Tkea LeGrande

Owner/Artistic Director

T'Kea is a Philadelphia PA native.  Starting as a student in a local studio and studied with the original philadanco school, T'Kea always new she was meant to be on stage.  While in high school she trained at Touch of Class in west Chester PA under the Expertise of Mrs. Debbie Apalucci and The 76ers Dance Team.  After High School she relocated to Orlando FL where she received her degree in performing arts from Valencia Community College.  At Valencia she studied and performed many forms of dance under the teachings of popular dance companies such as Limon and Ailey II.  As a member of Valencia Dance program.  T'Kea promoted the program on TV commercials, radio, and billboards all over central Florida.

     During her Time in Florida T'Kea has performed and Choreographed for the popular girl band, Cassiopeia.  After college T'Kea relocated to her home town where she accepted a position as the artistic director of the dance program at the Crozer Keystone Healthplex.  There she taught Ballet, Hip-Hop, Caribbean cardio, and Modern dance to all ages.  During her time in Philadelphia she also trained and took classes with the Modern dance Company, Koresh.  After a few years she met her husband and moved to Orlando to start a family and open her own Dance Studio, AVALON DANCE.

 

Julie Sandifer

Dance Instructor

Julie Sandifer was born in raised in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (parents were expats and employees of Saudi Aramco oil company).  There she started dance at the age of 5 and has since kept dance a part of her life.  Julie received her dance training from owner and director of Ms Kay’s Dance Studio, Kay Siebold for 10 years in Dhahran. She also received her classical ballet training from Sandra Abdul Rahman for 5 years.

Julie moved to the United States at the age of 15 where her parents resided in Daytona Beach, Fla. She continued to dance at local dance studios throughout high school and college. She continued her dance training with Kevin Veiga, artistic director of Dancescapes Modern Dance Company at Daytona State College for over 4 years.  And continued her classical ballet training with European School of Performing Arts for over 4 years.

Julie has been dancing for over 22 years and has taught dance for over 5 years. Throughout her dance training Julie taught ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and modern at several studios and began teaching and choreographing competitive dance routines for several studios and for the Seabreeze Sunsations from Seabreeze High School.

She recently was trained for PiYo, an athletic blend of pilates, yoga and so much more.

Julie LOVES teaching dance and dancing is her life. She loves to see her dancers grow and is honored to be a part of dancer’s life.

 

Jessica Borowicz

Dance Instructor

Jessica Borowicz grew up in South Florida and started dancing at the age of 3.  She has been dancing for over 15 years, and competing in dance competitions all over Florida since the age of 7.  She attended Simply Dance in Port St. Lucie, Florida where she received training in almost every style of dance including tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, Latin-jazz, Broadway/character, and was also  extensively trained in the Cecchetti method of ballet.
 
Throughout high school, she not only taught and danced with the competition team at Simply Dance, but also participated in the high school dance team, Drumline, and Symphonic band.   After high school, Jessica went to Florida State University where she studied music.  Currently, she is attending University of Central Florida in pursuit of her Masters degree in Elementary Education with minors in both music and dance.  Her biggest passion is educating students and she is incredibly enthused to be teaching one of her other passions, dance, to young children.  She hopes to inspire all of the children she teaches to be creative and passionate about what they do.  Also, she works hard to ensure that all of her students feel happiness while dancing and also improve social skills and self-confidence.  She absolutely adores all of the students she works with as well as the wonderful teachers she works alongside.

Vanessa Dominguez

Dance Instructor

My parents realized I was a born dancer when I would not stop dancing in front of the mirror at the age of three. They enrolled me in dance classes that were held in my preschool but my potential didn’t really unveil itself until I moved to Pembroke Pines, FL.  It was at Dance Works that I realized my passion for performing at a young age of six. I really loved being a part of a team and being able to perform in front of anyone who would watch. At 11-years-old the studio’s competition teacher realized that I had real potential to do well on the team. The following year I was accepted into the Dance Works Company. From there I have competed in several dance competitions across South Florida and performed in recitals every year. In 2003, I was awarded the Dance Works Studio’s Bill Cassidy Scholarship for my improvement and dedication to dance. During high school I was also part of the Everglades High School Gator Dance Sensations and competed and performed in various events.  I continued my passion for dancing on the Level Dance Company at The Florida State University.  I have had 15 years dancing and teaching experience with all age groups. Being involved in dance has taught me many values and gave me confidence to achieve any goal that I put my mind to. I have also made some of the best, long-lasting friendships through dance. Currently I am a senior at the University of Central Florida acquiring my Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology. I am a Research Assistant at the UCF Marriage and Family Research Institute developing an assessment that measures adjustment in families with children who have special needs. Although my career choice is not in dance, I still continue to get out there and perform and be a part of the art wherever I can. I hope to provide the students at Avalon Dance Studio the ability to acquire the same life-skills I developed in dance, while also having a ton of fun!

 

Billie Zell-Breier

Belly Dance Instructor

I have studied dance all my life, focusing on jazz, and modern, and have taken classes in ballet, tap, flamenco, and belly dance.

While living in Sullivan County, N.Y.   I performed with Nioami Frumez dance company and taught aerobics at the Looking Good Health Spa in Ellenville, N.Y.  I later ran the exercise program and taught yoga at The New Age Health Spa.  After moving to Hallandale Florida I taught Jazz and Modern Dance at the YMCA in Hollywood , an aerobic class at the Nautilus gym in Miramar and for a short time at the Jack LaLane health spa in North Miami Beach, (later taken over by Ballys).  While living in South Florida I performed at the Dade County Auditorium.  I was among several dancers hired to perform several modern jazz pieces as the opening act for the visiting Ballet De Puerto Rico. 

I stopped dancing when I became pregnant with my son and for several years after he was born.  Since then I have focused on belly dance.  It is a very empowering dance for women and very healthy for the spine. I have taken many work-shops with all the top belly dancers in the country such as Suhaila Salampour, Jill Parker, John Compton, Susanna Delvecio, Morocco, Kajera, Margo Abdo ODell, Nadia Hamdi, Fat Chance Belly Dance, Jasmin Jahal and habibi to name a few.  Since coming to Orlando I  first taught a class at the Bay Hill Ballys, the Orlando Ballet School, and Central Florida Ballet Academy.  Besides my classes at the Y, I am teaching a several studios in the southwest.  I have been developing my own style using tribal, gypsy, and modern set to techno beats.  I have produced shows featuring the best local dancers and musicians.  I have performed at Sea World, The Cherry Street Theater, conventions, theme parks, restaurants and several haflas (belly dance shows) in Florida.