Stacy, born and raised in Los Angeles, has been dancing since the age of three. During adolescence, she began training under the direction of Marguerite Derricks who gave her a strong technical foundation training in body alignment, jazz technique, progressions, strength/stretch, and turns/leaps. She became part of Marguerite’s Teen Company “Generation Next” where she was able to train with top choreographers in the industry such as Liz Imperio and Michael Rooney. She grew up training with many choreographers at the Performing Arts Center in Van Nuys, Edge Pac, and Millennium Dance Complex. Since then she has assisted Michael Rooney, assisted on Jackie Slight’s competition/convention “LA Dance Magic” as well as taught and judged for “Dance Masters of America”, “VIP Dance”, and “Spotlight”. Stacy’s tap credits include training alongside Gregg Russell in his company Tapsounds Underground for 5 years as well as with Savior Glover throughout the years.
Stacy has taught and directed jazz, tap, and contemporary programs for over 15 years at professional studios all over Los Angeles. She has also worked in many private school districts with children of all ages at Mariposa Elementary, Laurence School, Buckley School, La Reina School, and Archer School for girls. She most recently developed and implemented a full-on dance curriculum for grades Kindergarten-6th at Laurence School where she directed Dance within the Performing Arts Program. She has choreographed many full-length musicals for Hamilton High School of the Performing Arts and Laurence School that include “A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum”, “Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Gypsy” to name a few. Stacy’s live show concert credits include “Promotion for Candies Perfume”, “Disney’s off the Wall”, ”Relay for Life Cancer Benefit”, “Dancer’s Unite”, and “Viva El Principle” with Crisitan Castro on tour.
Stacy strongly believes that incorporating dance and movement into daily routine plays a significant role in shaping the personality and life of a child. She embraces the idea that dance is more than than just movement. Dance combines the power of non-verbal communication with artistic process, and embodies creative action. It builds character, responsibility, and an increased motivation to learn. Stacy prepares children for the workplace and community life by teaching life skills through dance to advance their listening skills, self-discipline, self-confidence, poise, persistence, accuracy, and openness to new ideas. She believes excellent training and work ethic is not only essential to the longevity of a career as a dancer, but also to any career choice geared into the professional world of work.
Stacy has an Associates Degree in Psychology/Child Development, a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology from Cal State Northridge, and is a trained Track and Field Champion. She currently travels as a master teacher, choreographs award winning competition numbers all over the USA, and shares her passion for dance that comes out in her teaching as she guides and inspires dancers all over the country. She is thrilled to be a part of the Industry Family as Artistic Director of the Jazz Technique and Tap Program.
