Lisa has been teaching music & dance for 46 years. She began her study of dance at the age of ten with Mrs. She continued her study with not only local instructors but from top dance masters such as Luigi, Al Gilbert, Karen Hebert, Dawn Crafton, Joan Lather, Joel Ruminer, Rose Barile, Savion Glover, Frank Hachett, Gus Giordano, and numerous others. Lisa studied piano and voice for many years - fro
m a very young age - and continued her study at Bluefield College in Bluefield, VA. At Bluefield College she was dance instructor for the Fine Arts Community School for several years. Her dancers & vocalists have competed in regional and national competitions - from regional competitions in Charlotte, NC & San Jose, CA - to Nationals in New York City and Orlando, FL - her students have won numerous awards for their excellence. She and her students have appeared on several television shows. Lisa was hired by "EMG" (Educational Management Group) of Scottsdale, AZ, as featured dance instructor for an educational dance video. Lisa has owned dance schools in West Virginia, Virginia and Arizona during the past 38 years. While living in Arizona she taught at NORTH PHOENIX DANCE SCHOOL (Phoenix), off ice ballet at the "ICE CHALET" (Phoenix), and taught dance for Peoria School District's SUMMER ACADEMY in 1997 & 1998. Lisa was also choreographer for advanced gymnasts at Beckley Gymnastics (Beckley, WV). Lisa trained in Ballroom Dancing in the Roanoke, VA area, and taught Ballroom at the FRED ASTAIRE DANCE STUDIOS in Phoenix and Sun City, AZ, as well as in the two Virginias. She was the Artistic Director / Instructor / Choreographer at "ACTION ARIZONA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER" in Pima, AZ before returning to Bluefield. Lisa has studied theatre as well as dance, voice & piano. She appeared as the "Mountain Poet" in Jean Battlo's "APPALACHIAN DAWN" - where she is noted as choreographer for the musical and songwriter for the love song - "Gifts". She also portrayed the role of Dorothy in the musical production of "THE WIZARD OF OZ". Lisa has studied with acting coaches and casting directors in Charlotte, NC, Orlando, FL, Tucson, AZ, Thatcher, AZ, and Los Angeles, CA. She has directed plays and musicals - including "OZ", "HAPPILY NEVER AFTER", "THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES", and others. While in Arizona Lisa was choreographer for EASTERN ARIZONA COLLEGE in Thatcher, AZ, for the drama and music departments. At EAC she is noted for her choreography in "FIDDLER ON THE ROOF", "GREASE", and "SPRING SING 1999". She also served as choreographer for "FIDDLER ON THE ROOF" (2005) & "OKLAHOMA" (2010) at Bluefield College, Bluefield, VA. Other choreography credits include work with "SUMMERS COUNTY KIDS" (Hinton, WV) and "SUMMIT THEATRE" (Bluefield, WV). Lisa served as choreographer for Virginia and West Virginia's "YOUNG WOMAN OF THE YEAR" (Junior Miss). She was also choreographer for local pageants including "Miss Mountain Festival 2000" and "Miss Mercer County 2001". Lisa is the former owner of STARZ SCHOOL OF DANCE. Since the opening of STARZ SCHOOL OF DANCE in June 2000, STARZ DANCERS have won over 800 regional and national awards - while competing at ACCESS BROADWAY regionals and nationals, LA DANCE FORCE regionals, SHOWSTOPPER regionals, ENCORE regionals, LA DANCE MAGIC Regionals, and STAR SYSTEMS regionals and nationals. Student accomplishments have been no less than fabulous - from division winners, high score award winners, scholarship recipients, and professional dance company members. Lisa finds it very rewarding to be teaching "at home" again - working with children of previous students -as well as new faces. Her main objective is to provide local children & adults with top quality instruction and opportunities that are usually offered only in larger cities - and to teach life skills through dedication, working together, and reaching goals. Music and dance lessons are not just about singing & dancing - but self discipline, confidence, socialization, and so much more. Lisa is the music producer for BEAUTY OF DANCE RECORDS. Her music products may be found and purchased through www.musicworksunlimited.com.
