California School of the Arts offers a unique set of elective courses to meet the needs and talents of our students and to give them the opportunity to explore a variety of art forms. Instead of offering more traditional physical education classes, students can register to take Tap, Musical Theatre Dance, Taekwondo, Ceramics, Hip Hop, Piano, and many more. At the end of the year, students in elective courses produce a culminating performance to showcase the skills they have been working on all year. The Elective Showcase is an exciting time for students to show off their skills and parents to see the work being done in elective classes.

Simon Harrison

Instructor

Simon Harrison is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and arts administrator born in Kawasaki, Japan, and now based in Southern California. He began formal dance training in Santa Cruz, CA at age eight, and attended the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) in 2012, where he was recognized as a California Arts Scholar.

He graduated Cum Laude from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance, B.F.A. in Dance Choreography, and B.A. in Education Science. He earned numerous scholarships and awards at UCI including the Claire Trevor School of the Arts Award for Excellence in Dance Choreography, Donald McKayle Scholarship, Arts Ambassador Scholarship, Distinguished Anteater Scholarship, Kris & Linda Elftmann Scholarship, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Fellowship, and the Chancellor’s Award of Distinction for his commitment to research, leadership, and service.

He has performed and choreographed internationally at the University of Rome-Tor Vergata, Santa Ceceilia Conservatory of Music, and Teatro Forma in Bari, Italy with the DTM2 Ensemble (director Lisa Naugle), and taught dance to at-risk youth throughout Panama with the non-profit organization Movement Exchange. He has danced professionally with Tandy Beal & Company, MoveSpeakSpin, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and consecutively received first place at international Latin ballroom competitions for two years. Currently, Mr. Harrison teaches Dance in the Elective Program and School of Dance at the California School of the Arts—San Gabriel Valley, and works with Re:borN Dance Interactive (director Boroka Nagy) as Performer and Company Manager.