Kristen Baker is the Owner and Artistic Director of Expressions Academy of Dance.  Her love of Dance began at the young age of three while dancing at Dance Expressions in El Dorado Hills. Kristen focused on Ballet until age eight ​when she began studying Jazz and other forms of dance. At age eleven she joined a performing company, Expressions Productions.  While in this troupe she studied Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Polynesian, Clogging, and Musical Theater. She had the opportunity to be taught by Kim Nead, Jessica Layton, Susan Daugherty, Shirin Keyani-Rose, Ryna Taylor, Georgina Coleman, Debi Davis Worth, and Dawn Paulson. She dedicated herslef to the dance community at a young age, and began touring with the dance troupe. While with Expressions Productions, a pre-professional touring company, she had the opportunity to tour locally to San Francisco, Disneyland, and Hawaii, as well as internationally to Mexico with the World Dance Festival. While in high school she was accepted into the Sacramento Ballet Summer Intensive, and studied under Kirsten Bloom, Sunny Staton, Ron Cunningham, and others.

After graduating Ponderosa High School in 2003, Kristen moved to the Bay Area to study dance under the direction of Warren Lucas and Vernon Gallegos.  She also obtained her Bachelors Degree from California State University Sacramento in Dance.  While at CSUS Kristen had the privelage of dancing for Lorelei Bayne, Nolan T'Sani, Philip Flickinger, and Lisa Ross. While at CSUS Kristen choreographed and performed in mutiple shows, and was a performer in a piece that was chosen for adjudication at the American College Dance Festival Association. 

Kristen's Director noticed a special talent she possesed with children, and at age fourteen Kristen became a teaching assistant.  By age fifteen Kristen had her own classes, and had found a new passion in life. Teaching brought more happiness and joy to her life, and she knew that owning a studio and teaching dance was her destiny.  She has taught for Dance Expressions, El Dorado Dance Academy, Foothills Dance, Mission Dance & Performing Arts, CLAP Arts, Tricks Dance Studio and now at her life long dream, Expressions Academy.  She has taught all ages, ranging from two to adult, and teaches many styles including; Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Lyrical, and Pointe. Kristen has been the Director of mutiple Dance Teams and Performing Companies, and is delighted to have a resident team at her own studio, Expressions. 

Kristen hopes that Expressions Academy can be the catalyst for dreams to come alive for generations of dancers in the Lincoln community. Dance was a way for her to express and release emotions in a healthy and creative way.  She believes that dance can change lives and that together we can help encourage self confident and strong dancers to take on the world.  She loves being involved in local events, and with the Lincoln Community, and plans on being here for decades to come! 

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Kelly began her dance career at the age of 3 and joined Dance Expressions in El Dorado Hills, CA at age 11. Shortly after she joined the international touring company Expressions Productions, Inc. and fell in love with the ability to serve the community by using dance to spread social messages and bring joy to underserved populations. Kelly became a dance instructor at age 16 and discovered she had a gift for teaching young girls and connecting with them through dance and art. 
 

Kelly went on to dance at De Anza College and University of California, San Diego where she received a BA in Psychology. After graduation Kelly married her sweetheart, Navy Corpsman Dave Crittenden who was stationed with the Marines in Jacksonville, NC. While Dave served two deployments to Iraq, Kelly directed a program with the Boys and Girls Club that matched active duty Marine and Navy service members with local at-risk youth into year long mentor partnerships. Dave’s end of service with the Navy brought the couple back home to California where Kelly managed a non-profit program that provided independent living and recreational opportunities for developmentally disabled adults. The arrival of their daughter Katelyn in 2011 inspired Kelly to complete a certification course in children's Yoga teacher training and launch Empowered Kids, a mindfulness character education program that promotes confidence centered anti-bullying training through exposure to the arts, dance, yoga, and community service. 
 

Kelly is honored to join forces with Miss Kristen to open Expressions Academy of Dance. She is passionate about providing opportunities for young people to develop physical, mental, and spiritual strength and encouraging each child to confidently create their own unique identity. Kelly loves dancing, teaching, practicing yoga, and empowering families to live positive, healthy lives. 

Miss BJ started dancing at the age of 6 and by the time she was 15, she was competing several times a year throughout the Sacramento and Bay areas with her local Dance Company. At this same time, she was attending high school at Natomas Performing & Fine Arts Academy where her focuses were theater and dance. After high school, Miss BJ attended American River College, performing and choreographing with their Honors Dance Company for several years while obtaining her AA degree in Theater Arts. Once she transferred to Sacramento State, she had the pleasure of performing and learning from choreographers including Lorelei Bayne, Nathan Jones, and Nolan T’Sani. Over the last 20+ years, her Dance training has included many styles such as Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, Lyrical, Afro-Carribean, Improvisation techniques and Principles of Choreography. 

Since she was a teenager and started assisting her first classes, teaching was something that ignited a fire within her soul. She dreamed of having her own classes and students some day, but it would take many years to finally get there. Until one day in 2020, she crossed paths and was introduced to Miss Jessie (Miss Pickles) and soon, the rest of the EAD family! Becoming Miss BJ is one of her top memories and is truly a dream come true! Her favorite thing about working for EAD is being a part of an Inclusive community where everyone is invited to come as they are and express themselves! The Staff truly cares about each other and each individual student’s wellbeing. She loves being able to help guide her students as future artists!

She says, “My hope and dreams for my students is that they understand and believe in their abilities to overcome obstacles. To know that they are worthy and capable of obtaining any goal or dream they set their sights on. To find the courage to step outside their comfort zone and try something new. And no matter how far their training takes them- to step out on stage, and always remember deep in their soul, why it is they love to dance. 

Tanya has studied ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, hip hop, and bellydance.  She has performed and trained with the following choreographers, Julia Dugan, Catherine Marie Davalos, Nina Haft, Dana Lawton, Randee Pauvfee, Benedicte Schoyen, FRIT & FRAT, Kalila Raks, and Jodette Johnson. She has danced in a number of California professional and community settings in regional dance companies and musical theater productions.  Currently she is a Training Analyst for CDCR,  Assistant Director of Ballet America, a professional belly dancer with Jewels of the Nile, and a Level 1 EBAS certified instructor. She holds a BS in Psychology from Saint Mary's College and a minor in dance.    She has a history of teaching movement programs, cheerleading programs and managing dance companies.  As an instructor, her passion is to help dancers feel empowered to understand their body mechanics, technical strengths and weaknesses honestly to build a better understanding of what is needed to achieve their goals, and to continually grow in our dance exploration.

She loves teaching at EAD because all the students are eager to grow and enjoy this craft of dance as artists.  She is proud to be affiliated with such a wonderful staff of peers who share their talent and expression of dance  in such a joyful manner.

Miss Tanya wants her students to know that although she is always providing detailed feedback that she sees their authenticity, loving spirit, and efforts.  She believes in you and it is because of that faith in you she challenges you to strive for more.

Growing up, dance was a way of life for Jessica. It was a family business, and a safe haven for many. Jessica's dance background includes thorough classical Ballet training in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, as well as performing proressionally with the Mahalani Dancers. Jessica performed internationally with the Mahalani Dancers, and with Expressions Productions incorporated. Other styles in her repertoire include Lyrical, Jazz, Polynesian, and Modern. She began teaching Ballet at age 14 and was privately tutored in the RAD teacher training program by Ballet Mistress, Ryna Taylor. Jessica became the Director and choreographer of several apprentice companies at the young age of 17. She is now the mother of 5 children, 1 pug, and 2 cats. Jessica is happy to share her love of dance with the students of EAD. 

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Elizabeth has been a dancer since she was 5 years old. She focused on ballet at her home studio of GreenTree where she performed in multiple shows with Green Tree’s Children’s Ballet Company. It was also at GreenTree where she was introduced to her love for jazz and modern dance, and she then capitalized on modern dance when she went to Hawkins School of Performing arts. Here she trained with ModT(Hawkins Modern Troupe) where she got to experience are realm of different performance opportunities including competitions and community shows. She is currently a dancer with TwoPoint4 Dance Theatre where she focuses on modern theory and vertical dance. In addition to dance, she has obtained her AA in English from Sierra College, and looks forward to pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at CSU Sacramento.

Miss Ellie began her career as a competitive dancer at the age of six years old.  She trained formally at the former No Limits Dance and Performing Arts in Santa Cruz, California where her favorite styles were musical theater and contemporary. She also trained as a gymnast through Santa Cruz Gymnastics. Miss Ellie later went on to Cal State Fullerton to major in theater directing.  In her time at CSUF, she was able to find many performing opportunities through the Bachelor of Arts showcase.  In addition to performing, she lent her hand to directing, choreography, photography, and stage management.  In 2015 she spent a semester interning at Walt Disney World where she had the opportunity to learn about the behind the scenes production of the Walt Disney Company’s most successful theme park productions such as Fantasmic, and Festival of the Lion King.  When she returned to CSUF, she decided to switch from a theater major to a sociology major, and focused her time on giving the gift of dance back to the Orange County community as a dance teacher for the Anaheim YMCA. She began with the YMCA in 2016 as lead dance teacher and gymnastics coach.  One of her proudest accomplishments was creating a therapeutic musical theater program for teens and adults with developmental disabilities.  It was through this experience that brought her to her goal of wanting to spread the love of dance to as many people as she could. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 2018. In 2021, Miss Ellie joined Expressions Academy of Dance as teacher, specializing in acrobatics and musical theater. In 2022, she began her duties as coordinator for the Expressions Dance Company, where she is very excited to keep finding new ways to help her dancers reach their goals.  

Miss Ellie loves teaching at EAD because of the love and support fostered in the studio. She believes good dance training should be accessible and supportive, and that dancers who come from all walks of life makes the art form better.  It is because of the supportive culture at EAD that she feels excited to bring up the next generation of dancers who develop not just great technique, but also a great understanding of who they are as dancers.

Miss Ellie’s hopes for her students is that they continue to reach beyond what they think they can do as dancers, and as people.  Even in her short time at EAD, she has seen so much growth from her students, and is so excited to see what even more exploration will accomplish in the future. Miss Ellie also hopes her students continue to have pride in their creativity and artistic vision. It has been so incredible to see how her students have used dance to be their form of expressing themselves, and Miss Ellie can't wait to see what’s to come!

Dylan began dancing at the age of three and both performed and competed with Francina Mans School of Dance in Southern California for sixteen years. His love for dance education started early when he became a teaching assistant at FMSD. In addition, Dylan was able to participate in hosting several dance day-camps as the dance team co-captain. Seeing how much an inclusive dance community can impact one kid’s day was a driving force in his decision to go into an education field. After moving for college, Dylan continued to dance when possible while studying for a BA in English and working within the Student Affairs field in Higher Education. Those positions helped prepare him for his current positions at Expressions in the front office and as Special Events Coordinator!

Dylan loves working at EAD because of the inclusive and supportive environment for everyone who walks into the studio. The entire staff is focused on the best interest of each dancer and their unique needs. Dance should be a place to discover yourself and your artistry; EAD will always provide a safe and supportive place for each dancer to do so. Getting to know the kids at this studio has been a joy for Dylan— they always keep him on his feet! He hopes that every dancer continues to follow their passion and knows they can come to him with any question, even if it’s just for more water cups.

Miss Mia started dancing at the age of 5 in ballet and continued to love performing. She was a part of a Musical Theater called Magic Circle Theater (now called Tower Theater) and performed in multiple productions there during elementary school. She also trained in gymnastics and tumbling at Tumble Time Gymnastics in Cameron Park. She started competing as a figure skater at age 10 and received private and group lessons at Skatetown Ice Arena in Roseville. She then went on to continue dancing during high school at El Dorado Dance Academy in El Dorado Hills where she trained in Contemporary, Modern, and Hip-Hop Dance. She thrived in her hip hop class and loved helping the teacher demonstrate routines for the other students. She also was enrolled in Drama class at her high school. As an adult, she now enjoys roller skating and taking part in Zumba and Jazzercise in her free time. 

Miss Mia has always had a passion with working for children and has worked as a Nanny for children of all ages for 9 years. She has also worked as a behavioral therapist for autistic kids at CARD, volunteered at Sierra Forever Families adoption agency, and worked as a teachers assistant in the Special Ed class in high school. She loves being able to use her love for dance and children in the same profession! Seeing each child’s unique style and personality while dancing is her favorite part about teaching dance!

Savannah’s dance journey began when she was ten years old, when she joined a recreational cheerleading program in her hometown. Her passion for dance continued into high school where she danced on the Bear River High School dance team for four years. Savannah got the honor of being named Co-Captain her junior year, where she learned the importance of leadership within the arts. When she made Captain her senior year, it gave her the opportunity to not only continue her love of dance, but share it with dancers of different ages and levels. During her junior and senior year she began working as a TA for the beginner dance class and was given her first experience with teaching others and her first class choreography opportunity. After graduating high school she spent a year as the Bear River Dance Program’s Co-Director where she choreographed multiple pieces for multiple levels of dancers and organized showcases.

Currently, Savannah trains at Sac Dance Lab in Sacramento, focusing on Pom, Jazz, Jazz Funk, Hip-Hop, Heels, and Technique classes. She recently completed her first season on Sac Dance Lab’s community performance team, Unity, where she performed at local parades, events, and performed in a feature-length concert spanning multiple weekends. Savannah is a current cat mom to her kitten Izzy and plans on taking her dance career to a professional level by auditioning to dance in the NFL and the NBA. As someone who started dancing later in her life, Savannah hopes to inspire others to chase whatever dance dream they may have and hopes to show other dancers that no dance dream is unattainable no matter how late you start in life. 

Coach Kezia has been passionate about dance since the age of 3-years-old. She has been dancing professionally for about 14+ years and is trained in contemporary, lyrical, jazz, hip hop, ballet, and pom. She also has experience competing through USA, UDA, and local dance competitions in Northern and Southern California. Her passion for dance led to her cheering for an All Star Elite Cheer Team one year before she joined her high school's advanced dance program and cheerleading team.

Kezia has trained in NBA/NFL dance programs as well as instructed and danced with American River College Dance Program. Additionally, Kezia has experience teaching for national winning teams at Foothills Dance Studio and Mira Loma High School. Kezia loves what she does as a professional dance coach and takes pride in achieving her goals. Coach Kezia is truly inspired by working with diverse dance teams and is excited to s hare her love for dance with you.