The Dance Academy

Any color dancewear. Any color, height, or style Latin/ballroom shoes

Any color of leotard, tights and shoes.

Any color dancewear. Hair secured neatly away from the face. Appropriate shoes must be worn.

Black leotard, pink tights and pink ballet shoes. Hair is to be worn up in a bun.

These days, along with being a realtor and mother to a son and dancing daughter, Sara is once again a valued teacher with The Dance Academy, focusing on tap and jazz curriculum.

Megan's dance education at The Dance Academy began at the age of six. She trained in a variety of genres including ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. During high school, Megan was a member of Modesto High School's dance production team and she was a valued assistant at the studio.

In addition to teaching and coaching the competition team at The Dance Academy, Lucy is a credentialed Computer Literacy teacher with Modesto City School District.

As a member of the competition team, Laura was a consistent recipient of top level awards and now shares her expertise as a competition coach. After graduation from Sacramento State, Laura, her husband and 3 children returned to live in Modesto where in addition to supervising the competition team she is an insurance agent with TSM Insurance.

Even though her resume includes all dance genres, one of her favorite classes over the years was the father and daughter dance group. In 2019, Kylie and her dad returned for the 30th Anniversary show to perform with the father/daughter reunion dance.

Kylie enrolled at The Dance Academy as a six year old taking classes in ballet, jazz, tap and hip hop. Even though her resume includes all dance genres, one of her favorite classes over the years was the father and daughter dance group.

At the studio, in addition to her teaching assignments in predance, combination and tap classes, she has used her college education and training with B.E.S.T. to develop the Friends N Deed class which is specifically designed for young people with special needs.

At the studio, in addition to her teaching assignments in predance, combination and tap classes, she has used her college education and training with B.E.S.T. to develop the Friends N Deed class which is specifically designed for young people with special needs.

Along with teaching jazz, tap and hip hop she has also used her musical theatre experience in San Francisco to start our very successful Musical Theatre and Latin dance programs.

Along with teaching jazz, tap and hip hop she has also used her musical theatre experience in San Francisco to start our very successful Musical Theatre and Latin dance programs.

At the same time Haylee joined the TDA staff as an instructor. In addition to earning her BA degree in Liberal Studies at CSUS, Haylee continued her dance education throughout the state as both a dancer and teacher.

Ginger has been a dedicated member of The Dance Academy faculty for ages three through adult in all dance disciplines since 1998. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she also has been a competition coach with the studio.

She has now returned to Modesto and is excited to share her knowledge with our students, teaching classes and coaching the competition team at The Dance Academy.

Her passion for dance continues to grow, and she’s excited to return to The Dance Academy—this time as an instructor and competition coach. Ashley is committed to inspiring students not only as dancers, but as individuals, just as she was inspired during her own journey at the studio.

At The Dance Academy, Angela serves not only as an advanced level instructor, but as a competition coach as well. Angela got a taste of musical theatre in her teens when she performed in Evita, Pirates of Penzance and Song of Norway, in collaboration with Townsend Opera Company and The Dance Academy.

Amy returned to Modesto to teach hip hop and predance at The Dance Academy. She is also employed with Modesto City School District as a Speech and Language Pathologist Assistant.

Dance and movement are a natural part of a child’s world. The pre-dance class introduces the young child to the wonderful world of dance and music in a fun and stimulating environment using a sensitive and positive approach. Development of gross and fine motor skills aimed at improving coordination, muscle tone, balance, rhythm, and a sense of movement in space are stressed. The children are also encouraged in a non-competitive atmosphere to explore creative movement. Basic footwork is introduced along with most classical and popular “age appropriate” music that helps children feel comfortable as well as excited about dance. Both imaginary and real props are used to stimulate creative thinking and provide fun and excitement to the classes. Our goal in the pre-dance class is to provide a fun and lively introduction to movement that will lead to an interest in further, more serious dance training, and provide a positive experience for the children that will create feelings of success, achievement, and self worth.

Lyrical and contemporary dance blend ballet and jazz dance techniques. This style of dance is expressive using both fluid and dynamic movement to create a dramatic dance piece. Because of its unique balance of ballet and jazz, training in ballet technique is of upmost importance. Enrollment in a ballet class is required along with registration in a lyrical/contemporary class.

Jazz is a dynamic dance experience incorporating proper alignment and placement technique. These classes include warm up, stretching, combinations, turns, leaps and choreographed routines. Various styles of jazz dance including classical, theater, lyrical, modern and hip hop are incorporated into these classes.

Feel like a video dancer! This exciting style is a blend of today’s high energy “street style” movement. Techniques learned in these classes will give the dancer that extra “edge” to his/her dance style.

Tap dancing has been described as the “Dance of Sounds.” These classes stress the techniques needed for clean, precise, rhythmical footwork. Our tap students study both traditional and current rhythm tap techniques, terminology and choreography that enables them to become well rounded dancers.

Do you love Broadway? Wish you could not only dance, but also sing and act? Learn the basics of musical theatre singing, acting and dance movement. Music from shows like Wicked, RENT, The Lion King, Legally Blonde and others will prepare you as a “triple threat” for our end of season presentation……and beyond.

Enjoy a dance class that blends Latin, jazz and hip hop for a sassy dance style that also provides the benefits of a fun workout.

Ballet is the foundation for all forms of dance and every dancer should have some ballet background in his/her dance education. Ballet teaches discipline and self-control of the body while improving flexibility, grace, strength, and poise. The classes include barre and center work where the students learn correct body alignment and placement. When proper technique has been mastered and strength developed, serious students will be allowed to begin pointe work. All pre-pointe and pointe students are required to enroll in two ballet classes a week and encouraged to take three classes a week.

Nancy began her dance education as a young child studying ballet, tap and jazz. In college she majored in Dance at UCLA and the University of California at Irvine where she received her degree in Dance and Art.