Teaching Staff
Fritzi Pesti, Owner & Business Director
Transplanted from San Antonio,Texas, where she owned and operated three ballroom venues, Fritzi Pesti is an American Style Ballroom, Country, Salsa and East and West Coast Swing instructor. Fritzi was a registered Interior Designer when she decided to take up Swing dancing as a hobby. Dancing became an obsession. She studied ballroom with several top level pros and started teaching. She opened her first studio which boasted over 50 youth students. They earned winning placements in Texas ballroom competitions. Fritzi has been the Tampa area Homeschool Coop Ballroom teacher for several years and loves teaching children. She taught seniors at Highland Lakes. From absolute beginners to competitive level students, Fritzi is patient and intuitive to her students skill levels and serves to inspire and motivate growth and confidence. And most importantly Fritzi believes dancing should be fun!
Jane Baginski, Owner & Studio Director
Jane Baginski was a figure skater from a family of classical musicians who studied music in college and graduated with a B.A. in philosophy. She went on to become a technical writer and trainer. In 2001, Jane was introduced to ballroom dancing and started as an unlimited student at Paul Pellicoro’s Dancesport in Manhattan, learning most of the Rhythm and Club syllabus in two years. After moving to New Jersey, she began dancing with the Mount Laurel School of Ballet and studied International Latin and Ballroom under Sandra Fortuna at Universal Ballroom Dance Center. The family moved to Florida in 2017 and Jane began dancing with Eddie Rivera of Dance It Studio in Orlando whom she competed with for four years in pro-am, dancing at the Championship Level with high placements. Jane turned professional in 2022. Having started the ballroom journey as an adult, Jane can communicate technique to adults that most pros learned as children. Her greatest passion is teaching technique, musicality, and originality in expression. Jane is certified by the USISTD in Assoc. Latin and DanceVision in Bronze Smooth.
Tim Allen Tetrault, Instructor
Tim Allen began his dancing at the age of 9 in a small town named Coventry Connecticut. He tapped and jazzed and learned some of the best introductory technique while in ballet class. At age 24 after a small break to learn new things in life he found an ad in the newspaper that read “Do you like to dance and stay up late” Answer.. Yes! and never looked back and from that point on life has been about dancing. Tim has extensive training in American and International styles of dance and theatre arts, choreography and syllabus training, social dancing. He is looking forward to passing some of this information to any students who wish to learn properly.
Lindsay Hensley Clark, Ballet, Tap, and Jazz Instructor
Lindsay Clark began dance training at age 3 in Asheville, NC. She studied classical ballet, jazz, tap and lyrical ballet and furthered her classical and contemporary/modern dance training at the Greenville Ballet school and company in SC. She was accepted into the School of American Ballet, NY for summer studies and graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Lindsay studied at the American Ballet Theatre, NY, began teaching and dancing professionally at North Carolina Dance Theatre. Her professional dancing and teaching career led her to Florida. In 2008, she founded Tampa Bay Ballet and from 2012-2020 was the Artistic Director of Tampa Ballet Theatre. For over a decade she choreographed and/or staged many classical and neoclassical ballets for TBB and TBT including The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Alice and Wonderland, Dracula, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and excerpts from La Bayadere, Don Quixote, Swan Lake and many more. Lindsay has trained many professional dancers as well as children and adults of all levels and enjoys educating students in ballet and yoga. She is excited to share her knowledge with the dance community through private lessons, adult ballet, yoga classes and master classes for all ages.
Keila Soto Villanueva, Salsa Instructor
Keila began dancing at the age of 7 at the School of Ballet in San Juan, Puerto Rico and studied ballet exclusively for the next 8 years. She won a scholarship to the School of Fine Arts of Carolina where she was educated in Jazz, Lyrical, Bomba y Plena, Ballet and Salsa. Keila competed at the World Salsa Open in the Team Division, placing in the Top 3 in 2013 and 2014. She moved to Tampa, FL in 2015 to follow hr dream of becoming a Latin dance instructor and performer. She has taught and performed in studios and Latin Dance Congresses both inside and outside of the U.S. Ms. Soto has a B.A. in Marketing and loves sharing her enthusiasm for dance with other performers and students.
Rachel Schoeller, Creative Movement Instructor, Staff Photographer
Rachel Schoeller has been working as a professional photographer in the local community for ten years, doing commissioned work for private clients. Schoeller first discovered and fell in love with the medium as a child, cutting her teeth with the Nikon point and shoots and disposable Kodak cameras. For five years, she photographed hundreds of local private school children for their annual school picture. She joined the teaching staff at the inception of the studio as a trainee.
Brian Keane, Teacher Trainee & Dance Host
Brian Keane started dancing 12 years ago and has been a student at most of the dance studios in the area including Dance Forever and Simone Salsa. He credits Julie Fisher with being a major influence in the development of his dancing. Brian believes in nurturing each new person in a welcoming environment while offering real dance instruction. He is an integral member of the studio, always reaching his hand out to help. Brian enjoys dancing with beginners and encouraging them to feel comfortable trying something new that can be intimidating. He is in training to become a certified instructor.
Valentina Leone, Yoga Instructor
Valentina is Yoga and Yoga is Valentina; breath, movement, creation of balance, openness, growth, and awareness. Practicing Yoga improves the quality of everybody’s life, as it brings physical, mental and spiritual health. Valentina has been teaching Yoga since 2018, she has achieved her 2 certifications and is a 500 E-RYT Yoga instructor. Valentina speaks 5 different languages, knows literature and loves reading. Yoga is another way to convey her message by teaching: life is a fascinating, mysterious, and breathtaking dance.
Armando Carrasco, Instructor
Armando Carrasco first fell in love with dance as a young boy watching Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies, but he really loved doing salsa, merengue, and cha cha in Cuba at his family’s events. In his 20’s, he found Ballroom and Latin dancing, and his whole life changed. He studied under Larry Silvers, Joan Knight and Ron Montez and went on to become a North American Professional International Latin Semi-finalist and Rising Star Finalist. He taught in studios in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Diego and later owned and managed Larry Silvers Dance Academy. Armando has coached extensively throughout the US and Europe and is a Championship Adjudicator. He is a certified dance instructor with Associate credentials from the ISTD and is a Member and Fellow of Terpsichore in Rhythm, Smooth, Latin, and Standard. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree.
Joseh Marion, Instructor
Joséh Marion is an Ohio native who has been dancing and teaching all styles of Ballroom/Latin since the age of 17. In 2009, Joséh moved to New York City to become a Broadway performer and was briefly employed at Paul Pellicoro’s Dancesport in Manhattan. While working there, Joséh discovered the Latin Hustle scene and was fortunate to train and dance with the world’s top hustle dancers. Joséh has been teaching the Latin Hustle and all other ballroom styles for over 15 years and competes with his students in Nightclub and American Smooth and Rhythm. Let’s dance!
Debra Loran, Dance Coach
Debra Loran has 25 years experience as an NDCA National Championship Adjudicator. She is a five Time U.S. National Ballroom Dance Champion, and a Rising Star National International Standard Champion. She has trained undefeated U.S. National Junior BallroomSmooth/Rhythm Dance Champions at U.S.B.C. and the Pro/Am National Jr Smooth/Rhythm Champion. Debra taught ballroom dance at the University of Tampa for 15 years, where she created their dance curriculum. She taught Ballroom, Salsa and Swing at USF for 12 years. She was the Organizer of the Collegiate Competition at The Florida State Fairgrounds for 15 consecutive years that brought together hundreds of amateur couples. Debra studied under Dagmar Jarvel, a professional who was in Fred Astaire’s first training class as he prepared to open his first studio. Dagmar wrote the manuals for the Astaire curriculum and for independent studios. Dagmar shared her passion for impeccable technique with Debra who enjoys taking a complicated concept and bringing it to students in a fun and simple way so they can really understand how to make it HAPPEN!
Grace Hood, Heels Instructor
With over 30 years of dance experience, Grace is a versatile performer with a background in a wide array of dance styles including musical theater, go-go, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary. Influenced profoundly by her mother, a distinguished dancer and choreographer, Grace’s commitment to excellence, creativity, and the artistry of movement shines through in every class. Grace has danced on stages across the globe, from Southern California toLondon, New York, and Southeast Asia. Her compelling and memorable performances transcend cultural boundaries, contributing to the rich tapestry of the global dance scene. Her performances captivate audiences with theatrical and expressive storytelling through movement. Join Grace for Oh La La Heels class where you’ll learn to dance with grace, confidence, and style in the fabulous world of heels. Get ready to strut, twirl, and sashay your way to a new level of self-expression and empowerment!
