Teachers

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!

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!

Caroline was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. She began her dance training at the age of 3 at The Dance and Gymnastics Academy of Tampa. She is trained in various styles such as, Classical Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, and Acro. She started coaching at age 16. A few years later she was the director for the gymnastics program at her home gym, along with teaching dance classes to students ranging from 2-18. Caroline then moved away to the North East of England for two years, to pursue other career options. Since she moved back, she was right back into dancing and teaching. Caroline is certified in Acrobatic Arts Level 1. She 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 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. 

Bio Coming Soon! 

Jasmine is a multi-creative practicing in dance, fire performing, and visual arts. She began her dance training at the age of 4, studying at Carolina Dance Center in Raleigh, NC. She began her training in Tap and Ballet, later continuing with, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, and Modern. She began choreographing dances at a young age as a part of her school’s Dance Ensemble. Jasmine has been working with children for a little over 9 years. She enjoys choreographing, performing, as well as incorporating her dance training into fire performing. Jasmine is thrilled to be a part of this team!

Bio Coming Soon! 

Bio Coming Soon! 

Bio Coming Soon!

Ms. McKinley started dancing at 3 years old, and quickly fell in love with it. She competed at Temecula
Dance Company for 10 years, where she trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Pointe,
Contemporary/Lyrical, and Musical Theatre technique. She then went on to the University of Alabama
where she studied Entertainment Production with a focus on live dance, theatre and music performance
and pedagogy. Upon graduation, she entered the MBA program at UA where she studied finance and
real estate. During her time at UA, McKinley designed and implemented a virtual dance program to help
increase the accessibility of arts education in nearby, underfunded schools. She was also a
choreographer and captain of the RipTide Hip Hop Dance Crew, a member of Dance Alabama, and a
performer with Tuscaloosa Community Dancers. Lastly, she danced with the Crimson Tide Ballroom
Dancers where she trained in various styles including Waltz, Rumba, Swing, Jive, Salsa, Bachata,
Merengue, Cha-Cha, and many more! In her free time, you can find McKinley painting, playing with her
bunny Millie, roller skating, or relaxing on the beach. She is super excited to teach and cannot wait to
see everyone in class!!

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.

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.

Bio Coming Soon!

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.