

Kathy - Owner

Dani - Recreation Director, Injury Prevention Program Lead

Shawna- Company Operations Director, Assistant Ignite Company Director
Shawna Hesketh started dancing at an early age at her one room studio in her small Central Texas hometown. Her love of dance grew and she went on to be on her high school’s drill/dance team and began to teach dance at the age of 16. She attended Sam Houston State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Photography and Dance. While at SHSU she was in several performances including a graduate thesis and also worked in the costume department for their Nutcracker production. Throughout her college days she kept steady jobs within retail management working her way from bottom up to Assistant Manager. After getting married, moving to Austin, and having her first child, she got back into dance full time by diving into ballroom dancing. Then a simple twist of fate and the interconnections of the dance community she began her journey with Balance Dance Studios, joining them in the Fall of 2012, their first year of being open. Since then she has created a home and family with Balance that now she gets to share the journey with her two children as she gets to watch them dance and grow.

Danielle- BRAVO Artistic Director, Acro Genre Lead
Danielle Storey Loredo grew up training at Tempe Dance Academy and Nina Marlow School of Ballet in Phoenix, Arizona. Her competitive dance experience has given her so much to be grateful for, and she also attributes her success as a dancer/human to her steadfast commitment to ballet training and technique. Danielle received a performing arts scholarship to the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University where she studied Dance Performance and Corporate Communications. In college, she was a student choreographer, co-founded the SMU dance club, and worked through an intense curriculum Upon graduating in 2011, Danielle came to work in Austin and taught dance classes part time. Her passion for teaching performing arts was so centric in her life that she decided to leave her corporate job, and help Kathy Dupuy and Kristin Nicolaisen start Balance Dance Studios.
Danielle is also passionate about performance and has danced for choreographers Danny Buraczeski, Kristin Nicolaisen, Quinton Weathers, Cat Cogliandro, Cheryl Copeland, Devon Adams, Millicent Johnnie and Jessie Smart. With experience in the commercial dance world of Los Angeles, she understands what it takes for pre-professional dancers to make a living with their art. Some of her most memorable LA experiences include assisting dance legend Jackie Sleight, apprenticing for Diavolo Dance Company and workshopping the choreography for Disney’s Frozen show at California Adventure. She pulls a lot of her stylistic inspiration from her time spent in LA training with her contemporary favorites, Jason Gorman and Cat Cogliandro. Danielle aims to train dancers into anatomically aware, sharp, dynamic and daring performers. She also hopes to make an impact in her students’ lives beyond the studio, mentoring and encouraging positivity and confidence!

Kelsy - Ignite & Elevate Artistic Director, Tap Genre Lead
Kelsy Leyendecker began her dance training at the age of 3 and has been teaching and choreographing since the age of 16 years old. She began her studies and competitive years at Irvine Dance Academy but went on to receive training at some of the best studios in the country in the styles of ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, cheer, tumbling, and musical theatre. She has had the opportunity to study under legends such as Joe Tremaine, Doug Caldwell, Molly Lynch, Christine Baltes, Jerome Robins, and Susan Stroman. In addition to them, she credits much of her growth and passion to her first mentor, Monie Adamson who is a 3 time Emmy nominee and 2004 American Choreography Award winner. While still in high school, Kelsy also participated in her drill team, varsity cheer and show choir. During this time she also began experimenting with choreography for her high school show choir and other local area theatre and children’s programs. As a diverse performer, Kelsy danced as an extra on a couple TV shows, strutted the parade routes and stages of Disneyland as well as toured parts of the US as a member of the company, “Dance N’ ETC” and the “Concordia University Professional Chamber Choir.” She quickly found another passion in musical theatre and was cast in multiple theatre company ensembles and lead roles for musicals. Upon moving to the Austin area, Kelsy explored several studios as well as formed her own homeschool dance company. She fell in love with Balance and made it her teaching home. After a few years at the studio, Kelsy was asked to help direct Elevate and also spent a year directing with Push Dance Company before starting Ignite Dance Company. She is proud to be a part of the Austin dance community and loves teaching her students of all ages at Balance Dance Studios.

Haley- UGK Hip Hop Director, Hip Hop Genre Lead
Haley Sikes is a dancer, performer, choreographer, and teacher based out of the Austin area. She started dancing at the age of three, training in many different styles, with a focus on hip hop and contemporary. Haley has been teaching dance for the past five years, and her resume includes working for Prestige Dance Convention, choreographing for many Hip Hop crews all over Texas, and being a background dancer for local artists. She has a fresh new view that she uses to spark creativity among other young artists.

Andi - Communications Director, DNCE Adult Program Director

Hannah- Austin Youth Classical Ballet Artistic Director, Ballet Genre Lead
Hannah Woolridge, who recently relocated to Austin, TX, began dancing at the age of 3 in Corpus Christi, TX. She has gone on to earn a B.F.A. in Dance from Sam Houston State University, is certified in Mat and Reformer Pilates, as well as pursuing her Gryotonic® Certification. Hannah performed with the Corpus Christi Ballet from 2004-2013 starring in various roles such as; Clara, Dew Drop Fairy, Russian dancer, Mirliton, Pirouette Doll, and Harlequin Doll in Nutcracker, Cygnet in Swan Lake, and the Generosity Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. She attended several summer intensives including Ballet Austin studying under Stephen Mills, the School of American Ballet studying under Peter Martins and Kay Mazzo, and the Alonzo King Lines Ballet. While pursuing her degree at Sam Houston, Hannah had the opportunity to work with various international choreographers, including Gerard Theoret and Maurice Causey, as well as perform as a member of Nicolay Danceworks in A Wynne Home Nutcracker. After graduating from Sam Houston State University in 2016, Hannah spent three months in Rome, Italy dancing and performing with VivoBallet under the direction of Enzo Celli. Upon returning back to the states Hannah began dancing as a Resident Guest Artist with Corpus Christi Concert Ballet for the 2017-2018 season as well as teaching at the Ballet Academy of Corpus Christi. Hannah is ecstatic about joining the team at Balance Dance Studios and diving into the Austin dance scene.

Lisa- Jazz Genre Lead
Lisa Schreck has always had a lifetime love of learning and dance! This started for her in her hometown of Cedar Falls, IA and led her to Ball State University where she graduated with her BFA in Dance. During her time at Ball State, she had the opportunity to perform across multiple genres in shows such as; Swing! The Musical, A Chorus Line (Bebe u/s, Dance Captain), modern dance concerts, and collaboratively in student led grant projects. In 2017 she worked closely with Sidra Bell on the project i2i: impact to innovation, an immersive evening length concert. After graduating, Lisa moved to Indianapolis, IN where she performed in the annual IPL Yuletide Celebration, The Fringe Festival, and Flourish: A Modern Dance Showcase; a recurring concert at the White Rabbit Cabaret. In addition to performing, Lisa taught dance to students from ages 2 to adult. She is so excited to be in Austin and share her love of dance!

Fun facts about Tatiana are that she has 1 dog and 3 cats. She has a deep passion for coffee partnered with an immense knowledge base of everything from the growth of the plant to the brewing. Tatiana is actively involved in her community and truly has a servant heart. If you ever need anything at all or just want to chat, she’s your girl! Tatiana- Client Services Manager
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