Meet NOVA'S Student Dance Academy Staff

Aubrey received her formal dance training from a ballet conservatory in her hometown of New Mexico. She danced with a pre-professional company from the time she was 12. She has a BSED in education from Northern Arizona University, and has used her skills as a classroom educator, curriculum designer, and instructional trainer to bring new ideas to dance. Aubrey has studied nutrition, yoga, bio-functional movement, physiotherapy, and personal training to train young athletes and dancers. Her passion is to provide dancers and adults alike with effective skills to awaken their body, mind and soul, and fall in love with movement. Aubrey is an ABT-certified instructor, trained pointe shoe fitter, and RYT with advanced training in yin, biofunctional, and embodied yoga. NOVA's signature class, Functional Yoga™ was developed by Aubrey along with NOVA's Athletic Training for Dancers™ curriculum.

Laura grew up dancing in Southern Maine, studying ballet and tap at 3 years old. She trained at Maine State Ballet, working her way up through the company to becoming a soloist! She has enjoyed performing in many ballets, and some of her favorite roles have been the Lead Creature in Firebird, The Summer Fairy in Cinderella, The Moth in A Midsummer's Night Dream, and Clara in The Nutcracker. Laura moved to Jacksonville in 2020 and has enjoyed teaching both children and adult dance classes at NOVA.

Hannah began taking ballet classes at the age of 4. Since then, her love for dance has only grown! As she moved around the country in adolescence and adulthood, she has taken classes with many teachers and varieties of ballet styles, and is trained in Pointe and Modern. She has performed multiple roles in The Nutcracker Ballet, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Peter Pan, Aladdin, and The Jungle Book. Before joining the NOVA team in 2022, Hannah taught ballet in YMCA classes, private home lessons, and more.

Leonna is a hip-hop dancer and choreographer. She began dancing at 6 years old with her sister in the church, then transitioned into dancing professionally and competitively in high school, becoming captain of the nationally-ranking Booker T. Washington Pom Squad and Organized Khaos Dance Crew. In college at Jacksonville University she she founded Shake Culture Crew, developing her choreography skills while training in Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, and Ballet. Leonna is now a full-time accountant, the founder of Shake Culture Dance, creative director of Flow in the Spirit showcase, and a certified dance minister. Her heart for community and movement can be seen throughout all her classes!

Originally from Omaha Nebraska, Bella has been dancing for over 13 years. She has trained with several experienced instructors in every genre of dance. Ballet is her favorite style however and she has performed in multiple ballets across the Omaha community and more recently the Jacksonville community. She moved to Jacksonville last year to join the Florida Ballet company as a trainee and continue per pursue in having a career as a professional artist. Bella has been teaching dance for three years now and absolutely loves it! Outside of the studio Bella loves to spend time with her family and friends, go to the beach, and play her piano and ukulele. Bella is so happy to be apart of the Nova family!

Sarava has been dancing since age four and has trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, modern, musical theater, hip hop, and acro. With a background in studios, intensives, conventions, and competitions, Sarava has extensive experience in performance, instruction, choreography, and competitive dance. She has received instruction and choreography under industry leaders such as Christopher Robbins, Carlos Garland, Vanessa Zabari, Lisa Clarson, Kathryn McCormick, Sonny Leo, Dulce Anaya, Morgan Brown, Alex Wong, Rebecca Levy, and many others. For the last ten years, she has been teaching and choreographing. Sarava is certified in PBT and Acrobatic Arts. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Fitness Management. She is passionate about dance and enjoys expanding her knowledge and experience through training and performance as a member of the professional dance company Selah Dance Ministries.