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Miss Annette Alvarez-Gutches
Miss Annette began dancing at the age of 2 and has never stopped! While opportunity for performance was plentiful,
she chose to educate and choreograph, where her true passion lies, and remain "behind the scenes". Miss Annette has been educating
dancers professionally since 1982, and has assisted, managed and directed studios. For the past 16 years, she has owned
ULTIMATE DANCE, Inc., a competition studio in Florida. As a Master level teacher, Miss
Annette’s dance students consistently earn top scores (regionally and nationally), titles, scholarships, and special
awards. Her students have been invited to New York with scholarships to Broadway Dance Center, been selected at competitions
for summer study and intensive groups, been heads of elite college dance teams, opened studios of their own, danced on world
cruises and dance professionally in Miami, New York, and LA. Miss Annette is consistantly recognized for her cutting
edge choreography at numerous dance competitions both regionally and nationally! Her dances win Entertainment Awards, Technique
Excellence Awards, Clean Lines Awards, Emotion Awards- the list goes on. She judges for national educational dance organizations
as well as the professional competition circuit and teaches master jazz and lyrical classes at conventions and studios all
around the country. Miss Annette has been asked to choreograph for many venues, including MTV. The producers personally sought
her out to teach a ballroom dance to a couple for the premier episode of a new series, Engaged & Underage. She’s
had opportunity to take master classes and train with many outstanding teachers and attends classes and conventions around
the country to stay on top of new material. A member of Florida Dance Masters since 1987, Miss Annette is currently a dance
test examiner and an active member on the Board of Directors. Miss Annette is also a member of Dance Masters of America, Chapter
2. In addition to Miss Annette's extensive knowledge and background in dance, she also holds a Bachelors degree in Elementary
Education and a Masters degree from Nova Southeastern University in Educational Leadership. She enjoys spending time with
her husband Brad and their dog, Jackie, when she is not at the studio with her dancers. :) You can contact Miss Annette
at annette@ultimatedanceflorida.com .
Miss
Katie Davis
Katie is in her fourth season with UDF and has been a part of the Brevard dance scene
since 2001. She was trained and raised in Homestead, Florida. Katie has sixteen
years of training from Donna Lee Studio of Dance competing and embracing all styles of dance including: Ballet/Pointe, Jazz,
Acrobatics, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, and more. For twelve years Katie was
a member of Expressions Dance Company of South Dade with roles ranging from the Sugar Plum Fairy to a Christmas Cat. In addition to her years of competitive dance she has also held the title of Miss Homestead in the Miss
America Scholarship Pageant two different years and went on to compete for the title of Miss Florida. In fall of 2006 she became a member of Brevard’s only Burlesque dance group, Blush, under the
artistic direction of Holly Horan. She continues to take classes and attend
conventions while pursuing her dream of teaching dance, at UDF.
Miss
Gabby Hoffmann
Miss Gabby
has over 18 years of experience in a variety of dance styles including; ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, modern, lyrical, hip hop
and musical theater. Originally from West Palm Beach, Gabby
started dancing at the age of 3 and fell in love with it. She spent 15 years with the Dancenter in Lake Worth where she was
a senior member of their performance company, “Off Broadway” , has performed as Grizabella from Cats, Oklahoma,
West Side Story, a Chorus Line and more! She also performed all over the state from nursing homes to Disney World. Once graduating
high school, Gabby danced with Klein Dance in Lake Worth
under the direction of master teachers Demetrius and Katie Klein. Here she developed a deep appreciation for modern and contemporary
dance. Throughout the years she has taught the styles of ballet, jazz, tap, modern, lyrical and musical theater! Her choreography
has also been featured in various student show cases as well as performed with the Klein Dance Performance Company. Gabby
is excited and eager to share her creativity and vision in dance. She is a dancer
with YOW Modern Dance Company, based out of Orlando. Miss Gabby is a certified member to teach dance through Florida
Dance Masters, the Trophy Chairman and member of the Board. Miss Gabby is also our S*T*A*R*S Program Coordinator.
Miss Aisha Alexis
Miss Aisha is originally from Long
Island, New York. She has studied dance for over 25 years in the "Big Apple" at such prestigious schools as Broadway Dance
Center with the great Frank Hatchett, and was a member of his dance group, The Hatchett Junior Dance Troop. Miss
Aisha also studied tapping from the tender age of three.She attended The Professional Children Program at Broadway Dance
Center in Manhattan. She was taught by Black and Blue star Savion Glover and River Dance star
Tarik Winston.She has danced on the tv show What's Up Doctor Ruth, Paul Nemien's Benefits and MTV's
LipService and won it!!! She was also a member of TWAPA, Team With a Positive Attitude. Miss Aisha took summer studies
at Alvin Ailey Summer Workshops and attended the University of Arts in Philadelphia as well. She is well versed in competition
expectations. She has also appeared in music videos! Miss Aisha believes you have to be a triple threat to be the best! Aisha
is looking forward to working again year with our Ultimate Dancers. WORK IT!!!
Miss April Shock
April aquired a love for dance at a young age. At 10, she began
cleaning a studio in Matthews, VA in exchange for dance classes and has been sleeping and breathing dance ever since. April
went on to become the youngest member of the performing comapany at Diggs School of Dance in Virginia. She attended Eastern
Virginia School of Dance before moving to Florida where she began dancing at The Orlando Ballet. She is trained in Ballet,
Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Contemporary, and Hip Hop. She is the recipient of two dance scholarships from Dance Educators
of America, and has taught for many studios. Additionally, she has danced professionally as a main stage performer with Disney
Magic Cruise Line. She believes God has given her the gift of dance and seeks to share this gift with others, hoping to inspire
people of all ages with self confidence, respect, and inspiration.
Miss Joan
Bryan
Joan Bryan
is originally from St. Louis, Mo.
She has recently moved with her children to Melbourne, Fl.
for the beautiful weather and extraordinary beaches. As a young woman, Joan competed nationally as a gymnast and has an extensive
background in sports acrobats, tumbling, ballet, tap and choreography. She became the first sports acrobat women’s pair
to win a Junior Olympic gold medal. As a coach, Joan has owned and operated two dance & tumbling studios in Missouri. She has been the recipient of countless awards and honors
for her dedication and coaching skills. She has attended many safety clinics and stays current with the dance world and trends.
She has been a certified judge and board member of the Apollo Acrobat Association. As a coach her students have won over 400
State and National championships. Her students competed in AAU, USAF and Apollo Acrobat Association. Although she has had
many star students, one of her most memorable accomplishments was coaching her own daughter starting at the age of two, and
by the age of 4 she was a National champion. Her students performed in many parades, sporting events at Busch stadium, telethons
and malls throughout the Midwest. Joan believes in giving back to her community. She donated
many hours to coaching cheerleading at the middle school and varsity level. Joan Bryan is a licensed career and behavioral
foster parent. Joan has over 30 years of experience in competing, coaching/teaching,
and mentoring young people.
Sammy Jo Morales, Apprentice Teacher (under
the Direction of Miss Annette)
Sammy’s love
for dance began at the age of 9. She was introduced to dance while pursuing gymnastics. When she was invited to be a member of the compulsory gymnastic team at her academy,
she was required to take a ballet class once a week. She immediately fell in
love with the art and now studies all genres of dance. She began to compete in
dance at the age of 12, and has continued to pursue competitions, master classes and conventions today. She has received platinum awards, top score, special judge’s recognition, as well as scholarships
and honorary invitations to National competitions and conventions. Sammy has
been a teacher’s assistant for 3 years and loves sharing her passion for dance with younger enthusiastic dancers. Her future plans include attending Florida State University as a Business major and
becoming a member of the FSU Golden Girls Dance Team.
Mr.
Danny Trujillo, Guest Teacher
Mr. Danny joined UDF in the 2007 season
and we are excited to have him on our team! He has performed in many industrial and corporate commercials as both a lead dancer
and singer, including Coca-Cola, Toshiba, and Adidas, just to name a few. He has also appeared in many theater productions;
West Side Story, How To Succeed in Business..., Fiddler on the Roof, and many more! Most recently he played Gaston
in Beauty and the Beast. Mr. Danny has danced and sang at MGM, Sea World, and Universal. You may have seen him on your cruise,
as he worked as the dance captain on Holland America Cruise Lines and has also been a featured performer in Harrah's casinos.
Mr. Danny was the Dance Department Head at a performing arts high school in Arizona where he taught Musical Theater
and all levels of Jazz in addition to teaching at local studios before moving to Florida. Mr. Danny has many exciting
opportunities opening up for him in Orlando this season and will be a guest teacher for us this year. We are thrilled for
him and excited to keep him as a part of our guest faculty at ULTIMATE DANCE!
Miss
Julie McKenzie, Office Assistant & Volunteer Coordinator
Miss Julie has
been a parent at Ultimate Dance since her daughter was just 3 years old. Since she has been at UDF, she has taken on
many projects and activities to assist in any way she can! Whether you need Powerhouse Team information, need to pay tuition,
or we just need a floor quickly vacuumed, she is on it! She also heads up our UDF Volunteers, which includes our academic
tutors for all grade levels as well as out Team parents.
Miss Carolyn
Alvarez, Owner/Business Manager
Miss Carolyn is
the ULTIMATE DANCE office manager. She has been involved in the dance business for over 40 years in some capacity and the
office manager of Ultimate Dance for 15 years! Miss Carolyn is available to answer any of your scheduling or
financial questions relating to your dancer at Ultimate Dance. Please feel free to email her your questions at carolyn@ultimatedanceflorida.com for a speedy response, or see her at the studio and she can answer all of your questions for
you!
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| Miss Katie Davis (photo by H. Olsen) |
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| Miss Sammy Morales (photo by K. Roberts) |
CLASS ASSISTANTS 09-10
Christina Capobianco
Madelyn Cosgrove
Whitney Davidson
Abbie Greene
Victoria Jennewein
Angela Short
Are you interested in becoming a class assistant for the 2009-2010 Ultimate Dance
Season? Please email Miss Annette and let her know why you think you would be an asset to our teaching team! Please include
what type of class you would like to assist with!
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