About the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness

vicki.parsons@balletaustin.org

Vicki Parsons develops, implements and directs dance and fitness programming for Ballet Austin's Butler Center for Dance & Fitness and Pilates Center. Health, fitness, and overall wellness are a priority, and through classes, community-based programs, and BeWell Talks she helps promote the value of life-long health and well-being in the Austin community. Vicki also oversees employee wellness initiatives at Ballet Austin.

Vicki joined the staff of Ballet Austin in 1997 and has over 25 years of experience working in the field of Long Term Care, specifically in direct care as a Recreation Therapist, using therapeutic recreation as a treatment intervention to improve overall wellness. She also worked extensively with young children, developing physical activity programs that are developmentally appropriate and promote an active and healthy life. Vicki taught at Austin Community College for 13 years and worked with several non-profit organizations to develop and present workshops on lifelong health and fitness. Promoting physical activity and wellness to people of all ages continues to be one of her greatest interests and passions.

She holds current certifications as a Senior Fitness Instructor, a Youth Fitness Specialist, a Group Exercise Instructor, and in Advanced Sports Nutrition. She is also a certified Fitness Business Manager. Vicki also teaches the Better Balance & Movement Workshop, a falls prevention program for adults. She implemented the BeWell Healthy Living Talks, offered at no cost in the Austin community. Her advice is simple, "it's your life, your health, YOU are in control. Be active. Be resilient, Be well!" Vicki looks forward to developing people and programming that will fulfill one of Ballet Austin's Core Values: "We dance to encourage lifelong health and well-being."

Follow Vicki on Twitter @VickiBeActive

vlada.sheber@balletaustin.org

Originally from the Ukraine, Vlada Sheber received her training in classical ballet from the State Classical Ballet College of Russia (Voronezh). Vlada performed as a soloist in the Donetsk Ballet Theatre before immigrating to the United States. She was a member of Ballet Austin from 1992-2003 and danced a variety of classical and contemporary roles, including the original Lady Capulet in Stephen Mills' Romeo & Juliet. 

In 2002, Vlada received her diploma as a Certified Core Connections® Pilates Instructor from the Core Connections® Comprehensive Teacher Training Program at the Pilates Center of Austin. There she studied under Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle. 

In 2005 she was acknowledged as a "Pre-eminent Purveyor of Pilates" by Austin Monthly Magazine. And in 2007 Vlada was appointed Director of the Butler Community School's Pilates Program. She designed the layout of the original Pilates studio and has worked closely with the Bommarito Group during the expansion of Ballet Austin's Pilates Center. 

In January 2013 Vlada was voted "Best 2012 Pilates Instructor in Austin" by Austin Fit Magazine. Vlada's knowledge and approach to her practice of Pilates make her a highly requested Master Instructor. Vlada is also a Post-Rehabilitative Breast Cancer Exercise Specialist, and has developed a specialized rehabilitative workout for breast cancer survivors.

stephanie.albrecht@balletaustin.org

As senior manager of the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness, the Ballet Austin Academy, and the Pilates Center, Stephanie is responsible for the day-to-day management of programs, operations, and customer relations. Her goal is to ensure the overall organizational effectiveness and efficiency of these areas, while optimizing the customer's experience. Stephanie also serves as the Summer Intensive coordinator, managing operational and administrative responsibilities for the program which serves several hundred ballet students each summer.

Stephanie joined the Ballet Austin team in 2013 bringing with her over 10 years of hands-on experience in customer relations and project management. Prior to joining Ballet Austin, she performed similar duties for the Bullock Texas State History Museum and The University of Texas at Austin. She is a native Austinite and a proud supporter of the Texas Longhorns. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from The University of Texas at Austin.

tonie.torres@balletaustin.org

As administrative coordinator for the Ballet Austin Academy and the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness, Tonie Torres is responsible for the day-to-day administrative responsibilities that ensures organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Primary responsibilities including coordinating registration for the Academy, as well as records management, sales, and financial reporting. Tonie joined the Ballet Austin team in January 2015. She graduated from the University of North Texas in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, concentration in Peace Studies, with minors in French and Arabic.

In his role as Pianist Coordinator for Ballet Austin, Joshua Piper accompanies dance classes and manages accompanist schedules for the Ballet Austin Company, Ballet Austin Academy, and the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness. In addition to working for Ballet Austin, Joshua is also the pianist for the Tosca Tango Orchestra, works with the Vintage 15 jazz big band, is staff organist and pianist for Asbury United Methodist Church, plays for Royal Academy of Dance exams, and teaches a small group of piano students ranging from children to adults. He holds a BA in Piano Performance from Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas.

Jenny graduated from SUNY Buffalo where she received her BA in Dance. While in school, Jenny had the opportunity to perform and choreograph in numerous concert dance shows in styles ranging from jazz to contemporary to modern. She was given the opportunity to collaborate her choreography with Digital Poetry media as well as choreograph for the Department's second company. Jenny has studied with artists from Jazz Dance World Congress, River North Jazz Dance Chicago, Paul Taylor Company, Doug Varone and Dancers, LehrerDance, Urban Bush Women, San Francisco Ballet and Giordano Dance Chicago.

She is a certified Zumba Instructor and is working towards her Personal Trainer Certification. Jenny has also taught children's dance classes and especially loves working with young children. In addition to teaching at Ballet Austin, Jenny works with schools and youth around Central Texas. She is extremely passionate about dance and fitness and is very excited to share her knowledge at the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness.

Tara began her advanced dance training at Sarah Lawrence College under the direction of Sarah Rudner. While in New York, she trained at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway under a wide variety of inspirational teachers including, Sheila Barker, Michelle Barber and Tracie Stanfield. She moved on to Prescott College to explore her own artistic voice and earned her BA in Integrative Arts with an Emphasis in Dance Choreography. After graduating she moved to Chicago to be part of AMEBA Aerial Dance Company where she performed works by Nefertiti Thomas and Autumn Eckman (Choreographer for Hubbard Street Dance.) During her years in Chicago, Tara also trained with Nick Pupillo, and Ricky Ruiz (of River North), Nan Giordano, Diona PidGeon, Becca Lemme, Eddie Ocampo and Toyko to name a few. Tara has directed several of her own evening length dance works as well as multiple dance films. She is excited to share her love of dance with Ballet Austin.

Phil Amador is an aerobics instructor specializing in Zumba® Fitness. He is an enthusiastic teacher and has brought his style of aerobic dance fitness to several local fitness venues over the years including: Galaxy Dance, Corazon Latino Dance Studio, YMCA of Austin, Tapestry Dance, 24 Hour Fitness, The Hills Health Club and Wellness Center, Uptown Dance, and BodyBusiness Fitness Club.

Phil holds Group Exercise Instructor certifications with the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) and YMCA USA. He is a licensed Zumba® Fitness Instructor and also holds certifications in CPR and AED. Phil is very excited about sharing his passion for fitness at Ballet Austin's Butler Center for Dance & Fitness.

Follow Phil on Twitter @MWPhil

Originally from Shreveport, LA, Bailey began her training at Carol Anglin Dancenter where she was a member of Louisiana Dance Theatre. Bailey furthered her education by studying at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, she accepted a traineeship with the Richmond Ballet. She has attended numerous intensive training programs including Kirov Academy of Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet Academy Lincoln Center, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Richmond Ballet and Ballet Austin.

Bailey studied Horton technique while at the Alvin Ailey School in NYC and is happy to be able to share Horton with Austin.

As Ballet Austin's Community Education Director, Pei-San Brown is responsible for developing and implementing dance- and arts-based curricula and programs for Central Texas schools, providing professional development for teachers in dance education and arts-based teaching strategies, researching and preparing historical and contemporary information about ballet repertory for audience education, and helping to develop and implement Ballet Austin's Strategic Plan.

Pei-San is currently on faculty as a dance instructor at Ballet Austin's Butler Center for Dance & Fitness. She has danced with Disney Entertainment Arts (Los Angeles), Third Coast Jazz (Austin), Austin Musical Theatre (Austin), Halau Ho'ola Ka Mana O Hawai'i (Dallas and Houston), and as a featured dancer in the movie Miss Congeniality (2000). She taught undergraduate and graduate education courses at The University of Texas at Austin's College of Education and was the co-founder of an educational research firm. She has been involved in research funded by The Wallace Foundation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Institutes for Child and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Her publications include The Developmental Benefits of Playgrounds (2004), the CPSC's Age Determination Guidelines: Relating Children's Ages to Toy Characteristics and Play Behavior (2002), as well as numerous chapters and articles in the field of early childhood education.

Brown holds a Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Texas at Austin, and has completed her doctoral course work in the same field. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Pedagogy and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Irvine. She has also holds the title of Kumu Hula, which is equivalent to a graduate degree in the study of hula.

Hannah is originally from Southwest Louisiana where she fell in love with the art of dance at age 13. Hannah trained and competed in dance until she went to Northwestern State University of Louisiana where she earned her BA in Business & graduated Magna Cum Laude. During university, she also studied modern dance and composition extensively. Hannah has continued to train and expand her passion and knowledge through various intensives and classes spanning the country from New York to Los Angeles. She has found a new home in Austin where she is able to share her passion and style with the community as an instructor and choreographer, as well as the Artistic Director of Verge Dance Company. She is excited to work more closely with Austin's beautiful and artistic community through Ballet Austin's Butler Center for Dance & Fitness.

Dane was raised in northwest Oregon where he started dancing at the age of 10. After high school, he was awarded a scholarship to Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. He trained there for several years, preparing him for the performance industry. Dane has worked with choreographers such as Mandy Moore, Malaya, JT Horenstein, Terri Best and many more. He has worked with MTV, danced on the NBC show "American Dreams" and has performed and choreographed numerous live shows around the L.A. area. In 2008 he ended a 5 year run working with Tremaine Dance Conventions and he has been traveling the U.S. judging for Creations Dance Championships.

Dane currently lives in Austin, TX where he teaches dance and choreographs for private studios and local high schools. He was a part of the professional development of Austin Independent School District dance teachers. He has also helped in the production of live shows benefiting charities around the U.S. He is enjoying sharing his talents with the dance community of Austin.

Alexa was born in the Philippines, where she began her dance training at Ballet Regina, following the Royal Academy of Dance curriculum. At age 16, Alexa started a three-year traineeship with Ballet Austin while attending college at the University of Texas. She attended the study program of the Ecole Superieure de Ballet Contemporain de Montreal in Canada, where she trained under renowned classical and contemporary artists and performed with Le Jeune Ballet du Quebec in works by Gioconda Barbuto, Shaun Hansell, and Jean-Louis Morin. While in Montreal, she performed as a guest soloist with Ballet Ouest in their production of "The Nutcracker." In 2011, Alexa joined Mario Radacovsky's newly formed contemporary company, Balet Bratislava, in Slovakia, as one of 16 original company members. Aside from working with Radacovsky on the company's repertoire of neoclassical and contemporary works, Alexa had the privilege of performing Jiri Kylian's Falling Angels and Six Dances and performing creations by Libor Vaculik, Sarka Ondrisova, and Jan Durovcik.

Alexa has extensive training in dance and choreography, having participated in top-notch summer programs and workshops at Springboard Danse Montreal, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Northwest Dance Project. Shortly before leaving Balet Bratislava, Alexa received 3rd place in the 2013 Festival of Choreographic Miniatures choreography competition held in Belgrade, Serbia.

Alexa has been teaching ballet and contemporary at Ballet Austin's Butler Center for Dance & Fitness since 2013. She also dances professionally with Austin-based Arcos Dance, and has performed with Andrea Beckham Dance Collaborative and Jennifer Hart's Performa/Dance. Alexa received a BA in English with high honors from the University of Texas-Austin in 2015.

Lisa began her dance studies at the Margo Marshall School of Ballet and the Cleveland San Jose School of Ballet. She continued her training as a Heywood “Woody” McGriff Presidential Scholarship student at the University of Texas at Austin where she received her BFA in Dance. She also studied classical piano and violin for many years and in her later years Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, qigong, Droznin System, Vipassana Meditation, and the Feldenkrais Method® of movement education.

Lisa has danced professionally in the Philippines with The Philippine National Folk Dance Company, Bayanihan. She currently is a member of DA! Theatre Collective and Sheep Army/Elsewhere Dance Theatre, and also performs her own solo work, along with independent choreographers, locally, nationally, and internationally. She has taught and choreographed at the Dougherty Arts School, the McCallum High School Fine Arts Academy, Tapestry, and The Texas Arts Project at St. Stephen's Episcopal School. Lisa is thrilled to be teaching at the Ballet Austin Academy and Ballet Austin's Butler Center for Dance & Fitness.

Originally from Bangalore, India, Divya is an engineer at Intel Corporation by day and a dance aficionado otherwise. She is formally trained in Kathak, an Indian classical form of dance, and has been dancing to Bollywood songs her entire life. She is also a certified Zumba® Fitness instructor. In addition to dance, Divya is a running enthusiast. Dance and fitness combination classes always excite her and she is thrilled to be an instructor at Ballet Austin's Butler Center for Dance & Fitness.

An avid student of Brazilian dance since 1995, Rebekah continues to study and share the dance traditions of Rio, Bahia and beyond. Since 2000, she has been teaching students how to samba "like they do it in Brazil," focusing on footwork, technique, and the Brazilian spirit of "alegria e charme"—joy and charm. Rebekah has worked in the United States and the United Kingdom as a performer, choreographer, and teacher of Brazilian dance for all ages and skill levels. In addition to teaching ongoing classes in the community, she has worked as choreographer and dance director for the Austin Samba School, one of the largest samba schools in the U.S. Rebekah is also a licensed Zumba® Fitness instructor and an AFAA-certified group fitness instructor. She enjoys transforming her exercise classes into a dance-party workout while having fun with students on the dance floor. She has trained in Brazil and the U.S. with Rosangela Silvestre, Nildinha Fonseca of the Balé Folclórico da Bahia and members of DanceBrazil. In addition to showing her students just how fun Brazilian dance and dance fitness can be, she also works as a translator.

Brittany was introduced to Pilates though her 15 years of classical ballet training. She studied under Vlada Sheber, director of Ballet Austin's Pilates Center. She is also certified with Peak Pilates and Power Pilates; both internationally recognized companies.

Brittany danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's scholarship program and The Richmond Ballet. Her knowledge, experience, and passion for fitness and movement help her guide clients though personalized sessions to achieve personal goals and specific fitness needs. Her group Pilates-based drop-in classes are also favorite workouts. Brittany also implemented the Mommy & Baby Fit classes at Ballet Austin, including the ever-popular Babywearing Barre Workout.

Follow Brittany on Twitter @HarpoleBrittany

Erika is a licensed Piloxing instructor and a licensed fitness instructor. Above all she believes exercise should be fun. Erika is excited, energetic, and passionate about her teaching, encouraging and motivating class participants to keep going to the end. Piloxing is a fitness program that blends the best of Pilates, boxing and dance into a high-energy interval workout. 

Aminya was born and raised in Austin, TX where she began dancing at the age of 3. She is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop and musical theater. She competed and performed with the award winning dance company Body Talk, directed by Kim Willett, for 11 years. While in Body Talk she performed at the 1999 Texas Inauguration and also appeared on the FOX Network. Aminya received scholarships from several training conventions such as L.A. Danceforce, Tremaine, L.A. Dance Magic, and Monsters of Hip Hop. She enjoys training in Los Angeles at the Edge Performing Arts Center with Bill Prudich, Adam Parsons, Mandy Moore, Malaya, Doug Caldwell, Tovaris, Erica Sobol and Tabitha & Napoleon, and many more talented choreographers. She's also had the opportunity to teach at the 2012 Texas Dance Educators Association Convention.

Aminya currently teaches dance and choreographs for several high schools in the Austin area, and private studios around the U.S. Aminya loves sharing her passion for dance and very excited to do so at Ballet Austin.

Follow Aminya on Twitter @Aminyakitchen

Arletta began her relationship with Ballet Austin as a guest dancer in 1992. She has been on faculty since 1996, when the Austin Dance Academy (ADA), which she co-owned from 1986-1996, merged with the Ballet Austin Academy.

During her career, Arletta has focused on artistic direction, teaching, performing and choreographing for such establishments as Austin Ballet Theatre, Austin Conservatory of the Arts, San Angelo Civic Ballet and Northcross Mall's ice skaters. As a performer, she danced for institutions including Ballet Austin, Austin Ballet Theatre, Incarnate Word College Ballet in San Antonio, Corpus Christi Concert Ballet, Victoria Ballet Theatre and Beaumont Civic Ballet.

Her professional experience, as well as the education she received as an aspiring dance pupil, helped to shape her distinctive approach to teaching dance. Arletta trained with the Royal Academy of Dancing Majors, earning various awards and accolades for her ballet technique. She has also studied with Oklahoma City Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and several other schools and companies. Arletta enjoys making ballet available to both professional and non-professional dancers through her instruction at the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness.

Vivian was born in Honolulu, Hawaii where she began taking hula lessons from her mother, a hula teacher. These lessons eventually grew into a deep love of Hawaiian dance and culture. Vivian currently studies hula with Kumu Hula Keli'i Chang's Halau Ho'ola Ka Mana O Hawai'i in Houston, TX. She has also studied with Kumu Hula Ellen Gay Delarosa (Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie, HI), Kumu Hula Keith Awai (Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie, HI), Kumu Hula Lorraine Daniels (Honolulu, HI), Kumu Hula Paul Ho'omanawanuiikana'auao Apo (Honolulu, HI), and Joyce Flaugher (San Antonio, TX). She competed in the prestigious Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in April 2006 with Kumu Chang. She is a founding member of the Island Rhythms Hula Company in Austin, TX, and is its current Artistic Director. Vivian is active in film, television, print, and runway in Austin, TX and is also an avid salsa dancer.

Jean-Claude was born and raised in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in West Africa. He began dancing professionally at age 15, and performed with the Dante Theater Company for five years before touring the U.S. as principal dancer with Ballet Jolem.

He regularly performs and teaches at dance camps and festivals throughout the U.S. He produced a special event for children at the Kennedy Center, performing masked dances from his own village. During the past 10 years, he taught at Lisangua Ya Bato Dance and Drum Camp in Woodstock, New York, and worked with students and faculty at Goddard College, Saint Michael’s College, Middlebury College, and Norwich University in Vermont.

For the past three years, he has choreographed and taught classes at “Africa in the Ozarks,” a West African dance camp in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. He was also the lead choreographer for the Lannaya West African Drum and Dance Ensemble in Austin. Today he works regularly with high schools and dance studios around Austin to choreograph professional and student performances.

Alex is a modern dancer and certified Pilates instructor originally from Louisiana. She earned her BFA in Performing Arts with a concentration in dance in 2010 from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She received her Pilates certification through Balanced Body University in mat work, reformer, chair, and tower. Alex has done many dance intensives, and continues to do so to keep up with her technical training. These include Tisch NYU Summer Intensive, Bates Dance Festival, American College Dance Festival, Doug Varone Summer Intensive, and Doug Varone Winter Intensive. She travels annually to New York City to take various classes at Dance New Amsterdam, STEPS on Broadway, and other master classes to keep up with the ever changing dance world. Alex's modern and contemporary classes are upbeat, technical, and always locomotive; using large movement both standing and floor work.

You can find her in both the Pilates Center and the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness teaching Pilates, fitness, and dance classes all week long.

Prakash is the founder of Agni Performing Arts based in Austin, TX. He is trained in Bollywood, Hip Hop and Jazz. He is also a filmmaker, entrepreneur, actor, and musician and is the founder of Agni Entertainment, film and theatre production company. His recent theatre project Lanka was a touring stage production that combined theatre, dance and martial arts.

Prakash produced and directed a larger than life touring Bollywood musical this past year, "Om Shanti—Once upon a Time in Bollywood."

Follow Prakash on Twitter @PrakashMohandas

Lauren has danced ever since she could walk. Originally from Austin, she studied Dance at Skidmore College in Upstate New York. While at school, Lauren had the opportunity to perform in many shows and to teach dance in the local community. She has studied an array of styles including Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, Ballet, Salsa, and Tap. Lauren has taught hip hop and jazz in both New York and Austin and has experience teaching all ages. Lauren has a passion for dance which she loves imparting to students of all ages. She is excited to be a member of the Ballet Austin Butler Center for Dance & Fitness Faculty.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Sara began her dance training at the Peabody Preparatory under the direction of Carol Bartlett and Barbara Weisberger, founder of the Pennsylvania Ballet. At Peabody, she was a dedicated student of both classical ballet and contemporary dance. She studied in the select Arts for Talented Youth program and received multiple scholarships and awards, including the Sara Glassman Scholarship, support from the Wendy Robinson Memorial Fund, the Peabody Dance Scholarship, and the Performance Award in Dance.

Sara spent her summers studying at renowned summer intensive programs at The Washington Ballet, American Ballet Theater, The School of American Ballet, and Ballet Austin. Upon her graduation in 2005, Sara was accepted into Ballet Austin's Professional Trainee Program. In 2006, after just one season in the trainee program, Sara was promoted to Ballet Austin's Second Company. During Sara's two seasons with Ballet Austin, she performed works by Stephen Mills, Thang Dao, Thaddeus Davis, Gina Patterson, and Michelle Thompson.

In 2007, Sara became a founding member of New York-based contemporary company Wideman/Davis Dance under the direction of Thaddeus Davis and Tanya Wideman-Davis. Both in New York and on tour, Sara performed principle roles in Davis' Based on Images, Woman, Rock and my Soul, Elida and Twenty Rising, and the Boskett Affair. 

Madison is a graduate of Oklahoma City University where she received her degree in dance performance. Maddie has extensive musical theatre experience from the time she was a young child. She studied dance at the Ballet Austin Academy and Butler Center for Dance & Fitness for 12 years including classes in ballet, jazz, tap and musical theatre. She also studied voice with Dr. Michael McKelvey and was a member of Performers Workshop.

Some of her past musical theatre production credits include Music Man and Carousel with TexARTS, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Assassins, Sweet Charity, The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors and SWING with Summerstock Austin, and The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz and Celebrate! with Austin Musical Theatre. Maddie performed the roles of Judy in White Christmas, Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, for which she was awarded Best Actress in the UIL Zone competition.

Maddie has served as dance captain for numerous musical theatre productions, choreographed for both high school and college students, taught jazz and musical theatre at Ballet Austin's Summer Intensive program, directed The Broadway Kids camps for several years at Ballet Austin, and has taught many other Ballet Austin camps and classes. She is also sought after as a choreographer in the Austin area for many local musicals. Madison looks forward to being in Austin for awhile choreographing and teaching.

Boo is a lifetime dancer and student of Pilates. Involved in competitive dance from the age of eight, Boo started her formal ballet training at Ballet Austin under Stephen Mills in 1996. After a dance injury, and a year of recuperative Pilates work with Vlada Sheber, Boo made a full recovery, is still dancing today.

Boo continued her Pilates training under the direction of Vlada Sheber and completed her certification. From 2012-2014 Boo completed a number of advanced trainings including Bar Method™ certification, Pilates Sports Center™ certification, and DaVinci Body Board™ certification while growing her knowledge of movement focused on injury prevention and rehabilitation. Her current certifications include: pre-natal/post-partum Pilates, Pilates for golfers and equestrians, Pilates for special populations (senior citizens and small children), as well as specialized continuing education in the jump board, foam roller, Cadillac, Wunda chair, tower, special needs citizens (handicapped, Down syndrome, MS, and seizure patients), and is currently pursuing her Master Trainer Certification through Pilates Sports Center™ (CA).

Boo is also a National Academy of Sports Medicine™ (NASM) certified personal trainer with specialized credits as a Corrective Exercise Specialist and Performance Enhancement Specialist. Boo continues her professional education in anatomy and Pilates practices to ensure she brings fresh ideas to the studio for challenging, yet healthy workouts. Her passion, energy and knowledge is a part of every workout, whether dance or Pilates.

Jason Vaughn has been a dancer and choreographer of many facets of dance, such as Hip Hop, House, Breaking and West African, for 10 years. He was born and raised in Houston, TX, but now is an Austin resident. He has performed for Ballet Afrique, in shows such as "Our Legacy" and "Love Letters," for The University of Texas, and Red Bull. Jason learned from numerous veteran dancers such as Moustapha Bangoura and Jean-Claude (West African dance,) Caleaf Sellers (House,) B-Boy Flowmaster (Break Dancing,) and Mario Pena (Hip Hop dance.) He has taught Break Dancing, House Dance and Hip Hop, as well as private hip hop lessons. Jason is known for his great personality, positive energy and patience.

Quinton grew up in Austin where he began dancing at the age of 8. He studied just about every style of dance including jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, musical theater and gymnastics. Quinton received many scholarships and awards and at the age of 12 began training at the Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles where he trained with Mandy Moore, Adams Parsons, Tabitha and Napoleon, and Roger Lee only to name a few. Quinton's fresh choreography and outgoing personality makes him a sought after teacher and choreographer. 

Lucy graduated with honors with a BFA in Dance from the conservatory at Purchase College, SUNY. While at Purchase, she worked with a number of talents, including Bill T. Jones, Monica Bill Barnes, Catherine Cabeen, and Kevin Wynn. She has had the wonderful opportunity to train in a wide range of dance styles, in several countries around the world, and with artists from companies that include Batsheva, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Shen Wei, Kyle Abraham, Doug Varone & Dancers, Inbal Pinto, Mark Morris Dance Group, and more. Lucy's performance credits include Annie Rigney, Brooke Broussard, The Dreamland Follies, Pam Tanowitz, and Nelly Van Bommel // N-A Dance.

She continues to study and perform in Austin, and is currently pursuing her yoga teaching certification. In her classes, Lucy draws from different techniques to create movement that ranges from technical and challenging, to sweeping and simple. She is absolutely in love with dance, and loves to explore its possibilities with her students.

Erick started dancing at the age of sixteen. Self-taught in hip hop, he began taking dance classes at Burnet High School where he learned the principal elements of dance. From the moment he started, he fell in love with dance and entered into his first of two dance competitions. He placed top ten overall in both of them and received performance/showmanship awards along with a scholarship to New York Dance Experience. This provided multiple opportunities as an instructor and a performer.

Erick has performed as a dancer in House of Torment, numerous music videos, and Premios Texas with multiple artists like Gloria Trevi, Chingo Bling, Grupo Treo, and Danie Pearl just to name a few. Erick is an instructor at various studios throughout the Austin area and continues to spread his love for dance with others.