Our Staff
Founded by the owner, Heather Ann Taylor, in October 2000.

 

HEATHER ANN TAYLOR, Director & Owner

Heather began dance at the age of 6. She grew up in a small town in upstate New York where she studied tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, acrobatics, pointe and theater.

 

While in High school, Heather was a member of the dance team, was a cheerleader, and starred in many theatrical performances such as "Alice In Wonderland", "Ciro's Circus", and "The Nutcracker". At age 14, her dance group was invited to perform and compete on "Star Search" and she was also the recipient of a trip to London for their annual holiday parade.

 

As owner, some of Heather's personal accomplishments are becoming a Washington Redskins Cheerleader Ambassador which fostered the opportunity for SRDA to become an official site for the Washington Redskins Junior Cheer program. Heather is celebrating her 10th year in South Riding and is happy to share her passion for the art of dance.

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HELEN JOHNSON

 

This is Helen's 6th year teaching at SRDA. Helen was a member of the Penn State Ballet Club and the Penn State Dance Team. She attended the Rock School of Pa. on a full scholarship as well as the Va. School of the Arts and received a partial scholarship to attend the Houston Ballet Academy. Helen was a principal dancer for the West Chester Theater performing the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. She was the guest artist at the Philadelphia Opera Company and Orchestra as well as the Rose Tree Park. Helen also studied jazz, tap, lyrical, modern, hip-hop, and pom. 

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ANNELIESE GADELL

 

Anneliese Gadell, a Central Jersey native, started dancing at the age of six. As a tomboy, she cried at the thought of having to wear a tutu or anything pink! At the age of 8 she began dancing and modeling competitively, winning top honors in both solo and group dances in various regional and national competitions.

Anneliese began student teaching at the age of 12 and teaching at the age of 16. As a young teacher, she choreographed numerous award-winning routines for dancers in both New Jersey and Northern Virginia. As a graduate of Marymount University with a degree in Health Fitness Management / Health and Human Performance, Anneliese worked in both the fitness industry and education field, yet she never stopped teaching her dance classes!

Now as a mother of three, Anneliese continues to teach various forms of dance and group exercise classes, including Zumba and Zumba Toning! This is Anneliese’s 1st year at South Riding Dance Academy.

 

 

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KATHRYN SLATE

 

Kathryn has been studying dance for over thirty years. She has studied style such as classical ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, tap, and hip-hop. Kathryn was a member of the James Madison Dance Team. She was also a performing company member of The Dance Company under direction of Russell Jay and attended the Institute of Performing Arts.

Kathryn went on to study dance at East Carolina University. There she studied with Joe Carow, Patti Weeks, and Alan Arnett. She has performed works choreographed by teh faculty and students at East Carolina University. She was also a member of performing troupe that traveled and performed throughout the east coast. After college, Kathryn became the assistant coach for the James Madison High School Dance Team and helped lead them to a National Championship title in Orland, Florida. Kathryn also has extensive experience in theater choreography. her credits include: Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof, Once on This Island, The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, Aladdin, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Beauty and the Beast.

 

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LORI THOMPSON

 

Lori began her life long dream at the age of 3 when she began taking dance classes in her hometown of Prince George County, Va. She is qualified in all levels of ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, and theater dance. After high school, Lori attended Old Dominion University where she received her BA in Communications and her Minor in Dance. While in college Lori danced with ODU ballet and was also a cheerleader there.

 

After several years of teaching dance, she began her professional dance career performing on-board Royal Caribbean and Regency Cruise Lines in their Main Stage shows. When Lori was not performing she was teaching classes for various studios. After performing on the "high seas", Lori performed in many dance productions which took her from Atlantic City, NJ to Minneapolis, MN to Biloxi, MS, to New Orleans, LA. Once Lori was ready to end her professional performing career, she relocated back to her hometown. There she continued her teaching at Thomas Dale High School, where she helped develop the dance program for the Specialty Center for the Arts. Lori is certified in pilates and has taught for American Family Fitness as well as the Health & Fitness Program of "Wellness Coordinator" at the Hermitage of Cedarfield, a retirement community, where she taught exercise, developed programs, and planned health and wellness lectures and events for the residents. Lori's classes this year have been wonderfully successful. the children love her and we hope she will be with us for many years to come.

 

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ASHLEY WALSH

 

Ashley is currently in her 3rd year teaching at SRDA. She teaches tap, ballet, hip-hop, pom and Company Hip-hop. She has completed her freshman year at NOVA and is looking forward to another exciting year. Ashley weas a former student at SRDA and also took classes with Legacy.

 

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ALEXANDRU GLUSACOV

 

Alexandru Glusacov trained at the Academy of Ballet of Republic of Moldova. He earned a diploma from the International Ballet Competition in Constanta, Romania in 1997. Upon graduation, he joined the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Republic of Moldova where he became a soloist dancer. In 2003, Mr. Glusacov joined the Russian Classical Ballet and in 2004 danced with the Russian State Ballet. With these companies, he toured extensively throughout Europe with soloists from the Bolshoi Theatre and in the U.S. His repertoire includes soloist and principal roles in ballets like Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and many others, as well as contemporary performances

 

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