James Wheatley
James Wheatley:
Founder of Celebration Arts. He serves as President of the Board of Directors, and Artistic Director of Celebration Arts. In his volunteer capacity, he has overall responsibility for the Celebration Arts performing arts programs. He directs plays, teaches dance classes, choreographs for the Celebration Dance Company, writes music for and directs the Celebration Chorale. He also writes plays and music and choreographs for KIDS' TIME, a program for pre-teen children
James is a multitalented performer. In addition to being an accomplished singer he
is an award winning actor who has appeared in major roles in community and professional theater productions. He has created dance works for private and public high schools, college groups and other community based dance companies in Los Angeles and Sacramento. As a theater director he has been at the helm of over sixty plays. He has also written and produced musicals and dramas.
Dr. Linda Goodrich
Dr. Goodrich earned her M.A. and Ph.D. were earned at the Ohio State University, and her M.F.A. in Performance and Choreography at Mills College. After moving to the San Francisco Bay area in the 70’s, she performed in the long running “Stompin’ at the Savoy” as well as playing the lead role in
“Carmen Jones.” She was one of the co-founders of CitiCentre Dance Theatre Dance Company. She has directed and/or choreographed for “Dancing at Lughnasa,” “The Colored Museum,” “Jar the Floor,” “Dream on Monkey Mountain”, “Once on this Island,” “Cabin in the Sky”, “Raisin”, “Sisters”, “The Old Settler”, “Uncle Bends,” “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbo Is Enuf”, “Venus,” “Medea” “the Wiz,” “Flight,” “Les Blancs.” and “Black Pearl Sings.” She was the Founder and Artistic Director of Sacramento/Black Art of Dance (S/BAD) since 1992 and one of the founding members of Ebo Okokan, an Afro-Cuban Music and Dance Ensemble, she also produced the “Viva Carnival,” “Sideshow,”and “Pop Rocks” for the California State Fair, and played the role of Calpurnia in Sacramento Theatre Company’s “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Dr. Goodrich is the former chair of the Department of Theater and Dance and serves on the boards of Celebration Arts and The Living Heritage Foundation in Sacramento. She was also awarded the Legacy Keeper Awards from the Katherine Dunham Institute for Dunham Technique 2013.
Dr. Linda Goodrich
Barbara Crockett
Barbara Crockett
Barbara Crockett is the standard of excellence in ballet in Northern California and is known across the country. As co-founder of the Sacramento Ballet Company and former co-owner of Crockett Dance Studio, she has continued passing on her love of ballet for close to seventy years!
Her critique of the young dancer is worth gold, as no one knows as well as she does the look of excellent technique.
Mrs. Crockett has recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sacramento Arts & Business Council of Sacramento.
Also recognizing her is a documentary “On Pointe” of her exciting life, by Susana Halfon. Mrs. Crockett has recently retired and is enjoying a well-deserved life of leisure.
Oneida Bontemps
Sunrise: November 16, 1939...…………...and Sunset: June 6, 2018...
Ms. Onieda Bontemps was born in Oklahoma and touch down in Sacramento Ca over 50 years ago.
After raising three children and working over 30 years, Ms. Bontemps directed the precious jewels choir out of new testament Baptist church which had a huge impact on youth. She enjoyed hosting social networking circles in her home and love to dance.
Approximately over 20 years ago, Line Dancing made it's way to Sacramento and Ms. Bontemps brought the new dance craze to the Capitol City Elks Lodge. Since its inception to the lodge, Line Dancing has increased in popularity while creating avenues for social networking and exercise. Ms Bontemps taught many a popular line dance called "Bus Stop".
Ms. Bontemps always desired to give people flowers yet while they live. Now that she has passed on, her spirit for the dance has blossomed in many hearts and minds and she will always be remembered for her commitment to her family, commitment to church and commitment to the community.
We have many line dance classes in Sacramento, Stockton and the Bay Area doing the Bus Stop and more!
Oneida Bontemps
Margaret Ann Gidding
Margaret Ann Gidding
Born July 16, 1960, Margaret grew up in Sacramento’s Hollywood Park area and graduated from CK McClatchy. A hard-working and devoted mother of two, Margaret obtained her degree in Communications while working and rearing her daughters. She spent her career of 35 years in Federal service, the majority of which was in public communications and outreach. During these years, Margaret’s greatest joy was in her relationships and time spent with a large circle of family and friends. Quiet, introspective, and a deeply caring and devoted person, she lived a simple life until her daughters were grown.
About six to seven years ago, Margaret started taking Zumba classes. It was in these classes that she began to connect with the music and dance to find a new form of self-expression, and she was quickly hooked; she consumed classes in multiple forms of dance, from ballet to hip-hop. Her passion ignited, she studied and trained hard to move on to teaching, leading classes at CalFit and Step 1. The highlight of her dancing career was her first “professional” gig in November last year to dance for the Polar Express train show in Old Sacramento. It was during this time that the cancer she’d been fighting for over two years began to hinder her movement, and a short time later, grew too aggressive for her to continue dancing.
As her family has learned since her passing, Margaret’s love of dance touched countless fellow devotees. She exuded energy, positivity, and passion for dance, but went far beyond to share these traits and her love with the people she met along her journey. Her daughters and family have had a continuous stream of people share recollections of how much Margaret meant to them, how much they cared for her, and how she lit up a class or event with her encouragement and enthusiasm for others. She was truly a light and love in the community who is deeply missed.
Capezio of Sacramento
Linda Schmid and her daughter Sheila Wolf have been running Capezio in Sacramento for nearly 45 years. We are committed to providing exceptional service and high quality dance products. Over the years we have helped countless dancers of all ages achieve their dreams and goals with the best tools from people that care.
Sheila Wolf
Linda Schimd
Ron & Carinne Cunningham
Ron & Carinne Cunningham
For three decades co-artistic directors of the Sacramento Ballet, Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda Cunningham, brought exceptional artistic excellence and outstanding arts education to the Sacramento community. Together they transformed a small regional ballet into an organization of national recognition for its innovative vision and artistic quality. Now as, artistic directors’ emeritus, their legacy stands as a beacon of achievement as an integral centerpiece of the rich cultural tapestry of Northern California.
The repertory they assembled is remarkable featuring full length classics, 18 Balanchine masterpieces, over 60 of the most sought after contemporary choreographers in the nation, and over 50 original works by Ron Cunningham such as Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, A Streetcar Named Desire, Carmina Burana, Etosha, Dracula, The Great Gatsby and Peter Pan. Regarded as Sacramento’s favorite holiday entertainment, Cunningham’s The Nutcracker annually incorporated over 500 local children from a widely diverse community. They have deepened, broadened, and diversified audiences with innovative programs such as; Modern Masters, Beer & Ballet, Inside the Directors’ Studio, Living Sculptures, Red Hot Valentine Nights, Women Speak, and the Capital Choreography Competition. In 2007, the company made its first international tour to the People’s Republic of China receiving accolades in both Shanghai and Beijing.
The Cunningham’s have been in the vanguard of forging creative partnerships with their fellow arts organizations. They have fostered outreach programs to more than 40 different social service agencies and conducted full immersion education programs for children at risk in elementary, middle, and high schools. Under Carinne’s leadership, the community has benefited from decades of outreach through programs such as; Send a Child to the Ballet, Nutcracker Student Matinees, Community Event Performances, Leaps & Bounds, hospital visits, and countless school assemblies. In 2007 Carinne founded the School of the Sacramento Ballet increasing its enrollment to 350 by 2016. Under her leadership, the School established scholarships and financial aid for deserving students. In 2014, she established the Sacramento Ballet Youth Ensemble (SBYE) as a student performing entity with membership in the Regional Dance America (RDA/Pacific).
During their 30 year tenure, the Cunningham’s have received many State Assembly, City Council and Mayor Awards. In addition, Ron was awarded a California Arts Fellowship and together, they have received multiple Arts Excellence Awards from the Sacramento Arts & Business Council. In 2012, they were the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the first artists to be recognized in this category. The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC) presented the Joyce Raley Teel Arts Legend Award to Ron in 2017. In 2018, Both Ron and Carinne were honored with the Muriel Johnson Award for Arts Advocacy from the Sacramento Arts & Business Council. At the Sacramento Ballet’s 2018 Gala, Ron & Carinne were given the Keys to the City by the Mayor of Sacramento.