Placerville Performing Arts Center strives to create a wholesome dance environment that focuses on physical, mental and spiritual well-being. We work with each student as an individual, finding ways to work with each student's needs as fits. Because want students to develop a love of dance, we teach in an inviting and friendly atmostphere.

We encourage you to call or stop by to see for yourself.

Paula Feil, Director of Dance, started dancing at the age of 3 in ballet, jazz and tap, and by the age of 14, was awarded 2nd place in the State of California, Ballet Soloist Division. She went on to perform with the San Francisco Ballet as well as with other dance schools and San Francisco State University.

While working on her Recreation Therapy degree at SF State, she continued with her ballet training, and expanded into African/Haitian. Professionally, she worked at Children's Hospital at Stanford, and Shriner's Hospital in Sacramento, where she attained her Professional ChildLife Certification.

Her dance productions for PPAC have included Footloose, Coppelia, Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast, among others. In addition, Paula has choreographed a variety of musicals with Theatre El Dorado and Imagination Theater, including Snow White, Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma!, Grease and Cinderella.
Paula's stated mission is to create a wholesome and supportive dance program, and train her staff in her philosophy and techniques.

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Sarah Barber
Instructor

Skipping around the dance floor, Sarah fell in love with dance at the age of four. Years followed and Sarah began to explore bigger and better things, taking on ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, lyrical, hip hop, partnering, and modem dance styles. By the age of seven, Sarah joined Krei Matthews School of Performing Arts Dance Company, highly known for their tap performances. As a company member, Sarah participated in competitions through solo, duet, trio, group, and production numbers, community shows, and touring performances from Las Vegas to Disneyland. Sarah was also selected for a variety of different awards and specialty awards, including "The Three C's" (for Clear, Crisp, and Clean tap sounds), "Broadway Bound", and Sacramento Area Dance Alliance Scholarship Runner-Up. Aside from participating in a company, Sarah also participated in a variety of outside activities, including Sacramento's Ballet Summer Dance Camp, musicals around the Sacramento Area, and a participant in Sacramento Ballet's performance of "The Nutcracker".

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Danielle Feil
Instructor

Danielle has been dancing with her mom since 8th grade and the production of Snow White. She became hooked on theatre and dance and has been in a number of shows including Oklahoma, Sound of Music, Cinderella as the Ugly Stepsister, Thumbellina as Sparrow, Annelle in Steel Magnolias, Faye in The Amorous Ambassador, Patty Simcox in Grease, and Lucetta in Two Gentlemen of Verona. She was the artistic director for Placerville Performing Arts Center's 2006 production of Beauty and the Beast. She teaches the teenage jazz classes.

She is attending Sacramento State University this year and is majoring in musical theatre, in addition to getting her teaching credential. In 2006, she competed and won Miss Sacramento County and was able to also compete in the 2007 Miss California competition. She hopes one day to direct shows locally and make an artistic impact on the community.

Brianna Heath
Instructor

Brianna has been dancing with Placerville Performing Arts Center since 2001. She has explored many areas of dance and focuses now on ballet and jazz. She has been a pointe student since May 2005. Working with children has been a part of her life since she was young. She worked for five years as a swimming instructor aide for children, who ranged in age from 3 to 14. In addition, she has worked for six years as a camp counselor for children ages 4 to 11. She has been teaching the preschool dance classes since December 2004, and enjoyed teaching jazz this past year as well, in addition to substituting in ballet and jazz classes.

Supporting the studio in other roles, Brianna designs and maintains the PPAC website, designs and creates Paula's business cards and advertisements, and incorporates her love of photography by taking studio pictures.

Brianna graduated from Union Mine High School in December 2005, and attends Folsom Lake College until she transfers to Southern Oregon University to major in genetics.

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Kristen Meyer
Instructor

Kristen is a certified Pilates Instructor. Her initial certification was with the Physical-Mind Institute in 1997, and she has continued her education with Polestar, AFFA, and an additional certification for the Reformer apparatus with Stamina. Kristen's many years of dance training compliments her ability to assist each participant to develop a strong sense of structural alignment and core strength.

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