Camille Olivier-Salmon (Artistic Director) founded Brisbane Dance Workshop in 1984 and continues to be its Artistic Director. Camille received her BA in Choreographic Design. As a young performer, Camille was awarded scholarships to study and perform at the American Dance Festival, a long-standing and honored institution. She trained in NYC with Martha Graham, Jose Limon, and Rudy Perez. She performed professionally with the Rudy Perez Dance Ensemble in New York and with Kadeka Dance for Kids and Shelia Xergoes in San Francisco. As a choreographer, Camille's work has been shown at ADF, and in Louisiana, NYC and S.F. Camille is a retired program director for the SF Arts Education Project, a SF not for profit organization that places artist in resident in public school, she is also a choreographer and associate director for the EVENT Players, a pre-professional children's musical theater company. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Brisbane School District for twelve years and is co-chair of SF Arts Providers Alliance and presently on the Leadership Committee for the Ca. Arts Alliance.
Artist Teachers
Calla Cox (Ballet) hails from Chico, California. She has been studying ballet for over 16 years and has performed with a pre-professional ballet company for several years. In addition to continuing her ballet studies, training and performances, she attends San Francisco State University where she is majoring in kinesiology. She hopes one day to add to her career, occupational therapist for children. Dance and the art of teaching are her passions, as well as a deep love for music and the outdoors. Calla looks forward to sharing her love for ballet with her BDW students.
Kathryn Aarons (Tap) is a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist from the Bay Area and is overjoyed to be teaching the next generation of artists! She spent her childhood taking dance classes at Dance Arts Center (studying under Jayne Zaban), and went on to the Advanced Dance program at San Mateo High School (studying under Robyn Tribuzi). She earned her BA in Musical Theatre from California State University, Chico. She moved to NYC after college and continued studying tap at Steps & BDC. Kathryn is an Equity actress and has performed in numerous regional productions across the country, and has been lucky enough to serve as Dance Captain on a handful of them. She's choreographed at various Bay Area high schools (The Kehillah School, University High School, Aragon, and San Mateo) as well as other arts and theatre programs, including Throckmorton and SFArtsED's Players. She has taught tap, jazz, and ballet at Academy of American Dance in Redwood City & Zohar in Palo Alto.
Sierra Dorf-Cardenas (Hip-Hop) grew up in Santa Cruz, California, nestled between the mountains and the coast. She’s been dancing since she could walk and has always had a deep passion for movement and wellness. When she’s not dancing, she loves to travel and adventure in the outdoors. Sierra started competing at the age of 11 in styles such as hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, and ballet, performing throughout the Bay Area, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. She spent four years teaching at her home studio, Pacific Arts Complex- including online classes during COVID- working with students from ages 3 to adult. Now based in San Francisco, Sierra is continuing to grow her dance career while also attending San Francisco State University, where she is majoring in Kinesiology and minoring in Holistic Health. She also teaches an adult hip-hop class on campus. Her goal is to make every class feel like a party, creating a fun, supportive space where students can fully explore their passion for dance. Sierra is excited to connect with her students and be an active part of this vibrant dance community.
Eva Langman (Theater) has been a theater instructor and director for youth & adult groups in the Bay Area since 2008. She studied at the Experimental Theater wing of the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, and has trained at the California Institute of Integral Studies in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Drama Therapy. Eva facilitated the creation of original scripts and libretti with students from Kindergarten through the 8th grade, and has been the resident Creative Director of West Portal Elementary School’s spring musical since 2014. She has taught drama, voice, improv, mask work, devised theater and creative writing under the auspices of several arts organizations in California, including SF Arts Ed, Bay Area Children’s Theater, Leap, Little Opera and the Randall Museum. Through theater education, Eva aims to facilitate curiosity, empathy and self-knowledge among her students, and foster a deeper connection to the innate human capacity to play.
Laura Marsh (Creative Movement/Modern I) hails from Memphis, Tennessee, where she received a BFA in Dance and Theatre from University Of Memphis in 1992. After graduating, she performed and choreographed with Project: Motion, later moving on to become co-artistic director of the company. In 1997 she was awarded first prize in Tennessee Association Of Dance’s annual choreography competition. Since her arrival in the Bay Area in 1998, Ms. Marsh has performed with Megan Nicely and Company, Right Brain Performance Lab, Nina Galin Music and Dance, and Steamroller. In addition to working with SFArtsED, teaching residencies have included time at Synergy School, ODC, Rhythm and Motion, Brisbane Dance Works, and Beresford Recreation Center in SanMateo. Ms. Marsh enjoys working with students of all ages, and blending elements from a variety of dance genres to inspire creative movement.
Sierra Tiatia (Contemporary/Modern) (any pronouns) is an 18 year old Brisbane resident. They grew up in Brisbane, taking their first dance classes at the Brisbane Dance Workshop from the age of 3 to 13. They trained and competed in gymnastics for many years, making them understand the importance of strength and conditioning in the pursuit of any sport. They were in the social justice youth dance group GRRRL Brigade for five years, graduating from the program in the spring of 2023. Their time in this company opened their eyes to the application of dance and art in the progress of society. Sierra began their professional career dancing for the Dance Brigade in San Francisco and is performing in Krissy Keefer’s original production Match Girrl. After graduating high school a year early, Sierra is attending their fourth semester at City College of San Francisco, working on their Associates Degree in Performance Art. Alongside dance, they are beginning their career in fashion by selling upcycled clothing at local DIY artist events. Their pursuit of fashion is an outcome of spending three years in an educational internship with fashion designer and Brisbane mother Jessica Hoff. They are building their business on the basis of care for the future of the environment and advocacy for feeling comfortable in one’s body. Sierra seeks to create spaces for young people to feel safe while expressing themselves. As a lifelong student, they understand the importance of being challenged in a healthy environment and will apply this to their approach to teaching. Sierra is looking forward to teaching at Brisbane Dance Workshop in order to give back to and uphold the program that nurtured their career so positively.
Past Artists
* IN LOVING MEMORY: BRUCE BIADA *
* Visit www.brucebiada.com to share your memories *
At the end of the 2022-23 season, the BDW community was devastated by the unexpected passing of our beloved tap teacher, Bruce Biada. Bruce shared his passion for dance with
BDW students of all ages for many years. We are profoundly saddened by his loss, and he will be dearly missed.
Bruce's approach to teaching gave his students a solid foundation and a chance to explore many styles of tap, from classical to current. His choreography was infused with innovative whimsy and humor, leaving his students joyfully tapping "outside of the box."
* Visit www.brucebiada.com to share your memories *
At the end of the 2022-23 season, the BDW community was devastated by the unexpected passing of our beloved tap teacher, Bruce Biada. Bruce shared his passion for dance with
BDW students of all ages for many years. We are profoundly saddened by his loss, and he will be dearly missed.
Bruce's approach to teaching gave his students a solid foundation and a chance to explore many styles of tap, from classical to current. His choreography was infused with innovative whimsy and humor, leaving his students joyfully tapping "outside of the box."
