Our Teachers

Alicia Chodera, Artistic and Executive DirectorAlicia Chodera – Artistic and Executive Director

Alicia began her training in Chicago, Illinios at the Ellis-Duboulay School of Ballet at the age of 8, studying the Royal Academy and Cecchetti ballet technique on full scholarship. She was awarded a full scholarship to the Boston School of Ballet under the direction of Violette Verdi and E. Virginia Williams and became a member of the company. She continued on to the School of American Ballet where she received extensive training on scholarship in the Balanchine technique from such masters as Stanley Williams. She danced with the Zurich Ballet and Ballet Concerto in Miami.  Alicia has received college training in dance therapy and kinesiology. In 2001, Alicia received a Bronze choreography award from for her lyrical dance “Jungle Bird”. This is Alicia's 14th year as Owner, Artistic Director, Executive Director and Instructor!

Amy ReffieAmy Reffie - Ballet & Lyrical Instructor  

Amy began her ballet training at the age of 4 under the instruction of Margaret Bisegli in Westport, Conn. At the age of 10, she was awarded a scholarship with the Ballet Etudes Repertory Co, under the direction of Russell Fratto, Jeanette Lauret (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo) and James Zynda (American Ballet Theatre). She went on to recieve a scholarship to the School of American Ballet in New York City where she studied for 3 years before joining the City Center Joffrey Ballet. Amy also credits her training with Melissa Hayden and Choo San Goh as "just amazing". This is Amy's eighth year with the Academy.

Tracy Mozingo - Advanced Ballet and Pointe Instructor

     Tracy Mozingo is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Explore Dance Theater. He hopes to bring a wealth of knowledge and a vision that continually sets the standard for the dance world. The company’s broad repertory of dancers, musicians, and artists with extraordinary range and skill, will be the heart beat of Explore Dance Theater. Mr. Mozingo graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts and trained at Pacific North West Ballet and Houston Ballet before joining Houston Ballet, where he performed a diverse repertoire. He then joined Ballet Florida where he danced for seventeen years. He loved the innovative new work, wide range of choreographers, and the extraordinary group of dancers that he has performed with. He has particularly enjoyed performing principal works by; Vicente Nebrada, Peter Martins, Mauricio Wainrot, Danny Ezralow, Mark Godden, William Soleau, Norbert Vesak, Lar Lubovitch, Val Caniparoli, Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, Kenneth McMillan, Glen Tetley, Thierry Mandalain, George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Sir Frederick Ashton, and Ben Stevensons. Mr. Mozingo is also a teacher, choreographer and ballet master. He was one of the first choreographers and dancers in the founding production of Step Ahead. He is a faculty member of Palm Beach Ballet Center, Southern Dance Theatre, and The Dance Academy of Stuart.  Mr. Mozingo’s choreographic credits include; With a Twist, More Distant Then Blue, Push and Go, Shambala, What I Am To You, Tango To Evora, and Thick as Thieves.  He has created numerous new works for his students, and instilled how important classical ballet, modern, jazz and contemporary movement as well as other art forms is to their dance training.  It has been important to Mr. Mozingo to try using his talent to raise awareness for many festivals and Private Foundations. Tracy has been involved with raising awareness with charities such as: “South Florida Dance for Life” (2004), Gilda’s Club--”Dancing from the Heart” (2000-2003), Alzheimer's Association--”A Love Affair”(2001-2009). This is Tracy Mosingo's second year at the Dance Academy of Stuart.

 

Carol AndrewCarol Andrew - Intermediate Ballet Instructor  

Carol Trained at London's Royal Ballet School. While at the Royal Academy of Dancing, she studied and worked with dance legends Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev. She was also certified to teach all grade levels through advanced while at the Royal Academy of Dancing. Carol taught at the Elmhurst Ballet School - one of England's finest ballet schools. She came to the US and taught at the National Academy of Arts at the University of Illinios. She has taught ballet in south Florida for the last few years.She loves dance, arts, and theatre and holds a degree in theatre from Florida State University. Carol is excited to share the artistry, technique, and beauty of "The Royal" with her students. This is Carol's seventh season with the Academy.

Charlotte Hamer - Master Ballet Instructor  

Charlotte began her training at the Thomas Studio of Dance in Lake Worth, Fl. She studied at the School of American Ballet founded by George Balanchine in New York City under the tutelage of Anatole Oboukoff, Peirre Vladimiroff, and Muriel Stuart. Charlotte performed on Broadway shows through "Make A Wish," in the original musicals casts of "My Fair Lady", "Paint Your Wagon", "Make a Wish", and danced the lead role of Laurie in the London and South Africa companies of "Oklahoma". Her television credits include The Ed Sullivan Show, The Patti Page Show, The Pat Boone Show and The Firestone Hour. She was invited to join and became a member of the New York City Ballet Company where she danced under Artistic Director, George Balanchine and Assistant Artistic Director, Jerome Robbins from 1952-1959. Charlotte has instructed at the Community Ballet School in Mountain Lakes, NJ; Thomas School of Dance in Lake Worth, FL; and has been a Guest Teacher and has conducted Master Classes in Florida. This is Ms Hamer's seventh season with the Academy.

Sonya HoffmanSonya Hoffman - Ballet Instructor  

Sonya began her ballet training at the age of 14 with the Ft. Pierce City Ballet under the direction of Nataly Nijinski. She was Bolshoi/Kirov trained at the age of 17 and went with Ms. Nijinski as an observer at the Olympics of Ballet Competition in Bulgaria and took ballet classes with the American team. She danced soloist/principal classical roles fot the FPC Ballet for 17 years and began teaching beginning/intermediate level ballet to the students during the last seven years she was with FPC Ballet. She taught at "Mission in Motion" for two years. This is Ms. Sonya's seventh year at the Academy.

Lindsey Davis

 

Lindsay Leigh Davis - Creative Movement, Tap, Ballet, Musical Theatre 

Lindsay began her dance training at the age of 4 at the Georgia Academy of Dance with Sherri Costales. She returned to Florida in 1997 and began studying all forms of dance at the Dance Academy of Stuart. Lindsay has attended various professional summer camps throughout the years as well as auditioning for "So You Think You Can Dance". She spent a summer in the hills of Cherokee, NC performing in the outdoor drama "Unto These Hills" and returns with her AA Degree in Fine Arts to the Academy. Other choreography credits include Shiloh Theatrical Productions and local high schools. She is a member of Anna Preston & Dancers and "Reach" Dance Company. She spent the past two summers in NYC enrolled in intensive musical theatre and dance workshops. This is her ninth year teaching at the Academy.

Anna PrestonAnna Preston - Lyrical, Modern/Improvisation 

Anna Preston has performed throughout the United States and Erope. Presently, Anna choreographs for her own company, Anna Preston and Dancers, which has toured through parts of the United States. Previously on staff at Palm Beach Community College, Klein Dance, Inc. and Palm Beach Atlantic where she developed the dance minor program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Florida Atlantic University, and a Master of Science in Education from Barry University. Anna is delighted to be instructing our students. This is her third year at The Dance Academy of Stuart.

 

New York City BalletVincent Paradiso

Vincent Paradiso - Guest Instructor/Master Ballet Class

Vincent Paradiso was born in Ardsley, New York, and entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the fall of 1996. As a student, Mr. Paradiso performed in Peter Martins' Les Gentilhommes and The Sleeping Beauty (Bluebird) in SAB's annual spring workshop performances. In the spring of 2003, Mr. Paradiso performed in the corps of Mr. Martins' Swan Lake as a guest artist with New York City Ballet, and in the fall of that same year he became an apprentice with the Company. Mr. Paradiso joined New York City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in the fall of 2004. This is Vincent's fourth year guest teaching with the Academy.

Maria LanzettaMaria Lanzetta - Hip Hop Instructor  

Maria was born in Switzerland, raised in Italy, and came to America in 1975 at age 6. She began her training at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City with concentrations in tap, ballet, jazz, and hip hop. She has been in televition productions such as "Hanging With the Homeboys," and was chosen to be in "Living Color" as a fly girl. She danced a role in "Univision Apollo" while choreographing for K.T.U. Radio Station in NYC. She attended the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan while continuing dance studies at Ridgewood Dance Studio in NYC. Maria began her teaching careet at age 15 because of her talent in the hip hop field. Maria received resident choreographer and coach status for National, Regional, and the State of New York with her creative choreography in competitions. She moved to Port St Lucie in 2000 with a desire to continue teaching her love of hip hop dance to children. She is delighted to begin her fourth year on the Dance Academy of Stuart's faculty.

Kim LorenzattoKim Lorenzatto - Jazz, Tap, Lyrical Instructor 

Kim Lorenzatto began her training locally at the age of seven in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical and acrobatics with an emphasis on Jazz and Lyrical. She competed throughout her childhood and young adult years on regional and national levels earning National High Scoring titles. Throughout her 14 years of teaching, Kim has choreographed competition pieces that have earned Judges' Choice Awards and Platinum Medals. Kim is certified to teach through Dance Educators of America and is a 2-time attendee of Dance Masters of America Teacher Training Seminar in Buffalo, NY. Kim has continued her education as an adult by attending classes with masters such as Mia Michaels, Judy Rice, Brian Friedman, Judy Rice and others from across the country. Kim spends her weekends in the spring traveling the country with Sophisticated Productions Talent Competitions as an adjudicator and Special Awards Judge. Kim is also currently on staff at Jupiter Dance Academy as their Jazz and Lyrical Company choreographer. Kim is very excited to be starting her second season with Dance Academy of Stuart.

Gen LaGrattaGenevieve La Gratta - Adult Tap Instructor 

Genevieve La Gratta brings almost forty years of dance education and executive directorship to The Dance Academy of Stuart. Her drive and vision in serving special needs children through the art of dance is unique and exemplary. In addition, her love of dance still shines through in weekly morning adult tap classes which she began teaching at the studio this summer. This is Gen's second year with the Dance Adacemy of Stuart.

Jodi HirthJodi Hirth- Music Together of the Treasure Coast 

Teaching Music Together® since 1995, Jodi Hirth taught for the founder in Princeton, NJ, as well as the Gymboree play program. At Gymboree she was one of 13 awarded the "International Teacher Excellence Award" in 1996. The Center for Music and Young Children in Princeton, NJ, awarded Jodi Hirth Music Together Certification Level 1 status for outstanding achievement in teaching, musicanship, program philosophy, and parent education in 2003. The Dance Academy of Stuart is proud to add Jodi and Music Together to our continued growth of exciting arts education offerings. This is Jodi's third year with the Dance Academy. For more information, you can visit her website at www.musictogethertreasurecoast.com

 

 

 Juliana HarrisJuliana Harris – Creative Movement Beginning Ballet

Juliana has been dancing at The Dance Academy of Stuart since the age of 3. Juliana has attended the Rock School and The Orlando Ballet 5 week Summer Intensives She recently trained to become a student instructor by Alicia Chodera. This is Juliana’s first year teaching at the Dance Academy of Stuart.

 

Bailey Murray Bailey Murray -Creative Movement Beginning Ballet

 

Bailey has been a student at the Dance Academy of Stuart since the age of 5. She recently trained to become a student instructor by Alicia Chodera and Lindsay Davis. She assisted in the classroom last year. This is Bailey’s first year teaching at the Dance Academy of Stuart

 

Alexandria Reffie Alexandria Reffie- Creative Movement Beginning Ballet

 

Alexandria has been dancing at The Dance Academy of Stuart since the age of 2 1/2. Alexandria has attended the The Joffrey and The Orlando Ballet 5 week Summer Intensive. She recently trained to become a student instructor by Alicia Chodera. This is Alexandria’s first year teaching at the Dance Academy of Stuart.