Sarah Balda, B.A. Dance Studies, MNA Masters of Nonprofit Administration, YPAD Certified
Sarah Balda holds a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. in Dance Studies from the University of South Florida. Mrs. Sarah has trained with some of the country’s top dance educators and choreographers. Madame Gabriella Darvash, Gretchen Ward Warren (Penn. Ballet Theater & ABT), Gerri Houlihan, Michael Foley (Sean Curran), Alexandra Beller (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company), John Parks (Alvin Ailey) and Lynn Wimmer are a few of her previous instructors. Mrs. Sarah has also had the privilege of taking master classes from company members of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Urban Bush Women, Parson Dance Company. The United State Embassy commissioned her choreography for the Splash Gala in Kazakhstan. She has worked as an artist in residency through the Brevard Cultural Alliance at Brevard County Public Schools and has solicited professional dancers from across the nation to teach master classes and residencies at Dance Arts Centre. Ms. Sarah is heavily involved with the nonprofit sector and the arts community. She has a strong desire to educate others on the art of dance and is dedicated to making dance accessible to our community’s youth regardless of one’s ability to pay.
- B.A. University of South Florida
- Master’s of Nonprofit Administration, University of Notre Dame
- Youth Protection Advocates in Dance Certified
- Former Brevard Cultural Alliance “Artist in Residence”
- Email Sarah Here
Instructors
Dorian Coney
Sole180 is proud to present Dorian Coney. He is a dancer and entrepreneur. Dorian’s love for dance has brought him in front of hip hop greats that have helped form and shape his training; BDash, Fresh Redding, Amanda Grind, Alex Fetbroth, Stevo Jones, Shaun Evarista, Brian Puspos, Bam Martin, Lyle Beniga just to name a few. Dorian’s passion for dance led him to step out in faith and has been instrumental in helping him land multiple contracts with local schools and day cares teaching hip hop dance to young kids and teenagers around Brevard County. He has touched the lives of many as well as become a mentor for several youth in the community. Taking classes with Dorian will ensure a great time full of fun all the while learning the art and discipline in dance. He is currently a member of the Sole180 Production company and can be found performing in our live shows and events.
Samantha Karls
Sam grew up in Melbourne, Florida and has been dancing in the area since she was 3 years old. She started dancing with Donna’s Dance Studio Production under the direction of Donna Stewart. At the age of 7, she joined their competition team and competed with them until their closure. After this, Sam continued her dance education at Precision Contemporary Dance, under the instruction of Marty Mercado. She joined their company the same year. With PCD’s company she performed at numerous local events and charity fundraisers as well as the production of Dracula and Young Frankenstein. In 2007 and 2008, Sam was accepted into Milwaukee Ballet summer intensive. In 2007, she was invited to participate in the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving parade in New York City with Spirit of America Cheer. Sam started teaching at PCD in 2006 and at Dance Art Centre in 2008. As well as PCD and DAC, Sam has also taught various dance classes through the Brevard Cultural Alliance which offers classes at elementary schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, the Brevard Achievement Center, and in juvenile detention centers around Brevard County. She has also taught dance and sports classes with the Starz Program in Norfolk, Virginia. After Virginia she moved to California and taught dance, cheer, theater, and preschool classes with Charlene’s Dance’N’Cheer. Sam has taught a variety of different dance styles such as: ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, pointe, musical theater, hip-hop, cheer and acro. Sam has her Associate of Art’s Degree from Eastern Florida State College and continued her education at the University of Central Florida in Hospitality and Event Management.
Nadine Timm
Ms. Timm received her BA in Dance-Theatre at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She trained at “The New Jersey School of Ballet,”. Ms. Timm was Principal dancer with “The Kennedy Dancers,” in N.J., a Contemporary Ballet Company. She has taken master classes from such artists as Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, Pilobulus & Edward Villela, to name a few. She continues to educate herself yearly with different conferences such as Dance Teacher Summit. Ms. Timm has taught Ballet, Pointe, jazz, modern and Musical Theatre classes for over 25 years. She was the Co-Owner of IEAA Ballet Academy for 5 years in Ca. Ms. Timm was head Choreographer for Chaffey High School Theatre Co.in CA for their musical productions for 10 years. Ms. Timm enjoys teaching Ballet to children, teens and adults. Ms. Timm moved to Florida in Aug. 2019 and has been subbing,teaching Ballet, Jazz and Master Classes. She is excited to be teaching at Dance Arts Centre!
Avery Tischner
Avery Tischner is currently a junior at Florida Institute of Technology pursuing her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Aerospace Engineering and her Minor in Chemistry. Avery grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and started dancing at 2 years old. She danced with Carolina Dance Center on their competition team, traveling to conventions and other competitions. During her later years at the studio, she assisted faculty with weekly classes and acted as a substitute teacher. Starting her senior year of high school, Avery toured with Tap Into The Network as a member of their Apprentice Program. As an Apprentice, she toured with tap industry professionals, performed in the Tonality Showcase, and networked with dancers around the country. Avery has taught numerous genres of dance such as: tap, jazz, musical theatre, ballet, contemporary, and lyrical.
Karen Cannon
Karen Cannon is a Honors Melbourne High School graduate, who will be attending Eastern Florida State College for her Associate Degree and the Prerequisites for UCF’s nursing program. She has been dancing at DAC for three years and has a decade of total dance experience. She has competed as a Gold-level ballroom dancer both in the Pro-Am category and individually, and has won multiple awards. Her favorite style is ballet/pointe, but she also has been trained in Lyrical, Modern, Ballroom, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, and Jazz. She has been part of DAC’s Company for two years and is eager to share her passion for dance with her students.
Harper Taylor
Harper Taylor started dancing at DAC in the second grade and is currently a freshman at satellite high school. During her second year of company she was invited into the role of assistant teacher for the mini hip hop class. She is trained in hip hop, modern, ballet, and lyrical. When she is not dancing she enjoys babysitting, petsitting, spending time with family, creating art, and doing anything athletic and outdoors. She loves working with kids and is extremely excited to be able to share her biggest passion with the young dancers DAC!
Lonyee Eng – Social Media Manager
Lonyee Eng began dancing at the age of three and danced at DAC for seven years having positions as a student, assistant instructor, and tap instructor. She attended the University of Miami to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration double majoring in Marketing and Management with a minor in Dance. While at Miami, she held leadership positions such as being a Resident Assistant, Student Ambassador, and Public Relations Chair of multiple organizations including University of Miami: Dance Marathon. Now back in Melbourne, Lonyee works in business management at Northrop Grumman. She still has a deep love for dance and strong interest in photography, videography, and marketing. She is so excited to be able to share all DAC has to offer across all platforms.
Linda Roberts – Operations Manager
Originally from Columbia, SC, Linda earned an Associate of Science degree from Midlands Technical College and continued her studies at the University of South Carolina’s School of Public Health. In 2013, she relocated to Melbourne, where she quickly embraced the beautiful Florida lifestyle while supporting her two daughters through college. With extensive experience in office management and as an executive assistant, Linda has honed her skills in business administration, particularly within non-profit organizations. Her background includes managing and training volunteer teams, organizing social and fundraising events, and overseeing facility maintenance. She excels in communication, financial management, and technical operations. At Dance Arts Centre, Linda is dedicated to bringing the organization’s vision to life. Her passion lies in encouraging others to reach their full potential, a commitment she aims to exemplify in everything she does.
Marty Mercado – Substitute
Mercado brings more than 30 years of dance experience to Brevard County. Ms. Marty is a Florida Native born in Pinellas County where she began her training with Mrs. Agnus Phillips dance master for the Royal Ballet in England. Her training continued with superb training with teachers from the University of Utah, University of South Florida, American Ballet Theatre, Kirov School of Leningrad and Ballet Concerto Company of Cuba. Ms. Marty danced professionally with Florida West Ballet Company, Milwaukee Ballet, Joffery Ballet and Tampa Ballet. Ms. Marty has shared the stage with such wonderful dancers such as Martin Freedman of the Kirov School of Leningrad, Haydee Gutierrez of Cuba, Lauren Rouse of Joffery Ballet, Nobuyoski Nakajima of Tokyo City Ballet Company, Henry Hernandez of Southern Ballet and Orazio Messina of Teatro La Fenice, Venice Italy. Ms. Marty has worked as an Artist in Residence for Brevard Cultural Alliance and Very Special Arts of Florida. She has taught dance in the Brevard County Juvenile Detention Center, Space Coast Marine Institute, and Rainwater Girls Institute striving to bring a form of artistic expression to youth at risk. She has written dance curriculum for Arts for a Complete Education with the Florida Alliance for Arts Education and has served on the Florida Dance Association Board of Directors. Ms. Marty was also chosen to work with the dance writing team for the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for the Arts (NGSSS-Arts). Ms. Marty was the owner and Artistic Director of Precision Contemporary Dance in Brevard County for over 12 years. She produced original works at The King Center and The Henegar Center in Melbourne. She was also one of the co–curators for Robot Love.