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Instructors

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A GROUP OF INTERNATIONALLY WELL RESPECTED PROFESSORS

 The Acting Workshop System of the Hispanic Acting Society (AWS-SAH) is not only one of the most complete and competitive systems, but is also the biggest one in the nation, with sections in Chicago, Orlando, Naples, Houston and Miami. This system has a group of internationally recognized and well respected professors. Among them we have our Director; Miguel Sahid, who in 2013 was selected along with other 42 in the world to receive the Federico Garcia Lorca Award, given by the King and Queen of Spain in the City of Granada. To learn more about our professors and instructors click the Instructors page.

miguel sahid

INSTRUCTOR

MIGUEL SAHID (ACTING)

  • Actor and Director graduated from the Sacred Heart University in Puerto Rico and completed the program of acting for Film and TV from the New York Film Academy. Miguel Sahid has studied different methods and acting techniques around the world including the Growtoskian methods with Roberta Carreri from the Odin Theater in Denmark and Tadashi Susuki method in Thailand.
  • This charming and charismatic Puerto Rican actor and director began acting at the age of seven and has never stopped working in theater, film and television. Thanks to his vision and talent, Miguel has managed to get main characters in more than 60 theatrical plays, 25 movies and 14 soap operas and TV series.
  • Sahid was recently seen in the “Reality Show: Soap Opera Protagonists” where he excelled for his work as Acting Coach of this important show on Univision Network.
  • Miguel has been chosen from a select group of 40 actors and poets in the world to receive one of the highest distinctions that a Spanish-speaking actor may receive; the Federico García International Award nomination. This recognition was awarded by the King and Queen of Spain. Sahid’s passion for the writing of this Granada poet has no end. “Gypsy Ballads” was the character that helped him emerge as one of the most important actors in theater and he was selected by the local Miami media as “One of the three best actors in theater for 2010”.
  • With the great energy that characterizes Sahid, he has directed more than 30 theatrical productions, film and TV programs. For the past eight years uninterrupted Sahid has had several nominations for Best Director of the Year 2011-2016. His films go together with his theater productions throughout the United States as it has been with his character of “John” in ” Yerma” and “Argan” in the ” The Imaginary Invalid ” by Moliere , “Hamlet ” by Shakespeare premieres .
  • Miguel Sahid continually demonstrates his acting versatility obtaining characters of great challenge and histrionic ability as is the character of Mark Antony in Cleopatra.
  • Besides being an acting teacher at various universities and colleges, Sahid directs one of the most vibrant actors organizations in the US, the Hispanic Acting Society (SAH). His mastery of dance and singing led him to Broadway musicals ” Annie and “West Side Story” where he earned excellent reviews from the press.
  • In television he also showed his versatility as a TV presenter in “Flash TV”, where he was able to interview influential Hollywood actors. Soap operas are nothing new for Sahid since his first soap opera was when he was a teenager in his native Puerto Rico with “Lady Temptation” and among the most recent are “The Ghost of Elena” “More Knows the Devil” and “Body of desire” to name a few.
  • We are definitely facing one of the most influential actors and directors of the Hispanic Media.

Andrés Mejía

INSTRUCTOR

ANDRÉS MEJIA (ACTING)

  • Andrés Mejía was born in Colombia and recently graduated from Psychology, studied a Mayor in Theater at the “Santiago de Cali” University. He began his Acting Career at a very young age participating in all Dramatized Plays at School.
  • In 2005 he travels to the United States of America where he quickly manages to get involved in Telemundo Productions, acting in his first Soap Opera called “Dame Chocolate”.
  • Since then he has participated in over 15 Productions in major Hispanic Networks like Telemundo and Univision in the US and at the Venezuelan Broadcasting “Venevision”.
  • In 2008 he had the opportunity to venture into the World of Cinematography being casted in his first Film in English,  “Choices”.
  • From that moment on, he has worked as an Actor in more than 5 Short Films and several independent Films. It is noteworthy that his main passion is Theater, where he has had the opportunity to act and direct Theater Plays by great Authors of Universal Literature.
  • In 2013 he decided to go back to College in order to get a Degree in Psychology.
  • Andrés has over 15 years experience as an Actor and nearly 10 years as a Theater Professor, which makes Him one of the youngest and multidisciplinary Professionals Miami.

MANUEL CASTRO JR.

INSTRUCTOR

MANUEL CASTRO JR. (DANCING)

  • Born in Santiago de Chile in 1986. Trained in Dance Town Dance  Company. He  has work for many International artists as Ricky Martin, Thalia, Chayanne, and Paula Abdul tour. Manny, also worked for Telemundo and Univision as Dancer and Choreographer. His talent has take him to Broadway. Currently, Manny is the owner and Director of his own Dance Studio called Dance Zone.

Sandra Paola Castro

INSTRUCTOR

SANDRA CASTILLO (DANCING)

  • Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sandra Castillo started in the arts at an early age, first in choral singing and later in classical ballet to which she has devoted a great part of her life. Sandra began studying dance in 1986 with Mme. Magda Corbett in her Ballet Academy, and later continued her training with other recognized professors like Marinella Sallent in Danzarte, Dominican Republic and Aida Villoch of Cuba in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance; later she joined the Joffrey Ballet School of New York to further strength her ballet and jazz training.
  • Her career in dance and theater led her to play important roles as a member and/or soloist in groups such as the National Classical Ballet Company, The Magda Corbett Ballet Academy, Danzarte, The Guillermo Cordero Dance Group, and The International Ballet of Florida. Among others, Sandra has distinguished herself for her interpretations of “When We Kiss” by Juan Luis Guerra (Solo & Variation), “Giselle” (The Complete Ballet & Variation First Act), “Le Corsaire-The Slave and the Merchant” (Pas de Deux), “Swan Lake” (Odette, Second Act), “The Nutcracker” (Clara), “Cinderella” (The Complete Ballet -Fairy God Mother), “Carmen” (Corp du Ballet). In 1996 she won the ACCA Award in Miami, FL., As “Distinguished Classical Dancer 1995”, awarded by the Association of Writers and Art Critics of Florida, for her presentation at the annual Show of the International Classical Ballet Vivian Florida Tobio. As First Ballerina, he received a Special Award on CASSANDRA 1996 Awards for his portrayal of the title role in the ballet “Giselle” presented at the National Theater of Santo Domingo and the Gran Teatro del Cibao in Santiago, the two scenarios most important of the Dominican Republic.
  • Her filmmaking experience includes activities such as Production Coordinator for the Infomercial on Pension Funds, Dom. Republic; a tv commercial for Induveca Deli; as a Ballerina for the Dance Group ACROARTE for the Casandra Awards; and more recently, as an actress, in the role of Lucy for the short film “Brenda” Renacer Films; and the participation in various soap operas like “The Ghost of Elena” , “Someone is Watching You” , “Aurora” and “My Heart Insists” , all from Telemundo Network.

Chris Santiago (Dancing)

INSTRUCTOR

CHRIS SANTIAGO (DANCING)

  • Chris Santiago is a young Puerto Rican, a resident of Miami, Florida, whose artistic career begins with professional dance and then as an actor in theater and television.
  • As a dancer, Chris Santiago has participated in TV shows for Univision such as “Look Who’s Dancing”, “Sabado Gigante” and “Premos Lo Nuestro” where he had the opportunity to work for artists such as David Bisbal, Laura Pausini Olga Tanon, Victor Manelle and many others.
  • In his acting career Chris has had the opportunity to work in musical theater productions such as Malevolent and Sleeping Beauty; in soap operas like “My Heart Insists”, Telemundo, “The Face of Revenge”, “Queen of Hearts”, “Land of Kings”. In Venevision Network, for the series “Route 35” and currently for the morning show “Despierta America” in Univision Netowrk. His career led him to venture into the world of music, with his first single, “My Greatest Desire”, which merges rhythms like pop-urban, tropical music with electronic arrangements… This production, which includes the songs “My Greatest Desire”, “Candela & Rumba” and “Out of Control”.

Vanessa Elite (Acting and singing)

INSTRUCTOR

VANESSA ELISE (ACTING AND SINGING)

  • Vanessa Elise holds a BFA in Theatre from New World School of the Arts/University of Florida. Some previous stage credits include: “Rock Odyssey” (Circe), “Reality Sucks” (Roxy), “Women Playing Hamlet” (Lord Derby/Bartender/Gilda), “Clark Gable Slept Here” (Estella), “Church” (Reverend Vanessa), “Get Hit” (Jill) , “Fifi and Lybia” (Lybia), “Real Women Have Curves” (Ana), and “Suddenly, Last Summer” (Mrs. Venable).  She has participated in various festivals and reading across South Florida, as film, television and voice-over projects. Her original one woman show, “Noise: An Interruption” (Amaya) was chosen to perform in New York’s United Solo Theatre Festival on Theatre Row in November 2015 and later participated in Alliance Theatre Lab’s first Originals Festival. Elise was honored with a Silver Palm for Outstanding New Talent and a Carbonell nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in “Clark Gable Slept Here”. She is the Artistic Director of the Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival based in Broward College’s Downtown Center, which is entering it’s second year! Directing credits include: “Reefer Madness”, “I AM”, “LuvBytes”, “Escort Wanted”, and “The Pitch”.

Lázaro Horta (Singing)

INSTRUCTOR

LÁZARO HORTA (SINGING)

  • Lazarus Horta Cuban singer and keyboardist. Born in the province of Matanzas, called “the Athens of Cuba” for its high level culture and development of the arts, especially music, poetry and theater. He is also a composer. He became known in his native country through a television program that sought talents: “Everybody Sing”.
  • Bearer of a voice and a style that approach the so-called traditional “romantic”, his repertoire includes classics of Cuban music of authors like Sindo Garay, María Teresa Vera, Marta Valdes, Adolfo Guzman and contemporary among those cited Fito Paez, Ruben Aguiar, Chabuca Granda, Pedro Roman, Amaury Gutiérrez, Pancho Céspedes.
  • Discography: “Mi Herencia Cubana” (Hummingbird Records, 2006) A jewel to admire and remember. “The idea is to get me in the repertoire that has haunted me all these years,” says Horta.
  • live in Miami – FL
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