Teachers

ALIDA CARMONA – Ballet
Alida began her serious ballet training at the "Phyllis Cyr Academy" under the direction of Anthony Sellers, in the late 1970s. She continued her training with the renowned Ballet master, Stephan Wenta, around the same time. All the while performing with the "San Gabriel Valley Ballet", under the direction of Virginia Paulo Lovejoy. Alida began teaching dance in the early 1980s, at various studios in Southern California. Alida is currently completing her ninth year at Imperial Dance Studio.

SARAH DELGADO – Tap
Sarah is a graduate of California Lutheran university, and has been studying the art of tap dancing since her early childhood. She has studied with the best in the business from all over Southern California. Sarah is also a professional graphic designer and avid photographer. We are so happy to have her on our staff at Imperial Dance Studio!

ANDREA EVANS – Ballet
Andrea Evans has been teaching Ballet in the Southern California area for over 20 years. Her students have been accepted into summer Ballet intensives such as School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, Boston Ballet and Alonzo King’s Lines. Andrea trained with Cecile Hering and Axel Hering and danced many soloist roles with Redlands Festival Ballet where she had the opportunity to work with the late Eric Hyrst on his ballet “Labyrinth,” Andrea went on to study at Pacific Northwest Ballet’s summer intensive on scholarship. She then earned a B.A. in English Literature from CSULB as well as a certificate in Paralegal Studies. Andrea is a nurturing instructor who prides herself on using the art of Ballet as a tool to build confidence in young girls in order to help them achieve their potential.

NICOLE LEEMAN – Tiny tots, children's Tap/Ballet/Jazz/Hip Hop 
Nicole is a resident of Brea, California and grew up dancing at Imperial Dance Studio training in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical and Hip Hop. Inspired by studio owner and instructor Todd Van Dorn and many other teachers, Nicole decided at a young age that she wanted to become a dance teacher. At age 16, Todd offered her a teaching position at Imperial Dance Studio, and began teaching a beginning tap class, and eventually began working on a full time basis. Now with 8 years of teaching experience, Nicole now teaches classes of all kinds and for all ages. According to Nicole, "dance has made me who I am today, and I love sharing my passion for dance with all of my students.

AMANDA "Mandie" LOWENSTEIN – Jazz
Amanda Carmona began her formal dance training at the age of 5 years old at Imperial Dance Studio, and knew after one class that she was born to dance. Along with her formal training she has been on numerous dance teams all through her academic career, such as Pom/Songleading all through junior high and high school, and recently on Mt. San Antonio College's Dance team. As a result of her competitive dance history, Amanda was offered a position with U.S. Spiritleaders; a well known cheer and dance organization, teaching at high school dance camps. During Amanda's time at Imperial Dance Studio as a student, she has won many titles, such as "Miss That's Dancin" four consecutive years, along with "Junior Miss Sophisticated" in 2008 and 2009. Amanda began her teaching career at 15 years old teaching lyrical and jazz for the dance team at a local junior high, winning them many 1st place trophies, and will be starting her 6th year this coming October. This is her first year teaching at Imperial Dance Studio, and she can't wait to bring her knowledge and love of dance to everyone of her classes.

CORINNE RENTERIA – Technique/Lyrical/Hip Hop 
Corinne Renteria first began her training at the age of 3 in her hometown of Corona, CA. She started competing on a competition team when she was 6 years old. At the age of 10, Corinne began training and competing at a dance studio in Anaheim. During her years of training, Corinne had the privilege of attending master classes with several Hollywood dance figures such as Twitch, Travis Wall, and Kherington Payne. She had a lot of opportunities come her way such as performing on the show Mobbed, taking master classes from former So You Think You Can Dance dancers, and performing on a cruise ship. While Corinne was training, she had the opportunity to dance in other performances outside of the studio such as “The Nutcracker”. Recently, she auditioned for McDonald Selznick Associates (MSA) which is a well-known talent agency and was signed two weeks later. Corinne now auditions for many Hollywood projects and hopes to become a great choreographer who will inspire her students because Corinne believes that the impossible is possible.