Nicole Wesley, owner and artistic director
Nicole is a teacher, performer, and choreographer out of Austin, Texas. She received an MFA in Dance from Texas Woman's University and a BFA in Dance from The University of Texas at Austin. Nicole is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst (CLMA) and has performed works by renowned choreographers David Dorfman, Paul Taylor, Michael Foley, Donald McKayle and Dianne McIntyre. Her choreography has been commissioned and performed nationally and internationally at performance venues such as The Dissolving Borders Symposia in Dundee Scotland; Culturesfrance’s Danses Caraibe in Havana, Cuba; The COCO Dance Festival in Port of Spain, Trinidad; Dance City in Newcastle, England; The Big Read Festival in Austin, Texas; The Dallas Morning News Dance Festival; The American College Dance Festival; The MAD (Modern Atlanta Dance) Festival; The Fringe Festival, Costa Rica; The Fringe Festival, Austin and The Fringe Festival, New York.
Nicole is Artistic Director of The JUSTICE Project in collaboration with her dance partner of twenty years, Darla Johnson. The JUSTICE Project an experiential and community-oriented and devised performance, created and developed collaboratively within diverse populations. Revolving around dialogues of social, political and personal responses to justice, The JUSTICE Project celebrates the authentic artistic voice and embraces the transformation that arises at the intersection of self and community.
Nicole is Co-founder of the Contemporary Choreographers’ Collective and Co-Artistic Director of Trinidad and Tobago’s COCO Dance Festival since 2009. The mission of the Contemporary Choreographers’ Collective is to inspire, encourage and serve the community through creative processes and collaborative and outreach-oriented endeavors. Nicole is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at Texas State University.
Nicole is Artistic Director of The JUSTICE Project in collaboration with her dance partner of twenty years, Darla Johnson. The JUSTICE Project an experiential and community-oriented and devised performance, created and developed collaboratively within diverse populations. Revolving around dialogues of social, political and personal responses to justice, The JUSTICE Project celebrates the authentic artistic voice and embraces the transformation that arises at the intersection of self and community.
Nicole is Co-founder of the Contemporary Choreographers’ Collective and Co-Artistic Director of Trinidad and Tobago’s COCO Dance Festival since 2009. The mission of the Contemporary Choreographers’ Collective is to inspire, encourage and serve the community through creative processes and collaborative and outreach-oriented endeavors. Nicole is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at Texas State University.
April Hobson, owner and artistic director
April Hobson's career as a dancer, choreographer and teacher spans two decades. Her television, commercial, film and stage work includes: Producing and choreographing over three hundred national title dances. Serving as the choreographer for musicals that include “Oliver”, “The Sound of Music”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”, “Grease”, “Annie” and “The King and I”. April’s choreography credits also include the children’s TV show “Barney” and the in-house music videos for CEC Entertainment. As a native of Dallas, TX, her work has also been seen at Dallas Little Theatre, Dallas Opera, Dallas World Dance Day, Ft. Worth Dallas Ballet, Buster Cooper Dance Company, National Tap Dance Day, New World Ballet, Tuzer Ballet and Chamberlain Ballet Company.
In Branson, MO, she was a featured performer/dancer/choreographer for several shows working with stars such as Glen Campbell, Debbie Campbell, Bobby Vinton, Shoji Tabuchi, Kirby VanBirch, Charo, The Osmond Family, The Haygood Family, Shirley Jones and many more. She also had the honor to serve as the line captain with the national tour for the Andy Williams Christmas Show, traveling to over twenty-two cities in the Northeast and Midwest.
She conducts master classes and workshops throughout the U.S. for dance conventions, public and private schools including the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts in Dallas TX, the Houston High School for Visual and Performing Arts in Houston TX, and Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. At Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, she worked with their nationally recognized pom and dance team. She has served as an adjudicator for several dance competitions such as Starpower and Showstoppers from the state to national level, having studied under some of the dance greats such as Buster Cooper, Dallas TX, Henry LaTang, Las Vegas NV, Frank Hatchett NYC,
April brings not only a solid dance foundation to her classes, she also instills a strong work ethic. April’s classes incorporate elements of ballet and Luigi jazz techniques, including turns, jumps, extensions, floor work, isolations and gestures. Emphasis is on movement motivation musicality, flow, attack and use of the breath. Dancers are encouraged to not merely imitate the movement, but to find within themselves an honest physical expression of the passion, joy, or whatever emotion the music and choreography may suggest or inspire. The learning environment is supportive and encouraging - never judgmental or competitive – which allows every student, whether they aspire to dance professionally or recreationally, to feel supported in taking the risks that will enable them to grow, and to become articulate, passionate and fearless movers.
April’s students have been seen on The Disney Channel, Barney, Smash, Glee, the Superbowl, The Miss Texas Pageant and SNL working with such artists as Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson and on several national tours. In 2016, April, Nicole Wesley, and Sheridan Roalson opened Wimberley Dance Elite studio. April and her colleagues established the Elite Dance Company, WDE's competitive dance team, and worked with Wimberley ISD to bring a dance team back to Wimberley High School. In the short year April has spent working to make WDE a success, she has become a beloved member of this close community. She teaches class and continues her work as choreographer, primarily with her students at Wimberley Dance Elite.
In Branson, MO, she was a featured performer/dancer/choreographer for several shows working with stars such as Glen Campbell, Debbie Campbell, Bobby Vinton, Shoji Tabuchi, Kirby VanBirch, Charo, The Osmond Family, The Haygood Family, Shirley Jones and many more. She also had the honor to serve as the line captain with the national tour for the Andy Williams Christmas Show, traveling to over twenty-two cities in the Northeast and Midwest.
She conducts master classes and workshops throughout the U.S. for dance conventions, public and private schools including the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts in Dallas TX, the Houston High School for Visual and Performing Arts in Houston TX, and Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. At Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, she worked with their nationally recognized pom and dance team. She has served as an adjudicator for several dance competitions such as Starpower and Showstoppers from the state to national level, having studied under some of the dance greats such as Buster Cooper, Dallas TX, Henry LaTang, Las Vegas NV, Frank Hatchett NYC,
April brings not only a solid dance foundation to her classes, she also instills a strong work ethic. April’s classes incorporate elements of ballet and Luigi jazz techniques, including turns, jumps, extensions, floor work, isolations and gestures. Emphasis is on movement motivation musicality, flow, attack and use of the breath. Dancers are encouraged to not merely imitate the movement, but to find within themselves an honest physical expression of the passion, joy, or whatever emotion the music and choreography may suggest or inspire. The learning environment is supportive and encouraging - never judgmental or competitive – which allows every student, whether they aspire to dance professionally or recreationally, to feel supported in taking the risks that will enable them to grow, and to become articulate, passionate and fearless movers.
April’s students have been seen on The Disney Channel, Barney, Smash, Glee, the Superbowl, The Miss Texas Pageant and SNL working with such artists as Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson and on several national tours. In 2016, April, Nicole Wesley, and Sheridan Roalson opened Wimberley Dance Elite studio. April and her colleagues established the Elite Dance Company, WDE's competitive dance team, and worked with Wimberley ISD to bring a dance team back to Wimberley High School. In the short year April has spent working to make WDE a success, she has become a beloved member of this close community. She teaches class and continues her work as choreographer, primarily with her students at Wimberley Dance Elite.
Sheridan Roalson, owner and general manager
Sheridan Roalson comes from an artistic and educational background. She has worked as a performing musician in Austin, TX, for over twenty-five years. Sheridan also worked as a public school teacher and department chair of Special Education for eight years. Her administrative skills were honed as she performed her duties that included accurately completing documentation for over one hundred-twenty students per year, and overseeing the tasks and responsibilities of her team. With Wimberley Dance Elite, Sheridan is given the opportunity once more to learn and excel. She applies her organization and communication skills and expands her accounting and marketing knowledge to make WDE a strong, sound business.
Deanna Harrison, studio managerDeanna Harrison is from Austin, TX, and received a BA in Communications with a Public Relations concentration from the University of Texas, San Antonio. In addition to running numerous non-profit and corporate public relations campaigns, she has spent multiple decades managing events and weddings. Deanna is the mother of five beautiful children and is also principle flute player for both the Hill Country Community Band and Starlight Symphony Orchestra. She is currently the Studio Manager at Wimberley Dance Elite and serves on Board of Directors for Starlight Symphony, working to promote both music and dance in Wimberley, her two passions.
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Teaching Staff
Angela Altmeyer
Angela began dancing at the age of two at a small dance studio in Guam. When she moved back stateside, she continued her dance education at Betty Jack's School of Dance, Fredrick Maryland Regional Ballet Company, Ballet Austin and January's Academy of Arts, but her dance home was always the Wimberley Dance Studio. After five years as a dancer at WDS, Angela began her teaching career at the age of sixteen, and worked and danced at Wimberley Dance Studio for ten more years. During this time, she graduated from Wimberley High School and got her Bachelors of Fine Arts at Southwest Texas State University, focusing in metallurgy, art history and, of course, dance. Angela has also worked at Jackie's Performing Arts school in Austin and the Jadco Dance Company in Charleston West Virginia, where she was also a principal dancer.
Now that she is back home in Wimberley, she is excited to join Wimberley Dance Elite family and continue teaching and sharing her love of dance.
Lindsey Gerson
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Lindsey Gerson was born in Germany and grew up in El Paso, Texas. She started her dancing career in classical ballet at 13 and continued for 6 years under the direction of David Alejandro Duran. After graduating high school, she traveled abroad for 7 months in Germany and China during a Discipleship Training School where she also experienced native dance forms. After returning, she moved to Austin and began choreography and improv classes with Darla Johnson and learned American Sign Language at Austin Community College. During this time, she began sewing and costume making. After gaining her Certificate in American Sign Language Studies, she transferred to Texas State. She was a member of Merge Dance Company for the 2016-2017 season and traveled with them to preform in Trinidad for the Contemporary Choreographers’ Collective Dance Festival. She joined Transient Dance Collective in 2016 and was the President this past year (2017-2018). Her dance films, Refine and Imprisoned, have both been selected for various film festivals. She graduated in May with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with an emphasis in Performance and Choreography. She continues her selftaught work as an amateur seamstress and also teaches dance in the surrounding Austin area. She will be preforming with the aerial dance company, Blue Lapis Light, this fall. Lindsey’s darling black cat, Coco, enjoys assisting with all sewing projects. Lindsey is very excited to be teaching at Wimberley Dance Elite this year!
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Kristin Messerli
Kristin Messerli and her family are new to Wimberley, Texas. They moved just over a year ago from north of Chicago. Kristin and her husband, Jesse, have 3 children; Jovi, Indiana, and Jacob. She is very excited to have the opportunity to share her love of dance, gymnastics, and fitness with WDE. Kristin comes from a family of coaches, teachers and athletes. She has been a dancer/gymnast since she was 3, when she started ballet lessons. Over the next 20 years, she studied ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern dance. Much of her dance experience came from her gymnastics gym. She began competitive gymnastics at the age of 8 and competed up to Level 7.. After struggling with knee injuries, Kristin changed her focus to cheerleading. She participated in cheerleading through High School and earned the title of All American Cheerleader 2 years in a row. During her school years, Kristin also fell in love with the theater. She performed and stared in several productions at her school, the local community theater, and then at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she attended college. Some of her favorite roles include Carmen (Fame), Sandy (Grease), and dancing in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and A Chorus Line.
Upon graduation, Kristin moved to California to join AmeriCorp and give a year of service as a reading tutor for at-risk elementary school children. While there, she found a passion for teaching and also found her husband. Kristin then earned her Multiple Subjects Certification and Education Specialist Certification and taught elementary special education for 5 years. Kristin rediscovered her love of fitness and athletics after having her third child. She stopped teaching to stay home with her kids and took that time to get certified as a group instructor and personal trainer. She is also a certified TRX instructor. Since then, Kristin has been coaching small group classes in her home or in various gyms and studios and coaching large groups with Orangetheory Fitness. She found that the knowledge, skills, and overall body awareness that she developed early as a dancer/gymnast has given her an eye for proper form and technique in the fitness world. She is extremely excited to get back into the world of dance and gymnastics and share her passion for health, fitness, and to do some cartwheels and flips!!!
Peyton Hooker
Peyton began dancing in Austin, TX when she was just three years old. At Dancers Workshop, she trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary. She spent the later years of her studio training as a part of the Vision Dance Company, competing at local competitions annually and attending conventions throughout Texas. From 2013 to 2017, she attended Westwood High School and was a member of the SunDancers varsity dance and drill team as well as the Visual and Performing Arts Academy. Her sophomore through senior year, she was a member of Hype hip hop company and Jazz Company within SunDancers, and she had the privilege of serving as a social officer her junior and senior year. Additionally, she worked alongside her director as the assistant teacher to the drill team prep class during her senior year. Now, Peyton is studying psychology and anthropology at Texas State University. She continues her dance education as a member of the Texas State University Strutters, in which she is currently a second year member. Peyton is so excited to be teaching the Texan Stars prep class and join the Wimberley Dance Elite family!
Arianna Alford
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Arianna is a Senior at Texas State where she is pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography with a minor in Business Administration. Her love for dance started at Lorna Badon’s School of Fine Arts where she trained in Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Acrobatics. During her high school career, she was part of the Orange Jazz Dance Company and also created/coached the first junior high dance team at Community Christian School. Before moving to San Marcos, Arianna attended Lamar University. During that time, she was part of the Lamar University Dance Team, Alpha Chi Omega, and taught at two different studios with a few different choreography jobs on the side. After graduating, she hopes to work as a cruise line performer, move to Houston to achieve a degree in Marketing, and continue teaching and choreographing. She is so excited to join the WDE staff and continue sharing her passion for dance!
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