Jessica Acosta

Jessica first began dancing hula at the tender age of 3 years old with a stirring performance of Pearly Shells and Tiny Bubbles at her annual pre-school show. After a very long hiatus from dance, she recaptured her love for hula by joining a Polynesian dance program just before the turn of the century and was shortly thereafter added to the faculty teaching hula and Tahitian dance technique and routines. She then moved on to teach at Spark of Creation Studio when the doors opened in 2006. One of the founding members of Te Pura O Te Rahura’a under the tutelage of Marilou Lafon, Jessica continues to compete in various Hula and Tahitian group and solo competitions and has placed at Kiki Raina at Merced, Tahiti Fete of San Jose, Heiva I Reno, Heiva I San Diego, Hura Tahiti, Manahere, Ori Tahiti Nui in Tahiti, and the Hapa Haole Hula and Music Festival at Las Vegas. Jessica has a wide array of fitness experience, engaging in different forms of exercise for the entirety of her adult life. She is a co-creator of SOC’s Tahitian cardio class, has trained at full contact kickboxing and Muay Thai since 1997 with former multi-federation champion, Mark Tabuso, and practices resistance and strength training, Yoga, and Pilates. She incorporates and adapts techniques from various training methods to help develop kinesthetic awareness in her students and enhance their learning experience in the classroom. Necessary for Jessica’s survival are: her cat, Everett, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, Pearl Jam, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, all things Star Trek and Star Wars, and some things Marvel. She’s also a writer who hopes to come back as a pampered house cat in her next life.