Ciara Dance Studio
Instructors
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Cindy McGee, Artistic Director
Owner and Director of Ciara Dance Studio
Cindy trained at the prestigious Ruth Page School of Dance and the Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago. She is a former member of the highly acclaimed Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and her professional career has taken her far, from the Broadway stage in the Tony award-winning musical The Wiz to the dance movie Fast Forward. She prides herself on the professionalism, knowledge, and dedication evident in her teaching staff and studio atmosphere. Miss Cindy brings a wealth of knowledge and teaching experience to the classroom. With over 29 years teaching experience she possesses a remarkable gift for teaching and inspiring students.
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Leah Bass-Baylis
Leah is entering her 11th year at Ciara. She has enjoyed a career as a dancer, singer, actress and choreographer, completing national and international tours of numerous well-known musicals. She is presently the Principal for Champs Performing Arts High School.
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Carina DiFiore
Carina is entering her 7th year at Ciara. She began her training in Raleigh, N.C. She attended East Carolina University where she received a B.F.A. in Dance Performance. She was a lead dancer for Paramount’s touring show, and she is a member of the Mark Goodman Tap Company. Carina infuses tap with a style all her own.
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Ashley Hoffman
Ashley is returning for her 2nd year at Ciara. She is a native of Chicago where she trained at the Lou Conte Dance Studio and the Ruth Page School of Dance. She also studied at the University of Indianna with Violette Verde. She worked as a freelance dancer abroad in Zurich, Switzerland. She brings years of training and experience to her students.
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Becky King Kiefer
Becky is returning for her 2nd year at Ciara. She has danced professionally the past decade including performing as a Radio City Rockette in New York City for 5 seasons. She traveled the world as a member of the USO tour. She was principal dancer with The Synthesis Dance Project and The Mantis Project. She has participated in professional workshops with Pilobolus and “Carnivale” directed by Graciela Daniele. She is currently a member of the Mark Goodman Tap Company.
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Louise Mandel
Louise is joining our staff this year. She studied and performed with American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. She began teaching ballet in 1982 and over the past two decades has taught master classes and dance workshops at dance schools and universities throughout the country. For six years Louise was a professor at California State University Northridge in their Kinesiology department. She also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Deaf Studies and was the first qualified instructor in Southern California to design and offer ballet classes specifically for deaf children in the area. Louise Mandel's unwavering commitment to excellence can be seen in the impressive technique of her students. Her expertise in training classical ballet dancers is admired by dance educators across the nation. Louise's remarkable teaching skills enable her to motivate and inspire dancers. Hundreds of her students have been accepted and awarded merit scholarships, trainee, apprenticeship and paid positions to the following prestigious ballet schools, workshops and ballet companies throughout the country.
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Cara McGee
Cara is a proud alumna of Ciara Dance Studio, where she studied ballet, jazz, modern, pointe, lyrical, and tap for 14 years. After moving to New York, she trained at Alvin Ailey school of dance, where she was awarded the prestigious Oprah Winfrey Fellowship three times in a row. Miss Cara has a BA from Columbia University and has studied and performed with the nations foremost dance instructors and choreographers including Donald McKayle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, Dance Theater of Harlem, and Beyonce Knowles. She is excited to join Ciara’s teaching staff for her third year.
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Monica Pelfrey
Monica is joining our staff this year. She began training in classical ballet at the age of three at Pacific Ballet Academy under the direction of Marion and Rima Chaeff, Maria Vegh, Larry Pech, and Noemi Nargizian. After moving to San Diego, she trained with the San Diego Ballet; the San Diego Academy of Ballet under former Bolshoi Ballet Principal, Maxim Tchernychev; as well as San Elijo Dance Academy under the direction of former PNB principal dancers Ben and Lauri-Michelle Houk. At the age of fourteen, she attended the School of American Ballet summer course with full scholarship, and returned again to dance in the 2005 SAB summer course. In 2008, she was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Ballet Austin summer intensive. She toured with Angel Corella Ballet company throughout Spain and the Canary Islands working with Angel Corella, Natalia Makarova, and the Royal Ballet mistress, Olga Evreinoff. She is currently a company member with the Los Angeles Ballet.
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Andre Perez
Andre is joining the staff at Ciara with great enthusiasm and a wonderful energy. While this is his first year at Ciara, he was also with us during our Summer Camp in conjunction with Triple Talent. He has studied at The Edge with Debbie Allen, and trained with original lockmaster, Richie Rich, as well as “Poppin' Pete.” Andre has also toured and worked with artists such as Christina Milian and Missy Elliot, amongst others. He has also choreographed pieces for Hip-Hop International, Team Kids, and summer dance camps and shows.
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Tania Possick
Tania is returning this year after a wonderful season last year. She has danced for many years as well as choreographed several musical theatre works, such as Beauty and the Beast and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. She has performed in shows such as Caberet, Chicago, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. She is currently a member of Belly Twins and MTLA performing companies. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and a passionate and inspiring teacher.
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Ferly Prado
Ferly is joining our staff this year. She was born is Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she began dancing at the age of 3 at her mother's academy, Academia de Musica e Ballet Elza Prado. She then attended the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C., under the direction of Oleg Vinogradov. In 2000 she moved to Orlando, FL, where she joined the Southern Ballet Theatre school under the direction of Fernando Bujones. Here she had the opportunity of performing with the SBT Company and with Mr. Bujones. At 18 Ferly began performing as a professional dancer. With extensive performance credits including: World Tour with Tina Turner 2008-2009, “Latin Explosion” with Latin artist CHARO, US Tour as back-up singer/dancer for JoJo Lead Dancer in Martha Coolidge's “Zorro” Miss Prado brings our students a rich dance background and extensive experience.
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Tracy Rogers
Tracy is a veteran Ciara staff member entering her 13th year. She has trained in several styles of jazz and ballet. Miss Tracy brings creativity and fun to her classroom with over 19 years teaching experience. She has choreographed many commercials and college productions. Her classes are fun and challenging.
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Gabrielle Stone
Gabrielle is returning for another year at Ciara, she is an alumni of Ciara Studio having trained for 18 years in Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, and Lyrical . She is a gifted dancer with great choreographic vision. She has taught the past 5 years and has choreographed for many teams and companies. She is currently persuing an acting career, and has completed two lead roles in independent films. She is also currently attending Cal State Northridge working on her undergraduate degree. Her classes are passionate and challenging.
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Matt Tayao
Matt is returning for his second year at Ciara. He is originally from the Bay Area, where he began his dance career. Throughout his training he's learned several styles such as Street / Old School Hip Hop, Popping, Commercial Hip Hop and more. He has gone on to develop his own unique, energetic style.
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Kim Lewis
Kim is currently attending California State University Northridge, where she is working on a Bachelor's Degree in Finance with a Minor in Information Systems. This is Kim's 2nd year working behind the desk at Ciara. She's here to provide you with the best information about the studio and ready to answer any questions you may have.
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Alexa Valadez
Alexa recently graduated from Pepperdine University with a Bachelor's in English. She balanced academics with extracurricular activities that kept her happy, like volunteering abroad in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Born and raised in Southern California, she's always had a sunny disposition and positive outlook on life.