Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Stephanie: I am a native of Bakersfield, California. I grew up there and moved to Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland when I attended UC Berkeley and danced professionally with Oakland Ballet.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Stephanie: I began my creative path at the age of 3 with my dance instructor of over 3 decades, Cindy Trueblood at Civic Dance Center.
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Stephanie: I found my inspiration when my parents took me to the then Shubert Theater to see musicals, learning variations from Cindy and simply the feeling of being on stage. I knew it was what I was destined to do.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased? Stephanie: My first piece of vinyl I ever purchased and still own, was Planet Rock!
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote? Stephanie: Dance is why I wake up in the morning. Outside of a remarkable career with Oakland Ballet, SF Opera, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Donald Byrd the Group, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater and the Disney musical Lion King, I have transitioned into loving to coach and teach on the university level. While I still perform and reconstruct the choreography of legendary Donald McKayle, I have found a new passion in passing the wealth of information that I have gained to the students of the next generation.
this is Malia 