Owner of Duo Dance and Teacher
Pop Tweens, Latin Dance and Show Team Coach
A full-time nurse, mom, and member of a Latin dance team who's always had a passion for dance and love for kids. She's danced and performed since the age of 4 with a background in ballet, tap, hip hop, Tahitian and cheer.
Studio Manager and Teacher
Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz, Pop Tots & Tweens and Show Team Coach
Madelin has been dancing since early childhood, training in Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Modern, and a variety of other techniques. She began teaching dance at her home studio in the Central Valley of California at the age of 15. In addition to her teaching, she participated rigorously in the studio’s Competition Teams by traveling, performing, and competing all over California. In 2012, she relocated to San Francisco to attend San Francisco State University, earning a minor in Dance. While attending SF State, she dove deeper into her dance training, participated in several Student Choreography Showcases, served as a member of the University Dance Theater Company 2014-2015 and as Student Dance Alliance VP 2014-2015. She has been teaching Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, and Jazz Funk at a variety of studios and summer camps around the Bay Area since 2013 and received a Choreography award at a local competition Dupree Dance in 2015. During the pandemic Madelin has been an integral part of choreographing and directing performances and studio management. When she’s not dancing, Madelin enjoys spending time outside on walks, gardening in her yard and traveling.
Teacher/Dancer
Combo Ballet/Tap, Tap, Ballet
Chloe has been dancing with Duo Dance since she was five years old. Combining her passion for learning, teaching, and dance, she is now a dance instructor and active student at the studio. She is a senior at Oceana High School who teaches ballet and tap.
Teacher
Tap, Hip - Hop and Latin Dance
Valeria is a dance teacher and choreographer from Panama City, Panama and currently resides in San Francisco, CA. Valeria trained classical techniques such as ballet, modern, jazz, and tap at the Academia de Danzas Steps since she was three years old. As an adult, she trained with other studios that specialized in ballroom dancing, Latin styles, dancehall, reggaetón and hip-hop in her hometown and the US. She is passionate about teaching dance and sharing her lively and cheerful energy with others in any city she resides. The teaching style and choreography that Valeria creates prioritizes the dancer’s experience. She creates a space for all to identify their strengths, explore their individuality, and develop self-confidence.
Teacher
Latin Dance
Inspired by a street performance and the music around her, Michigan native Shaneeka “Akemi” Smoot began her dance journey as a young girl. “Akemi learned how to salsa, bachata, merengue, before she could walk,” her family jokes as to how she learned the various styles. From humble upbringings Akemi’s family couldn’t afford dance classes, so a lot of her style was self-taught, until she later began break dancing with her cousin who introduced her into the world of hip hop. That sparked something in the young Akemi to create her own dances. With over 15 years of performance and 6 years of teaching experience, she continues her study of dance in and out of the studio here in San Francisco. Akemi is an instructor with Loco Bloco, as well as dance mission theater. Her later goals in life are to travel the world, own a dance a studio/theater. After she becomes too old to dance she will be become a chef!
Teacher
Ballet, Lyrical/Contemporary, K-Pop and Hip - Hop
Michelle is a San Francisco native, who started ballet at the age of 7. She underwent rigorous classical ballet training with San Francisco Ballet School before moving on to San Francisco Youth Ballet. Michelle joined Lowell Dance Company in high school, where she was able to expand her dance skills in various styles such as modern, jazz, and hip-hop. Additionally, she attended Alonzo King LINES Ballet pre-professional summer intensive, where she studied contemporary ballet. In 2011, while earning her bachelor’s degree in psychobiology at UCLA, Michelle trained at competitive studios such as EDGE, Westside Ballet of Santa Monica, and Playground LA. Upon graduation, she worked in research, health, education, and most recently, business development at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Unable to abandon her passion for dance, she returned to the arts during the pandemic, and just a year later, she signed with RAE Agency as a professional dancer. In 2023, she specifically returned to ballet, most recently appearing as a soloist in SFYBT’s production of The Nutcracker, as well as teaching ballet to both kids and adults in the Bay Area. She believes it is never too late to learn dance and strives to create a learning environment that is safe, positive, and fun, while still working to improve each individual’s skill level. She is excited to share her knowledge and expertise on her first love – ballet – and make the art form accessible to everyone.
We are always interested in expanding our dance network. Specifically in the styles of Hip - Hop, Tap, Latin and Preschool Age dance experience. If you're interested in joining the Duo Dance Family, start by sharing your dance teaching experience and attaching your resume.
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