Megan Bettis began her training in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and lyrical at Shuffles & Ballet II, the official school of Ballet Arkansas. She received additional training at Centre for the DansArts, The Joffrey Ballet’s Summer Intensive programs, and attended Southern Methodist University to study Dance Performance. Megan has enjoyed dancing various roles in The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Holberg Suite, Paquita, The Sleeping Beauty, and By George. Locally she has performed with site-specific company Blue Lapis Light, Ballet East Dance Theatre and Komo Danceworks. While she enjoys performing professionally, Megan finds that she best explores her creative talents and knowledge of the art of dance through teaching. Her cheerful, patient, and energetic demeanor has a positive and inspiring impact on her students


Amy Benenate realized that dance was a lifetime passion when she was attending Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. She graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia with a B.F.A. in Modern Dance in 1997. She danced and choreographed with companies Group Motion and Ausdruckstanz in Philadelphia, and has toured internationally with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's second company Ailey II.
While living in New York, she choreographed and performed in several states on the east coast. Dance is a beautiful language that allows thoughts and feelings to be conveyed by movement. Amy loves to share her knowledge of dance to students so they can articulate their ideas through the language of dance.


Karen Smith felt the spark for dance after taking her very first ballet class, at age 3, and hasn’t stopped dancing since. While serving 4 years on the Eunice Emeralds dance team, Karen received a scholarship to attend the Joe Tremaine Convention in New Orleans. In addition, Karen earned her degree in Business with a Minor in Dance from The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Having been involved in dance for nearly 25 years in one form or another, Karen felt compelled to share her passion for dance with others. Since being given the opportunity to teach at the Austin Dance Company two years ago, Karen’s focus has been primarily on the Young Dancer program, including Twinkle Toes, Twinkle Stars, and Dance Combo classes, as well as Groovy Girls dance camp. Karen brings a very positive, upbeat personality as well as tons of energy to the classroom and hopes her passion for dance will inspire her students.


Leah Smiley Tubbs is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. She studied dance at Alabama School of Fine Arts and University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. She is a former scholarship recipient of the American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive. She has been blessed to dance with several prominent companies such as Dayton Contemporary Dance Second Company (DCdC2), Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre (CCDT), Lula Washington Dance Theater, Project 21, LA Dancers and Choreographers, and Donna Sternberg and Dancers. Mrs. Tubbs’ teaching philosophy is to expose dance to people of all ages and all walks of life in a positive, nurturing environment. She wants to touch the imaginative spirit of her students so they will have the opportunity to gain positive self- esteem and respect for others by creatively expressing themselves through dance. Leah uses her warm, cheery personality to connect with her students


Aimée Garten has performed in many musicals in California as well as with dance companies throughout San Diego and Los Angeles. She has worked extensively in education and choreography in both California and Texas. In addition to classes at Austin Dance Company, she has also taught at Julian/Ramona Academy of Dance, Julian Junior Theatre, and the Family Fine Arts Academy in California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Arts and a Masters Degree in Creative Writing. As a long time dancer, Miss Aimée has trained under Jean Isaacs, Kristi Durbin-Griffin, Faith Jensen- Ismay, Ricardo Peralta, Nancy McCaleb, Charles Edmondson, and many others. As a theatre professional, she has worked at the Globe Theatres and The Pine Hills Playhouse in San Diego as well as the Julian Melodrama Can-Can. She is a professional member of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists and has appeared often on both stage and screen. Her creative background drives her philosophy of strong story-telling through the art of dance. Students are encouraged to use their own imaginations whenever possible to enhance the brilliance of technically-focused dance. Miss Aimée is eager to teach proper technique and terminology to all dancers, no matter how young, while also bringing out the "performer's presence" in all activities.

Karen Searles began her dance and teacher training at Madison School of Ballet with Bess and Tibor Zana, Kelle Adams, and Vivian Tomlinson. She graduated with honors and a BFA in Dance and BS in Dance Education with WI Certification K-12 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Previously she attended Eastern Michigan University for Dance Performance where she studied with members of Peter Sparling Dance Company and Lori Belilove (Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation). As a scholarship student at EMU, she was a member of the Movable Feet Dance Troupe performing in Prague and the Midwest, performed in student and faculty concerts, and taught at local studios. Upon her return to Madison, she performed for UW students and studied with various UW faculty and visiting and local guest artists including Madison Ballet, Li Chiao-Ping, W. Earle Smith, Heidi Latsky, Barbara Grubel, Jin-Wen Yu Dance Company, Maureen Janson, Lisa Thurrell, Robert Cleary, and Kanopy Dance Company members, involving performances throughout the Midwest. Some of her roles include “Fanny Cerrito” in Pas de Quatre, “Soloist” in Cascading, Antigone, and various roles in Nutcracker, La Boutique Fantastique, Swan Lake, and Coppelia. As the recipient of education and dance scholarships, she also received a Senior Honors Grant to fund a program providing dance for underprivileged youth.

Following her student career, she has continued to teach and perform professionally and has continued her training at New York City Dance Alliance, American Dance Festival, Tremaine, Richmond Ballet, Adult Dance Camps, Kanopy School for Contemporary Dance & Choreography, TDTA, and Dance Teacher Conference. For seven years in Madison, partly while attending school, she performed professionally as a member of the Kanopy Dance Company and Madison Ballet; and taught and served as Ballet Mistress, Office Manager, and Company Choreographer at A Step Above Dance and Music Academy, teacher at Storybook Ballet, STEPS Program Facilitator for Madison Ballet, and chorographer for Evansville High School and Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Her choreography was been highly-awarded throughout the Midwest. She and her husband moved to Austin in August 2007 where she is a faculty member of the Fine Arts Academy program at Westwood High School and at various local studios.

"Having a great passion for both dance and education, I offer both enthusiasm and motivation in the classroom.  It is my firm goal to enrich the lives of each of my students.  Being a strong advocate for the youth of today, it is my hope to enhance the quality of their dance experience by providing them the tools they will need to make their dreams become reality.  With a creative, technical, and educational mix, my classes provide a positive atmosphere in which to gain an understanding and appreciation for the art, strong technique, and an introduction to dance as an outlet for endless study."