Deana is from Orlando, Florida. She had the honor of being a New York City Radio City Music Hall Rockette for several seasons. Among her other accomplishments are: the TV show Glee, Smash, Bad Romance music video with Lady Gaga, PSA with Beyonce, performed with Jennifer Lopez at the American Music Video Awards, America’s Got Talent, and can be seen dancing with Lady Gaga in the MTV Video Awards. She has worked with prestigious artists and choreographers including assisting the Emmy award winning SYTYCD choreographer, Tessandra Chavez. She has also performed in the Equity production of Beauty and the Beast at Disney World as well as a high-kick dancer in Universal Studios.

Bella Denton grew up in South Florida, and began dancing at the age of 3 training in ballet/pointe, tap, jazz, musical theatre, jazz funk and contemporary/lyrical. Right out of highschool she was accepted into Broadway Dance Center’s Professional Semester and spent 7 months in New York City training with some of the best teachers in the industry, performing, and learning the ins and outs of the professional dance world. After her time in NYC, Bella was invited and had her Choreography chosen to perform at Europe's top art festival: Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. Afterwards, she moved back to South Florida and spent one season dancing on the Florida Panthers Dance Team.

Bella is currently a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader, and takes pride in dancing at all home games for the NFL community and Dolphins Fans at Hard Rock Stadium! Having teaching dance since she was 16 years old and choreographing for many years, she is immensely excited to be apart the EDT family!

Bio coming soon!

Luz Monica is a graduate in Performing Arts, with a specialty in Ballet, graduated with a Gold Degree from the Higher Institute of Art of Havana, postgraduate in Historical Dances and Dances of Character, of Elementary and Middle level in the Superior Institute of Art of Havana. With vast experience in teaching, teaching courses in Classical Technique, Character Dances, Point Techniques and Repertoire at various levels. With pedagogical, didactic, methodological and administrative tools to guarantee the integral development of schools and dance academies; special interest in teaching, vocational guidance and planning and organization of the artistic curriculum. Co-creator and administrator of the La Luz de la Danza Foundation. With skills for work under pressure, achievement orientation and high-performance capacity in tasks of responsibility and exigency. We are thrilled to have Luz Monica on faculty.

Deanna Greist grew up in South Florida and began her training at Jill Mallory Studio of Dance at the age of three. In high school, she trained at Donna Lee Studio of Dance and became an inaugural member of Expressions Dance Company where she was afforded the opportunity to work with nationally renowned choreographers, such as Rennie and Rhee Gold, Scott Fowler, and Debbie Dee. At the age of 18, Deanna became a member of The Young Americans where she benefitted from multiple national touring opportunities including working with and performing for the likes of Barbra Streisand, George Burns, and Shirley MacLaine to name a few.

Deanna has been a dance educator/choreographer in South Florida for more than 30 years and has spent three of those years on faculty at Encore Dance Theatre. She is a certified Acrobatics Arts Instructor, as well as a certified Acro Dance Teacher Association Adjudicator. Deanna is also a certified judge for the Miss America Organization and enjoys judging local competitions. She is excited to be back for another successful year at Encore Dance Theatre!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon

Ysabella Lupercio grew up in Jacksonville, Florida training in a multitude of dance styles since she was 3. She is currently a third year student at Nova Southeastern University, majoring in dance and business management with a minor in technical theatre. She is so excited to be joining the EDT family!

Natasha grew up in Coral Springs, Florida. She started dancing at 4 years old and was a student at encore dance theater for 12 years. She was a part of the company team, training and competing in all dance styles. She has also had the opportunity to perform at the Miami Heat and Dolphins Halftime, Royal Caribbean Show, and Dance the Magic Disney Parade all with Encore. Natasha is currently a student at Nova Southeastern University, majoring in Entrepreneurship and minoring in dance. She has performed at NSU each semester in a variety of events. At 19 years old, she became a professional dancer for the NHL Florida Panthers. She continues to attend multiple dance workshops to better herself and proceed with her dance career in pro sports. Natasha is a proud alumni and is so excited to share her love for dance with her EDT family!

Bio coming soon!

Tori began dancing at Encore when she was three years old. She was on the competition team where she trained in ballet, tap, jazz, acro and lyrical. Tori recently graduated with her bachelors degree in business management. We are delighted that Tori has come back home to EDT!

Bio coming soon!

Marlee has been a veteran of Encore Dance Theatre for 27 years. She has a Bachelors Degree in Exceptional Student Education with a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. Marlee has a special talent to work with all levels. In her dance career she has performed with Ballet Met, The Power Rangers, and the Orange Bowl parade to name a few.

Alana holds an M.A. in American Dance Studies from Florida State University. Growing up as an award winning competitive dancer in South Florida, she specializes in tap. Alana helped found and run FSU’s first tap dance team, Seminole Tap Troupe, competed with student-run competitive dance team Seminole Dance Force, and served as hospitality coordinator for Dance Marathon. Alana has experience with hosting cultural stages at art festivals, producing and voicing NBC Comcast commercials, hosting live radio, and teaching dance workshops. She holds a seat on Coral Springs Public Art Committee and currently serves as the 85th Anniversary Miss Broward County, with her community service initiative of TAP: Turn up Artistic Participation. She works full time operating special events at the Museum of Discovery Science in downtown Fort Lauderdale, having worked with brands such as LEGO, Publix, and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. In March 2023, she led plans and operations for the 8,000 attendee Visit Lauderdale Science Festival. She’s excited to join the EDT Family and share her love for tap!

Regarded in Cuba as the greatest and most popular ballerina of her generation, Rosario Suarez was universally known for the profound artistry, versatility, and innovation with which she performed ballet repertoire. Among her many achievements, Rosario won the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria in 1970. Over a remarkable twenty- seven year career with the National Ballet of Cuba, she performed principal roles in over 50 countries, to worldwide critical acclaim. In 1991, the Cuban Ministry of Culture recognized and celebrated her artistic achievements.

Born in Havana, Rosario began her ballet training at the Province Ballet School, then continuing her studies at the National School of the Arts, with teachers Joaquin Banegas, Fernando Alonso and Alicia Alonso. When Rosario was only fifteen years old, Fernando Alonso, the director of the National Ballet of Cuba, invited Rosario to join the Company, thus launching her nearly three-decade professional career, which included a fifteen-year tenure as Principal dancer. Rosario was also a principal dancer of Ballet Theater of Havana, under the direction of Caridad Martinez.

Rosario’s performances in Coppelia, Swan Lake and Giselle have brought her the highest acclaim. However, her roles in works by Cuban choreographers, such as Tarde en la Siesta and Rara Avis, were performances that have also been said to have set the standard for future generations of dancers.

Rosario’s interpretation of The Sylphide and The Scotsman at the International Cervantine Festival in Guanajuato and Giselle, at a historic performance at the Teatro Albeniz in Madrid, brought roaring audiences to their feet. At that time, Rosario established herself as an artist in Spain, participating in a number of festivals and teaching throughout the city. In 2000, at the debut of Anna Pavlova: Diálogos del Alma, within the setting of the Dance Festival of Madrid, she performed the famous Death of the Swan by Fokine. While in Spain, she worked at the Conservatory Real in Madrid alongside Virgina Valero, as well as with Victor Ullate, Goyo Montero, Juan Carlos Santa Maria, Raul Cardenes and Ramon Oller, and many others.

Rosario’s career brought her to Miami, where she was on faculty at New World School of the Arts, under the direction of Daniel Lewis. She then established her own company, Ballet Rosario Suarez, and an affiliated dance academy dedicated to the preservation of the Cuban Style of Ballet. In 2002, she created her first choreographic work, Cecilia Valdes with great success. Her final performance took place in Miami in 2010, as the star of the ballet theater production “La Ultima Funcion,” based on a poem by Abilio Estevez and directed by Lilian Vega. In 2012, Rosario was named one of the top 100 Latinos in Miami with the greatest cultural impact.

Rosario's career also took the form of film appearances, as she was featured in a documentary directed by Marisol Trujillo, Mujer Ante el Espejo, inspired by the experience of maternity of ballerinas; a short for the School of Cinematography, Two Gladys For You, directed by Aaron Yelin; a documentary about Pablo Neruda, and Stolen Verses, by Orlando Rojas. She appeared extensively, via modern interviews and archival performance footage, in a documentary of her own life, directed by Orlando Rojas, Queen of Thursdays, which won the award of Best Documentary at the Miami Film Festival.

Rosario is recognized as a versatile interpreter who builds her characters around expressive musicality. Her constant search for freedom throughout the course of her career has inspired her work, and she is an artist and performer who has reached critical acclaim, winning over the hearts of audiences all over the world. In 2008, Rosario joined the Miami Conservatory/Thomas Armour Youth Ballet, where she trained future generations in her role as Ballet Mistress. She continues to travel and tour as a teacher and coach for students internationally. Behind Rosario’s fame, experience, and technique is an unbridled passion to affect change in her students and help them unearth their full artistic potential. She is excited to work with the students at Encore and be a part of the faculty this season!

Sabrina Wakat grew up in South Florida, beginning her dance training at the age of six. Since then she has studied almost every style of dance there is to offer. She is a current member of Encore’s Elite competition team, but beyond that, she has been assisting there since she was ten and teaching since fourteen. Teaching is her passion—she spends numerous hours per week teaching dance as well as coaching figure skating outside of her time at the studio. She has been certified through teaching programs such as More Than Just Great Dancing and Ready Set Dance, and is also CPR certified. In addition, Sabrina’s love for choreographing has led her to achieve many choreography awards such as Intrigue Dance Convention’s Imagination concept winner when she was only fifteen. Sabrina’s love for performing was first seen in her appearance in Disney’s Christmas parade at the age of ten. Since then she has trained with many programs such as NYU Tisch, Joffrey’s Jazz&Contemporary program, and more, and has utilized her training to earn herself many accolades. Some of these include: Intrigue true performer (teen and senior division), 1st overall senior solo at Shake the Ground, and her most recent acceptance into Joffrey Ballet School’s trainee program on scholarship. Sabrina plans to continue her dance career into college and beyond. She loves dance in all aspects, but most importantly, she loves sharing the joy of it with her students.

Bio coming soon!