Faculty

Teri Nash
Director of the studio and competition teams, Teri is also a current member of and certified dance instructor through Dance Masters Association. She has served as a director on the board of Dance Masters Association and she has been teaching and choreographing in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 15 years. Teri enjoys teaching all ages and levels and is proud to watch the growth and development of her dancers.

Mollie Nash

Mollie has been performing and competing many different genres of dance in the Bay Area for over 15 years. She received great training from many instructors in the Peninsula, and was given the opportunity to perform in many musicals, festivals, and professional sports games .Mollie began choreographing at the age of 16 for her high school dance team as well as teaching the first Hip Hop classes here at HeartBeat Dance Academy. She attended Sonoma State University to pursue a Business Degree and participated in a nationally ranked collegiate team, which gave her the opportunity to perform and compete around the nation. During this time, she continued to choreograph competition routines at HeartBeat and also founded one of the first high school dance teams in Sonoma County. After receiving her degree, Mollie now works at HeartBeat Dance Academy full time, working as the Office Manager, Competition Co-Director, and still pursuing her passion of choreography through competition and classes.

Lauren Wray

Lauren Wray began her ballet training in Tokyo, Japan. After her family relocated to California, she attended Pacific Ballet Academy where she performed in performances such as the Nutcracker, Giselle, and Swan Lake. In 2011, Lauren moved to San Francisco to further her dance training and also attended the Circus Center of San Francisco where she practiced acrobatics. In 2012, she represented the San Francisco Bay Area in the Miss California USA Beauty Pageant. She also took a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland to guest teach a ballet class. After finishing her B.S Degree in International Business, she decided to pursue dance full time. Currently, she dances on a Pre-Professional cheer/dance team. She choreographs and guest teaches for various schools in the Bay Area. Lauren is humbled and honored to be teaching students of all ages, and looks forward to watching them grow.

Chantelle York
Chantelle York is a boundless hip-hop choreographer with over 6 years experience instructing dance. At the age of 14 she became head coach and choreographer for a national competing team. Since then, she has taught at various dance studios, schools and choreographed for many different shows, events and pageants in the bay area. Her main inspiration is her students and being able to share her passion for dance with them.

Gracielle Anne Magos
Grace began her dance training at Montessori De Bambini in the Philippines. After her family relocated to California, Grace attended Westlake School for the Performing Arts in Daly City and South San Francisco Community Center's ballet program with Maria Spremich. Grace attended San Francisco State University where she studied modern dance with Kathleen McCarthy, and Susan Whipp; ballet with Wendy Diamond; Afro-Haitian, Duhnam Technique and Jazz with Alicia Pierce; and Afro-Brazilian and Capoeira with Paco Gomez. She was part of San Francisco State University's Univerity Dance Theater performing dance company and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Dance. Since receiving her B.A. in dance at SFSU, Grace has continued teaching, dancing and choreographing. In the summer of 2013, she began performing with the Sara Du Jour project in San Francisco. Grace is happy to be able to share her love of dance with her students.

Noelani Neal

Noelani Neal was raised in Maui, Hawaii and began her dance training at the age of four. She has been trained in ballet, musical theatre, jazz, hula, gymnastics, and has recently begun tap. She is a recent cum laude graduate of Santa Clara University with degrees in Theatre Arts, Dance, and Musical Theatre. Prior to working at Heartbeat Dance Academy, she has worked with several companies across the globe. These include Cabrillo Stage, Maui Academy of Performing Arts, Maui Onstage, and Hawaii Ambassadors of Music, where she had the privilege to perform in seven countries for their 2008 European/UK tour. While Noelani is excited that she is still performing around the Bay Area, she is doubly excited to be teaching here at Heartbeat Dance Academy.

Francesca Tan

Francesca Tan is a classically trained ballerina and ballet teacher. She began dancing at the age of three at Western Ballet in Mountain View. She has since danced with American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and as a trainee with Los Angeles Ballet, and has worked with Bay Area choreographers such as Raissa Simpson, Todd Courage, and Mark Foehringer. She has taught all ages of dancers, and is grateful to be able to share her knowledge and passion with her students.

JC Caoile

JC Caoile has been influenced by dance for a majority of his life. He began learning Hip Hop dancing in 6th Grade and over the years strengthened his skills by learning various other styles in that field such as locking, housing, popping, waacking, break dancing, and isolation. While his strongest suit is Hip Hop, he has also learned many styles of ballroom dancing such as Tango, Cha-Cha, and Swing Dance. He also dabbled with the art form of Eskrima Martial Arts and Filipino Folk Dancing which he often times incorporates into his choreography. JC teaches Hip Hop dancing all around the Bay Area with a range of students from preschoolers to adults and also directs and founded a college dance team in San Mateo. As well as having a career in dance, he is also the Program Director, art teacher and tutor at ICEC After school Program.

Vid Cotarta

Jenna Medina