Faculty
Aggie Eidson: Director
Aggie opened Studio A with the dream of inspiring students to develop creativity, artistry and a love for dance. She is a credentialed teacher and has been teaching dance for over thirty years. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education/Dance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from California State University at Hayward. Aggie was also the dance instructor at Carondelet High School for 16 years. As a dancer, Aggie was a featured performer in numerous dance revues and as a member of the Olympic Dance Corps, she performed in the Opening Ceremonies for the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. She has choreographed local theatrical productions including They're Playing Our Song, Bye Bye Birdie, Mame and The Sound of Music. Whether choreographing a flash mob for the City of Pleasant Hill or a routine for the "Shoe Guys," at the Wine, Women and Shoes event , Aggie loves contributing to the local community. In addition to teaching dance, Aggie choreographs posing routines for professional body builders. Her clients include Miss Olympia, and her work with body builders has been featured in Flex Magazine. Aggie works with athletes on increasing their flexibility and agility, and for over twenty five years she has been the stretch and agility coach for De La Salle High School's nationally ranked football program. Her expertise in stetching / flexibility has been highlighted in Biomechanics Magazine. Aggie has been awarded numerous accolades for her competitive dance choreography, including being selected to perform in the Choreography Festival in Palm Springs. Aggie's students have been acknowledged for their outstanding technique, performance, teamwork, spirit, and sportsmanship. Many of her students have gone on to study dance at the collegiate level, attending prestigious colleges such as Boston Conservatory, Loyola Marymount, Cal Arts, and Point Park University, prior to pursuing professional careers in dance.
Jocelyn Anderson: Tap
Jocelyn has been dancing at Studio A since 2013 and has been a part of Studio A's company since 2015. Throughout her time on the Studio A Company she has won a multitude of overall placements and Special Judges Awards both regionally and nationally. She spent the past few years as a TA at the studio, and she is so excited to be teaching classes this year in her favorite genre: tap!
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Andrea Brosnan: Ballet
Andrea studied at Berkeley Ballet Theater and quickly excelled under the direction of Sally Streets. At the tender age of 15, Andrea became an apprentice and joined the company shortly thereafter. She has performed with Santa Clara Ballet, Patricia Banchik's Kineses, Danny Nguyen Dancers and Musicians, Aileen Kim, and is currently working with ChingchiYu. She was recruited and hired as Artistic Director of the Balletschule Gassmann Dance Academy in Germany, where she choreographed for the resident company, taught in the school, and traveled with the company. Upon returning to the States, she graduated with honors from the LEAP (Liberal Education for Arts Professionals) program at St. Mary's College, earning a BA in Performing Arts/ Dance. She has been teaching ballet in the Bay Area for over 22 years and absolutely loves sharing her passion for dance with aspiring artists.
Mackenzie Canton: Tap, Jazz
Mackenzie’s passion for dance started when she was two years old. She trained under the direction of Aggie Eidson at Studio A and spent 13 years as a competitive dancer with their award-winning team, where she won multiple awards and placed in the top 10 at numerous regional competitions. Mackenzie spent the 2017-2018 dance season as a teaching assistant at Studio A for jazz, ballet, and children's combination classes. She has trained in many different dance styles including tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and pointe; and has a passion for working with young children and special needs students. Mackenzie is thrilled to be part of the Studio A faculty this year and to share her love of dance with her students.
Lillyana Jaramillo: Ballet, Children's Combo, Jazz
Lillyana began dancing at three years old. She started off at Studio A by being a competitive dancer, then trained at San Francisco ballet school (performing in The Nutcracker!), and studied with Contra Costa ballet Center where she became a company member. Miss Lillyana's teaching style is best described as inspirational and fundamentals-focused. she loves to encourage her students to express themselves through the art of dance, and she wants to inspire her ballet students the same way her ballet teachers inspired her. Miss Lillyana can be found spending time with her family, going on adventures, and playing board games!
Terrin Kelly: Ballet
Terrin started her professional ballet career at at age 14, and has performed throughout California as well as toured nationally and internationally dancing with various companies including: Theatre Ballet of San Francisco, OaklandBallet, Peninsula Ballet Theater, Ballet San Jose, Moving Arts Dance, Menlowe Ballet, San Francisco Opera, and even a magic show produced by Siegfried & Roy. Ms. Kelly obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the LEAP program at St. Mary's College. She has held numerous titles in the Miss America Program where she promoted her platform of arts in education. She has been featured dancing in print and web ads, in a national as well as a global commercial, and is the featured ballerina for DANCIN vineyards in Medford, Oregon. Terrin has had the pleasure of working with many esteemed choreographers who have shaped her dancing and teaching style. As an instructor, Miss Kelly, has enjoyed watching her students soar in all disciplines, receive many awards, gain recognition under her tutelage, and follow their dance dreams studying and performing for esteemed colleges, dancing in major companies, performing on Broadway, cruise ships, in music videos and television shows.
Danica Larsgaard: Hip Hop
Danica started dancing at Studio A when she was 3 years old. She has trained extensively in jazz, tap and ballet, but she found her real passion in hip hop. Her talent for the art form clearly shines on stage, as she has received numerous performance awards, including best overall duo/trio at multiple competitions. When not at Studio A teaching and training, she performs with the hip hop group 1Up Crew. She loves to bring energy and creativity to her classes and looks forward to sharing her love for hip hop with her students. In addition to dancing, Danica enjoys painting and drawing.
Ava Shannon: Contemporary
Ava Shannon is a freelance choreographer, dancer, teacher and visual artist in the Bay Area. Originally from Michigan, they grew up training as a competition dancer as well as a classical ballet dancer. Most of Ava’s early dance education was at Valentina’s School of Ballet and the Joffrey School of Ballet in Chicago. Turning more to a contemporary style, they graduated with a BFA modern concentration from Point Park University where they had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Christopher Huggins, Rennie Harris, Blakeley White-McGuire and more. Ava was a resident artist with a local improvisation based company, The Pillow Projects, where they performed multiple full length works at festivals and theaters in Pittsburgh. Since moving to the West Coast, Ava has been working professionally creating solo performances for both live and digital audiences as well as working with Tara Pilbrow Dance Company. When not performing, they work as a stretch therapist and paint artworks to be shown in local galleries.
April Taylor: Children's Combination, Jazz, Tap
April began dancing at the tender age of 5. She received her dance training under the direction of Aggie Eidson, Karyn Lee Connell, Holly Morrow, Susan Stone, and Kimberly Valmore. She was a member of the Studio A competitive team, which has won numerous 1st place awards as well as special recognition for outstanding performance. Early on, Aggie recognized April’s gift of working with children and encouraged her to hone her skills by working as a teaching assistant. Upon graduation from high school, April was hired as a teacher and has become a valuable member of the Studio A faculty. From 2005-2012, April danced for the contemporary modern ballet company, Coterie Dance in Oakland. April has been teaching dance to children since 1999. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal and Civic Studies, Minor in Performing Arts Dance, Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, Single Subject Dance Credential and a Master of Arts in Teaching, all from Saint Mary's College of California. When she's not at the dance studio April is teaching fourth grade at a local elementary school.
Melissa Thompson: Ballet
Melissa’s love for ballet began at an early age, taking her first ballet and tap classes when she was just 3 years old. She began her serious ballet training 5 years later at the Novato School of Ballet under the direction of Christine Walton. Melissa has studied with a number of notable instructors including Richard Cammack (ABT and former Director of SFB
School), Milissa Payne Bradley (Oakland Ballet; Founder, The Milissa Payne Project) and Karen Portner-LaPointe (former Soloist and Principle dancer, Nashville Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet Company). In addition to dancing, Melissa holds a BA in Communication Studies from CSU, Sacramento and is a certified Balletone Instructor. Melissa’s true passion, however, remains ballet and she is excited to be working with the students at Studio A.
Roberta Vassallo: Ballet
Born in Italy, Roberta began her dance education at the Ballet School Capiferri in Genoa, under the direction of Maria Luisa Capiferri. She continued her training Balletschule Steib Elsbeth in Bochum, Germany, before travelling to the United States and joining the Saint Louis Ballet Company under the direction of New York City Ballet former principal dancer Gen Horiuchi, where she performed roles in the Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, Valse Fantaisie, as well as original works by choreographer Francis Patrelle. She also studied at Steps On Broadway, training with such notable master teachers as David Howard, Alexnder Filipov, Emilietta Ettlin and Fabrice Herrault. In addition to spending the past ten years teaching dance throught the country , Roberta is a practicing lawyer. She is delighted to be teaching at Studio A and sharing her love for ballet with the students.
Mary Vines: Children's Combination
Mary Vines started dancing at the age of 10 under the direction of Aggie Eidson, Stacy Sheffield and Karen Kovac. She was a competitive dancer until the age of 18, as well as performed in many different productions. Mary was also a performer with the Tom Lois Singers. She began teaching at Studio A when we opened in 1998 and quickly found her niche teaching our youngest dancers.
Maddie Wright: Children's Combination
Maddie began dancing at Studio A in 2012 and was a member of the award winning Studio A Company from 2014-2019. She was awarded our Company Teammate of the Year award 3 years in a row. Maddie graduated from San Diego State in December 2022 with a BA in Psychology and is now working as a Behavior Technician with special needs children. She is very excited to continue instilling a love of dance in our young dancers.