Our Teaching Philosophy

Co-Director

Victoria Kanya (BS) began her dance training in Cape May County, NJ  within two separate studio settings balancing dance technique and acrobatics/tumbling.  She has trained in ballet/pointe, tap, jazz, contemporary, and modern while simultaneously training in acrobatic dance, contortion and power tumbling. Victoria is a graduate from the University of Tampa where she studied Forensic Science with a minor in Applied Dance. Within the UTampa Dance program, she had various opportunities to choreograph and perform in various events and showcases. In addition, she has studied the methodology of Brain Compatible Dance Education which she continues to apply to her pedagogical practice today and continues to actively train ina rtistic gymnastics and circus arts. Victoria  has had the honor to dance with local company Poetica Dance Company and learn from professional choreographers Bill Evans, Jon Lehrer,  and Amanda Kay White. Outside of her passion for dance, she currently holds a position as a Forensic Toxicologist for the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory. 

Co-Director

Dakota Kuharich Stevenson (MFA) is a performer, instructor, and creator based in the Tampa Bay Area. She holds a MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University and a BA in Applied Dance from the University of Tampa where she explored performance, pedagogy, embodied research, and choreographic practice. Dakota is an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa, Eckerd College, Hillsborough College, and Reinhardt University, where she assisted in the development of the MFA in Choreography program. Dakota has presented her choreographic and pedagogical research nationally at the 2024 and 2025 National Dance Education Organization Conference in addition to her research targeting youth mental health and dance advocacy in 2025. She has danced professionally with Moving Current Dance Collective, and Poetica Dance Company. Her practice investigates the intersections of equity, youth voice, and mental health advocacy; drawing from Anne Green Gilbert’s Brain-Compatible Dance Education to foster access, autonomy, and authentic human experience.

Instructor 

Based in St Petersburg. She originally hails from Philadelphia where she has her BA in theater from Temple University then continuing her studies for physical theater, clown, contact improv and ensemble generated theater at the Headlong Performance Institute. She danced professionally and began choreographing regionally for equity theaters throughout the tri-state area. She moved to Brooklyn in 2013 where she studied improv and sketch at UCB and performed in a sketch group at the Pit. She became very involved with the film scene there. Becoming a member of SAG and working behind the scenes as a production coordinator and producer. Since moving to Florida in 2022 she runs a film production company called Wigwam studio. She loves and inspires her students in using gesture and movement to fully create characters invoking how to tell stories through dance.

Instructor 

Originally from New Jersey,  Nicole graduated with an Applied Dance minor from the University of Tampa in 2022 and has since taught at various dance studios in the Tampa area for several years. Nicole has received the opportunity to choreograph and perform in multiple collegiate shows, the Tampa Museum of Art, the Gasparilla Arts Festival, and for Poetica Dance Company. During her time at UTampa , she also received the opportunity to participate in the American College Dance Association Southeast Conference. She has learned from professional choreographers Jon Lehrer and Amanda Kay White.

While continuing to inspire through movement, she is also pursuing a career in the STEM field as a chemistry PhD candidate. She hopes that her life motivates students to find ways to keep dance active in their lives no matter what other career paths they may decide to take in the future. Nicole’s main goals when teaching are to foster children's creativity while building discipline, confidence, and critical thinking-skills that can empower her students in all aspects of their lives.

Instructor

Originally from a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, Zoe began her dance training at the age of three at Stephanie's Academy of Dance where she studied jazz, tap, and ballet. While there she was able to dance at a competitive level. During her competition days, she held certain awards such as a Dupree Dance All Star Award. She then was able to be a member of Inaside Chicago Dance Youth Training Performance Company. As a member she learned and performed dances alongside Inaside Dance Chicago Professional company at varied events throughout the professional season. At the age seventeen she switched to a performance-based studio, Elevations Dance Arts. While at Elevations Dance Arts she was able to be an assistant dance instructor to Catie Deitz-Griffith, the owner of Elevations Dance Arts.

After graduation, Zoe was accepted into the Western Michigan University's Dance Program. During her four years she studied with Jeremy Blair, Monique Haley, David Curwen, and Sharon Garber. In that program she extensively studied jazz, ballet, modern, and contemporary dance. During her four years she was able to be a student athlete on the Dance Team at Western Michigan where she danced at collegiate sporting events, hosted alumni community events, and competed at Collegiate National Competitions. At Western Michigan she received a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics with a Minor in Dance. Zoe continued her education at Florida State University and received her Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology.

Her teaching style emphasizes the concept of strength and guiding dancers to connect musicality, rhythm, and movement with emphasis on mind muscle awareness.