Founder and Artistic Director
Ballet, 4Pointe, PBT & Fitness

Horton and Jazz

Keisa Parrish began her training in dance in Los Angeles CA under the direction of 3 amazing teachers; Paul and Arlene Kennedy of the infamous tap studio, Universal Dance Designs which lended her the opportunity to perform with Michael Jackson; Cyd Glover-Hill of Art in Motion and Karon Brown Lehman at LA County High School of the Arts.

While earning a BFA degree from Fordham University’s joint program with The Ailey® School, she became a Radio City Rockette, performing in the Christmas Spectacular, doing print ads for Bloomingdale's and making special appearances all over the Tri-State area. Keisa has been teaching and choreographing for the past 25 years and judging dance competitions for the last 17 years. Her various schools and organizations include Harlem School of the Arts, where she was also the Assistant Dance Director, Next Step Bradway, where she was manager and Assistant Artistic Director, Elite Dance Challenge Competition, Pathway to the Arts, (E)motion by Design, Hal Jackson's Talented Teens International Competition, Dancers Inc. Competition, The Rockette Experience as well as many other dance studios in the Tri-State area.

She is also Yoga/Pilates/TRX certified, who’s been featured in Fitness Magazine, on Pix 11 Morning News, and Buzzfeed, and had been teaching classes/workshops for great companies such as YogaWorks and Clay Gym for over 13 years. Colgate Palmolive has hired her to teach their global leaders "How to use Mindfulness to Alleviate Stress,” while The Covenant House hired her to teach “Exercising & Eating Your Stress Away.” She has also taught Pilates as a Team Building program to the Nike Basketball Team New York. Keisa is now the Founder and CEO of Luebirta and Kaleonani Inc, a Performing Arts and Wellness education and consulting company that strives to educate, empower and guide communities to be their best selves.

Ballet and Pointe

Fernanda Garduza is a ballet teacher and dancer originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. She began her ballet training under Irina Provorova at Escuela Rusa de Ballet Clásico de Monterrey and attended summer intensives at the Kirov Academy of Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Alongside her dance journey, she earned a B.A. in Architecture from Tecnológico de Monterrey in 2018.

Fernanda has taught ballet at various levels, including the advanced and adult beginner/intermediate groups at Danza Center for the Arts in Austin, TX. She has performed with Metamorphosis Dance Ensemble in Austin, as well as CityDanceNY and Hudson Ballet Theatre after relocating to New York City in 2023. She currently teaches at several ballet studios across Brooklyn.

Fernanda is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. As a dedicated educator and artist, she continues to grow her teaching practice, perform, and stay actively engaged in the dance community.

Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz and Young Dancer

Natalie Mestres was born and raised in Miami, FL where she first began her dance journey at the age of three. Natalie danced at Miami Youth Ballet under the direction of Marielena Mencia and Yanis Pikieres and she graduated from Coral Reef High School’s Magnet Dance Program. Later on she trained at Cary Ballet Conservatory in North Carolina as part of their Professional Training Program under the direction of Mariaelena Ruiz. She is trained in a variety of styles, but was extensively focused on Ballet and Contemporary.

Throughout her training she performed Principal and Corps roles in a variety of ballets such as The Nutcracker, Paquita, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Carnival of the Animals, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and Raymonda. Natalie was also a summer apprentice with Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, artistic directors Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlso Guerra. In 2023 She performed in the company’s summer series as well as their Nutcracker that winter alongside Ballet Vero Beach. She has competed at numerous ballet competitions receiving many awards and accolades, notably bronze medal at Miami International Ballet competition in 2024 and second place in contemporary at ADCIBC regionals in 2025. Her summers were spent at a variety of summer intensives including University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Sarasota Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, The Nutmeg Conservatory, International Contemporary Master’s Workshop, Ballet Hispanico and New Jersey Ballet.

Currently a Trainee at New Jersey Ballet under the direction of Maria Kowroski, she has performed in the Company’s productions of The Nutcracker, Serenade and Sleeping Beauty. Natalie has taught and choreographed both Ballet and Contemporary to a wide variety of ages and is dedicated to providing the best dance knowledge to the next generation of dancers.

Administrative Assistant and Young Dancer

Elisa Matos is the administrative assistant and young dancer/beginner ballet instructor at AC Dance. She works behind the scenes to support the studio while also teaching classes, helping young dancers build confidence, creativity, and strong foundational technique. Elisa is currently pursuing a degree in education and hopes to bring her love of teaching into the classroom. Her work at AC Dance continues to shape her skills as both an emerging educator and passionate supporter of the arts.

Ballet, Stretch and Jazz

Alanna Espinal is a dancer, choreographer, educator and a student. Alanna is trained in all stage styles including Ballet, Jazz , Tap, Contemporary,  Acrobatics etc. She is currently a  dance BFA at Mason Gross School of the Arts in Rutgers Newbrunswick. She is the founder and co-director of Transcendence Dance Company, part of Brickhouse’s commercial training company Mixrz / X Factory and part of the teaching faculty at a few dance studios in the North Jersey area. She has choreographed, backup danced for and made special appearances in various artists’ music videos including Money Moves (Alus) and “Why Me?” (Law). Aside from dance, Alanna also has a love for musical theater and most recently did a production of A Chorus Line. She has performed in company works, dance visuals, and world wide competitions such as World Of Dance. Alanna loves helping students develop their craft and creative voices as artists and really looks forward to join AC Dance’s teaching faculty.