ALIDA CARMONA
Alida began her serious ballet training at the "Phyllis Cyr Academy" under the direction of Anthony Sellers, in the late 1970s. She continued her training with the renowned Ballet master, Stephan Wenta, around the same time. All the while performing with the "San Gabriel Valley Ballet", under the direction of Virginia Paulo Lovejoy. Alida began teaching dance in the early 1980s, at various studios in Southern California. Alida is currently completing her ninth year at Imperial Dance Studio.

THERESA CATALDO
A resident of Orange County, Theresa trained and competed nationally with MKR Dance Productions since the age of 7. She was the dance captain of the Brea Olinda High School dance team where she was awarded Dancer of the Year, and top choreographer. She now studies dance at Mt. San Antonio College with intentions to transfer next year to Cal State Long Beach to major in dance. Dancing is Theresa's true passion. Her goal as a teacher is to inspire our young dancers to discover and embrace their talents.

KELLI JEANNE
Kelli Jeanne Collins has been dancing professionally since the age of nine years old. She has trained with the best dance instructors from all over the world. She was a principal dancer with Pacific American Ballet Theatre for 8 years.During that time she performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. She has toured the United States, Japan, and Europe with different companies. She recently starred in Siegfried and Roy's dance and magic show in Las Vegas and was there for 4 years. Her passion and love for dance is shown thru her work. Kelli has worked as a make up artist for T.V. and film. She also has experienced work as an actress/dancer for commercials and television. Kelli now resides in Irvine CA. excited to be coming out with her own make up line.

DANIELLE FOWLER
Danielle joins us from the San Diego area where she trained and competed in tap, jazz and lyrical since the age of 3 with San Diego Dance Centre, and Rising Star dance Academy, both studios national champions. For the past 4 years, Danielle has been an active member of the national champion Cal State Fullerton Dance team. She began choreographing in high school, and continued with several dance studios. Imperial Dance Studio is thrilled to have Danielle on our staff!

JEFF MAULER
Jeff Mauler started his dancing career at the age of 17. He was first introduced to dance by fellow classmates in high school. Attending his first official dance class in the fall of 2005 he immersed himself in the art ever since. Attending master classes whenever he could and going to dance shows of surrounding schools as well. His first experience in dance was in the style of hip hop by the great Rashida Kahn. He fell in love immediately with the hip hops style and uniqueness. The way it was so organic and a mash of many types of dance to create something completely new and exciting. It gave a great respect for the art of dance and he began to explore the hip hop world more and more. Attending many dance seminars and competitions to fill the hunger within him to dance and understand as much as he could. In 2006 Jeff studied the art of choreography from a widely known and respected instructor and professor of the art Alicia Okuchigui. He spent as much time as he could learning how to deliver choreography in many ways to deal with different situations. Jeff started teaching hip hop to an adult class in 2007 in Long Beach and went on to teach many other studios bringing his love and passion to each new class. Jeff believes that the expression through movement is a powerful tool and gift that almost everyone on the planet can appreciate. It can change a heart and change a life. With that knowledge Jeff was infused with a burning desire to dance and pass the gift on to as many that are welcome to receive it.

NICOLE RAY
Nicole is a resident of Brea, California and grew up dancing at Imperial Dance Studio training in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical and Hip Hop. Inspired by studio owner and instructor Todd Van Dorn and many other teachers, Nicole decided at a young age that she wanted to become a dance teacher. At age 16, Todd offered her a teaching position at Imperial Dance Studio, and began teaching a beginning tap class, and eventually began working on a full time basis. Now with 8 years of teaching experience, Nicole now teaches classes of all kinds and for all ages. According to Nicole, "dance has made me who I am today, and I love sharing my passion for dance with all of my students."

SARAH TIPTON
Sarah Tipton has been dancing her whole life, and most of it at Imperial Dance Studio. She danced at the studio from ages 5 through 11, then took a break to get used to her new schedule as a dance major at the Orange County High School of the Arts. But she missed the studio and returned at age 15. Now graduated she will be going to Orange Coast College to further her education. She is thankful for the solid foundation she received at Imperial Dance Studio for it is the main reason she was able to make it into such a wonderful school. Sarah is also involved with a professional tap group that will be traveling and performing in places like Canada, New York, Spain, and Brazil. She is new to teaching, but absolutely loves the opportunity to expand her dance knowledge with choreography. She hopes to stay with the studio for many years to come.