EDC FACULTY
Chelsea Wells
Owner/Artistic Director
Chelsea's journey to finding her passion in dance and dance education is not a typical one. She transitioned from middle school to high school drill team, but decided she wanted something more her junior year when she took her first formal technique class at age 17! After graduating from McKinney High School, she continued her dance education. Chelsea holds a teaching certification from the Dance Educators of America from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as she discovered quickly that she wanted to share her passion and knowledge with others.
Chelsea's extensive training includes Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical and Tap. She started choreographing for McKinney Northstars Dance/Drill Team which led her to intrepidly jump into the competitive dance world and has gone on to win numerous awards at national dance competitions like NYCDA, LADF, and Celebrity Dance Competitions. She has spent a summer studying dance at the famed Steps on Broadway. She continues to take any opportunity to stay current and further her dance education through workshops, intensives, certifications and master classes. Chelsea is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), an innovative body strengthening program to help students understand the depth of training muscle memory.
In the first decade of developing her dance career she simultaneously had a second career in corporate retail management. She prides herself in bringing a unique balance of business acumen and artistic creativity to her approach and vision as the pulse of Elevate Dance Center.
Courtney Bouse
Assistant Director
Courtney's early dance training started at age 3 in Plano, Texas. She is proficient in many styles of dance including Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, and Musical Theatre. At 15, she became a member of the Dallas Repertoire Ballet where she performed numerous roles in the Nutcracker.
After high school she decided to further her education in dance and was awarded a talent scholarship from Oklahoma City University, where she studied under the direction of Jo Rowan. While at OCU, she performed as a Pep dancer for the basketball team, was a member of the American Spirit dance company, performed in Oklahoma the musical and danced in the Oklahoma City University Christmas Spectacular featuring the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. In 2005, she graduated with a BPA in Dance Performance. After graduation she danced 2 contracts aboard Holland America Cruise Lines where she also had the opportunity to be an assistant in the Rob Lake Magic Show. Courtney also had the privilege to dance for the Shoji Tabuchi Show and The Andy Williams show in Branson, Missouri. When she returned to Dallas, she continued performing for Eclipse Entertainment. Courtney was also on the judging faculty for Crowd Pleasers Dance Competitions. Courtney recently obtained a certification for Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), an innovative body strengthening program to help students understand the depth of training muscle memory.
Courtney is also a choreographer for our award winning competition team. She has won numerous awards including, overall high scores, Outstanding Choreography, multiple Judge's Choice Awards, Best of Streetz and Two-Time Starquest Dallas Viral Video of the Week recipient .
Savannah Bechthold
Savannah was born and raised in McKinney, Texas. She has been dancing since first grade and has been trained in jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop and contemporary. She was involved in competitive dance for a decade and received numerous top level awards including overalls, judge’s choice among others. She has performed multiple roles in The Nutcracker and was honored with the principal roles of Snow Queen and Cinderella in Cinderella.
Having a passion for education, Savannah was an assistant dance teacher before given her own classes. Since high school, she has earned an Associate Degree in Arts in Teaching from Collin College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Texas A & M - Commerce. Currently, she is a first grade teacher at McClure Elementary School, and is certified to teach Pre-K through 6th grade.
Before securing her full-time teaching position, Savannah worked at our EDC front desk welcoming and assisting students and their families.
Jessica Patton
Jessica Patton’s dance journey began at a young age where she was trained in classical ballet and performed under the direction of Wanda Jones and Al Gilbert in Dallas, Texas. She found herself immersed early on in the in the competitive dance industry. Jessica went on to receive scholarships and performance opportunities from Tremaine Convention, NYCDA, and Showstoppers. After high school, Jessica was given an opportunity with both Marching Auxiliaries and Half Time Entertainment, and choreographed for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Adolphus Parade, and many halftime sport performances. While interning for several dance projects, Jessica studied in the Fine Arts program at Collin College and University of North Texas. She then went on to work as a competitive dance director, where her teams were recognized with overall placements and judge’s awards. Jessica continues to teach all varieties and levels of dance. She hopes her students always feel respected, encouraged, and loved, and feel her passion of dance while in the classroom. “There are shortcuts to happiness and dancing is one of them.” ~Vicki Baum
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Stacey Sparks
Stacey discovered a love for dance after seeing how pretty a friend’s hair and leotard looked while getting ready for dance class. A year and a move to Canada later, she started her ballet training at Patricia Sekeres Classical Academy of Ballet. After nine years of studying and performing with various teachers and studios (including Tracy Kennedy, Maryann Morrow, and Kathy Chamberlain) Stacey earned a B.A. in Dance Education at Texas Woman’s University where she performed with several student led, innovative collectives (CholoRock, Big Rig Dance Collective, and RedDance) and earned Cum Laude honors. Upon completing her degree, earning her Texas Educator certification and several content certifications, she became a wife and dived right into motherhood. Stacey and her husband Robert have four children, a pool business and eleven cars together. Stacey danced with the all female modern dance company, Elledanceworks for three years. She has performed all around North Texas at venues such as Heard Craig Garden in McKinney, John Anthony Theater at Collin College and the Jonsson Performance Hall at UTD. She taught Modern, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Pointe during her eight years at Dianne Cole Johnson School of Dance. Stacey is very excited to start her first year here at Elevate Dance Center!
Jae Yoon
Jae Yoon is a Hip Hop instructor and choreographer based in Dallas, TX.
He was on tour with Celebrity Dance Competitions and Conventions as a pro-assistant and as their backstage manager for 3 years which led him to be a part of CATASTROPHE! dance company under the direction of Cat Cogliandro and C.R.O.W.N. under the direction of Marcus Jones and KT Willis.
He is currently teaching in studios around the DFW metroplex but in the past two years he’s been able to extend his knowledge internationally from India, Mexico, and Germany!
