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"I like the studio and the instructors...all very nice!"
Our StudioDance Arts Academy was established in Boise in 1976 and is committed to giving each student a positive dancing experience while teaching fundamentals that will give support to their personal growth and self-confidence building.
Dance Arts Academy also offers a pre-professional performing and competition teams for dancers who love to perform and want to rise to the next level in their dancing abilities. These dancers perform year-round and have danced in regional and national competitions as well as performed in Walt Disney World and Disneyland on several occasions. |
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"A lovely, fun place for children to dance."
All students are given the opportunity to perform and show off what they have learned in class. We participate in many community events including parades, festivals, and showcases.
Dance Arts Academy is a member of the Boise Dance Teacher’s Association which upholds high standards in dance and ethical business practices.
Dance Arts Academy is a member of the Boise Dance Teacher’s Association which upholds high standards in dance and ethical business practices.
"Love it. My kids have been going to DAA for 9+ years.
Love the teachers, and they love going."
OUR VALUES
Love of Dance: Each student will experience the passion our teachers demonstrate so that they will see the joy dance brings and ultimately love and appreciate dance and the arts.
Feeling of Home: We want our studio to be a home away from home, where classmates and staff members become like family.
Personal Growth: Students will grow as dancers as well as responsible, caring, and humble young people.
Confidence: Dance and performance opportunities build confidence in students as well as through encouragement from faculty.
Technique: Proper and safe teaching methods are important to build strong dancers.
Feeling of Home: We want our studio to be a home away from home, where classmates and staff members become like family.
Personal Growth: Students will grow as dancers as well as responsible, caring, and humble young people.
Confidence: Dance and performance opportunities build confidence in students as well as through encouragement from faculty.
Technique: Proper and safe teaching methods are important to build strong dancers.
OUR FACULTY
"We love the teacher...she is awesome!"
Dotty Hancock, Owner/Director
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Dotty has a passion for dance education and is a wife, mom of a special needs daughter and a full of energy son! A Boise native, Dotty 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. She continues her education by regularly attending national dance teacher and studio owner conventions and conferences and is always hungry to learn more about how to reach her students and fill them with the passion she has for dance!
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 many groups of dancers to perform at Disneyland and Disney World. Dotty enjoys working with students of all ages, but specializes in dance education for little ones! Dotty is a member of the Boise Dance Teacher’s Association and has served as Secretary, Treasurer, and President. She is also a licensed Zumbini instructor and a certified Rhythm Works Integrative Dance Instructor! |
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"My daughter loves going and talks about Miss Dotty all the time. The studio is clean and welcoming, it reminds me of the studio I danced at as a kid."
Morgan Benton
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Morgan is a Boise native and began dancing at the age of 3. She has extensive training in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop and acro. She continually takes opportunities to further her education by attending conferences such as Dance Teacher Web in Las Vegas and Dance Teacher University. She began assistant teaching in 2015 and has been teaching her own classes since 2018. Morgan is outgoing and has an affinity for animals. Her hobbies outside of dance include golf, and video games. She has a passion dance education and shaping the students of tomorrow, ensuring their skills build every time they come to class. Morgan understands the value of family and camaraderie, grew up dancing at Treasure Valley dance studios and was a member of the Capital High School Golden Girls.
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"The academy is committed to helping the students develop skills and passion for dancing through highly skilled and passionate teachers. DAA is highly organized for parents and I appreciate all the detailed info for recitals, rehearsals, etc. The front desk person was extremely helpful, as were the other parents when we joined DAA to help our daughter feel welcomed."
Sydney Christian
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Sydney has been dancing since she was a young girl, which accumulates to over 20 years of experience. She has participated in several competition and performance teams since the age of 10, including her time on Brigham Young University Idaho's collegiate team in 2018. She has studied many styles of studio dance as well as African, ballroom, modern, and clogging. Her specialty is in jazz technique and style. Sydney has been teaching in studios for the last 4 years as well as managing a studio in eastern Idaho. She believes dance is more than just a fun activity. Dance can teach students team work, self value, hard work, creative processes, healthy living, accountability, and so much more. She sees it as an opportunity to grow as a person. Sydney loves to share that passion with her students.
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Talla Gass
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Talla was born and raised in Missoula, MT where she began her dance training at OnCenter Performing Arts at the age of 3. Proficient in ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, and musical theater, Talla performed with the OnCenter Performing Arts company for eight years in various local performances, as well as in the Garden City Ballet’s Nutcracker for 10 years. Talla has also trained with Ballet West, Ballet Austin, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Alonzo King Lines Ballet through their summer programs. After graduating high school, she
attended George Mason University to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Business. During her time at the School of Dance, Talla had the opportunity to work with various guest artists and faculty members including: Hope Boykin, Christopher D’Amboise, Susan Shields, David Parsons, Alejandro Cerrudo, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. Throughout her college career, Talla choreographed four pieces of work. Her work, titled Our Scrap of History, was shown at the Center For the Arts in the George Mason’s School of Dance Spring showcase in 2021. Currently, Talla is performing with the professional company, Idaho Dance Theater, and is excited to see where this professional career will take her! |
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.
She is married to her husband, Charlie, 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!
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.
She is married to her husband, Charlie, 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!
Emily Goethel
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Miss Emily began dancing at the age of 10 in Northern California and at 15 years old she joined the Folsom Lake Civic Ballet Company and iMPACT Contemporary Dance Company as a principal dancer under the umbrella of Stages Northern California Performing Arts. She performed at many community events, competitions across the state and in dedicated conservatory showcases. Emily moved to San Diego to pursue a BA in Broadcast Journalism at Point Loma Nazarene University, and has danced and performed with Butterworth Dance Company, Mesa College Dance Company, Bite Dance Company, Ooh La La Dance Company, The PGK Dance Project, Velours Rouge Entertainment, and Viola Entertainment. In 2016 she danced on an international tour to the Maldives and Thailand, and was part of a performance featured in a commercial for Allina Healthcare. In 2017 Emily performed site specific choreography with San Diego Dance Theater in the annual “Trolley Dances”, the performance was voted “Best of Trolley” out of 20 years of productions. Emily moved to Idaho in 2018 and serves as an International Dance Teaching Standards certified instructor and the Company Director at DAA. She teaches and choreographs jazz, lyrical, contemporary and musical theater. Some of her proudest coaching achievements include an “Overall Grand Champion” award, choreography award and many overall high point and judges choice awards for her dancers. Her award winning choreography was featured in the Idaho Screendance Film Festival and was chosen as an “Audience Favorite”. Emily loves being a part of the DAA family and fostering the love of dance in all of her students!
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Lena Graham
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Miss Lena started ballet at the age of four and has been dancing her way thru life since then. She danced in the Disney Channel movie, "The Four Diamonds," with Eugene Ballet, and choreographed for a state championship winning dance team, an indi film, and audition routines for students attending a performing arts high-school, to name just a few of her favorite experiences. She started teaching dance in Oregon in 1997 and has always enjoyed the light in a student's eyes when they learn something new or finally get a difficult skill.
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Georgette Hobson
"Georgette is such an asset! She acknowledges and is friendly to the parents, she is always enthusiastic with the dancers." |
Georgette has teaching dance lessons for over 20 years and trained for twelve years in tap and jazz. Her specialty is tap and she also teaches the Darby's Dancers Adaptive Dance Class. She has a degree from Boise State University in Secondary Education- Physical Education with a minor in Health. Georgette is also a certified Rhythm Works Integrative Dance Instructor.
Georgette is a native of Boise, now residing in Meridian, and is married with three children. 
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Becca Mehl
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Becca grew up dancing with DAA where she fell in love with all styles, especially Jazz and Tap. During a brief absence to pursue a career in nursing Becca remained close with Dance Arts Academy. Functioning as a jack of all trades around the studio, you’ve likely seen Becca teaching summer camps and classes, working the front office, and helping out at performances. Becca has over a decade of experience both dancing and teaching, which includes a recent acrobatic arts certification. Most recently, Becca has moved back to the Boise area and is ecstatic to be working both as a dance teacher and nurse!
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Akisha Stutz
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Miss Akisha had been dancing since she was as 3 years old. She studied ballet, jazz, and modern at British Dancing Academy located in Kent, Washington. There she participated in many productions such as Sleeping Beauty, Narnia, and Beauty and the Beast. After she graduated from High School, she performed in her home town’s local Nutcracker performance. She attended school at BYU-Idaho and studied different styles of dance from around the world. She had the opportunity to see the St. Petersburg Ballet perform the Nutcracker while she was living in France. She currently lives in Boise with her husband and son
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Alannah Vodegel
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Alannah has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She studied ballet at CF Dance Academy in Southern California, before branching out into Jazz and Hip Hop. After moving to Idaho in 2017, she joined the Meridian High School Warriorettes Dance Team, where she competed in multiple styles of dance across the state of Idaho. Before becoming a dance teacher, Alannah has worked as a Pre-K teacher, guiding children in their social, intellectual, and emotional development. She has a passion for both dance, and childhood development, and can’t wait to see all of her students find their own love and passion for dance. When Alannah’s not in the studio or working in the front office, you can always catch her at coffee with friends, or at home with her dog, Ripley, and a good book!
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Heidi Zahn Werries
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Heidi grew up in Minnesota and 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.
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