Bio - Tiva Lee Samaru

Tiva Lee Samaru is an Actress, Dancer, Playwright, Songwriter, Producer & Educator. Born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago she has sung in folk and classical choirs, danced, directed and produced her own dance troupes, performed in music ensembles and starred in many modeling, film, tv, radio & theater productions. She has been interviewed by iconic members of the press in Trinidad and Tobago and has been featured in a few newspapers, magazines and publications in Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent, Venezuela and the United States.

She formally pursued studies in Performance Art at HB Studios in New York, where her skills in Acting for theater and film, Accents and dialects, Alexander technique, Fitzmaurice technique, Kundalini yoga, Movement for actors, Stage combat, Voice, Singing and Musical theater were refined. Holding two degrees in Hospitality & Tourism Management with a diploma in Human Resource, her talent has also graced the world of beauty pageants in which she won many awards. She is a former Miss Teen Trinidad & Tobago, Miss Trinidad & Tobago, Miss Tourism Trinidad & Tobago and holder of many special prizes for intelligence, beauty, personality and talent.

As a performer for most of her life, she has studied Indian, Caribbean, Latin, Ballet, Modern, Interpretive, Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop dance. She also studied and plays multiple instruments including but not limited to the piano, keyboard, percussion, steel pan (steel drums), tabla, harmonium, recorder, glockenspiel and a variety of electronic musical instruments. With a passion for singing, she is inspired by the likes of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone and is a trained alto singer.

Enthusiastic about imparting knowledge, Tiva started teaching in her teenage years. To date she has taught a variety of classes in Trinidad & Tobago, New Jersey, New York and San Francisco. Her teaching portfolio comprises of Swimming, Public Speaking, Creative Writing, English A, ESL, Dance, Music, Yoga & Art taught to infants, preschoolers, teenagers, adults and persons with special needs.

In 2011 she joined the JAMaROO Kids Team during which time and up until 2013, she also led successful programs for young children at the Children’s Creativity Museum and San Francisco Recreation & Parks. As a senior member of Team JAMaROO, Tiva now leads a few of their most successful Parent Tot Music & Movement community classes. She also teaches Yoga, Art (occasionally) and Dance classes with this flourishing Bay Area company.

An artist to heart with a racing mind full of ideas, Tiva hopes to continue to add more accomplishments to her portfolio. Currently, she is producing a series of one woman performances, a music album, a comedic vlog series, an educational blog & a food blog and has also been frequently appraised for her DIY attitude and capabilities. Some of her most notable past work includes “Little Boy Blue Feature Film” (2011) which was shown at many film festivals around the world, “Shade Compositions” (2012) at the SF MOMA which was featured at Art Basel Miami 2013 and her one woman play “August in December” (2014) which was featured on SF Weekly.