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The proud owner and director of Xpress Yourself Dance Studio, Miss Kristin, began dancing at a young age, studying several disciplines including: tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, acro and hip-hop. Though she has a love for all dance, Miss Kristin is truly in her element teaching and choreographing tap!
Miss Kristin continued her life-long passion for dance and received a degree in both Performing Arts and Business Administration with a minor in Dance Theater from the University of Tampa. It was during this time that Miss Kristin began choreographing and teaching. She also received many accolades at her alma mater including: Choreographer of the Year and Dance Student of the Year.
A talented teacher and choreographer, Miss Kristin continued to perform as well and was a featured dancer/singer/actor in Rome Saladino’s production of “Singin’ and Dancin’ in the Rain.”
While she loves being on the stage, her passion for teaching has always come first and she strives to be a life-long learner by attending events such as the Dance Teacher Summit and Dance Life Teacher Conference.
Every student that walks through the doors earn a special place in Miss Kristin’s heart. From babies to adults, she does all that she can to give her students a quality dance education and a second home to her growing dance family.
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Miss Cassandra can be seen in class teaching both recreational classes and assisting with Company choreography. You’ll also find her behind the scenes helping to manage the studio and social media presence.
Growing up, Miss Cassandra’s favorite classes were always jazz and ballet. As she continued dancing, she was fortunate to explore other styles such as lyrical, tap, musical theater, hip hop, ballroom, and modern at her alma mater, Otterbein University. She continues to stay involved as a Board Member of the Otterbein Theatre and Dance Alumni Network. You can see her love for jazz and ballet influenced her choreography.
Miss Cassandra believes all people are capable of dancing because dance is an expression of our feelings within. She also believes that all people are teachable, and, like any other subject, it takes the right teacher and interests to be discovered for a student to thrive.
Miss Cassandra is thrilled to be teaching and helping at such a warm and encouraging dance studio and loves to be part of the XY family.
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Brooke began dancing at the age of five in South Florida, training extensively in ballet, lyrical, jazz, and tap. By nine, she joined a competitive dance team, where she had a successful competition career. In 2013, she was recruited by Abby Lee Miller and trained at her studio during the summer of 2014.
In 2015, she advanced her training by joining a pre-professional ballet program. She later attended the University of Florida, earning a bachelor’s degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, specializing in biomechanics, anatomy, and exercise prescription as they relate to dance. At UF, she worked as an Exercise Specialist with UF Shands, helping individuals improve strength, mobility, and injury prevention–knowledge she applies to her teaching.
She began teaching dance in 2020 and is thrilled to be a part of Xpress Yourself, where she looks forward to sharing her passion and knowledge.
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Miss Jessica has been dancing for over 35 years and has taught for 21 of those years. Now she brings her experiences and talents to the XY family!
As a dancer, Miss Jessica has appeared on Star Search in 1993, The New Original Amateur Hour and on WDZL as cool kid of the week. Jessica has been awarded numerous scholarships to attend classes in both LA and New York with teachers such as Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio, and Doug Caldwell.
Miss Jessica has also been awarded with scholarships to tour nationally with Tremaine Dance Convention where she assisted and performed in their end of the weekend showcase.
As an instructor, Miss Jessica has won numerous choreography awards and many of her students have won overall awards and scholarships. Miss Jessica is excited to join the XY staff this year where she can pass on her expertise and enthusiasm for dance with her students!
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Dez was born and raised in Queens, NY. She began dancing at American Dance and Drama Studio at the age of eight, training in various genres from Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Modern. Even though she was well rounded in various styles, Miss Dez connected to Hip Hop the most.
Miss Dez has had the opportunity to professionally train at Alvin Ailey and Broadway Dance Center in New York. She has taught Hip Hop for eight years in Philadelphia, PA. and is passionate about creating more pieces as she transitions to Florida.
She has received various awards for her choreography and continues to strive for greatness, not only for herself but her students as well!
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Leah started her dance training at the age of three at Southern Dance Theatre located in Boynton Beach. She was accepted and attended both Bak Middle School of the Arts and Dreyfoos School of the Arts majoring in Dance. Leah continued her dance career at Marymount Manhattan College where she studied Entrepreneurship and Dance. She continued her studies outside of college at Broadway Dance Center training with choreographers such as, Theresa Stone, Phil Orsano, and KC Castellano.
Leah has choreographed for Loud Live Productions under the direction of Kenneth Fowler for the past four years and recently choreographed and performed at Immerse Fest in Orlando. Additional choreography credits include Fright Nights in October of 2021.
Although Leah teaches daily, she continues to train and is mostly known for her unique Contemporary-Fusion movement. She a member of Virtual Movement Academy, under the direction of Michelle Olson and Sakura Liu, as well as Unikiyo, where she is a company member.
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Vanessa started her professional ballet training at the age of 7 under the instruction of Nano Hudo. Furthering her training the fine art of Ballet, she studied for nine years with Ballet Concertantes of Puerto Rico under the Director and Master of Ballet, Lotti Tischer. For three of those years, Vanessa was promoted to principal dancer.
Vanessa’s professional dance and production credits include Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Graduation Ball, and Les Sylphides.
Vanessa founded a dance school in Puerto Rico catering to all ages and was selected as Coordinator and Fine Arts Dance Instructor of the Fine Arts Department at Commonwealth Parkville School.
After relocating to South Florida in 2012, Vanessa continued to teach ballet, tap, jazz, salsa, and more to the next generation of dancers. She is thrilled to have made Xpress Yourself her new dance home.
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Miss Rosanne comes to Xpress Yourself with an impressive background including owning and operating a dance studio in the Pittsburgh, PA area for over 20 years. She brings an extensive knowledge in dance, and we could not be more thrilled to have her on staff! Some of Miss Rosanne’s accomplishments include: Board of Directors of Dance Masters of PA #10 for over 30 years severing as President for two terms and is also a member of Ceccehetti Council of America (Classical Ballet), Dance Masters of America, Dance Masters of Florida, and National Twirling Judges Association.
Miss Rosanne studied at Broadway Dance Center, Steps, Luigi’s and ABT. She has attended Dance Masters of America’s national conventions for the past 30 years, as well as the Teacher’s Training School and holds a continuous education with Dance Masters of America.
Miss Rosanne is delighted to introduce students to the wonderful world of dance and hopes to touch students’ lives in a positive way while exposing them to the art of dance.
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Ms. Kayla has been dancing for over 20 years and teaching for over 15. She loves all styles of dance but her heart is with hip hop. Ms. Kayla comes from a family of dancers as well as a family who previously owned a studio for over 13 years. Aside from dancing, Ms. Kayla is a full-time school teacher, wife, and mother to three beautiful kids. When she is not working or dancing, Ms. Kayla loves spending time with family, going on vacations, relaxing at home or the pool, taking pictures or making things!
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Lexi began dancing at Xpress Yourself Dance Studio at the age of ten. While at Xpress Yourself Dance Studio she competed in all genres including Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Hip Hop. She graduated from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in 2018. Upon graduation she moved to Texas and completed a Bachelors’ of Science degree in Exercise Physiology at Baylor University in Waco Texas. While attending Baylor University she taught at All That Jazz Academy of Dance for four years. She taught Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary Tap, Acro, and Hip Hop, as well as choreographing routines for their competition team.
Lexi is passionate about working with children and teaching them how to love and appreciate dance. Dance taught her the value of teamwork, perseverance and hard work and she’s excited to be back as part of the Xpress Yourself staff.
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Miss Nia wears many hats at the studio and is truly a Jack-of-all-trades. When she’s not teaching an amazing class, you can find her photographing professionally and throughout the studio. Miss Nia brings an incredible amount of expertise in many different dance forms…and we could not be more excited to have her as part of our XY team!
In addition to recreational classes, Miss Nia works hard preparing our Company and Performance Team dancers for each and every performance and competition. After competing for several herself, Miss Nia moved to Cali, Colombia to begin her professional ballet training at Incolballet under the direction of Gloria Castro. She also began to train in Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Hip-Hop and Tango.
Growing up, Miss Nia loved the freeness, explosive movement, and all around groove and happiness while dancing Jazz.
After attending Earl Mosley’s summer intensive in 2011, Miss Nia discovered a great passion for teaching and eventually became the Artistic Director of a children’s Jazz and Lyrical company with Be! Danza in Cali, Colombia. Miss Nia is constantly traveling and taking classes to expand her dance knowledge, to places such as New York City, Cuba and Los Angeles. Her goal is to give students a new language through which they can express themselves freely and confidently. Miss Nia is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is also certified through Progressing Ballet Technique. Miss Nia is currently working on becoming a Certified Personal Trainer through NSAM. She also has a bachelor’s degree in Film.
Miss Nia teaches dance to instill confidence and body autonomy to all of dancers. Overcoming obstacles gives confidence to approach harder things in life. She hopes that at the end of each class, her students have faced a challenge and feel proud of the way they navigated it. Making progress everyday is an important life skill.
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Shauna, a California native, began her career in modeling as the face of Johnson & Johnson.
After moving to Florida at an early age, Shauna began training in various styles dance, from Ballet to Ballroom. She has spent the past 17 years teaching and training other dancers in her areas of expertise.
At 16, Shauna joined the pop group FRESH, where she and a group of three others recorded a music album. She has been a back-up dancer for Latin sensation, Paulina Rubio, and Original Choreographer and Dancer for Latin pop artist Sofia Del Carmen. Shauna has appeared in Shakira’s Pepsi Commercial and took part in Montana Tucker’s first music video as a Dancer, Assistant Choreographer, and a Casting Director.
In 2003, Shauna was the Director of the Performance Level Troupe of Pop Starz Inc., working with industry professionals including, Glenn Douglas Packard, Shane Sparks, Brice Vick, Chuck Maldonado, Wade Robson, and Laurie Anne Gibson. In 2004, Shauna was a finalist in the first season of So You Think You Can Dance.
Shauna looks forward to bringing her passion and knowledge of dance and the arts to the students of Xpress Yourself Dance Studio.
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