About Spotlight

Mission Statement

At Spotlight Academy of the Arts, our mission is to do our part in ensuring that the arts stay alive in our community through expert training and compassionate mentoring for our youth in a safe, positive, and all-inclusive environment. We take pride in celebrating diversity and open the opportunity to experience the transformative power of the arts to any individual, regardless of ethnicity, body type, disability, gender identity, or any aspect that makes each person unique.

Organization History

Spotlight Academy of the Arts began as Spotlight Dance Academy in 2011, founded by Sharida Rejon. A first-generation immigrant, her family could not afford music and dance lessons—determined, she took advantage of the sparse public school options available and otherwise trained by herself. This ultimately led to the opportunity to train professionally, where she was mentored by world-renowned choreographers and Broadway performers. She has certificates from IDA Hollywood and Millennium Dance Complex, and has been accepted to NYU Tisch in the Performing Arts Industry program. She has been part of the faculty for National Dance Day for 4 years. Bertin Rodriguez, a Bakersfield native, joined the Spotlight team in late 2013. He brought a lifelong passion for digital arts and musical theater to Spotlight Dance Academy, building up the Academy’s acting and singing classes.

After marrying in 2015, Mr. Rodriguez and Ms. Rejon-Rodriguez continued to grow Spotlight Dance Academy into a place where any child—including kids from low-income homes, children of color, and LGBTQ+ kids—could grow as an individual and an artist. As drama, music, and other arts programs at local public schools had budget cut after budget cut, they increasingly put this belief into action, offering full or partial scholarships to kids who otherwise would not be able to afford arts education.

Spotlight Academy of the Arts officially began in 2021, incorporating as a 501(c)(3) with the goal of reaching out to more kids in the community without compromising their existing high-quality instruction, production value, and one-on-one mentorship. With Mr. Rodriguez bringing 20 years of experience in music, theater, and digital arts and Ms. Rejon-Rodriguez bringing 31 years of experience as a performer and 21 years of experience as a teacher, Spotlight Academy of the Arts provides an excellent arts education while simultaneously contributing high-quality plays and performances to the cultural landscape of Kern County.