Pivot Dance Center Instructors
Elyssa C. Arias - Owner/Artistic Director
Originally from The Bronx, New York, Elyssa was introduced to the art of dance at the age of four. She started her classical training at a local Bronx studio and then excelled in the renowned Broadway Dance Center in the heart of Manhattan. She joined the competitve dance world at the age of 10 which lead her to receive numerous amounts of scholarship awards from the top dancers and choreographers in the business. She has performed in a large number of spaces in the New York Metro area and most notably on the Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney World and Hershey Park. Auditions in downtown New York City were are major part of her young life while working for a modeling agency. During this time, Elyssa was offered opportunities to be in a music video, was printed in a Scholastic textbook and won Miss Princess Model 1994. Having moved to Virginia Beach at the young age of 19, Elyssa had taught many genres of dance professionally in Hampton Roads for 13 years. She has choreographed dances for the Grand Illumination Parade in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, held Master Classes for NDS located in Old Donation School, and has Choreographed award winning dances which have been performed at both local competitions as well as Disney World. As a wife and a mother of two children, she understands the importance of a safe space for students and has curated a family atmosphere in her studio. Her goal is to build a Legacy and create Legends here in the Hampton Roads area and throughout the Dance Community.
Laura Hansel - Administrative Manager
Laura Hansel is typically the first friendly face you see upon entering the PDC studio. She was not only a dance mother but she is now a dance grandmother helping to walk families through the dance year with ease. Laura is our beloved front desk manager but she wears many more hats in Pivot Dance Center.
Sara Lector - Instructor
Sara is a San Diego, California Native. Born and raised, she graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in Communication. Her dance credits include: San Diego Ballet conservatory, San Diego Dance Centre, TS Body Arts, Academy of Performing Arts, Culture Shock Dance Training Academy, back up dancer for local artists, MTV Productions: NSync’s Becoming, Mesa Dance company, 220 Hip hop team, UFX hip hop team, Mel7 performance team, NYR under the direction of the reknowned Erik Saradpon and Melissa Adao, and Disney. Sara has choreographed for numerous high schools up and down the California Coast and charitable organizations such as MADCAPS. She was also the founder of the University of San Diego High School Dance Team in 2002 which inevitably became the prestigious Cathedral Catholic High School Dance Team. having coached and directed both Varsity and JV for thirteen years. Sara was also the Executive Director of Outreach Through Dance, a charitable organization that worked closely with Make-A-Wish San Diego to produce dance shows to grant wishes for wish kids. Years later dance is still a driving force in her life and now since her daughter has shown so much interest she's happy to call herself a dance mom as well.
Veronica Hansel - Instructor
Veronica grew up loving to dance, but got a late start at the age of 10 when her family finally settled down in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She was enrolled at the Nice School of Dance where studied under many great teachers in all genres, but fell in love with ballet and modern/contemporary. Her dedication to dance was noticed and she moved from student to assistant, and finally to teacher. As a dancer Veronica has had the opportunity to be the lead in her annual dance recital, as well as many other large roles. She has also danced in parades in the tidewater area and had the chance to perform in Disney World with her dance company. Growing up and evolving with the studio, Veronica is close to many students and hopes to help them all achieve their goals and dreams in dance.
Camryn Fry - Instructor
Camryn Fry has been dancing for 20 years. She started at age two studying jazz, ballet, tap, and lyrical. She continued to expand her dance style repertoire to include modern, contemporary, hip hop, pointe, and musical theater. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BFA in Modern Dance Performance in May of 2021. She has worked with several artists in her time dancing including members of Alvin Ailey, Gus Solomens Jr, Glen Edgerton, former director of Netherlands Dance Company, and Austin Hartel of Pilobolus Dance. She assisted at several conventions in college, including the Debbie Dance Intensive as well as the Wichita State Dance Festival. She has been commissioned to set pieces on the University of Oklahoma Dance Team, in addition to local dance studios in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Virginia. She found her love for teaching in high school and continued to teach throughout college, now teaching professionally.
Cheyenne Freeman - Instructor
Cheyenne Freeman, born in Suffolk VA, is an accomplished dancer and choreographer based in Virginia Beach. Her love for dance began when she was training under former Radio City Rockette, Renee Perry Mitchell at RPM Dance - where she was introduced to the competitive dance world and attended dance conventions along the East Coast. Cheyenne moved to NYC in 2015 to further her dance education at Joffrey Ballet School and then continued on to complete the Certificate Program at The Ailey School in 2020. During her time in New York, she danced in the 2019 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and performed Alvin Ailey’s “Memoria” at New York City Center. Cheyenne has a versatile background in dance - studying and teaching styles of ballet, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, Horton and Graham-based modern, as well as partnering and improvisation techniques. Cheyenne has a passion for teaching dance and choreography, and her mission is to inspire her dancers to achieve their dreams in the dance industry.
Renee Hadley - Instructor
Renee is a dancer, choreographer, instructor and experience creator from Los Angeles. Her background stems from a blend of studying classical and cultural dance styles, as well as circus arts, musical theatre, yoga, and competing in dance and rhythmic gymnastics.Renee has trained with Ballet Detroit’s Director, Sergey Rayevskiy and has danced with members of the Kirov, San Francisco and Sarasota Ballet companies. She has competed in the Youth America Grand Prix for ballet and was a top placing rhythmic gymnast at the Junior Olympics. Renee performs at festivals and events globally and some notable performances have been for Insomniac, Universal Studios, Hauntoween, Sugar Rush, WonderLAnd, Daybreaker, KCRW, Kids Dance Society, Mayan Warrior and LA3C.Renee values creating a safe space for her students to learn, grow, and think outside the box in dance and movement—because growth is all encompassing and has no limits.
Donna Mendez-Young - Instructor
Donna began her journey in dance at the age of 3 at a local dance studio in the Bronx, NY called, Elsie Andrews Dancing Starettes. There, she studied ballet, tap, jazz and interpretive dance. Once she moved up to company level, she was featured in many venues in and around NYC, upstate NY as well as vacation resorts and cruise ships. At the age of 11 she was hand-picked to join The LaRocque Bey Dance Company and excelled enough to join their Youth Ensemble. At the age of 18, Donna advanced to their dance company, where she remained for more than 20 years. Donna has performed at the world-famous Apollo Theater, opening for artists Aretha Franklin, Hugh Masakela and Stevie Wonder. She regularly performed at Harlem's landmark, The Cotton Club. There Donna received a Certificate of Completion which moved her from student to instructor.Donna had studied with and worked for Mr. Louis Johnson, choreographer of "The Wiz" movie and began teaching at his school, The Henry Street Settlement for two years. Her studies also included, after two auditions, being accepted into and graduating from the "FAME" school, NYC's High School of the Performing Arts Dance Department. This is where she took numerous classes at Julliard, The Dance Theater of Harlem (Apprentice), the Ailey School, under the direction of (her aunt's best friend) Mr. Alvin Ailey himself, Broadway Dance Center, Ballet Hispanico and The Chuck Davis Dance School under the direction of Mr. Davis, who was also Executive and Artistic Director of the "Dance Africa" extravaganza every Memorial Day weekend in Brooklyn, NY until he retired and passed the torch. Donna has embraced African Folklore and was welcomed into his company where she remained until she relocated to Virginia. In addition to dance, Donna was scouted in class and offered a modeling contract which afforded her the privilege of traveling to Europe, as well as the French and British West Indies for runway, print work and videos. She was also featured in costume catalogs.Upon arrival in Virginia, Donna became employed by Nice Dance, under the direction of Lisa Longworth. This is where Donna met and embraced her "Dance Daughta" Elyssa Arias, who became Director of Pivot Dance Center. Her motto is: Never judge me by my most successful, talented students. Judge my teachings by that beginner who struggled in the back line, but due to my gentle push and encouragement, has finally felt empowered to move up front.
Carleigh Osborn - Instructor
Carleigh is a talented and accomplished dancer with over 10 years of experience. She began dancing at a young age, and quickly fell in love with the art form. As a member of the competition and company team, she honed her skills in a variety of styles including jazz, contemporary, tap, ballet, and hip-hop. Now, as a dance instructor, Carleigh shares her passion for dance with others. She is a patient and knowledgeable teacher, able to help her students develop their technique while also encouraging them to express themselves through movement. Her years of training and experience have given her a deep understanding of the nuances of each style of dance, and she is able to bring out the best in her students, whether they are beginners or advanced dancers. In addition to her work as a dance instructor, Carleigh continues to perform and choreograph. Her dedication to her craft is evident in every performance, and her love for dance is contagious.
