We’re BETTER TOGETHER!
Our Better Together Dance Theatre family is thrilled to be opening its doors. We are a team of Performing Arts professionals who were brought together by the Arts and are beyond excited to bring a new and innovative studio to the Peninsula community! While the studio “Better Together Dance Theatre” is new, it is founded by industry experts in the dance, theatre, and film world, with over 100 years of collaborative experiences and talents!
We believe that we are all better together.
Christina Horn
Christina’s love of dance began at the age of three and has continued to grow ever since. Her studies began at Kirkpatrick’s School of Dance and continued through college. She grew to love many styles, including tap, jazz, ballet, and musical theatre. Christina earned her Teaching Credential and Master of Arts in Teaching from Saint Mary’s College of California and currently teaches Kindergarten at North Elementary. Christina loves sharing her love of dance and passion for teaching with others and could not be more excited to be part of the Better Together family!
Kelly Almanza
Dancing has been a part of Kelly’s life for the past 30 years. Over the years, she has studied Tap, Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and African dance. She began her dance training at Kirkpatrick’s School of Dance and continued on to earn a minor in Performing Arts with an emphasis in Dance from Saint Mary’s College of California. Kelly has been teaching and choreographing for the past 16 years to students of all ages. When not dancing, Kelly teaches Kindergarten in San Mateo. She is excited to be a part of the Better Together family and continue sharing her love of dance!
Geoff Horn
Geoff has always had a passion for theatre. Since the age of six, he has been involved in some capacity behind the scenes. Geoff holds a degree in theatre and has been working professionally in the Bay Area for over 15 years, acting as Technical Director for over 60 shows. He was the Theatre Manager at Carlmont Performing Arts Center for the past ten years and has worked with over 600 students who have volunteered their time to run events at the center. These students have had the opportunity to learn critical aspects of lighting, sound, scenic, rigging, and props, and several have gone on to pursue professional careers. He cannot wait to help open students’ eyes to the work behind the curtain and dive deep into the behind-the-scenes aspects of theatre. Geoff is so excited to be a part of the Better Together family!
Daniel Almanza
Daniel was born and raised in Napa Valley. He graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California with a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology - Sport & Recreation Management. Daniel has worked in the Non-Profit sector for nearly a decade coordinating and managing youth programming in Napa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. Some of his hobbies include playing and coaching soccer. He is excited about helping BT with Marketing and Apparel!
Kelly Ciardella
Kelly was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and grew up on the peninsula. She began her dance training with Kirkpatrick’s at the age of four as a student of ballet, tap and jazz. She received her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. She holds professional and teaching certificates from the Cecchetti Ballet Council of America. Additionally, she joined Dance Masters of America, an elite association of dance educators. Kelly has performed with the Peninsula Ballet Theatre in San Mateo. Since 1993 she has been teaching ballet, tap and jazz to students ranging in age from three to adult. She enjoys sharing her passion for dance with her students and is excited to join the Better Together family!
Frances Conway
Frances is a Hillsdale High School student and a member of Hillsdale’s cheer team and dance program. She has been taking dance lessons since age three and gymnastics lessons since age two! As a competitive gymnast, she won the regional championships for her age and skill level in San Diego in 2019! Currently, Frances is focusing on cheer and dance and takes advanced ballet and modern at Better Together and TA’s for the younger classes. She still loves to tumble and enjoys sharing that love of gymnastics and dance with the children she teaches!
Robin Conway
As a child, Robin enjoyed dance as well as competing in gymnastics. She started teaching gymnastics as a teenager and was trained by top notch coaches in the industry, specializing in developmental gymnastics for the growing child. She holds a teaching credential from San Francisco State and taught 2nd grade before opening her own gymnastics and dance school, which she ran for 15 years. Robin has vast experience as a gymnastic teacher, from movement exploration for the very young child to coaching advanced gymnasts. She is excited to be teaming up with her daughter to bring tumbling and acro classes to Better Together!
Kari Dixon
Kari has been dancing since the age of three. She began with tap and ballet, then learned jazz and eventually modern. Kari has been teaching dance for 15+ years to ages 3 to adult. She has a passion for teaching beginning dancers with a focus on technique and fun. Kari holds a BFA in Theatre Arts and specializes in Improv, Musical Theatre, and Shakespeare. Kari has worked with youth Shakespeare programs and has choreographed and directed for local middle school productions. She now holds a masters in Special Education and works as a learning specialist with elementary students. She is thrilled to join the BTDT studio!
Lorraine Felix
Lorraine is a Bay Area native. She graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in economics but her true passion is children and working with people. She has an Early Childhood Education Credential and a Postpartum Doula Credential. She began dancing ballet and tap when she was five years old, then found a love for jazz. The majority of her training was at Dance Attack in Mountain View. She enjoys acro and was a competitive gymnast through high school. She has danced, flipped, and taught the majority of her life! Lorraine is so happy to be part of the Better Together Family! She is excited to share her passion and help others find their joy in dance and movement as well. Lorraine is thrilled she gets to share her love for dance, teaching, and choreography and be part of just a great team week after week.
Alisa Greer
Alisa is a second generation professional belly dancer and belly dance teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education with a Dance Emphasis and has performed at restaurants, cultural events and private parties throughout the Bay Area. As a teacher, she loves to share the beauty, cultural richness, health benefits and pure joy of belly dance with students in a warm, supportive and fun class environment.
Savannah Haley
Savannah began dancing at five years old and it has been a huge part of her life ever since. Throughout her time as a dancer, she studied tap, ballet, jazz, modern, and hula. She discovered a passion for teaching at a young age and feels fortunate to have the opportunity to apply her love of dance and teaching at Better Together Dance Theater. Along with five years of being a Teacher’s Assistant, Savannah is beginning her fifth year of teaching dance. She will continue teaching dance as she works to pursue her goal of becoming an elementary school teacher at San Francisco State University. Savannah is excited to incorporate what she has learned as a student into the classes she teaches!
Kelly Hoffman
Kelly is thrilled to be a part of the amazing BTDT Community! A lifelong dancer, Kelly has studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and musical theatre styles for 20+ years at Kirkpatrick's School of Dance, Bay Area eTc, SMHS Bearcat Dance Ensemble, and beyond. A paralegal by day, she earned her bachelor's degree in Cinema & TV Arts and Political Science from CSU Fullerton, and her paralegal certificate from UCLA Extension. Kelly enjoys sharing her love of dance with students of all ages and abilities, and is excited to be part of the BTDT family!
Isabel Montiel
Isabel believes that a sound personal image is comprised of not only a sharp appearance, but also a healthy body, mind, and soul in order to pursue our goals. Dance is one of those unique gifts that brings all of that into balance. Being an avid admirer of the Arts from an early age, she has performed and trained in different genres of dance such as Salsa, Bachata, and Brazilian Samba no Pé (certified instructor), among others. Isabel has had the unique opportunity to learn from and be mentored by the best instructors in the Bay Area and from all over the world for over 13 years. Her experience in other important skills such as modeling and public speaking offers her students a unique opportunity to find their stage presence.
Madison Moriarty
Madison was raised in Portland, Oregon, where she began her dance journey at the age of three. Throughout her upbringing, she delved into various dance styles including jazz, hip hop, musical theater, tap and ballet. During her college years, Madison was on the University of Oregon’s hip hop dance team. She then earned her Master of Education Degree at the University of Portland. Madison is currently teaching second grade at North Hillsborough. As a teacher, Madison takes great joy in nurturing creativity and passion in her students, watching them grow and thrive in their unique talents. She has loved dance all of her life and is so excited to join the Better Together family!
Caris Lyons
Caris started dancing at the age of 3 and it has been a huge part of her life ever since. Jazz, Contemporary, and Pointe are some of her favorite styles of dance. She loves that dance gives people a healthy and positive creative outlet and brings so many people together. She is currently a senior at San Mateo High School and loves being a part of their advanced dance class, as well as being a teacher’s assistant there. She is so happy to be a part of Better Together, and is excited to keep dancing and learning here!