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Meet Our Teachers

We have an amazing faculty of teachers that help foster the love of dance in our students. From hip hop to latin, contemporary to tap, ballet to jazz.

Dance Teachers in Los Gatos & Sunnyvale, CA

Dance Attack! Performing Arts offers dance classes in Los Gatos, CA, and Sunnyvale, CA. We are proud to be the dance studio students of all ages who choose to enhance their skills, build their confidence, and improve their technique. Whether you are looking to dance competitively or recreationally, our team of instructors are experienced in a variety of dance styles. They are passionate about sharing their love of dance and are proud to teach a range of disciplines including Hip Hop, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Ballet, Latin Jazz, and Acro.

Meet Our Dance Teachers

 

 

Dasha Maximovich (DM), Los Gatos Performing Company Director, Dasha Maximovich, the Artistic Director of the Performing Company at Dance Attack Los Gatos. Russian native Dasha has been trained in the Vaganova ballet technique. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from San Jose State University, where she was a member of Company One and the University Dance Theatre. She has trained and performed in New York, Las Vegas, and San Francisco throughout her dance career in the commercial and musical theatre industry. Dasha has been with Dance Attack since 2010. Under her direction, the Performing Company students received numerous high-scoring awards, National titles and were invited into prestigious dance programs in the US. Dasha has been teaching and leading the Physical Education Department at the Monta Vista High School in Cupertino since 2012. She was the Head Coach of the Monta Vista Dance Team, which became the 2022 National Champions in Anaheim, CA. Outside of teaching and coaching, Dasha is a performer and the judge for the Bay Area dance competitions and Miss California Organization. Dasha’s goal as an educator is to support and empower young dancers to unlock their full potential as artists and people.

 

 Theresa Hoyer (TH), Prep Squad & Mini Squad Director/Party Coordinator/Musical Theater/Adaptive Dance, attended San Jose State University as a special major in Musical Theatre and a double minor in Dance and Elementary Education. In addition to dancing and performing, Theresa has worked as a stage manager and tech crew for various productions at SJSU and community theaters such as Tabard Theatre Co., Sunnyvale Community Players, and Company One. She is a musical theater director for Starting Arts. Theresa’s current goal is to become an elementary school teacher, as well as get involved with other theatre companies to pursue a career in outreach, bringing theater into schools and encouraging kids to be more confident and enthusiastic about the arts. Theresa teaches Tap, Musical Theater, and Combo classes, as well as classes for dancers with Special Needs, and she co-directs the Dance Attack! Los Gatos Prep Squad and the Dance Attack! Sunnyvale Mini Squad.

 

 

 

 

Jessica Egbert Baranda (JEB), Sunnyvale Performing Company DirectorJessica’s dance training spans two decades, culminating in her undergraduate studies at California State University, Long Beach as a BFA major in Dance and a minor in Communication Studies. Upon her graduation, Jessica received the Most Outstanding Graduate Award for the College of the Arts, as well as the Betty DuPont, Richard and Joanna Baker, and COTA Scholarships. Jessica has received extensive training in Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Improvisation, and Choreography and performed in multiple venues in Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. She is currently a dancer for The Anata Project and Reach BC Dance Company (both San Francisco-based dance companies) and has performed in works by Gabriel Mata, Andrew Vaca, Keith Johnson, Gerald Casel, Rebecca Lemme, and Rebecca Bryant. Jessica has a breadth of experience teaching dance including Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, Ballet, Hip Hop, and Tap, to students ranging in age from 2 to 18 years old. In addition to her performance work and teaching, she also works as a Production Assistant for a few dance companies in San Francisco.

 

 

 

Kimberly Griffin (KG) – Los Gatos Performing Company Co-Director, Tap Director, A Bay Area native, Kimberly Griffin trained in tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, and ballet at a competitive studio where she was lucky enough to discover her passion for teaching earlier than most. Kim was privileged to work under renowned instructors such as Sam Weber, Ryan Lohoff, Michelle Miner, Namita Kapoor, and Angela Carter to name a few who helped shape her choreography and teaching style. With over 15 years of teaching experience, she has created award-winning dances, been honored with several choreography awards, and coached numerous title award recipients.

In 2015, Kimberly also joined Debbie Sternbach’s professional company, Fascinating Rhythm Productions. She won the first “So You Think You Can Tap” contest in May of 2010 and was awarded “San Francisco’s Best Tapper” by Arthur Duncan. In 2009, Kimberly was awarded the title of Miss Teen Walnut Creek, and competed in Miss Teen California Pageant. Currently she works as a Registered Nurse, serves as Director of Tap and Performing Company Co-director to Dance Attack in Los Gatos strives to keep tap alive and thriving!

 

Nikki Tavares (NT), Jazz/Lyrical/Acro,  Nikki began her dance training at the age of 2 with top studios such as San Diego Dance Center and Rising Star Dance Company. She has been a part of the dance world for over 20 years as a Dancer, Choreographer, Instructor, and Director.  Nikki is technically trained in jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, hip-hop, tumbling, and acrobatics. She has been teaching and directing competitive dance for over 10 years and has been the competition program director for various studios helping to build a strong technical and passionate group of competitive dancers. Her jazz, tap, and contemporary solos, duos, and groups have gone on to win high honors such as Industry Dance Award Nominations and Top Choreographer Awards.

 

 

 

 

Anton Pankevich (AP) – Ballet trained at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, School of American Ballet in New York City, and San Francisco Ballet School. He has danced with New York City Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Royal Ballet in London, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet San Jose. As a teacher, Anton has taught as a ballet master at English National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Leipzig Ballet, Hanover Ballet, Wiesbaden Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet San Jose.

 

 

 

 

 

Maria LaMance (ML) – Ballet received her classical ballet training at the San Francisco Ballet School. As a dance major at San Francisco State University, she broadened her training in Modern Dance, anatomy, and kinesiology. Maria has performed professionally with numerous companies including Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Dance Through Time, Huckabay McAllister Dance, and Moving Arts Dance, with whom she performed principal roles on tours to Belarus, France, and Scotland. Most recently, Maria has been performing with Oakland Ballet, Run for Your Life Dance Company, Art Face Performance Group, and Menlowe Ballet Company. Maria has instructed children, teens, and adults in ballet, modern, drama, and character dance. In her teaching, Maria respects the individual anatomical and developmental capacities of every student and emphasizes the importance of musicality and self-expression.

 

 

Amanda Marquez (AM) –  Latin Jazz/Ballroom/Jazz

Amanda Marquez’s dance background is versatile and extensive with her core training from The School of the Garden State Ballet, NJ in classical ballet, modern, and jazz. Her studies continued into New York Style Mambo, International Latin, and Latin Jazz. Amanda has made television appearances on Telemundo, Univision, and the BBC Vancouver, and has done many live performances including the Latin Billboard Awards in Miami. Amanda has taught and performed alongside director Sekou McMiller and SMC Dance Co. in Vancouver, China, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle, and Chicago. In addition, Amanda is certified in Ashtanga yoga and holds a BA degree in Sociology and Family Studies from San Jose State University.

 

Jayvin Rey Lee (JRL) – Hip Hop started dancing at the age of 10. Before the age of YouTube, his journey started from reading dance tutorials with pictures or mimicking breaking moves that family friends would do gathered around in a garage. He simply thought spinning on your head was fun and looked really cool. He simply thought spinning on your head was fun and looked really cool. Fast forward to high school, dance would begin to be a large part of his life when he was invited to join a local dance team, Mighty Playgroundz. This opportunity helped expand his knowledge in hip hop, popping, turfing, and many more. In hopes of furthering his education in dance, he would later join his dance classes at school to add jazz and contemporary to his training. Soon after, he helped co-create and choreographed for his school team, Gen3. After high school, he joined his college dance company as a dancer and resident choreographer. His learning extends to hip-hop conventions and has taken master classes from world-renowned choreographers as well as freestyle dancers. Although trained in many styles, his specialty is in hip-hop, house, popping, and improvisation. He has taught for a wide array of places from studios, grade schools, and even community centers all over the bay area. His choreography has won regional competitions with many landing in the high-scoring tier. His B.S. degree in Kinesiology from San Jose State not only allows him to teach his students to dance but he also has the ability to help each dancer become more coordinated, athletic, and knowledgeable about their own physical health. His main keys to his dynamic classes revolve around growth, community, and most importantly – fun

 

Kaitlyn Ellis (KE) – Prep and Mini Squad/Hip Hop/Tap/Preschool Tap/Ballet

began dancing at the age of 2 at Dance Attack and joined the competitive team at 8 years old. Kaitlyn trained in tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, lyrical, and contemporary. As of right now, she is perusing a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance.

 

 

 

Kaitlyn Scadina Mansfield (KSM) – Preschool Tap/Ballet/Hip Hop/Ballet/Jazz- Kaitlyn Scadina is so excited to be joining the Dance Attack! team full-time this fall. With her background ofB.A. in Dance from UC Berkeley, she’s so excited to continue to impart her love and knowledge for dance to young minds. At Dance Attack she’ll be teaching jazz, tap, ballet, and hip-hop!  Outside of Dance Attack! she choreographs youth musicals for Starting Arts and performs herself. You can catch her as Allana the mersister in Little Mermaid this Fall at Sunnyvale Community Players.

 

 

Dani Delgadillo (DD) – Hip Hop has been a competitive dancer in all styles including hip hop, jazz, contemporary, and lyrical since the age of 8. As a dancer, Dani grew to love all genres and specializes in style and movement quality. She has been recognized during her competitive career with many overall awards, scholarships, and National Grand championships.  Dani began teaching in 2017 and soon became a popular and respected teacher in the Santa Cruz area. She serves as an assistant coach on the Aptos High School dance team, and she has choreographed for hip-hop conventions and competitive teams. Dani loves performing, teaching, and coaching and feels like the most rewarding moments are when her students grow and learn to love dance as she does. She’s looking forward to meeting new dancers and building new relationships with the students at Dance Attack!

 

Monica Beribaka (MB) – Preschool Tap/Ballet/Jr. Hip Hop has danced at Dance Attack since she was 3 years old up until 18 years old. She is currently attending West Valley College. She has lots of experience with children starting from a young age. Helping her mom with her babysitting job, assisting in teaching children at a local church school that taught the Serbian language, and recently becoming a babysitter herself have all led to her wanting to share her passion for dance to children. Monica teaches preschool Tap, Ballet, and junior Hip Hop.

 

 

Morgan White (MW)- Morgan has been dancing for 14 years and started her training at Dance Attack Sunnyvale at 3 years old. She has been in both Dance Attack’s Performing Company and DACPAC, where she trained in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Jazz, and Tap. She began to assist combo classes when she was 13, which is when she discovered her passion for teaching dance, and for the last two years, she has been a substitute teacher. Currently, she is continuing her training through Mountain View High School’s dance program, Dance Spectrum, and has choreographed multiple pieces for her peers, including her school’s homecoming halftime show. In addition, Morgan helped start the nonprofit, AiM, Art in Motion, whose mission is making dance more accessible to kids in her community, through teaching classes to kids for lower prices and donating the money to those in need. She has also been a part of a pre-professional assistant training program, the ACADEMY, for the dance convention AOM for the past 3 years.

 

Joy Lee (JL) – Contemporary

Studio Owner

Owner Murphy Rowan started singing and dancing at age 5 right here in the Bay Area with Children’s Playhouse of San Jose.  This early immersion, plus her theater degree from UC Davis, led to a busy performing career, including jobs at Great America (Yogi’s Great Election – 1988 – really!), American Musical Theater of San Jose (Grand Hotel), The Willows (Spitfire Grill), The Western Stage (The Who’s Tommy and City of Angels), 42nd St. Moon (Leave It to Me!), and TheatreWorks (Kept and Gypsy), as well as 5 Years at sea, performing roles like “Lola” in Copacabana on the Crown, Cunard, and Holland America cruise lines.

 

Murphy and her husband, Bryan, are so grateful to Elaine and Lee Pinto for entrusting the now 30-year legacy of Dance Attack! to them. They believe deeply in the importance of nurturing a love of learning as well as excellent education in the Arts, and are excited to continue the programs the Pintos have built, including classes and camps, professional dance instruction, and student choreography experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

dance studio owners association