meet our staff

Miss Allison​
CO-Owner

Miss Allison has been teaching, choreographing and coaching for over 30  years.  Growing up in the studio, Miss Allison trained in Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Jazz and Tap, completed her RAD annual examinations and competed regionally and nationally.  After earning her B.A. in History from SJSU she taught elementary school for many years before focusing full time on dance. Miss Allison is excited to be Co-Owner of CDC alongside Miss Taylor.

Miss Allison has created and developed our award-winning competition program for dancers of all levels and "The Company", a pre-professional program housed in CDC. Under her direction our dancers have won National Titles, scholarships and  countless Studio Achievement Awards.

A great source of pride for Miss Allison are her many students accepted into prestigious BFA programs at NYU/Tisch, CalArts, Chapman, Long Beach, UC Irvine, Dominican, Marymount, LINES and those dancing professionally across the country.

Taylor FIELDS
CO-Owner

 Miss Taylor has been dancing since early childhood and teaching for over 25 years. She is formally trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, and Tap.  Miss Taylor was a member of the award-winning Pioneer Dance Team where she was also a Captain and lead her team to a National title. Miss Taylor attended SJSU where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science.

​After college Miss Taylor worked in the nonprofit sector for many years in fundraising and transitioned into working full time at CDC in 2013 as the Studio Manager. Under Taylor's management, the studio has grown and evolved both in size and infrastructure. Taylor loves managing the business side of the studio alongside teaching. 

Miss Taylor loves sharing her love of dance with her many students of all ages, levels and styles. She looks forward to growing into her new role as Co-Owner. 

Melissa rAMOS
bALLET pROGRAM dIRECTOR

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 Dance (RAD) 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.

After Miss Leslie retired in 2022, Melissa was promoted to Ballet Director where she supervises our Ballet curriculum, Ballet teacher trainings and Pointe program. Melissa also directs our Performance Awards program with the American Academy of Ballet. 

cHELSEA lAUWERS
Performance director

Miss Chelsea has been dancing with CDC since she was six years old.  She has trained in Jazz, Lyrical, Tap, Hip Hop, Salsa and Afro Cuban techniques. 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. 

Chelsea was recently promoted to Performance Director of our Summer Performances. She is excited to expand her role with the studio.

Cassy sarti
Studio manager

Miss Cassy has been dancing since the age of three and loves to share her love of tap and ballet with her students.

Miss Cassy attended San Jose State University and majored in Dance with a style focus in Jazz. She oversees our 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 was recently promoted to Studio Manager and she is happy to step into this new role!

kaela norwood
INSTRUCTOR

Kaela Norwood is originally from Chicago Illinois, spending most of her dance training and career time within the Midwest. She has danced for numerous modern and contemporary companies in Chicago, was a dancer/singer with Carnival Cruise Lines and  has spent the past four years working as a show Director with Spotlight Dance Cup. Kaela has over a decade of teaching experience, in private studios, open adult classes, residencies with high schools, private training, and in private schools across the states as well as setting national title winning choreography. She is committed to to helping young artists develop their skills in dance and grow as people overall.
​
Kaela is thrilled to begin her dance educator journey here in the Bay Area with the students of Capitol Dance Company.

ELIZABETH inSALACO
iNSTRUCTOR

Miss Elizabeth's 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 in TV and film in Los Angeles, CA.

​Most recently, Elizabeth taught for six years at Dance Effects in Campbell, prior to their closing. and she has recently moved to the beautiful city of Half Moon Bay!  This is Elizabeth's second year with CDC and she loves to share her love of dance with all of her students.

RANDI LEE ISAACS
​INSTRUCTOR

Randi started her dance training in sunny Santa Cruz, then trained with summer intensives starting in her teen years at Joffrey ballet School in New York and Georgia,  Modas intensive in New Mexico and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Randi became a Joffrey Jazz and Contemporary trainee at the age of 19, training for three years under teachers with extensive professional careers.

Randi has had her choreographic works performed numerous times at Joffrey Ballet School and was chosen for student showcases, spotlight dance performances and collaborated on her own show.

Randi has found a deep love in teaching. She believes in building her students confidence and helping them find the joy in the hard work. Randi also likes to dabble in poetry, backpacking, hiking and loves to see live music!​

Madison lEONG
Instructor

Madi Leong has taught weekly, guest, and performance classes for five years, working with a variety of different ages and dance levels in choreography, Hip Hop, and K-pop. Along with studio teaching, she was a Choreography Director for the dance company, ECLIPSE and was an active member for 5 years.

​Madi has trained in Hip Hop, Modern, Jazz, and Jazz Funk, but currently focuses on her love of Hip Hop and open-style choreography. During high school, Madi was a student and teaching assistant at CDC and was also part of the Hip-Hop competition team. She is looking forward to returning to the studio in her new role and sharing her creativity and passion.
.

​

mARINA BARGAS
iNSTRUCTOR

Marina Bargas started her performance career when she was in middle school through her schools color guard program. She participated in color guard though high school where she began to learn about dance, falling in love with the art form. In 2016, Marina began studying dance at West Valley Community College and then continued those studies when she transferred to San Jose State University in 2019.She has studied ballet, tap, modern, contemporary, and jazz.

Marina is currently a dance specialist for a high school color guard team. She has experience teaching various recreational and competitive styles of dance to students ranging from 18 months to 18 years of age. Marina's goal in her teaching is to inspire young dancers to discover who they are and find a new form of  expression through movement. She strives to provide a safe, fun, and educational environment for all dancers that she has the privilege of working with.

Namaad jackson
INSTRUCTOR

Namaad Jackson is a performer, choreographer, educator, and mentor whose background, training, and passion extends over 15 years. Namaad has directed many dance companies and troupes including Dcypher Dance, TeamWeGonMakeIt, Culture Shock DC (CSDC), and Culture Shock Las Vegas (CSLV) where he was able to travel, perform, and teach throughout the US, and in Canada, Paris, and Germany.

Namaad dances and performs with Str8Jackets Dance Crew which has been featured on NBC’s World of Dance TV show and is a former NBA dancer for the Golden State Warriors. Namaad sees dance as a positive force and a medium to tell stories, discuss issues and inspire others. He is proud of his accomplishments and is very passionate about his career as a professional dancer, choreographer, and educator. He encourages others to recognize their passion and always follow their hearts and dreams

---

fRONT dESK STAFF

Marley ROmero
Front Desk and Assistant

​Maureen Holcomb
​ music Manager & Front Desk

Miss Marley has been dancing since she was 5 years old and joined CDC when she was 14 years old. She trained in Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, and Hip Hop until she started high school and then she focused solely on Hip Hop. Since graduating high school in 2022 she has joined the CDC staff as the Office Assistant where she helps customers at the front desk. In addition to her role at the desk, Marley also collaborates with the Studio Manger, Miss Cassy.

Miss Marley attends West Valley Community College and plans to transfer to SJSU in 2024 to pursue her degree in Early Childhood Education. She also plans to get her teaching degree from SJSU. Marley enjoys helping with the studio’s annual summer performance and working on any studio projects that come her way.

Miss Maureen began dancing at age 5. She grew up performing for various bay area dance studios, high school dance teams and competitions. She started dancing at CDC in 2004, training in ballet under Miss Leslie and Miss Melissa. Over the years she performed, instructed classes in various styles and coached competition teams at CDC.

In addition to working the front desk, Miss Maureen currently manages and edits all music used for our Competition Teams/Solos, our Ballet Performance Awards Program and our yearly Summer Productions. She also assists in directing sound and lighting cues for our Summer Productions.