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Dance Faculty
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Maureen Straub Craig Performance Company Director Maureen Straub Craig has just arrived here from New York City. She has had an extensive professional performing career ranging from National and International tours, Disney, Television, and more. After a ten year performing career, Maureen opened her own performing arts school in the NYC area. She has won multiple choreography awards and her students have been featured on Broadway, Television, Music Videos, Commercials, NYC Ballet at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, professional dance companies, prestigious college programs, and world-renowned Summer Intensives. The past few years brought big life changes, so Maureen and her family decided to start fresh in Florida. She is excited to be a part of Heather Loveland Dance Academy and to continue her love of teaching and choreography. Maureen and her husband have started a new media and marketing company: "Creative Branding Studio." They produce commercials, graphic design work, digital marketing, and social media management for small businesses across the country. You can check them out on social media here: @creativebrandingstudiousa. She is excited for this new creative journey, together with her family, living at the beach. |
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Robbie Stevenson Robbie started his dance training at an early age at Beth Marks Ballet Arts Centre under the instruction of Beth Marks. He attended LaVilla and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts where he majored in dance. He was a member of their Dance Theater performing group and studied under such fine teachers as Michelle Ottley, Brian Palmer, Dr. Phyllis Penney, Rhonda Stampalia, and Susanne Saltmarsh.
He performed in countless concerts also enabling him to attend the National Dance Festival. Robbie also attended many summer intensive programs including American Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Festival of Dance Theatre as well as studied at the Martha Graham Dance Studio in New York City. He also performed with Saltmarsh Dance in Jacksonville, Florida and New York City. Robbie has been an instructor and performer at Studio K and Beth Marks Ballet Arts Centre. He is now enjoying teaching and being a part of the team at Heather Loveland Dance Academy. |
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Emily Harrington Emily began her love for dance at the age of 3. She studied at Utah Dance Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Emily trained extensively in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical and Modern/Contemporary. She was also on the Murray High School drill/dance team, where she served as Head Captain her senior year and competed on a state and national level, winning numerous titles and awards.
After high school, Emily taught at Utah Dance Center & Studio 56 as well as coached the Murray High School & Corner Canyon High School drill teams. Along with her teaching career, Emily co-ran a high school dance competition, "Rocky Mountain Drill Invitational." Emily studied Elementary Education at Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah. She has been married to the love of her life for 9 years and has two beautiful children, Beck and Isla. Emily absolutely loves being a part of the HLDA family and feels so blessed to teach the best students and work with the best people. |
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Sarah George Ms. Sarah was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida where she began dancing with Mrs. Heather at the age of 4. She trained at the Ballet Arts Center as well as with the Orlando Ballet and Florida Ballet. Sarah learned all styles of dance but loves ballet and jazz most.
After graduating from the Bolles School, she attended Tulane University where she performed with the Newcomb-Tulane Dance Company. She is so excited to share her love and passion for dance with all of you. |
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Alexia McKendrick Alexia McKendrick is so excited to be returning as an instructor at Heather Loveland Dance Academy. She spent her childhood dancing at Academy of Dance in Jacksonville, Florida. There she studied jazz, ballet, and her favorite - tap.
Through her dance training, she grew a love for musical theater. As she entered high school, she left Academy of Dance to focus on training her voice and acting skills. She went on to perform in multiple shows including The Addams Family, Mary Poppins, West Side Story, and most notably Legally Blonde where she played her favorite role of Brooke Wyndam. Alexia is so excited to share a love for theater with her students and hopes to instill a sense of confidence in them as they embark on their journey in the world of theater. |
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Kylie Sweet Ms. Kylie has been dancing under Mrs. Heather's instruction since she was 5 years old. Classically trained in Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Modern and Hip Hop, she has been dancing for many years.
Kylie's teaching career started at the age of 12 when she became Mrs. Heather's teaching apprentice. She has since moved on to solo teaching, and her joy for dance is contagious. She loves teaching dance and absolutely adores all her students. Alongside being a dance teacher, Ms. Kylie is currently attending Flagler College on scholarship and is a part of their dance team. She has a bright future ahead of her and plans to take it in full stride. She plans to continue sharing her love of dance by teaching and wants to further her education in the field of English (or Psychology). She has been in every annual recital, Performance Company and Competition Team at HLDA. Her notable roles include Fairy Godmother (Cinderella) and Alice (Alice in Wonderland). |
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Eliza (Izzy) Ferguson Eliza (Izzy) Ferguson has been dancing since she was 8 years old. She has trained in most styles of dance but found that her favorites are jazz and modern. She has been a competitive dancer for the past 6 years and has trained with some of the best in the industry.
Eliza is a recent graduate from Nease High School where she was a part of the dance team. During her time on the dance team, she competed in national championships. She is beyond excited to begin her first year teaching at HLDA and to share her love of dance with all of you! |
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Bethany Kellar Fruit Cove Campus Manager Bethany Kellar began her dance training at age three at the Academy of Dance in Georgia. From 1986-1996, she continued her training under Beth Marks at the Ballet Arts Centre. During that time she was a part of Contemporary Motion, the studio’s dance company. Ms. Kellar is a graduate of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts where she majored in dance. She was a member of their prestigious Dance Theater for three years and studied under skilled teachers such as Angela Blackledge, Debra Webb, Dr. Phyllis Penney, Rhonda Stampalia, Mark Spivak, Michelle Ottley and Anne-Marie Bouyges. She performed in countless concerts also enabling her to attend several National Dance Festivals and study under many dance masters such as Mia Michaels, Demetrius Klein, Gary Lund, John Parks and Patti Phillips. Ms. Kellar taught dance for Beth Marks at the Ballet Arts Centrefor four years as a teacher of Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, and Modern and then at Beyond Dance Studio for three years. From 1999-2010 She was the Owner and Director of Art in Motion Dance Studio. In 2010 she tested, certified and was accepted as an active member of the Dance Masters of America. Ms. Kellar has been on the Board of Directors for Jacksonville’s Community Nutcracker and has served as the President of the Board for 4 years. Currently, she serves as the Executive Manager for Heather Loveland Dance Academy and Tumbling Kids Gym. |
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Deborah Vorwaller Accounts Advisor |
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Melissa Sweet Enrollment Specialist |
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Mindy Beale Campus Concierge |
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Nelya Murtazina Bio coming soon.
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Sami Marques Bio coming soon.
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Brooke Fewox Bio coming soon.
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Natalia Sokol Natalia Sokol was born in Republic of Belarus. When she was ten years old, she started to take classes in the State Choreography College. After graduation at 18 years old, Ms. Sokol was invited to be an artist of ballet with the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus. Later, she became a soloist. During her 23 years with the company, she danced in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and others. While performing in Belarus, M. Sokol took many cultural tours to France, Spain, Germany, China, Norway, India, Syria, Poland, Thailand, Singapore, Yugoslavia and throughout the Soviet Union.
Improving her art, she also graduated The State Theatrical Institute of Art in Moscow and she has got diploma of Instructional of ballet and Choreographer. Thereafter, she taught students in the State Choreography College and conservatory method of ballet. From 2001-2022, Ms. Sokol was a successful a teacher and choreographer at Mark Spivak’s Institute Dance Extension and currently teaches and choreographs at Heather Loveland Dance Academy. |
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Gentry Holbrook Bio coming soon.
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Laura Lewis Bio coming soon.
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Sabrina Chiang Bio coming soon.
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Mckenzie O'keefe Mckenzie comes from a family of dancers, and has been swing dancing in the kitchen since she could walk. She began her formal training at the age of 8 with York County Ballet Company in Rock Hill, SC, where she studied classical ballet, tap, and modern, performing in numerous traditional ballets, to include The Nutcracker, Hansel and Gretel, The Sleeping Beauty, and Coppélia.
Mckenzie attended the United States Naval Academy, where she spent three years as a member of the cheerleading team. Her senior year, Mckenzie had the honor of being a founding member of the university’s dance team. During her college years, she also participated in several dance and musical theater performances, including Fiddler on the Roof, and USNA’s International Ball- an exhibition of dance from cultures across the globe. Mckenzie found HLDA when she enrolled her daughter in tiny tots, and is thrilled to be joining as a tiny tots and pre-ballet teacher! |
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Carling Achberger Carling grew up in a small town in East Tennessee and began dancing at the age of 3. Through the years she studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and lyrical. In high school, she danced with her high school dance team and performed competitively in dance competitions throughout the southeast. She was dance captain of her college dance team at Carson-Newman University and that's where she met her husband, Nick.
For the past 10 years, Carling has been a classroom teacher and most recently she taught in St. Johns County. She is excited to be dancing again, this time as an instructor, and looking forward to getting to know all of her dance families. Carling and her husband live in Rivertown with their daughter Emery (also dancing at HLDA) and son Penn. |
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Emily Loomis Campus Receptionist Bio coming soon.
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Deonna Clinton Deonna began her dance and training at the age of four and has loved the art form ever since. When Deonna graduated high school she joined FSCJ’s dance repertoire company, danceWORKS. While in danceWORKS Deonna had the opportunity to train under Rebecca Levy, Talani Torres, Paige Ricci, Morgan Brown, Kristen Sullivan, Natalya Hall, Amy O’neal, and many more. Performances included the American College Dance Festival, and the A.I.R. dance conference in Miami, FL.
After danceWORKS Deonna was hired on as an apprentice dancer for Jacksonville Dance Theatre where she had the opportunity to perform at locations such as The Dance Complex in Boston, MA, The Juilliard School, The Florida Theatre, and more. Deonna is currently the owner and founder of D’lishus Heels LLC, based in Jacksonville, FL. She teaches dancers commercial dance, in heels and has taught in cities such as Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tallahassee, and Orlando. Deonna is excited to be on staff at Heather Loveland Dance Academy where she can continue to develop her love for dance with young dancers. |