Our Dance Instructors
Jonathan Webb
Jonathan Webb is one of the owners and founders of Shaker Dance Academy. He is also a choreographer and chief instructor of Lyrical, Jazz, and hip hop dance training.
Training: Jonathan has undergone extensive ballet/Jazz/Contemporary/Hip Hop training. Chicago School of Ballet, Roy Foster School of Ballet, Joe Tremaine Dance Studio, and Gus Giordano Dance Studio, USA Gymnastics training academy in Chicago.
Teaching Credits: Jonathan Webb has taught in various dance schools such as Barat College, Minnesota School of Dance, Debbie Reynolds Studio, and Heritage School of Dance, among others.
Professional Experience: (TV Shows) Different World as an actor, dancer, and choreographer together with Debbie Allen. (Film) featured dancer in Graffiti Bridge movie together with Prince where he met his wife & SDA co-owner Tracey Webb, Jonathan was cast In Madonna’s & Whitney Houston’s world tour at the same time. Whitney’s first album was the first artist he danced to after his long football & gymnastics training from the age of 5. So he left his gigs as an assistant choreographer/dancer with LA Gear & Adidas. (Stage) Whitney Houston World Tour as a dancer and choreographer, Rollerblade Dance Team United States world tour, Disney World-Top World Dancer. Featured in Disney commercials & US Tours, Donna Summer World Tour, and Paula Abdul Pepsi Commercial, Jonathan was a singer/dancer/choreographer of the hit LA pop group CBS Records “Double Take” with 3 #1 summer hits, among others.
Tracey Webb
Tracey Webb is one of our dance studio’s owner and founder, together with her husband, Jonathan Webb.
As Artistic Director of the Ballet Department, Head Tap instructor and Coordinator of S.D.A.’s Triple Threat Training Program that provides Musical Theater classes, Voice Indiction, Improvisation lessons for students interested in the stage.
Training: Tracey Webb was awarded a Full Scholarship with The Dance Theater Of Harlem in N.Y.C. Full Scholarship with Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in N.Y.C. Tracey is a graduate of Fiorello HS of the Performing Arts. ( the Fame school ).
Teaching Credits: Tracey has taught in City College of N.Y.C. Where she taught children dancing and drama classes and at Frederick Douglass Community Center dance classes.
Professional Experience: (T.V.) Columbo Series as a featured actress and dancer, Fame Series and Loving. (Film) Principal dancer/actress Graffiti Bridge with Prince. Beat Street together with Harry Belafonte. The Cotton Club movie with Frances Ford Coppola where she was a Principal dancer, directed by Francis Ford Copalla with Gregory Hines and Richard Gere.
Julie Russel
Julie Russel, raised in Cedar, Michigan, trained at Dance Arts Academy under the direction of Betsy Carr. Julie spent summers training at the Washington School of Ballet, BalletMet Columbus, and Cecchetti Council of America. Julie graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May of 2019 with a BFA in Dance Performance and BA in Environmental Sustainability. While at the University of Oklahoma, Julie had the pleasure to perform works by Merce Cunningham, Ilya Kozadayev, Sonia Dawkins, Kevin Iega Jeff, David Hochoy, Trey McIntyre, Jean Guillaume Weis, Nilas Martins, Amy Hall Garner, and Raimondo Rebeck. She has also performed with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. Julie is currently an apprentice at Verb Ballets for the 2019-2020 season.
Megan Brooks
Megan Brooks was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana; where she trained with Delta Festival Ballet Company. Megan attended to various summer intensives such as Complexions Contemporary Ballet, New York City Ballet, and both Ballet and Contemporary programs at The Joffrey Ballet School under a merit scholarship.
At just 13 years old, Megan made the move to New York City to further her dance training at the Joffrey Ballet School under a merit scholarship. At Joffrey Megan performed various principal roles and ballets including Myrtha in “Giselle”, Carmen, Grand Pas Classique and George Balanchine’s Serenade and Walpurgisnacht set by the great Stacy Caddell, a former soloist with the New York City Ballet.
In 2018 she moved to Cleveland where she worked closely with the Cleveland Ballet Company as a trainee and had the opportunity to dance at the beautiful and well known Playhouse Square Theater. Along with Stacy Caddell, Megan has worked with various dance experts and choreographers as Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden.
Hunter
Hunter Hoffman was born and raised in Miami, Florida where he trained at the Mencia Pikeiris School of Dance and the Miami Youth Ballet. While studying on a scholarship to receive his B.F.A. in Dance from Mercyhurst University, Hunter had the opportunity to work with The Mercyhurst Dancers, Lake Erie Ballet, New World Connection, and Ballet Concerto.
Performing roles such as The Cavalier and Spanish in Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker as well as spent the Summer in Texas studying under Margot Dean, a founding member of Texas Ballet Theatre.
He has trained under other prominent dancers and choreographers such as New York City Ballet’s Nilas Martins, Bodiography’s Maria Caruso, and Ballet West’s Bruce Marks. He looks forward to performing widely renowned classical and contemporary work as well as developing his choreographic style.
Lieneke Matte
Lieneke Matte is a ballet and point instructor. She was brought up in the Bronx where she received training in dance at Ballet Tech and the School of American Ballet. Later, she went to Fiorello H.La Guardia High School to study performing arts. Lieneke acquired B.F.A. in dance after studying at Suny Purchase College and also, received a Presidential Award from the Conservatory of Dance. At the moment, she is one of Verb Ballets dancers that perform across Ohio.
Our dance studio has too much to offer to you any time you choose to learn dancing. We have professional instructors that will not only make you become the best dancer but a passionate one as well. We aspire to make you give your all every time you hit the dance floor.
Give us a call today and speaks to one of our friendly and professional dance instructors. We have an amazing plan for you young dancer that will make you the best. We can’t wait to dance with you!
Rosalyn Dale
Rosalyn Dale better known as Pinque, is a Dancer, Choreographer, Singer, Host and all around entertainer. She studied Musical Theater and danced professionally for our Championship winning team, The Cleveland Cavaliers, contributing her dance talents and choreography to the Scream Team and Cavalier Girls for 10 seasons.
She also Coached the Gladiator Goddesses and Cavs Kids. All the while dancing for Stars, such as Migos, Trey Songs, Day 26, Dev, B.O.B and more.
She has trained and choreographed tons of dancers and dance teams across the World, including an opening performance for a Hiliary Clinton campaign event. Pinque is an all around Entertainer.
Savanna Tiffany
Savanna Tiffany is currently a third-year college student at Case Western Reserve University, pursuing a double major in Dance and Psychology with a minor in Philosophy on the pre-law track. She holds a full-ride tuition dance scholarship and focuses her training on Graham modern, ballet, and contemporary styles.
Having grown up in Miami, FL, Savanna began dancing at the age of 9 and has trained extensively in various genres including ballet, jazz, contemporary, kick, modern, ballroom, tap, lyrical and hip-hop. She has competed with esteemed dance studios such as G-force Dance Company and Xplosive Dance Studio, was a member of her high school dance team, the Gablettes Dance Team, and performed with the pre-professional modern ballet company, Miami Dance Collective. She was also the choreographer for the Impulse Dance Team at Case Western and has provided assistance in choreography across various stages of her dance career, along with teaching a few master classes within local studios and her school community.
Alia Federico
Alia Federico was originally raised in Swarthmore, PA where she began her ballet training with the Swarthmore Ballet Theatre. When Alia turned sixteen, she decided to further her dance education at the former School of Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia, PA. After graduating high school, she had the pleasure of joining Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music as a Ballet Major.
While in this program, Alia was able to perform many iconic works, including George Balanchine’s La Source, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels, and Jerome Robbin’s Fanfare. Throughout her journey thus far, Alia spent her summers training at various ballet schools such as the Kirov Academy of Ballet, the Harid Conservatory, the Miami City Ballet, and the Cincinnati Ballet. Her first professional experience took place with Nashville Ballet’s Second Company and now Alia is a professional ballet dancer in Cleveland, OH.
Emanuel Tavares
Emanuel Tavares began studying dance at 14 in his hometown of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, at the Instituto de Dança Goretti Quintela. While focusing on his ballet training, he also studied contemporary and Jazz. He has been celebrated in many dance festivals. He has received national and international scholarships, such as Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition in New York and IBStage Barcelona in Spain.
Emanuel became a professional dancer in 2016 with Especial Academia de Ballet in São Paulo, Brazil, where he performed principal roles as Siegfried in Swan Lake, Solor in La Bayadere, Ali in Le Corsaire, and Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, among others, Classical and Neoclassic Ballets. At the age of 19, he joined the Virginia National Ballet in Virginia as a Soloist. After two months, he was promoted to Principal Dancer with the company from 2017 to 2020, performing world-premiere ballets and neoclassic ballets.
He has also been a guest artist for The Nutcracker throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Florida. He has performed Urushima Taro Ballet and By George, set by Maiqui Mañosa, with Ballet Hawaii in Honolulu.
Emanuel joined Cleveland Ballet in 2021 and has performed as a soloist in The
Nutcracker as the Nutcracker Prince and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His most recent performances were as the Cavalier in the production of Nutcracker, in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and as the Principal soloist in the new contemporary ballet Symphony of Life created by former Mariinsky Ballet dancer and choreographer Ilia Zhivoy with the Cleveland Ballet.
Johan Mancebo
Johan Mancebo Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In 2006, he started his dance training as he became part of the first generation of male dancers who graduated from the National School of Ballet of the Dominican Republic in 2015. During his training from 2013-2015, he got an apprentice position at Dominican National Ballet; on November 2014, CODA21 invited him to Puerto Rico to perform Septime Weber’s Alice in Wonderland, and from January 2015, he became part of The Washington Ballet Studio Company under the direction of Septime Weber performing classical productions with the company such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Septime Weber’s Alice in Wonderland and worldwide premiere of Septime Weber’s Sleepy Hollow. Later on that year, he moved to Spain, where he joined Ballet de Cámara de Madrid and obtained a Degree in Pedagogy of Classical Dance: Cuban Method and won the Interpretation Award of his generation at Instituto Universitario de Danza Alicia Alonso, King Juan Carlos University, Spain. In 2019, he joined Sibiu Ballet Theater in Romania as a company member. His repertoire includes classical roles in the renowned productions of Alicia Alonso’s Giselle as ‘Albrecht,’ Coppelia as ‘Franz,’ La Fille Mal Gardee as ‘Colas,’ The Nutcracker as ‘Sugar Plum Cavalier,’ ‘Black and White Swan Pas de Deux’ from Swan Lake, Don Quixote Pas de Deux, ‘James’ in August Bournonville’s La Sylphide, Raymonda as ‘Jean de Brienne,’ ‘Tybalt’ in Marcello Algeri’s Romeo and Juliet, ‘Bachus’ in Walpugrisnatch, ‘Von Rothbart’ in Swan Lake, ‘Rat King,’ ‘Spanish Dance’ and ‘Arabian Dance’ in The Nutcracker, Spring Water Pas de Deux, Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux, Bayadere Act III Pas de Deux and Mehmet Blakan’s Lady of the Camellias. In 2023, he joined Cleveland Ballet, where he has performed roles such as ‘Jean de Brienne’ in Raymonda, ‘Don Jose’ in Carmen, ‘Cavalier’ in The Nutcracker, and ‘Blue Bird’ and ‘Raven’ in Robert Weiss’s Sleeping Beauty. He danced as a guest artist at galas around Spain: ‘Closing Gala Contest Castellon 2016’, ‘Beca Hormigon-Torrado Closing Gala 2016’ Riojaforum, Spain; ‘XXI Internacional Dance Day, San Sebastián’ in 2017; ‘Internacional Dance Day Colmenar III and V edition,’ ‘Segovia en Danza 2016-2019’; ‘XII Gala of Stars 2021’ in Dominican Republic and ‘Gala Internazionale Sulle Ali Della Danza’ on 2023 in Livorno, Italy.
Gabriela Checo
Originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Began her training at 3 years old at Ballet Studio Doris Infante under the direction of Doris Infante, a former ballerina with Ballet de Camaguey, Cuba. In 2012, she got third place in the first edition of ‘Premios Eladia de Cuello’ Contest in the Dominican Republic. Later in 2015, she joined the National School of Ballet. In the same year, she got a full 4 years scholarship to study a ‘Degree in Pedagogy of Classical Dance’ and, also won the Academic Excellence Award in 2019 at Instituto Universitario de Danza Alicia Alonso, King Juan Carlos University, Spain. During her time there, she joined the Youth Ballet de Cámara de Madrid, in which she has performed classical roles in Alicia Alonso’s production of Giselle as ‘Myrtha, Queen of Willis, Coppelia as ‘Prayer’, Raymonda as ‘Raymonda’, Sugar Plum, Snow Queen and Mirlitons in ‘The Nutcracker’, ‘Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux’ and ‘La Sylphide Pas de Deux’, among others. In 2019, she joined as a company member of Sibiu Ballet Theater in Romania where she has performed in productions such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, ‘Romeo, and Juliet, The Rock Story’, La Fille Mal Gardee, Anna Karenina, Lady of the Camellias, Walpugris Night, Grand Pas of Raymonda, Snow White, among others. Has also participated in international tours to Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Turkey, also national tours around Romania. In 2023, she joined Cleveland Ballet where she has performed in production as ‘Princess Aurora’ in Robert Weiss’s Sleeping Beauty, ‘Raymonda Pas de Dix’, Arabian and Mirlitons in ‘The Nutcracker’, ‘Dracula’s Brides’ in Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s ‘Dracula’, Timour Bourtasenkov’s ‘Walpugrisnatch’ and Robert Weiss’s ‘The Masque of the Red Death’. Gabriela has been a guest artist at International Ballet Galas where she participates at the ‘XXIII International Dance Day Ballet Gala’ in San Sebastián, Spain performing ‘La Sylphide Pas de Deux’, XII Gala of Stars in the Dominican Republic performing ‘Coppelia Pas de Deux’ and also at VI Edition Dance Campus and Contest San Francesco di Paola Gala in Romania performing ‘Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux’.