Our teaching method
Meet our Teachers
At the Center for Performing Arts and Dance, our passionate and dedicated teachers are the heart of our programs. With professional backgrounds in ballet, jazz/tap, and gymnastics, our dance instructors inspire students to achieve their best. Our art teachers foster creativity through engaging projects, while our academic enrichment instructors, experts in STEM and other subjects, develop critical thinking skills. Together, they create a dynamic and supportive atmosphere where every student can thrive and discover their unique talents.
Miss Emily
Ballet & Tap/Jazz
Emily J. Sanchez (she/her) was born and raised in Texas. She received her formal training at the Ballet Conservatory of South Texas. In 2019, Emily was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA).
Since 2019, Emily has been a resident of New York City and currently lives in the Queens area. In addition to her performance career, she is also a professional art educator, teaching dance and creative movement to students across New York City. Emily performs as a freelance entertainer and holds residencies as an artist with two New York-based dance companies.
Recently, Emily was promoted to the position of Assistant Director for Starbound National Talent Competition. She continues to grow as a dancer and educator, sharing her passion for the art form in an environment that encourages authenticity.
Miss Olivia
Ballet & Gymnastics
Miss Delaney
Tap/jazz
Delaney Keck (she/they) is an NYC-based dancer and teacher. Growing up in Memphis, TN, she was a high-level gymnast and trained at her local dance studio before attending New York University for Media Studies. During her time at NYU, she was involved in the university’s student-run dance company Pulse Dance Project, where she trained, honed her teaching skills, and developed her love for choreographing. She is passionate about dance being a safe and compassionate space for all.
Miss Nina
ballet
Miss Nina is a professional ballerina having over a decade of performance experience with The Russian Ballet Company, New York Dance Project, and Miami Cuban Classical Ballet Company amongst others. She has spent the past year teaching young children in Miami, where she discovered her next passion in life is to teach!
Her classes involve visual, auditory, and basic natural movements often using props, such as tambourines, scarves, and ribbons to create a fun and engaging environment for young students to learn.
Miss Davonna
Ballet & Gymnastics
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Davonna (she/her) fell in love with dance at an early age. She received a B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Arizona with Honors, Summa Cum Laude, and with great pleasure has immersed herself in several styles of dance while studying under many exceptional artists. Since moving to New York in 2014, she has danced in and collaborated with several companies and artists including ALMA NYC, Gotham Dance Theater, Nicole Wolcott, Amanda + James, and of bones dance. In addition, she’s had the opportunity to tour nationally with DAMAGEDANCE and internationally with Sarah Berges Dance.
Along the way, Davonna discovered a love for teaching, and continues to find absolute joy in encouraging dancers, and movers of all ages to discover power, control, and expression in their bodies and minds. She teaches with a somatic approach that invites curiosity, encourages focused technique, and stimulates creativity. Her study with Sue Hitzman and the MELT Method along the way has empowered her to care for her own body more thoroughly throughout her career, and it is now an integral part of her framework for self care. The goal is to dance and move pain-free for as long as humanly possible!
Miss Juliette
Ballet & gymnastics
Miss Juliette is a dynamic dancer and teacher based in New York City, specializing in contemporary and ballet dance. She holds a BFA in Ballet with a concentration in Choreography from Marymount Manhattan College, where she studied under esteemed instructors such as Pedro Ruiz, Juan Carlos Penuela, and Geoffrey Doig-Marx. Miss Juliette has presented her works, including Memories in Music, Happenstance and Intention, and Slipping, at notable venues such as The Tank Theater, Dixon Place Theater, and Marymount Manhattan College. She has participated in various film festivals, including Oddfest Film Festival and the BLOC Dance Festival, showcasing her talent and creativity in dance. In addition to her choreography, Miss Juliette is passionate about teaching. She has assisted at Broadway Dance Center and The Pointe Dance Studio, where she instructs contemporary ballet, intermediate and advanced ballet, and pointe. Her teaching experience also includes working with PANGEA Dancers at Work and leading workshops like Dance Reps Workshop. Miss Juliette has a rich background in diverse dance techniques, including ballet, contemporary, modern, theater jazz, West African, hip hop, and flamenco. She has trained with prestigious organizations such as the Sacramento Ballet Second Company and the Kansas City Ballet School.
