Dance Instructors & Staff | Principal Creative & Performing Arts

Jana Chapeton

Owner/Founder/Director

Jana Chapeton

During her 18 years of training Jana has studied jazz, tap, hip hop, Afro – Haitian, Dunham technique, and choreography. Jana has been most influenced by Janel Tomblin – Brown, Ehud and Daynee Krauss, Susan Whipp, Alicia Pierce, and Kimberly Iniguez. In May of 2002 she completed her Bachelor’s degree in dance at San Francisco State University.

Jana loves working with beginning level students and preschool dancers. She is most motivated to help students discover dance and movement. Jana has been teaching through out the Bay Area since 1998. Some of her previous performance and Choreography highlights include Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Group, Anything Goes, It’s a Wrap with Guggenheim Entertainment, Speaking of Dance and He Said She Said with Visual Rhythm Dance Company, Rocky Horror Show with City Lights Theatre Company, Wholeness with Bliss Dance Company, and Paramount Great America’s Celebration Parade.

In 2007 Jana founded Small Fry Dance Club. Jana has since focused on growing SFDC. Jana hopes to bring the same drive and passion to Principal Creative & Performing Arts. Her goal is to mold and develop amazing dancers through both programs.

Carlos Chapeton

Owner/Director of Sales & Marketing

Carlos Chapeton

Carlos is Jana’s husband and Co-Director of Small Fry Dance Club and Principal Creative & Performing Arts. Carlos has a background in Multimedia and Marketing and helps run the day to day office duties for both programs.

Before he joined Jana with Small Fry Dance Club on a full time basis, Carlos worked as a web/graphic designer, a video game artist, and eventually taught classes at Cañada College in Redwood City.

Carlos is in charge of our website, branding, and marketing efforts. He is also in charge of our sales and expanding our reach to new schools in the Bay Area and beyond. If you have any questions about marketing, partnerships, or bringing our dance classes to your school, please contact Carlos via email.

chapetonc@smallfrydanceclub.com

Stephanie Costello

Assistant Director – Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet

Stephanie Costello

Stephanie M. Costello started dance lessons at Doreen’s School of the Dance at the age of 3 years. After 13 years of training in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz she found her love for teaching at that same studio. At only 16 she began teaching Pre-ballet, Ballet, Tap, and Jazz. During her 4 years at Doreen’s, she became a member of Dance Master’s of America with a teaching certificate. Under her mentor Mimi Costa-White-Past President of Dance Masters of America, Stephanie traveled to Las Vegas and New York for National Conventions.

In 2007, she went off to San Jose State University to further her education in Dance and Psychology. In her time there she studied with Gary Masters, Fred Mathews, Janie Scott, Heather Cooper, and Maria Basile. Furthermore, she studied all levels of Ballet, Jazz, Modern, and Choreography. During College she paid her way by teaching dance classes for recreational centers and studios. In 2010, she graduated with two degrees and a passion for working with young children. She currently teaches dance classes for Pre-K level in various styles. Stephanie is also enrolled in child development classes and applying for Credentials/ Masters Program to teach young children.

Stephanie joined Small Fry Dance Club in 2011 and is currently a full time staff member. She will be splitting her time between both programs with a focus on preschool and school age dancers.

Melanie Harvengt

Head Teacher – Ballet Department

Melanie Harvengt

Melanie Harvengt began dancing at the age of 10 at Rena’s Dance Unlimited in Edwardsville, IL where she studied the Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet for 8 years. In 2016 she received her B.F.A. in dance from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. During her time at Webster she studied under Alicia Graf Mack, Michael Uthoff, James Robey, Beckah Reed and Maggi Dueker and performed works by Jose Limon, Wendy Rein and Ryan T. Smith of RAWdance, Tymberly Canale Harris, Jamie Graham and Gary Hubler. In 2016 she received a grant to choreograph and produce an evening length work titled The Living Space at the Kranzberg Performing Arts Center in St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating Melanie remained in St. Louis for a year during which she performed with Karlovsky and Company Dance and in the St. Louis Fringe Festival. Additionally, she taught dance to all ages and levels at Central Studio. Melanie recently moved to the Bay Area to continue to share her love of teaching, choreographing, and performing.

Christa Hurrell

Head Teacher – Musical Theatre Department

Christa Hurrell

UPDATE: Christa is due to have her third child July 2018. She has a planned maternity leave through December, 2018. You will still see her around and in the lobby as her older daughter will continue dancing with us. She will be back in the classroom again soon! Congrats to the Hurrell Family!

Christa’s love for dance started at the age of three when her Mom enrolled her in tap class and she never looked back. She kept dancing adding ballet, and jazz to her dance forms as well as performing in the Davis Jazz Choir and her local musical theater company (DMTC). She studied tap at the Davis Art Center under Jere and Julie Curry, Bill Strickland and Lee Harry for 8 years. While attending Palomar College she studied tap under Valerie Clark for 2 years. In 2009, She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in child development from Sonoma State. Christa has a great combination of dance training, teaching experience, and early childhood education exposure! Her teaching experience includes Echale (Stanford University), Davis Art Center, and Gretchen Higgins Elementary School. Her favorite dance styles are tap and musical theater. Christa is passionate about teaching young dancers. Combining her love for music, dance, teaching and children is a dream come true. Christa is one of our Small Fry parents. Her daughter has been taking classes for 2 years now and her younger son also started dancing with us in 2014.

Christa will be splitting her time between both program teaching all age groups from infants to adults!

Tayler Kinner

Instructor Since 2016 – Hip Hop, Contemporary

Tayler Kinner

Tayler Kinner grew up dancing in a small town in Illinois. She then moved to St.Louis, Missouri where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Advertising and Marketing Communications at Webster University. Throughout her dance career, she has studied ballet, modern, tap, jazz, hip-hop, aerial work, classical Thai Khon dance, dances of the Philippines, and improvisation.Tayler has worked with artists such as Beckah Reed, James Robey, Michael Uthoff, Jan Crosby, Maurya Kerr, Monica Newsam, and Ryan Smith and Wendy Rein of RAWdance. She has also performed with Turn of Change Dance Collective, Karlovsky & Company Dance, Smashworks Dance Collective, Alyssandra Katherine Dance Project, and has performed in Hau Hin, Thailand where she studied classical Thai dance under Pichet Klunchun.

Tayler has been teaching since the age of 15 and currently teaches group fitness classes at Cardio Barre SF. She is excited to continue passing along her love and passion for the art of dance to the next generations.

Amy Komatsu

Instructor Since 2019 – Ballet, Jazz

Amy Komatsu

Amy has been dancing since she was 2 years old. Her favorite styles are contemporary, lyrical, jazz, ballet, and tap. At Sequoia High School in Redwood City Amy was a part of the advanced dance program and the dance team. After graduating high school, she earned her Bachelor’s in mathematics with a minor in dance at San Jose State University. While studying at SJSU Amy was also a part of the Spartan Competitive Dance Team. Dance has always been a huge part of Amy’s life, and she is very excited to be a part of the Small Fry and PCPA family.

Karen Luu

Instructor Since 2019 – Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet

Karen Luu

Karen Luu is a contemporary hip hop dancer from Southern California who has moved to the San Francisco to broaden her dance styles in Modern, Jazz, and Ballet. She has danced competitively in her High Schools hip hop dance team and has been under the instruction of all San Francisco State University’s dance faculty for the past five years. Karen has choreographed for the SFSU collegiate showcase for two years in a row which allowed her pieces to be showcased at Stanford University’s Bay Area Dance Exchange. Karen has a passion for educating arts and has experience in teaching dance to children with special needs, she hopes to one day become a physical therapist for dancers. She’s currently performing with University Dance Theatre’s company and is expecting to graduate this spring with two bachelor’s degrees of Dance and Kinesiology.

Laura McComb Van Dyke

Director of Ballet – Curriculum Develepment

Laura McComb Van Dyke

Laura McComb Van Dyke grew up in Media, Pa and studied dance primarily at the Pennsylvania Ballet’s Rock School West, Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, and Media Dance Center in Ballet, jazz, tap, and lyrical. During her last year in High School she was also able to study modern at Temple University along side their B.F.A and M.F.A students. She graduated with honors from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts with a B.F.A. in dance. She has been teaching dance to ages 2 through adults steadily now since 2007, including three years as Associate Director of Hudson Dance and Movement where she helped develop their curriculum. Many of her ballet students have gone on to be accepted into the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre’s school, and Ballet Academy East in New York City. Her professional experience includes dancing for Kelley Donovan and Dancers, and Nikki Manx Dance Project in New York City, New Jersey, and Boston. Her choreography has been presented at the Boulder International Fringe Festival, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and many venues and festivals throughout New York City and New Jersey. She is also a licensed Massage Therapist in New York. Laura looks forward to bringing her passion for and knowledge of movement to children while continuing her own education as a teacher.

Laura and her husband moved back to the East Coast to be close to family when she was pregnant with her daughter. Although far away, we have brought her on as our curriculum developer, as well as our Director of Ballet for PCPA. She will be working remotely with staff and accessing classes through video. She is a valuable asset for us and we are glad to have her on board.

Vanesa Morales

Instructor Since 2019

Vanesa Morales

Vanesa Morales started dancing at the age of 7 with Mexican folk dance and was one of the veteran dancers of Ballet Folklorico Las Estrellas. Vanesa’s dance education in ballet, modern, contemporary, and jazz began at the Oakland School for the Arts where she was trained from one of Bay Area’s well-known choreographers and teachers, Reginald Savage. After high school Vanesa ventured off to New York for school and found herself exploring hip-hop; she continued her journey at Ohlone College while also training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and tap. Through her training at Ohlone Vanesa found mentors in Janel Tomblin-Brown and Cassie Begley. In 2016 she started teaching at Pacific West Gymnastics and expanded her growth in choreography. Aside from choreographing pieces for winter and spring showcases at Pacific West, Vanesa has choreographed for Ohlone College as a student choreographer for their annual winter and spring productions as well as being a production assistant. Vanesa has also had the pleasure of choreographing a Maya Angelou tribute to her poem “Still I Rise” for Bliss Dance Company’s original production, Phenomenal Woman(2015) and more. She has also been fortunate to have been cast in Ohlone’s College production of Hairspray (2018) and Phantom Of The Opera (2019).Vanesa is currently working towards her Associates Degree in Fine Arts and will continue her college education at San Jose State University for her BFA Degree in Dance.

Sara Shirley

Instructor since 2016 – Hip Hop, Latin Jam

Sara Shirley

Sara Shirley has been dancing for more than 15 years. She has a broad range of experience, from hip hop to ballroom, and has traveled and competed in several regional and national competitions. Her training began at the age of six with gymnastics. Three years later she began dancing with Sonya Brague at Yellowstone Ballroom Dance Studio. It was then she discovered her passion for Latin and Ballroom Dance. She competed and traveled in Idaho and Utah for more than five years. As a teenager she was a part of competitive cheerleading, gymnastics, and dance teams. In fact she was head cheerleader of her senior year of high school, leading her team to compete in many events across the state.

While studying at Utah State University, Sara became a member of the university hip hop dance company “Vilociti.” It was with this talented crew of dancers that Sara choreographed and performed at several major events, spring showcases, and workshops. She graduated with her Bachelor Degree in social work with an emphasis in psychology. Sara taught as a full-time teacher at an elementary school for children with autism in Salt Lake City, Utah. Along with working as a youth counselor, a school teacher, and now a mother to a busy toddler, Sara has continued dancing and teaching. Most recently Sara taught as a Zumba and hip hop dance instructor in several studios in the Idaho/Utah region. Sara has a big heart, a passion for dance, and loves to inspire confidence in children and adults.

saras@principalarts.com

Micah Taylor

Instructor Since 2014 – Curriculum Development

Micah Taylor

Micah has recently relocated to Utah with her family. She is still on our staff as a curriculum developer, and we still hope she can return to the studio in the near future. Micah began her training over 20 years ago when her mom enrolled her at a studio in Utah; she hasn’t stopped dancing since and her passion for artistry and athleticism has only grown. Her dance training includes contemporary, modern, jazz, tap, ballet, and world dance. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in Dance Education from Brigham Young University. During her studies at BYU, Micah performed, choreographed and taught with the three Contemporary Dance companies at the University throughout public schools in Utah, Colorado, and Idaho, throughout India and China, and within the University dance program. She danced professionally with Salt Contemporary Dance in Utah before moving to the Bay Area and joining the Small Fry and Principal Arts teaching team.

Micah will be splitting her time between both programs teaching all age groups from infants to adults!

Giamaica Zeidler

Instructor Since 2016 – Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop

Giamaica Zeidler

Giamaica Zeidler has been dancing since she was three years old. She has studied, ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, Polynesian, Bollywood, and acrobatics. Giamaica began teaching dance as an apprentice at Marge Patka Dance Studio in 2000 and has been teaching and staging dances ever since. She spent seven years at Millbrae Dance Academy, under the expert direction and mentorship of MaryAnne Dulmage. She is currently in her eighth year as a credentialed dance teacher at Terra Nova High School, where she also serves as P.E. department chair and advisor of Dance Team and Breakdancing Club. For the past five years, she has choreographed the Terra Nova musicals: Edward Scissorhands, Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, Wizard of Oz, and Kiss Me Kate. Giamaica’s mission is to incorporate technical mastery, artistic expression, and joy into her classes and performances.

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Torrie Warren

Instructor Since 2017 – Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Lyrical

Torie Warren

Vicktoriea “Torie” Carroll was born in Sherwood, AR. She began dancing at the age of 2 at North Little Rock School of Dance. Torie began competing at the age of 5 and began teaching as a Junior in High School at the age of 16. She was awarded her first choreography award at the age of 17 and has since won numerous choreography awards at both the Regional and National level in Tap, Jazz, Lyrical and Hip Hop. Torie is a graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina where she was Captain of the Dance Team. While at Davidson, she founded a Non-Profit Organization entitled Forever Pressing Forward in which she seeks to use dance and other art forms to address racism, domestic violence, police brutality and other social issues. After graduating from Davidson, with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Minor in Dance, Torie decided to move to San Jose to pursue her love for dance and for teaching. As a teacher, it is her desire to inspire and encourage children to foster their love for dance as both an athletic sport and an expressive form of art.

Mestre Cafu

Capoeira Instructor – Youth Expressions SF

Mestre Cafu

Mestre Cafu, born and raised in Brazil, began practicing capoeira at the age of six. Due to his natural talent for the art, he was teaching by the time he was 15 years old. He played a major role in establishing the capoeira groups ABADA Capoeira and Roots of Brazil.

At the age of 18 he was invited by San Francisco State University to teach various workshops. At that time he also toured the U.S. performing with different Dance companies.

In the U.S. he began teaching capoeira at a dance academy in Santa Cruz, CA. He then moved on to Hawaii, where he was the pioneer of capoeira. For the last 24 years he has been teaching classes and workshops throughout the United States and building groups in California, Colorado, Hawaii and Texas.