Julestarz Dance Academy
Faculty & Staff
Academy Owner
Ms. Julie Kenny
Owner
Ms. Julie Kenny holds a Masters Degree in Arts and Humanities in Dance and Theatre from The State University of New York at Buffalo and a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education from Westminster College. Julie has been a faculty member of the Theatre Studies Program at Niagara University where she taught dance classes for three years. She also taught theatre, acting, and public speaking classes at Daemen College. She is a tenured music teacher for the Buffalo Public School District and the Baltimore County Public School District, where she taught music to grades K through 8. Julie was an NFL cheerleader for the Buffalo Bills for three years, and served as captain for one season.
Read More…
Dance Instructors
Ms. Liz
Competition Team Director/Dance Instructor
Ms. Liz Strehle started dance at age three and has had nineteen years of dance training in Ballet, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Jazz. She has been teaching dance classes for five years. She is from Pensacola,FL and recently moved to Tampa in June to pursue her bachlor of arts in Dance. Liz has danced for Pensacola School of Ballet and the Emerald Coast Ballet Company, training under Anthea Nader and Marrol Hiederaly.
Read More…
Ms. Sarah
Assistant Competition Director/Dance Instructor
Sarah Lochridge has been dancing for 32 years, and has had the opportunity to teach at studios across the country and beyond. Her career began at Cheryl’s Dance Studio of Baytown, Texas where she studied and competed in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical and Musical Theatre. As a dance scholarship recipient, Sarah studied modern dance under Dr. Suzanne Oliver and Rob Davidson at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas. While completing school, Sarah was on staff at Premier Dance Academy as the Mini Company director..
Ms. Candice
Dance Instructor
Ms. Candice Cunningham is from Mesa, AZ, where she graduated from MCC with her AFA in dance, highest distinction. She continued her Dance Education at Cornish College of the Arts where she graduated with her BFA in Dance. While at MCC she performed with the MCC Dance Company for two years, during which time she displayed her choreographic works alongside faculty.
Read More…
Ms. Shani
Dance Instructor
Miss Shani is originally from a small town in New Hampshire. She started her training at Kathy Blake’s Dance studio at the age of eight. Starting with Jazz she quickly grew to love dance and continued training in more styles such as Ballet, Modern, Lyrical, Musical Theatre and Hip-hop. At the young age of 13, she was chosen to join the studios dance company and was able to travel to New York and L.A. for different intensives. After graduating high school in 2009, Shani attended The University of Tampa majoring in Business Management and Minoring in Applied Dance. During college she was captain of the Spanish Dance Team and choreographed for the University’s Fall and Spring Dance Happenings.
Read More…
Ms. Isabella
Dance Instructor
Ms. Bella Watts has been dancing at Julestarz for over 10 years. During her training she has experience in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Acro, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary and Hip Hop. She is currently starting her 8th season on the competition team. In addition to her training at Julestarz, she also had the pleasure of attending Progress Village Middle School for Performing Arts where she was on their performance dance team.
Ms. Naysha
Dance Instructor
Naysha Massey is a Hip Hop dancer with a B.A. in Psychology and a Minor in Criminology at the University of South Florida. She currently works as a Judicial Assistant for the Honorable Paul Jeske at the Hillsborough County Court House. She is Panamanian and African American and born right here in the Tampa Bay area where she learned her hip hop dance skills. In High School, she made the dance team, where she learned different styles of dance genres. She has a passion for dance and an even bigger passion for teaching children.
Ms. Trisia
Dance Instructor
Trisia LaShon is an international choreographer that has worked withmajor artists such as Flo Rida, Trina, Natalie LaRose, Gladys Knight andmore! Her work has been featured on Major Television shows such as TheEllen Show, The Nickelodeon Awards, The Today Show , The Voice, andAmerica’s Best Dance Crew! Trisia has over 15 years of experience working with the NBA, NFL, and many competitive dance and cheer teams. Trisia LaShon has worked internationally on televised production shows…
Ms. Suzie
Dance Instructor
Ms Suzie’s passion for dance began at the age of 2. She has experience in Ballet, Tap, Ballroom, jazz and lyrical types of dance. She also held multiple national titles in ballroom and Latin dance from her youth. She taught for a local dance studio while in college where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Entrepreneurship and decided to continue teaching dance after moving from Portland, to Houston, and now here locally at Julestarz. She passionately loves dance and feels that dance is the hidden language of the soul. Suzie seeks to cultivate a love of dance for all her students.
Ms. Lora
Dance Instructor
For the past 24 years Lora Pfeiffer has been shaping the lives of children and adults through dance and movement. A native of Florida, she began her dance training at the age of 10. Her training continued at Palisades Performing Arts Center in Nyack, NY under the direction of Bill Hastings, Lisa Lockwood and GeoffreyDoig-Marx..
Ms. Lily
Dance Instructor
Lily Rendeiro has been a competitive dancer for 9+ years and has training experience in Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Acro, Pointe, Hip-Hop, and Lyrical. After dancing at Julestarz for 5 years, she moved to Marlboro, New Jersey and continued to pursue her dance career up north. Three years later, she returned to Julestarz and now assists teaching the younger dancers. She is very excited to share all of her dance knowledge with this next generation of dancers and help them learn and grow.
Ms. Lily Cummings
Dance Instructor
Lily Grace Cummings, originally from Clemson, SC, moved to New York City at the age of 14 years old to be a Jazz & Contemporary trainee with Joffrey Ballet School, receiving a four-year dance certificate. Following her time at Joffrey, Lily received her BFA in Dance from New Jersey City University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Lily has since relocated to Tampa, FL after a decade of working professionally in the arts and entertainment industry in the Big Apple, and two years in Upstate South Carolina, as both performer and dance teacher. Read more…
Ms. Krystal
Dance Instructor
Krystal Huot is a dancer, instructor and choreographer originally from Miami, FL. She has a strong ballet foundation and has trained in various styles, including pointe, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, modern, and hip-hop. She began her training at Academy of Arts and as part of the Senior Company performed lead and pas de deux roles, including Nutcracker’s Arabian and Snow….
Ms. Kelley
Dance Instructor
Ms. King loves dance; loves people. She’s a solid, innovative teacher… well-liked by students and parents. These strengths have allowed her to create an enthusiasm for dance that substantially increases each dancer’s experience in classes and more. Kelley King’s experience ranges from dancing in a national tour of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “CATS” to performing in America’s largest sports stadiums as a National Football League (NFL) cheerleader & choreographer. It’s wonderful to be back home in Florida. Ms. Kelley is ready for a FANTASTIC dance season!
Ms. Jasmine
Jasmine Lightbourne hails from Tampa, Florida and holds a dance masters certification from Blake High School. She was a member of the dance honors society and started assisting with dance at the age of 13. By the time she turned 18, Jasmine had become a dance teacher. Over the span of four years, she actively participated in various masterclasses led by renowned choreographers from esteemed institutions such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, The Juilliard School, and Florida State University, among others. Additionally, Jasmine had the opportunity to showcase her talent at the NW Regional High School Dance Festival in Portland, Oregon.
Mr. Wilson
Dance Instructor
Wilson de los Santos has had an impressive journey in the world of dance, with a diverse range of experiences spanning from the Dominican Republic to international stages. From studying ballet at the National School of Dance to his work with Grupo de Baile 4 en Uno, he’s showcased his talent in various genres including jazz, musical theater, and neoclassical. His current roles as a dancer with Tampa City Ballet and a teacher at Julestarz Academy highlight his continued dedication to both performing and sharing his expertise with others.
Music Instructors
Mr. David
Music Instructor
Mr. David Cannistraci received his Bachelors Degree in Music from the The City College of New York, minoring in Education. He spent four years teaching piano, music theory, and music history at the New York learning Center in New York City and has extensive experience as a percussionist for Broadway Musicals and jazz sets.
Read More…
Ms. Kay
Music Instructor
Ms. Kay was born in Tokyo and began learning music at a very young age at the Yamaha Music Institute in Kanagawa Japan. A couple years later her mother placed her in a music academy to learn classical piano. She learned to play serious classical piano music throughout her childhood and into adulthood, graduating the academy and continued with professional private lessons.
Mr. Joe
Music Instructor
After hearing his music teacher strum a few chords in class Joe Weaver at the age of 9 begged his mom to let him take guitar lessons. Hearing the sound of the guitar was a life changing experience.
Mr. Steve
Music Instructor
The Steve Angel story begins at the age of six. I first began my journey in music on the
accordion and studied under the Royal Conservatory of Music method. By the age of 10,
I began to study the guitar and soon after the trumpet and voice as well…
Mr. Hamilton
Music Instructor
Bio coming soon!
Ms. Sarah
Ms. Sarah Boston has been studying violin since she was 4 years old. She has been involved in Newsome Highschool’s Chamber Orchestra, various honors orchestras (including All County Orchestra), won violin competitions, Solo and Ensemble projects, and loves teaching and working with students.
Ms. Lidia
Lidia Biedlingmaier was born in Ukaraine and has been playing the piano since the age of 8. Graduated with honor from Lutsk college of music and then received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Volyn National University. She has been teaching piano classes in Ukraine for over 25 years and has significant experience working with students of all ages…
Ms. Tanya
Music Instructor
Ms. Tanya Ortiz comes to Julestarz with experience from the famous music conservatory, madeo Roldán and Paulita Concepcion in Cuba. She began studying at the age of 4 and continued through the duration of her years in elementary and high school. She is now studying music at Hillsborough Community College and finds passion in teaching her students piano and voice.
Mr. Alex
Alex Gonzalez is an active educator based in Tampa, FL, currently serving as the Director of Percussion at Palmetto High School. Alex’s philosophy on education is that through open communication and learner-centered teaching we can not only help build better musicianship but also build a better sense of humanity and connection to others….
Academy Staff
Ms. Kristen
Office Administration
Business Manager
Ms. Maggie
Office Staff