Our Faculty
 

Director/Principle Teacher, April Matteson
April began dancing at the tiny age of three and a half at the Oregon School Of Music and Ballet. She danced briefly for Sally Mack before beginning her professional dance training at Vicki Mills Studio of Dance. April was professionally educated and trained in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Pointe, Tumbling, Hula, Tahitian and Ballroom. She was trained by the best of the best….Vicki Mills, Lynn Wiltshire-Johnson and Debbie Pierce. April was the choreographer for Instep Praise of Portland and the Sunnyside Dessert Dinner Theater. She was the coach and choreographer for the Coquille Dance Company from 1992 to 1994 where they became regional champions. During that time she also owned and operated April Matteson’s School Of Dance.

In 1995, April took a job as the coach and choreographer for the Cascade High school dance team. She taught dance for the S.O.A.R program in Sisters, Oregon before purchasing All That Jazz Dance Studio from Dawn Contreras in 2004. April competed on the national competition circuit for many years, winning many awards. She has performed in numerous plays and shows. April believes participating in continued dance education is vital to any professional dancer or teacher.

April is an international competition judge that is well respected within the dance community. April traveled with Vicki Mills and Company, touring the Northwest and beyond for many years. In 1995, April trained with the American Council on Exercise towards a certification that lead her through training in kinesiology, anatomy and physiology. April trained at Bay Area Athletic Club in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Each year, April takes several master classes. In the past she has taken classes from Joe Tremaine, Doug Caldwell (from the movie Thirteen Going On Thirty ), Marty Dew ( from the movie You Got Served ), Lori Johnson, Fred Walton and more recently visited The University Of Nevada at Las Vegas to participate in class. April has been happily married to her husband Tim for 15 years. They have four children.

assistant to Principle Teacher, Sally Finneran has a great, unique and fun dance style that every student enjoys. Sally was trained under the direction of Dawn Contreras and current owner April Matteson. She is very experienced in Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop. Sally has taken part in many master classes from Joe Tremaine and won many awards on the national and regional level. She just returned to us from a long stay in Ireland and we are so pleased to have her back on board!

Student Teacher, Carlye Tabuyo has focused solely on the art of Hip Hop for many years. She was trained by Dawn Contreras and April Matteson. She served for a year under the direction of Kelsey Otteni as an assistant student teacher.  Carlye has competed on the national and regional level for many years and won many awards. She is currently our head captain for our Elite Hip Hop Crew. Carlye will be a senior in high school this fall and is a very patient and caring teacher who will inspire your dancer.

Student Teacher, Kymi Winchell is a very gifted dancer. Kymi has a back ground of Tumbling, Tap, Jazz and Ballet. Kymi was trained from Dawn Contreras, Kerri Hausman and April Matteson. Kymi has competed on the national and regional levels and has won many awards for her dancing. Kymi won a special award for her technique at the 2006 ADX competition. Kymi has taught at our academy for two years.

Student Teacher, Ian Lewis is new to the art of Hip Hop, but he is extremely gifted and talented. Ian has been assisting Miss Carlye with her classes for the last couple of months and he is doing an awesome job! The kids love him! He is in training with Miss April and is a welcome asset to our studio.

Guest teacher, Kelsey Otteni has been teaching for six years. She was trained under the direction of Dawn Contreras in Tap, Jazz, Ballet and Hip Hop. She has taken many master classes at conventions such as Joe Tremaine and Monsters of Hip Hop. She has won many awards on the national and regional competition circuit and has award winning choreography.  Kelsey has taught dance all over Central Oregon. Kelsey is full of life and energy and the kids absolutely love her!

Classroom Assistant, Ashlee Horn has grown up dancing. She has had nearly ten years of quality dance education. She has been trained from Dawn Contreras, Kerri Hausman and April Matteson. Ashlee has taken many master classes from Joe Tremaine and 5-6-7-8 Showtime. She has won many awards for her dancing on the regional and national competition levels. She is an award winning soloist, taking the fourth over all high score at the 2006 Portland ADX competition. Ashlee is thirteen years old and wishes to pursue a career in dance.

Classroom Assistant, Eli Matteson has grown up dancing. His mom is the owner of L.A.D.A. Eli has been trained in Jazz, Ballet and Hip Hop. Eli has won many awards for his solo’s including this year becoming the two time second over all high score winner at two different competitions. Eli has taken master classes from Joe Tremaine and 5-6-7-8 Showtime. Eli is very gifted as a classroom assistant and has been on staff as one for the last two years.

Office Manager, Tim Matteson is available any time to answer any questions about your account. Tim is invaluable to our academy, balancing all of our accounts and keeping everything organized. Tim is usually in the office several hours a week and can also be reached at lapinedance@yahoo.com.   Tim has also been married to his high school sweetheart, April for 15 years.

Office Assistant, Anna Stone is available in our office several hours a week. She organizes, accepts payments, takes orders for apparel, sells merchandise from our boutique and is an incredible asset to our academy.  Anna is ready to help you out or answer any questions you might have.

Administrative Office Assistant, Amanda Thale helps out on all of our big academy events and projects. You might have seen Amanda here and there through out the year. She fills in at the front desk, makes phone calls when needed, helps with registration and also with the annual dance concert.