Is thrilled to be entering her 20th year of teaching! In 1999, she founded Stephanie Elder School of Dance which later became Camarillo Academy of Performing Arts. As the Artistic Director of CAPA, her students have won numerous awards and scholarships and many have gone on to pursue a career in the performing arts. She is a certified member of Dance Masters of America (DMA) since 2000.  In 2004, Stephanie alongside her sister Lauren, was awarded the DMA Member of the Year award. October 2008 marked another milestone for Stephanie…she and her husband, Josh, welcomed a ballerina of their very own- Estella Grace Briones.

Stephanie wishes to thank all of the wonderful families at CAPA who have helped her turn a simple dance studio in to a dance community where the love of the performing arts is nutured.

Lauren has been dancing and performing as long as she can remember! She has performed with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, Gateway Ballet of St. Louis and American Dance Troupe, as well as competing regionally and nationally. After graduating with honors from the University of California Santa Barbara, she has devoted her energy to teaching dance full-time. Lauren has served as Children’s Ballet Mistress for the Moscow Ballet’s Santa Barbara production of The Nutcracker and is currently the head of CAPA’s Invitational program as well as the Artistic Director for CAPA’s newly formed Young Dance Artists Performing Arts Company. Lauren is a member of Dance Masters of America.

Jo Bliss has been teaching dance to children since 1983. She owned and operated her own dance studio in Oklahoma City, Okla. from 1989 until 2005 when she moved to California to nanny for her daughter. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, studied dance on a dance scholarship at Oklahoma City University from 1983 to 1987 and enjoyed taking class with Ballet Oklahoma for over 10 years. She danced in over 20 musicals including “Annie”, “My One and Only”, and “Crazy for You”. She was awarded the “Gypsy” award twice and served as dance captain in “Dames at Sea”. She is a member and past officer of Oklahoma Dance Masters Association. Jo is thrilled to join the CAPA staff this year.

Rebecca has danced at CAPA for the past 12 years. She has been a member of YDA since 2003. She has been trained in ballet, pointe, tap, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, and acrobatics. Rebecca is currently an honors student at La Reina High School. She is enthusiastic about sharing her love of dance with her students.

Jason Coosner holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance with a concentration in Choreography from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. SMU’s Dance Program is one of the top 5 in the nation and Jason was one of four, internationally, to be accepted as a 2007 candidate; he was awarded a Full-Artistic scholarship for the duration of his studies by the Meadows School of the Arts. During his tenure he had the privilege of studying under award winning jazz dance legend Danny Buraczeski and contemporary jazz master Max Stone. Throughout his graduate studies Jason created 3 new, fully produced, dance works and taught Jazz Dance for three semesters on faculty. While in Dallas he served as the Assistant Artistic Director for Collin County Ballet Theatre. He was also the Director of Musical Theatre and Contemporary Dance at Hathaway Academy of Ballet, one of Dallas’ premiere pre-professional performing arts schools teaching classes in Jazz, Modern, Ballet, Tap, Musical Theatre and Acting. Jason also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Musical Theatre from the Professional Training Program at Elon University in North Carolina. Currently Jason teaches and choreographs throughout Los Angeles and continues to perform locally as an actor and singer.

Maggie has been awarded Top Choreographer, 2nd Overall Production and three Most Entertaining awards at Dance Master Of America. She is a DMA National Title Holder 2001. Maggie is also an LA Dance Invitational (1999 & 2003) & LA Dance Force Competition Gold Medal Winner (1994-2002). She danced professionally with Danny Daniels and The Dance America Company, toured with Columbia Artists as a lead dancer and has performed feature roles for HBO, John Denver television shows and Pennies from Heaven. She has choreographer of the Hallmark TV movie, “A Grandpa for Christmas” as well as Gilmore Girls Season Opener and “An Evening with Gaeda Mier”. Maggie was honored in 2008 in New York City’s Tap Week for her vast contribution to the tap community. Maggie is a member of Dance Masters of America, serving as Vice President and has taught for over 30 years.

Ashley grew up dancing in Southern California. She traveled to Austria and Paris to perform at the Tranzsommer Invitational Dance Festival and has competed nationally for over ten years. She has been choreographing for eight years, Ashley has danced for Disney, Warner Brothers, performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Greek Theater. She has had the privilege of working with greats such as Danny Daniels, Sam Webber and Gregory Hines. She received the NYC Dance Alliance Critics Choice Awards, was Dance Masters of America’s “Miss Teen Dance of Southern California 2000″ and Spotlight semi-finalist in 2001 and 2002. Ashley was featured in Dance Spirit Magazine and recently earned her bachelors degree in Philosophy from UCLA.

Rebecca is entering her third year at CAPA. Her television appearances include performances with Dolly Parton, Disney’s Young Musicians, Jerry Lewis Stars Across America and various MTV music videos. She has been seen on stage as a tap soloist at the Greek Theatre and has performed featured roles with Pacific Festival Ballet. She has competed at both the regional and national levels and has recently been featured in Dance Spirit magazine. Rebecca is currently an honors student at UCLA.

Carole is a certified teacher of both Dance Masters of America and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), a worldwide organization based in London, England where Carole was born and received her early training with the Royal Academy of Dance. As a professional dancer and singer she performed in many Broadway and TV shows, including No, No, Nanette, How to Succeed in Business and The Bing Crosby Tribute, working for renowed choreographers such as Michael Kidd and Donald Saddler. She has choreographed numerous shows, commercials and film sequences. Her teaching career spans twenty years, including owning her own school in Mendocino, California to teaching at the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre, Western Ballet and most recently at the renowned School of Alberta Ballet in Canada, where she served as Children’s Ballet Mistress. Her students have been awarded scholarships to San Francisco Ballet School, Alvin Ailey and Canada’s National Ballet School.

Nader was Russian-trained in Leningrad. He was a principal dancer with Berlin Opera, Las Scala di Milan, and Colon Theatre in Buenos Aires. Nader was Artistic Manager and Ballet Master at Cairo Opera House and worked with Rudolph Nureyev for four years in Europe.

Thaïs C. Leavitt is a native Californian who studied ballet in Santa Monica with Don Hewitt and Joey Harris and also at the Royal Ballet School in London. Thaïs was the principal dancer with the Düsseldorf Ballet in Germany and toured internationally as guest artist with Paolo Bortoluzzi. While abroad, she studied the Vaganova, Ceccehetti and Bournonville methods of teaching. Thaïs also enjoys teaching all aspects of classical/contemporary ballet and the art of classical Spanish dance.

Justine Menter, originally from Dallas, TX, has choreographed and taught internationally for the last 8 years, fusing her business savvy and creative vision. She has trained intensely at prestigious schools like Broadway Dance Center and Edge Performing Arts Center. She has worked for celeb Faith Hill and for top choreographers such as Brian Friedman, Derrell Bullock, Keith Green & Gina Starbuck. Some professional credits include The View, Jimmy Kimmel, Sony, Samsung, Dallas Desperados, Texas Ballet Theatre, Las Vegas Hilton, and performances at almost every nightlife hotspot in Hollywood.

Mary may look familiar to you, she joined CAPA alongside her twin sister Maggie Danielsen in March 2006. Mary danced professionally with Danny Daniels and Dance America Company. She toured with Columbia Artists as a lead dancer. She was a featured dancer in the John Denver Special, on several HBO specials, and appeared in the movie Pennies from Heaven. Mary works with many entertainers in television, film and theatrical projects.

Kristen began dancing at the age of 7 in Chicago and has been hooked ever since!  She has had the pleasure of studying with Dennon and Sayhber Rawles, Joel Hall, and Margaret Hyun to name a few and performed in such shows as Fiddler on the Roof, Pirates of Penzance, yearly dance shows and musical revues.  She has contributed to student choreographed shows and had the pleasure of choreographing musical theater summer camps for children.  She spent the past 4 years at Peak Athletics in Highlands Ranch, Co teaching Preschool, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop and Poms along with coaching Youth and Senior competitive teams.  Her teams were awarded numerous first place trophies at UDA, Jamfest and NDA competitions along with Best Choreography and Best Team Spirit Awards on the local and national level.  She loves sharing her passion for dance with others and watching it grow inside of them!  She is happy to have the most supportive husband and family and is a proud mama to a little man named Ayden.  She is teaching through out Ventura County and is thrilled to be joining the CAPA family!

Vanessa comes to CAPA with an extensive professional background and huge talent! A graduate of CSUN Northridge with a masters’ degree in voice and music industry studies, her performances include starring roles on Broadway in Dream Girls and Ragtime. Regionally she has appeared in many productions including South Pacific, House of Flowers and Amen Corner. Her voice has been featured on jingles for Pepsi and Paul Mitchell. In addition, Vanessa has toured as a background vocalist for renowned artists Janet Jackson, Engelbert Humperdinck, and can be heard on numerous recordings for movies and television shows.

Brooke had early dance training with Tempe Dance Academy and the Christian Dance Company in Phoenix. She studied dance at Arizona State University. She toured Europe with the International Dance Alliance as both a dancer and choreographer. She also danced in the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood and performed on the red carpet at the Fuse Chainsaw Awards. Most recently, she was a principal dancer as “The Enchantress” in the California Theatrical Youth Ballet Performance of “The Snow Queen.” Brooke has been teaching for eight years and loves sharing her passion for dance with her students. She is currently training at Millennium Dance Complex.