Stephanie briones

artistic director

Stephanie Elder-Briones grew up dancing in St. Louis, Missouri under the direction of well-respected instructors Norma Buetell and Mark Krupinski. She performed as a company member of Gateway Ballet of St. Louis and spent her summers performing at "The Muny". Despite an emerging career, she decided that her heart was in teaching and guiding young dancers in a positive, balanced environment. She, alongside her sister, Lauren, founded Stephanie Elder School of Dance (now Camarillo Academy of Performing Arts) in Camarillo, California in 1999. Under her direction, the studio flourished and was recognized at the local and national level. Many of her students have gone on to pursue professional dance careers: Broadway/regional theater, Ballet/Modern companies and some have even followed her footsteps and became teachers and studio owners themselves. After an absence while she focused on raising her five beautiful children, she is beyond excited to be back in the studio! 

Rashelle SOUDANI 

Assistant Director/
Company Director/
Instructor

Rashelle, born and raised in Southern California, began dancing at the age of three and hasn't stopped ever since. She grew up competing as a member of CAPA's performance company and attending summer intensive programs all over the country. Those experiences moved her to pursue dance as a career, so after High School, she moved to New York City to attend college at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy(AMDA). She graduated with her conservatory degree in Dance Theater from AMDA. After graduation, she moved back to Los Angeles where she fell in love with teaching. She loves sharing her experience and passion with all aspects of dance and performance with her students and her students thrive because of the positive, creative energy she brings to every one of her classes at CAPA! 

JO BLISS

Instructor

Jo Bliss has been teaching dance to children since 1983. She owned and operated her own dance studio in Oklahoma City, Okla. from 1989 until 2005 when she moved to California to nanny for her daughter. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, studied dance on a dance scholarship at Oklahoma City University from 1983 to 1987 and enjoyed taking class with Ballet Oklahoma for over 10 years. She danced in over 20 musicals including “Annie”, “My One and Only”, and “Crazy for You”. She was awarded the “Gypsy” award twice and served as dance captain in “Dames at Sea.” She is a member of Dance Masters of America.

Ms. Hanna Chudinova joins CAPA with a solid foundation in ballet, holding a graduate degree from the Kyiv Choreographic College in Kyiv, Ukraine. She has performed with international companies such as Young Kyiv Ballet, Ukrainian Ballet Theater "Premiera," Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet, and many others, touring stages around the world. Most recently Ms. Hanna has performed with Ventura County Ballet, starring in productions such as “The Nutcracker” and “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” In addition to her performance experience, she is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), which complements her teaching. She finds great joy in the classroom, where she shares her love for dance with the students, presenting the structure and discipline of ballet in a warm and encouraging way.

Hanna Chudinova

Instructor

Maggie put her first pair of tap shoes on at 12 years old, and she knew she had found her passion in life. She met Danny Daniels along with her twin sister Mary, and as the saying goes “the rest is history”. She learned her craft exclusively from Danny. Thanks to Danny Daniels, she has pursued a wonderful career in tap dancing. She had a starring dancing roll with Danny Daniels in The John Denver Variety special for NBC in the 1970’s. She went on to dance with him in a television show for HBO called “Opening Night." She was a charter member of the Danny Daniels Dance America Company and went on the road with The Columbia Artist Tour production of “Dance America." From there, she went on to dance in the MGM Movie "Pennies from Heaven." She has taught dance for celebrities such as Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez,  Gallager, Holly from the” Girls Next Door”, Julie Kavner,  and Andy Dick, just to name a few. Her choreography life started with competitions. She was named Top Choreographer for LA Dance Force and Dance Masters of Southern California 5 times each. She won The New York City Dance Alliance's highest honor, “The People’s Choice Award”, in 1999. Maggie also received the honor of top trio for the "Showstoppers" television show. Her favorite award to win, is not "Top Choreographer”, but "Most Entertaining”. She feels the most accomplished when she receives this. She was honored  twice as one of LA’s Top Choreographers in the Los Angeles Dance Invitational. Maggie has choreographed more recently for the television show "Gilmore Girls", and “Grandpa for Christmas” for the Hallmark Channel starring Ernest Borgnine. She choreographed a show for Tahj Mowry, "The Smart Guy," at the Greek Theatre for the ABC Network, as well as for "An Evening with Golda Meir" staring Renee Taylor and directed by her husband Joe Bologna. Most recently, she choreographed and starred in JC Penny’s and Big Sexy Hair Industrial atop the Kodak Theatre. Maggie went back to New York be a master teacher at "Tradition in Tap" with Avi Miller and Been Ofer, celebrating the Works of Danny Daniels. Maggie is currently the President for Dance Masters of Southern California Chapter 1.

maggie danielsen

Instructor

jennifer whalen

Instructor

Jennifer Whalen, a Ventura County native, was a full company member of American Ballet Theatre from 2002-2017. Prior to joining ABT, she danced professionally for State Street Ballet, was awarded the Gold Medal at the New York finals of Youth America Grand Prix, and received first place at the Spotlight Awards in Los Angeles. She appeared in the movie Black Swan, on the Jimmy Kimmel show, and in numerous national ad campaigns, including Under Armour with Misty Copeland. She is very excited to share her vast performing and educational experience with our CAPA dancers!

Alexa is originally from Austin, Texas where she pursued her love for musical theatre at the ZACH Performing Arts Academy and had the opportunity to perform in several regional shows including Matilda and A Christmas Carol. Over several summers, she attended Intensives at both Joffrey and BAA in NYC. Most recently, Alexa has moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams in Commercial Dance and Film. She has gotten to work on music videos with choreographers such as Guy Groove and Hamilton Evans as well as train with theCREW, be apart of HMG the company, and meet so many wonderful people! Alexa is excited to share her love and enthusiasm for dance with her students at CAPA. 

alexa godwin

Instructor

Originally from Canada, Emily grew up in the theater, performing in numerous professional productions as a child. She trained in the Grant MacEwan College Theatre Arts program in Edmonton before pursuing her BA in Acting in Liverpool, UK at LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.) She then went on to complete her masters in Film and Television at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.)

Upon completing her education, Emily moved to London where she performed in film, commercials, plays and in main stage musicals. She went on to play "Sophie" for several years in the original international tour of Mamma Mia! before settling in Los Angeles in 2007. Emily has enjoyed a diverse career, performing in musicals (“Rita” in Lucky Stiff, “Svetlana” in Chess, “Trina” in Falsettoland) commercials, film and television shows (Criminal Minds, Melrose Place, Tiny Plastic Men) as an actor, and as a singer, songwriter and session vocalist for various artists, bands and musical projects. She moved to Camarillo in 2019 to raise her two sons (now ages 5 and 8) and has been enjoying rediscovering the arts through the eyes of her children. 

Emily Dykes-Tosh

Instructor

Adina Gilbert-Hamerling

Instructor

Adina Gilbert-Hamerling is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and developed a passion for the performing arts at a young age. Her background is in ballet and music, but after stumbling across an aerial arts studio while living in Los Angeles, she realized it was what she wanted to pursue and has been flying high ever since. She began her teaching journey in 2021.

Brandon Maxwell is a Los Angeles-based educator, dancer, and choreographer. A graduate of Chapman University with a BFA in Dance Performance, he has experience teaching styles including commercial choreography, hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, and more to all ages. Some of his recent choreography credits include the Hollywood Reporter, Carrie Underwood, Chapman University, World of Dance, Contra Coffee + Tea, Chozin, and more. Some of his recent performance credits include the Super Bowl Tillamook "Block Jams" commercial, the Apple "HomePod" commercial, Peacock's series Based on a True Story, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Carrie Underwood, Sub Urban, Jordan Fisher, Champs Sporting Goods, and more. He is excited to join the CAPA faculty and looks forward to a great year!

brandon maxwell

Instructor

Lucia Pozzi

Instructor

Lucia is so excited to be joining CAPA’s faculty this year, working with both our Lyrical program and TWIRL Academy. Lucia has been dancing for the last fifteen years and has trained in many various styles here at CAPA. Lucia is an highly accomplished dancer earning many scholarships, judges choice, and adjudicated dance awards throughout her time as a competitive dancer. Lucia was awarded “Top Ten Senior Finalist” at Showstoppers Dance Competition and was invited to perform in the Opening number at Showstoppers Nationals. Lucia has attended summer intensives such as Southern California Ballet Intensive, and is continually recognized as an outstanding dancer at any program, competition, and performance that she participates in. Lucia is so excited to work with and inspire this next generation of dancers. We are so happy to have her on faculty this season!

Brandon Maxwell is a Los Angeles-based educator, dancer, and choreographer. A graduate of Chapman University with a BFA in Dance Performance, he has experience teaching styles including commercial choreography, hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, and more to all ages. Some of his recent choreography credits include the Hollywood Reporter, Carrie Underwood, Chapman University, World of Dance, Contra Coffee + Tea, Chozin, and more. Some of his recent performance credits include the Super Bowl Tillamook "Block Jams" commercial, the Apple "HomePod" commercial, Peacock's series Based on a True Story, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Carrie Underwood, Sub Urban, Jordan Fisher, Champs Sporting Goods, and more. He is excited to join the CAPA faculty and looks forward to a great year!

Guest Faculty and Choreographers

Sabrina Phillip is an innovative choreographer, passionate dancer and engaging teacher. Sabrina is originally from Canada where she trained intensively in Ballet, Jazz and Modern dance in her early studies and went on to work at the international level in London, England. She taught Master classes at The Pineapple, Danceworks and The Urdang Academy. She has since been asked to travel the globe to work as a teacher and choreographer at countless dance studios, workshops and conventions, most recently in Italy, Mexico, Sweden, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Holland and Singapore.

Sabrina is on faculty with Transcend Dance Convention, on guest faculty with Artists Simply Human (ASH) and a proud finalist of the 2016 and 2017 Capezio ACE Awards! Her degree in Exercise and Health Physiology provides her with a special understanding of the human body and the mechanics of movement. As a teacher, her intention is to challenge dancers; focusing on placement, correct technique, strength, agility and musicality. She is currently on faculty at EDGE Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles and is a guest teacher at Movement Lifestyle and the the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School: West LA.

Sabrina has performed with dance companies including Sera Danza, S.H.E., EnCorps, and Unity Dance Ensemble. She appears in commercials for Dex, Hip Hop Abs, Corvel and appeared as a dance expert in Hollywood’s 10 Best Dance Movies. Her choreography has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance as well as a commercials for MoBeam and BCBG, as well as My Fair Wedding with David Turtero. Live performances she’s also choreographed for include the Carnival Choreographer’s Ball, LA Dance Magic’s Final Cut, EDGE scholarship showcase, Jete, and Silverlake Contemporary Ballet’s modern rendition of Swan Lake. Her music video credits include choreography for Stay and Play by Holly Conlan and Jenna Bryson’s Clear.

guest choreographer

sabrina phillip

guest choreographer

Presley gookin

guest choreographer

HANNAH GALLAGHER

guest choreographer

Hannah Gallagher is a teacher, dancer, and choreographer located in Los Angeles, California. Hannah has performed with numerous artists including Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne, KidFresh, and Eden XO. Most recently she was working with Tessandra Chavez’s Company, UnityLA, and performed in the UnityLA Live Company Show. She has performed in “Othello’s Touch” in Romania directed by Mario Atelier and was also Assistant Choreographer for this show. Hannah has also taught different styles of dance all over the world in places such as Mexico, Europe, and all over the United States.

Based in New York City, Presley Gookin is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), where she received her BFA in Dance Theatre. She studied at both their New York and Los Angeles Campuses. Presley recently danced in Season 3 of "The Gilded Age” on HBO (est 2025 release). This year will be Presley’s third season performing in the Ensemble of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Other highlights include: Norwegian Cruise Lines, E+ Productions, and Broadway Bares. She has worked with such choreographers as Miles Keeney, Kellen Stancil, Marcel Wilson, Theresa Stone, and Will Bell.

In addition to her performance career, Presley is Musical Theatre Faculty for Celebrity Dance Competitions and is a competition judge for Celebrity and Artists Simply Human (ASH). She is a Dance Outreach Representative for AMDA, scouting and awarding scholarships for young dancers to continue their education at the collegiate level.