Staff

Administration

Charles McNeal, Director of Education

Charles Chip McNeal currently works as a lecturer, choreographer, adjudicator, and teacher. He conducts artist/teacher training, evaluating and developing educational programs throughout the U.S. and abroad. Since 1980, McNeal has been teaching, developing, and implementing community outreach and education programs for San Francisco Ballet. He has consulted for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kennedy Center, the California Arts Council, and the California State Department of Education, among many other organizations. In 1994, he received the distinguished Bernard Osher Cultural Award for public service in the field of arts education and was named the winner of the 2004 Levi Strauss & Co. Award for Outstanding Teachers and Administrators in the Arts. His performing credits include stage work and films, with an extensive background in musical theater. The many dance forms he has studied and performed include Afro-Cuban, jazz, tap, ballet, West African, and several folkloric styles including Israeli, Russian folkdance, and Scottish country dancing. McNeal works as a freelance dance critic and has produced four documentaries profiling arts programs and important issues in arts education, the latest of which, A Cultural Exchange with South Africa Ballet Theatre, chronicles San Francisco Ballet’s outreach program in Africa.  

Dina D. Toy, Education Office Manager

Education Office Manager Dina Toy has a key role in the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education. Not only does she assist the Director of Education with day-to-day operations, she also provides a vital link between teaching artists and administration and acts as project manager for several activities. Toy comes to San Francisco Ballet with a wealth of experience in a variety of areas including banking, owning and operating a printing company, market research, and education. As an educator, she has accomplished the journey of home schooling her youngest son, a former San Francisco Ballet School student and now a member of Ballet Arizona.  After volunteering for the Ballet for two years, assisting with a variety of outreach activities and special projects, she proved invaluable and was offered a permanent position on our growing education team.

Cecelia Beam, Adult Education Coordinator

Cecelia Beam holds a Master’s Degree in Ballet from Indiana University and has taught ballet technique and dance education classes in colleges and private schools for over 25 years. Under the auspices of the Ford Foundation, she received her early ballet training in the Bay Area, and then trained at the School of American Ballet, graduating high school from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Beam’s performance career included both classical and original contemporary works in regional ballet companies. In addition, she has been active as a dance advocate, and for six years she served as a board member of Dancers’ Group, a San Francisco Bay Area dance service organization.

Stacey L. Blakeman, Dance In Schools and Communities Coordinator

Stacey Blakeman has been involved in the world of dance for over 20 years. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, she received training in several dance styles including tap, jazz, ballet, musical theater, and modern and character dance. While earning her Bachelor's Degree in Humanities at the University of Louisville, Blakeman taught dance to children throughout Louisville. Later, working as a substitute teacher in the Boston public school system, she honed her skills as an educator. While there, she continued to develop as an artist educator and mentor, teaching dance in an after-school program and working as a private nanny. Now, planting new roots in San Francisco, Blakeman is very enthusiastic about working as the Dance in Schools and Communities (DISC) Coordinator for the Center for Dance Education and helping the children of her community by enriching their lives through dance and arts education. 

Sriba Isis Kwadjovie, Education Assistant

Sriba Isis Kwadjovie is the newest member of the education staff. She is a talented dancer and teacher as well as an experienced administrative support person. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area and a graduate of the University of California Irvine, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Certificate in Ethnomusicology. Kwadjovie is an experienced professional with contacts and networks throughout the Bay Area arts community. She enjoys many forms of dance including ballet, modern, jazz, and Afro-Brazilian. She enjoys traveling, music, and any outdoor activities.

James Brosnahan III, Dancer Instructor

James Brosnahan studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater and holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature. He has toured the United States and Europe as a dancer performing in shows with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Bobby McFerrin, Julio Iglesias, and Little Richard, and was a featured swing dancer in the movie Swing (2003). Brosnahan was the choreographer for the Disney movie James and the Giant Peach, as well as the animation choreographer for the 20th Century Fox movie Monkeybone. He has choreographed and danced for Dance Through Time and The Dick Bright Orchestra and completed an extensive teaching residency program for Edinburgh International Art Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. He teaches for San Francisco Ballet’s DISC program and is on the faculty of St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California. Brosnahan is currently working on his master's degree in Computer Arts at the Academy of Art University.

Kimberly Marie Agnew, Dancer Instructor

Kim Agnew is a multidisciplinary dancer, percussionist, and performer with over 20 years of education and experience. Her early training included modern, ballet, tap, and jazz dance, but during the last 15 years she has been fully immersed in West African, salsa, and Afro-Cuban folklore. Her master teachers include Alassane Kane and Coura Ndiye, both formerly with National Ballet of Senegal; Mabiba Baenge, master Congolese dancer and drummer; and Susana Arenas and Jose Francisco Barroso, both previously with the Cuban National Folklore company Raîces Profundas. She continues to study and perform with her teachers on an ongoing basis. Ms. Agnew also performs regularly with Afro-fusion funk groups and currently works with Albino, a 14-piece touring ensemble. Agnew has been sharing her knowledge and passion for the arts with youth for more than 11 years and teaches in a variety of settings, as she has taught for the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education for the past 6 years. Agnew has a personal commitment to give back (to the community) all she has been given by her mentors, and is honored to inspire others on their journey through the arts.

Emily S. Pitcher, Dancer Instructor

Emily Pitcher is a Chicago native and received her degree in dance with a double emphasis on Teaching/Performance and Choreography at Columbia College, Chicago. She danced under the direction of Ginger Farley, original Hubbard Street Dance Co. member, in the 58 Group as well as with numerous independent choreographers in Chicago. She also started her own youth dance company for high school students, Nocturnal Eclipse, at the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School in Chicago, and arranged for the group to perform in various venues throughout the Chicago area. Pitcher moved to San Francisco in July 2002 and is proud to be part of the Dance in Schools Program since fall 2003. She loves children and is stimulated by the challenges and opportunities of being a teaching artist. Pitcher is currently involved in the production of music through a new start-up production company, GlassEye Productions, and is the lead singer and guitarist for the San Francisco band The New Up.

Erica Jeffrey, Dancer Instructor

Originally from Missoula, Montana, Jeffrey studied dance at the Pittsburgh Ballet School, graduating as valedictorian before joining Ballet Internationale. After dancing professionally for several years, she attended Indiana University on full academic and artistic scholarships as a Wells Scholar and graduated with degrees in Ballet and Mediation & Conflict Resolution. As an avid explorer interested in the connections between dance and culture, Jeffrey studied dance and performed in India and Niger, West Africa, and also participated in community development and conflict resolution efforts. She continues to combine her interests through working with organizations such as California Lawyers for the Arts and the expansion of her conflict resolution education program through dance, Moving Toward Peace. She is currently teaching, choreographing, and performing in the Bay Area. She is co-director of the dance company COUNTERPOINTe.

Melanie Mitchell, Dancer Instructor

Melanie Mitchell is a modern dancer, choreographer, educator, multimedia designer, and enthusiastic researcher. Graduating with her bachelor's degree in Dance and Choreography with an emphasis in technology, Mitchell incorporated original video and music into her nationally presented choreographic work. She has professionally danced and choreographed for the Phoenix-based dance company Desert Dance Theater and hopes to bring those talents in to the San Francisco dance community. Interested in dance education and pedagogy, she studied under Dr. Mila Parrish, helping her develop and design digital dance education resources known as the Interactive Gateway DVD resource and An Innovation for Dance Documentation Part II DVD resource. Mitchell volunteers her time with Dance and the Child International (daCi) by designing and maintaining its website www.daciusa.com. In addition to her work at the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education, Mitchell also teaches for San Francisco Arts Education Project.

David Frazier, Musician Instructor-Ethnomusicologist

David Frazier is one of the best-known percussionists in the United States. He has worked for San Francisco Ballet for over 25 years and is a noted expert in West African music and culture, as well as Cuban music and folklore. Frazier holds dual bachelor’s degrees in ethnomusicology and music. He records for both film and television and works with numerous artists and production facilities including Steven Spielberg (DreamWorks) and George Lucas (Lucasfilm). His recording credits include studio and producing ventures with artists Babyface, Bobby McFerrin, Sylvester, Carlos Aldama, and numerous other blues, jazz and R&B artists. He has produced two CDs with his mixed-genre performing group, Batimco, and is a featured artist on Daniel Maya’s album Echoes of Paradise. In addition to his integral role as mentor and instructor in the DISC program, Frazier has received several grants and fellowships from the California Arts Council and others as an artist-in-residence.

Mozel Zeke Nealy, Musician Instructor

Zeke Nealy is a percussionist, performer, and educator living and working throughout the Bay Area for the past 25 years. Nealy served apprenticeships with legendary masters Rene Calvin, Tobadji Ngoma, Malonga Casquelourde, Jose Lorenzo, and Carlos Aldama. He considers himself a lifelong student and regularly works and studies with Jean Bonga Baptiste, Kwaku Dadey, Jacqueline Rago, Gamo Da Paz, Butch Haynes, and Zak Diouf, among others. Currently, Nealy is the director of the Haitian Dance & Drum Retreat and Congo Solo and Percussion Festival, two major annual events dedicated to the study, exploration, and performance of African derived music and culture. He recently completed Level III of the Orff Music Educators' Program, earning him a Music Specialist Certification from Mills College. Nealy has worked with San Francisco Ballet intermittently for the past 15 years.

Wade Peterson, Musician Instructor
Wade Peterson is a noted musician and teacher with over 25 years of experience. Peterson has a degree in music from UC Santa Cruz. He has studied West and Central African percussion with Mamady Keita, Fred Simpson, Mabiba Baegne, Arthur Hull, Titos Sompa, and Karamba Diabate, among others. As a percussionist, he has accompanied West African, Congolese, Haitian, Cuban, Brazilian, and modern dance classes in the Bay Area. Over the last 16 years, his percussion studies include West and Central African styles and the many diverse aspects of the African Diaspora (Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, and Trinidad). Formerly principal drummer and musical director for Mabiba Baegne’s Lokole Foundation, he has worked with San Francisco State University, Marin Learning Center, Turtle Rock Institute, Beyond Borders, and throughout the Mill Valley School District. Peterson actively performs, records, and teaches in the Bay Area and has worked as a teacher and accompanist for SF Ballet’s DISC program since 2000. He recently began teaching at the esteemed Berkeley Jazz School.

Daniel Berkman, Musician Instructor

Daniel Berkman started playing the drums at age 10 and soon after began independently writing and recording hundreds of songs. He studied percussion and composition at the Hartt School of Music, cofounded by his grandfather, Samuel Berkman, and grandmother, Irene Kahn Berkman. Though he originally taught himself to play Berimbau and Tablas with the help of a book and record by Usta Keramatullah Khan, he later studied Tabla with Swapan Chowdhuri at the Ali Akbar College. While studying Kora with Alan Perlman and experimenting with electronics, he eventually combined the two art forms and developed a unique music fusing Kora and electronics, creating a virtual one-man band. Berkman regularly plays clubs and festivals and has played on numerous recordings, including his own two Kora releases, Heartstrings and Feverdreams. Since 1998 he has been a dance accompanist at ODC for Liz Roman, Janice Garret, and Ellie Klopp. In addition to his work as an artist in residence for the San Francisco Ballet Center for Dance Education, Berkman composes scores for local choreographers and recently concluded production on a follow-up to his last Kora CD.


William Waghorn, Musician Instructor

Born and raised in England, Will Waghorn has been working and performing in San Francisco as a multidisciplinary artist for the last nine years. Originally trained as a trumpet player, Waghorn progressed to percussion instruments, studying the trap set as a teenager and eventually moving on to hand drums, including doumbek, djembe, and other hand instruments. He has collaborated with a variety of theater artists, choreographers, educators, and musicians, and has worked as a percussionist for the San Francisco Arts Education Project Summer School, San Francisco Circus School, ODC School, San Francisco Ballet School, and Lines Ballet. Waghorn finds inspiration from his esteemed colleagues, his peers, and master musicians as he continues to grow as both musician and educator. He has a passionate enthusiasm for helping people grow and discover themselves through their individual artistic expression while furthering his own creative development.


Jeni Swerdlow, Musician Instructor

Jeni Swerdlow is a dynamic and engaging percussionist, drum facilitator, artist, educator, and performer. A recent transplant to the Bay Area from Chicago, Swerdlow is a Registered Art Therapist (ATR) with over 10 years of experience working creatively with various groups. She also has over 15 years of experience teaching youth and people with special needs. Swerdlow holds a Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts from UC San Diego and a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from University of Illinois, Chicago. Since beginning drumming in 1999, she has involved herself in intensive studies of drum facilitation, West African drumming, and dance, including training in Senegal, West Africa. Swerdlow is thrilled to be working with San Francisco Ballet, as well as teaching with Young Imaginations, Opera Piccola, and the Berkeley JCC, and facilitating weekly community drum circles in the East Bay. Her passion for drumming is matched only by her playful spirit and commitment toward building community.