Teachers

Lisa Schmiedeke

Lisa started dancing as a child and through the years has developed an
appreciation for both the art of dance and joy for sharing her passion with others.
Her training began in Chicago and continued throughout other areas of the
country, until she settled here in Tampa. Lisa has a degree in Elementary
Education and dance from Iowa State University. Lisa continued her schooling
by receiving her masters in Special Education and research. In college Lisa
danced with her college dance team and choreographed a variety of dances.
After earning her Masters , Lisa began her business teaching dance in the local
preschools. She has presented at National Teaching Conventions on the benefits
of dance with young children and has won awards for a dance program she
developed. Lisa taught elementary education for 15 years prior to starting her
dance business and was nominated for teacher of the year by the Council of
Exceptional Education and had a model classroom in Hillsborough County. In
2003 Lisa opened up her business Ms. Lisa’s Dance. Lisa continues to attend
nationwide workshops sharing and learning the latest techniques. Her latest
workshops include Showstoppers, Classes at The Broadway Dance Center,
Dance Olympus, Rhee Gold Workshops and The Dance Teacher Summit in New
Your. Lisa has trained under several well known dancers and choreographers.
Lisa has her Acrobatic Arts Certificate for Module I and her Acrodance Preschool
certification. She has two music Cd’s Twirling TuTu’s and Twinkle Toe Tunes that
she published for dance teachers. Her CD’s are currently available on I-Tunes
and Spotify. Lisa has presented at the International Dance Entrepreneurs
Association for Teaching 2 year olds dance and is currently a member of this
association. Lisa has choreographed, managed and taught all ages from 12
months to adult over the past 20 years. She maintains and believes in the
expression and understanding of each individual dancer. Her love is for children
and her passion is to offer every young person a program that will allow them to
flourish and excel at dancing.

Alysha Blair

Alysha grew up in Pasco County and attended a fine arts Elementary and Middle School. She started dancing in various dance studios at a young age, learning ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and contemporary. For the past four years she was a child care provider at a local elementary school. Where she worked with kids ages 5-13, planning and leading various activities including arts & crafts, music & movement, and homework time. Currently, Alysha attends Trinity College of Florida and plans to graduate in May 2017 with a double major in Business Management and Biblical Studies. Alysha is very excited to be a part of Ms. Lisa’s Dance and looks forward to this new and exciting experience!

Amanda Goodell

Ms. Amanda began dancing age 5, in Keystone Heights, Fl. She grew up studing Ballet, Tap, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Modern, Jazz, Lyrical, Musical Theater, acting, modeling, & Cheer dance. She started her dance career at age 17 by becaming an assistant dance teacher and has been teaching for 20yrs! Ms. Amanda is trained in classical ballet, exploring various forms of training including Vaganova, Balanchine, and neo-classical ballet. Her training continued under the direction of Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, and Violette Verdy of the Paris City Opera Ballet and at the Chautauqua Institute Ballet, NY. In addition to ballet she has trained in acting & modeling under the direction of Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster) and Mary Ann Lamb. Her many Performance experiences include dancing with the Tampa Ballet Theater, Brandon Ballet Company, and Divisional Creative Arts” Salvation Army. Performing roles in the Nutcracker ballet (roles played; Sugar Plum, Ballerina Doll, Party Scene, Snowflakes, Snow Queen, Flowers, Coffee, Tea, Chocolate) and she performed as Odette in Swan Lake. Ms. Amanda attended Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA studing Pre-Law and Fine-Arts with a Special study of the Anatomy of Movement as it relates to Classical Ballet. She was the previous Owner/Director of Jete’ Elite Dance Studio and currently is the Dance Arts Director at the Salvation Army Citadel in Clearwater, Fl and is the Pastoral Care Minister/Mentor at the Salvation Army Social Services and Adult Rehabilitation Center. Ms. Amanda is excited to be apart of the Ms. Lisa’s Dance team and can not wait to share her passion with her students!

Anthony Nicolo

Bio Coming Soon!

Ashley Greenfield

Ashley has been dancing for over 25 years and teaching for 15 years. She began her training in Lexington, Kentucky with Mindy Taylor Jackson and went on to perform with the Kentucky Ballet Theatre, the Lexington School for the Creative and Performing Arts, and attended workshops and intensives with the Lexington Ballet. She moved to Tampa to attend the University of South Florida with a dance scholarship. She graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Dance Studies with a focus in theater production and stage lighting design. Ashley has performed in and choreographed for various ballet and theater productions including: Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker”, Fokine’s “Les Sylphides”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”, “Oklahoma”, and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. With her extensive training and teaching experience she serves as our resident ballet teacher.

Caroline Stewart

Caroline was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. She began her dance training at the age of 3, along with competitive gymnastics. She trained in various styles such as, ballet, jazz, tap, and lyrical. She started coaching at 16. A few years later she was the director for the gymnastics program at her home gym, along with teaching ballet and tap classes to students of all ages. Caroline moved away to the North East of England for two years, to pursue other career options. Since she moved back, she got right back into coaching! She taught gymnastics, and various dance classes as well. Caroline is excited to be a part of Ms. Lisa’s team and hopes to spread her love for dance and acro along to the students!

Emily Landry

Emily is a dancer, creator, and performer; she grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and began her dance training at Northern Dance Academy. At a young age she studied ballet, Jazz, and Lyrical, moving into styles such as Hip Hop and Contemporary. While training she had the pleaser of dancing competitively throughout the Midwest. Emily went on to get her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance: Performance and Choreography from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. At the university level she studied post-modern techniques, Ballet, Jazz, African, and Alexander Technique, as well as performing in several faculty and student pieces. Emily began dancing professionally for SueMo: A Dance Experience, a contemporary company in Milwaukee, WI. This allowed her to grow as a performer, dancing in many festivals and shows throughout the country such as Dance Canvas, Atlanta, GA and RADfest, Kalamazoo, MI, just to name a few. Soon she became the Company Director/Choreographer of SueMo II, a trainee program for younger students interested in dancing professionally. Along with that, she taught at Lake Shore Dance Academy, starting out as a recreational teacher and soon moving into the competition choreographer role. Emily has also had the pleasure of teaching and choreographing internationally while she traveled southeast Asia. Primarily in Vietnam she worked closely with a ballroom company La Danza, teaching them about contemporary dance and collaborating with them. She choreographed two pieces for the company that were performed around the world in South Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand. She Continues to work with Lake Shore Dance Academy, setting choreography on their pre-professional company, along with other studios in the Midwest. Emily takes pride in pushing her students to be the best, and creating a positive and hardworking environment for them to grow as dancers.

Emma Ebert

Bio Coming Soon!

Jessie Castillo

Mr. Jessie recently completed his Bachelors in Biological Sciences from Florida Atlantic University. During his undergraduate and postgraduate time, he gained a solid foundation in tumbling, dance and tricking techniques and within the past two years, gymnastics techniques within developing athletes. Through his collegiate experience he was a part of both the FAU D1A cheerleading and dance teams and has 8 years of dance, cheer, acro and tumbling coaching experience. Currently he is professional cheerleader with a local NFL team!

Makayla Philp

Ms. Makayla was born and raised in Pinellas County Florida, spending most of her time in both the Tarpon Springs and St. Petersburg areas. Her love for dance started at a young age with dance and cheerleading and only deepened over the past 8+ years where she had the privilege to be involved in various performing arts groups ranging from dance conservatorys to nationally recognized programs such as Winter Guard International and Drum Corps International. Ms. Makayla graduated high school from Tarpon Springs Leadership Conservatory for the Arts magnet program and then continued her passion within the Arts to obtain a license in cosmetology in Kansas City. Her areas of study include ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and Color Guard. She has many years of competition experience, competing at some of the most notorious performance venues across the nation. Her appreciation and passion for creative expression has been the catalyst for her love of inspiring the next generation of performers. As she heads into her 4th year teaching, she is extremely excited to share her passion and educate the youth in a fun, inspiring environment.

Madison Vandeborne

Madison, also known as Madi, grew up in a Gallipolis, Ohio. She has been dancing since a young age and has studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern and pointe. She has taught and assisted at a studio in Ohio and has ran her own after school dance program at Hannan Trace Elementary. She has recently moved to Tampa and is majoring in Applied Dance at the University of Tampa as well as minoring in Theatre. Her dream was to get out of her small town so that she may turn her dancing into a career. Madison has a deep passion for dance and hopes to share that with her students. She is very happy to have the opportunity to continue to work with children at Ms. Lisa’s.

Mckenzie Schmiedeke

Bio Coming Soon!

Michaela Karpinski

Michaela Karpinski is a trained dancer emphasizing in jazz, contemporary, ballet, lyrical, musical theater, and modern. She began her performing career at the age of 11 in The American Girl’s revue in Chicago Illinois. She trained at multiple studios in Chicago while maintaining a performance career, and transitioned into competition dance. After attending The University of Tampa, she expanded her horizons and began teaching dance to diverse populations, and giving back to the community via spreading her love of dance with others. Michaela currently performs professionally in the Tampa Bay Area and she is a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders. She is so excited to be part of Ms. Lisa’s Dance family and hopes to spread her passion and art form along to her students.

Morgan Wohkittel

Ms. Morgan grew up dancing in Binghamton, NY and is professionally trained in Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Ballet, Pom, and Acrobatics. Morgan was trained under the direction of Jenna Stickel at The Next Jennaration Dance Company where she also began her teaching and coaching career. After moving to Tampa in 2016, she began dancing professionally and working towards a degree in Public Relations and Applied Dance. During her collegiate career, Morgan was elected the Senior Captain of the University of Tampa dance team and led the team to NDA finals in Daytona Beach, FL. She has also coached for Ithaca Youth Cheer and has worked for Varsity Spirit in Louisville, KY, the leading force in competitive cheerleading and dance. Currently, Morgan is a member of the National Dance Alliance Staff, where she travels across the country to coach all-star high school and collegiate teams. She is also the Assistant Coach of the current D2 Jazz National Champions, the University of Tampa Spartan Scarlets. Morgan is currently choreographing nationwide for various dancers and studios in NY, KY, and FL. She is excited to continue her career with Ms. Lisa’s Dance hopes to share her passion of dance with her students and to inspire them to reach their full potential.

Nicolette French

Nicolette was born and raised in Tampa, FL. Her training began at the age of two years old in gymnastics. At the age of four, Nicolette joined the competitive gymnastics team. Her passion for the floor routines in gymnastics, lead her to pursue dance at the age of five years old. Her extensive dance training includes Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-hop, and Acrobatics. She was asked to join the competitive dance team at the age of seven years old. Within the year, she joined the cheerleading team as well. Nicolette’s many years of competition has taken her across the United States. Throughout her entire school years Nicolette has evolved into a leadership position as captain of her dance team for multiple years. As part of her responsibilities, Nicolette helped choreograph and teach routines. She graduated from Chamberlain High School where she was a Varsity Cheerleader throughout her high school years. She is currently enrolled in Hillsborough Community College where she continues to pursue her education. She is the proud mother of her daughter, Eliana, who has a passion for dance just like her mommy! As a dance instructor at Ms.Lisa’s, Nicolette’s goal is to educate her students on the fine art of dance in a fun and patient environment.

Savannah Porch

Savannah Porch just recently graduated from The University of Tampa with a major in Applied Dance (Dance Education) and a minor in Dance Theatre. Savannah has been dancing since the age of two and has never stopped! In addition to this, she has been teaching for the past five years. Savannah is formally trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, improvisation, musical theatre, creative movement and West African. She has performed in every dance showcase at the University of Tampa and was part of the hip-hop team: DIME (Dance Is My Existence). Savannah was a student choreographer for UT’s Dance Happenings and choreographed two pieces of her own. Since moving to Tampa, Savannah has discovered her passion for working with special populations. She has choreographed and performed with students with physical and intellectual disabilities from Pyramid, Inc. In fact, she will be choreographing and performing a duet with a man in a wheelchair from Pyramid in their summer show in July. She has also volunteered as a teacher at the Macdonald Training Center, Gracepoint Wellness, and various elderly organizations. In addition to dancing, Savannah loves to act and sing! In the past, she was a seasonal performer for Universal Studios in Orlando and has been best friends with Ariel from under the sea at children’s birthday parties. Savannah is extremely excited to share her passion and she truly cherishes the time she spends with her students.

Seana Ovalle

Bio Coming Soon!

Yazmine Degia

Yazzie grew up on Long Island, NY and started dance at the age of 3 with ballet and tap, which ignited a passion for the art and the start of her career as a competitive dancer by the age of 6. Her dance and movement repertoire further extended to jazz, hip hop, acro, contemporary, lyrical, and kickline. She spent many years perfecting as a forever student, assistant, and principal teacher, as well as the captain of various middle and high school kickline teams. For 4 years, she was a member of KRIMP Dance company in NY and spent numerous summers taking intensive classes at the Broadway Dance Center in Manhattan NY.

As a three year USF SunDoll vet, the premier dance team for the University of South Florida, Yazzie continued to expand her horizons and expertise in Pom and Sideline dance, performing at football games at the Raymond James Stadium and at the men’s and women’s basketball games at the Yuengling Center, as well as supporting numerous charity events and campus appearances.

Yazzie has recently received her bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with a minor in Nutrition from the University of South Florida.

As a teacher, Yazzie dedicates her time to fostering her love of dance and movement to children of all ages, levels and abilities, from tots to young adults, instructing and choreographing for beginner to advanced recreational and special needs classes, and competition teams. She believes that it is through dance we are able to express ourselves freely and unconditionally, which she looks forward to sharing her passion.

Yazzie is excited to be the newest member of Ms. Lisas Dance.