Cyler is a veteran competitor with Kate's Dance Productions. She is the team's top scoring soloist of all time. Her favorite genre is contemporary, but she is highly skilled in many disciplines. She will be attending the University of Houston Fall 2024 and will major in biology and minor in dance.

Lizzy Aguilera received her BFA in Dance from the University of Houston and her MFA in dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a principal dancer for Mezclada Dance Company and also works alongside her husband, Joel Aguilera, as the Assistant Director of the company. Additionally, Aguilera is a company member for Six Degrees Dance Company. Aguilera teaches a wide array of dance styles but specializes in teaching Jazz, Contemporary, and Acrobatics. Aguilera is the Assistant Artistic Director of Dayton Academy of Dance, and was previously the Director of the dance program at Crosby Middle School. Aguilera is an Adjunct Professor of Dance at the University of Houston. Aguilera provides a warm, energetic, and student-centered experience for her dancers and always stresses the importance of finding the joy in dance.

Haley Lee is a Houston-based dancer and teaching artist who specializes in contemporary dance styles and acrobatic-arts. Lee is a member of contemporary dance company 6Degrees, and has performed with Karen Stokes Dance, and Mezclada Dance Company. She earned her BFA in dance from the University of Houston in 2020 and continues to explore choreography as collaborative and solo pieces for local shows. She is an involved teacher at the Jewish Community Center, Core Dance Alliance, and Dayton Academy of Dance. Lee is an active teaching artist for Young Audiences of Houston, as well as The Hope Project, and is dedicated to the furtherment of educational outreach which serves Houston communities.

Joel Aguilera is a Houston Native with a BFA in Dance from the University of Houston and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is the most recent recipient of the AOP Fellowship. Aguilera spent four and a half years as a principal dancer with Fly Dance Company and has toured with them nationally and internationally. In Houston, Aguilera has entertained with Houston Rockets Launch Crew for two seasons, Kreate Inc. at the Superbowl LI, PRP Entertainment, and currently spends his time teaching at several studios in the Greater Houston area. Aguilera is the most recent Dance Source Artist in Residence and has presented his own work in the Houston area in festivals such as “Barnstorm Dance Fest”, “Emerging Choreographers Showcase”, ”16th Annual Celebration of Dance”, “Mind the Gap 8.0”, “Mind the Gap 13.0”, and “Texas Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival” where he fuses his Breaking foundation with Modern Dance technique to Latin Jazz music. Now, Aguilera continues to work with fusion of styles and aims to create original movement and styles while also representing the diversity of his company and city as the Founder and Artistic Director of Mezclada Dance Company.

Kathryn Kingery Benvegnu founded Dayton Academy of Dance, LLC in 2009. Since that first year, enrollment has more than tripled and Kate's Dance Productions, the competition branch of the academy, has grown tenfold and garnered regional and national titles every year since its inception. Benvegnu's background is cemented in acrobatics and classical Ballet. She has studied with Robert Joffrey, Gwen Verdon, Martin Fredmann, Marjorie Mussman and Ben Stevenson.

Rhonda Butzke has been an instructor at numerous Texas and C.L.O.G. National clogging workshops, has judged at many national- level competitions, including the NCHC National Championships, and CCA National Championships. She is very active in the Texas Clogging council as President, Historian, and committee chairs. Since 1999, she has been the director of Yellow Rose. She is extremely proud to be the clogging program instructor for Dayton Academy of Dance for the last 7 years.

Sara will be joining our coaching staff summer 2025

Zuri Humphrey is a recent graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. Humphrey has been dancing since the age of four and has studied most notably under the direction of ballet master Ceyhun Ozsoy, Carol Anglin, Karen Stokes, Key’Aira Lockett, Dr. M. Gabriela Estrada, Travis Prokop, and many more. Humphrey is dancing as an apprentice for the 2025-2026 season with Open Dance Project. Humphrey’s core values lie in acknowledging the cultural and intellectual significance of the true pioneers of the many different dance styles within her practice. Portraying an accurate history of the development of dance and its many styles within the U.S. has been central to Humphrey’s dance pursuits in recent years. Additionally, Humphrey hopes to promote bodily autonomy within her students because of her belief that mutual respect, care, and compassion are at the heart of the dance practice that we all love and share.