Faculty

Rubi Calderon began her training with ballroom before making the big switch over to ballet, jazz, and hip hop. Later on she expanded her dance education into various modern techniques, musical theater, and pom. Rubi began teaching at 15 years old and quickly realized that this was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She has gone on to manage competition teams, performance teams, and high school vocational education classes in Gilroy and Hollister. Now Rubi has found a home for her love of teaching at Purdance, where she teaches tap, ballet, tumbling, jazz, and hip hop!

Anthony is a Northern California native who received a BS in Public Health with a minor in Dance from San Jose State University. He started off as a street/freestyle dancer and has since trained in multiple styles. In 2016, he joined an urban choreography team called VIP San Jose where he started competing at different competitions. He was the president of SJSU’s Hip Hop Club and is currently on the Academy of Villains as well as the choreographer and co-founder of Commonality San Jose. He has showcased and competed at various dance shows such as World of Dance Finals, Vibe dance competition, and Evolution Urban Dance Competition, as well as having had the opportunity to be cast in a dance movie called “No Dance, No Life” with the Academy of Villains. He currently teaches hip hop and street style for both programs at Purdance.

Olivia Negrete is a dancer, choreographer, and student from Granada Hills, California. She is currently studying at San Jose State University as a Marine Biology major. Olivia started dancing at the young age of two, and grew up training in ballet, contemporary, jazz, pointe, and hip hop. She also was a part of her studio’s competition team and became a teaching assistant at the age of 13. This allowed her to share her passion and love for dance. Later, she joined Granada Hills Charter High School Dance Team and became an officer which allowed her to choreograph and lead routines. In college, Olivia joined the Synkronize Dance K-Pop club at SJSU and is currently an officer for the club.

Mateo is a Bay Area native, calling San Jose their home. They have been training in dance for over 12 years and have a well-rounded background that includes styles such as jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and jazz funk. After joining their previous studio’s competition program, their love and deep appreciation for dance grew exponentially. At the age of 16, Mateo was invited via a private audition to join The Teen Company, a mentorship program cultivated by Aaron Czuprenski, a faculty member of Hollywood Connection. Through this program, Mateo got the opportunity to assist, teach, and inspire dancers across the nation utilizing their passion for dance in all aspects. After graduating from high school with an acceptance letter to Chapman University’s dance program, Mateo decided to take a break from school to further their exploration towards teaching. Mateo is grateful to call Purdance their new home and to help dancers reach their fullest potential through artistic expression. 

Sheila is a multidisciplinary artist who began her dance career at nineteen with the Fercos Manimal Magic Las Vegas Review. She was also a circus performer in the Amazing Ricardo’s “Motorcycle Death Globe” act. Later she signed with LVSB Productions where she toured Japan as a dancer/singer in “Legends” and “Festival of the World.” In 1996, Sheila settled in Japan, where she worked in Japanese commercials, television shows, and music videos. She received accolades for her work in Kyoe Entertainment’s “Karen.” While continuing her work as a choreographer and dance educator, Sheila also made the transition to stunt performer in which she trained and worked alongside some of Japan’s finest in the industry, her favorite stunt being the high fall. Sheila is thrilled to be back in the studio passing on her knowledge to future generations while teaching tap, ballet, tumbling, and jazz.

Stella is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor from San Jose, California. She started dancing at Purdance in 2015, where she trained in contemporary, jazz, ballet, pointe, lyrical, and musical theater. She was a part of multiple Elite teams at Purdance, which allowed her to perform and compete all across the Bay Area. Stella began working as a teacher assistant at 13 years old. Since then, she has continued her love for teaching. She adventures in other styles and has even found a passion for cheerleading. She cheered all throughout high school and as captain her senior year was able to lead and choreograph for the team. Stella is studying at CSU East Bay as a Business Management major. She is also currently teaching for both Purdance and CLAP Arts. She hopes to keep dancing all throughout her life and is excited to see where it will take her! 

Sydney began her formal ballet training at Tarrant County College in Hurst, Texas under the direction of Dr. Kihyoung Choi. There she danced with Dr. Choi’s semi-professional company, Movers Unlimited Dance Company. She apprenticed for Dallas Neoclassical Ballet for one season before furthering her dance education at The Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. Post-graduation, she became a trainee at San Jose Dance Theatre where she choreographed two short ballets as well as danced in soloist roles in their production of, “The Nutcracker.” Sydney has also performed with Opera San Jose in their production of “West Side Story,” choreographed by Michael Pappalardo.

Garrett is a dancer, choreographer, and student at San Jose State University who is currently studying as a Dance and Business Marketing major. He began his training in 2017 with K-Pop On and started training in hip hop in 2020 at Capitol Dance Studio. In 2021, he began his journey as a dance major training in ballet, jazz, modern/contemporary, and choreography, as well as founding the Synkronize Dance K-pop team at SJSU. He is currently an enthusiastic K-pop, hip hop, and modern teacher at Purdance!

Kenneth’s love of movement started at a young age. Training for multiple years in Mixed Martial Arts, Kenneth found a passion for organized and specific movements. This blossomed into a love of Colorguard in Highschool which led to a successful career in the activity competing for several years in World Class organizations, including the Santa Clara Vanguard. Once in college, they further honed in on a love of dance and movement and obtained a B.A. in Dance from the University of Nevada, Reno. While in this program Kenneth specialized in Jazz and Modern dance, while obtaining skills in Ballet, Dance Teaching, Choreography, and Improvisation. The Dance program also granted Kenneth the opportunity to choreograph and premiere several dance works of their own and perform in works by peers, faculty, and artists in residency. Notably, they co-choreographed and performed in “Contention”, which was performed at the 2023 ACDA conference. During their free time, Kenneth found a love for K-pop and got absorbed into the world of K-pop cover dance. Kenneth’s passion for the arts translated into a love of teaching and a desire to give back to the larger arts community which has done so much for them. They currently teach dance at Purdance and Colorguard at two high schools in the South Bay. Kenneth is still an active performer seeking to continue their own growth as a performer and to bolster their skills as an educator.

Anusha carries over 30 years of experience in the dancing arena as she started her dancing journey at the age of five! She is still very passionate about learning and choreographing various styles including Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Indian Semi classical, Bhangra, Garba, Raas, Bollywood, Indian Folk, Hip Hop, Contemporary and Ballet. Anusha was on the Hip Hop and Bhangra team at Monta Vista High school and received her diploma in Kuchipudi from the University of Siliconandhra. Alongside her extensive training, she also pursued course work in Ballet and Bharatnatyam during her tenure at University of California, Riverside. Anusha has worked on several productions with a 100+ students in many cultural showcases as part of Siliconandhra, a non profit organization, which she is actively involved in. She was also the lead in an Indian adaptation of Aladdin as Princess Jasmine. She loves teaching and choreographing and looks forward to bridging the cultural gap and assimilating the best of all the dance styles from far east to the west into all of her routines. Her favorite past time is also dancing along with her three young boys who equally enjoy dance.