Dotty Hancock, Owner/Director

Dotty, a Boise native, began dancing at the age of eight, taking classes in ballet, tap, jazz and baton from a dance studio in Algona, Iowa. She continued her dance training in Boise at Kathy Lee School of Dance through her senior year of high school, and was a member of the K. Lee Jazz-Tappers, the New Edition Dance Company and the Borah High School Lionettes.

While earning her bachelor’s degree in Communication from Boise State University (2001) she taught dance classes and coached gymnastics. In the spring of 2001, Dotty purchased Dance Arts Academy and has taken groups of dancers to perform at Disneyland and Disney World and has now been teaching for ten years.

Dotty is a member of the Boise Dance Teacher’s Association and has served as Secretary (2000), President (2001-2007), and Treasurer (current).

Dotty is married to Dave Hancock and they have one child, Kalli!

Georgette Hobson

Georgette has teaching dance lessons for fourteen years and trained for twelve years in tap and jazz. She has a degree form Boise State University in Secondary Education- Physical Education with a minor in Health.

Georgette is a native of Boise, now residing in Meridian, and is married with three children.

 

Lori Gonzales

Lori is a native of northern California. She has placed high in ballroom competitions all along the west coast. She has earned her professional medals from The United States Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. She has won several awards for her teaching skills and is one of the very few instructors in the state of Idaho who holds credentialing, earning a Highly Commended rating.

Lori has studied under some of the biggest names in competitive ballroom. Because she believes that great teachers need to be always working on their own dancing, still actively pursues coaching from some of Americas finest competitive dancers.
Presently, she is married to her husband, Charlie of 18 years and they have three children. While Lori does teach almost every night during the week, she stays home during the day to home educate their three children. She has been teaching both social and competitive Ballroom for over twenty years and has loved every minute of it!

Masina Berry

Masina began teaching with Dance Arts Academy in 1998. She is currently teaching jazz and works with the performing teams. She received her early dance training in Southern Idaho and continued with her High School Dance Team. She is trained in jazz, tap, ballet and lyrical. She was a member of the CSI Golden Girls Dance Team 1994-1997.
She has also judged many local dance competitions and auditions as well as choreographing routines for Borah, Boise and Minico High Schools, which have won top choreography awards.

Masina has an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts from the College of Southern Idaho and currently works full time for Saint Alphonsus.

Kim Phelps

Kim was born and raised in Boise Idaho and attended Meridian High School where she was a member of the Meridian Warriorettes Dance Team. She trained at the Pat Harris School of Dance where she was on the Take Five Performance Team. After high school Kim attended Boise State University and danced on the Mane Line Dance Team.

Kim specializes in teaching younger children. She has been teaching little ones swim lessons, gymnastics and dance for many years. ‘Miss Kim” loves training the younger age groups and works very well with them. When she is not busy teaching, Kim loves spending her free time with her son Jaden. He is the love of her life. .

Kathleen Willson

Kathleen’s background is in Classical Ballet and has studied the Chechetti Ballet Method. She was a member of a performance company in Bellflower, California and has also performed professionally in ballroom showcase medal balls. While in California she taught for the Bellflower Parks and Recreation Department, the Earl Manning Dance Studio and the Arthur Murray Dance Studio.

After moving to Idaho, Kathleen taught a performing group for the Salvation Army, and has taught ballet, tap, jazz, gymnastics and summer programs for several public and private programs.

Kathleen has been married for over 20 years and has 2 sons. She currently works for the Idaho Youth Ranch.

Heidi Zahn

Heidi grew up in Minnesota and moved to Idaho 15 years ago. She began training in ballet, tap, and jazz when she was a young girl at a small studio near her home. Heidi studied ballet during her high school years at Minnesota Dance Theatre. She also discovered acting, performing, and the magic of the American musical during high school and college. She attended Concordia College in St Paul Minnesota and majored in elementary education with a minor in theatre. Heidi danced professionally from 1992 until 1996 with a modern/lyrical dance company in Minneapolis. She began teaching dance and movement in 1994 to children in St Paul and later in Minneapolis. After moving to Idaho she established her own business bringing dance to schools, day cares, and, private homes from 1997-1999. Heidi also currently works at CapEd Credit Union as the IRA specialist. She lives in Meridian with her teenage son.

Shana Gruell

Shana Gruell began dancing when she was three years old. She has danced all over the Treasure Valley and in Arizona. She first got the passion for dance while working under Brian Freidman in Arizona. Brian is one of her biggest inspirations in dance and he taught her to always work hard and be passionate about what you love. In Boise, Shana was a member of performance and competition teams at Dance Dimensions and Studio C. She was also the captain of Timberline High Schools’ dance team. She was Miss Dance Idaho 2003 and placed third at PNW. She then attended Boise State University and was a Maneline Dancer for three years. Shana danced professionally and was captain of the Boise Burn “Hotshots” for two years. Shana has been teaching, choreographing and coaching competitive and recreational dance since she was 18, including assistant coaching for Centennial High Schools’ “Sweet Liberty” dance team. This is her second year teaching for Dance Arts Academy and is looking forward to more! Shana is a part time student at Boise State earning her Bachelors degree in Psychology and Health Promotions and she is also a full time Manager at Albertsons.