Maraya Performing Arts
Maraya Performing Arts, 2506 Catamaran Way, Chula Vista, CA 91914
About
Maraya Performing Arts offers programs in dance, acting, singing, and musical theatre, including professional youth theatre musical productions such as Descendants, Moana, and Finding Nemo Jr. The program also offers audition preparation, private lessons, audition self-tapes, and early childhood development music and play with a caregiver through Zumbini. In addition, it offers open level adult dance classes in ballet, contemporary, musical theatre jazz, and tap, as well as original dance theatre shows and productions for hire.
• Ages: 0–18 years old
• Schedule: Business hours Monday–Thursday with morning to evening class times, and Friday–Saturday by appointment
Founded in 2020, Maraya Performing Arts is structured as both an academy and a production company and is described as more than a studio and as a community, as well as a professional training ground, production hub, and community arts leader. It provides professional training in dance, acting, singing, and musical theatre led by working artists and industry professionals with connections to Broadway, Disney, and Hollywood, and offers professional development and career coaching for emerging artists, along with business development and nonprofit consulting for artists and arts organizations in areas such as grant writing and fundraising. The Maraya Performing Arts Collective, a 501c3 nonprofit, provides scholarships and grant-funded projects that make arts education accessible for all and brings the arts into schools, neighborhoods, and communities, including merit-based scholarships for youth.
CEO and Artistic Director Anjanette Maraya-Ramey holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the California Institute of the Arts and a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego, has served as Company Manager for the Tony Award–winning La Jolla Playhouse and as Senior Funding Manager for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, and has taught grant writing and nonprofit management through RISE San Diego and CalArts. Executive Assistant Arjay Avellano has nine years of business experience, including five years as a Technical Support Representative and nine years as an Appointment Setter, and holds an associate's degree in International Studies from the University of the East in the Philippines. Teaching artist Camelina Cedillo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Performance from San Diego State University, serves as a Teaching Artist for La Jolla Playhouse, Trinity Theatre, Playwrights Project, and Imagine Brave Spaces, is a member of Camino23, and is undergoing training to become a certified intimacy coordinator for stage and screen with IDC. Instructor Xavier Hicks is an alumnus of the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, trained at the Ailey School of Dance, became a Principal Dancer with California Ballet, and has worked with San Diego Ballet, Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater, Betzi Roe, Eddie Tuscan, and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company. Instructor Corina Maggi trained in jazz and tap with Helen Milhone and Bobbi Adams-Giltner and in ballet at the Chula Vista School for the Creative and Performing Arts and San Diego School of Ballet, trained under Robin Sheretz Morgan, Jillana, Steven Wistrich, Javier Velasco, and Jaquelyn Hepner, was accepted into the Boston Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet Summer Programs, received a scholarship to Interlochen Arts Academy’s Dance Department and a full scholarship to Dance Aspen, accepted trainee positions with Milwaukee and Mid-Illinois Ballet Companies, was a founding member and Company Dancer for San Diego Ballet’s first season for eleven years, has choreographed and assisted at San Diego Junior Theatre, Christian Community Theatre, and MADCAPS in Point Loma, and holds a Pilates Certification from Kore Pilates as a PMA Certified Pilates Instructor.
Maraya Performing Arts is described as a community arts leader, and the Maraya Performing Arts Collective provides scholarships and grant-funded projects that bring the arts into schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Founder Anjanette Maraya-Ramey serves as a community ambassador for the San Diego Blood Bank and created Bayanihan: For Life, For Blood, an original dance-theatre work that encourages civic engagement and inspires diverse communities to donate blood to strengthen and diversify San Diego’s blood supply. One community testimonial describes Maraya Performing Arts as a “home away from home” where a child “adores his instructors,” has “found his tribe,” and has had talents brought out in him, and thanks the program for a “welcoming and inclusive environment to thrive.” Another testimonial from Jacole Kitchen, Local Casting Director at La Jolla Playhouse, describes Maraya Performing Arts as “the newest gem to grow from the soil of San Diego's South Bay,” notes its “unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, and access to the arts,” and states that it provides “an artistic home and a safe haven for people of all generations to nurture individuality and creativity in a supportive and disciplined environment.”
Last updated June 23, 2026.
• Ages: 0–18 years old
• Schedule: Business hours Monday–Thursday with morning to evening class times, and Friday–Saturday by appointment
Founded in 2020, Maraya Performing Arts is structured as both an academy and a production company and is described as more than a studio and as a community, as well as a professional training ground, production hub, and community arts leader. It provides professional training in dance, acting, singing, and musical theatre led by working artists and industry professionals with connections to Broadway, Disney, and Hollywood, and offers professional development and career coaching for emerging artists, along with business development and nonprofit consulting for artists and arts organizations in areas such as grant writing and fundraising. The Maraya Performing Arts Collective, a 501c3 nonprofit, provides scholarships and grant-funded projects that make arts education accessible for all and brings the arts into schools, neighborhoods, and communities, including merit-based scholarships for youth.
CEO and Artistic Director Anjanette Maraya-Ramey holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the California Institute of the Arts and a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego, has served as Company Manager for the Tony Award–winning La Jolla Playhouse and as Senior Funding Manager for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, and has taught grant writing and nonprofit management through RISE San Diego and CalArts. Executive Assistant Arjay Avellano has nine years of business experience, including five years as a Technical Support Representative and nine years as an Appointment Setter, and holds an associate's degree in International Studies from the University of the East in the Philippines. Teaching artist Camelina Cedillo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Performance from San Diego State University, serves as a Teaching Artist for La Jolla Playhouse, Trinity Theatre, Playwrights Project, and Imagine Brave Spaces, is a member of Camino23, and is undergoing training to become a certified intimacy coordinator for stage and screen with IDC. Instructor Xavier Hicks is an alumnus of the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, trained at the Ailey School of Dance, became a Principal Dancer with California Ballet, and has worked with San Diego Ballet, Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater, Betzi Roe, Eddie Tuscan, and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company. Instructor Corina Maggi trained in jazz and tap with Helen Milhone and Bobbi Adams-Giltner and in ballet at the Chula Vista School for the Creative and Performing Arts and San Diego School of Ballet, trained under Robin Sheretz Morgan, Jillana, Steven Wistrich, Javier Velasco, and Jaquelyn Hepner, was accepted into the Boston Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet Summer Programs, received a scholarship to Interlochen Arts Academy’s Dance Department and a full scholarship to Dance Aspen, accepted trainee positions with Milwaukee and Mid-Illinois Ballet Companies, was a founding member and Company Dancer for San Diego Ballet’s first season for eleven years, has choreographed and assisted at San Diego Junior Theatre, Christian Community Theatre, and MADCAPS in Point Loma, and holds a Pilates Certification from Kore Pilates as a PMA Certified Pilates Instructor.
Maraya Performing Arts is described as a community arts leader, and the Maraya Performing Arts Collective provides scholarships and grant-funded projects that bring the arts into schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Founder Anjanette Maraya-Ramey serves as a community ambassador for the San Diego Blood Bank and created Bayanihan: For Life, For Blood, an original dance-theatre work that encourages civic engagement and inspires diverse communities to donate blood to strengthen and diversify San Diego’s blood supply. One community testimonial describes Maraya Performing Arts as a “home away from home” where a child “adores his instructors,” has “found his tribe,” and has had talents brought out in him, and thanks the program for a “welcoming and inclusive environment to thrive.” Another testimonial from Jacole Kitchen, Local Casting Director at La Jolla Playhouse, describes Maraya Performing Arts as “the newest gem to grow from the soil of San Diego's South Bay,” notes its “unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, and access to the arts,” and states that it provides “an artistic home and a safe haven for people of all generations to nurture individuality and creativity in a supportive and disciplined environment.”
Last updated June 23, 2026.
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