Meet Our Staff

Miss Leslie
Founder and Director
Instructor

Miss Leslie has been teaching dance since 1968 and has loved sharing her passion with dancers. She studied Ballet with Colin Russell (Royal Winnipeg, Irish National Ballet, and Former Ballet Master for the Sadler Wells Opera Ballet). She began her professional dance career with the Dancers Repertory Theatre in Oakland, CA. She performed in the Ballets, Les Sylphides, Coppelia, and Swan Lake.  She was the Artistic Director of the Visalia Ballet from 1976 to 1977.  She then founded her own dance studio in 1978, the Ballet Centre.  Since then the studio has grown and incorporated multiple dance styles, thus the name change to Capitol Dance Company. 

Miss Leslie has dedicated her life to sharing her love of Ballet with thousands of her students and is honored to have several of her dancers continuing their dance training at the collegiate level as well as professionally . She also worked extensively with Olympic Medalist, Rudy Galindo.

Miss Leslie directs the American Academy of Ballet Performance Awards program offered through CDC. She is also the Director of our annual summer performance. 

Miss Allison​
CDC Assistant Director
Competition Team Director
Instructor

Miss Allison has been teaching for over 25 years.  She is trained in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical and Tap.  During her Ballet training she also participated in the Royal Academy of Ballet's examination where she graduated from the program.  She also studied at SJSU where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in History.

​Over the years, Miss Allison has created and developed an award-winning competition program for dancers of all ages and levels.  She is the Director of the Competition program and "The Company". Her teams and soloists have won national titles, scholarships, and numerous specialty awards. A number of her students have gone on to be accepted at many prestigious college dance programs such as, Chapman University, Long Beach State University, UC Irvine, Dominican, Gonzaga, Marymount Manhattan College, and Lines Ballet trainee program.

Miss Allison loves to teach at the studio as well as choreograph for Valley Christian High School's Dance Team. She loves to express her creativity through her choreography and is constantly inspired by her students.  Miss Allison is also the co-producer of CDC's annual summer performance.

Miss Taylor
Studio Manager
Instructor
Competition Coach

Miss Taylor has been dancing since early childhood and teaching dance for over 20 years with CDC. She is formally trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, and Tap.  She was a member of the award-winning Pioneer Dance Team from 1995-1999, where she was also a Captain. Miss Taylor attended SJSU where she earned her Bachelors Degree in Political Science.

​After college she worked in the non-profit sector for many years in fundraising. In 2013, she decided to join CDC full time as the Studio Manager.  As well as managing the studio, Miss Taylor also developed and oversees the Hip Hop program at CDC. She is also a choreographer and coach for the Hip Hop competition teams and in addition, works with soloists in the styles of Jazz and Hip Hop. 

Miss Taylor loves to see her dancers continue their dance training both at the collegiate level and professionally as Teachers, Choreographers and Dancers. 

Miss cHELSEA
Instructor
Competition Coach
oFFICE cOORDINATOR

HerMiss Chelsea has been dancing with CDC since she was six years old. She has been a CDC choreographer and teacher for over twelve years.  She is trained in Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Hip Hop, Salsa and Afro Cuban.  Miss Chelsea competed as a soloist and Team Member of CDC's Competition Team while in High School. While attending Hawaii Pacific University, where she received a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, she was a member of the dance troupe, "Hawaii's Finest,” where she merged all her dance training with the Honolulu Dance Club and the Punahou Dance School. Miss Chelsea created and oversees CDC's Contemporary program. Miss Chelsea is passionate about connecting with her students and exposing them to her unique Contemporary Style. She is also co-producer of CDC's annual summer performance. 

Miss Chelsea's new role is Office Coordinator. She manages customer service for the studio and office coordination. We are so thankful to have Chelsea as part of our CDC family. 



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Miss Cassy
Instructor
Competition Coach
​Office Coordinator​

Miss Cassy has been dancing since the age of three and loves to share her love of tap and ballet with her students. She oversees the Tap program and is also a choreographer for CDC's competition teams and soloists. Miss Cassy is also a costume and prop designer, creating pieces for CDC's competition teams as well as the annual performances. Miss Cassy attended San Jose State University and  majored in Dance with a style focus in Jazz, graduating in 2012. 

Miss Cassy's new role this year is Office Coordinator. She manages our studio database, Studio Director. She also is the creator and manager of our Teaching Assistant Program and our online dance wear store, Nimbly.  We are grateful to have Cassy as part of our dance family.  

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Miss Melissa
instructor
Performance awards

Miss Melissa has been dancing with CDC since 1985. She has trained extensively in Ballet as well as Jazz, Hip Hop and Lyrical. She completed her Royal Academy of Ballet examinations and completed her Performance Awards through the American Academy of Ballet. Since receiving her Gold Award with Distinction for her work in Level 12 (highest level) she has mentored and trained our advanced dancers. Miss Melissa also trained with the Joffrey Ballet Summer Workshop.  She is an alumnus of Santa Clara University, receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Accounting.

We are proud to have Melissa sharing her love of Ballet with our dancers.  She currently teaches Ballet, Pointe, and co-manages our  Performance Awards program. 

Miss Daniela
Instructor
cOMPETITION coACH

Miss Daniela has trained with CDC sine she was a young girl. She was a member of the award-winning CDC competition team where she has earned multiple awards as a soloist and company member. She is trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Tap.  We are happy to have Miss Daniela teaching this year and coaching our competition teams.

Miss Daniela has been a Goldrush Cheerleader for the San Francisco 49ers for three years. We are very thankful that she continues to share her love of dance with our students. 

​Miss Maureen
FRONT DESK STAFF

​Miss Maureen began dancing at 5 years old and has loved it ever since.  She trained under Keith Banks at Studio 10 and was the Captain of her Cheer/Song Team at Cupertino High School.  Miss Maureen is CDC's Music Producer, and oversees the audio engineer for CDC's annual performances. 

Miss Maureen has worked at our front desk since 2018 and is always happy to assist our dance families. We are thrilled to have her as part of our studio!

MISS ELIZABETH
INSTRUCTOR

Elizabeth dance experience spans over 25 years. She began dancing at Studio One for the Performing Arts in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where she later became the Owner and Artistic Director. In 2002, she graduated from San Francisco State University, with a BA in Cinema and a Minor in Dance. Elizabeth spent many years working on TV and film in Los Angeles, CA.

​Most recently, Elizabeth taught for six years at Dance Effects in Campbell, prior to their closing.We are happy to have Elizabeth new to our staff this year, sharing her her time and talent with us all!

GALE
iNSTRUCTOR
front Desk Staff

Gale has been dancing for 10 years at Capitol Dance Company. They joined the competition team when they were 10 years old and has competed as a team member and soloist. Gale participated in the American Academy of Ballet's Performance Awards program, completing Level 11. They also attend the Performance Awards Summer Program in New York. Gale also staged and choreographed for numerous musicals at Branham High School.

We are grateful to have Gale join our Staff this year as both a Teacher and  Front Desk Staff. Their calm presence and friendly disposition is wonderful to be around at the studio. 

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MISS ERIKA
iNSTRUCTOR

Erika is new to our staff this year. She recently moved to San Jose from the Sacramento area where she taught at multiple dance studios. She has over 10 years of teaching experience and has performed professionally with Core Contemporary Dance. Erika graduated Cum Laude from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She is certified in PBT (Progressive Ballet Technique) and Progressive Pointe Method.

We are happy to have Erika join our team at CDC! 

Miss cheryl
Instructor
​cOMPETITION COACH

Cheryl has been dancing with CDC for over ten years and has excelled in all areas of her training. Cheryl is a long time competition dancer and member of the " The Company" a pre-professional, invite only training program at CDC. 

Alongside her training with us, Cheryl has participated and completed the Performance Awards Program with the American Academy of Ballet in New York City and Austin. She attended Joffrey San Francisco Summer Intensive in 2017 and New York City in 2019. Recently, she participated in the 2021 Steps on Broadway Youth Program.

We are delighted to have Cheryl on staff and training our dancers during her senior year. In the Fall, Cheryl will be attending NYU, with a Major in Dance at the TISH, School for the Arts.