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MEET OUR VOLUNTEERS
Jenna Galien
Note: Not all volunteers are featured yet on the website and will be added shortly.
Holland, MI
Jenna Galien is from Holland, Michigan, and has been dancing since the age of three. She has taken ballet for 16 years and some other dance styles such as jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop. Jenna danced at a local studio in my hometown and was a member of my high school's varsity dance team for four years. Currently, she is a Dance Studies major at Central Michigan University as well as a teacher's assistant at a dance studio. She is so excited to be part of this program and she can’t wait to share my passion for dance with others.
Alexis Valbuena
Yorba Linda, CA
Alexis Valbuena has experience in both classical ballet and other non-classical styles of dance. She is currently a rising freshman at Point Park University, where she hopes to receive her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance with a concentration in Modern. She hopes to inspire the younger generation to love dance as much as she does.
Tanvi Mavuri
Bangalore, India
Tanvi Mavuri is a young 16 year old ballerina who learned to be herself in the dance world by being unique. She lived in South Korea and New Zealand, pursuing Vaganova and RAD before moving to Bangalore where she currently is learning ballet at the TLFCB. She is a dance model aspiring to be a cardio thoracic surgeon.
Sabrina Sierens
Clinton Twp., MI
Sabrina Sierens has been in love with ballet since she was two. After dancing for 13 years, Sabrina is now 15 and still expanding her training with experience through the Joffrey Ballet (2019), Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensive (2020/2021), and the Youth American Grand Prix Finals (2019/2020). Sabrina’s ballet foundation comes from the Cecchetti Council of America ballet method as a Grade VI student. Today, Sabrina trains with the Macomb Ballet Company and is looking to continue her passions beyond high school.
Mckaia Spangenberg
CA
McKaia has danced with Joffrey Ballet, Logrea Dance Academy in New York, and Splitz Dance Academy in California. She loves to spread her love for dance and spread smiles to everyone. She is truly passionate about dance and teaching and is excited to work with everyone.
Isabel Zapata
Dallas, TX
Isabel Zapata began her dance training at Contemporary Ballet Dallas, where she would later join the Youth Ballet company. She is a recent graduate of The Hockaday School, and she performed with Hockaday Dance Theater during her time in high school. At both CBD and Hockaday, she has had the opportunity to perform roles in Clara’s Dream, Cinderella, Variations, Tarantella, and Peter Pan, to name a few. She has also attended several summer training programs with The Jillana School, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet School, which allowed her to travel to Italy. She is currently preparing to move to Maryland to attend Towson University to study dance and political science.
Abby Nagy
Frankenmuth, Michigan
Abby Nagy is a sophomore at Central Michigan University. She is studying dance and business and hopes to open her own dance studio one day. She has been dancing since the age of two and I am currently training in ballet, tap, lyrical, contemporary, jazz, and hip-hop. She loves teaching and adores working with kids. She is outgoing, easy to talk to, and super excited to start classes in June.
Annabelle Hulbert
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Annabelle loves to dance and she has danced for 9 years, with the pronouns are she/they. She loves to watch movies; her current favorite movie is Ocean's 11. Annabelle also loves to read comic books and is starting to build a collection of them. She is from Michigan, and I do both ballet and contemporary dance.
Maria Hogle
Commerce Township, MI
Maria is a high school student that lives in Michigan. She has been doing dance for ten years in all styles and is currently a rhythmic gymnast. In her free time, she likes to draw, watch tv, and stretch.
Melinda Matticoli
Skillman, NJ
Melinda Matticoli (she/her/hers) is a dancer and choreographer from Skillman, New Jersey. Melinda was part of Broadway Dance Center’s Online Choreography Program and has trained with the Radio City Rockettes and Ballet West Academy, to name a few. This summer, she will be attending The Princeton Ballet School Summer Intensive in New Jersey and The Joffrey Pre-Professional Jazz and Contemporary Summer Intensive in New York City. Melinda is excited to be training at BDCCTP next year in New York City.
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Tessa Gourdin
Mauritius
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Tessa has been dancing ballet for 19 years. She passed all RAD grades and she is currently studying the Intermediate Syllabus. She regularly takes part in online dance events like international competitions, workshops, shows. Furthermore, she passed her dance teacher training program with distinction and she is now a certified dance teacher! Also, she works with kids in artistic gymnastics, helping them to build a strong base through ballet.
Maddie Demos
Dublin, OH
Maddie Demos is a pre-professional dancer for CDA in Columbus, Ohio. There is nothing more that she loves than being able to spread her love and ambition that she hold for dance to others. She has worked with kids for many years, both in and out of the dance studio, and she really value every conversation and engagement she has with who she has helped. She is looking forward to being able to meet everyone and I believe that people, of all ages, should be given the opportunity to dance.
Katherine Raymond
Rochester Hills, MI
Katherine love ballet and she has been danced for as long as she can remember and know that she will keep dancing for the rest of her life. The idea of being able to share my love for ballet with new dancers makes her endlessly happy- and she can't wait to get started!
Grace Hospenthal
Bolingbrook, IL
Grace Hospenthal loves to dance and contemporary is her favorite genre. She is a Shades of Ballet Ambassador as well as a Jump VIP and Ash Apprentice Scholarship Winner .
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Elaine Shi
Greensboro, NC
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Elaine is a high school student that has a passion for performing arts. She is here to spread her love of creativity and changing the world giving everyone an equal opportunity!
Emiko (Koko)
Japan
Emiko was raised in Southern California and now lives in Japan. She dance ballet for 12 years at Maple conservatory of dance, Southland ballet academy, Reiko Matsuoka ballet company, and 3blooms). She loves ballet as she can freely express my emotions through movement, and it is my biggest passion. She is super excited to meet everyone. She is super sociable and she loves making new friends : )
Alyssa Guan
Columbus, OH
Alyssa is a dancer from Columbus, Ohio trained in ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance. She is passionate about spreading the joy of dancing to everyone, especially through teaching youth. Alyssa has experience in dance education as a member of her studio's interning program and is excited to work with Stairway for Ballet!
Shannon Lynch
Tampa, FL
Shannon is a 17-year-old dancer and cheerleader from Tampa, Florida. She is a senior in high school and has been doing dance all her life, and also is a part of her high schools dance department! She loves meeting new people and loves working with kids to teach them the importance and wide spectrum of dance and is so excited to start working with the Step Program.
Anna Ure
San Diego, CA
Anna has been training in ballet for the past 14 years. She has had the opportunity to perform in productions like “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty”; her favorite roles to dance have been Clara and the Lilac Fairy. She also enjoys other styles like jazz and contemporary, which she has gained experience in as a member of her high school’s varsity dance team. She is excited to share her love of ballet with young aspiring dancers.
Ella Arny
Centerburg, OH
Ella has been dancing since she was three years old. She is currently in a pre-professional program studying classical ballet, jazz, modern and contemporary. Ella is a high school student in Ohio and enjoys watching television & playing with her dogs in her free time.
Peyton Darby
Long Island, NY
Peyton Darby is a rising sophomore at Northeastern University studying finance as well as a ballet dancer with the Harvard Ballet Company. Peyton has been a ballerina for the past 15 years and has performed in many ballets including Lynch Ballet Company’s the Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, & Jose Mateo’s The Nutcracker. She also has attended summer intensives with the American Ballet Theatre and the Orlando Ballet. She is very excited to continue her love of dance through teaching!
Gabby Lilly
Hope Mills, NC
Gabrielle Lilly (who goes by Gabby for short) is a dancer from Hope Mills, North Carolina. She started dancing at age 5, and has been dancing for 11 years at Alpha & Omega Dance Academy. She’s done many styles including ballet, contemporary, jazz, modern, and lyrical. She is on staff at her studio as an assistant and soon to be apprentice teacher. She also became an ambassador for the organization Brown Girls Do Ballet in 2022.
Sanova Karim
Hopkinton, MA
Sanova has been dancing for 14 years. She has trained in styles including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and acro. She also has competed in dance competitions for 6 years. She has taught at her dance studio for 3 years as a teacher assistant in an acro class. She is excited to teach and continue sharing her love of dancing with the young dancers in this program.
Anya Park
Fairfax, VA
Anya has been training in ballet for over 13 years, her love for the art form allowing her to participate in productions such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. Today, Anya dances at Virginia Dance Conservatory, continuing her practice of ballet and learning contemporary. She is excited to work with aspiring young dancers and contribute to Stairway for Ballet!
Hannah Bigley
Arlington, VA
Hannah is 17 and attends Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia. Apart from dance, she is interested in music and art, and wants to pursue all three disciplines in the future. She is beyond excited to have the opportunity to volunteer at the Stairway for Ballet program this summer!
Fatemeh Monsef
Iran
Fateme started dancing in Iran, where dancing is illegal. She tried to find the best teacher and she learned a lot via online classes. Now she tries to help others to access dance freely.
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