Specialties: Standard Ballroom, Social Ballroom, American Smooth and Rhythm, and International Latin

Christopher Li has been teaching and dancing for 14 years. He started his dance career with the San Jose State Social dance class with Bud Ayers & eventually came onto the SJSU DanceSport Team as their president. Since then he has gone on to teach and compete all around the Bay Area. He is the 2020 National Amateur DanceSport Champion in Novice Ballroom and a finalist at the USA Dance Championship Ballroom. He teaches all styles & levels including but not limited to International Ballroom and Latin, American Smooth and Rhythm, and various styles of night club & country dances.

Joan has been dancing for over 40 years in a variety of genres. She holds a degree in dance from Western Michigan University and performed with the University Dancers; a concert ensemble in contemporary, jazz and tap. Joan has been competing on the WSDC Swing and UCWDC Country circuits for over 25 years. She holds 5 UCWDC World titles in the Classic, Showcase and Cabaret divisions and is the 2018 Showcase Crown World Champion with her husband Craig Johnson. Joan is a 2-time Points Champion on the Jack & Jill Country Two Step Tour for her wins and top placements. As a competitor on the WSDC circuit Joan has won numerous Jack & Jill West Coast Swing contests and currently competes in the Advanced/All-Star, Masters and Invitational Divisions. Most recently Joan won the 2017 Advanced/All-Star Jack & Jill West Coast Swing at the World Championships in Nashville. Joan is a Journeyman level 8-dance Judge on the UCWDC country circuit and has competed with and coached numerous amateur students winning prestigious Top Teacher awards at Regional events. Joan and her husband Craig Johnson teach at a number of studios in the San Francisco Bay area. Joan’s passion for dancing has taken her around the globe as an instructor, competitor, performer and judge.

Jyothi Kiran Hoskere was introduced to Yoga by her parents when she was 5 years old. In January 2021, she completed the Advanced Studies Program under Kate Coughlin and Jim Coughlin. She is now a 200-hour RYT. She attends yoga class everyday and also maintains a solid home practice.
Jyothi feels ever grateful for the transformative power of Yoga. Over the years she has developed deeper understanding of how the body and mind respond to well-aligned asana practice. Jyothi offers Iyengar-Yoga which focuses on alignment, and enhancing strength.

Kory ‘Kato’ Watkins is a dance professional with 15 years of experience in teaching and 30 years in choreography and performance. He believes that the best way to promote learning is to motivate his students with well-defined objectives and empowerment. He has taught elementary, junior high, high school and college-age students. Kory teaches all styles of Hip-Hop, including breakdance, video choreography, stage shows, ‘poppin’, ‘lockin’, and ‘roboting’. Kory’s choreography credits include Hip-Hop performances at the NBA All-Star game, Golden State Warrior games, the San Francisco Hip-Hop Festival, the Oakland Art and Soul Festival, and the independent film “Shut Up and Dance”. He has performed as a dancer with Michael Jackson, Usher, Brandy and Aaliyah, as well as in MTV, Grammy, and Soul Train Music Awards shows and several TV commercials. In addition, Kory has served as a judge in over 200 hip-hop ‘battles’.

Maya has trained under Karan Riar and Meera Riar since 2014. She also has trained in ballet, modern and bellydance. A native of Los Angeles, she loves teaching children and adults the fundamentals of dance and body awareness, especially the classical vocabulary and beautiful structures of kathak.

Ellie has been learning and performing Hip Hop for the last 10 years, and has extensive experience assisting and teaching in the dance studio. She has a passion for creating choreography and teaching, and is excited to be able to teach others the beautiful art of dance at RAPA!

Tawni's dance training first started in the studio, where she performed with the company teams at Dance Connection Performing Arts Centre in Concord, California. Her early training consisted of ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary technique. She then continued to study modern dance technique throughout college at Diablo Valley College (DVC) and San José State University (SJSU), and Mills College. During her senior year at SJSU, she joined the student pre-professional dance company, University Dance Theater, where she performed both jazz and modern pieces. She currently holds a bachelor’s degree in both applied mathematics and dance as well as a Master of Fine Arts Degree in dance at Mills College. She has been teaching Western concert dance in the Bay Area for 9 years and is excited to be back to the studio everyday to dance and teach.

Karan Riar hails straight from Mumbai where for close to 20 years, his performance, choreography, and entrepreneurial skills have led him to be an integral part of the 'Bollywood' Film and Performance Industry. Karan’s versatility in Bollywood Dance includes elements of Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock N’ Roll, Afro-Jazz, Salsa, Contemporary, Basic Ballet, Lyrical Hip Hop, and many other styles. His more recent work includes choreographing the Flash Mob sequence in the movie, “For Here or to Go?”. His exquisite choreography is well known throughout the Bay Area, and has been showcased in Disneyland and for National Geographic, San Francisco Giants, NASA Ames Research Center, CCF and ICC Events and much more.

Karan’s International work includes performing, teaching and choreographing for several Industry Awards Shows including IIFA, Filmfare, Star Screen Awards, and other television award shows. His professional training has led him to work with renowned choreographers Shiamak Davar, Geeta Kapur, Ganesh Hegde, and Inderjeet Sharma; and he has personally trained Bollywood celebrities Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bacchan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, and many more. Karan has also performed and assisted in the Bollywood movies “Dhoom 2”, “Kisna”, “I See You”, “Rab ne Bana di Jodi”, “Bunty Aur Bubli”, and “Yuvraj”.

Mr. Raj has well over 17 years of experience in the Mumbai Film Industry as an Assistant Choreographer and Background Dancer for motion pictures, reality shows, music tours, and television award shows. He has worked with famous choreographers including Vaibhavi Merchant, Prabhu Deva, Geeta Kapoor, and many more. He can also be seen dancing in many of your favorite Bollywood movie songs, including “Thug Le”, “Bodyguard”, “Kambakht Ishq”, “Dil Bole Hadippa”, “Go Govinda”, “Dil Chori Sada Ho Gaya”, and many more. Mr. Raj has been teaching dance for the last 10+ years to famous Bollywood Celebrities including Sharukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Salman Khan, and is now excited to be a part of the RAPA team and teach your kids!

Ron started dancing when he attended the University of the Philippines in 2006 where he learned and mastered the technique of Hip-Hop (street dance) and all its different styles. He was a member and a dance choreographer for U.P. Street Dance Club and The Crew. Ron was a teacher assistant for one year and eventually started teaching his own classes and handled several competing teams which competed locally and internationally. He also has been competing in different Hip-Hop competitions since 2009 bagging numerous wins under U.P. Street Dance Club and The Crew. Ron loves encouraging and challenging his students to bring the best out of their drive and talent.

Lovela received a degree in B.S. in Sports Science from the prestigious University of the Philippines. She started dancing when she was nine years old. She trained in different dance genres such as Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Cheer, and Gymnastics. She was a part of the most established dance groups in the Philippines – “UP Street Dance Club” and “The Crew” where she had the chance to compete locally and internationally. This includes representing the Philippines in 2006 in Las Vegas for the World Hip-Hop International and 2007 as representative for annual Delphic Asian games. She was also a member of the House of Dance Inc., which is a dance studio where its strength is in Jazz & Ballet. Being a part of the House of Dance Company for four years made her technique more solid and gave her the chance to go to Japan with the company to represent the Philippines at the Annual Jazz Congress. She was also a Junior Pep Cheer Squad coach for the School of the Holy Spirit, Enciende Hip-Hop team of Saint Pedro Poveda, Cheer Dance Team from St. Paul College where they won numerous awards from national competitions. She also was a Hip-Hop teacher in one of the largest television networks in the Philippines, ABS/CBN and was an accredited teacher for the Australian Conservatory of Ballet in 2010.

Meera Riar, is an expert choreographer, performer, and mentor of traditional Classical Kathak Dance. Her professional training in the Lucknow Gharana spans close to 30 years and 3 continents, and her unique style is influenced by her teachers Megan Black, Kumudini Lakhia, Sharmila Sharma, and Betty Jones. Meera also has several years of training in Bollywood, Ballet, Ethnic Folk Dance, and Latin Dance, and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health. Her experience has led her to provide a comprehensive and certifiable Kathak curriculum for RAPA students that encompasses grace, coordination, poise, discipline, and FUN in all the classes.