Staff Pics

Tiffany began dancing at the age of 4 and was also a gymnast for 10 years.  In 1998 she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography from ASU.  Her Senior year she was awarded a Choreography Scholarship and was chosen to be part of the committee to choose the following year's faculty at ASU. In 1999 she also graduated from SWIHA (Southwest Institute of the Healing Arts) in Massage Therapy.  In her dance career she has been lucky enough to do summer training with Chuck Davis, Mark Morris, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey Dance Co., and The Pulse.  She was awarded a Pulse Teacher Scholarship  to dance in New York in 2010 with the SYTYCD choreographers.  She was tested and certified in ballet, jazz, and modern in 2006 to become of member of Dance Masters of America, a national dance teacher association.  In 2013 she tested, and is now a Certified Examiner for DMA in Ballet and Modern.  She currently is Vice President for the Dance Masters of Arizona Chapter 36.   Tiffany has been the owner and director of DMDA since 2000.  She has currently finished one year of her Master of Fine Arts at ASU, which was covered with a tuition scholarship and Teaching Stipend.  That is currently on hold, but will be revisited soon.  Inspiring children to love the discipline and passion that dance can bring is what drives her to teach.  She is strongly aware and thrives for both the mental and physical health of the students that she is lucky enough to teach.  

Rachel Zaner, born in Maryland, spent the majority of her childhood in North Phoenix. She began her dance training at age 6, and studied diligently at Dynamic Motion Dance Academy throughout the years. Rachel began competing  at age 13, and found her deep love for performing through the competition stage. Early on, Rachel knew she had a passion for teaching dance. She spent all of her spare time at the studio as a teachers assistant, and eventually an instructor, so that she could better learn how to train younger dancers. 

Rachel attended the prestigious University of Arizona Dance program and graduated Magna Cum Laude with her BFA in 2018. During her four years at the university, she trained extensively under many world renowned dancers including Melissa Lowe, Amy Ernst, Samuel Watson, Tamera Dyke-Compton,  Michael Williams, Douglas Neilson, Jory Hancock, and Elizabeth George. Her focuses included Ballet, Jazz, and Modern technique. In addition, Rachel studied choreography, Bio-mechanics, Anatomy, partnering, music theory, yoga, and Fletchers Pilates. 

Rachel’s greatest joy comes from watching her students grow into their full potential as dancers and artists. She hopes to touch as many dancers as possible while providing them with the skills and knowledge it takes to become a successful dancer. 

Alexis Stephens began dancing at the early age of three. Growing up she had the opportunity to work with renowned ballet instructor Olga Tarasova, among other highly educated instructors. She studied extensively in ballet, tap, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and (later on) modern. After her journey with competition and studio dance ended, she continued her pursuit of dance by diving into the realm of choreography in her high schools dance company. After high school, she continued her choreographic and performance pursuits at Arizona State University, where she graduated in 2015 with her BFA in Dance/Dance Education. While she attended ASU, Alexis was awarded several academic and dance talent scholarships. Upon completion of the program, she was honored to have been awarded a certificate from the School of Dance for “Outstanding Achievement in Performance.”

Throughout her dance career, Alexis has been privileged to work with Epik Dance Company, Halo Movement Collective, Scorpius Dance Theatre, and several other local artists in the valley. She has performed in multple live productions including, but not limited to, “A Vampire Tale,” "All In the Heir" "Underland: A White Nightmare,” "Savage Beauty," "Memoriam," and "Cell." She currently teaches and shares her passion for dance with her students at INSPIRE Entertainment, and Dynamic Motion Dance Academy. While performing and teaching professionally, Alexis continues to further her dance education. She has attended many summer training programs with companies such as River North Dance Chicago and MusEffect in LA. She continues to develop her own craft by traveling and taking classes from some of her favorite artists, such as Cat Cogliandro. Alexis has become one of Arizona’s most sought after contemporary choreographers. She has a hungry heart for dance and it is her passion to inspire others the way that dance has always inspired her.

 Lyndsie Clymer has been dancing since she was 3 years old at DMDA. She has taken Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Breaking, Modern, Ballroom, Lyrical, Contemporary, Musical Theater, and Acrobatics. Lyndsie was apart of a competitive team for 6 years, where she loved to perform with her fellow dancers. Since the age of 12 Lyndsie has been assisting her mentors Tiffany Fox and Sherry Henderson. She is now pursuing her dream of teaching, Lyndsie has worked with various levels of dancers ages ranging form 2-18. Lyndsie recently got her certification in Jazz with Dance Master of America. She is currently working on her Certification for Acro with Acrobatic Art. Lyndsie is a Choreographer and Director at Musical Theater of Anthem. She has done many shows there, her favorites being Mary Poppins, Once On This Island, and 13. Lyndsie teaches dance at different studios and schools around Arizona. She is a guest choreographer at Boulder Creek High School with the Choir and Dance Program. Along with working in elementary and preschools with extra curricular activities. Lyndsie was given the Artistic Merit, Leadership and Academic Award in 2015, which only a few were awarded in the state of Arizona. Lyndsie’s choreography has be awarded and recognizes through Competitions, NYAs and district evaluations. She is incredibly grateful to be able to do what she loves every single day. Lyndsie truly just loves to teach dance and work with kids. DMDA has been Lyndsie’s home studio since 2001. Lyndsie is excited to continue working with the students of DMDA, helping them reach new endeavors with their strength, flexibility and technique. 

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Jose Soto started dancing at the age of 17 at Maryvale High School, purely as a way to escape. Little did he know that dance would become an escape unlike anything he ever imagined.

"As a kid i always loved to move and dance freely but I started in high school because I didn't want to take Physical Education," Soto explains with a laugh. "But than I grew an interested in it on how it made my heart really exciting to put movement into music

Recognizing the freedom and jubilation that comes at the hands of such connected and authentic expression, Jose began teaching weekly classes at studios throughout the valley in hopes of helping students of all ages and levels tap into their passion for dance while providing classroom environments that give students a vulnerable space to express themselves and explore their movement vocabularies.  Jose has been teaching master classes and providing award-winning choreography throughout the country for years, and finds joy in traveling and meeting new communities of dancers to inspire him in his journey.

Jose created DYBOS (Dance Your Butt Sunday) - an open class for the dance community that has grown to be one of the most sought-after open classes by both amateurs and professionals alike for its encouragement of community and its constant focus on uplifting and uniting dancers. Jose is also a faculty member with One Rhythm Dance Convention and currently travels the country doing choreography and teaching master classes for studios in several states.

His studio training began under Miss Elizabeth Roper in ballet, and has since continued to include a roster of both Arizona's finest and some of the country's most prominent professionals (he was even a Pulse Protege at the age of 20). Determined to share his passion, Jose pursued performance opportunities and has danced professionally with Center Dance Ensemble, EPIK Dance Company, WNBA Mercury Hip Hop Squad, Scandalesque Production, Phoenix Contemporary Dance Company and Scorpius Dance Theatre.  

  Sara Muchnij has been dancing since the age of 3, with 15 of those years being at Dynamic Motion Dance Academy. She takes Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, and Contemporary. She has also trained in Modern, Ballroom, Musical Theater, and Acrobatics. Sara was on the DMDA competition team for about 10 years and is now choreographing for the team. Sara has also taken some dance classes at Masters Ballet Academy, Plumb performing Arts, and travels during the summer to take classes. Sara went to Boulder Creek High School where she was a member of the Performance Team, was the Vice President and President of the after school dance club NHSDA, voted best dancer in her High School superlatives and choreographed the Mr. BC pageant. During her High School years Sara choreographed many dances for different levels of students and continues to teach at Boulder Creek as a guest choreographer. Sara studied the history of dance and hip hop at Paradise Valley Community College, and has an Associates Degree in Arts. Recently she has been certified in teaching Jazz dance with Dance Masters of America. Along with this her choreography has been recognized and awarded at various competitions. She has had the opportunity to perform in many shows including the 13th Floor Haunted House, the I.D.E.A. Dance Fashion Show, Dancing for the Stars charity event, and many more. Sara has been teaching at DMDA for 4 years, and does choreography/ teaching jobs throughout the community. Sara loves to teach and work with students to help them find a love for dance while pushing them to become better dancers and grow as people. 

Mikayla Skogen started a ballet class at the age of three years old at Dynamic Motion Dance Academy and fell in love. She’s been dancing ever since. She has danced all styles such as ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, tap, and musical theater. Although her favorite by far is, Ballet. She has been a guest ballerina for a few studios around Arizona and attended college for Dance Education at GCU (Grand Canyon University). She is also certified in Ballet through DMA (Dance Masters of America). Currently she is a dance teacher at the place where it all began, Dynamic Motion Dance Academy and absolutely adores teaching the little ones. She has a passion for children and and for dance and thankfully she has a job that combines those two together. She would love to own her own studio one day and continue to share her love for dance with others! 

 Nicole Koster began dance training at the age of 3 at her home studio, Dynamic Motion Dance Academy, and she really started to focus in on dance as a career path by the age of 10. Over the years Nicole has trained extensively in styles such as: ballet, jazz, mordern, pointe, tap, acro, musical theatre, hip hop, jazz funk, contemporary and lyrical. On top of this she has taken specialty classes in: urban flow, fusion, flamanco, salsa, partnering, improv, percussion and many more! Nicole has been a competitive dancer at dmda for 6 years and with this she has been able to learn from top notch instructions nationwide. A few of these people are, Mia Michels, Abbey O'Brein, Tammy/Chris Compton, Loni Landon and various other exceptional teachers. Nicole likes to enhance her dance career each summer by attending intensive dance training programs such as Perry Mansfield in Colorado and Joffrey in New York City where she would dance up to 10 hours a day. During the year she continues to train vigorously in dance by going to dance conventions and competitions nationwide, on top of this she trains in voice and acting every week.
 

Native of Arizona, Velaine Jollé has been a lover of the world of dance for as long as she can remember. She began her dance training at the age of 3. Velaine broadened her scope with tumbling, cheerleading, wrestling and bodybuilding throughout her teen and early 20’s. She studied and danced more at G.C.C. with the Physical Graffiti Company and Lenna DeMarco. She’s traveled and performed with many dance companies  and entertainment corporations like Nebellen, Twilight Productions, Dance Fx for over a decade, soaking up as much as possible and always willing to learn more.  This gave her the exposure and knowledge of more urban styles like hip hop and all the genres within it. With over 25 years of teaching, performing and sharing her passion of dance with others, she now holds the title of Co-Artistic Director at 2 valley dance studios and has been awarded various choreography and judge’s awards throughout the competitive dance circuit.  Although her training was very broad and diverse with strong technical foundations, she specializes in acrobatic tumbling and foundational hip hop as well as lyrical, jazz and contemporary styling.  Spread the love & share the dance!!