EmmaLee earned her bachelor's degree in dance from Brigham Young University, where she was on the Cougarette dance team.  As a Cougarette, she performed at BYU football and basketball half times, Utah Jazz half times, and throughout China on a 6-week performing tour. She was the talent and title winner of Gilbert Jr. Miss in high school  and performed in Australia on the Dance Down Under tour following graduation. She danced the parts of Mary Magdalene and one of the ten virgins in the Mesa Easter Pageant and danced in an episode of  "Touched by an Angel".  She has done choreography for plays, dance studio recitals and competitions, Gilbert Jr. Miss, and the Mesa Easter Pageant. For the last 20 years, she has enjoyed sharing her love of dance through teaching.

Amy has been dancing and tumbling for as long as she can remember. In junior high she was a member of the school's cheer team and continued through her senior year of high school. In college she was a member of the dance company where she choreographed several performances. She has been teaching for 15 years and is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique. Her three boys keep her entertained and on her toes! 

Natalli began taking dance classes at the age of three. In middle and high school she danced and choreographed for dance team half time performances and school productions. She was classically trained in ballet under former principle dancer for Ballet Arizona, Yen-Li Chen, and continues to take ballet classes whenever she can! She graduated from Brigham Young University where she took ballet, pointe, and contemporary dance courses. Natalli is a Progressing Ballet Technique Certified Instructor. She has 10 years of teaching experience and loves watching her students gain new skills and confidence. Her most valuable training comes from being a stay-at-home mom to five little ones!

 Ashleigh Bayard is an American Ballet Theatre (ABT®) Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Ashleigh grew up in California and trained with the finest the Central Coast of California had to offer. Her training began at Pat Jackson’s American Dance where she was taught classical ballet technique by Cheryl Armstrong, Theresa Slobodnik, Sydna Reed, and Gilbert Reed. (Gilbert Reed was a soloist with Ballet Alicia Alonso of Cuba, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Reed studied choreography at the Bolshoi and Kirov ballets, going on to direct three metropolitan ballet companies and founded the dance department at Indiana University). Ashleigh also studied and excelled at other dance forms being taught at Pat Jackson’s, but ballet was her main focus. She was a company member of the Gilbert Reed Ballet Company at the age of 12 and performed en pointe in many professional ballet productions: Carmen, Firebird, Othello, A Christmas Carol, and the like. She was a starring member of her high school dance team where she both taught and choreographed extensively. She even had the amazing opportunity to study abroad and learn Russian Folkloric Ballet and Classical Ballet from the the Kalinka School of Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ashleigh studied Early Childhood Education and Child Development at California Polytechnic State University and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. After getting married and having two wonderful children, she started teaching dance professionally in her hometown community. She also owned and directed an adult fitness and dance studio (Elevé Barre) where she taught barre fitness (ballet/pilates/yoga) and adult ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and contemporary. Most recently, as the ballet director, she choreographed and led her ballet ensemble group to top honors in their division at a California state-wide dance competition. Teaching dance brings her so much joy and she is thrilled to pass on her knowledge, training, technique, and artistry to the next generation of dancers and become part of the Spark family. Dance can take you anywhere you want to go in life. In the beloved words of her late teacher Pat Jackson, always remember to “SHINE!” in all that you do.

Jenna was a competitive dancer for 15 years and won numerous national titles. She was on America’s Got Talent with the group Fresh Faces and performed on the Radio City Music Hall stage for the New York live shows. She performed with the group Complexity in the opening act of the Digi Tour. She has been fortunate enough to train and assist some of the best choreographers and teachers in the country. She was a CLI ambassador and assisted for Teddy Forance, Kathryn Mccormick, Caitlin Kinney and more on CLI Studios.

Jessi grew up dancing and cheerleading at several studios and gyms in the Chandler/Gilbert area. She performed on the dance and varsity cheer teams at Basha High school where she graduated in 2010. Jessi went on to dance in college for The University of Arizona’s hip hop dance team. At the end of her freshman year, she was given the opportunity to perform on Disney Cruise Line. After 4 years dancing on the seas, she relocated to Southern California for 4 years where she performed at both Disneyland and Universal Studios while teaching on the side. Her favorite styles to teach are jazz, lyrical, and contemporary. She also LOVES teaching the tiny tot ballerinas!

Noel has danced and choreographed all of her life.  She competed at a collegiate level with the ASU dance team, and coached pom and dance teams at the High School Level. In addition to coaching, she has been a paid choreographer for High School teams. She is also a certified Zumba instructor at Mountainside Fitness.  After working in Corporate America for 15 years, she is now a stay-at-home mom and is excited to get back into her original passion of dancing and teaching. 

Kalana started dancing when she was only 18 months old. She has been able to work with many professional instructors in the dance field. As Kalana got older she realized she had grown to love hip hop and especially loves teaching it. She has been teaching dance for the last 5 years and looks forward to many more!

Sara has participated in the dance community from elementary school through college, where she performed and choreographed for their dance company. She cannot deny her classic love for tap and adores teaching the youngest students at Spark. She has her undergrad in teaching from ASU, but after receiving her master’s in education is now a middle school counselor. Her passion for teaching and education extends from the classroom to the dance floor.

Monika Peltz is a native of Des Moines, IA who has been dancing since the age of 4. She grew up in a school that valued fun in dance, and gave her the love of teaching and the desire to share that with others. As she got older, she was very focused on ballet and convinced her parents to take her to the only professional ballet school in the state of Iowa, Des Moines Ballet, at the age of 11. They agreed mostly because Monika had been diagnosed with scoliosis and this was a path forward to recovery, and also satisfied her drive to be a professional ballerina. She had the honor of studying with Lynn Andlauer, Kennet Oberly, Stephan Laurant, Konstantin and Irina Uralsky, Laura Zambrano, and Linda Sabo. Her first several years at Ballet Des Moines focused in on Bournonville technique, and then changed focus to Vaganova when it became Ballet Iowa. Linda Sabo was a highly influential teacher who focused on Broadway tap and jazz, which Monika also teaches and loves very much.

Monika danced professionally at Ballet Iowa, Iowa Dance Theatre, The Neuman Project (Contemporary Works), and Vine Street Ballet. She has had the distinct honor of teaching at Ballet Iowa, Vine Street Ballet, School of Classical Ballet and Dance (West Des Moines, IA), Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy (Laguna Hills, CA), and Studio R Ballet (Mesa, AZ). She is also the co-founder and President Emeritus of Dance Without Limits, a non-profit dance program in West Des Moines, IA that provides ballet and tap classes for individuals experiencing disabilities. Monika is certified in Level 1 of the Bolshoi Ballet Teacher Certification Program and looks forward to continuing her education within that program.