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.
After graduating in May, Delaney continues to teach and train in NYC and is currently dancing in Mica Butnar’s company, Querencia. 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 Violette
Chess
Introducing Violette Challe (she/her), a seasoned performer and dedicated children’s educator with a flair for the intricacies of chess. At the Center for Performing Arts and Dance, Violette blends her passion for entertaining with her love for the royal game. With over a decade of experience in education, Violette is passionate about fostering learning and intellectual growth and development in young minds through learning games like chess.
When she’s not orchestrating learning experiences or teaching, Violette can be found locked in strategic battles on the chessboard, immersing herself in literature, and exploring the outdoors with her loyal canine companion. Violette is dedicated to sharing the transformative magic of chess with her students, firmly believing that honing one’s chess skills translates into valuable life lessons, fosters resilience and critical thinking, and ultimately shapes individuals into better, more creative versions of themselves. Join her in the journey of discovery and empowerment at the Center for Performing Arts and Dance School, where every move on the board brings us closer to unlocking our full potential.
