Owner/Director
Competition Director/Choreographer
Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, pointe, hip hop, Contemporary
Amanda DownsOwner/Director
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Amelia HensonOffice managerAmelia joined Dance Connection staff in February 2018. She grew up in the Farmington area, after high school she moved to Texas where she earned a bachelors degree in Childhood Development and opened a daycare/preschool to serve military family needs. She moved back to Farmington to be closer to family and friends. She enjoys being around children and watching them grow into the people they are meant to be. She enjoys helping people in general and is excited to continue managing the office at DC! Amelia enjoys time with her family and pets when she is not at work.
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Martha RempeInstructor/Competition Choreographer
Martha Rempe has been a dance instructor with Dance Connection for the past 10 years. Originally from Roswell, she fell in love with dance when she was 4 and continued to dance through childhood and in college at New Mexico State University. In 2000, Martha tap danced her way to the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City as Miss New Mexico. Tap is her favorite style! Martha has a Bachelor of Community Health Education from NMSU and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from UNM. In addition to her instruction time at Dance Connection, she is also an elementary teacher with Farmington Municipal Schools. She is married to James, a Sergeant with the New Mexico State Police and has two children, Victoria and Christopher. Martha continues to pursue her passion for dance by attending dance teacher conferences and workshops as often as possible.
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Tammy LuceroInstructorTap, Jazz, BalletTammy began dancing as a child in Ohio, taking ballet and tap classes. She rediscovered her passion for dance as an adult and joined the San Juan College Dance Program taking classes in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, belly dancing and even some Latin for over 10 years.
Tammy truly enjoys working with children at D.C. They keep her young and she loves to share all that she has gained from the many different classes and instructors she has experienced over the years. She is happy to continue teaching another year with DC; she has been an instructor since the first year DC opened 11 years ago! |
Noah DavisInstructorBallet, hip hop, contemporary, stretch/strength, jazzNoah has been dancing for 8 years with Dance Connection. During this period he has competed with the competition team for 7 years. Dancing is Noah's passion that he hopes to pursue as a future career. Not only has Noah studied with Dance Connection, he has sought out to study dance though several conventions with industry leaders and through colleges. He seeks out these opportunities any chance he gets. Noah is looking forward to his first season of instructing with DC and sharing his experience with his students and helping them succeed in their own pursuit of dance.
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Chandler PaxsonInstructorTumbling, Gymnastics, conditioningChandler was born in Oklahoma raised in Farmington. He has been coaching tumbling for ten years, six of which have been full time. Chandler is a USAG certified professional coach; which allows him to work with collegiate and Olympic gymnasts giving him opportunities in both coaching and learning from the best of the best. Coaching is Chandler's passion, he takes great pride in watching students learn new skills and achieving things they never thought they could do. He loves to instill an excitment for tumbling and respect in students. Chandler is looking forward to his second year with DC!
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Cesar RamosInstructorHip HopCesar has been dancing since age 11. He feels dance is a perfect outlet for people who are active and enjoy creativity. He grew up running around outside with his siblings and friends, they used their imagination to create amazing worlds and characters. Dance allows him to continue this childhood past time. He enjoys escaping into a dance character wether created by him or another choreographer. Dance brings Cesar a great amount of joy, which is why he loves to dance and enjoys the opportunity to share this love with others through teaching and performing! Cesar has been dancing competitively for 3 years and was recently featured as a lead in a musical production "All Shook Up". Cesar is happy to begin his second season as an instructor with DC, he is happy to continue his teaching career and growth as a dancer!
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Josiah BrooksInstructorHip hopJosiah has been dancing since the age of 8. He loves to dance because it gives him a sense of accomplishment and happiness. He uses performance to escape from the world and enjoy music and movement feeling free. He is excited to continue teaching and sharing his excitement about dance with other young dancers. This is Josiah's first year teaching at DC and is thrilled to start this experience and continue to train as a dancer.
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Payton MillerStudent instructorBallet/Tap Basics 2 |
Brooke SandovalInstructorJazz, pom, cheer, hip hopBrooke has been dancing on and off her whole life. She was a Kelly green in high school and enjoyed performing and competing. This is her first year teaching at DC and she is super excited! She enjoys the opportunity to get to teach the future of dance and watch them grow into talented human beings.
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Ryan ChavezCompetition Manager/ choreographerhip hop, jazz funk, jazz, contemporaryRyan is a professional actor who currently resides in both LA & Phoenix, and performs on a carnival cruise ship 9 months out of the year. Ryan grew up in Silver City, NM where he began dancing as a child and loved performing. He attended college at New Mexico State University and took classes in the dance department and also became a member of Dancers Unlimited. Ryan choreographed several pieces for Dancers Unlimited and performed in several shows. Ryan loves all styles of dance, though Jazz Funk and contemporary are his favorite. He has been part of the competition team as a coach since 2014 and is excited to continue sharing his energy and love of dance with DC!!
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Julian RodriguezCompetition manager/ Choreographerhip hop, jazz funk, jazz, contemporaryJulian resides in Las Cruces NM and works in a family business as well as instructing dance in several different settings. Julian began dancing in High School and enjoyed sharing his passion and love of dance through performing. Julian attended New Mexico State University where he studied dance through both the dance department as well as Dancers Unlimited where he choreographed and performed in several pieces during his time in the Company. Julian joined Dance Connection's Competition Team as a coach in 2014. Julian is passionate about dance and dance education, he feels growth as a performer is something that should never stop and he is excited to continue to share this with DC!!
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