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/Acro, Preballet
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.”
Maile Crowder
Ballet, Acro, Ballroom
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!
Sonya Gandee
Preballet
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. Sonya will be living in Australia for part of this year, but will be back teaching for the 2026-2027 school year!
Courtney Guillmette
Preballet, Tap/Jazz, Jazz, Company
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.
Amanda Hoban
Company, Ballet, Contemporary
Amanda is a dynamic performer, educator and community leader with a diverse background in dance and education. She started her teaching career with Holly back in 2005 while she was still in high school and never looked back!
She has taught at multiple studios in Los Angeles and the Portland area teaching styles such as ballet/pointe, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, jazz funk, hip hop, aerial and tap. She has assisted putting on benefit galas, showcases, parades and community events. Amanda believes that there is a place in the studio for everyone. She places a lot of value on making sure all dancers feel safe and comfortable to express themselves.
Amanda had the opportunity to perform with her classmates, setting pieces on fellow classmates and working with stage crew to put on shows in college. In the past few years, Amanda has been in multiple companies in the Portland metro area including: Lyfe Dance company, 11 Dance Company, Grandma's Medicine Cabinet , Nonsense Dance Company (dancer and assistant director), and, most recently, a member of Fresh Vibe dance company.
Amanda's joy for dance is unmatched. She has been perfecting her craft for the last 26 years and still loves it just as much as the first day she stepped foot in the classroom.
She is very excited to join the Hillsboro Dance Center family. Amanda has been watching the talent from afar and can't wait to pour into all the dancers! Her favorite thing about HDC is the talent she sees!
Byraissia Jones
Contemporary, Company, 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 has advanced certifications 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.
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 taught all styles and levels of dance. She has a special calling for working with young children and working with dancers with learning differences. She is certified to teach Acro by Acrobatic Arts.
"My favorite thing about HDC is the teachers and their dedication to helping each dancer reach their goals."
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!"
Tessa Perez
Hip Hop, Acro, Contemporary, Jazz/Lyrical, Ballet
Tessa is an alumni of HDC and is so excited to be back! She graduated from Brigham Young University with her BFA in Dance with an emphasis in Performance and Choreography. She has trained with NorthWest Dance Project in Portland, and SALT, Ririe-Woodbury and Repertory Dance Theatre in Salt Lake City. She also had the opportunity to work with many renowned choreographers such as Omar Roman De Jesus, Jesse Obremski, LajaMartin, Tristan Grey, and others. She received her certification to teach Acro from Acrobatic Arts.
Tessa hopes to share her passion for dance and strives to create a safe space for her students. She is excited about helping dancers find their niche and believing in themselves more every day. "My favorite thing about HDC is the supportive and encouraging environment!"
Natalia Thoben
Ballet, Pointe
Natalia is a dedicated ballet dancer and instructor originally from Argentina. She discovered her passion for ballet at the age of six and went on to train extensively in classical ballet, pointe, and contemporary dance throughout her childhood and teen years. Her education included workshops and summer intensives with renowned artists such as Cecilia Kerche (Ballet Theatre of Rio de Janeiro), Oscar Gacio (Vienna State Opera), and Mario Zaraspe (The Juilliard School).
In 2009, Natalia performed as a soloist in a special hometown production of Giselle, alongside dancers and choreographers from the esteemed Colón Theater. She went on to compete in prestigious dance competitions in Argentina and Brazil, earning 1st place for her solo in the “Odalisques” variation from Le Corsaire in 2011, and 3rd place for her “Dulcinea” variation from Don Quixote in 2012, among other accolades.
Natalia earned her Bachelor's Degree as a Professor of Classical Dance in 2015 from Escuela Municipal de Danzas Norma Fontenla. Since 2011, she has been teaching ballet to students of all ages and skill levels in both Argentina and the United States.
What she loves most about HDC is its warm, inclusive atmosphere and the wide range of dance styles it offers.
Guest Choreographer
Bridget Derville-Teer
Performing Company Choreographer
From Portland to New York City to Los Angeles, Bridget Derville-Teer has devoted her entire life to the Performing Arts. She grew up dancing competitively in Oregon. Midway through her senior year of high school, she was featured on Season 15 of “So You Think You Can Dance,” making it through to the top 40 dancers and performing her own choreography several times.
Bridget has been dancing professionally with the contemporary company, “MarInspired; The Storytellers” since 2017, performing at Utah’s “Dancing Under The Stars,” “Young Choreographer’s Festival,” “Katie’s Art Project,” “Carnival,” and “Club Jeté” under the direction of Marinda Davis.
Bridget spent two years training with two New York City programs: The Professional Semester at Broadway Dance Center and the Intensive Semester at Peridance Capezio Center.
In 2021 she moved to California where she danced and choreographed for several Louis Metric music videos and performed at choreography festivals for Natalya Z, MaryAnn Chavez, Chloe Erlandson, Julie JJ Joseph, and Marinda Davis. She also dances and acted in conceptual videos for Samantha Mandich, Krystal Castillo, Rumer Noel, and Lume Dance Collective.
When Bridget is not taking dance classes at Movement Lifestyle and Millennium or in acting classes at Playhouse West, she spends her time teaching at 8 Count Dance Academy and choreographing for competitive studios in the Portland and Los Angeles areas. She is also the Assistant Director for two pre-professional dance programs in LA.
She’s also really funny.
Office Staff
Jennifer Kiess
Office Manager
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
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. 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.
Class Assistants
Grace
Grace has been dancing for 8 years. She was on the HDC performing company the first year it started and has been competing ever since. When she’s not dancing or studying she loves music and spending time with friends and family. Her favorite thing about HDC is how supportive all the teachers and dancers are and being challenged to learn and grow.
Sydney
Sydney has studied dance all her life. In addition to dance, she volunteers for Washington County Search and Rescue and loves traveling and watching sports, especially the Seattle Krakens!
"My favorite thing about HDC is that everyone is always trying to help you be the best you can be. They are always supporting you and lifting you up no matter what."
Marissa
Marissa Klein is a dedicated dancer with a strong foundation in contemporary, jazz, and lyrical. She has been competing at HDC for a number of years. Marissa also assists dance classes and helps younger dancers grow while building her own skill as a leader. She is passionate about performing, learning, and sharing her love of dance with others.
"My favorite thing about HDC is the welcoming and supportive environment. The teachers and classmates are always there to encourage and lift you up."
