Allison (Allie) Truax is a native Houstonian and received her training from Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy, Ballet Austin and Houston Metropolitan Dance Centre. She attended the University of Oklahoma on scholarship and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet Pedagogy. She was also an exchange student at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, England. After graduation, she taught for many dance studios in Houston and danced for Sandra Organ Dance Company, Dancepatheater, Dance Houston, and Red Door Productions. Allie then moved to Los Angeles in order to further her dance career and expand her vision in LA’s vibrant dance community. Since arriving in LA, Allie has taught for Javyee Dance Center, Ohana Dance and California Dance Theatre, to name a few. She was recently a guest choreographer for Kenneth Walker Dance Project, a company she danced with for 5 seasons. “Miss Allie” absolutely loves teaching the immensely talented young dancers of Academy of Dance and being the mom of an incredible 2 year old named Cooper!

Jacqueline Barone was born and raised in San Diego, and has been pursuing art her whole life. She attended Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) for high school, majoring in both Musical Theater and Acting. She trained at Evoke Dance Movement from eleven years old until she graduated high school. Her dance career includes dancing for artists such as Lady Gaga, Camila Cabello, Karol G, and J Balvin, just to name a few. She has danced at the 61st Grammy Awards, in commercials for companies such as NFL and Skechers, multiple music videos, tv shows on CBS and Nickelodeon, and Saturday Night Live. In this chapter of Jacqueline's life, she currently trains with her acting coach, Don Bloomfield, at DBA studios in North Hollywood. She has been working in commercials and with different production companies as an actress. Jacqueline spent a few weeks of her summer 2022 training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), in London doing contemporary drama. She has so much gratitude for her parents, and all they've sacrificed for her artistic education. She feels so blessed to share her gifts while teaching her students.

Stephanie Gevone Heckert, an Iowa native, is a mover, educator, and choreographer whose work aims to empower and connect artists through dance and motion. She has studied and performed for more than 22 years and has taught dance across the country, as well as in Germany, Holland, Poland, Sweden, and China. Stephanie is entering her eighth season dancing with MashUp Contemporary Dance Company and is a member of its inaugural Creative Council, a four-women artistic leadership team that curates programming dedicated to uplifting female-identifying artists. She has choreographed works for Esteé Lauder and La Mer Cosmetics, TARFEST, Rock It 2 The Core Festival, Nera, MashUp’s International Women’s Day, and Club Jeté. In the Fall of 2022, Stephanie’s current work will be featured at BULLDOZER LA, an arts festival for social change. A passionate educator, she has been a guest teacher for Mount San Antonio College, The Young Americans College of the Performing Arts, Encore Performing Arts High School, and LA Dance Festival. Stephanie’s performance credits include: BEGINNERS, The CW Network’s “I Ship It”, ZEDD, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and LA Fashion Week. She is currently on faculty at GENESIS STUDIOS, Liv’art Dance Studio, The Project, and Academy of Dance Westlake Village. Stephanie takes pride in her vision, uniqueness, and tenacity which she believes all people have and has made it a goal to encourage others to discover their own.

Kayla Lynn was born and raised in Minnesota, where her mom owned a dance studio. This is where she discovered her true passion for loving the art of dance. She was a competition dancer who learned the value of versatility at a young age. Since the age of 14, Kayla developed her artistry at Performing Arts Schools as a dance major. Kayla’s well-rounded performing arts training has given her experiences dancing on stage, camera, and acting in commercials, movies, and short films. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, BFA in Dance Theater at AMDA College of the Performing Arts.

Born on Long Island, NY, Maddy began her training both as a competitive dancer and ballerina. She grew up performing annually in the Nutcracker for American Dance Theater of Long Island, in roles such as Clara, The Snow Queen, and the Dew Drop Fairy. She also studied at the Rock School of Ballet in Philadelphia and Eglevsky School of Ballet in NY. She later became an original member of Theresa Stone’s company, AbstraKT Beings, in which she performed original works at America’s Got Talent, NYC’s Carnival, Sybarite Productions, and Run the Night. She trained as a Pulse on Tour Protégé, learning from Brian Friedman, Tricia Miranda, Tessandra Chavez, Brooke Lipton and others. She continued her training at Broadway Dance Center with Luam Keflezky, Dana Foglia, Brian and Scott Nicholson, and Rhapsody James. Maddy danced for singer Domo in NYC, both in her music videos and live concert. After moving to LA, Maddy joined MashUp Contemporary for their 2014 season. She went on to work with NappyTabs, Nika Kljun, Matt Cady, and the Pussycat Doll’s Carmit Bachar. Maddy’s own choreography was featured at LA’s Club Jeté in 2018. That same year, she joined the faculty at Move Dance Academy in Ontario, CA, where she helped build the ballet program and competition team. She joined the faculty of Midwest-based Symposium Talent in 2019, where she taught and choreographed for convention and judged competition. Since joining Academy of Dance Westlake in 2023, her commitment to training and mentoring the next generation of dancers has only deepened. As a ballet and technical teacher, Maddy prides herself in providing a safe and nurturing environment where every student is seen and encouraged to be the strongest version of themselves. Her philosophy is that the focus should be on finding true connection between the body and mind; every dancer is guided to work intelligently and methodically in order to maintain proper placement and prevent injury - key to developing the necessary vocabulary to be a truly versatile dancer. She strives to build confidence in every student at ADWV to execute any style they choose, and looks forward to many years to come in getting to be a part of their dance journeys. Maddy currently resides in North Hollywood and trains extensively in ballet technique with Ido Tadmor. She also teaches private piano lessons in The Valley.

Emmy Frevele has brought dance and acrobatics into the lives of people of all ages for more than a decade. Her training began at just 2 years old at Dance Connection Performing Arts Centre in Concord, CA and continues at professional studios in Los Angeles today. Emmy has performed with Paula Abdul, Green Day, Cher Lloyd, Bella Thorne, and many others. Her choreography is featured on seasons 1 & 2 of “I Ship It,” a musical-comedy series on The CW. Having been trained in tumbling via competitive cheerleading, under Morton Burgue (CheerGyms.com), Emmy combines the power from cheerleading with the grace of dance in her acrobatics classes. She's a very well-rounded and versatile dancer and instructor, teaching a variety of styles. Her students are comfortable, confident, and consistently challenged in a fun and positive environment. Emmy’s teaching style cultivates confidence, derived from the idea that working hard pays off, and the outcome is well worth the effort.

David began his dance career in high school, where he trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical,contemporary, and hip-hop. He instantly found a natural ability in movement and technique, and his love and passion for dance immensely grew. David holds his Associate’s degree in Fine Arts and Associate’s degree in Business Administration. David received the Merit Award for Contemporary Dance in the Spring of 2014. He is currently working towards his Bachelors in Marketing at California State University Northridge. David is currently teaching master classes and choreographing for dance studios throughout the U.S. His pieces have won several choreography awards as well as national titles. David is a prestigious EDGE Performing Arts Center scholarship recipient. He has been performing and teaching for 10+ years. He has had the privilege to perform all around the U.S. and Japan. Select credits include Aladdin and Frozen with Disney Cruise Line, Cirque Dream Holidaze National Tour, Broadway Christmas Wonderland at the Tokyo Theatre Orb, Step One Dance Company with Holland America Lines, and Festival of The Lion King at Walt Disney World. David enjoys working with dancers of all ages and sharing his love and knowledge of dance. He is beyond thrilled to be joining the Academy of Dance Westlake Village family.

Lily Maron, originally from Los Angeles, California, discovered her passion and dedication to the art of movement at a very young age.
She began her training at Academy Of Dance at the age of 7 where she developed a strong technical foundation in hip hop, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, and tap.
Though she grew up immersed in musical theater, Lily soon discovered that dance was her true passion and began pursuing it at a competitive level by age twelve.
Alongside performing, Lily discovered an early love for choreography—creating original works for her middle school production of Annie and later for her high school’s Mean Girls.
Lily has continued to expand her craft through diverse training experiences, including two summers at SOCAPA in New York City and five years assisting renowned choreographer Jess Warfield, where she developed a deeper appreciation for artistry, teaching, and performance.
Lily has received numerous accolades, including running for Hollywood Vibe’s Dancer of the Year twice and earning the title of ADE Improv Winner in both 2022 and 2023.
Currently, Lily is a proud member of Matthew Fata’s “He(art) Company”, while she tours as a Pro Assistant with both Hollywood Vibe and Hollywood Dance Jamz. Lily continues to pursue every opportunity to grow as both a performer and artist, driven by her continuous love and ever growing passion for dance.

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Indie Weaver is a Chicago native who began dancing at age eight through an outreach program that launched her into classical training at Hyde Park School of Dance and later the Chicago High School for the Arts. Her journey led to AMDA Los Angeles, where she earned a BFA in Dance Theatre and expanded into hip hop, commercial work, and creative disciplines like photography and fitness. Today, Indie bring a versatile, authentic, and emotionally driven movement style shaped by training under renowned choreographers, internships, and collective programs, continuing to grow as both an artist and performer.

Abby Montalvo was born and raised in Westlake Village, California, where she first discovered her love for dance. As a young child, she trained in tap for about six years at Ballet Arts before continuing her dance journey at Academy of Dance Westlake Village. She is trained in styles such as jazz, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, tap, and musical theater, and spent six years as a member of the studio’s company. Abby spent many years assisting classes and rehearsals, working closely with Jess and Meg Warfield as well as several other teachers throughout the studio. Through these experiences, she discovered how much she enjoys working with younger dancers and seeing them grow. Having spent most of her life at ADWV, Abby considers it a place that shaped who she is both as a dancer and as a person. She is currently a communications major at Moorpark College and plans to transfer to earn her bachelor’s degree. Abby is excited to return as part of the faculty and share everything she’s learned over the years.

Betsy began teaching in the Conejo Valley in 1984, choosing to settle in the area and start a family with her husband Chuck. Her goal was to bring top quality Tap Dance into the community and help to keep this one time dying art form alive and well. Tap has thrived in this community since she began this goal. Her professional dance training of ballet, jazz, musical theatre, as well as Swing and Jitterbug, have all been incorporated into her Tap style, and she offers much more than just tap steps or technique. She is innovative and loves all styles of music that have rhythm and energy. Her love of music and dance keep her inspiring dancers for all these years. Always continuing her studies, she has worked with the greatest of Tap masters past and present, including Danny Daniels, Paul De Rolf, Linda Sohl-Ellison, Jim Taylor, Mark Mendonca, Fayard Nicholas, Sam Weber, Steve Zee and so many others. Betsy teaches the basics with practical step by step approach and rapidly moves dancers to progress faster than they ever thought possible. Betsy is truly grateful to continue teaching, choreographing and inspiring all ages and share her love of dance.

Gianna is a dancer and choreographer who grew up in Libertyville, Illinois. She initially trained in classical styles, including Ballet, Jazz, and Modern. She competed in the Chicago area and performed in the Nutcracker, as well as in multiple yearly performances. Gianna moved to Southern California in 2017 and began training in Contemporary, Hip-Hop, and Jazz Funk. She trained and competed with the Academy of Dance in Westlake Village until she graduated from High School in 2021. Gianna then attended the American Music and Dramatic Academy for college, where she broadened her training and dance knowledge. Now, she teaches and is a part of Lume Dance Collective, founded by Monika Felice Smith and MaryAnn Chavez.