Faculty

Pilates Instructor, Contemporary & Ballet, Choreographer, Social Media & Manager of Operations

Choreography Website: CLICK HERE

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Originally from Dayton, OH, Hannah’s early training began at the Dayton Ballet under Dermot & Karen Russo Burke before graduating and attending the University of Oklahoma School of Dance on scholarship as a ballet performance major. There she enjoyed performing repertoire in both classical and modern/contemporary realms. Highlights include works by Merce Cunningham, Trey McIntyre, George Balanchine, Amy Hall Garner, Nilas Martins, Willam Christensen, Michael Bearden, and Boyko Dossev to name a few. While attending OU, Hannah choreographed multiple mainstage works as well as some smaller projects for galas and outreach.

In 2021, she received 3rd place in the SALT Choreographic Competition for her choreography. See more here: www.knorrchoreography.com. Upon graduating with her BFA and a minor in health/exercise science, Hannah Knorr danced professionally with Fort Wayne Ballet, Ballet North Texas, and Texture Contemporary Ballet. Along with choreographing for professional companies, Hannah is the social media creator and manager of operations for DeCruz Ballet under Lindsi Dec & Karel Cruz. Hannah is an instructor and choreographer for DeCruz Ballet's Professional Training Division. Certified in Pilates and ABT National Training Curriculum's Pre-Primary through Level 3, Hannah coaches dancers across the country. She continues to choreograph new works for Ballet North Texas and DeCruz Ballet. Hannah worked as an ambassador for Jess Spinner’s The Whole Dancer helping to share ideas of balance, tools to build wholeness and guidance to dancers - which is something she is very passionate about.

PTD Instructor, Level One & Level Three Instructor, Homeschool Intermediate Program Instructor

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Yania Noyola graduated as a Professional Dancer and Ballet Teacher from the National School of Art of Havana in 1998, she entered the Cuban National Ballet that same year participating in all the International Ballet Festivals of Havana and in national and international tours throughout Europe and Latin America interpreting the entire classical, neoclassical and contemporary repertoire of the Company. She shared the stage with figures such as Alessandra Ferri, Carlos Acosta, Carla Fracci, Cecilia Kerche, Maximiliano Guerra, José Manuel Carreño, Tamara Rojo, Julio Bocca, among many others until 2004.

In 2004 she was offered a contract at Mexico’s Nacional Dance Company, where she danced in productions by national and international choreographers such as Mark Godden "The Afrodite’s Triumph", Mauricio Wainrot "The Mesias", Joshua Beamish "Allemande", Alberto Méndez " Tarde en la Siesta ", Gustavo Herrera" Dionaea ", George Balanchine" Serenade ", James Kelly" A Midsummer Night's Dream ", Guillermo Arriaga" Zapata "and all the classical and contemporary repertoire of the company interpreting soloists roles among which stand out the Gypsy and Carmen in "Don Quixote", the Florestan Pas de trois from "The Sleeping Beauty", the Two Swans of the "Swan Lake", The Snowflakes soloist, the Spanish Dance and the Arab Dance of the "Nutcracker".

Simultaneously, she worked as a ballet teacher in various private academies and at the professional school Eos Dance Institute.

Yania also worked as a regisseur and teacher at the National Dance Company of Mexico (CND)

She recently moved to San Antonio and has been teaching in many dance studios and academies as a certified PBT and Ballet teacher. She is a passionate teacher who enjoys transmitting and sharing her love for the art of dance.

Level 2 Ballet Instructor

Rachel Soltesz was born and raised in Southern California with the passion for dance starting at the early age of 3 years old. Rachel trained under the guidance and mentorship of Lauren Richter Henry, current director of Tulsa Ballet School where she embraced her Vaganova ballet technique. Rachel spent summers training at Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Vienna State Opera Ballet, Ellison Ballet, Dresden Ballet School in Germany, Prague International Masterclasses, and Alonzo King Lines Ballet. She has also been accepted to many other respected ballet programs such as Paris Opera Ballet School, Kirov Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ballet Budapest, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Rachel performed with the Festival Ballet Theatre as part of the corps de ballet and shared the stage with renowned artists such as Isabella Boylston, Tiit Helmets, Irina & Max Dvorovenko and Fabrice Calmels. In 2018, Rachel flew to Posadas, Argentina to work alongside Lauren Richter Henry and the company, Ballet Centro Del Conocimiento to choreograph and set casting for Richter Ballet’s rendition of "The Nutcracker" for the company's repertoire.

Rachel earned her BA from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Communication with Minors in Digital Analytics and Dance. Rachel continues to share her passion for dance by teaching the younger generation of dancers. She taught ballet, contemporary, jazz, character, and more at Richter Academy of Classical Dance and Pyrnstev Ballet Academy since 2019 as well as guest taught at Laguna Dance Theatre and Xtreme Dance. Rachel has choreographed contemporary solos for students across California to compete at various regional and national competitions since 2016. She has had solos place in the Top 12 at Youth America Grand Prix and California Dance Classics with many in Top 3 qualifying for finals of YAGP.

Rachel recently moved to San Antonio and is excited to continue sharing her love for this art form with the community!

Ballet Instructor (Adult Open Ballet)

Renee' Blackwelder began her dancing career at the age of three with the prestigious Boving School of Dance in Houston, TX, under the direction of Valentine Boving and Ballet Mistress Olga Kostritzky. After graduation from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston, as a dance major, Renee' spent five years with the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and seven years with Kennedy and Company. She has performed in various ballets including the Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty and Coppelia. She also earned the highest honor in the senior division of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Program under the direction of Ms. Kostritzky. As an accomplished tap dancer, Renee' has performed in various musicals in the Houston area including The Boyfriend, Cats and excerpts from A Chorus Line and Chicago. Renee' also has a new love for Flamenco joining the group Espana Viva in 2017 which performs all over the San Antonio area. Renee' has been teaching in Houston and San Antonio for 15 years sharing her love of dance. She earned an Associate of Arts degree in Business from San Jacinto College in Houston. Renee' and her husband reside in San Antonio and have two beautiful daughters. One is currently dancing at University of Texas at Austin and the other is in the Professional Training Division with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Creative Movement & Combo Class Instructor, Front Desk

Sharon Valencia was born and raised in Reynosa, Mexico. Her dance journey began when she was 5 years old. She trained in the techniques of ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and latin rhythms under the guidance of Rosa Odette Rodríguez. By the age of 14, Sharon was part of a local ballet company performing on different shows around the city. Later that year, she became an assistant instructor helping with ballet classes at an elementary school.

In 2017, Sharon moved to McAllen, Texas to pursue a degree of Business Administration in Economics and Finance at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. While completing her studies, she danced with the ballet company at UTRGV. When she graduated in 2021, she moved to Dallas, Texas for career purposes and then joined the ballet program at the Dallas Conservatory. When she was 23 years old, Sharon moved back to McAllen, Texas and began her teaching career as an assistant instructor for the McAllen Ballet Incubator, supporting classes from baby ballet to level 2. During the same year, she became Progressive Ballet Technique certified. Sharon loves to share her passion for dance, especially ballet. Her philosophy is to do everything with love, and she believes that the love for dancing can inspire others. Sharon recently moved to San Antonio and is excited to continue her dance journey. 

PTD Instructor

Lauren Ader-Cumpston began her dance training at an early age in Conifer, Colorado where she studied various styles of dance including jazz, and tap. With a growing passion for ballet, she began to pursue training in classical dance and studied primarily under Nikoloz Makhateli in Denver, Colorado in the Vaganova Technique. While continuing the study of classical ballet under Nikoloz Makhateli and later Anastasiya Buchele, Ms. Lauren attended the University of Colorado at Denver, studying Biology and Pre-Physical Therapy. While unable to complete her degree before pursuing a career in dance, the time studying at UCD inspired a passionate and growing interest in Dance Medicine, cross-training and conditioning for dancers. In 2010 Ms. Cumpston had the opportunity to train at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet (GKACB) under Gelsey Kirkland, Rinat Imaev, Karina Elver and Lyubov Fominich. As a part of the GKACB Studio Company, Ms. Lauren performed various works including excerpts from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, La Bayadère, La Vivandiere, The Nutcracker, La Sylphide and Napoli among others. Following her study at GKACB, Ms. Lauren moved to Chicago, IL and became a founding member of Ballet 5:8 as a Company Artist in 2012; she was later promoted to Lead Artist in 2014. While dancing with Ballet 5:8, Ms. Lauren also served as the Ballet Mistress for Ballet 5:8 Professional Company and as the Director of Residency Programs for Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts. While serving at Ballet 5:8 school of the Arts, Ms. Lauren played a crucial role in instituting and developing a curriculum for the Pre-Professional and Conservatory training programs based on the Vaganova syllabus.

Ms. Lauren moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2017 where she served as the Lead Teacher in the Pre-Professional Division at the Dance Center of San Antonio, as well as the Assistant to the Artistic Director at the Children’s Ballet of San Antonio for 3 years. In 2020 she was inspired to launch BellÈclat - Private Coaching and Mentorship and an Injury Recovery Program for Dancers. Ms. Lauren moved to Indianapolis in 2022 and is excited to continue to work with the DeCruz Ballet dancers online!

Ms. Lauren specializes in pre-professional and professional classical training, bringing a knowledge of the Vaganova technique and passion to train dancers who are, not only technicians, but also artists. With a continual passion for dance medicine, Ms. Lauren continues to learn the best practices, conditioning programs and training methods to help dancers prevent injury and to be the strongest, healthiest dancers that they can be. She has attended online courses from Harkness Center for Dance Injuries through their DanceMedU and is also certified to teach Progressing Ballet Technique, a conditioning and cross training program designed by ballet teachers and physical therapists specifically for ballet dancers. In addition, reflecting her view of a need for a holistic approach to training, in 2020 Ms. Lauren became a certified member of Youth Protection and Advocates in Dance (Y.P.A.D.) where she received training in and committed to creating a healthy and safe training environment for dancers.

Creative Movement & Combo Class Instructor, Front Desk

BIO COMING SOON