Nancy Doize School of Dance
Meet Our Staff...
Nancy Doize'
Studio Owner
Owner and artistic director of the Nancy Doizé School of Dance for 38 years, began her dance training at the age of four. She began dancing professionally in San Francisco at 17 after studying ballet locally with Dimitri and Francesca Romanoff. While in San Francisco, she had the opportunity to work with Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Barishnykov. She has earned many choreography awards and judged many dance competitions. She has an AA degree in Music, a BA degree in Business, is listed in the National Registerʼs Whoʼs Who in Executives and Professionals and in 2008 was inaugurated into the Youth Mentors Hall of Fame. Nancyʼs happiest moments are spent sharing her love of dance with her students and watching their joy as they master dance in a caring, positive and professional environment. Many of her students have been inspired to have gone on to dance careers.
Stacey Abbott
Dance Instructor
Stacey graduated with a B.S. degree in Kinesiology from San Jose State University. She started dancing at the age of 5, and joined Nancy's at age 7. During her time on the DDT, she was a grand champion soloist and also served as one of the team captains. Stacey also briefly attended Sonoma State University, where she danced on the dance team as one of the team captains. Stacey's favorite part of teaching is focusing on technique, and watching her students continue to improve and grow!
Lisa Aquino
Dance Instructor
Lisa has been dancing since the age of 5. She began her teaching career at the age of 16 and has taught throughout the U. S. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Theatre and Dance from Santa Clara University and throughout her career has studied under some of the biggest names in dance. Lisa’s passion is tap, but she enjoys teaching lyrical and jazz as well. When not teaching dance in a studio setting, Lisa spends her time choreographing for musical theatre companies around the Bay Area.
Rachel Barnett Wellington
Dance Instructor
Rachel is a Bay Area native who grew up dancing in the South Bay competition circuit. She received a full scholarship to Hawaii Pacific University for dance and won the National Dance Alliance Collegiate Championship in 2004 with the Hawaii Pacific Team. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from SJSU and was named Outstanding Senior in 2009 for excellence in performance, choreography and academics. Rachel is part of the talented team of choreographers for the Doizé Dream Team and she will be sharing her dance time with her sons, Leo and Joa.
Minhui Bartels
Dance Instructor
Minhui has been at the dance studio for 11 years, and is a student at Valley Christian High School. Minhui is going into her seventh year on the Doizé Dance Team. She is starting her first year teaching, and is excited to teach and see young dancers grow.
Abby Berg
Dance Instructor
Abby has been dancing for five years and is a sophomore at Leigh High School. She is a member of the Doizé Dance Team, loves to perform and use storytelling in her choreography. She is excited to begin her first year of teaching. Abby loves to see younger dancers improve and believes that dedication and hard work are the path to success in dance.
Lydia Bierly
Dance Instructor
Lydia is a student at Leigh High School and has been dancing for 11 years. She has been a member of the award winning Doizé Dance Team for 5 years. Lydia is super excited because it is her first year of teaching and she is looking forward to helping her dancers improve and shine on stage!
Hailey Carter
Dance Instructor
Hailey is a student at Branham High School and has been dancing since she was 3. Hailey has been with the Nancy Doizé School Of Dance for over 9 years and is a part of the Dozié Dance Team as a captain. This is her first year teaching and she is excited to pass her knowledge of dance down to the younger generation.
Megan Crouch
Dance Instructor
Megan started dancing at the age of 6. She was on her studio's competition team for 9 years; then, while still a student and competitive dancer, she started teaching at the age of 16. Although she has taught many different styles of dance, tap is ultimately her favorite. She was the advanced tap teacher at her previous studio for 14 years, and graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management. Megan enjoys watching her students grow through their love of dance while challenging themselves to become the best dancers they can possibly be.
Shadae Diaz
Dance Instructor
Shadae has been dancing with Aunt Nancy since she was 2 1/2 and loves being at the studio. She has studied all styles of dance and will be attending DeAnza College this fall. Shadae has been on the competition team for
twelve years and performed for the first time on a competition stage when she was six years old. Earning many platinum awards, Shadae was a captain and general. As young as five, Shadae could sit through a full day of competition fascinated by the performers on stage. She couldn’t wait to be one!
Teagan Drake
Dance Instructor
Teagan is beginning her third year at UC Davis where she is on their dance team. She began her dancing career at the age of 3 and loves all styles of dance. She was a member of the award winning Doizé Dream Team for eight years. Her jazz solos have earned her many top awards. Teagan loves choreographing all styles of dance and working with the young dancers who share her passion of dance.
Tianna Endo
Dance Instructor
Tianna is a student at Prospect High School. She has been dancing for 9 years, and has been a part of the Doizé Dance Team for 7 years. Tianna was presented with The Sophie Belknap Scholarship at the 2023 recital. She is going into her second year teaching and is very excited to continue to share what she loves with younger dancers.
Gizelle Goodman
Dance Instructor
Gizelle has been at the dance studio for nine years and is a student at Westmont HIgh School. She has been a member of the award winning Doizé Dance Team for four years and a captain for two. She is starting her first year of teaching and is excited to work with younger dancers and watch them grow over the season.
Tabitha Goodman
Dance Instructor
Tabitha has been at the dance studio for 9 years and is a freshman at West Valley Community College. She is starting her 4th year of teaching and loves working with dancers of all ages and watching them grow in every class! Tabitha is also a member of the award winning Doizé Dance Team. Tabitha was presented with The Sophie Belknap Scholarship at the 2021 recital.
Kristen Jansen Martin
Dance Instructor
Grew up in the School of Dance and received the California State Talent Grand Champion trophy for two years for her lyrical solos before leaving for Hawaii Pacific University on a Dance Scholarship. She won the National Dance Alliance Collegiate Championship in 2004 with the Hawaii Pacific University Dance Team. Kristen graduated from SJSU in 2008 and has taught dance for 14years. Kristen is the director of the competition team Doizé Dream Team that has been California State Talent Grand Champions for 22 years and competes regionally and nationally. She now shares her love of dance with her daughter Sophia and son Mason.
Haley Launer Hernandez
Dance Instructor
Haley graduated from San Jose State University in May 2019 with a degree in Public Health and communications . Haley was three years old when she started in Creative Dance classes and has grown up in the School of Dance taking ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical and hip hop classes. Haley is a former member of Doizé Dream Team and has earned many awards for her lyrical solos. This is Haley’s tenth year of teaching dance and her favorite style of dance is lyrical. Her students love her enthusiasm, talent and creativity.
LeAnn Nguyen
Dance Instructor
LeAnn was a platinum award winning member, captain, and general of the Doizé Dream Team and is excited to share her love of dance with her students. She earned the title of Regional Dancer of the Year at the 2016 Rainbow Dance Competition and won multiple first place awards. LeAnn recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley where she danced on the Cal Dance Team for four years and served as Captain during her senior year. She just finished her first year as a professional NBA dancer with the 2022 Champions, the Golden State Warriors Dance Team. During the week, LeAnn is a marketing specialist for a tech company in San Jose.
Maddy Vo
Dance Instructor
Maddy is beginning classes at University of San Francisco this fall. She has been dancing at the studio since she was six years old and is currently on the competition team. Her lyrical solos have won many platinum awards. Maddy was presented with The Sophie Belknap Scholarship at the 2021 recital. Maddy was also chosen to be part of Celebrity Dance Competition National’s crew! Though, Maddy won’t be on staff through the year, she will be coming home to work with the competition team.