Director
Holly Derville-Teer
Jazz, Lyrical
Holly Derville-Teer has taught dance in the greater Portland area since 1997 where she owned a successful dance studio for eleven years, earning the Best Studio Award from Thunderstruck Dance Competition. She sold her studio to focus on being a mom but continued teaching at several studios for the next seven years.
In 2016, she was hit with an overwhelming feeling that it was time to put her director's shoes back on. With zero students and a lot of prayers, she signed a lease, bought supplies, gave out fliers at the Hillsboro Fourth of July Parade, and opened Hillsboro Dance Center! She loves working with the staff and the amazing families at HDC.
Miss Holly has written 30 articles as a freelance writer for "Dance Studio Life Magazine" and was a speaker at the Dance Life Teacher Conference in 2015 where she gave presentations on Teacher Training and Teaching Methods for Dance Classes. She is certified in mUvmethod (a specialized flexibility program for dancers.) She also has a B.A. in English and Education.
Before beginning her teaching career, she lived in New York City and later danced professionally for several production companies. She was also awarded a Lifetime Scholarship to Steps on Broadway in NYC. In addition, she has a B.A. in Education and English and her daughter was on the 2018 and 2019 television show, "So You Think You Can Dance."
Miss Holly focuses on building confidence by encouraging her dancers to truly express themselves through movement. She designs enjoyable classes by coming up with methods of teaching techniques that are designed to be fun but effective. Many of her methods have been featured in “Dance Life Magazine.” In addition, she purposefully creates opportunities for dancers to support each other in class, creating a loving and positive environment for her students.
She designs her classes to act as a conduit for personal growth and strives to help every student reach their potential. Above all, she hopes each student will feel cared for and supported in her class. "My favorite thing about HDC is working with such an amazing team of teachers and getting to know such wonderful families."
Instructors
Kylie Brehmer
Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Acro, Contemporary
Kylie teaches Tap/Jazz, Preballet, and Acro. She trained to teach acro through Acrobatic Arts. She loves working with dancers of all ages. She is especially passionate about working with young children. She believes each dancer is unique and brings their own stories and experiences to share through movement. In her time away from the studio, she loves to spend time with her family, go on hikes, watch movies, and bake.
"My favorite thing about HDC is the positive environment in which dancers can learn and grow.”
Emily Bussard
Ballet Director
Ballet & Pointe
Emily began her ballet career at the age of six at a small local studio. She then spent her formative years under the direction of John Gardner with Portland Festival Ballet. She spent her summers with The Boston Ballet and The Kirov Ballet and was immediately accepted into The Nebraska Ballet out of high school. Emily spent four years living in Hawaii, continuing her ballet education whenever she wasn't on the beach.
Today, Emily not only trains studio dancers ranging from beginners to pre-professionals, but she also educates homeschooled groups and preschoolers with ballet as physical education and works with high school dance teams and ice skating programs. Emily believes in respecting the rich tradition of ballet, but also strives to push the boundaries and carve her own path within the dance world. Without ballet Emily wouldn't be here today, knowing that she believes in not only making strong dancers, but strong young men and women.
Maile Crowder
Ballet, Acro
Maile Crowder graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a B.S in Biochemistry and a minor in dance. During her time at Cal Poly, she danced with Orchesis Dance Co. as a company member, intern, director and choreographer.
Maile also began teaching contemporary classes to college students, became a certified barre instructor and diversified her training at ACDA conferences and commercial dance intensives. Maile was given several scholarships and awards during her junior and senior years, most notable of which was the Service to the Arts award given to her by the College of Liberal Arts. After graduating, Maile joined Interweave Dance Theater in Boulder, CO.
Maile has extensive training in many different styles of dance including ballet, contemporary, jazz, modern and hip hop. She has trained with Santa Cruz Ballet Theater, LINES Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco, Ballet West in Salt Lake City, and with Oregon Ballet Theater.
Maile currently competes as ballroom dancer. She is also excited to start teaching acro. She is certified to teach acro by Acrobatic Arts.
Her favorite thing about HDC is the students!
Carrie Darnell
Ballet, Pointe
Carrie Darnell began her teaching career in 2004 after completing a three year ballet instructor apprenticeship program under Wendy Wickman, of San Francisco Ballet Co. and Carla Smallwood, owner of Studio 84 in Santa Clarita, Ca. Carrie's approach to teaching all ages and levels is that strong technique is key. Carrie has dedicated herself to teaching and guiding her students with their whole physical and mental health as the priority.
During her time as an instructor, Carrie has developed a resistance training pre-pointe program focusing on all the tiny intricacies needed for strengthening the feet, ankles, hips and core. She also loves costume, prop and set making.
The Nutcracker was Carrie's favorite ballet to perform and she had the opportunity to dance as Clara, Snow Queen, Chocolate soloist, Mirliton soloist and Mother Ginger. She trained in all types of dance, but was always most drawn to the precision, focus and grace that ballet required.
When Carrie is not at the dance studio, you can usually find her gardening in her yard or community garden plot, playing with her dog and cats, or hiking and camping with her husband.
Sonya Gandee
Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, Hip Hop
Sonya is a lifelong dancer who has studied a variety of styles including tap, ballet, pointe, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, modern, as well as Spanish, Mexican, and Chinese traditional folk styles. She has had years of experience assisting and teaching classes of all styles and ages. She enjoys teaching and passing on her dance knowledge to younger dancers. Her favorite thing about HDC is the positive atmosphere and the welcoming community within it.
Courtney Guillmette
Preballet, Tap/Jazz, Jumps & Turns, Creative Dance
Courtney has been a dance teacher in the greater Portland area for several years. She teaches all ages, but preschool-dance is one of her specialties. She recently attended the 2019 Dance Teacher Summit where she completed the preschool dance track.
Courtney is currently the Head Dance Coach for Newberg High School’s JV & Varsity dance teams. Her choreography credits include events such as Mr. Mac High, an event benefiting Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. She created and taught the after-school dance program at McMinnville Christian Academy for four years. She has been a chorus member in several musicals at Gallery Theater with her most notable roles being: lead dancer in Oliver, Louisa in The Sound of Music, and Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka. Courtney also served as the Assistant Choreographer for the Gallery Theater’s 2008 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and more recently, choreographed The Addams Family in 2019. She grew up competing at dance competitions, winning numerous awards and scholarships.
In her free time, Courtney loves to travel with her husband and daughter, and is a lover of all things Disney. As Courtney starts her journey teaching here at HDC, she looks forward to continuing to grow her students into confident youth and empowering them to reach their fullest potential as dancers and future good citizens.
Byraissia Jones
Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Acro
Byraissia Jones graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Graphic Design. During college she danced with, and eventually captained, the Devilettes Dance Team. She loves teaching. One of her favorite dance teaching experiences was teaching an after school dance program called "Kid Zone" where she got to work with many different ages and levels.
She is proficient in various styles including ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary and tumbling. She was also a competitive dancer for many years. She is received her certification from Acrobatic Arts.
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Byraissia loves teaching and choreographing and is excited to continue spreading her love of dance to others. Her favorite thing about teaching at HDC is the positive environment and the great passion and determination that comes from the students.
Aja Harris
Hip Hop
Aja has been dancing her entire life. She has gone on to coach many dance teams and taught at several studios across the Portland/ Beaverton area as well as in Albany where she coached two hip hop competition teams. Currently finishing her degree in Exercise Science and recently becoming a certified personal trainer with NASM, she continues to teach group fitness classes as well as dance and kickboxing studios in Portland and Beaverton. Her favorite thing about HDC so far are the dancers who have been so welcoming and respectful!
Taylor Kiess
Acro, Tap, Jazz, Ballet
Taylor received her dance training at Hillsboro Dance Center. She has gone through HDC's teacher training program, has years of experience working with young children, and has been substitute teaching all styles and levels of dance. She has a special calling for working with young children and working with dancers with learning differences. She recently obtained her certification to teach Acro but Acrobatic Arts so that she can sub acro classes.
"My favorite thing about HDC is the teachers and their dedication to helping each dancer reach their goals."
Katy Meeks
Competition Choreography, Tap, Contemporary
Katy began her dance career at 3 years old in a small town in California. She grew up competing across the country and has trained in multiple styles including contemporary, tap, jazz, ballet, musical theater, hip hop, and acro. At the University of California: Santa Cruz, Katy minored in dance and acted as the captain of the UCSC Dance Team for 3 years. In her final year of college she was the artistic director of an academically produced dance show known as Random with a Purpose XXVIII: Prism.
Since then, she has been a choreographer and dance teacher in both Oregon and California with a focus on competition dance- winning several choreography and critic’s choice awards over the past few years. In her free time, she is the head coach of the Mountainside High School Dance Team- a competition/ performance team in Beaverton, OR.
Katy has been teaching dance since she was 15 and has a passion for introducing kids to the wide variety of movement styles that dance has to offer. She believes no two dancers are alike and focuses on tailoring technical training in various styles to fit the needs and abilities of each individual. She loves the community at HDC and looks forward to watching the students grow and thrive through dance each year!
Megan Ouellette
Hip Hop, Acro
Megan has taught acro and hip hop at HDC for the past four years. She holds advanced certifications from Acrobatic Arts and has extensive teaching experience. She is known for her kindness, and for her way of helping every student to feel seen and supported.
Megan began dancing in high school and never stopped! She currently performs with the Portland-based dance company Rogue Society and as a backup dancer for BinKyee Bellflower and Roulette Delgato.
"My favorite thing about HDC is that confidence, love, and the dancers always comes first. There is so much love, support, and unity in the studio. Competition is never an issue between dancers or classes. Teamwork and a community feeling is difficult to find and I love that it's so strong at HDC!"
Office Staff
Shannon Brehmer
Office Manager
Shannon Brehmer has a master’s degree in elementary education and a minor in multicultural/global studies, with experience teaching in a variety of capacities, from classroom teacher to art teacher to working with students with learning differences. For the past 17 years, she has combined her love of teaching with her greatest joy, being a mom, and enjoys homeschooling and learning with her two wonderful daughters. She is also a home instruction teacher with the Hillsboro School District. Outside of the classroom, she has worked with kids as a T-ball coach and reading/math tutor. Originally from Minnesota, she and her husband have called Oregon home for over 20 years. Shannon loves reading, hiking, attending theater productions, playing board games, and going on adventures with her family, especially when they end with a scoop or two of ice cream!
She has over 10 years of experience behind the scenes managing backstage during dress rehearsals/recitals, costuming, prop-making and studio decorating. With a heart for children, Shannon is thrilled to be a part of the HDC family and work with the many wonderful teachers and students that call HDC home.
“My daughters love taking classes here, growing in their skills and learning from so many talented, supportive and encouraging teachers.”
Jennifer Kiess
Office Team
Jennifer is a mom of two HDC dancers who have danced at HDC since the doors opened eight years ago.
Jennifer has years of experience working with kids, especially preschool aged children. She has worked in daycare settings and is a former preschool teacher.
She loves spending time with her family and her dogs and watching football!
"HDC is family! It is a positive, safe place where everyone is welcome to come learn, make new friends and be creative in dance!"
Tina Stokes
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Projects & Accounting
Tina Stokes is passionate about family, learning and life. She graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in Marketing and Statistics. All of her favorite memories involve children. She is a mom of 4 amazing kids. She entered the dance world when her oldest daughter was 7 and now has 3 dancers, one pursuing a dance major in college. Her 3 daughters have all danced at HDC. Tina has been active in the education community teaching classes ranging from science, history, art and literature. She has directed two full length Shakespeare plays and coached a soccer team. Her favorite thing about dance is the confidence, strength, community and character it helps each dancer develop. Tina currently lives in Arizona and supports the dance studio remotely.
