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Mastering Dance, Shaping Futures:
Elevating Skills, Empowering Growth
Quality Dance Instruction for Ages 18 mos & Up!
Our Faculty
Our faculty is built to provide every dancer with a high quality dance education and a positive, supportive dance experience.
Kristen Wendorff
Owner & Program Director
Kristen began her dance journey at a young age at Orange County Performing Arts Academy (OCPAA) in Yorba Linda, CA. She began competing at the age of six, and have the opportunity to train throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties with many titans of the industry. Following a successful competitive career, including multiple solo titles, she went on to earn her BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University in Orange, CA, while also beginning her teaching career.
Beginning at age 18, Kristen had the opportunity to begin working with dancers of multiple levels in studios and high school dance teams across Southern California. Some of her past students have gone on to head their own dance programs, be award winning choreographers, perform in professional companies, compete in World of Dance and SYTYCD, and even be founding members of Online Dance Education sites, such as Steezy. Even more have gone on to do great things in the world outside of dance. She is most proud of the relationships she has formed with her students over the years and seeing the role that dance education has played in making each of them successful in their own paths.
Susanna Wesson
Faculty
Susanna Wesson began her dance training at Timbrel School for the Arts. She later moved on to Royalty Dance Academy where she trained in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Acro, and Jazz. Susanna has performed featured roles in ballet productions such as Queen Victoria in The Greatest Showman, and Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins Returns. At the age of 17 she accepted a trainee position with Ballet North Texas and has been in BNT's productions of the Nutcracker and Coppélia and Cinderella the ballet. Susanna’s main passion is ballet but enjoys all styles of dance. Susanna loves working with children and sharing her love of dance with them!
Julia McGavock
Faculty
Julia started dancing at the age of 3. Her first 15 years were at the Ballet Conservatory of Saddleback Valley in Orange County, CA. She received scholarships throughout the years allowing her to dance with American Academy of Ballet, where she received a silver technique medal, Virginia School of the Arts, Milwaukee Ballet and Ballet Chicago. Julia danced with the Modern African Fusion company, Deeply Routed in Illinois and with Backhausdance in California. She was a regular in Ballet Pacific’s annual nutcracker and danced in various roles. She graduated in 2010 from Orange Coast College’s prestigious dance program with an AA in Dance and Theatre. She was involved in the production side of over 12 shows and a touring group while at Orange Coast. Julia was the director of dance at Fort Hood Military base. She has over 20 years of dance teaching experience in California, Texas and North Carolina.
Jamie Driver
Faculty
Jamie was born and raised in the Dallas area. She found her passion for dance at Royalty Dance Academy and trained in jazz, ballet, contemporary, and her favorite style tap. Her passion for tap dance grew when she joined Rhythmic Soul's Tap Company in high school. Jamie is now an Assistant Director, Choreographer, and Instructor with Rhythmic Soul's Tap Company. She loves training the next generation of tap dancers all over the metroplex and she continues to perform with Rhythmic Soul's Pro Company. Jamie also competed in high school and choreographed two of her award-winning tap solos. She recently graduated from Collin College with her Associate of Arts with a focus in Kinesiology and Business. Jamie loves helping dancers find their voice by embracing who they are as a dancer and encouraging them to have fun, while stepping outside their comfort zone. She is excited to share her passion for dance with the Evolution family!
Samantha Gonzalez
Faculty
Samantha began dancing at three and was accepted into the Corpus Christi Ballet Company in 2001. She has performed multiple roles in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Giselle, and many more. Some of her favorite roles include Clara and Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, and Temperament Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. Samantha began student teaching in 2003 and teaching in 2005 with Munro Ballet Studios in Corpus Christi, Texas. She earned her associate's degree in business in 2010 from the University of Phoenix. Sam taught ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary at a studio in Flower Mound from 2011-2023. Now she teaches Mondays with Evolution Academy of Dance! When she's not teaching, Ms. Sam enjoys spending time with her daughters Remy and Ellory.
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Joel Cortez
Faculty
Joel Cortez was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Texas Woman's University with a
Bachelor of Arts in Dance. Joel began dancing at Freestyle dance Studio under the direction of Jay and Stephanie Hall. There he learned ballet, Luigi jazz, and tap. His dance training with The Ballet Folklorico Hispano de Dallas, under the direction of Manuel and Guadalupe Godinez, Mountain View College Dance, and Brookhaven College Dance, also built the foundation for his numerous folklorico dance competition awards including the award for best male folklorico dancer at the Texas National Folklorico Dance Competition. Joel has also worked with renowned Folklorico artists such as Sylvia Lozano of the Ballet Folklorico Nacional de Mexico Atzlan where he was featured in the company's dance instructional video, Mexican Folklorico Dance, that is internationally recognized. In 2017-2018, Joel was a company member of The Terrance M Johnson Dance Project second season. Joel is in the dance documentary Moving Cities Dallas that was filmed in 2015. In The spring of 2018, Joel did an independent dance study in the state of Utah. He explored various dance genres from Ballet West, Repertory Dance Theatre, and Tablado Flamenco Company. In Fall of 2019, Joel was a company member of 6 o’clock Dance. In 2019 and
currently, he began performing as a guest artist for Nutcracker and other productions for Dance Institute of Dallas. Joel is currently a company member with Flamenco Black under the Direction of Antonio and Delilah Arrebola. He is regular occurring guest artist for Colin County Ballet under the direction of Kirt and Linda Hathaway. He continues to take professional dance classes regularly throughout the week to learn and improve his technique and further his pedagogy.
Rhodessa Bell
Faculty
Rhodessa Bell got her start in dance at the age of 12 under the direction of Koni Riley at Dance
Dimensions studio in Mineola, Texas. She received her B.S. at Stephen F. Austin where she was a member
of the SFA Pom Squad and the SFA Repertory Dance Company. After graduation Rhodessa moved to
Houston where she studied with Richard Hebscher, Jhon Stronks, and Dina Veil. Houston expanded her
performance vocabulary and from 2004 to 2008 she performed with several professional companies such as
Houston Metropolitan, Psophonia, Wyld Style, and Planet Funk. This exploration expanded her training to
include ballet, modern and hip hop. Since 2004 Rhodessa has worked for Marching Auxiliaries teaching
dance and creating choreography for children of all ages nationwide. In 2009 Rhodessa completed a year of
residency in Amsterdam Netherlands. During her stay she taught hip hop and lyrical jazz for Amsterdam
Dance Centre, Body Action, and Lucia Marthas Institute for Performing Arts. Within the year, Rhodessa
also choreographed an evening length work called “Laughter” set on a performance company she created
called UniverSouL Dance Company. She was honored to showcase her work as well as perform at several
festivals and local venues throughout Holland. Rhodessa's love for teaching and performing has spanned
more than two decades. Thorough in her approach, she gives special attention to the specifi c needs of each
dancer she teaches. After leaving a class with Rhodessa dancers are sure to feel more accomplished,
energized, and empowered.
Saharis Muniz
Faculty
Professor Saharis Muñiz brings decades of experience as a professional dancer and dance educator. She began her training at the Municipal Theater Ballet of San Juan and continued at the Julián E. Blanco Specialized School of Classical Ballet before joining the Municipal Ballet Theater Company of San Juan in 1999 and Ballets de San Juan from 2004–2007. Her professional career includes performances with the Puerto Rico Opera, Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and Spanish Dance Workshop, where she shared the stage with renowned artists such as Nidia Caro and Fernando Allende.
As an educator, Saharis has led classical ballet programs at the Specialized School of Fine Arts of Arecibo and the Pablo Casals Specialized School of Fine Arts in Bayamón. She has choreographed and directed numerous productions, from original works like Muñecos and Etude to classics such as Swan Lake and The Firebird. Her students have gone on to perform nationally and internationally, earning recognition at festivals and competitions.
With a strong background in ballet, pointe, modern, flamenco, and interdisciplinary works, Saharis is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of dancers with both technical excellence and artistic passion.