Meet the Kittens
Since Fatcat's is one of the largest and best Ballroom Dance Studios in the Phoenix metro area, we naturally have the largest and best Staff to help you learn and enjoy Ballroom Dancing. This group of full time, part time, and volunteer members is dedicated to making the studio pleasant and professional for it’s customers. Since they’re all dancers themselves, they do their job like they were taking care of their own favorite place – it’s what makes us the BEST!
Instructors |
Administrative Staff
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Arizona Ballroom Teachers Academy Students and Helpers
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- Instructor
- DVIDA Certified
- Competitions: Sunburst, People’s Choice
- Specialties: Salsa, Bachata, Latin / Rhythm dances
Coming to Fatcat’s from Cuuernivaca, Mexico, Miguel has been dancing for over 10 years. Along with offering private lessons, he teaches the Salsa / latin group classes at Fatcat’s on Sunday evenings. more
- Instructor
- NDCA certified
Joshua has a great passion for giving the gift of dance to his students. His style of teaching is easy for the new student to understand.
A local TV station (Channel 5) featured him in a “Pay it forward” segment for helping a lady who was handicapped and in a cast to recover to the point where her cast was unnecessary – all through the study and practice of dance. According to Joshua, “Dancing changes peoples lives, and I love that about what I do”.
- Administrative Assistant
- Fatcat “GO TO” guy
A part of Fatcat's since shortly after opening in 2008, Brandon is the “Go To” for many of the tasks around the studio. Doing everything from cleaning to paperwork, he is indispensable to the smooth functioning of Fatcats.
While living in California, he gained a background in martial arts. In his late teen years he began dancing, and has been in love with it ever since. In the summer of 2002 he moved to Arizona, and continued with his dancing. Although he is not yet teaching dance, those plans are definitely in the future. Until then, he will continue to take care of the many details at the studio, and help the customers have a great dance time.
- Instructor
- DVIDA Certified
- Specialties: West Coast Swing, Samba, Choreography
Instructor Ren loves everything about dance - from performing to choreographing to teaching lessons. Since starting his dance career at the age of 10, he has traveled the world and worked with various companies from ballet to hip hop. Ren’s dance training is in ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, ballroom and many others and has been teaching since the age of 15.
Above all else, his calling is to teach. He currently has his AA in fine arts (dance) and is getting his BA in education. Ren teaches beginners to pros. Ren is a fun and fired up type of teacher - keeping you on your toes and always leaving you wanting more.
- Instructor
- DVIDA Certified
- Specialty: Lindy Hop, Foxtrot, technique, timing
Baseball marked the time from early childhood through the end of high school for Dave. An unfortunate arm injury sidelined his dreams of pitching beyond college and the next few years began a search for a new passion. Stints in photography, motorcycle riding and softball all began and fizzled out while working the family tile business (then a 15 year veteran) and attempting to find a career path through Glendale Community College. The housing boom and a few promising new contracts drew Dave away from school and featured Tile Contracting as his sole source of income.
The construction crash illustrated the error in that line of thinking and Dave set his sights on a degree and admittance to medical school. It’s at this point that dance entered into his life through an east coast swing class being offered at the public library of all places. The addiction took hold over the ensuing months and Dave found himself splitting time between the ballrooms at ASU and Fatcat to the tune of 10-20 hours a week. Now Dave splits nearly every waking hour between studying, dancing and teaching dance, finally finding a replacement for baseball in his heart.
Dave approaches dance with the analytical mind of a scientist, treating every figure as a physics problem and breaking the problem down piece by piece. Discipline and hard work are necessary to learn how to do anything athletic and Dave demands this of himself and his students. The quality of the time spent preparing makes the performance appear fluid and natural. Dance will give you back everything you put into it and more. Check your ego at the door and do the work and you will find just how fun this sport can be with the correct technique and timing. You too can have a smile on your face every time the music starts.
- Instructor
- Specialties: classic, conterporary and modern Jazz
- Ballet, lyrical, tap
Geri specializes in classic, contemporary and modern jazz dance, as well as ballet, lyrical and tap. She also loves teaching pre-dance, essential, creative movement and tumbling for young children. Geri has been working as both a teacher and choreographer for the last 15 years, and began her life long journey as a dancer at the age of 3. She has preformed and choreographed for numerous productions and studios over the years. Geri is thrilled to share her love for dance with all of her students and her enthusiam is contagious. She is a very passionate and dynamic teacher and energizes everyone she meets. Geri loves to teach and she is constantly playing with new ideas to challenge her students and herself as an artist and dancer. more
- "Go To Guy"
- Arizona Ballroom Teachers Academy graduate
Gene started ballroom dancing a few years ago, and has been part of the Fatcat studio from it's very beginning - in fact he helped build it! While he enjoys his motorcycle riding, he enjoys dancing more. In fact he has completed the Arizona Ballroom Teachers Academy, and is currently working on the Silver level curriculuum. He continues to be a great "Go To Guy" and works behind the scene to help Fatcat be the best Ballroom Dancing studio in Phoenix .
- Dance Counselor
- Arizona Ballroom Teachers Academy gruaduate
With her competition experience and technique training, Julie specializes in taking people from just walking in the front door at Fatcat and can have them dancing with ease in no time, all while having fun doing it! She specializes in smooth, rhythm, and standard technique, as well as Argentine Tango, but she enjoys teaching all styles of dance and everyone from brand new beginning dancers to more experienced dancers wanting to explore showcases and competitions. more
Helen- Arizona Ballroom Teachers Academy student
- "Go To Gal"
- Fatcat's photograper
Helen has been a Fatcat dancer since the day Terry opened the doors. Her first encounter with ballroom dancing had her hooked and she just cannot seem to get enough dancing in! Her non-dancing time is filled with a professional job that keeps her traveling throughout the Southwest.
Helen’s dancing passion has led her to be a part of the studio as a student, an participant of the AZB program for silver/gold, a competition dancer and the studio’s own personal photographer. It is hard to catch her without her camera, keeping Fatcat in plenty of pictures, (take a look at the gallery!). Additionally, she always has a dance for newcomers and first time dancers. She is rarely without a smile and positive attitude that she shares with everyone!
Brett
- Creative Consultant
Brett stumbled upon Fatcat Ballroom, believe it or not, as a student, in September of 2009. She says the moment she walked in the door, asking about private lessons, she knew she was home. She remembers the friendly faces and kind words of the people she now calls friends! If you ask her she'll tell you, besides being with her children, Fatcat is one of her favorite places to be.
During the day Brett is the busy business owner of two adult care facilities. However, aside from that, she is also Fatcat Ballroom's Creative Consultant and Event Coordinator. Her creative mind plays host to most of the promotional materials you'll find around the studio (flyers, posters, brochures, etc...) Her knowledge of the studio and all things Fatcat is also why she is one of the best Fatcat Hosts we have! Her smiling face and warm personality greets just about everyone who walks through our doors!