DANZONE STAFF

Miss Marjorie Janicek is the owner and artistic director of the DANZONE. She has taught at private dance studios for over 30 years in California, Indiana, Texas and Arizona. She earned her Bachelors degree in dance performance at the University of Texas at El Paso where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She performed with Ballet El Paso in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and four seasons of the Nutcracker. After graduating, Miss Marjorie taught dance full-time at Austin High School in El Paso and joined McKenzie Rosales Modern Company. Marjorie's passion for dance is rivaled only by her love of children.

Margo Faoro began dancing at the age of 4, training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Contemporary Jazz and some dabbling in Modern and Ballroom. She trained at Ballet Rincon for twelve years, and danced with the Arizona Arts Conservatory and Collective for 3 years. Margo has performed at least twice each year since her start, and in 2017, she was hired for pre-professional and professional Ballet and Ballroom shows, where she performed around Southern Arizona and in Mexico. She spent 4 years assisting in kid’s Jazz, Ballet, and tap classes and has now taught at 4 separate studios with students ranging from ages 3-18.  In 2018, She attended the DanceLife Teacher Conference, which focused on preschool and Children's track. She now attends the University of Arizona, focusing on obtaining a degree in K-8 education.

Brendan Kellam is the Artistic Director and co-Owner of DXX Studios. Brendan is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a BFA in dance and a minor in Music Production. He has trained in jazz, ballet, modern, hip hop, and ballroom; but his heart lies with a tap. Brendan is a professional tap dancer who has traveled all over the U.S. to study with many masters, including Jason Samuels Smith, Nico Rubio, Jason Janas, Lady Di’Walker, Sarah Reich, and the late Professor Robert L. Reed. In 2017 Brendan became the first tap dancer to feature in the Essentially Ellington competition at Lincoln Center, in New York. Brendan is the Artistic Director of Tucson's only tap company, DXX Tap. He has been on faculty for Sarah Reich's Tap Music Project, Wing It Tap intensive, Phoenix Tap Fest, Utah Tap Fest, Circle City Tap Fest, and Motor City Tap Fest. He has also been seen performing with the Phoenix-based tap company, Tap 24.7 since 2012. Brendan's choreography has performed in the Big Apple Tap Festival in New York City and the Motor City Tap Festival in Detroit. He choreographs for multiple studios across the country, and his work can be seen at many competitions and awarded numerous high accolades.

Emma Matthies is a professional tap dancer from Portland, Oregon, where she grew up training and competing in various styles of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and hip hop. She has since developed her tap dance training with Karida Griffith, Maud Arnold, Sarah Reich, Derick Grant, Gregg Russel, Ryan Lohoff, and Angela Carter. During her early high school years, Emma had the opportunity to begin her teaching career, and has recently began to pursue and further explore choreographing for competitions and companies. Currently, Emma is working on her undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Arts, Media, and Entertainment at the University of Arizona. While going to school, she has had the opportunity to perform in shows for Tap 24.7 and DXX Tap, as well as be an apprentice for Tap Into the Network. Overall, Emma’s goal is to help her students discover their individuality, and believes that confidence is key to a dancers success in the classroom.

 Brooke Francisco is an Arizona native who started training in Ballet, Tap, and Jazz at the Tucson School of Ballet at the age of 3. She teaches pre-school Ballet/Tap/Acro, Teen/Adult Ballet, and Teen/Adult Tap 1. 

Brooke likes to focus on ballet technique and gives her students lots of individual attention.

Savannah Miller is a competitive dancer and cheerleader who is trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Hip Hop. She teaches Jazz, Hip Hop, Acro, and Competition Teams. Savannah is currently a University of Arizona Cheerleader and is attending in pursuit of a degree in Nutrition and Human Performance.