Portrait of PPAC instructor Alicia Cardoza.

Portrait of PPAC instructor Alicia Cardoza.

     Alicia Cardoza, a San Francisco Bay Area native, began taking ballet at the age of four. She continued to take ballet classes at the same studio for the next 14 years until graduating high school, starting on pointe at age 11, and becoming a member of their company by age 13. Throughout high school she was a part of the school’s dance and cheer programs, exposing her to a wide variety of styles such as jazz, hip hop, and lyrical, allowing her to participate in dance conventions and competitions, as well as perform in prestigious venues and take private classes at studios in Los Angeles such as The Edge and Disneyland.

     After graduating high school in 2004, she went on to Arizona State University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Choreography  in the Spring of 2008.  During her four years at ASU, she was immersed in the contemporary and classic ballet and modern dance techniques, taking lessons in choreography, rhythmic theory, dance production and history, and finding a much deeper and profound knowledge of her craft. She has also had the pleasure of taking classes by famous guest artists such as Ron Brown, Delfos Danza Contemporanea, David Dorfman, Liz Lehrman, and Robert Moses, as well as being instructed by renowned faculty members like Shouze Ma, Jennifer Tsukayama, Cynthia Roses-Thema, and Nina Watt.  In Spring 2007, she was cast in a piece by famed San Francisco choreographer and company owner Robert Moses, that was performed in the ASU 2007 Spring Dance Concert. This opportunity to work closely with such a talented and prestigious choreographer was one for the most challenging yet rewarding experiences to date.

    Since graduation, Alicia is now working full time as a dance instructor and choreographer, where she has won numerous choreography awards in dance competitions performed throughout the Phoenix area.  She plans to continue to choreograph and perform as long and as often as possible, long after graduation.