Leslie Clifford
Leslie has been a dance teacher and choreographer in Southern California for the past thirty years. She is on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles based professional tap company, Rhapsody In Taps, under the artistic direction of Linda Sohl-Ellison. She has studied tap with such greats as Gregory Hines, Henry LeTang, Fayard Nicholas, Fred Strickler, Foster Johnson, Eddie Brown, Diane Walker, Brenda Bufalino, Sandman Sims, Buster Brown, Steve Zee and Savion Glover. She has been a studio owner for over 20 years with a student body of approximately 600 students. Specializing in advanced and intermediate tap and jazz instruction, her classes include students of all ages. Many of her students are working in the performing arts, including Broadway Musicals, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, The Dance Theater of Harlem, Star Search (Jon Bond), The Glory of Christmas, the Los Angeles Laker Girls, the Los Angeles Spark Kids, the Chiva Girls, music videos and various amusement parks and community theater. Her students have also appeared on television sitcoms and dramas including Two and a Half Men and have done print work and modeling for Target, Quicksilver and many other retail businesses.
Leslie has choreographed numerous civic light opera and community musicals including Damn Yankees, Guys and Dolls and Once Upon A Mattress. She has directed several children’s performing companies including her current 45-member performing group from Center Stage Dance Academy. These groups (past and present) have toured Northern and Southern California, New York and Canada. They have performed at Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Queen Mary, Sea World, Great America, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, as well as local malls, churches and special events.
Fiona Carpenter
Fiona Carpenter has lived in Long Beach her whole life and grew up dancing at Center Stage Dance Academy since the age of 2. She attended Wilson High School where she was student director her senior year. She has been fortunate enough to have trained at the Joffrey Ballet School Summer Intensive where she received instruction from choreographers such as Mia Michales, Mandy Moore, Jonathan Sharp and Ivy Chen. She attended CSULB and was apart of the dance team her freshman year. She graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Political Science and a Minor in Dance. She has been teaching at CSDA for 8 years and has loved all 23 years she’s been dancing here.
Andrea Evans
Andrea Evans has been teaching Ballet in the Southern California area for over 30 years. Her students have been accepted into summer Ballet intensives such as School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet and Alonzo King's Lines. Andrea trained with Cecile Hering and Axel Hering and danced many soloist roles with Redlands Festival Ballet where she had the opportunity to work with the late Eric Hyrst on his ballet "Labyrinth.” Andrea went on to study at Pacific Northwest Ballet's summer intensive on scholarship. She then earned a B.A. in English Literature from CSULB as well as a certificate in Paralegal Studies. Andrea is a nurturing instructor who prides herself on using the art of Ballet as a tool to build confidence in young people.
Brandy Factory
Brandy Factory is a Dance Artist, Choreographer, and Teacher. She began her dance training at Compton Dance Theatre Foundation focusing on ballet and the Horton technique. Along with her pre-professional and professional endeavors she received her B.A. in Dance from California State University, Fullerton in 2020 after transferring from Long Beach City College.
At CSUF she trained in: Ballet, Graham, Limon, and Horton. Immediately after graduation she earned her 200 hour certification in Hatha Yoga and joined the Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre in 2021, where she was an apprentice in 2017.
The Southern California born artist has performed at various venues including the country’s oldest international festival, Jacob's Pillow, and has worked with established artists such as Keith Johnson, Bernard Gaddis, Jessica Kondrath, and Doug Varone. She joined the Super Bowl LVI halftime cast in 2022. Brandy currently directs the Saint Anthony High School Dance Team.
Jeff Harvey
Jeff has been dancing since the age of 3 and tumbling since the age of 15. He was a member of Orange Coast College Cheer, PACE Empire International Level 6 Cheer, and a member of the World Champion PACE Elite Open International Dance teams. Jeff is a 30 time National Champion (both competing and coaching), and a 14 time World Champion. He was also part of the 2012 Team USA Jazz team winning gold at the ICU Worlds. Jeff was also a former performer for Disneyland Parades such as Electrical Parade, Block Party Bash, Pixar Play and A Christmas Fantasy. He was a former staff member for United Spirit Association and currently coaches and choreographs for several Orange County High School Cheer and Pom teams as well internationally judges and choreographs in Tokyo, Scotland, Australia, and Mexico. He is now going on his 15th year teaching for U.S. Spiritleaders Cheer and Dance Staff where he is the Head Instructor for the Dance Staff.
Damian Kelly
Damian Kelly, a seasoned ballet performer, brings seventeen years of dedicated training and performance experience to Center Stage Dance Academy. Having honed his skills in dance, Damian has showcased his talent with both the Long Beach Ballet company & the Anaheim Ballet company, where his repertoire includes performances in celebrated productions such as Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Martini Ballet, #NoFilter, and Ballet's Greatest Hits, as well as fundraising events like Anaheim Comes Together. His artistry also graced the magical streets of the Disneyland Resort from 2015 to 2020, where he enchanted audiences in the resort's parade offerings: Pixar Play Parade, A Christmas Fantasy, Paint The Night, Soundsational, and Magic Happens. As a guest star with Ballet Etudes since 2021, he has performed in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland.
Danté Lara
DANTÉ LARA is a California and New York based tap dancer, teacher and choreographer who continues to explode onto the new international tap dancing scene. A graduate of Chapman University with a BA in Theatre Arts, Danté earned his SAG card at age seven, and has been acting professionally ever since. Most recently, Dante was singing and dancing in the movie Spirited (2022) with Ryan Reynolds & Will Ferrell. Some of his Acting/Dancing credits include (World of Dance Top 16), Nintendo, Ford, and Yamaha to name a few.
Dante has a strong passion for teaching Tap dance, and has been doing so, for over a decade. As a world-renowned Dance educator, he has been invited to teach workshops in places like Ireland, Brazil & Italy multiple times & has taught at just about every major Tap dance festival/convention in the country.
As a Tap soloist, Dante has performed at numerous venues like clubs, hotels, theatres, restaurants, ballrooms, weddings & corporate events. And was a successful and well-known street performer in New York City, where he honed his craft collaborating with jazz musicians, and performing for crowds.
His goal as a performer and teacher is to spread the love and joy of this musical art form to everyone, and to give students technique and tap vocabulary that they can take and share in their own improvisations and choreography.
Holly Martinez
Holly danced at CSDA for 14 years. She was a member of Los Alamitos High School Song team and Dance program. As a CSDA performing group member, she danced at Knott’s Berry Farm and did benefits shows with her group. She has taught at CSDA since she was a teenager. She is currently an elementary teacher for the Long Beach Unified School District.
Angela Mattern
Amanda Meek
Benny Nottonson
Benny Nottonson has been dancing with CSDA for over 14 years. He started dancing when he was four years old, and continued through high school, dancing on the Los Alamitos High School Dance Team. Benny is currently attending California State University and still loves dancing.
Emily Perez
Emily has been dancing since 2009. She danced at CSDA and in school. Emily was the captain of the Lakewood High School dance team her senior year of high school. She is excited to pursue her passion for dance through teaching.