Micky Powell

Micky Powell grew up in the wonderful world of dance with her mother, Ruth Jevarian, who was a professional dancer and the founder of Star Dance Studio. After Ruth retired in 1972, Micky took over the school, and since then, has been the director of Star Dance, dedicating her life to providing quality dance education to literally thousands of students. She has taught all levels of tap, jazz, and ballet, and has used her many years of experience to develop the specialized dance programs for children which are in use now, at Star Dance.

Today, most of her time is spent on administrative duties, which she enjoys, but she still takes time to teach a weekly class 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.
 

Julie Craig

Julie Craig is an incredibly talented dancer, teacher and choreographer. She is Ruth Jevarian's granddaughter and Micky Powell's daughter, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance, and has been teaching at Star Dance Studio for over 25 years. Julie specializes in jazz, tap, funk, lyrical, ballet and acrobatics for children ages 3 to 18.

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.
 

We are happy and proud to have Sonly’s authentic Cuban style of dance at Star Dance Studio! In Cuba, Sonly was a professional dancer with the Adolfo Guzman Company, one of the largest and most popular dance companies in Havana. In America, she’s performed with celebrities such as John Leguizamo, Susana Arenas, and others.

With Star Dance Studio since 2000, Sonly is a much-loved teacher. She combines the necessary discipline of dance with her natural warmth and care for each of her students. Her great passion and energy for dance is easy to see. Besides teaching Cuban Salsa, Sonly is one of our most popular teachers for our Children’s Ballet and Tap combination classes.

She is also director of her own dance company, It’Sonly Dance, and leads a group of dancers available for all styles of Cuban dancing at parties, festivals, and corporate events.

Tim Welsh

Tim’s been teaching at Star Dance Studio for over 10 years. His students enjoy his good-natured manner and sense of humor. Tap dancing since the age of three, he is an expert in his field.

Outstanding teachers he’s studied with are Benny Smith, Anne Garvin, Glenn Shipley, Dean Barlow, Courtland Jones, Pattie Columbo, Louis daPron, Roland duPree and Berle Davis.

Tim’s dance career has included professional performances, consultant for dance pageants, guest teaching at dance seminars, choreography for musicals and dance competitions, and operating his own school. He’s currently working on a book about his favorite subject - tap!
 

Monique Phillips

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

Monique graduated from University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Political Science/Legal Studies in 2001. During college she was a backstage supervisor at 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.

Today, Monique teaches various levels of children's tap, jazz and ballet classes, as well as adult tap classes. She is also a teacher mentor for current students who show great interest, commitment and potential to become future Star Dance Teachers.  When not busy dancing, teaching, and mentoring, Monique spends time with her family, her dog, guinea pig and 4 parrots! She’s also involved in wildlife rehabilitation and is a certified wildlife rehabilitator.

She is thrilled and proud to be a part of the amazing Star Dance family and plans on dancing and teaching for many years to come!
 

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.
 

Gretchen “Gigi” Garnett began her dance training in her hometown of Northampton, Massachusetts. After graduating from the high school program at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she majored in Contemporary Dance, she received her B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Since 1999, Gigi has taught dance in Massachusetts, Illinois, and California, and has choreographed for the East Street Youth Ballet (Hadley, MA), the Christian Theater Music Club (Champaign, IL), and the Hackworth School of Performing Arts (Easthampton, MA), where her choreography won the "Young Choreographer" award at the American Dance Awards in 2004. She is also the Artistic Director and choreographer of Gretchen Garnett & Dancers. 

In addition to teaching and choreographing she works as a professional dancer and has had the opportunity to dance with companies including Leyya Tawil's Dance Elixir, Aura Fischbeck Dance, Kelly Bowker and Dancers, RAWdance, Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton and Ishika Seth & Dancers. 
 

Celine Alwyn

A native of San Francisco (and alumna of Star Dance Studio!), Céline has pursued her dance career both in and out of the United States. Around SF and NYC, she worked with choreographer/directors Charles Moulton, Parijat Desai, and Sheetal Gandhi, trained at the Ailey School, performed on Broadway in Bombay Dreams as an original cast member, and became Pilates certified at the Kane School. In the U.K., she completed an MA in Contemporary Dance at the London Contemporary Dance School, danced in works by Stephen Petronio, Garry Stewart, David Massingham, Athina Vahla, and Rui Horta, and toured with the Birmingham-based dance company, Bare Bones. Céline recently returned to her hometown after touring with Cirque Du Soleil’s Dralion playing the character role of ‘Oceane’.

While on tour, Céline taught alongside her professional engagements with U.K.-based contemporary companies EDge and Bare Bones. She regularly led contemporary technique and composition-based workshops for students aged 9 through 22, beginner through pre-professional. She’s recently done choreography for the St. Ignatius Dance Workshop, and teaches creative movement in schools.

We’re happy and excited that Céline has returned to Star Dance Studio! In all her classes, she infuses a sense of fun and exploration, challenging students to bring their truest and most daring selves to the dance floor.

Laura Berry

Laura began her training in both classical ballet and jazz at age 6 at Contra Costa Ballet in Walnut Creek. She has studied under numerous nationally renowned dancers, teachers, and choreographers providing her the opportunity to learn a variety of ballet and jazz styles, and build a strong background in technique. At age 18 she accepted her first professional contract to perform with Peninsula Ballet Theatre under the artistic direction of Carlos Carvajal. In her first season she became one of the company’s Principle dancers where she performed happily for the following 5 years. She has also had the privilege of performing with Diablo Ballet, Oakland Ballet and worked with the San Francisco Dance Center as a soloist dancer and choreographer in the Performer’s and Choreographer’s Gala in 1998.

Laura has performed in musical theatre productions of Phantom of the Opera, Oklahoma, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood with Diablo Light Opera Company and Center Repertory Co. Her roles were lead ballerina and soloist dancer. She was honored with the position of Dance Captain and assisted all company dancers and ran rehearsals, as requested by the Artistic Director.

Laura began her teaching career in 1995 with Dance Connection in Concord, where she held the position of Intermediate/Advanced Ballet Teacher and Head of the Ballet Department. She’s choreographed numerous original pieces for various levels of students. Laura is very excited to join the faculty of Star Dance Studio and we are excited to have her!