Meet the Team of Dance Teachers

Kathy Holtz has been teaching dance since her high school years. Her passion and enthusiasm, garnered from over 30 years on the dance floor; as well as her training as a school counselor; sets the stage for an enriching environment for students.  Under Kathy’s leadership, all students are encouraged to reach their potential in dance classes, participate actively in their community, and challenge themselves as individuals both inside and outside of the dance studio. 

At the age of 2, Kathy began her dance training in her hometown of Auburn, NY. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and pointe under the instruction of Blair Pausley, Bettina Pausley, and Laura Pratt.  She also was a successful competitive gymnast for 13 years.  She continued her education at SUNY Geneseo where she studied psychology and sociology, and her post-graduate work earned her a Masters Degree in School Counseling from Sage Graduate School.  Kathy became a Certified School Counselor in 2007.  She has provided counseling services to youth in the foster care system and in the school setting. She served as Director of a dance program in Las Vegas, where her career in the professional dance world began.  Kathy continued her career as a dance educator in Las Vegas and New York. After several years of dreaming, Kathy's vision for a dance studio of her own came to life! In 2015 she opened the doors to her first studio, Dance Me School of Dance and Character Development. Kathy relocated to St. Augustine in 2020 where she gained her Florida State Teacher Certification in School Counseling and has worked in the St. Johns County School District since. While Kathy has loved working in the school district, her passion for dance was too strong to ignore. 

The Dance Connection has come to life as Kathy realized her true passion for working with youth is through the art of dance. The Dance Connection is not just a dance studio.  The classes at the Dance Connection are positive, wholesome and fun, designed to build confidence in each student. The Dance Connection Team has a passion for both dance education and positive character development. They embrace the role they serve as role models and mentors to all students. We hope to instill the same passion in them while helping to shape them into successful, contributing members of our community. 

Kathy and her team continue to progress with their professional development, while simultaneously helping their students progress through the process of dance. Kathy is a Certified Teacher and School Counselor as well as being certified in youth mental health and is working toward a certification in Acro Dance and Progressive Ballet Technique. She is considered an expert in the field of dance education as she has been teaching since 2009, however, she continues to widen her knowledge base through workshops, trainings, and other professional development.

Leanne grew up near Lake Tahoe, Nevada.  She started dancing at a young age and trained in many forms of dance but focused primarily on tap.  She grew up participating with her studio in a few dance competitions every year.  At age 14 Leanne was in a small group tap routine that won first overall at a national competition.  As a result, her dance company was offered the opportunity to tour to Japan.  She spent 10 days dancing in Japan at age 15.  

Leanne attended Brigham Young University where she was a member of the International Folk Dance Ensemble Performing Arts Company.  She toured with them to Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Canada, and throughout the United States.  She was also a teaching assistant for various dance classes and taught a university tap course while still a student.  A true math nerd at heart, Leanne graduated with a degree in statistics with an actuarial emphasis and completed a minor in dance.  

During the 2002 Winter Olympics Leanne danced in the closing ceremonies, performing with the legendary rock band KISS.  Since that time Leanne’s focus has shifted to teaching.  She has continued to share her love of dance through teaching at studios in Utah, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida.  She loves to encourage and challenge her students!  She has won choreography awards at both the regional and national level, and had routines place overall in both regional and national competitions.  

While Leanne loves teaching tap, her main roles are as wife and mom to her four children.

Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Jaci has lived in a myriad of places throughout the US and traveled abroad. This has afforded her knowledge in a broad variety of dance styles, teaching and studios. Jaci’s College training is in modern (Horton Technique), but is trained in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, musical theatre and tumbling. She was awarded the prestigious Missouri Statewide Cappy Award in 2010 for her choreography in “Singing in the Rain” and has earned guest teacher awards for master classes at various conventions. High School included both varsity dance team and studio company competition team. 

Not dancing? You can find Jaci with her Kindle on the beach or hanging with her husband Brian and their three kids Piper, Cooper, Zander and their dog Bogey.

Meet Lasana, our passionate dance instructor whose journey with teaching children spans various traditional and unconventional settings. From traditional studio environments to teaching freshmen in high school and working with public middle schools and competition teams, Lasana has honed her skills in inspiring young dancers. Her secret sauce for creating engaging and educational dance classes involves incorporating their favorite music, weaving fun stories, and introducing silly moves to keep them connected and involved in the movement. To break the ice and empower shy kiddos, Lasana engages them by inviting them to teach her something or playfully guessing their names, fostering moments of connection and excitement. What truly brings joy to Lasana's heart is witnessing her students' confidence grow as they become comfortable with the moves and eagerly showcase them to their parents and classmates. She cherishes the moments when trust is built, making each class a fun and exciting experience. Beyond dance, Lasana's quirky passions include diving into her extensive Books to Read list and experimenting with new recipes to delight her and her husband's taste buds. Join Lasana for a dance journey filled with creativity, connection, and culinary adventures!

Emily Garro has been dancing since she was a little girl, especially when she would force her family to watch her do her little performances in their living room. Emily started her dance journey in hip hop classes but then proceeded into taking other techniques to further her dancing and familiarities within other styles. Teaching dance has always been a big dream of hers to be able to share her passion and love for dance with others. Her main goals as a teacher is to make sure her students always try their best, work hard and to make sure they feel comfortable and confident within themselves. Emily became a well-rounded dancer/performer dancing at Mia Bella Academy of Dance as she eventually gained the opportunity to become a company member at a well known competition called Artist Simply Human. Being a company member, she was able to travel to different cities and dance with many other dancers as someone they can watch and look up to. As a company member, there was a specific schedule we had to follow with early morning and nighttime rehearsals, working the performance showcase and working with the faculty. Artist Simply Human as well as Mia Bella allowed her to gain plenty of knowledge in competitive, concert and commercial dancing which continued on into her college experience. She was accepted into the dance program at Jacksonville University where she applied as a dance major and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance degree. Dancing at JU gave Emily the ability to learn and grow as a dancer, performer, choreographer and teacher. She has worked with many guest artists in different styles of dance such as modern, musical theatre, jazz funk, commercial and contemporary. During her time at JU she had worked with choreographers such as Brian Nicholson who was one of the creative directors and choreographers for Ariana Grande and learned repertoire from live performances such as “Break Free” and “Be Alright”. 

Emily is super excited to teach and provide a fun, comfortable, and hard working environment for all students. 

When Emily is not dancing you can find her at the beach, playing with all of her Yorkie puppies, sitting in her sisters room while she is away at college, listening to music or at Starbucks! 

She cannot wait to meet all of the students and start her journey as a teacher to all of these amazing dancers!

Alexis Carroll began dancing when she was 2 and joined competition team when she was 12. She loves every style of dance but her favorites are Jazz, Tap, and Musical Theatre. Alexis has performed in several theatre productions including Grease, White Christmas, and Something Rotten. She also performed in the Nutcracker Ballet and at Disney Springs with The Lightning Elite Dance Team. She has always loved volunteering as a helper for dance camps and classes! Her future goals are to continue teaching dance while pursuing a Criminal Justice Degree in college. During the summer, Alexis works as a Lifeguard and a Junior Swim Coach for her summer team. When she is not in the studio, she enjoys swimming, beach days, and taking trips to Disney with her family. Alexis is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her passion with aspiring young dancers at TDC!