Anneka began her dance training in 2006 at The Dance Academy of Stuart, where she developed a strong technical foundation and a deep love for the art form. In 2012, she was accepted into the Stuart City Dancers, further refining her artistry and performance skills. In 2017, Anneka stepped into the role of student teacher, where she discovered her passion for mentoring and inspiring the next generation of dancers.

 After graduating from The Dance Academy of Stuart in 2021, she moved to Nashville, TN, to continue her professional training. There, she studied in the Professional Training Division under Anaïs Chalendard.

During her time in Nashville, Anneka performed in Nashville Ballet's The Nutcracker and danced principal roles in several School of Nashville Ballet productions. She also had the opportunity to originate contemporary works created on her by choreographers Maria Konrad, Lydia McRae, and Melissa Cassidy. She has also competed in both the Universal Ballet Competition and Youth America Grand Prix, earning top scores at each.

In 2024, Anneka joined Ballet RI as a trainee under the direction of Kathleen Breen Combes and Yury Yanowsky. While there, she performed in The Nutcracker, participated in numerous outreach performances across New England, and continued to originate new works, as well as to learn the classics such as Swan Lake and Balanchine's Allegro Brillante.

Alongside her performing career, Anneka taught ballet and jazz in Nashville and worked in after-school programs. At Ballet RI, she expanded her teaching to include pointe and contemporary. 

Anneka is thrilled to return to The Dance Academy of Stuart, where her journey began, and is passionate about sharing her knowledge, experience, and love of dance with her students in the same inspiring environment that shaped her.

Miss Jennifer's love for dance began at just three years old, and she quickly realized that dance wasn't simply a hobby—it was her calling. She trained extensively in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Acro, attended countless dance conventions, and spent many of her summers in New York City, taking classes and watching Broadway performances whenever she could.

Her passion and dedication led her to become a Certified Instructor through Florida Dance Masters, where she continued to strengthen both her technical knowledge and her skills as an educator.

Miss Jennifer's professional performing career included three seasons as a Radio City Rockette in the nationally touring Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She also traveled throughout the country performing with Cirque Productions and Legends in Concert, experiences that helped shape the accomplished performer and teacher she is today.

For the past 30 years, Miss Jennifer has been sharing her love of dance with children of all ages. She has a special gift for working with our youngest dancers and specializes in preschool classes as well as Beginning Ballet, Tap, and Jazz.

Her greatest joy is creating a classroom where every child feels welcomed, encouraged, and successful. She believes that dance is about so much more than learning steps—it's about building confidence, developing strong technique, and helping every child discover the joy of movementin a fun, safe, and positive environment.

Since joining The Dance Academy of Stuart earlier this year, Miss Jennifer has already become a favorite among our dancers and families. We are so grateful to have her as part of our teaching staff and know she will continue to inspire the next generation of young dancers for years to come.

Please join us in giving Miss Jennifer Lauritano a warm official welcome to The Dance Academy of Stuart! 💜🩰

Mrs. Sarah Curtis grew up in Lake Placid, FL and has been in the dance, cheer, and gymnastics industry for 39 years. Much of her childhood training took place at Theater of Dance, directed by Ellie Grimes. She has studied consecutive years of acrobatics, ballet, jazz, and hip hop. In high school, Sarah began coaching gymnastics and was selected as a UCA All American and nominated to become part of the UCA Staff.

Sarah studied at Palm Beach Atlantic and Warner University, graduating in 2002 with her Bachelor of Art in Preschool, Elementary, and Exceptional Student Education. While in college, Mrs. Sarah was a high honor student, Gymnastics Coach, Cheer Coach, and earned a college scholarship as a Co-Ed Competitive Cheerleader.

After graduating from college, Mrs. Sarah began her teaching career in her hometown of Lake Placid and began coaching cheerleading at the local middle school along with choreographing for local dance teams in the area. In 2005 Mrs. Sarah assisted in opening and teaching at Attitudes Dance Studio and became the local children’s choir director where she directed multiple performances and plays.

In 2008, Mrs. Sarah relocated to Port Saint Lucie where she really began working recognizing her passion for helping students achieve their goals and dreams and loves to continue to learn current trends in the industry and pour new inspiration and energy into her teaching. She is a member of the National Dance Education Organization and is Certified by the Acro Dance Teacher Association in 2024 as a Premiere Professional Certified Acro Instructor. She is a very versatile instructor and fuses many dance forms into her choreography and teaching. The training students receive in her Acro dance classes reinforce the technique in all other dance genres and gives students the ability to execute tricks to be used in dance choreography.

We are excited to welcome Mrs. Sarah to our DAS Family this year!

Rose McGill has been dancing since the age of three and is a proud alumna of The Dance Academy of Stuart. Throughout her training, she studied a wide variety of dance styles, including ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, and hip hop. As a dedicated member of the DAS Competition Team, she developed both her technical skills and passion for performance.

Now a college student, Rose is excited to share her love of dance with the next generation as a teacher at The Dance Academy of Stuart. She is passionate about creating a positive, encouraging classroom where every dancer can grow in both confidence and ability.

Katie began dancing at the Dance Academy of Stuart at the age of three and grew up training in a variety of styles. She later became a member of the Stuart City Dancers in 2013, where she had the opportunity to perform and grow as both a dancer and artist. In 2018, Katie joined the staff as a student teacher and quickly discovered her passion for sharing dance with others.

Katie went on to attend the University of Florida, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a Master’s degree in Marketing. While at UF, she danced with Stomp the Swamp, a rhythm tap performance team, for four years, performing throughout campus and the Gainesville community.

After graduating, Katie returned to the Treasure Coast, balancing her professional work with her continued love for teaching dance. She’s grateful to be back where her dance journey began and hopes to pass on the same passion and creativity that inspired her as a young dancer.

We are thrilled to welcome Katie back to our DAS family!

Lorna Smith discovered her love for dance at the age of three and has spent years training in every style. Driven by her passion, she pursued her dream of becoming a professional hip hop dancer and is currently traveling the world performing with an artist. Lorna has also contributed her talents as a co-assistant choreographer for the Miami Heat Dancers and the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, danced in music videos, and shared her expertise through teaching in various locations across Florida.

Lorna join the DAS faculty in 2024.

Shelby Trembly was born and raised in Palm City, Florida. She danced locally since the time she was 3 at Florida Arts and Dance Company and Dance Academy of Stuart. While in high school, she performed at the Orange Bowl Halftime Show with Dierks Bentley, the Russel Athletic Bowl Half Time Show with Nico & Vinz, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with Spirit of America’s. Shelby studied dance at Indian River State College, on scholarship, after graduating high school for two years. While at IRSC, Shelby taught at Dance Academy of Stuart, and was a part of Miss Alicia’s company, Atlantic East Coast Dance Theatre. She then transferred to Santa Fe College and studied dance for another year. After receiving her AA from Santa Fe College, she then transferred to the University of Florida where she majored in Event Management, and continued to study dance in their arts program. She was also a part of Extreme Dance Company while studying at UF. This past year, Shelby danced with a local dance studio in Gainesville called Cameron’s Dance Center.

Shelby joined the DAS faculty in 2021.

Kim Lorenzatto began her dance training at the age of seven, studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, and Acrobatics, with a strong emphasis on Jazz and Lyrical. As a competitive dancer throughout her childhood and young adult years, she performed at both regional and national levels, earning numerous National High Scoring titles.

With more than 25 years of teaching experience, and over a decade directing the studios’ competition team, Kim has inspired dancers of all ages while choreographing award-winning competition routines that have earned Judges’ Choice Awards, Scholarships, Overall Medals, and other top honors. Her passion for dance education is reflected in her commitment to ongoing professional development and technical excellence.

Kim was certified to teach through Dance Educators and America and is currently a certified member of YPAD (Youth Protection Association for Dancers) and a member of NDEO (National Dance Education Organization). She continues to expand her knowledge by participating in master classes with renowned instructors from across the country. In addition, Kim is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), first aid, AED and CPR. 

Since 2009, Kim has been a valued member of the faculty at The Dance Academy of Stuart, where she is dedicated to helping students grow as dancers, performers, and confident individuals. Through her positive approach and emphasis on strong technique, she strives to cultivate a lifelong appreciation for the art of dance in every student she teaches.

Ryan began dancing locally at the age of 6. Since she began, Ryan has been training to be diverse in many styles of dance ranging from Ballet to Hip-Hop and everything in between. Ryan also grew up competing where she has won numerous awards, scholarships, and has met/learned from praised choreographers. Along with competition, she was part of the DAS Stuart City Dancers pre-professional company. At the age of 11, Ryan became a teacher’s assistant for the younger ballerinas and at the age of 15 she began teaching her own classes. Now, Ryan continues to teach in multiple genres and choreographs for our DAS competition team! In 2020 she has also received her certification in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT).

Ryan joined DAS faculty in 2017.

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 for 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.

Sonya has been with the Dance Academy of Stuart since 2008.