Owner/Artistic Director
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Jamie, a Florida Dance Master’s Certified Teacher, is a native of Florida, but has also studied dance in Indiana, Kentucky, and Los Angeles, California. In 2001, Jamie pursued a degree in dance with a full arts scholarship to Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. While in Gainesville, she studied with greats such as Alberto Alonso, Antolino Alvarez, and Maximum Dance Company of Miami. She served as President of the performing group, as well as, choreographed and directed the student choreographed show “Angels of Dance”.
In 2003, Jamie went on to perform commercially in Los Angeles, California and was selected to dance with top performing groups throughout the city. After returning to Florida in 2007, she became the resident teacher for Donna Lee Dance Studio in Miami, Florida, teaching tap, jazz, ballet, and acrobatics to all ages. She also choreographed works for their dance company, “Expressions”. In addition to teaching at local studios, Jamie has had the privilege of teaching at national conventions such as the Florida Dance Master’s Convention where dance studios from across the state come to learn from the best in the industry. In 2016, she left The Dance Company of Ocala where she instructed ballet and acrobatics, as well as choreographed for their award winning competition team, to pursue her dream of opening Momentum Dance Arts. A well-rounded education and a love for the arts has allowed Jamie the opportunity to share her passion and abilities with children and artists from all around the world. With over 20 years of teaching experience, she is dedicated to inspire and build strong dancers within the Gainesville, Alachua, High Spring and surrounding areas! |
Ms. JessieTeaches Ballet and Pointe
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Jessie Dominguez is a classically trained ballerina who started her education at the Alejo Carpentier Elementary School of Ballet in Havana, Cuba, in 1993. She continued her studies at the Cuban National Ballet School Fernando Alonso, obtaining numerous awards, including a silver medal in 1998, another silver medal in 1999, and a gold medal in 2000 at the International Ballet Encounters of Academies Competitions for the Teaching of Ballet held in Havana, Cuba. In 2001, she graduated from the Cuban National Ballet School as a Distinguished Graduate and received Gold Diploma, the highest award given to only one person per graduating class”. The same year, she was selected to become part of the world-renowned company, the National Ballet of Cuba, under the artistic-technical direction of the founder and absolute prima ballerina Alicia Alonso. After initially serving as a soloist, she was rapidly promoted to principal dancer. Her repertoire as a principal dancer included Giselle, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Coppelia, La Sylphide, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Apollo, Carmen, Nutcracker, La Fille Mal Garde, La Bayadere, Theme and Variations as well as contemporary and neoclassical works by creators such as Alberto Alonso, Laura Alonso, Alberto Mendez, Gustavo Herrera, Ivan Tenorio, Jean Gran Maître, Annabelle López Ochoa, Luis Serrano, Peter Quanz, Gerard Ebitz, among others. Jessie Dominguez possesses a rare combination of skills and experiences. She has trained and performed at the highest level in the masterful tradition of Cuban National Ballet yet she fluidly transitions she excels in performances of a more creative/experimental nature. Her work ethic is impeccable and she has delightful interpersonal skills. She is a thoughtful critic and teacher, encouraging and enlightening dancers of all ages and abilities. Jessie is currently the ballet professor at Santa Fe College.
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Ms. KatieTeaches Musical Theater, Jazz, Contemporary
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“Katie Needles began dancing at the age of 10 in Pensacola, Florida. Since then, she has had the opportunity to teach and choreograph for several studios in the Pensacola area. While in high school, she pursued her passions for theatre and acting through Pace High School’s drama troupe and was awarded a superior award in choreography her senior year by district 1 of the Florida State Thespian Festival. This experience allowed her to expand her knowledge of musical theatre choreography while continuing to train in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop at her home studio.
She recently graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in Dance and Business Administration with a specialization in theatre. While at UF, she had the opportunity to perform in both faculty and student showcases. She also was highly involved outside of the dance department including being a member of Stomp the Swamp’s performance team, serving on the sustainability committee of Florida Women in Business, and being elected to the secretary position of Extreme Dance Company- one of UF’s largest student-run dance organizations. With her leadership roles, she gained experience in organizing showcases with many dancers and choreographing for groups with various backgrounds. She is so excited to be able to share her knowledge of the performing arts while continuing her professional career.” |
MR. BOTeaches Tap/Jazz, Musical Theater, Acting
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Bo is a performance artist, director, choreographer with over 20 years production experience spanning the genres of the industry from cruise line and theme park to Off-broadway. Bo’s wide range of performance credits include the National Tours of CATS, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, ThoroughlyModern Mille and Crazy For You. Bo has performed with Dollywood, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney cruise lines and has danced alongside Dolly Parton and his favorite, MinnieMouse! He has worked for Walt Disney World and has been featured in Beauty and the Beast:Live On Stage, The Hoop
Dee Doo Revue, Dream Along with Mickey, ABC’s Annual Christmas Day Parade, and the live christening of the DCL Disney Dream cruise liner with Jennifer Hudson. Bo made his Off Broadway debut in the musical Trip Of Love starring Nia Souix and Darlene Love ultimately becoming the production’s dance captain. Bo has taught and adjudicated with studios across the southeast and worked with masters such as Gwen Verdon, Ann Reinking and Ben Vereen. Bo’s directorial and choreographic work has been nominated for Broadway World and MTA awards and includes show creation for CarowindsTheme Park and Celebrity Cruise Line. |
Ms. LaniTeaches Technique, Jazz, Contemporary, Combos, Acro
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Lani Rios has always had a passion for dance as soon as she began at a young age. She was a competitive gymnast for 10 years prior to beginning dance which helped jumpstart her dance career. She began dancing at a local dance studio in Cherry Creek Colorado, where she studied all styles of dance. During high school she attended Denver School of the Arts to study dance more in depth. There she was introduced to Graham modern dance and developed her choreography skills. She then went on to major in dance in college at Randolph College. While there she worked with and performed the works of Jose Limon, Martha Graham, Diane Gray, Annabella Lenzu, Pilobolus, and Clay Taliferro to name a few. Lani participated in Dance New York International Student Choreographer's Intensive where she learned the works of Merce Cunningham and Kazuko Hirabayashi and performed them in Paris, France. Upon graduation from college, she received a scholarship to the Martha Graham school in New York for the summer program.
After receiving her BFA in dance she decided to move to Florida. Since living in Florida she has taught and performed all over the state of Florida. She has danced for professional companies such as Brazarte, Hattie Mae Williams- the Tattooed Ballerinas, and Peter London Global Dance Company. She has performed for movie premieres, Guinness Book of Records Events, and the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. She has taught ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, acro and gymnastics to many studios from Miami to Gainesvills. She has been a certified USAG gymnastics coach and developed acro programs for many dance studios. Most recently her choreography for competitions has received numerous awards for entertainment, artistic excellence and prop creativity. Lani has been teaching dance for 15 years and is always excited to watch her students excel. She can't wait to share her passion for dance and acro with your dancer. |
Ms. YuliaTeaches Ballet, Pointe, Progressing Ballet Technique,
Stretch and Conditioning 
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Yulia Pivotskaya is a professional ballet instructor and a certified Progressing Ballet Technique teacher. She is a ballet teacher at the University of Florida and at the Skyra Studio as well as a guest teacher for Summer and Winter Intensive Programs. Ms.Pivotskaya was a professional ballet dancer. She graduated from Vaganova Ballet Academy in 2002 and immediately joined The Saint-Petersburg
State Academic Ballet Theatre. In 2005 she performed all classical ballets with the Mikhailovsky Theatre in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In 2008 she joined Croatian National Ballet Theatre as principal dancer. In 2014 she is a principal dancer with Dance Alive National Ballet. Ms. Pivotskaya has danced almost all classical ballets and performed contemporary ballets as well. She worked with famous choreographers ( Zurij Vamos, Rami Be'er, Leo Mujic ) and teachers ( Joyce Cuoco, Johnny Eliasen,Uwe Scholz). Ms. Pivotskaya got a Master's Degree in Ballet Pedagogy in Vaganova Ballet Academy. She has 14 year history of hands-on experiences as a Ballet Teacher. She was a Ballet Instructor in Vaganova Ballet Academy, Russia; in Croatian Ballet School, Croatia; in Pofahl Studio, in Dance Alive National Ballet, USA. Ms. Pivotskaya was giving Master Classes and Summer Intensives, doing choreography and staging performances. Has toured with Mikhailovsky Theatre to Japan, with Croatian National Ballet Theatre to Italy and Turkey. Ms. Pivotskaya teaches ballet beginners/ intermediate/ advanced, pointe , PBT classes, stretch and strengthen classes, variations, character classes, technique classes. |
Ms. JiannaTeaches Acro, Hip Hop, Jazz
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Jianna started dancing at the age of 6. From that very moment she knew that dance was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. At age 7 she started competing and has won many titles at the regional and national level. She has also attended numerous master classes and dance conventions to further her knowledge for the art that she loves. In her years of dance, Jianna has intensively trained in many genres such as, Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz , Musical Theater, Lyrical, Contemporary, Pom/Drill, Hip-Hop, and Tribal Funk. Jianna began choreographing pieces around age 13 and her pieces have been performed all over the state by cheer teams, dance teams, pageant contestants and more. Many of her pieces have placed highly in their categories. After graduating from high school, Jianna decided to take her dance career to the next level. She graduated from Santa Fe College, with her A.A. in dance. During her time at Santa Fe she had numerous opportunities to perform and build her skills as an artist. She has been accepted into the dance program at the University of Florida where she will be continuing to grow not only as a dancer but as a choreographer as well. Jianna has 4 plus years experience as a teacher and loves to watch her students grow and gain confidence not only in their skills but in themselves.
In the fall of 2021, Jianna launched a choreography business, Artistry in Motion. She has a true passion for dance and traveling and decided to combine her love for both. Under her guidance, Artistry in Motion has traveled all over the state to not only to educate but entertain as well. A.I.M. is an award winning business that provides choreography to dancers at the beginner level all the way to advanced. Since the launch of A.I.M. Jianna has worked with, dancers, cheerleaders, pageant contestants and even wedding parties. Asides from dance Jianna is a certified coach in the state of Florida for grades K-12. She utilizes her certification to coach a varsity cheerleading team. She has 6 plus years experience in the cheer industry, and 2 years experience as a coach. Jianna is also involved in pageantry and has won multiple titles. She is the current reigning Miss Sumter County. Jianna loves being in the entertainment industry and enjoys sharing her knowledge with the next generation. |
Ms. AlyssaTeaches Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop and is
Co-Director of our Competitive Company 
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Alyssa began dancing at 8 years old at Hannah Bergstrom School of Dance and was a member of their competitive company from 2009-2016. She then trained at Artistry Dance Alliance from 2016-2018 where she was a member of the Alliance Dance Company. Her senior year of high school, she worked as a teaching assistant for Artistry Dance Alliance and fell in
love with teaching children. In 2018 she choreographed her first competition group piece for Fusion National Dance Competition’s young choreographer challenge where she placed 2nd. Since then, Alyssa has choreographed several competition pieces for the Alliance Dance Company, several of which earned top 5 placements. She is currently studying General Psychology at the University of Florida. During her time at UF, Alyssa was a Dazzler (2019 and 2020 seasons), performing at various sporting events including football, basketball, and volleyball. Alyssa continues to dance through UF’s dance club Danza. |
Ms. KieraTeaches Ballet, Creative Movement, and Tap/Ballet Combos
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Kiera Manna began dancing as a child with Marilyn Budzynski in Pennsylvania. She continued her training with Kristen Olsen Potts at the West Coast Conservatory of Ballet in Southern California. Kiera performed and toured as a professional dancer with companies including the Orange County Regional Ballet (Ballet Unlimited), Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre, Nevada Ballet Theater, Santa Clara Ballet, Boulder Ballet, and Rocky Mountain Ballet.
Kiera is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has been teaching ballet for 20 years and is also a certified teacher of Yoga and Zen Barre. |
Ms. JadeTeaches Tap/Ballet Combo Classes
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Ms. Jade has been dancing since the age of three. She started dancing for fun but quickly decided that she wanted more. She has studied all styles of dance and has had the privilege of working with some of the best in the industry. She has danced competitively for many years and soon became a highly recognized dancer and choreographer throughout the state.
She has found a love for teaching, mentoring and choreographing. She hopes to share her love for dance with all of the future generations of MDA. |
Ms. KassandraTeaches Jazz, Hip Hop
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Kassandra Garcia was born and raised in Miami Florida. As a native to Miami, FL, Kassandra grew up predominately learning ballet, contemporary, jazz, and hip hop under the direction of Marisel Garcia, Elizabeth Aleman, and Jennifer Rivera training at Mari’s Ballet and Dance Academy for her entire childhood. Throughout the years she has had the opportunity to train with master teachers and choreographers through the attendance of multiple conventions. Kassandra graduated from Doral Performing Arts and Entertainment Academy in 2021, where she held the position of co-captain for the national winning Doral Rubies dance team under the direction of Marion-Skye Logan, Claudia Florez, and Andrea Jonusas. Presently, she now attends the University of Florida in hopes to obtain a mastery in Biology as well as a certification in Dance. She is also an executive board member of Danza Dance Company, University of Florida’s most selective dance company. Kassandra hopes to gie back her passion for dance to upcoming dancers and help them study movement research. |
Ms. AleanaTeaches Ballet
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Aleana Perez started dancing ballet at the age of five in Port St. Lucie Florida. She continued her classical ballet training up until 2022 with St. Lucie Ballet under Rogelio Corrales and Lydia Oquendo, who both teach Cuban Classical Ballet. Along with Ballet she also intensively trained in contemporary, jazz, neo-classical, and much more. It was around the age of 13 in 2018 that she began competing at competitions and attending various different workshops across the country. Some of these experiences include competing and receiving awards at Universal Ballet Competition Grand Prix, Youth American Grand Prix National Ballet Competition, The American Dance Competition, Shake the Ground Dance Competition, New York City Dance Alliance, and attending Grand Premier Invitational Intensive Workshop as an ambassador in Arizona. She has also danced as a soloist and been a part of multiple different ballet productions such as The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Coppelia, Paquita, The Sleeping Beauty, Diana and Acteon, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Esmeralda, and many others she will never forget. Throughout the years she has been able to work with many amazing choreographers and teachers in the dance world. They have been her inspiration to pursue her passion for dance. Along with dancing she loves being able to teach, inspire, and challenge students in classical ballet. She believes that there is such beauty in ballet and it is her motivation to pass this onto her students and spark inspiration within them.
Aleana is currently a student at the University of Florida as a nutritional science major, and is on a pre-med track. She hopes to one day use her nutritional science knowledge to help spread more awareness in the ballet and sports industry, along with hopes to make it into medical school in 2026. |
Ms. MaryTeaches Creative Movement, Tap/Ballet Combo, and Acro
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Mary Kenney found her love for dance when she was 2 years old at Donna Lee studio of Dance in Miami, Florida. Mary continued to pursue her passion for dance by taking a variety of classes at Donna Lee including ballet, pointe, acrobatics, tap, jazz, and lyrical and eventually joined Expressions Dance Company where she continued to work with many talented choreographers and teachers. She began assisting with several dance classes at age 13 and discovered that she loved teaching dance just as much as she did dancing herself. In high school, she joined Westminster Christian School’s varsity dance team where she partook in competitions, workshops, conventions and more. For 16 years she has continued taking classes at Donna Lee Studio of Dance 4 days a week, rehearsing on weekends with Expressions Dance Company, participating in dance team practices after school, and of course teaching her love of dance to students. Mary is excited to now attend the University of Florida, majoring in Nutritional Sciences, as well as join Momentum Dance Arts to continue her love of dance.
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Ms. ClaudiaTeaches Tap, Contemporary, Jazz
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Claudia De Armas trained at Elsa Pardo Dance Center in Tampa, Florida for 8 years. She trained in ballet, pointe, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, and tap. While training at Elsa Pardo Dance Center, she competed with their competition team for 6 years. Their team attended several different competitions and conventions across Florida, which allowed Claudia to expand her dance experience. While competing with her studio, she was also a part of her high school’s dance team for all four years.
Claudia fell in love with dance during these years and wanted to continue to pursue it after high school. She is currently at the University of Florida studying Applied Physiology and Kinesiology and pursuing a Dance in Medicine Certificate. She also continues her passion of dance by choreographing dances in Danza Dance Company at the University of Florida. Claudia hopes to spread her passion of dance to all the dancers at Momentum Dance Arts. |
Ms. BellaTeaches Tap, Jazz, Princess Ballet, Tap/Jazz Combo,
Mini Company 
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Bella has been dancing since the age of 3. She trained primarily in ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary at BSDA for eight years. While at BSDA, she also danced competitively for four of those years.
Currently, Bella is pursuing a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education at the University of Florida. Also at UF, she is a member of Danza Dance Company where she takes classes and performs. Bella loves the energy and creativity that dancers bring to the studio and is excited to be a part of Momentum Dance Arts! |