Derek Nicholson is received his B.A. in Dance at the University of Houston and was a member of UH’s pre-professional company, Ensemble. Derek teaches and performs locally and nationally and his choreography has been accepted into Dance Source Houston’s Barnstorm Dance Fest and Mind The Gap. With Core Dance, Derek taught creative movement through their program Dynamic X-Change. He has also worked as a Colorguard director for La Porte High School and an Assistant Drill Team Director at Spring High School. He has performed in the NFL Super Bowl LI Halftime Show with Lady Gaga and has been in works by John Beasant, Melissa Noble, Karen Stokes, and Rivkah French.

Lizzy Woodson-Aguilera is a graduate of the University of Houston and holds a BFA in Dance and will graduate in 2023 with an MFA in Dance from University of
Wisconsin - Milwalkee. Lizzy is Assistant Artistic Director and of Dayton Academy of Dance and is one of the lead choreographers for their company, Kate’s Dance Productions. She studies various styles of dance, but primarily teaches jazz, contemporary, and acrobatics. She has had works featured throughout Houston in Barnstorm, Mind the Gap and American College Dance Association Regional Showcase. She has danced with Psophonia, 6 Degrees Dance Company, Noble Motion Dance Company, YATC and UH Dance Ensemble. She is also Assistant Director of Mezclada Dance Company in Houston.

Elyssa attended Incarnate Word Academy and trained at Amy Blake’s Academy of Dance as a part of the company until graduation in 2016. She went on to dance at the University of Houston (UH) where she participated in the UH Dance Ensemble and the Young Audiences Touring Company. She got the chance to be in several performances as well as travel abroad to Costa Rica to teach university students and assist with teaching repertoire. At the beginning of her time at UH she joined Dayton Academy of Dance studio in Dayton, TX as an instructor and competition choreographer in all styles of dance. Elyssa graduated from UH in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and now resides in Pearland, TX. She was the former head director of the JV Lassos and assistant director of the Lariaettes at Dobie High School these past two years. Vega is a core dancer of Mezclada Dance Company and has most recently begun her own choreography and teaching business Momentum Movement in partnership with Lizzy Aguilera. She plans to utilize her diverse dance experience to continue motivate, educate, and elevate dance students all around the Houston area.

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. Aguilera is currently receiving his MFA at 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 classical Ballet. She has studied with Robert Joffrey, Gwen Verdon, Martin Fredmann 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.