Founder and Artistic Director
Ballet, 4Pointe, PBT & Fitness

Originally from El Paso, Texas, Amanda started dancing at the age of 5. She began training professionally at the age of 12 and went on to dance with Ballet El Paso, UTEP Ballet, UTEP Dinner Theater, El Paso Symphony, West Texas A & M, Lone Star Ballet, and Amarillo Little Theater.

Amanda graduated from the University of El Paso with a BFA in Ballet. She then moved to New York City and worked at The School at Steps, a division of Steps on Broadway for nearly a decade. Amanda went on to work professionally at Barnard College, Columbia University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, and Montclair State University.

Amanda began teaching at the age of 18 under the direction of Andree’ Harper and Neil Hess in Texas. On the East Coast she has taught ballet at The School at Steps, Westfield School of Dance, Sharon Miller Performing Arts, and Motion Arts to name a few.

Amanda is a certified 4Pointe instructor and a Progressing Ballet Technique instructor. Both are unique to her studio and Essex County.

Amanda is driven by inspiring the next generation of dancers and her incredible faculty who stand with her. AC Dance will soon be going on year three. Amanda is a proud Hispanic woman and business owner in Essex County and looks forward to continuing her education and growth.

Horton and Jazz

Keisa Parrish began her training in dance in Los Angeles CA under the direction of 3 amazing teachers; Paul and Arlene Kennedy of the infamous tap studio, Universal Dance Designs which lended her the opportunity to perform with Michael Jackson; Cyd Glover-Hill of Art in Motion and Karon Brown Lehman at LA County High School of the Arts.

While earning a BFA degree from Fordham University’s joint program with The Ailey® School, she became a Radio City Rockette, performing in the Christmas Spectacular, doing print ads for Bloomingdale's and making special appearances all over the Tri-State area. Keisa has been teaching and choreographing for the past 25 years and judging dance competitions for the last 17 years. Her various schools and organizations include Harlem School of the Arts, where she was also the Assistant Dance Director, Next Step Bradway, where she was manager and Assistant Artistic Director, Elite Dance Challenge Competition, Pathway to the Arts, (E)motion by Design, Hal Jackson's Talented Teens International Competition, Dancers Inc. Competition, The Rockette Experience as well as many other dance studios in the Tri-State area.

She is also Yoga/Pilates/TRX certified, who’s been featured in Fitness Magazine, on Pix 11 Morning News, and Buzzfeed, and had been teaching classes/workshops for great companies such as YogaWorks and Clay Gym for over 13 years. Colgate Palmolive has hired her to teach their global leaders "How to use Mindfulness to Alleviate Stress,” while The Covenant House hired her to teach “Exercising & Eating Your Stress Away.” She has also taught Pilates as a Team Building program to the Nike Basketball Team New York. Keisa is now the Founder and CEO of Luebirta and Kaleonani Inc, a Performing Arts and Wellness education and consulting company that strives to educate, empower and guide communities to be their best selves.

Ballet and Pointe

Tori Hey was born in Sioux City, Iowa and raised in Chester, New Jersey. She began her dance training at age three in a variety of styles, but gravitated towards classical ballet as she grew older. Tori trained under world-renowned teachers such as, Alexandra Wells, Ernesta Corvino, Linda Kent, Francesca Harper, and Talin Kenar. Tori spent several summers training at the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Summer Program, and she was a member of the inaugural Complexions Pre-Professional Program. Tori holds a BFA in Dance from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program where she was a recipient of the Agnes Varis Scholarship and the Ailey Artistic Scholarship. Tori has danced professionally and toured the United States with companies such as Arch Ballet, Ballets With A Twist, and Neville Dance Theater. She has also been featured as a Guest Artist in various productions of The Nutcracker, performing roles such as Sugar Plum, Snow Queen, and Arabian Coffee. Tori worked as a Movement Artist under the direction of Francesca Harper in artist Nick Cave’s installation “The Let Go” at the Park Ave Armory. She also worked as a Model under movement direction company Dead Serious for fashion label Imitation of Christ in their New York Fashion Week SS22 show. Tori has performed in revered venues such as The Joyce Theater, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She has also made several television appearances on shows such as “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and “Succession.” Tori is an American Ballet Theater (ABT) Affiliate Teacher and has successfully presented students for ABT Exams. She teaches Ballet to students of all ages at schools throughout NYC and NJ. Tori now resides in Brooklyn as a freelance dancer, teacher and choreographer.

Ballet and Variations

Originally from British Columbia, Canada, Richard trained at Canada’s National Ballet School and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. He had the opportunity to perform with the National Ballet of Canada numerous times including the world premiere of John Alleyne’s Tristan and Isolde and achieved his advanced certification in the Cecchetti method of ballet. He has worked with Albany Berkshire Ballet, Sarah Berges Contemporary Dance, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Dance Theatre Northwest and other companies in the New York City area. Other career highlights have included productions of: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Promises, Promises, Singin’ in the Rain, Sweet Charity, Guys and Dolls, Beauty and the Beast, Jean Ann Ryan Productions, Royal Caribbean Productions (including Dancing with the Stars’ Louis Van Amstel’s production of Invitation to Dance), Galan Entertainment’s Tango Buenos Aires and the APEC Summit in Vladivostok, Russia. He frequently teaches all over the United States and Canada.

Ballet and Pointe

Fernanda Garduza, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, began her ballet studies under the guidance of Irina Provorova at Escuela Rusa de Ballet Clásico de Monterrey and furthered her training at The Kirov Academy of Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet Academy during summer intensives. Alongside her dance journey, she graduated in 2018 with a B.A. in Architecture from Tecnológico de Monterrey. Fernanda was a guest teacher for the advanced level group and the beginner/intermediate adult groups at Danza Center for the Arts in Austin, TX. She performed with Metamorphosis Dance Ensemble in Austin, TX, and later with CityDanceNY and Hudson Ballet Theatre after moving to NYC in 2023.

Administrative Assistant and Young Dancer

Hello everyone! My name is Elisa Matos and I am so excited to be AC Dance's first official Administrative Assistant! I am currently a college student pursuing my degree in education in hopes of becoming a dance teacher in a public school. Dance has always been a significant part of my life. I'm so fortunate that I get to be around such hard-working, creative dancers and instructors. It is both a privilege and an honor and I look forward to working with you all!

Jazz and Ballet

Alanna Espinal is a dancer, choreographer, educator and a student. Alanna is trained in all stage styles including Ballet, Jazz , Tap, Contemporary,  Acrobatics, etc. She is currently a dance BFA at Mason Gross School of the Arts in Rutgers New Brunswick. She is the founder and co-director of Transcendence Dance Company, part of Brickhouse’s commercial training company Mixrz / X Factory, and the teaching faculty at a few dance studios in the North Jersey area. She has choreographed, backup danced for, and made special appearances in various artists’ music videos including Money Moves (Alus) and “Why Me?” (Law). Aside from dance, Alanna also loves musical theater and most recently did a production of A Chorus Line. She has performed in company works, dance visuals, and worldwide competitions such as World Of Dance. Alanna loves helping students develop their craft and creative voices as artists and is excited to continue to be a part of AC Dance’s teaching faculty.