Instructors

Andrea has been dancing Egyptian belly dance since 1995. She has had the privilege of traveling to Cairo many times to learn from some of the best instructors including Mona Said, Mahmoud Reda, Freiz Said, Nagwa Sultan, and Raqia Hassan. She has performed at many notable venues such as the De Young Museum, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, Holy Names University, the Ritz Carlton, and Ledson Winery.

Through her classes she shares her enthusiasm for Arabic dance and music with people of all levels of experience or fitness. She especially enjoys bringing out the best of each individual dancer!

Andrea’s goal as a teacher is to get the student to move and have a great time while learning authentic Egyptian belly dance! Andrea directs her troupe The RakStars, and produces the monthly event Raq the House, a belly dance dinner party which features some of the best talent in the U.S.

She enjoys creating both traditional and modern Egyptian choreographies which reflect her diverse knowledge of belly dance as well as her passion for other dance forms.

Coach Cassandra Cunningham began her athletic quest at Mills High School in Millbrae, CA where she competed in cross country and track for four years. In 1989 she was a member of the girls cross country team and place second in the state. She graduated in 1990.

Entering college she began her next sport in women's rowing. While at Sacramento State, Coach Cunningham earned three state championship titles as well as winning the 1995 Pacific Coast Rowing Championship in the Women's Varsity Eight. In 1996 she earned a Bachelor's of Science in Physical Education.

After graduation she spent three years training with the Women's U.S. Rowing National Team. She is a five-time winner at the US National Elite Championships. She has also earned two international silver medals. The first medal was at the 1998 in the women's lightweight quad at the World Rowing Championships and the second was at the 1999 Pan American Games.

After her time on the national team, Coach Cunningham earned a Master of Education in Administration at the University of Massachusetts while simultaneously coaching the school's varsity women's lightweight rowing team.

Coach Cunningham was named Varsity Head Coach of Junipero Serra High School in 2002. She was named Head Women's Tennis Coach of City College San Francisco in the spring of 2004 and Head Women's Soccer Coach in the fall of 2005. She was named Coast Conference coach of the year in 2005.

Coach Cunningham is a nationally recognized athlete and coach. Her hard work and dedication, combined with the determination of the athletes, will continuously move these programs forward.

Elizabeth Erlich grew up in San Diego with a family that was active in many sport leagues including volleyball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse and golf. She loves bike riding, hiking, picnics and camping in the desert, mountains and beach. In 2007, Elizabeth graduated from Sonoma State University where she studied Media Communications and was active in campus life and leadership activities. After spending two years as a retail manager, Elizabeth has returned to the university setting to do what she loves most: work in an environment that fosters creativity, promotes personal development and prepares students to reach their career goals. She is excited to be joining Recreational Sports and Fitness and looks forward to exploring the many Recreation Classes offered on campus.

Chantelle Ferguson has been physically active since she was a child. She traded in her childhood love of climbing trees and rocks for practicing yoga and marital arts, lifting weights, and walking, which have been part of her life for more than 20 years.

She is certified as a yoga instructor and strength and conditioning specialist and has a black belt in Aikido as well as advanced training in Krav Maga.

After earning her graduate degree in 2001, she moved to Colombia, South America where she was as an assistant Krav Maga instructor at the university where she also taught English. She currently teaches a modern style of yoga designed specifically for creative professionals.

An eclectic performer and artist, Sylvia Hathaway has trained and performed in ballet, modern and Latin dance. She holds a BA in Theater and is currently developing her career as a vocalist. Parallel to her training and performance art is her work in arts education and community engagement.

She has worked as an early childhood teaching artist in music and dance in Berkeley, as a theater teaching artist in Oakland elementary schools, and currently coordinates the volunteer program and manages performances at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco.

Sarah is happy to be joining the Academy of Art University from South Carolina where she was the assistant coach and recruiting director for Clemson University's Women's Rowing. After a twelve year career as a US National and Olympic team rower, she is eager to start work with the community of artists at the Academy. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she studied art at Pacific Lutheran University, UC Santa Barbara and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Sculpture. The chance to develop sports and recreation for Academy students is the most exciting combination of her two passions. She believes that living a full and balanced life is a great goal and she thinks that health and wellness play an important part in achieving balance and creativity. Recreational sports will be tailored to her students' needs and will be focused on fun and being accessible and available to every student!

Abbi has worn the hats of a competitive figure skater, dancer, actress, singer, yogi, chef, waitress, nanny, photographer, hairstylist, teacher, international trip leader, makeup artist, casting director, and choreographer.

She has always desired to explore and expand. Her curiosity has taken her across Europe and to 44 of the 50 United States. She snagged an agent at age 14 and began her career in commercials and voiceovers. As a professional actress, dancer and singer, she flew around the world performing with the international tour of GREASE, making stops in South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

When she isn't jet setting, you'll find Abbi upside down on a yoga mat. Her love of movement led her to the wonderful world of yoga, and after her first class, she was instantly smitten. She has studied at a multitude of yoga schools along her travels, from Maui to Korea. She is certified to teach yoga to children through Karma Kids Yoga, and received her adult Vinyasa Flow Certification from Laughing Lotus College of Yoga in San Francisco. Abbi's classes are dynamic Vinyasa Flow style, and accommodate a myriad of skill levels and body types.

Brenna O’Hair has been dancing for 20 years. She grew up dancing in Livermore, CA where she took dance lessons in ballet, tap, ballroom, jazz, modern, flamenco, hip hop and pointe. Brenna began teaching and choreographing dance in 2001. Since then, she has choreographed seven original dance productions. She currently teaches ballet classes in Livermore and gives private lessons for beginning adults. She has a strong passion for introducing new people of all ages to the art of ballet and tap dance. She loves inspiring people to see ballet as aesthetic fitness.

Lauren recently graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Clinical Nutrition, where she played four years of Division I softball for the Aggies. Currently she work at Monogram Biosciences in South San Francisco. In her free time she helps out with the pitchers on AAU Women's Softball team. She also loves running and spinning, of course, and has just started playing some slow-pitch softball. She started taking spinning classes when she was in high school and fell in love. After her very first class she was hooked. She loves that a group can get together where individuals have very different purposes, but one goal of pushing themselves to their limit for that one hour of class. Her objective for each class is to challenge and encourage her students to reach their full potential while teaching a fun, safe and energetic class.

Andrea came to San Francisco by way of the East Coast: Western New York to be exact. She had lived in a number of places before making it cross country to San Francisco in 1999 where she fell in love with the ocean, the vibe and the biking. She has been involved in indoor spin classes for five years and recently found a passion for endurance outdoor road biking having participated in three Century (100 miles) events this past year. She holds an instructor certificate from the Mad Dogg Athletics and Spinning Program and passionately believes in the importance of wellness for both the mind and body. Her goal is to provide students with a fun and challenging workout along with some inspirational words to get them over the rough spots. She believes everyone can benefit from this cardio activity and is especially interested in helping those beginning the journey to finding a healthy lifestyle. She received her Masters from the University of South Carolina in Higher Education and is an instructor at the Academy teaching both Basic Spanish for the Liberal Arts Department and LA 151: Seminar for Academic Success. She is extremely excited to be a part of the Recreation program here at Academy of Art University and extends an open invitation to everyone to check out her class.

"The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can." Robert Cushing

Taniya Sen has been practicing yoga for 10 years and is so thrilled to be sharing what she loves at Academy of Art. After receiving her BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Taniya worked as an actress in film, TV and theater in New York City. It was there that she discovered her yoga practice which became a great supplement to the active and sometimes stressful lifestyle of a working actor.

Taniya moved to San Francisco last year and along with teaching yoga all over the city, she also teaches English as a Second Language in schools in San Francisco. She is constantly amazed at the healing and inspiring aspects of yoga that continue to allow her to express herself creatively as an artist and live life as truthfully as she can.

She teaches a Vinyasa class that links movement with breathe and encourages students to try new things, have fun and take care of themselves.

Karma started skating in 1984: pushing around the streets of Visalia, CA, empty backyard pools, mini ramps and vert ramps. By 1989 he was a sponsored amateur for Dogtown Skateboards soon turning pro in 1990, endorsing Dogtown with his own signature model. He left Dogtown and after a short stint at Santa Monica Airlines (SMA) skateboards, he helped found and create Consolidated Skateboards, where he has been for the past 16 years. Skateboarding has taken him around the world and then some — and he has had to wear many different hats over the years: filming, conceptualizing art ads and marketing to name a few.
Karma has also coached for many skate camps over the years and helped create and teach skate classes for CELL Space in the mission district as well as at James Licke Middle School.
He has also played in a band, AM Magic, for the past 12 years. He works out a lot of songs in his head while his feet are on his board. When he's not skating he enjoys spending time with his wife and 1 year old son.