Sandifer.
In 2011, Wynton graduated, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from California State University, Fresno. At CSUF, he taught Hip-Hop classes at The Student Recreation Center. Wynton frequently travels to Fresno, CA, as well as, Los Angeles, CA to train with his “professional” competitive-team “Beta 010″. |
 Marlene Richards received her BA and MA degrees in “Dance and Choreography” at UCLA. In addition to her degrees, as a member of the Graduate Dance Center, she was awarded a two year Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship for advanced studies in choreography. She has studied Ballet and Modern Dance under such dance dignitaries as Mia Slavenska, Richard Gibson, Zoltan Peter, Lar Lubovitch, Donald McKayle, and pioneer dance educator Alma Hawkins.
Marlene was a founding member of Dance/LA. She was the Artistic Director/Choreographer for the “Marlene Therkelsen Dance Company” which performed in the San Francisco Bay Area and venues throughout Northern California. In the area of Liturgical Dance, she was the Artistic Director/Choreographer for the “Coram Deo” and “Soli Deo Gloria” Liturgical Dance Companies; and she was the Artist-in-residence for St. John’s Lutheran Cathedral of Sacramento, the Sisters of Mercy in Auburn, the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, the First Presbyterian Church of San Mateo, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Belmont. Marlene’s teaching career includes 20 years at the Community College of San Mateo, 10 years at the Professional Ballet School in Belmont, and 8 years for the Dance Department of the City of San Mateo. She joined the faculty of the Hawkins School of Performing Arts in 1997 when she and her husband moved to Folsom. |
 Janae Rosebud is a dancer of eleven years and an instructor/choreographer of six years. Although she has trained in many different styles, hip hop has always been her passion. She began her dance training at ten years old with Showbiz Productions. There she was a member of the Hip Hop Crew, with whom she performed at Sacramento Kings and Monarchs games for nearly five years. She debuted as a hip hop instructor for Showbiz in 2004 at the tender age of fourteen. Within one year, she also began teaching for Step 1 Dance and Fitness. Janae went on to co-direct and choreograph her own competitive hip hop dance group, 916 Cliq. The group performed together for nearly two years and became Jamz National Champions in 2006. At age seventeen, Janae was recruited and signed to a talent agency known as MSA Talent Group. The agency helped educate her and prepare her for the Los Angeles dance industry, and after graduating high school, she moved to LA to pursue her dance career. During her stay, she was involved in some amazing projects, such as the remake to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, featuring and co-produced by Adam Sevani of the movies “Step Up 2″ and “Step Up 3D”. Upon her return to Sacramento, Janae began teaching for the Hawkins School of Performing Arts in 2009. Nearly two years later, she is now co-director of the Hawkins competitive hip hop team, Adrenaline Rush, along with the talented Mikee Juaquin. She is also teaching for a few other dance studios and programs in Sacramento: Step1 Dance and Fitness, the Greathouse of Dance, Urban Arts Studio, and Yav Pem Suab Academy. Above all, Janae strives to continue to grow and push herself creatively. She makes a tremendous effort to always stay ambitious and innovative, for she hopes to help inspire her peers and fellow music lovers, just as others have inspired her to develop into the artist she is today.… |
 Michael Separovich began his training at the age of 11 in Sacramento with Marguerite Phares. After high school he attended The Juilliard School where he received his BFA in 96. He has danced for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Sacramento Ballet, Robert Moses’ Kin, the San Francisco Opera and Amy Seiwert’s “im-ij-ré”. Michael teaches dance and performs character based roles with the Sacramento Ballet. Michael joins the staff at Hawkins, teaching the “Pas de Deux” (Partnering) class for Ballet Folsom principal dancers. |
 Tracy Shearer has been a Hawkins instructor for fourteen years and is also on the faculty of the American River College Theatre Arts Department. At ARC she teaches acting, theatre and film classes and serves at the Vocal Director for the college’s musicals. She also directs both mainstage and children’s touring shows for the college. In the community, Tracy vocal directs for the Fair Oak Theatre Festival, and appears regularly on the pledge drives for the local public television station, KVIE.Tracy’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Music from the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific, and a Master of Arts in Directing from California State University, Sacramento. When Tracy’s not teaching, she’s thoroughly enjoying her two school-age daughters, both of whom have been taking dance and acting classes at Hawkins since they were old enough to show an interest! |
 Beverly Stewart started dancing at the age of three. She has had training in ballet, tap, jazz, musical theater, ballroom dance, gymnastics, and singing. She studied at the Orange County Ballet Company, the National Ballet School of Canada, and Broadway Dance Center in New York. At the age of seventeen, she started working for Royal Cruise Line as a lead dancer, company manager, and vocal soloist in the Broadway revue shows. She has worked in Los Angeles, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, as well as on a national tour performing in shows such as “42nd Street”, “George M!”, “Hello Dolly”, “Cinderella”, and “No, No, Nanette”, as well as Best of Broadway here in Sacramento She also worked for Disney Special Events Company for three years. Beverly has been teaching dance for over 15 years. She enjoys being a wife and mother most of all! |
 Shellie (Telford) Thomas has been dancing all her life and is thrilled to return to Hawkins School of Performing Arts where she received her early training. Shellie won many awards competing in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical and Tap including a scholarship to New York through NYCDA at age 11. After moving to Utah, Shellie trained with Ballet West, Utah Regional Ballet and Odyssey Dance Theatre. Shellie trained with many professional companies before turning her focus to Musical Theatre. After high school, she performed for a season at a major theme park before attending Brigham Young University where she studied Musical Dance Theatre and was a member of BYU’s Ballet company. Shellie had the opportunity to dance as the model for Hollywood animator, Ryan Woodward’s animated short “Thought of You,” which went viral on You Tube and won multiple awards at various film festivals. In 2010 Shellie performed at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in the regional premier of Disney’s “Tarzan” and Derryl Yeager’s “Cats”. Other past productions include Seussical the Musical, Anything Goes, The Nutcracker, and Paquita to name a few. Shellie and her husband are now expecting their first baby and she is thrilled to be back “home” at Hawkins to share her talents and passion with others. |
