Owner and Director Amber Weiss
Victoria Haro
Melody Dutra
Katie Fisi
Kristie Metzger-Martinez
Jennifer Adami
Katie Guilbeaux
|
|
Our family oriented, positive atmosphere helps to build self-esteem and the love of dance. Our staff genuinely cares about your child and wants only the best for their dance education. Our teachers love what they do and are inspired by your children every day.
Amber has been teaching dance for over 14 years. She studied dance at several different studios in the Bay Area. She began competing at Regional Competitions throughout Northern California at the age of 7. She won many Top awards and has been recognized by judges for her ability to bring passion and character to the stage. She attended many workshops and conventions through the years to expand her expertise in dance technique and styles. She studied ballet at Delta Ballet under the direction of (retired) Helga Isikata during her teen years and her love for dance and children started her teaching career at age 13. She was a Deer Valley Cheerleader as well as a member of the Deer Valley Dance Squad during her High School years and during her college years she choreographed routines for several High Schools, Dance Studios and Cheer organizations in the Bay Area. Her desire to learn more started her travels to Southern California to attend Master Classes at the Edge, where she familiarized herself with the industry. Over the years Amber has fostered great relationships with other dance studios and choreographers within California. She is always networking with other dance studios and Choreographers to bring workshops and up to date instruction into East County. Amber is the Director of Step 2 This as well as a teacher. Her ability to connect with children is an asset to the studio.
Victoria started her dance career at age 5. She has received many overall awards as well as showmanship awards during her 11 years competing. As well as being a dance teacher assistant at age 14, Victoria was also a member of the Liberty High School Cheer Squad. In 2004 she became a member of the Team Rave Performance Company and continued her training with the Company through 2006. Victoria has worked with Choreographers, Gregg Russell, JJ Pop Stars, The Fly Girls from "In Living Color", back up dancer Lisa Thompson and the "Tap Dog Dancers". After completing an internship in her senior year in Child Development, Victoria knew she wanted to be a teacher. She started teaching competition and recreational students in 2005 in the Bay Area and currently she is studing dance in her 4th year of college. Victoria came to Step 2 This in early 2007 and has been an inspiration to all of her students. Her knowledge and communication skills as a teacher is remarkable. Her dedication and her "Relaxed" nature with all the students is noticed by everyone.
Melody began dancing at the age of 7 while taking Jazz and Tap at a local Studio in Antioch. At the age of 9 she met Helga Ishikata and knew instantly she wanted to become a ballerina. Melody continued her training with Helga and went on to perform in the Oakland Ballet Nutcracker and Hansel and Gretel. After spending 6 years competing Melody knew she wanted to make a career out of dancing. At age 14 she traveled to Pennsylvania to attend the famous "Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Academy" in Carlile. There she received training from some of the best instructors on the East Coast. The following summer she enrolled at Contra Costa Ballet Academy to continue refining her technique and after her 6 week program, she performed in their Elite Summer Showcase. Still intrigued, Melody continued her training in Ballet, Pointe and Lyrical. When she was 16 she started atttending classes at the Oakland Ballet with Ron Guidi and the Company Dancers. Working with Ron, from Melodys point of view, helped her to understand what performing was all about. At 16 she was given the opportunity to teach, as she always wanted to help other dancers understand the importance of strong technique. She knew her true passion was to be able to pass on her knowledge to others so they could experience all dance has to offer. Melody started teaching at Step 2 This in 2003 and has been there ever since. Her passion for ballet shows in her choreography and the technique that she has instilled in her dancers. Some of her students have had the opportunity to perform with the Oakland Ballet for 2 years. Her Recital routines are beautiful and her classical style is unforgetable.
Katie has been dancing since the age of 3. She started out enjoying Tap and Jazz and by the age of 9, all her teachers knew she had rhythm. She bagan attending Competitions at the age of 8 and received many top awards for her talents. She received her ballet training at Delta Ballet in Antioch and developed a love for ballet and lyrical style dance. During her High School years she was a member of the Deer Valley Cheer Squad and during her senior year she completed an internship in Child Development during which time she found great joy in teaching children. In her senior year of highschool Katie explored singing and acting and performed in the musical "Fame". Katie is a very well rounded dancer, she has experience in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical and hip-hop. After she choreographed her first Hip-Hop routine at Deer Valley High for her dance class she knew that teaching dance was what she wanted to do. Hip-Hop came naturally to her and she wanted to learn more about it, so she started attending Bay Area Hip-Hop workshops and traveled to Los Angeles to learn more about the different styles and how to "break it down" in order to teach it to children. She came to Step 2 This in 2007 bringing her bouncy personality and talent. Her ability to interact and connect with children makes her a great teacher.
Kristie was born in South Lake Tahoe and has been dancing since the age of 3. She started classes with her sister Tara taking tap and jazz. After moving to the Bay Area at age 6, she took her first ballet class at Delta Ballet. From that day on ballet became the main focus of her training. She continued her training at Academy of Arts & Ballet under the direction of Yvette Del Monte Madrigal. It was there that she was exposed to many styles of dance such as contemporary, modern, tango, Bob Fosse style jazz, and of course the staples of the studio, ballet & pointe work. Kristie competed for several years winning many awards as Highest Score, Overall, cash awards, scholarships and "Sweetheart" for the "I Love Dance" Competition. As a young dancer Kristie was aslo featured in a video with Smuin Ballet of San Francisco company members. During her competition years Kristie received several scholarships for her hard work and dedication. One in which was from "Winners Competition" that took her to New York and Los Angeles, as the other from "I Love Dance" placed her in the heart of Australia to perform in the Sweetheart Show. When she wasn't competing she performed many principal roles in various ballet performances at Academy of Arts and Ballet. She was also a member of both Ballet Celeste and Theater Ballet of San Francisco for 5 years, performing for both companies in several shows including a touring Nutcracker for 3 years. Since then, Kristie has furthered her training by taking classes throughout California, as well as pursuing her new love of Pilates and core training. She began teaching ballet, pointe, ballet fitness and Lyrical in 2004 in the Bay Area. Her philosophy is built on strengthening the dancers and giving them an understanding of importance of a dancers body. Kristie came to Step 2 This in August of 2008 and we are excited to have her on our staff. She brings so much experience and her ability to communicate with the students is exceptional.
Bio- Coming Soon
Bio-Coming soon
Click here to learn more about our classes and the current class schedule. |
© 2008 Step 2 This Dance Studio. All Rights Reserved.
Web site by Studio of Dance.com