kristan ballard, owner and studio director
"Miss Kristan" has been teaching and choreographing for over 20 years. She was the director of a local dance team, Boni's En Toure, for 13 years, and has repeatedly won top recognition at national competitions for her choreography. Miss Kristan grew up training under several industry notables, including Ray Leeper (of NUVO) and Tina D'Amato, and she attended the University of Hawaii on a dance scholarship. She has performed at major venues such as the Jazz World Congress in D.C., has danced professionally for several years for Legends in Hawaii and Le Masque in NYC, and has choreographed and taught for several local performing arts troupes, drill teams, high schools, as well as SHSU. She also had the opportunity to choreograph and perform for country singer Clay Walker's concerts. In addition to Miss Kristan's love of art in dance, she also loves art in words, which is why she not only holds a minor in Dance and a Masters of Education from SHSU, but also a Ph.D in literature from The University of Houston. Miss Kristan is extremely honored to begin the TADA journey with her amazing cast of bright and beautifully talented teachers!
meet OUR GROWING FAMILY OF INSTRUCTORS
ELISE JUDSON
Originally from Sacramento, California, Elise Judson currently dances with the Houston Ballet. Following four summer programs, she became a member of the Houston Ballet in November 2007. She has enjoyed being the featured dancer in Stanton Welch's Falling , the first pas de deux in Antony Tudor's The Leaves Are Fading , the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker , the Neapolitan Princess in Stanton Welch's Swan Lake , Jiri Kylian's Falling Angels , the fourth solo in George Balanchine's Ballo Della Regina , William Forsythe's The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude , Stanton Welch's Maninyas , and Christopher Bruce's Intimate Pages . TADA congratulates Elise, who on July 5th of this year will marry her best friend and fellow Houston Ballet dancer Rhodes Elliott, also part of our TADA family (his bio/pic coming soon!)
JESUS ACOSTA
Jesus Acosta is originally from Guanajuato, Mexico. He is currently in his third season with Jane Weiner and the Hope Stone Dance Company in Houston, and he is in his fifth season as one of the founders of NobleMotion Dance. He has been teaching and choreographing for 10 years in the Houston area, and has danced nationally at the Ailey Theater in NYC and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. among others. He was a guest artist for Dangerous Lorraine's Dance Theater and a performer for the Kista Tucker Dance Co., Reck Productions, and Rednerrus Feil Dance Co. Dance Magazine has recognized him for his "fluidity of motion...punctuated by sharp arrests and dynamic shifts of focus and presence." Recently his choreography received gala status at the RDA Festival. Jesus is looking forward to sharing his love of dance with our TADA students!
JESSICA (Hailey) Norwood
Jessica Norwood grew up in Houston, where she trained with North Harris Performing Arts, eventually becoming a teacher and a partner in the NHPA facility. She became a member of the performing arts company REVOLVE, where she had the opportunity to work with an array of prominent dance figures such as Wes Veldink and Mia Michaels of NYC, Randal Flinn of Dance Ad Deum, as well as Houston Ballet's Barbara Bears, Fred Stroble, and Naomi Glass. In 2009 she became a Houston Texans Cheerleader, eventually becoming a captain and choreographer; she currently continues to give the cheerleaders technique classes. She has performed at venues and outreach programs all over the world and is exemplary in an array of disciplines--jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, and more, and she loves teaching students of all ages and levels! We are so lucky to have Jessica on board this year.
NIKKI WETTER
Nikki Wetter comes to us from Dayton, OH, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance from Wright State University. She has danced on company with the Brown Dance Project and Dayton Contemporary Dance, and will be dancing with Ad Deum in the Fall of this year. She has been a guest artist at several venues including the Area Choreographers Festival, Striver's School for the Arts, and the Northern Cincinnati Youth Ballet. She was recently 2014 Chosen Choreographer at the Area Choreographer's Festival in Cincinnati! She also spent time as the Director of Dance at Centerville Dance Company. Check out her choreography reel HERE . We are excited to have grabbed Nikki before her transition to Houston! She will be working closely with our TADA Company next year!
Jennifer Mabus
Originally from Dallas, TX, Jennifer Mabus received her BFA in Dance from SMU. She has been a member of several dance companies in New York and Texas, such as the esteemed Battleworks Dance Company (under Robert Battle, artistic director of Alvin Ailey), Amy Marshall Dance Company, Take Dance Company, Heidy Latsky, and the Bruce Wood Dance Project. She has been on faculty at Booker T. WAshington HSPVA and TCU, and is currently pursuing an MFA at SHSU. Jennifer currently performs with Dark Circles Contemporary Dance and Noble Motion Dance. She is also a certified yoga teacher. Her amazing choreography can be viewed at jenmabus.com . We are thrilled to have Jennifer with us this year for ballet and yoga!
CARLA PRESCOTT
Carla grew up in Rochester NY, and studied at the Flower City Ballet and the Garth Fagan Dance Company. After graduating with a degree in Dance Education from Hope College, she worked professionally with Ad Deum Dance Company in Texas and Corps Bara Dance Company in Calgary, Canada. While with these companies she studied under the talents of Randall Flinn, Kathleen Lobue, Clara, Cravey, Caleb Mitchell, and Shirley Proust. Carla is excited to instill knowledge, technique, and a passion for dance for all of TADA's students, from 3-year-olds to pre-professionals!
