meet our teachers
Katie Kilbourn
Katie Kilbourn started dancing at the age of four and trained all over Sacramento before moving to the East Coast where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Dance Performance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. After relocating to New York City, Katie had the opportunity to dance with several companies including Balasole, J/D Dansfolk, and IKADA before she co-founded Borne Dance Company with Kianna Moye in 2015 and became Borne’s Artistic Director. Borne Dance Company is a bicoastal nonprofit that focuses on body positivity, mental health awareness, and art accessibility. Katie’s work with Borne Dance Company has been performed in numerous productions and venues through out NYC, Philadelphia and California including the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Producer's Club, and Anita's Way. Through Borne, Katie has had the opportunity to work with and collaborate with Renoly Santiago, The Theater Development Fund, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, Project Heal, Bellevue Hospital, Natomas Charter Performing and Fine Arts Academy and the National Eating Disorders Association. Alongside choreographing with her company, Katie’s other passion is teaching dance to students of all ages and backgrounds. She has been a teacher for over 10 years and has had the privilege to teach in studios, public schools, outreach programs, conservatories, and summer intensives. She loves helping her students develop and expand their artistic expression and she believes art is a necessary tool in everybody’s life. She is thrilled to be the new studio owner and director of Borne Arts Collective and is honored to follow in Terri Taylor's footsteps.
Geordi Royston
Geordi's passion for dance started when a small studio opened next to her gymnastics academy, once she walked in she never looked back. She has over 20 years experience in Jazz, Ballet, and Tap. Musical Theater is where her heart is, having performed in over 100 productions including a few of her favorites Grease and Footloose. She has had the opportunity to take class from some of today top choreographers including Wade Robinson, Marty Dew, and Tyce Diorio. She is excited to be a part of the Dance Ten family and loves working with and watching the students grow everyday. She looks forward to the future and is excited for what it has in store.
Terri Taylor
Ms. Terri Taylor began dancing at the age of three and hasn’t stopped since. Born and raised in South San Francisco, like most little ones, Terri’s early exposure to dance included classes in creative movement, ballet, tumbling, jazz and tap.
Throughout her childhood, she also studied baton, Hawaiian dance, gymnastics, music, voice, and acting. Terri studied dance with some of the greatest instructors in dance education in California including Glenn Shipley, Roseanne Saylor, Pat Bartholomew, Burle Davis and Ann Garvin.
Ms. Taylor participated in a diverse range of dance activities including competition as a soloist and as part of a dance company, performance dance companies, dance workshops, master classes and conventions as well as community theatre. A couple of her top honors include an award at the age of 12 for Best Overall Dancer, California State Competition and as a teenager she was awarded a Bank of America scholarship for theatre arts and a year later a non-finalist Talent Award/Scholarship at the Miss California pageant.
Her passion however, blossomed in community theatre and for performing overall. She participated in Community Theater with the San Jose Civic Light Opera, San Francisco Theatre Ballet, Woodminster Amphitheatre, and performed at countless County Fairs, State Fairs, telethons and festivals. She has also toured all over California with several performance companies.
Ms. Taylor spent one year dancing professionally in Ridin’ High, a Danny Marona production before moving to Sacramento to begin a career in Association Management. Upon moving to Sacramento, she also began teaching dance and choreographing for a variety of theatre productions in Sacramento and the surrounding areas. Ms. Taylor has a long history as one of the choreographers for Dance Theatre West, Broadway Academy’s premier dance company, and one of Sacramento’s best offering of community theatre, Best of Broadway. In the 2004 October issue of Sacramento Magazine, Ms. Taylor was named as one of the 20 Women We Admire.
Olivia DeGennaro
Olivia DeGennaro fell in love with dance before she can really remember. She took her first class at the age of three and danced several days a week from the time she was 8 until she left for college. Just weeks after Dance 10 opened its first location in Gold River, Olivia started classes there on her 13th birthday. She went on to become a member of Dance 10’s Senior Company and perform in leading roles each year.
But it wasn't until adulthood that Olivia realized what a true gift the art of dance has been in her life. Growing up, Dance 10 was her safe place to be in her body and forget about family struggles, school stress, and friend drama. It was a place she got to be goofy, playful, and expressive.
When she Ieft for college, Olivia stopped taking dance classes. In fact, she stopped regularly dancing for almost a decade. It wasn't until she moved back home to Sacramento in 2018 that she began to come back to dance to heal. She started taking tap, jazz, and contemporary again- and then fell in love with teaching again too.
Now, Olivia has realized what a true honor it is to pass on the knowledge Miss Terri Taylor shared with her for so many years. She feels more inspired than ever to share the gift of dance with other people and continue Terri Taylor’s legacy.
Emma Wessel
Emma started her ballet training at the age of 11 years old, at the Kansas School of Classical Ballet. During the spike of COVID-19, Emma got an offer from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts High School program, where she continued her training for her junior and senior years of high school. While there she danced roles such as demi-soloist in George Balanchine's Symphonie Concertante, a Flower in UNCSA’s The Nutcracker, and other school workshops. After graduating high school, she joined Ballet Idaho’s Trainee program, where she got to perform as a Snowflake and Party Parent in The Nutcracker, a Lady in Waiting in Swan Lake, and pieces by Penny Saunders and Quinn Wharton. She is now dancing with Sacramento Ballet’s Second Company as a Trainee and is excited for the upcoming season.
Michaela Youngblood
Michaela Youngblood has been dancing since the age of seven. She actually began her dance journey here at Dance 10. She started with one class and after her first dance recital, she was hooked. She jumped head first into the companies and worked her way up to the pre-professional company. She performed in many competitions and recreational productions all over California. Michaela has had the opportunity to learn from professionals who worked with Disney, Joffrey Ballet, and the Music Video Industry. In her spare time she loves to watch Disney movies so feel free to quiz her anytime you like. She currently teaches a few super fun classes here at Dance 10 and can’t wait for you to join her!
Alexis Boseman
International dance educator, choreographer and creative director Alexis Boseman uses dance to help develop social-emotional learning in others. The Sacramento native trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Bachata, Heels, and Acrobatics, has set work on organizations such as American River College, River City Dance Academy, Fancy Feet Dance Academy and more. In addition, the multi-hyphenate has served as head administrative support, competition team director and music engineer. As a touring international dance educator, Boseman has taught for festivals and master classes in Cebu, Philippines. As a professional dancer, Boseman participates as a company member for bi-coastal performance ensemble, Borne Dance Company as well as Nhan Ho Project. She also has performed as a dancer in music videos such as “Uber” by Tikibooya and “Run It Up” by Ode To Saturday. Alexis Boseman holds an Associates degree in Dance, Sociology and Psychology from American River College and has recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology from the University of California, Davis. Alexis also started her own dance company ANB Dance Co in October of 2023. This company is based on body positivity and femme dance styles.
Christian Forste
Christian started his dance journey a little later in life at the age of 13, and has never looked back since. He started his training in a variety of dance styles and techniques, but his specialty is jazz, and has a big passion for tap dance. At the age of 15, Christian was in the Junior Dance Company at Dance 10, and two years later, he auditioned and was accepted in the pre professional Dance Company D10s. He participated in several musicals, shows and performances throughout his dance career, and now is very excited to have started his teaching journey! He currently teaches jazz and a Special Needs class, and he is loving it more and more every day.
Jurusha Woods
Jurusha Woods received her Bachelors of Science degree in Recreation Parks, & Tourism Administration with an emphasis in Recreational Therapy and minor in Dance at California State University, Sacramento. She was a member of the Sacramento/Black Art of Dance company for 8 years, which allowed her to travel and perform all around the United States. After retiring from the dance company, she moved to Rutledge, Georgia to work at a camp for people with disabilities. This combined my love of helping people, the arts and the great outdoors. Jurusha moved back to California in 2014 and continued her work with special needs children, focusing on applied behavior for children with autism. When she is not teaching Contemporary classes, you can find Jurusha outdoors camping, swimming, drawing, painting, and of course laughing.
Marissa Tidrick
Marissa Tidrick is a teacher, coach, and choreographer to dancers of all ages in the greater Sacramento area. She is trained in the classic styles of Tap, Jazz, Musical Theatre and is certified in Cecchetti (Italian style) Ballet. Growing up in a military family, Marissa was exposed to an eclectic array of inspiring instructors who helped her find her passion and the love of inspiring others. From 2012-2019 she worked with the Hawkins School of Performing Arts in Folsom, CA, as the Disneyland Troupe and Company Tap Director. While instructing in Yuba City, CA, at Studio B from 2013-2016, she constructed an enriching tap program focused on enhancing musicality in ballet dancers. During the competition season, her teams regularly receive high marks and additional performance recognition. Some of her favorite judges’ awards include “Most Original Choreography,” “Best Musicality,” “Tapping Divas,” and the “Pure Joy to Watch” Award. Her focus on innovative choreography and precise technique has fostered the advancement of dancers into Broadway productions, Alvin Ailey, and The Joffrey Ballet programs. She frequently strives for personal excellence and regularly partakes in teacher workshops and music lessons to continue growing as an educator, artist, and musician. Marissa still loves to perform and occasionally takes to the stage for a musical theatre production. Some of her most memorable include: Chicago, Cabaret, Wild Party, Curtains, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Boxed Up the Musical. She strongly feels her program not only teaches dancing but also helps dancers learn to believe they can accomplish anything.
Joseph Dang
Joseph was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and began taking hip-hop lessons at seven years old. One year later, he took jazz and ballet lessons at the Ballet Academy Of Texas directed by Lisa Slagle at the time. At age twelve, Joseph then joined their pre-professional company, The Ballet Ensemble Of Texas, currently run by Thom Clower. At age seventeen, he was accepted to BalletMet's trainee program on full scholarship and he decided to move to Columbus, Ohio to take the next step in his training and was a trainee there for the 2021-2022 season. Joseph is now at Sacramento Ballet as a second company member.
Sammy Jimenez
Sammy’s passion for dance began before she could walk. Whether it’s dancing at home in front of the mirror or performing on stage, she loves it all. While on her own journey of self growth, she’s also passionate of helping other on their journey too. She enjoys teaching and welcomes all that are willing to learn.
Darryl Strohl-De Herrera
Darryl Strohl-De Herrera brings extensive experience and a true passion for teaching performing arts. Mr. Strohl-De Herrera is well-respected within the industry and has an impressive background in dance, music, and theater. He has worked with numerous professional productions and has a deep understanding of the technical aspects as well as the artistry involved. Darryl Strohl-De Herrera has performed and choreographed locally since 2006 with Light Opera Theater of Sac., Woodland Opera House, Runaway Stage Productions, and others.
Favorite roles: Trial by Jury (Judge), Beauty/Beast (Lumiere), The Producers (Roger DeBris), The Count/Curse (Hercule Poirot), Cats (Munkustrap), Big Fish (Edward Bloom), Next to Normal (Dan), Catch Me (Hanratty), Spamalot (Robin). He’s choreographed numerous shows (Chicago, Cabaret, Wild Party, Hairspray) and pre-Covid produced a Rockettes-style dance troupe, K!CKline. Before moving to CA for grad school (MA, Social Psychology) Darryl performed with VA Ballet Theater, VA Opera, and VA Musical Theater.
Sabrina Fernandez
Sabrina Fernandez began her journey with Irish Dance as a teenager, competing and performing with the McBride School of Irish Dance. As a former preliminary championship level dancer, she's thrilled to be able to step back into the world of Irish Dance in a teaching role, to continue to spread the joy of such a unique and beautiful style of Dance. Originally from the Bay Area, Sabrina moved to Sacramento in 2018, and works in skincare as an Esthetician. She is also heavily involved in local community musical theater.
