We are excited to announce our Instructor Spotlight series, where we will highlight our exceptional instructors, so you may get more insight about who they are and what makes them such an integral part of our Recreation team!  

SPRING 2024

My name is Maya Quintero, professional dog trainer and owner of Live Oak Dog Obedience since 1991.  Throughout my career, I have specialized in training all breeds and personalities of dogs, training them to their fullest potential using positive reinforcement.   I have also trained service dogs and have prepared dogs for therapy work.  I am also certified with the American Kennel Club (AKC) as an evaluator for Canine Good Citizen (CFC), Trick Dog and Service Dog Pass.  In my spare time, I continue my love for animals and compete in the American Kennel Club Obedience and Confirmation competitions. 

I am passionate about offering dog training services to our residents through Upland Recreation and Community Services and surrounding communities where I have made lifelong clients and friends.  

If you have recently welcomed a new pup into your home, I encourage you to enroll for one of my classes to help understand your pup better and to assist them in reaching their fullest potential.  Currently, I offer a Beginner/Novice class for all dogs 4 months and older, providing basic dog obedience exercises, along with addressing individual behavioral issues.  

Let’s work together to reach your four-legged family member’s fullest potential!

WINTER 2024

My name is Robert Zailo, Tai Chi and Watercolor Instructor for the City of Upland.

I believe that my passion for the arts is contagious, knowing that everyone needs an outlet in the arts.  My desire to share my knowledge, whether in martial arts or watercolor is also contagious, believing that everyone should be exposed to the arts to enhance their wonderful imagination and to develop a way to channel individual creativity. 

I was a student under Grandmaster Norman Armstrong for 23 years, studying Tai Chi for over 32 years.  I have read a monumental number of books on every type of martial arts to instruct the various techniques to my students and have been involved in various demonstrations and self-defense workshops for all ages throughout the Inland Empire.

I encourage you to enroll in a morning or evening Tai Chi class or Watercolor For Youth or Adult class offered through the City of Upland to explore your inner passion for the arts.  Classes are offered monthly at the Magnolia Recreation Center and the Gibson Senior Center.

FALL 2023

Raquel Veisaga's passion to spread yoga dates back to when she first opened Body Rituals in April 2005.  Having worked in big box gyms and knowing that the bottom line is the underlying energy behind the force of the fitness and even sometimes now the yoga industry, Raquel set off to bring the Upland community and its surrounding area what it feels and looks like to move from love that we all encounter the personal power that lies within us all.  

Raquel’s yoga lineage traces back to the great Founder of LA Yoga, Maty Ezraty, known for authenticity and the integrity of having it be heavily rooted in mindfulness and touching the spirit, something that is highly professed by those that get to experience yoga classes at Body Rituals. 

Her “Play Big” culture has been contagious and infectious, inspiring many, and becoming one of the matriarchs in the boutique studio arena.  Supporting many other studios, she has also been a catalyst to many careers in the field, living the belief “WE ARE ONE”.    Raquel’s leadership is her love with yoga and its branches of movement, for if don’t right, it awakens the soul to come alive, to feel, to birth, and create lives we love.

This Fall, join Raquel and Body Rituals staff for a wide range of classes including Barre Pilates, Burlesque Dance & Play, Rhythm Play, Ballet & Jazz Dance Technique, Creative Dance Movement, Hip Hop, and Dance Choreography & Performance Skills.

WINTER 2023

A native-born resident to Inland Empire, Sandy Jones first discovered Yoga while on a break from college.    Nearly sixty years later, Sandy has trained with some of the most influential teachers in the Yoga world, allowing her to find a new outlet of expression, touching the world and brightening the lives of those she encounters on a daily basis.  

Currently, Sandy offers various Yoga classes, sharing her unique style that captures all of the senses and hearts of her students through Upland Recreation and Community Services and her private studio, Blue Iris Productions.    Join Sandy and Upland Recreation and Community Services on Thursday evenings, for a unique experience that enfolds all of the senses with a new worder of the world around us!

Let’s Celebrate Life!

WINTER, 2022

After 33 years as an Account Executive in Corporate America, Denice Singleton retired and found her true vocation teaching Yoga and Pilates.  That vocation is further enhanced by her Reiki practice, all which affirm her personal tenet "Life...event when ordinary is extraordinary."

As a certified Hatha Yoga and Pilates instructor, as well as a certified Reiki Master & teacher, Denice is able to offer her community a wide range of one-on-one, group, and virtual classes including Yoga, Stability Ball, Arthritis/Chair Exercise, and Pilates for Seniors.

SPRING, 2021
My name is Miss Vanessa, but my dancers call me Miss V! My love for dance stems from my 20 years of experience starting when I was just 3 years old.

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher of some sort. After my first dance teaching opportunity at the age of 15, I knew that was it!  I was made to be a dance teacher.

I am classically trained in ballet and have performed in many recitals and ballets including the Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. I am also trained in hip hop, jazz, lyrical, competition cheerleading/song, and tumbling. I have taught baby beginner ballerinas, high school cheerleaders, and everything in between.

I truly love working with kids and being a positive influence in their lives at such a young age.  I am very passionate about my job and dancers. All of my dancers have a very special place in my heart.  

WINTER, 2021
Beginners Edge Sports Training, or B.E.S.T. for short, is a family-owned and operated Sports-for-Kids Company run by a hands-on husband and wife team and a pretty incredible staff located in Arizona and California.

How did B.E.S.T Sports come to fruition?   Our daughters first word was “ball”.   She loved anything that rolled and she played with them all day long.  Thinking our daughter could be an athlete while growing up and longing for a fun, energetic class atmosphere, to provide a better quality of life than commuting every day into Manhattan, we established our own sports company and wrote curriculums for each age group and sport.   Our daughter is now in college pursuing law and runs away when you throw a ball in her direction, but B.E.S.T. will live on for those parents looking for non-competitive, quality sports instruction that is high-energy FUN - no matter what your child’s skill-level is.

B.E.S.T. offers weekly classes in soccer, baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, multi-sport etc. For the youngest players, it’s never a Mommy or Daddy & Me – we are an actual teaching program for kids 16 months through age 12 – but we make it FUN! cater to beginners of every age group, who have never touched a ball before all the way through to the kids who know their stuff and want to perfect their game and get the edge over other players. We don’t want kids to compare themselves to other kids, they each work at their own skill-level and develop in their own time with lots of practice.

With the opportunity to offer such a wide range of sports each quarter, we are able to make sure we find the right sport and class for the new generation of active kids in the City of Upland.

FALL, 2020
I have enjoyed teaching Tiny Tots in the City of Upland for the past eleven years.  My passion to teach children has led me to complete my Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Development and continues to lead me to further my education to better children in our community.

Mrs. Gracie works by my side as my Assistant Teacher.  Together, we work to provide a meaningful experience that will help to build your child's personal interest in learning and preparing for Kindergarten.  Tiny Tots is a wonderful beginning for your child.  Your child's success if our greatest gratification.

FALL, 2020
I have had the pleasure of working with the City of Upland's Tiny Tots Program for the past eleven years. 

Together, with Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Leach, we are able to provide over twenty years of experience each and the tools necessary to prepare your child for Kindergarten. 

We look forward to our 2020-2021 school year and preparing your child in their beginning stages of education.

FALL, 2020
I am proud to say that since the mid 1990's, my family has been serving Upland the surrounding communities, teaching quality martial arts and the benefits that come with martial arts.  Over the course of of twenty-five years, we have seen three generations train with us.

We have taught classes with Upland Recreation and Community Services for the past ten years.

Our program has always focused on and will continue to focus on confidence, self-discipline, self-defense, honor, and honesty.

The past six months have provided a challenging time for all of us.  Although we have been closed for our regular classes in this crisis, we have continued to provide virtual classes on various internet platforms and through video lessons.  When we are able to do so, we are hoping to see you all in person.  Whether returning or for the first time, we look forward to greeting new and old friends at the Upland Martial Arts Center again soon!

SUMMER, 2020
I have been the owner of Baldy View Gymnastics for 25 years now!  I started out as that little girl doing gymnastics in the backyard when I was 7 or 8.  From there, I showed up to a gymnastics class provided by Upland Recreation and Community Services and they placed me on a team!  I competed for the Upland Gainers, then, later joined Baldy View Gymnastics Team.

I started coaching gymnastics at Upland Gainers while I attended high school.  After graduating from Cal Poly, Pomona, with a degree in Electrical Engineering, I worked at Boeing in Long Beach, while coaching and judging gymnastics at the same time.  In 1994, I ended up buying my former gymnastics school, Baldy View Gymnastics.  At that time, there were approximately 85 students in the program.  Today, we have 500 students!  Shortly after buying Baldy View Gymnastics, we began offering classes through Upland Recreation and Community Services.

Do you have a special skill, hobby, or trade and would like to teach a class or workshop?  Share your expertise and talent, and make a difference in the lives of others.  Please complete the Contract Proposal Handbook offered below and return to Upland Recreation and Community Services located inside Magnolia Park, 651 W. 15th Street, Upland.

For questions and additional information, please contact Upland Recreation and Community Services via email to sguzman@ci.upland.ca.us.