Our Teachers

Betsy Melber

Betsy Melber has been teaching dance for over 25 years. Dance has been in her life since early childhood. At the age of 4 she performed in her first dance recital, “Alice in Wonderland.”

Her extreme passion for dance and music led Betsy to studios across the United States and extensive training in Southern California. With a passion for the rhythmic styles of tap and musical theatre, as well as an innate talent and ability for acrobatics, kept her on the move, constantly creating shows and musicals and plays at a very young age.

Her professional experience began as an original company member, scholarship student, and apprentice dance instructor with “Danny Daniels Dance America” Tap Company, based in Santa Monica, California. Betsy worked extensively with Danny and his program receiving the finest training in Tap, Ballet, Jazz and Musical Theatre. The group performed in dance concerts throughout Los Angeles, as well television appearances. Later, her passion grew for ballet and she studied for many years at the World Famous “Stanley Holden Ballet Company,” in Los Angeles, while simultaneously studying Tap and Jazz from movie, television, and stage choreographer Paul DeRolf. Additional teachers that have made an impact on her life and style are Caroline Dyer, Harriet DeRea, Margaret Hills, Steffan Wenta, Joe Tremaine, Marge & Cower Champion, Milton Greene, Jim Taylor, Fayard Nicholas, Mark Mendoca, Linda Sohl-Donnell, Sam Weber, Steve Zee, Lynn Dally, Bernice Danylchuck and Helen Costa, to name a few.

Betsy’s performance credits include Dance Concerts, Television, Films, Industrial shows throughout the United States. Betsy has worked as co-choreographer for stage review shows for lake Tahoe, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Betsy opened Agoura Hills Dance in 1998 as a natural progression from an extensive commercial dance career, teaching and choreography, and as a way to enable her to develop a program that expands her passions, and to provide a place for other like-minded teachers, choreographers, dancers and their families.

Many of her students have gone on to professional dance careers, appearing on Broadway, in movies, television, videos, touring companies, and various Dance Companies.

Betsy’s love and passion for dance makes it a joy to be able to have a special place that others who share this passion can come together to sing, dance, create, laugh, grow, and to develop each person’s potential.

The support and love from her family, husband Chuck, Chuck Jr., and Carly have been her greatest blessing, and she is filled with gratitude for the joy and love they have always given her.

Anthony Thomas

Discovered by Janet Jackson in his early 20's, he catapulted to worldwide fame for his groundbreaking choreography on Jacksons, Rhythm Nation 1814 album. An overnight sensation, Thomas' Rhythm Nation 1814 tele-musical won a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video, MTV's Music Award for Best Choreography and the MTV Vanguard Award. The video is ranked on MTV and VH1’s lists of Greatest 100 Videos of all time. His innovative gift of versatility and physical rhythm, earned him an honored place in music history when he combined popping and locking for the first time. The marriage of these two forms of street dance changed the direction of hip hop and created a standard of excellence in the world that has yet to be matched since Rhythm Nation. Inspired one afternoon as an 8 year old boy watching the now legendary dance group The Lockers on Soul Train, Anthony's dream, to touch the lives of people around the world through dance, was born and thrives in today's entertainment industry. With a signature style yet to be matched, his choreography is alive and can be seen in Disney's A Goofy Movie, Robin Williams Toys, Luther Vandross' Never Let Me Go World Tour, and Wynonna Judd and the Judd's Power to Change Tour, to name a few. Anthony Thomas' long list of achievements is reflective of how he has played a pivotal role in paving the way for today's top contemporary dance artists and choreographers. 20 years after Rhythm Nation, Anthony Thomas remains at the top of his game teaching popping and locking at premiere dance studios in LA and abroad to some of the best dancers in the world. Each year, hundreds of students flock to his classes in hopes of gaining a piece of hip hop history and to study under the living legend himself. He continues to work as a choreographer with artists here in the US and internationally. A creative force in the dance world, Thomas is as passionate as ever about his gift and determined to continue to be an inspiration to the world. For more information about Anthony Thomas check out his official website soon to come at AThomas.com or visit him at www.myspace.com/rhythmaster1.

Megan Wabby

Megan began dancing at the age of three and hasn't stopped since then! Being a part of a competition team for over ten years, she has attended many conventions and competitions winning many awards. Megan was captain of her high school songleading team for three years choreographing numerous routines that won top awards throughout Southern California. In 2002, she was invited by the United Spirit Association to be a member of their AllStar team where whe joined them ot perform in Paris, France. Receiving her dance training here at Agoura Hills Dance, she had the priviledge of performing the roles of Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty as well as the caterpillar for two years in their original ballet "Alice in Wonderland". In 2007, Megan graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. Megan is very excited to be back and teaching students of all ages here at Agoura Hills Dance!

Sharon Luchs

Sharon's teaching credits range from preschool movement to adult ballet pointe and technique, and include extended teaching engagements in New York City at the Callina Moraytis School of Classical Ballet, at the Learning Annex, and in Raleigh, N.C. at Danceurs Studio. While in Raleigh, she served as a multiple presenter in dance education for the North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children. For the past several years Sharon has served as a judge for On Stage America for regional dance competitions on both coasts. After graduating from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, she performed extensively with the North Carolina State Ballet and the East Carolina Dance Theatre. She concluded her post-graduate studies as a scholarship recipient at Harkness House in New York City.

Sayhber Rawles

We are fortunate to add to our incredible team the highly respected and much sought-after dancer/teacher/choreographer, and the second half of the fabulous duo Dennon and Sayhber Rawles. Sayhber and Dennon have worked together dancing and choreographing for 6 major motion pictures, hundreds of commercials, hundreds of television shows, night clubs, and musical theatre, alongside such greats as Warren Beatty, John Travolta, Ann-Margret, Sylvester Stallone, Jeff Goldblum, and Toni Basil. Her recent musical theatre choreography credits include South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Sweet Charity, All That Jazz, and Gypsy. Her technique for teaching jazz is thorough and concise, incorporating the classic style of Bob Fosse, Jack Cole, Jerome Robbins, and Michael Kidd. She brings these styles to current music, for a challenging and rewarding class you won't want to miss. We are very proud to have Sayhber here at Agoura Hills Dance.

Brim

Brim got his jump in the industry by being one of Orlando's hottest and most sought-after choreographers. After working with the likes of the Backstreet Boys, Blaque, and Aaron Carter--just to name a few--he decided to move deeper into the industry by taking on acting, developing stage shows, and producing music. Soon after, he became the Creative Director for Big 3 Records/Entertainment, where he created, developed, and delivered a spectacular show in Monte Carlo, France, for the Prince of Monaco. Brim recently appeared in the smash hit movie You Got Served (Sony/ Columbia Pictures) and now calls Los Angeles home. He has teamed up with Mad Tasty for a film which he is writing and for which he is producing the soundtrack. It is currently in pre-production.

Rachel Spada

Rachel has been dancing since she was 6 in Buffalo, NY. Born and raised there, she focused her training at two dance studios and did various competitions in the Western New York area as well as New York City. She went to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and received a BFA in Jazz Dance Performance and also received an award for outstanding choreographic achievement over four years. She's work with the Rock School, River North Chicago, Alven Ailey and the Hip Hop group FloMotion before she left Philadelphia. In July of 2005, she moved to Los Angeles where she hopes to really start her career. She dances in Jessica Starr's company, "Twisted Elegance" where they have performed at many venues as well as Choreographers Carnival. She's work with Mia Michaels, Marty Kudelka, Wade Robson, and Tovaris Wilson just to name a few. She hopes to one day have a dance company of her own.

Forest Philbrick

Forest started dancing with her cousin, in Thousand Oaks, 13 years ago. They also drove to Downtown L.A. and took hip hop classes from various dance instructors. As she and her cousin became more accomplished, they started choreographing for themselves and began teaching in Thousand Oaks. She has been teaching for 7 years now. Not only has she been teaching hip hop, but she has also taught French to preschool age children at a school in Westlake Village. Forest trained under the direction of Joe Malone in 2002, and decided children were going to be her main focus. She has choreographed for various cheer/dance teams and singing groups. She also portrayed Pink in the 2001 Moulin Rouge music video on MTV's show Becoming. She is currently attending college and studying nutrition.

Mandy Kerr

Mandy began dancing, singing and acting at the age of three in her hometown of Edmonton, AB, Canada. After moving with her family to San Diego, CA and graduating high school she then moved to New York City where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College and began her professional career. Since her move to the United States she has performed and toured with some of today's top musical artists such as MICHAEL JACKSON, CHER, *N SYNC, NICK CANNON and the 2004 United States Olympic Gymnastic team. Some of her television appearances include DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, SEX AND THE CITY, SESAME STREET, and VH1's Big in '05 Awards with DEF LEPPARD. Mandy shot a pilot for Fox with comedians Bob Sagat and Jeffery Ross as well as the pilot for the CBS television series SMITH starring Ray Liotta and Amy Smart. She has also worked with such companies as AFLAC and TJ MAXX and can currently be seen in commercials for both PROGRESSIVE and MAC IPOD SHUFFLE. She continues to work on her music career both backup singing as well as recording her own music. As well as dancing professionally she can currently be found choreographing and teaching both nation and world wide at multiple conventions, workshops, studios, intensives, and companies such as ELITE DANCE CONVENTIONS, FUSION, SURREY DANCE FESTIVAL, HARBOUR Dance Center, SOURCE DANCE, and SKIP Entertainment. Mandy just finished as the in house choreographer for ADIDAS Asia-Pacific working on numerous Pre-Olympic events as well as creating an instructional Hip Hop DVD called ADIDAS STREET HOP. She just recently returned from China, Canada, Guam, and from Holland where she was added as a judge at the 2006/2007 World Hip Hop Championships. Some of her most recent accomplishments include choreographing for the Netherlands new artist "Eva" and TUG's new artist Ashley Rose. Mandy has been teaching Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical/Contemporary, and Musical Theater for almost a decade and loves to inspire and share her passion for dance to anyone who wants to listen!!!

Jenelle Lancaster

Originally from Alberta, Canada, Jenelle Lancaster began dancing at the age of 3. She trained in all styles of dance, including jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop and lyrical. When she was 16, Jenelle traveled to Riesa, Germany to compete in the World Dance Championships, where she took home a gold medal for her self-choreographed tap duet, as well as team gold for jazz. Jenelle began her professional dance career at the age of 17 when she moved to NYC and acted as the assistant choreographer for the world famous Radio City Rockettes. Her love of dance has allowed her to travel the world with a variety of shows, including a 3 month tour of Asia with "Las Vegas Show Girls", and the European leg of the "CA Dance Express" world tour. Jenelle eventually found her way to Los Angeles, where she has had the privilege of dancing in a variety of live stage shows. Most recently she could be seen in Disney's production of "UP" at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. Jenelle has also made several TV appearances, including Calvin Klein's "Look Good, Feel Better" ad campaign and FOX's "VIP Passport" series. Additionally, Jenelle has danced in a number of music videos for world famous recording artists, such as Kylie Minogue and The Roots, to name a few. So far, Jenelle has had an exciting dance career, and she looks forward to sharing her experience and knowledge with the students at Agoura Hills Dance this coming year!

Brittany Merrill

Brittany has danced since she was seven years old. She grew up in a ballet studio where she became part of the Civic Ballet Company. At a young age she was able to perform with a jazz company in China twice, Cuba and Russia. She played principle roles like Clara in Nutcracker and Queen of Hearts in Alice and Wonderland. She was offered scholarships to summer intensives at Joffrey Ballet, California Ballet, and Lines Ballet. She started her own Youth Contemporary Ballet Company, in which they performed with the SLO Symphony and all over California. She also taught classes of various styles from ballet to hip hop. She then auditioned and was one of the twenty dancers get on scholarship at the Edge Performing Arts Center in Hollywood. She has since gone on to work with many of those choreographers. She is currently assistant choreographer for Eddie Garcia. She has been a principle dancer in commercials such as the Nip/Tuck promo with choreographer Marguerite Derricks. She has done stage shows for America’s Got Talent in Vegas, and Disney. She is in the Latin partnering show for international star Charo. She has done award shows for Spike TV and was in the Grammy’s this year. She has done modeling for sportswear and dance articles as well.

Samantha Carnell

Agoura Hills is pleased to begin a New Ballroom program this year with Samantha Carnell. We plan on adding more classes to the curriculum this year, with differant ages and levels, as well as days and times. See our fall schedule for more info on these great classes.

Samantha Carnell has been teaching ballroom dancing since 2006, but began her dance career several years earlier as a competitive student. While training to compete in International Latin competitions during college, she was hired to teach at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Beverly Hills, where her teaching career officially first began. Since then, Samantha has taught independently at several studios throughout Los Angeles, including 3rd St. Dance in West Hollywood, where she also currently works part-time. Throughout the past several years she has participated in several professional/amateur competitions with competitive students, and has also performed at several private events for solo partner showcases and group routines. In addition, she has a great track record for student retention and progress, and possesses high level of professionalism. Her teaching specialties include wedding preparation and choreography, social dancing for beginners including Salsa, Cha-Cha and all varieties of Swing, and ballroom classics for the beginner, such as Foxtrot and Waltz. Her personal favorites to dance are the Samba, Rumba and Argentine Tango. Samantha graduated from California State University, Northridge with a B.A. in Political Science and is currently pursing a graduate degree in Public Policy.

Peety

Peety began his training at two years old with Hip Hop legends Poppin' Pete, Suga' Pop, and Poppin' Taco, all of which were the teachers to world-renowned dancer and superstar, Michael Jackson. At twelve years of age Peety taught himself how to break dance by imitating at home what was being done at school and local house parties. Peety began teaching Popping, Breaking, and Hip Hop and has not stopped since. Some of his credits within his professional dance career include: High School Musical: Get in the Picture, Miley Cyrus' M&M Cru, The Wayne Brady Show, and Fuse TV's Redemption Song.

Marie-France Levesque

Born in Montreal, Canada, Marie-France began her ballet training at the age 7. In 1982, she joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, performing lead roles for 3 years. She received grants from the Canada Council of the Arts and from the Government of Quebec to study in New York and Bulgaria. In 1985, Marie danced the lead role in The Garden of the Heart, which was broadcast live on CBS National TV. That same year, Marie was recruited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join American Ballet Theatre, where she danced for 11 years. Her repertoire includes several featured roles, many PBS specials on dance, and a host of guest-artist credits across the U.S. and Canada. Since moving to L.A. in 1996 Marie has been providing the highest level of professional instruction at studios such as West Side Academy of Dance, Southland Ballet Academy, and CSU Long Beach.

Zippora Karz

She is a former soloist ballerina with the New York City Ballet where she performed for 16 years on stage and in televised performances. She was featured in a variety of roles choreographed by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins (The Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker being one of her favorites) as well as works choreographed for her by such choreographers as Peter Martins and Lynne Taylor Corbett. Today Miss Karz is a repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust, staging Balanchine ballets all over the worlds. When she is not traveling Ms. Karz teaches and coaches ballet locally."

Amanda Kofsky

She has worked with the likes of Roland Petit, Redha, Patrick Dupont and has appeared with Gloria Gaynor, YES, Sylvie Vartan, etc, in ads (Diet Coke, Yoplait, Bally). Based in Paris for 16 years, Amanda taught and choreographed for stage, television, film, and fashion in Europe, Asia, South Africa and USA and was awarded the Volnine International Choreographic Prize. Amanda's Style is vibrant and emotive and she brings her own unique touch of blues, funk, jazz and always something new. Her love of dance and enthusiasm make each class a burst of energy!