Amy started her dance education as a three year old at The Dance Academy. She grew up with extensive training in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical and hip hop and was a valued member of The Dance Academy competition team. Amy graduated from San Francisco State University in 2012 with a degree in Communicative Disorders for Speech Language Pathology. While living in San Francisco, Amy continued her dance education which eventually led to work as a professional dancer throughout the Bay Area. Amy returned to Modesto to teach hip hop and predance at The Dance Academy. She is also employed with Modesto City School District as a Speech and Language Pathologist Assistant. When time allows, Amy continues with her career as a professional dancer, although caring for and spending time with her husband and young son is her primary focus.

Angela’s dance education started with Mavis Seeman. Since then, she has continued her study with countless dance masters from New York and Los Angeles. Angela was a member of the thriving Modesto Civic Ballet Company during the 70s and 80s and later, the esteemed CSUS Unity Dance Company. After high school graduation, Angela lived in Hawaii for two years studying hair design. She returned to Modesto to teach at The Dance Academy as well as begin her now flourishing business as a talented hair stylist. At The Dance Academy, Angela serves not only as an advanced level instructor, but as a competition coach as well. Angela got a taste of musical theatre in her teens when she performed in Evita, Pirates of Penzance and Song of Norway, in collaboration with Townsend Opera Company and The Dance Academy. Angela discovered that in addition to dance, she had a talent and love for the theatre and since then has found time to choreograph for and perform with several area musical theatre groups. Angela and her husband have produced an athletic son and a dancing daughter. 

Ashley grew up dancing at The Dance Academy, beginning at age 6.  She continued her training throughout middle and high school as a dedicated member of the studio’s competitive team. She trained extensively in all styles offered at the studio and served as a teacher’s assistant from 8th grade through her senior year during which she developed a strong foundation in both performance and mentorship.  After graduating, she began pursuing a degree in Communications while continuing to train and compete in her favorite style, hip hop, throughout the Bay Area and LA.. Her passion for dance continues to grow, and she’s excited to return to The Dance Academy—this time as an instructor and competition coach. Ashley is committed to inspiring students not only as dancers, but as individuals, just as she was inspired during her own journey at the studio.

Bella started her dance training with The Dance Academy at a young age. She has grown up with a dance education that includes all dance genres. Because of her advanced level ability, she was offered a position as a studio assistant which she accepted and was successful at through high school. After graduation from high school, Bella lived in Los Angeles for 1½ years pursuing more extensive training in the field of dance. She has now returned to Modesto and is excited to share her knowledge with our students, teaching classes and coaching the competition team at The Dance Academy. 

Ginger’s extensive dance education for over the past 30 years has ranged from ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, and lyrical. Ginger graduated from Beyer High and earned her BA degree and secondary teaching credential in Physical Education from California State University, Stanislaus. While at CSUS, she was a member of the elite Unity Dance Company. Ginger has been a dedicated member of The Dance Academy faculty for ages three through adult in all dance disciplines since 1998. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she also has been a competition coach with the studio. Ginger’s two children have studied at the studio following in their mother’s dancing footsteps. Along with teaching at The Dance Academy, for several years Ginger has been the highly respected dance teacher at Downey High School directing a top level dance program for freshmen through seniors. 

Haylee’s dance training started at the age of 2.5 years right here at The Dance Academy.  For over 22 years she studied jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop and lyrical and was a member of the studio’s competitive dance team. Her advanced skill level earned Haylee a position as a teaching assistant at the studio when she was in high school.  She was also on her junior high and high school dance teams.  In high school Haylee was kept busy teaching and choreographing for various local junior high, high school and cheer teams.  During her senior year, her high school dance team won at nationals in both jazz and hip hop with Haylee’s original choreography.  After graduation, Haylee coached the Ceres High School dance team for five years further developing her skills as a choreographer and mentor.  At the same time Haylee joined the TDA staff as an instructor.  In addition to earning her BA degree in Liberal Studies at CSUS, Haylee continued her dance education throughout the state as both a dancer and teacher.  After taking time off to get married and focus on raising her three boys, she is thrilled to be back where it all began.  She is once again sharing her passion and love for dance with the next generation at The Dance Academy.

Kelsey started her dance education with The Dance Academy as a predancer. Throughout the years, she became a well-rounded dancer by adding ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop and lyrical. During high school she was a valued assistant with the studio. Kelsey graduated from San Francisco State University in 2012 earning a BA in Liberal Studies with an emphasis on Education. After graduation, Kelsey was employed as the director of an enrichment after school program in San Francisco. In this position she was able to incorporate the arts into the children’s general education curriculum. While living in San Francisco Kelsey not only continued her dance education at San Francisco State, but also with Dance Mission Theatre, OCD, and City Dance Studio, adding modern, salsa, African Haitian, and Cuban folkloric dance to her dance training. Kelsey returned to the Modesto area in 2014 and we are delighted she is a teacher with The Dance Academy and has coached the competition team. Along with teaching jazz, tap and hip hop she has also used her musical theatre experience in San Francisco to start our very successful Musical Theatre and Latin dance programs. In addition to her studio teaching, Kelsey is also a faculty member of Lammersville Unified School District teaching sixth grade math and English. Kelsey and her husband have recently welcomed a second daughter to their family. 

Kylie enrolled at The Dance Academy as a six year old taking classes in ballet, jazz, tap and hip hop. Even though her resume includes all dance genres, one of her favorite classes over the years was the father and daughter dance group. In 2019, Kylie and her dad returned for the 30th Anniversary show to perform with the father/daughter reunion dance. Because of her excellence and dedication to dance, Kylie was invited to join the staff first as an assistant and now as a teacher. Kylie graduated from Enochs High school in 2013 where she was a cheerleader for 3 years. After graduation from MJC, she attended beauty college, graduating with her hair license. In addition to her dance teaching responsibilities and taking care of her 2 young daughters, Kylie is also employed as a stylist in a Turlock hair salon. 

Laura began her dance training in 1994 at The Dance Academy. Over the years she became an accomplished advanced level dancer in all genres, sharing her skills with younger dancers as a teaching assistant. Her training also provided her with the opportunity to participate in many musical theatre productions. As a member of the competition team, Laura was a consistent recipient of top level awards and now shares her expertise as a competition coach. After graduation from Sacramento State, Laura, her husband and 3 children returned to live in Modesto where in addition to supervising the competition team she is an insurance agent with TSM Insurance.

Lucy’s dance education started in her youth initially focusing on jazz and hip hop. She later added ballet and tap at The Dance Academy to broaden her training. Lucy attended California State University, Stanislaus where she formed the very successful Unity Dance Company. She transferred to San Francisco State University earning her degree in Dance and was a member of City Slam Dance Company. After college, Lucy moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a professional dancer signing with the Bloc Dance Agency. During this time she danced with a variety of artists including Christina Aguilera, Mya, Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, Ru Paul, Robin Thicke and many more. She has also trained with Wade Robson, Brian Freidman, Dave Scott, and Shane Sparks. For ten years she traveled the world performing in live shows, television, music videos, and feature films such as The Matrix II and Paparazzi. Lucy has such an undeniable passion for dance that she still continues to perform locally and in the Bay Area with the support of her husband and two talented dancing children. In addition to teaching and coaching the competition team at The Dance Academy, Lucy is a credentialed Computer Literacy teacher with Modesto City School District. 

Megan's dance education at The Dance Academy began at the age of six. She trained in a variety of genres including ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. During high school, Megan was a member of Modesto High School's dance production team and she was a valued assistant at the studio. After high school graduation Megan attended UC Irvine where, in 2014, she earned a BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. During her time at Irvine, Megan took advantage of the thriving dance community and continued to dance with various groups on campus as well as in master classes available in the southern California area. Megan also fell in love with yoga and became a certified yoga instructor in 2014. Many of the poses and transitions remind her of dance, which is what initially drew her into the practice. Megan returned to Modesto in 2015 and we are so happy she is back at The Dance Academy sharing her love of dance as a teacher and competition coach. Since moving back from Irvine, in addition to her teaching responsibilities, she also has been performing in the Bay Area. Megan earned her Master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences from San Jose State University and is now employed with the Stanislaus County Library system. She and her husband have recently welcomed a beautiful new daughter. 

Sara is originally from Pacifica, CA, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. She enrolled in her first dance class in San Francisco at the age of 6. Growing up, Sara studied a variety of dance styles including tap, jazz and acrobats and successfully competed in regional and state wide talent competitions. When she was 12 years old, her family relocated to the Modesto area and she continued her dance training with The Dance Academy. In her junior year at Modesto High School she was invited to become an assistant at the studio. After graduating high school in 1992, Sara moved to Las Vegas, NV to accept a position in the cast of Don Arden’s stage spectacular, Jubilee! She was soon promoted to Assistant Line Captain of the world renowned Blue Bell Girls. During her time In Las Vegas Sara was chosen for additional performance opportunities along with her show at Bally’s. In 1995 she was a featured dancer in Martian Scorsese’s film, Casino. During this time Sara was able to learn from well known choreographers such as Anita Mann and dance in a variety of events including The Jerry Lewis Telethon. Sara was also hired for multiple modeling and runway shows for various companies holding promotional appearances in Las Vegas. These days, along with being a realtor and mother to a son and dancing daughter, Sara is once again a valued teacher with The Dance Academy, focusing on tap and jazz curriculum.