Instructors

Center For The Arts Instructor

Cathy Beachy

Offering Instruction In Online Classes, Creative Engineering,
Piano - Summer Tuesdays - Cathy

Instructor Bio

Cathy began studying music at 5 years old and has 30 years experience with private piano lessons. She studied piano, voice, flute and violin, performed in award winning Marching Bands and Choirs, and performed in fun ensembles like Wire Choir throughout her childhood and teen years. Cathy received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Tabor College and a Master’s Degree in Music Education – Choral Conducting from Arizona State University. During her time at Tabor College Cathy was a soloist for Tabor’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, a member of Tabor’s traveling summer music group, sang with and accompanied a variety of choirs and ensembles, performed a standing-room-only senior voice recital and was the piano accompanist for five other vocal and instrumental senior recitals. She played flute and percussion in the Tabor College Band and performed the role of Gracie Shinn in The Music Man. In addition, Cathy was a Resident Assistant, held various leadership roles in student-led organizations, and was a student representative on faculty committees, including a Presidential Search Committee.

Cathy served as the Director of Music & Worship at First Mennonite Brethren Church in Wichita, Kansas where she led a large, multi-generational and multi-faceted worship ministry including a 60-voice adult choir, 120-voice children’s choir, worship band, seasonal orchestra, drama teams, and large production teams. Cathy conducted the combined choirs and orchestras of Tabor College and First Mennonite Brethren Church in a performance of Handel’s Messiah. She led the efforts of the full arts ministry for many productions and performances. In addition, Cathy led workshops for Worship Teams and Worship Leaders in Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, California, South Dakota and Minnesota. Cathy also recruited and organized teams to lead worship for national conferences in California and Kansas. Over the last 20 years, Cathy served a variety of leadership roles at Copper Hills Church, including serving as Worship Leader, Children’s Pastor, Elder, and Life Group Leader. She currently serves as a keyboard player in the Copper Hills worship band. Cathy also accompanies several school choirs, and plays piano for weddings and various events. Cathy and her husband Brian were small business owners, where Cathy’s primary responsibilities included HR for 70 employees. Cathy and Brian have two boys, Zach & Ben. They live in Peoria with their desert tortoise, Franklin, and their dog, Bailey. Cathy loves to travel, is an avid sports fan and hostess. When she’s not performing or leading you can find her on her patio with a backyard full of family and friends.

Center For The Arts Instructor

J'ana DeLaTorre

Offering Instruction In Music Theater

Instructor Bio

J’ana DeLaTorre is thrilled to bring her passion for musical theater to Copper Hills Center of the Arts as a guest instructor! She has taught musical theater workshops, camps, and classes at theaters such as Greasepaint Youth Theatre and Valley Youth Theatre, and loves seeing the positive impact that theater arts has on the lives of students.

J'ana is currently on her fifth year of music directing productions for Greasepaint Youth Theatre in Scottsdale. She has received NYA and Zoni nominations for her music direction in Seussical (NYA/Zoni), Pajama Game (NYA), and most recently, Newsies (NYA). Newsies was also awarded the honor of Best Overall Production from the National Youth Arts Awards.

In addition to music directing, J'ana has been lead pit pianist for numerous musicals, including Guys and Dolls, Into The Woods, She Loves Me, Once Upon A Mattress, and Little Shop of Horrors. She also enjoys teaching private piano and voice coaching, and performs as a collaborative pianist and solo artist in the Valley.

J’ana graduated summa cum laude from Grand Canyon University with a degree in piano performance with a voice minor. When not involved in stage productions or behind a piano, J’ana can be found spending time with her husband and three children, and pursuing her unending love of pie baking.

Center For The Arts Instructor

Jasmin Long

Offering Instruction In Martial Arts

Instructor Bio

Jasmin Long began her martial arts journey at the age of 4 under the direction of her father, Noel Fernandez. After his passing in 2008, Jasmin continued her training under Kyoshi Nabil Noujaim.

She holds a 5th Dan Black Belt in Shorin-Ryu ShorinKan and comes from a long line of martial artist, (all of them black belts), to include 6 siblings, husband (Bill) and 3 adult children (Tim, Rebecca, and Tommy).

Jasmin assisted in the day-to-day operations at her father’s dojo, sister’s dojo, and later owned and operated her own family dojo for over 12 years.

She has spent many years teaching martial arts to various ages and abilities to include special needs. Jasmin is excited to share her passion in the martial arts.

Center For The Arts Instructor

Amy Nichols

Offering Instruction In Creative Writing, Online Classes,

Instructor Bio

Amy K. Nichols teaches Creative Writing Classes and Private Flute Lessons.

Amy is the author of the young adult science fiction novels Now That You’re Here and While You Were Gone, published the Knopf/Penguin Random House. She has taught with the Your Novel Year program at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU, been on the faculty of the Desert Nights Rising Stars and SCBWI conferences, and served as the Writer in Residence for the Glendale Public Library. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of writing and publishing with others, particularly when it involves passing along the wisdom she gained from her mentor, the award-winning crime novelist James Sallis.

Amy has played the flute for 37 years and has taught private lessons for 17 years. A number of her students have placed in Regional and All-State competitions and have gone on to obtain music scholarships. In college, Amy earned a minor in Music and studied under the principal flutist of the Phoenix Symphony. She performs around the valley in seasonal orchestras and musical theater productions, and does occasional session work with recording artists. She enjoys sharing her love of music with others and passing on the technical and musical skills her teachers taught her.

Center For The Arts Instructor

Justin Ratkovich

Offering Instruction In Watercolor, Online Classes,

Instructor Bio

Amanda Ratkovich has loved all things creative since she was very young. She spent most of her childhood painting and sketching fashion illustrations. She fell in love with sewing and decided to combine her love for drawing and sewing. Amanda studied Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and graduated with honors in 2013.

Upon graduation Amanda and a colleague started Shop Elda, a mission-based clothing company based in Haiti. She led and taught 30 women how to sew to support their families with this sustainable skill. Shop Elda partnered with a feeding program and a local church to provide VBS for the kids while the mothers attended the workshops. With every purchase at Shop Elda, they employed 30+ women and hosted VBS for 100+ children. Through partnership with the feeding program, Shop Elda was able to support 230+ children to receive daily meals at school as well. Creating with her hands has always been a passion, and when she moved back to her home state of Arizona, Amanda wanted to continue her education in the arts, specifically watercolors. Her mother and grandmother are very talented oil and watercolor painters, so she believed she might have the knack for it. The only way to discover if this was something she was good at was to take lessons and give it a shot. She began taking watercolor classes and immediately fell in love with the medium – Amanda realized she had a natural gift and talent for watercolor. Amanda has won multiple awards for her watercolor paintings and has made a career as an Illustrator. She owns Lily & Threads, a digital and watercolor design company, and loves working with her clients. Amanda has a passion for the exploration of the arts and a passion for connecting with people through art. She loves teaching and equipping others to discover and unlock their natural talents to unlimited potential.

When not doing watercolor, Amanda loves sewing, textile design, and film photography. She was born and raised in Arizona, loves her desert home, and exploring the state with her husband Justin. Amanda and Justin are excited to meet their first baby girl in July.

Center For The Arts Instructor

Katy Rosinbum

Offering Instruction In Dance, Online Classes, Watercolor,

Instructor Bio

Katy Rosinbum's love for dance began when she was a young girl dancing for fun with her elementary school friends. That passion grew into a desire to learn technique and further her formal dance training. Katy was part of her high school's dance program as well as danced at The Dance Shoppe. Because of the deep impact her high school dance teacher made, she set a goal to become a dance teacher herself. Katy continued her dance journey at Arizona State University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance Education and earned an Arizona Teaching License in Dance Education for age K-12. Katy has taught students from elementary school to high school at Leap of Faith Dance Studio and Mountain Ridge High School.

This year marks Katy's 8th year teaching dance at Mountain Ridge High School where she has grown the program and outgrown the space. MRHS renovated and expanded to create a new dance studio. Ridge’s multiple dance shows sell out early and often. Katy teaches all skill levels, from those who have never danced before to extremely experienced dancers. Katy loves instructing a variety of dance styles including jazz, ballet, tap and modern dance. In addition to the daily rigors of teaching technique and investing in the growing skills of her students, Katy personally choreographs anywhere between 14-20 dances for her shows each year.

While she has worked with kids for over 15 years, her most important role is being mom to her 3 kids Micah, Lilliana and Josiah. When she is not teaching or dancing, you can find Katy singing in her church’s worship’s band, hosting parties, and hanging out with her kids. Katy is so excited to be a part of Copper Hills Center for the Arts and looks forward to sharing her gift and love of dance with the next generation of dancers!

Center For The Arts Instructor

Jenna Wilson

Offering Instruction In Dance

Instructor Bio

Jenna Wilson is a college student in Tennessee, originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She started dancing at 9 years old at L.A. Dance. She received studio-wide awards during three of her years at L.A. Dance including Dancer of the Year. She began dancing competitively at age 10, studying multiple genres including Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Tap, and more. She was part of many group performances in each of these styles as well as solos and trios in Jazz and Contemporary, winning individual as well as overall competition awards. This experience led to being invited to study and perform in New York City as a part of the NYCDA summer intensives, and compete for NYCDA in Kansas City, Dallas, and Phoenix. Seen as a leader among her peers, Jenna also helped teach several classes at her studio.

At the age of 16 Jenna moved to Manhattan, Kansas. She immediately got involved at Bates Dance Studio where she joined the competition team and continued to train and perform in various styles. She hosted dance workshops to fund-raise for a summer mission trip, teaching 1st-3rd graders in beginners Jazz as well as 13-18 year olds in advanced Contemporary. Jenna continues to have a love for dancing and finds space at her college and here at home to train and take classes. When she’s not dancing Jenna loves to travel, play games, and hang out with her amazing family and friends.