Our Staff
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Bethany Sleebos
Bethany Sleebos was born and raised in College Station, TX. At the age of 5 she began dancing at Suzanne’s School of Dance. After completing 10 years at Suzanne’s, she went off to join Ad Deum’s Trainee Program in Houston. Bethany was a trainee for 2 years and then continued on to dance as an Apprentice and a main company member. During her time at Ad Deum, she had the privilege of dancing works by Randall Flinn, Steve Rooks, Hope Boykin, and many more incredible choreographers. They performed both nationally and internationally. Along with performing professionally, she has taught at various studios in the Houston area including The Met, West University Dance Center, and Sugarland Dance Center. In 2009, she moved to The Netherlands to start Arise Dance School & Company under Youth With a Mission. It was there that she met and married her husband, Patrick Sleebos. In 2013, they felt called to move back to College Station and take over Suzanne’s School of Dance. Bethany and Patrick feel blessed to carry on this legacy for the years to come.
Patrick Sleebos
Mr. Patrick never dreamed of working in a dance studio. When he met Ms. Bethany he was exposed to a new world of performing arts and he absolutely loves supporting Ms. Bethany’s ministry of dance. After he and his wife took over Suzanne’s School of Dance her started working full-time for the studio and has developed a passion for what he does. One thing that bring Mr. Patrick joy is to see young dancers use their talents and gifts for Gods Kingdom. He is proud to be a part of the SSD family!
Andrea Sheridan
Description Coming Soon
Christi Varvel
Christi Varvel began her Ballet training at Le Studio Dance in Los Angeles, CA under the instruction of Philip and Charles Fuller of Ballet West, and Julia Ortega, and Roberto Almaguer of Ballet Nacional de Cuba. During her time at Le Studio she performed in the Nutcracker, dancing the roles of Chinese, Spanish, Mirliton, and Waltz of the Flowers. Continuing her education, she danced under the direction of Cynthia Lawrence of Ballet West and Lawrence Blake of The Joffrey Ballet at Pasadena Dance Theater as a member of Pasadena Dance Theater’s Company. She performed in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Nutcracker, and original works by Lawrence Blake.With an eye towards teaching, Christi received her Bachelors degree in Dance, from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a focus in pedagogy, Ballet, Jazz, and Modern dance. During these years, Christi taught Ballet at a Boulder area studio and creative movement at a Montessori school. Through her work at the Montessori school she taught creative movement and dance as a form of therapy for students with ADHD. After moving to College Station, TX, in 2014, Christi began teaching at Suzanne’s School of Dance and has served as the Director of Apprentice AbunDance, Mini Company, and The Ballet Academy. In 2017, she redeveloped the Ballet curriculum to focus on rigor, art, and individual motivation. In past years, she has enjoyed serving as a rehearsal director and choreographer for Ballet Brazos’ annual production of The Nutcracker and spring production. When she is not teaching dance, she enjoys performing with Talitha Dance Company. It is her hope through teaching, performance, and passion, that her students will be inspired by the discipline and art of ballet.
Stephanie Murphy
Ms. Stephanie began her dance training at the age of four in Lewisville, Texas at the Ballet Conservatory under the direction of Kelly Kilburn-Lannin. After moving to Houston, she continued her dance training at Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Amy Blake’s Academy of Dance, and Houston Ballet Academy. During this time she had the opportunity to perform roles with Houston Ballet, Irving Ballet, and Clear Lake Metropolitan Ballet. Stephanie’s love for teaching began in high school and continued when she moved to College Station, teaching at Suzanne’s School of Dance. Stephanie graduated from Texas A&M University with a BA in Theatre Arts and minors in both Dance and English. After graduating, she then moved to Houston to teach theatre for New Caney ISD. Stephanie and her family returned to the College Station area where she is starting her sixth year back at Suzanne’s School of Dance. At home Ms. Stephanie loves spending time with her husband and 3 boys. She is grateful to have the opportunity to share her love of dance!
Hannah Ueckert
Hannah Ueckert began her training in The Woodlands, TX at Excelsior School of Dance. She enjoyed ten years of training with Excelsior as well as traveling to China with the company. She then began training at Payne Academy of Performing Arts. Studying under Jim and Bridget Payne, she performed in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Swan Lake. Upon graduating from High School, Hannah joined Ad Deum Dance Company as a trainee training with Randall Flinn in Houston, TX. She danced in Houston, Spain, and North Africa with Ad Deum II. She has taught ballet for four years alongside Jim and Bridget Payne, KellyAnn Vitacca, and Bonie Scheutz. As well as teaching, Hannah also works behind the scenes in relations with communications and stage/assistant stage managing. Hannah has performed with Open Sky Arts Collective for five years and event coordinated/stage managed their 2019 “Heaven and Nature Sing” Annual Christmas Fundraiser. She is now working with Mei/Co. Dance alongside Meggie Belisle in College Station.
Katie-Beth Craig
Katie-Beth Craig is a Dallas native and began dancing at "Steps-A Dance Studio" at 3-years-old. Her training background is strong in jazz and contemporary, and she loves to tell others about Jesus through dance. She was a 3-year line member and chaplain of the National-Champion Rockwall Stingerettes dance and drill team. Katie-Beth is a Psychology major and Neuroscience minor at A&M, with plans to go on to obtain her PhD in order to become a clinical therapist for children. In her free time, she loves photography, spending time in her Christian organization at A&M and serving in kids' ministry at church.
Emily Holland
Mary Emily Holland graduated from Texas A&M University in May 2020 with a BA in Dance, and minors in business and creative studies. Before college, Mary Emily danced in a pre- professional modern company under the direction of Cheryl Copeland for 5 years. With this company she competed at conventions and competitions around the state and received many scholarships and awards. She also held a leadership position on her high school team, where she was awarded for her choreography and solos. Mary Emily has attended master classes from Kathy Dunn Hamrick, Morgan Burke, Emma Portner, Koresh Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, and other artists. During her time in college, Mary Emily’s choreography was chosen to represent Texas A&M at the American College Dance Association in 2020. Now Mary Emily is working with Mei/Co. Dance for the 20/21 season as a choreographer, teacher, and dancer, and is thrilled to be teaching for her 5 th year at Suzanne’s School of Dance.
Mariah Pfieffer
Mariah began dancing when she was 7 years old and focused on classical ballet technique. She also had the opportunity to train at the Ballet Conservatory of South Texas and participated in their preprofessional ballet company. She is now continuing her education as a teacher by attending courses such as Marie Walton-Mahon’s Progressive Ballet Technique. Mariah has been a part of the Suzanne’s family for 3 years and is excited to start her 4th year of teaching at the studio. This year Mariah will be director for Apprentice Company and is looking forward to exploring this new roll. Mariah is so grateful for her studio family and she is eager to see all the year has in store!
Emma Duke
Emma Mae Duke started dancing when she was 5 years old in her hometown of Madisonville Texas. She was homeschooled by her mother from start to finish along with her many siblings. At 13, Emma was ready to take her dancing to the next level by attending classes at Suzann’s School of Dance. Her first year with SSD was taught by Andrea Sheridan and instantly fell in love with the studio. After the first year, Emma heard of the Ballet Brazos’ production of the Nutcracker and quickly jumped on board. Emma Duke participated in the pre-professional ballet and pointe at SSD for 2 years under the tutelage of Kerry Godkins, Katy Ellison, and Katy Hanik. In 2018, she started taking many different genres of dance, such as contemporary, tap, hip hop, jazz, and modern to widen the horizon of skills. Emma realized her true passion was to teach dance and inspire dancers just as her teachers did for her. Now in her 3rd year of teaching at SSD, Emma Duke is focusing on training her students not only proper dance etiquettes but also show each dancer how to glorify GOD with their dancing.
Christi Varvel
Christi Varvel began her Ballet training at Le Studio Dance in Los Angeles, CA under the instruction of Philip and Charles Fuller of Ballet West, and Julia Ortega, and Roberto Almaguer of Ballet Nacional de Cuba. During her time at Le Studio she performed in the Nutcracker, dancing the roles of Chinese, Spanish, Mirliton, and Waltz of the Flowers. Continuing her education, she danced under the direction of Cynthia Lawrence of Ballet West and Lawrence Blake of The Joffrey Ballet at Pasadena Dance Theater as a member of Pasadena Dance Theater’s Company. She performed in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Nutcracker, and original works by Lawrence Blake.With an eye towards teaching, Christi received her Bachelors degree in Dance, from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a focus in pedagogy, Ballet, Jazz, and Modern dance. During these years, Christi taught Ballet at a Boulder area studio and creative movement at a Montessori school. Through her work at the Montessori school she taught creative movement and dance as a form of therapy for students with ADHD. After moving to College Station, TX, in 2014, Christi began teaching at Suzanne’s School of Dance and has served as the Director of Apprentice AbunDance, Mini Company, and The Ballet Academy. In 2017, she redeveloped the Ballet curriculum to focus on rigor, art, and individual motivation. In past years, she has enjoyed serving as a rehearsal director and choreographer for Ballet Brazos’ annual production of The Nutcracker and spring production. When she is not teaching dance, she enjoys performing with Talitha Dance Company. It is her hope through teaching, performance, and passion, that her students will be inspired by the discipline and art of ballet.
John Reid
Born in Houston, Texas, John Henry Reid began his training at the Houston Ballet Academy under the direction of Ben Stevenson. He started his training in a young mens program at the age of 10 and graduated from Houston Ballet Academy at the age of 20. While there he study many different dance styles including classical ballet, partnering, character, mordern, jazz and many others, and he was also the first to receive the Ben Stevenson Scholarship award. Upon his graduation from the academy, John was asked to join Texas Ballet Theater. At Texas Ballet he performed many principle roles from the Nutrcracker Prince, Franz in Coppelia, Peer Gynt in Ben Stevensons Peer Gynt and Ben Stevensons End of Time pas de duex. He spent the next seven years dancing for companies like Colorado Ballet, where he met and danced for Martin Fredmann, to Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York, and City Ballet of San Diego. He has guested for Cincinnati Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, Twin City Ballet Theater, Houston Ballet Rep Ballet, Uptown Street Dance Company, Ballet Artisan, and the University of Oklahoma.
His repertoire includes leading roles in Dracula, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Celts, Company B, 9 Sinatra Songs, Swan Lake, Walpurgisnacht, and many more contemporary ballets choreographed by choreographers such as Dwight Rhoden, Igal Perry, Jessica Lang, Darrell Grand-moultrie, Jo Funaki and others.
Mr.Reid has spent the last eight years continuing to expand his extensive repertoire while dancing, teaching, choreographing, and coaching in Japan. His choreographic works have been set on companies and schools across Japan. While in Japan John and Aya opened their own school Elements Academy of Dance.
Aya Reid
Born in Osaka, Aya Ota began her ballet training at Homura Tomoi ballet school in Osaka. She was trained in Vaganova. Her teachers were Makio Homura, Toyoko Miyamoto, and Emiko Inoue. During that time she attended The School of Kirov Ballet Vaganova Ballet Academy. While there she studied Classical Ballet with Zagurskaya Margarita, Character dance with Averkina Larissa, Historical Dance with Apadiakos Natalya, and Mime with Stiopio Alexander.
She has also studied in RAD, Royal Academy of Dance and has received high marks in Elementary, Intermediate, and Advance 1 exams. She has attended the London Studio Centre and studied under teachers Barry McGrath, Margaret Barbieri, Anita Yang, Jane Sang, Sue Booker, and others.
After Graduating from the London Studio Centre, Aya returned to Japan and joined Ballet Chambre Ouest in Hachioji Tokyo, under the direction of Hiroaki Imamura. Over her 16 years at Ballet Chambre Ouest, Aya danced Principle and soloist roles in many classical ballets and original works. Her repertoire consist of lead roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Le Corsaire, Thumbelina, Gisselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda,Tenjyo no uta, Pas de duex from Donizetti, Fairy tale, and Luna. She has also performed at the Bolishoi Theatre with Ballet Chambre Ouest.
For the past 15 years Aya has been teaching ballet technique, pointe, variations, and pas de duex. Some of her students received 1st place, 5th place, and finalist in competitions such as, Educational Ballet competition, YAGP in Japan, Japan Dance Competition, Japan competition in Hachioji, Japan Gran Prix, and the All Japan Competition.
Mariah Pfieffer
Mariah began dancing when she was 7 years old and focused on classical ballet technique. She also had the opportunity to train at the Ballet Conservatory of South Texas and participated in their preprofessional ballet company. She is now continuing her education as a teacher by attending courses such as Marie Walton-Mahon’s Progressive Ballet Technique. Mariah has been a part of the Suzanne’s family for 3 years and is excited to start her 4th year of teaching at the studio. This year Mariah will be director for Apprentice Company and is looking forward to exploring this new roll. Mariah is so grateful for her studio family and she is eager to see all the year has in store!
Megan Elliott
Megan Elliott began dancing at the age of 4 at Robin’s Dance Studio in Missouri City, Texas. She began dancing Nutcracker at the age of 6 with Moscow Ballet Touring company. Miss Elliott danced at Fort Bend Academy of Dance starting in 2008 and performed with the pre- professional company BalletForte from 2011-2017. Megan was privileged to study under the Artistic Direction of Michael Banigan and Diane Jarell, as well as additional instruction from Sally Rojas-Herrera and Erin Duncan. During her time with BalletForte she was honored to perform roles such as Sugar Plum and Snow Queen from the Nutcracker, as well as Aurora from The Sleeping Beauty. She was awarded an RDA scholarship to attend Louisville Ballet’s summer intensive in 2012 under the direction of Senior Ballet Master Harald Uwe Kern and Artistic Director Bruce Simpson. During the summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016 she studied at Ballet Magnificat! under Founder and Artistic Director Kathy Thibodeaux and Omega Company Artistic Director Jiri Voborsky. Megan is a two-time Youth America Grand Prix competitor. Megan has had the privilege of working with Ballet Brazos as a rehearsal instructor and choreographer for their 2019 production of the Nutcracker. She is now completing her final year at Texas A&M University as a Kinesiology: Dance Science Major, where she is still dancing today.
Katy Byrne
Description Coming Soon
John Reid
Born in Houston, Texas, John Henry Reid began his training at the Houston Ballet Academy under the direction of Ben Stevenson. He started his training in a young mens program at the age of 10 and graduated from Houston Ballet Academy at the age of 20. While there he study many different dance styles including classical ballet, partnering, character, mordern, jazz and many others, and he was also the first to receive the Ben Stevenson Scholarship award. Upon his graduation from the academy, John was asked to join Texas Ballet Theater. At Texas Ballet he performed many principle roles from the Nutrcracker Prince, Franz in Coppelia, Peer Gynt in Ben Stevensons Peer Gynt and Ben Stevensons End of Time pas de duex. He spent the next seven years dancing for companies like Colorado Ballet, where he met and danced for Martin Fredmann, to Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York, and City Ballet of San Diego. He has guested for Cincinnati Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, Twin City Ballet Theater, Houston Ballet Rep Ballet, Uptown Street Dance Company, Ballet Artisan, and the University of Oklahoma.
His repertoire includes leading roles in Dracula, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Celts, Company B, 9 Sinatra Songs, Swan Lake, Walpurgisnacht, and many more contemporary ballets choreographed by choreographers such as Dwight Rhoden, Igal Perry, Jessica Lang, Darrell Grand-moultrie, Jo Funaki and others.
Mr.Reid has spent the last eight years continuing to expand his extensive repertoire while dancing, teaching, choreographing, and coaching in Japan. His choreographic works have been set on companies and schools across Japan. While in Japan John and Aya opened their own school Elements Academy of Dance.
Aya Reid
Born in Osaka, Aya Ota began her ballet training at Homura Tomoi ballet school in Osaka. She was trained in Vaganova. Her teachers were Makio Homura, Toyoko Miyamoto, and Emiko Inoue. During that time she attended The School of Kirov Ballet Vaganova Ballet Academy. While there she studied Classical Ballet with Zagurskaya Margarita, Character dance with Averkina Larissa, Historical Dance with Apadiakos Natalya, and Mime with Stiopio Alexander.
She has also studied in RAD, Royal Academy of Dance and has received high marks in Elementary, Intermediate, and Advance 1 exams. She has attended the London Studio Centre and studied under teachers Barry McGrath, Margaret Barbieri, Anita Yang, Jane Sang, Sue Booker, and others.
After Graduating from the London Studio Centre, Aya returned to Japan and joined Ballet Chambre Ouest in Hachioji Tokyo, under the direction of Hiroaki Imamura. Over her 16 years at Ballet Chambre Ouest, Aya danced Principle and soloist roles in many classical ballets and original works. Her repertoire consist of lead roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Le Corsaire, Thumbelina, Gisselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda,Tenjyo no uta, Pas de duex from Donizetti, Fairy tale, and Luna. She has also performed at the Bolishoi Theatre with Ballet Chambre Ouest.
For the past 15 years Aya has been teaching ballet technique, pointe, variations, and pas de duex. Some of her students received 1st place, 5th place, and finalist in competitions such as, Educational Ballet competition, YAGP in Japan, Japan Dance Competition, Japan competition in Hachioji, Japan Gran Prix, and the All Japan Competition.
Christi Varvel
Christi Varvel began her Ballet training at Le Studio Dance in Los Angeles, CA under the instruction of Philip and Charles Fuller of Ballet West, and Julia Ortega, and Roberto Almaguer of Ballet Nacional de Cuba. During her time at Le Studio she performed in the Nutcracker, dancing the roles of Chinese, Spanish, Mirliton, and Waltz of the Flowers. Continuing her education, she danced under the direction of Cynthia Lawrence of Ballet West and Lawrence Blake of The Joffrey Ballet at Pasadena Dance Theater as a member of Pasadena Dance Theater’s Company. She performed in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Nutcracker, and original works by Lawrence Blake.With an eye towards teaching, Christi received her Bachelors degree in Dance, from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a focus in pedagogy, Ballet, Jazz, and Modern dance. During these years, Christi taught Ballet at a Boulder area studio and creative movement at a Montessori school. Through her work at the Montessori school she taught creative movement and dance as a form of therapy for students with ADHD. After moving to College Station, TX, in 2014, Christi began teaching at Suzanne’s School of Dance and has served as the Director of Apprentice AbunDance, Mini Company, and The Ballet Academy. In 2017, she redeveloped the Ballet curriculum to focus on rigor, art, and individual motivation. In past years, she has enjoyed serving as a rehearsal director and choreographer for Ballet Brazos’ annual production of The Nutcracker and spring production. When she is not teaching dance, she enjoys performing with Talitha Dance Company. It is her hope through teaching, performance, and passion, that her students will be inspired by the discipline and art of ballet.
Mariah Pfieffer
Mariah began dancing when she was 7 years old and focused on classical ballet technique. She also had the opportunity to train at the Ballet Conservatory of South Texas and participated in their preprofessional ballet company. She is now continuing her education as a teacher by attending courses such as Marie Walton-Mahon’s Progressive Ballet Technique. Mariah has been a part of the Suzanne’s family for 3 years and is excited to start her 4th year of teaching at the studio. This year Mariah will be director for Apprentice Company and is looking forward to exploring this new roll. Mariah is so grateful for her studio family and she is eager to see all the year has in store!
Mary Clare Garant
Maryclare Garant started dancing at three years old at Palm Valley Gymnastics and Dance in Harlingen, Tx. There she trained in ballet, pointe, lyrical, jazz, and tap. Throughout her years at Palm Valley she performed in classical ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Swan Lake. She was also on the competitive dance team and performed at many conventions such as LA Dance Magic and Tremaine. Now, Maryclare is in her 5th year at Texas A&M and is majoring in Geographic Information Sciences. Maryclare has loved teaching at SSD for the past 3 years and is very excited for the new dance season!
Emily Holland
Mary Emily Holland graduated from Texas A&M University in May 2020 with a BA in Dance, and minors in business and creative studies. Before college, Mary Emily danced in a pre- professional modern company under the direction of Cheryl Copeland for 5 years. With this company she competed at conventions and competitions around the state and received many scholarships and awards. She also held a leadership position on her high school team, where she was awarded for her choreography and solos. Mary Emily has attended master classes from Kathy Dunn Hamrick, Morgan Burke, Emma Portner, Koresh Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, and other artists. During her time in college, Mary Emily’s choreography was chosen to represent Texas A&M at the American College Dance Association in 2020. Now Mary Emily is working with Mei/Co. Dance for the 20/21 season as a choreographer, teacher, and dancer, and is thrilled to be teaching for her 5 th year at Suzanne’s School of Dance.
Megan Elliott
Megan Elliott began dancing at the age of 4 at Robin’s Dance Studio in Missouri City, Texas. She began dancing Nutcracker at the age of 6 with Moscow Ballet Touring company. Miss Elliott danced at Fort Bend Academy of Dance starting in 2008 and performed with the pre- professional company BalletForte from 2011-2017. Megan was privileged to study under the Artistic Direction of Michael Banigan and Diane Jarell, as well as additional instruction from Sally Rojas-Herrera and Erin Duncan. During her time with BalletForte she was honored to perform roles such as Sugar Plum and Snow Queen from the Nutcracker, as well as Aurora from The Sleeping Beauty. She was awarded an RDA scholarship to attend Louisville Ballet’s summer intensive in 2012 under the direction of Senior Ballet Master Harald Uwe Kern and Artistic Director Bruce Simpson. During the summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016 she studied at Ballet Magnificat! under Founder and Artistic Director Kathy Thibodeaux and Omega Company Artistic Director Jiri Voborsky. Megan is a two-time Youth America Grand Prix competitor. Megan has had the privilege of working with Ballet Brazos as a rehearsal instructor and choreographer for their 2019 production of the Nutcracker. She is now completing her final year at Texas A&M University as a Kinesiology: Dance Science Major, where she is still dancing today.
Alana Johnson
Alana Johnson began her dance training at Boni’s Dance and Performing Arts studio at the age of 2. During her time at Boni’s, she trained in a variety of styles including ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and modern. In 2012, Alana began competing for Boni’s En Toure and had the privilege to perform regionally and nationally. She is now an undergraduate student at Texas A&M University. She is pursuing her BS in Kinesiology Dance Science and enjoys continuing her dance training along with deepening her understanding of nutrition, safe practices in dance, pedagogy, exercise physiology and more. Alana adores her Suzanne's School of Dance family and feels so blessed to begin her 4th year teaching at the studio. Alana is the director for Company AbunDance for SSD and enjoys instilling a love for Jesus and dance in her students as she seeks to encourage them in their faith, artistry and personal growth!
Mackenzie Clowe
Mackenzie is a Senior at Texas A&M University where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education with a focus in Math and Science. This will be her 2nd year as an instructor at SSOD. She began dancing at the age of 4 and teaching at the age of 15. She has trained in and taught various styles such as contemporary, ballet, tap, jazz, drill team prep, and cheer. She has danced with several competitive and pre-professional companies, and she also served as an officer on her high school dance team for 2 years. Since graduating from high school, Mackenzie has choreographed award winning team routines and solos/duos for several drill teams and dance teams in Texas. Mackenzie has won choreography awards at Crowd Pleasers Dance, Showtime International, and American Dance/Drill Contests for team, elite, and officer routines. Mackenzie currently serves as the President of TAMU Dance Arts Society where she has the pleasure of sharing her love of dance with the Aggie dance community. She has been blessed with the opportunity to train and dance in master classes and convention circuits with instructors such as Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Nappy Tabbs, Luther Brown, Anthony Morigerato, and many more. She cannot wait to share her love for dance and the Lord with your children!
Sarah Kitterman
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Sarah trained at Point Park College Conservatory for the Performing Arts during high school. After graduating from Belhaven University with a BFA in Ballet in 2001, she moved to Houston, Texas, to dance with Ad Deum Dance Company. She considers it a joy and blessing to have spent 8 years dancing professionally, 4 years with Ad Deum, followed by seasons with Psophonia Dance Company (Houston, TX), Armstrong/Bergeron Dance Company (College Station, TX) and other dance projects. It was during her professional dancing years that she attained certifications in Mat Pilates, Reformer, and PiYo. On staff with Suzanne’s School of Dance from 2008-2012, Sarah and herhusband Mike moved to the north Austin area in 2012. While in Austin, she was on staff at Avery Ranch Dance and Music in Cedar Park, and the YMCA of Williamson County; helping to start up and continue dance programs at various Austin Y locations. Back in the BCS area since 2019, Sarah is excited to be once again working at Suzanne’s School of Dance. Happily married to her husband Mike since 2008, Sarah keeps busy homeschooling their 3 children, and teaching Pilates when not in the dance studio.
Taylor Dickson
Taylor Dickson is a Junior Childhood Education major at Texas A&M. She began her dance training when she was 5 years old at Collective Dance Artistry in San Antonio. There she trained thoroughly in ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, and modern. Taylor attended competition circuits all over the country and received many state and national titles including National Teen Miss Encore 2013 and Texas State Solo Champion 2016. She also danced with Ballet San Antonio in the Nutcracker in 2015. Taylor was Captain of the Johnson High School Legacies and led the team to 4 national titles at NDA in Orlando. She has continued to choreograph national winning solos and team routines for studios and high schools across Texas. This year, Taylor is excited to be the Mini Company Director at Suzanne’s and the Co-chair for her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, in Songfest. When Taylor isn’t dancing, she enjoys time with her furry friends and family! This will be Taylor’s 3rd year teaching at Suzanne’s!
Emma Duke
Emma Mae Duke started dancing when she was 5 years old in her hometown of Madisonville Texas. She was homeschooled by her mother from start to finish along with her many siblings. At 13, Emma was ready to take her dancing to the next level by attending classes at Suzann’s School of Dance. Her first year with SSD was taught by Andrea Sheridan and instantly fell in love with the studio. After the first year, Emma heard of the Ballet Brazos’ production of the Nutcracker and quickly jumped on board. Emma Duke participated in the pre-professional ballet and pointe at SSD for 2 years under the tutelage of Kerry Godkins, Katy Ellison, and Katy Hanik. In 2018, she started taking many different genres of dance, such as contemporary, tap, hip hop, jazz, and modern to widen the horizon of skills. Emma realized her true passion was to teach dance and inspire dancers just as her teachers did for her. Now in her 3rd year of teaching at SSD, Emma Duke is focusing on training her students not only proper dance etiquettes but also show each dancer how to glorify GOD with their dancing.
Olivia Eckhardt
Olivia Eckhardt began her training at Heather Stolle’s School of Dance in San Antonio, TX at the age of 5. While there, she trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop and Contemporary. Olivia has been on multiple performance and competition teams since the age of 11, leading her to travel around the country in competition and convention circuits. While competing, she earned multiple titles, awards and scholarships for her solos and team routines. Also, she has danced multiple roles in the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. In high school, she was a part of Johnson High School’s dance teams all 4 years, serving as an officer for 2 of those years. During her time there, she helped lead her team to multiple national titles. She is now a student at Texas A&M University majoring in Biomedical Science, while still keeping active in the dance community. She also is serving as Songfest co-chair for her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. Olivia is thrilled to join the SSD family!
Bree Patek
Breeann knew she wanted to be a dancer after watching a performance of The Nutcracker in 3rd grade. She danced with the Victoria Ballet Theatre in Victoria, Texas for 9 years. While there she trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, and modern dance. During her time with VBT, she danced various principal and soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. Breeann has also performed around the US and Canada for the Southwest Region of Regional Dance America. She is currently a senior at Texas A&M University majoring in Dance Science. She is still dancing and performing! Miss Bree is excited and looking forward to teaching at Suzanne’s for the 2020-2021 season!
Hannah Ueckert
Hannah Ueckert began her training in The Woodlands, TX at Excelsior School of Dance. She enjoyed ten years of training with Excelsior as well as traveling to China with the company. She then began training at Payne Academy of Performing Arts. Studying under Jim and Bridget Payne, she performed in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Swan Lake. Upon graduating from High School, Hannah joined Ad Deum Dance Company as a trainee training with Randall Flinn in Houston, TX. She danced in Houston, Spain, and North Africa with Ad Deum II. She has taught ballet for four years alongside Jim and Bridget Payne, KellyAnn Vitacca, and Bonie Scheutz. As well as teaching, Hannah also works behind the scenes in relations with communications and stage/assistant stage managing. Hannah has performed with Open Sky Arts Collective for five years and event coordinated/stage managed their 2019 “Heaven and Nature Sing” Annual Christmas Fundraiser. She is now working with Mei/Co. Dance alongside Meggie Belisle in College Station.