Our Instructors

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Kori Moore, a born and raised Texan, trained as a competitive dancer in the Dallas area. After much success in the dance competition world, she hopped onboard Royal Caribbean’s “Voyager of the Seas” where she danced professionally in full production shows and entertainment opportunities for guests. Once she was done cruising, Kori moved to the Austin area to pursue an education at Texas State University while also teaching and choreographing for multiple dance studios and school dance teams in the area. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, she continued her passion for teaching dance and to this day thrives as a teacher and award-winning choreographer in Austin, TX. In addition to her love for teaching, Kori is also a dedicated adjudicator for studio and school dance team competitions across the nation and recently has had the incredible opportunity to teach alongside some incredible artists for Elevation On Tour dance convention. Kori is thrilled to continue her lifelong devotion to dance and share her knowledge with each and every dancer that she has the opportunity to meet! We are thrilled to have Kori Moore leading our Tap Program. She is an exceptional teacher in the classroom and our kids love her!

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Angelina Barba was born in Los Angeles, California and began her training in hip hop at the age of 8. She then soon moved to Austin, Texas to continue her training at local dance studios. She competed with 2 Hype hip hop company for 5 years, under the direction of Leslie Garcia. Angelina joined the Rouse Royals drill team in high school and served as a line officer her senior year. Along with her senior year of high school, she competed with eSTREET hip hop company, under the direction of Justin Streeter.

Angelina has received Grand National titles and many awards and scholarships throughout her competitive dance team years. She has continued her training at an industry level, along with receiving prestigious assistant and performance opportunities by her mentors.

Angelina’s found love for teaching has given her many opportunities as she now teaches at local studios and schools in the Austin area regularly. She has also held director positions of preprofessional hip hop companies such as eSTREET hip hop company and is currently the director and choreographer for REALM hip hop company at The Dance Academy in Leander, TX. Angelina wishes to continue her training and growth as both a student and a teacher. She is excited to continue to create choreography, teach and share her passion for dance!

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Leslie has studied under many master instructors and choreographers in Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop/Funk, Ballet, Tap, Breakdancing, Whaacking, House, Shuffling, K-pop, and Cardio-Fitness.

Working with children as young as 2 ½ years old to senior adults, Leslie is widely known for her unique cutting-edge dance style, award-winning choreography and unique music mixes with amateur and professional dance/drill team across the U.S. and dance competitions nationwide. She has made a huge name for herself as an instructor and choreographer in Texas for her incredible musicality and creativity in all aspects of Urban dance and traditional styles.

Leslie was the first ever UT Dance Team Coach and was the Artist/Asst. Director for the Concordia High School Flight Crew. She owns Cutting Edge Dance and Music as well as her studio company Urban Dance Empire. Leslie is also the creator, director and owner of the 3 time Grand National Award Winning and 5 time National Winning team, 2 Hype Hip Hop Company now known as The Empire. She was creator and director of Lab Ratz Hip Hop Company. Leslie also created past performance teams such as Contagious Dance Force and 210 Hype, as well as a choreographer and dancer for Planet Funk Entertainment, Atomic Productions, Urban Dance Movement, Austin Dance Works and 24 Hour Fitness. She was also master instructor for American Ballet Theatre Intensive Program for many years and for the past 15 years has been working independently with school districts in the state of Texas. Leslie works at studios all over the U.S. teaching dance classes, camps, specialized choreography, and judging competitions and try-outs. On top of her dance talents, Leslie also creates specialized music for individual studios, camps, and performance groups for competitions, recitals, and industry shows and has been a local DJ in Austin for many years. Leslie currently is the owner of Urban Dance Empire in Leander and is the director and founder of The Empire Dance Company.

Her extreme passion for music and dance, comedic teaching style, and dance knowledge makes her one of the most sought out dance instructors and choreographers in the U.S.. Leslie was nicknamed the “First Lady of Hip Hop” in Austin, TX where she resides. You can catch her teaching at a regular basis throughout the Austin area at local studios and schools.

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Morgan Stillman began his ballet training with Project Ballet in Fort Wayne, IN and attended Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. In 2014 he joined Nevada Ballet Theatre and performed principal and soloist roles in works by James Canfield and George Balanchine. At Ballet Austin Morgan has danced principal roles in Mills’ Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker, The Firebird, and Giselle, and has been featured in works by Justin Peck and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.

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Havilah has called many places home, but is grateful to be back in Texas! She danced professionally at Texas Ballet Theater in Fort Worth under the direction of Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., for six seasons from 2007-2013. Her favorite moments include dancing various roles in many of Mr. Stevenson’s full length ballets, including Dracula, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Coppélia, Sleeping Beauty; especially as “Clara” in The Nutcracker, and in his pas de deux “End of Time.” Other special moments include dancing in George Balanchine’s Serenade and Theme and Variations. Since retiring from professional ballet, she has accumulated nearly a decade of teaching experience on both east and west coasts. As a teacher, she seeks to nurture, encourage, and motivate students of all ages to reach their full potential as dancers through a strong foundation of classical ballet technique, musicality, and artistry. As a ballet class accompanist, she hopes to honor the legacy of her teacher Peter Kim and many other pianists like him whose music “always made me want to dance AND sing!” Outside the dance world, Havilah enjoys the domestic arts (cooking, sewing, crochet, gardening, etc.), and traveling with her husband. When she’s not investing time and energy in their two young sons, she enjoys building real connections with people at church and in her local and online communities.

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Cellise Brown is from Houston, Texas. She began her dance career at Top Flight Dance Company and Allegro West Academy of Dance. Growing up, Cellise trained at summer programs with Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet, Tulsa Ballet and Complexions Ballet. Cellise then continued her dance training at the University of Texas at Austin where she studied Dance, Education, and Psychology.

Since Graduating in 2022, Cellise has directed for several High School dance teams and teaches at dance studios and high school dance programs within the Austin area. All while continuing her training at different dance intensives including, Sidra Bell’s Module, The Jacob Jonas Company Intensive at Orsolina, and the Gagalab in New York. She currently is dancing professionally for Allysen Hooks, Ty Graynor, and Dorothy O’Shea Overbey. Cellise is a passionate professional dancer and a dedicated dance teacher, eager to inspire and share her love for dance with her students. Her teaching is centered around cultivating a fun and inviting space for all her students to feel safe to express themselves through movement in every class!

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Courtney's love for dance was passed down from her Rockett Grandmother, who funded Courtney's dance classes around age 4. Courtney danced at Gould Academy of Dance Arts as her home studio for 14 years. She trained in ballet, jazz, hiphop, lyrical, pointe, and dabbled in tap. Her love for dance and children started around age 11. As an only child, Courtney loved the chaos of children and started assistant teaching at Gould until she took over the classes herself at age 14. Courtney was accepted into the VPAA, Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Larkin Highschool in 1999. She was one of only 8 dancers accepted from her district. Her high school experience was a blocked schedule, allowing Courtney to take classes from guest teachers throughout the year in school and focused on integrating performance art, she danced in several shows/events/activities each year. She also danced with many local artistry groups such as River North Dance, Gus Giodano, Hubbard Street, Tri-City dance theatre. She danced with DanceEscape for a season and often attended Dance for Life workshops across Chicagoland. She taught for a few local studios in Chicago, LA and finally the STEPS academy up until she moved to Texas in 2018. After a few years break from starting a family and surviving a pandemic, Courtney finally found her home studio here in Texas, tDA. :) She has been teaching at tDA since 2021.

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Memphis born and Houston raised, Lennoris "Lenny" Arnold made a name for himself as one of the most sought after Choreographers and Instructors in the Dance Scene. Introduced to dance at the age of 10, his undeniable passion for movement led him to Masters Upper Level, a dance school formerly known as Masters of Dance in Stafford, Texas. Thruogh hiis training from grades 8-12 He naturally began teaching in various genres including Tap, Contemporary, and Hip Hop. His unique lyrical style of movement garnered attention from both drill teams and dance studios. In addition, he judges promising young talent with Move Dance Productions. Lenorris’ choreography has won numerous top awards at competitions such as Adrenaline Dance Convention, Legacy Dance Competition, Primetime Dance Productions, Hall of Fame Dance Competition, Artists Simply Human Dance Workshop, Move Dance Productions, New York City Dance Alliance, StarSystems Talent Competition, and Showstopper Competitions. Lenorris teaches at several local studios and constantly continues his dance education through seminars, conventions and travel to NYC and LA. His greatest inspiration is the progress of the dancers themselves.

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Jordan Harris is a professional dancer/choreographer, originally from New Jersey now living and working between the south and Los Angeles, Jordan is currently wrapping up his second year touring as a professional assistant with dance convention Hollywood Vibe, He has worked with artists such as Kali Uchis, Kanye West, Camila Cabello, Prince Royce to name a few. Jordan danced at the 2022 Latin American Music Awards with 4 different artists under the direction of Liz Imperio & was apart of the Billie Eillish x Oculus commercial choreographed by Matty Peacock. More recently he danced with Rihanna at the 2023 Superbowl Half Time show and is now on tour with Charli XCX, performed with Doja Cat at Coachella 2024, and is a regular on the major stages.

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Shanna Fragen is an Austin based dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She is originally from Chicago, IL and earned a BFA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago. Shanna has taught, choreographed, and directed at many studios in the Austin area, and has trained several students who have gone on to dance for acclaimed college dance programs and companies. Shanna’s choreography has been recognized and awarded in both competitive and professional communities. She has performed with local company, BLiPSWiTCH, and has been involved in many festivals and performances as both a dancer and a choreographer. She has attended a myriad of intensives and training programs, including two summers in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the Gaga/Dancers summer course with Batsheva Dance Company. Shanna is honored and excited for the opportunity to share her passion for dance with the students at The Dance Academy.