Today, much of her time is spent on administrative duties, which she enjoys, but she still takes time to teach a few classes each week, which is what she loves most. She is an active member of Dance Masters of America, an organization dedicated to raising the standards of dance education in America to the highest levels.
 

Julie loves working with children and teens and is particularly adept at helping them to develop their talents in a challenging yet fun, warm and loving environment. Her advanced classes have performed on TV and in many dance videos and many of her students have gone on to enjoy professional dance careers. In addition to a full-time marketing career and dance career, Julie choreographs and performs with a local dance company.
 

Monique Phillips

Monique was born and raised in San Francisco. She attended Katherine Delmar Burke School for girls, and then went on to the Urban High School of San Francisco. She attended Star Dance from age 5 until she graduated high school in 1996.

Monique graduated from University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Political Science in 2001. During college she was a backstage supervisor with the Star Dance recitals. Shortly after graduation she began teaching Kindergarten at Brandeis Hillel Day School in the city. In the afternoons she came back to Star Dance to teach children's classes. She was thrilled to start dancing again, and to combine her love for education and children with her passion for dance.

A few years ago, Monique relocated to Marin county to pursue another dream, working with animals. She is studying to become a certified veterinary nurse and is a nurse in a veterinary hospital.

Monique now has a family of her own, a baby girl Cecilia Ann, husband John and a fluffy dog named Julep. She is very excited about teaching again and rejoining the Star Dance Community, and we’re very happy to have one of our favorite teachers back with us again!
 

Kimiko Williams

Kimiko Williams began her dance training right here at Star Dance Studio at the age of 6. She went on to audition for the San Francisco Ballet, and was subsequently offered a scholarship.  She attended SFB for six years, and performed in The Nutcracker for three years.  During her high school years (Sacred Heart), Kimiko returned to Star Dance to rediscover her original love of dance and to add other dance disciplines, including Modern Dance and Hip Hop. She apprenticed with Micky Powell, and upon graduation, achieved Teacher status.

Along with her command of technique, Kimiko shows such a great passion for dance that she is an inspiration to to her students and to other dancers. Currently a Nursing Major and a Dance Minor at the University of San Francisco, Kimiko looks forward to continuing to teach and dance as part of the Star Dance family for many years.
 

Tami Tang, a native San Franciscan, began performing when she was 3 years old for friends and family. Her mother enrolled her in ballet school at the age of 10. Her early years of ballet technique helped her develop a strong foundation in dance and facilitated entrance to the School of the Arts High School, where she expanded her dance repertoire to include modern, jazz, Afro-Haitian, hip hop, breaking, salsa, samba and more.

During this time, she was introduced to Star Dance Studio and discovered that not only did she love performing, she loved teaching! She went on to earn a B.A. degree in Theater Arts and Dance from UC Santa Cruz and soon after began her teaching career.

Tami loves being a part of the Star Dance family and continues her passion for performing -- as a freelance dancer, choreographer, actress, model, DJ, and designer, performing with touring companies such as Avatar Flux Dance Company, Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company and the Magic of Chin-Chin across the globe. She lives to learn and share all that she knows about dance with her wonderful students and assist them in developing a healthy sense of self esteem.
 

Michelle Aerov’s dance training began at the age of four at Star Dance Studio. She studied jazz , tap and ballet from Micky Powell and Julie Craig. At the age of six she was chosen to play the role of Abu in the Star Dance recital production “Aladdin” … which is the moment she fell in love with dance. From that day forward, nothing would stop Michelle from studying and perfecting her dance technique to become the best she could be. She volunteered as a Class Demonstrator for many Star Dance classes, and at the age of thirteen was given the rare opportunity, for a student her of age, to become an Assistant Teacher. Working with Micky Powell, Michelle learned the basics of teaching dance and was encouraged to develop her own choreographic style.

Her credits include 6 gold medals won in the Maccabi Competitions, and her highly acclaimed musical theater choreography for various high school musicals including “Zombie Prom” and “Beauty & the Beast”. She’s been teaching at Star Dance for three years.

Today, Michelle attends USF as a Politics and Business major, and continues to nurture and enjoy her love of dance through the art of teaching.