14017 Telegraph Road, Woodbridge, Virginia 22192, United States
Meet our teachers & Staff!
Ann Boyle - Artistic Director
Danielle DuFore-Garcia -Director of Tap & Jazz
Danielle DuFore-Garcia -Director of Tap & Jazz
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Mrs. Boyle’s extensive teaching and choreography experience spans more than 40 years. She received her training in Dayton, New York, and London. In London, she studied at the Rambert School and was accepted into the Royal Ballet School of Teachers. She has been a guest performer with numerous regional ballet companies in the United States and London. She established 4 other schools prior to opening Dance Etc. School of the Arts in 1981. She has served on the board of directors for 5 ballet companies. In 1990, she received the prestigious “Choreographer of the Year Award” from the Alliance of Community Theaters (ACT). She is also a 6 time recipient of the Virginia Governor’s School Award for the Outstanding Educator of the Year.
Danielle DuFore-Garcia -Director of Tap & Jazz
Danielle DuFore-Garcia -Director of Tap & Jazz
Danielle DuFore-Garcia -Director of Tap & Jazz
Danielle DuFóre-García is a passionate dance educator who strives to inspire and cultivate the technical and artistic abilities of her students, no matter the age or ability level. Aside from a Bachelor’s in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University and a Master of Education in Special Education from George Mason University, she has received numerous teaching recognitions and holds certifications in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), Yoga (children's, teens, trauma-informed focus), and House Party Fitness. She has performed, choreographed, and worked professionally (both nationally and internationally) in the dance industry for over 25 years, in numerous musicals and operas such as “Annie”, “King and I”, “West Side Story”, “Damn Yankees”, “On Your Toes”, “Hello Dolly” (with Joanne Worley), “Faust”, “Carmen”, the national tour of “Chicago” and the Papermill Playhouse production of “Dreamgirls”. Her enthusiastic and dynamic teaching style enables her to develop and implement lesson plans that not only hone technique and artistry, but foster character building, discipline, creativity, and engagement within the classroom. Her versatility and range of dance experience qualifies her to teach a variety of disciplines including Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Musical Theater, Lyrical, and Hip-Hop. Her post-graduate studies at Gus Giordano’s in Chicago and Alvin Ailey Dance School in NYC, expanded her knowledge base to include training in Flamenco, Horton and Dunham Techniques. Danielle is adept at creating classes that are engaging, fun, and motivating, as well as coordinating and promoting performance opportunities for her current students to encourage community building and connectedness. As both a dance educator and public-school teacher, she strives to create a lifelong love of learning, as well as physical, social, and emotional wellness in her students. In the public schools, she has created a dance program for students of “All-Abilities” that cultivates the love of movement and music in students with special needs. In addition to teaching at Dance Etc., she actively seeks and participates in opportunities for community outreach and performance collaboration across a variety of genres (visual art, music, dance) with professional dance companies like Pointillism Jazz Consort.
Quinton Nelson - Director of Hip Hop
Danielle DuFore-Garcia -Director of Tap & Jazz
Quinton Nelson - Director of Hip Hop
Quinton Nelson began dancing at age 5 and continued throughout his childhood and teenage years. He studied at Dance Etc. and performed with several community Hip Hop dance troupes in the DMV area. While attending Norfolk State University he furthered his dance education at the Evelyn Ott School of Dance in Chesapeake, Virginia where he trained extensively in Hip-Hop and Jazz. Quinton was a loyal member of the NSU Dance Theatre, where his love of dance flourished through the inspiration of multiple genres. He was also the Founder/Choreographer and Captain of NSU’s Elite Hip Hop Dance Team, Xclusive. Under his leadership, the team attended and won numerous Hip Hop dance competitions along the east coast. He began substituting Hip Hop classes at Dance Etc. in 2012, became full-time in the Fall of 2013, and took head of the department in 2017. This life-long journey of dance education has been full of strenuous obstacles and phenomenal accomplishments. At the end of the day, Mr. "Q" lives to teach.
Candice Ramsey - Substitute Teacher
Olivia Lopez-Saxton - Substitute & Social Media
Quinton Nelson - Director of Hip Hop
Candice Ramsey started her formal dance training at Dance Etc. at the age of four. While training with us, she had a knack for choreography and started choreographing for local productions and competitions while in high school. She danced professionally at various companies in the DC Metropolitan area before deciding to further her education at Norfolk State University where she received her BS in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism. While in college, she continued her training to include dance, voice, and drama and continued performing all over the East Coast and overseas. She has often taught at various workshops, competitions, and master classes as a guest artist in jazz, ballet, hip- hop, fitness, and musical theater styles. She holds certifications in Personal Training, Group Exercise, and Progressing Ballet Technique. She has developed stretch and agility clinics for football and basketball organizations on middle school, high school and collegiate levels. Her latest endeavors include coaching a dance team in Prince William County and studying Ballroom dance.
Olivia Lopez-Saxton - Substitute & Social Media
Olivia Lopez-Saxton - Substitute & Social Media
Olivia Lopez-Saxton - Substitute & Social Media
Originally from Woodbridge,Virginia, Mrs Saxton began dancing at Dance Etc Music and Arts. She has since received a Minor in Performing Arts and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Radford University where she trained under Danah Bella of the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins, Bob Boross, Amy Vankirk, Ji-Eun Lee, and Inessa Plekhanova of The State Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg. In addition, Mrs. Saxton has performed internationally in Shanghai China, as well as competed in various competitions from Showstoppers, StarQuest, and Disney ESPN Wide World of Sports. She has attended numerous summer intensives including Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and the Kirov Ballet Academy. Ms. Saxton is certified in Progressive Ballet Technique and continues to educate herself yearly in multiple areas of dance. In addition to her dance background, Mrs. Saxton has been a dance educator for 10 years and has choreographed dozens of routines/pieces while receiving her Masters in Human Resources.
Annaliese Gonzalez - Ballet, Tap, and Hip Hop
Olivia Lopez-Saxton - Substitute & Social Media
Olivia Lopez-Saxton - Substitute & Social Media
Coming from Woodbridge, Virginia, I began dancing at my church at 3 years old. To continue my training, I began dancing with Dance Etc. Music and Arts when I was 5. While a student, I trained in tap, ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop graduating from high school in 2019. At age 11, I was invited to perform in a jazz dance company in Ohio for a portion of the summer in 2012. I also performed in the Cherry Blossom Parade in D.C. with Dance Etc. from 2015 until 2019. In 2017, I had the opportunity to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. I have assisted many of the teachers here at Dance Etc. since graduating from high school. I am currently a student at Northern Virginia Community College. I also assist and teach classes at other locations. I am excited to share my love and adoration for dance with the students who were in the position I once was in. I am absolutely ecstatic for what this first year teaching at Dance Etc. will bring me.
Larissa Henderson - Piano
Bisi Fannoh - Drama & Musical Theather
Larissa Henderson - Piano
Ms. Larissa Henderson earned her Masters of Music at the Music College of Moscow. She has instructed hundreds of students at all levels from beginner through college for 20 years, with several of those years being at Dance Etc. She also teaches musical theory and performance and is a member of the American College of Musicians.
Greta Schorn - Art
Bisi Fannoh - Drama & Musical Theather
Larissa Henderson - Piano
Greta Schorn graduated from University of Mary Washington with a Degree in Art History, Art Studio and Art Education in 2008. In 2010, she was awarded a grant fund from the D.C. Commission on the Art & Humanities to continue her education on the Reggio Emilia approach in Reggio Emilia Italy. In 2014, Google flash funded all of her DonorsChoose.org art projects and she was surprised by NBC news and a DonorsChoose representative. One of the challenges of teaching is getting money for our classrooms for the supplies the students need. Google was inspired by Greta's grant write-ups and currently she has 100 projects funded, totaling $50,289 of supplies for her and other teachers' classrooms.
Bisi Fannoh - Drama & Musical Theather
Bisi Fannoh - Drama & Musical Theather
Bisi Fannoh - Drama & Musical Theather
Our long time drama teacher Ms. Bisi Fannoh, has returned for the 2023 - 2024 season. Ms. Bisi graduated with a degree in Film and television production and a minor in Acting from the University of Houston in Houston TX. While attending the university, she joined the Student program Board serving as special events chairperson and later became the president of the student programming board for the university. In her time there she produced several events that incorporated the whole student body as well as produced the first radio talk show that interacted with the entire student body. Before taking a brief hiatus from Dance Etc. she was our drama director for 5 years, producing several productions and preparing students for various auditions.
Sarayah Smith - Registrar
Sarayah Smith - Registrar
Bisi Fannoh - Drama & Musical Theather
Sarayah Smith (Anderson) began her formal dance training at Dance Etc. School of the Arts at the age of seven. She graduated from Potomac Sr. High School in 2000 and attended Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) earning a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. At VCU, she was a member of the Gold Rush Dance team for four seasons. She also danced for two arena league football teams in Richmond. Ms. Sarayah has coached both Cheerleading and Dance Teams since 2008. She is currently an assistant dance team coach at C.D. Hylton High school. In addition to being our current registrar, she teaches ballet and jazz.
