Richelle Sauceda-Lyon
Owner/Teacher
Richelle Sauceda is a native of Kansas City with a life long dream of owning her own dance studio. Miss Richelle brings with her 14 years of early dance training, 10 years of professional dance experience and over 25 years of teaching experience. Her training included multiple genres of dance, including tap, jazz, ballet, pointe & stage acrobatics, with studies in Kansas City, New York, Chicago & Arizona. She continues her training to this day at dance conventions and at Teacher events. Richelle's professional career started in Kansas City and ended up taking her worldwide on ships with both Celebrity and Princess Cruise Lines, to Las Vegas and to Branson, MO. Before opening her studio in Pleasant Hill Richelle taught at studios in Kansas City, Las Vegas, Springfield, MO and Lee's Summit, MO.
In addition to teaching and choreographing for her own award winning competition team, Miss Richelle works for several competitions teaching classes and serving as a judge. She has also choreographed the musicals for a local prominent private school for the last 13 years, along with show choirs for several local High Schools. She has received many regional and national awards for her choreography.
Miss Richelle is thrilled that every day she has the opportunity to enhance and change
lives through dance!
In addition to teaching and choreographing for her own award winning competition team, Miss Richelle works for several competitions teaching classes and serving as a judge. She has also choreographed the musicals for a local prominent private school for the last 13 years, along with show choirs for several local High Schools. She has received many regional and national awards for her choreography.
Miss Richelle is thrilled that every day she has the opportunity to enhance and change
lives through dance!
Erin Dechman
Teacher/Competition Team Choreographer
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Erin Dechman grew up dancing, studying Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Contemporary and Hip Hop. She was a competitive dancer for 14 years and had the opportunity to perform at the Jazz World Conference, Miss America pageant and with the Chief Cheerleaders.
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Debbie Sauceda
Office Manager
Miss Debbie is Miss Richelle's mother and has spent many years hanging out at the dance studio! After living in Branson for 9 years she moved to Pleasant Hill to help her daughter fulfill her dream of owning a dance studio. She loves watching all of the kids grow in their dance ability and their love for dance just as she watched Richelle do the same. Debbie is so proud of Richelle and the teacher she has become!
Tiffany Brown
Teacher
Tiffany received the majority of her ballet training in the pre-professional program at Kansas City Ballet School (KCBS). During her time in the school, she had the opportunity to train with Racheal Nye, a Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Teacher of the Year. She also trained with Juan Trujillo at Kansas School of Classical Ballet, who is also a YAGP Teacher of the Year. While a student at KCBS, she participated in their summer intensive and performed on the stage of the Kauffman Center in Kansas City Ballet’s productions of The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. Tiffany is currently working towards returning to the stage at the Kauffman, but this time as a professional with KCB. As a teacher, she is passionate about cultivating technical excellence in each of her students and helping them find their own unique joy as they express themselves through ballet. When she isn’t focused on teaching or training, Tiffany is also passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, whether it be making healthy snacks/smoothies, or working out. Above all, her mission is to see kids become all God created them to be.
Anna Boehm
Teacher/Competition Team Choreographer
Anna Boehm is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer in Kansas City, MO. Her recent performance settings include: City in Motion Dance Theatre, Modern Night at the Gem, Charlotte Street Open Studios, Creative Intersections, Charlotte Street Scratch Night, and the Waterperry Opera Festival. She has had the pleasure of performing works by Flockworks, Olivia Emert, Haley Kostas, Elaine Peaks, Fubunation, The Glitch Project, and Alison Curtis-Jones. Anna earned her degree in contemporary dance from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, England. Her choreographic work has been performed at Modern Night, Charlotte Street, and the Laban Theatre. In addition to performing and choreographing, Anna teaches in various roles across the city. Anna is director of the Young Choreographer’s Showcase with City in Motion Dance Theatre, mentoring students in the role of choreographer. Additionally, she teaches dance to students in public elementary schools, using her training from National Dance Institute’s DREAM Project, which provides students with and without disabilities the opportunity to take class and perform.
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Ava Martinez
Teacher
Ava is a Senior at Pleasant Hill High School. This is her 11th year dancing at PHDA and has been a member of the award winning dance team for 7 years. Ava enjoys all classes offered at PHDA and her favorite style of dance is jazz. Ava has been cast in The Nutcracker and The Wizard of Oz for multiple years. Ava has been a demonstrator for 3 years and is excited to be joining the PHDA teaching staff.
Jesselynn Divish
Teacher
Jesselynn is 17 years old. She took her first dance class when she was 4 and has loved dancing ever since. This will be her 13th year as part of the PHDA family. Over the years she has taken classes in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary, hip hop, musical theater, and acro. Currently, her favorite classes are hip hop & tap. She has been a competitive dancer with PHDA for 9 years and is looking forward to another great competition season in 2024. She has danced both lead and ensemble roles in every PHDA production of The Nutcracker and Wizard of Oz. Jesselynn has been a demonstrator for the past 4 years and a teacher for 1 year. She is excited to bring her love of dance back for a second year of teaching at PHDA!
Jadalyn Ransom
Aerial Silks/Lyra Instructor
Miss Jade absolutely loves dancing! A classically trained ballerina growing up, she’s been dancing for 30+ years, & spent 15 years teaching many forms of movement, including Ballet, Zumba, Stretch & Pilates. Her professional dance career took her across the US, & she toured with Dramatic Truth Ballet Theatre in England & Hungary (fun fact—Jade turned 30 while in England!).
Jade began her aerial journey at Voler in 2019. She enjoys bringing her dancing skills to the aerial hoop (also called a lyra), & was thrilled to join Voler on the stage as Pegasus, for Flights of Myth & Mayhem in July of 2022. For this role Jade performed ballet on pointe, as well as the aerial hoop.
Jade enjoys aerial so much because being in the air is the closest thing to flying there is!
When not hanging upside down, Jade can be found out in the wilds on Smithville Lake, stand up paddle boarding for hours. Jade’s favorite thing in life is to hang out with her family—she has 4 kids, 2 year-old grandson, & a new grandbaby due in August.
Jade loves helping to mentor future generations of circus performers, and is excited to teach kids aerial classes this fall!
Jade began her aerial journey at Voler in 2019. She enjoys bringing her dancing skills to the aerial hoop (also called a lyra), & was thrilled to join Voler on the stage as Pegasus, for Flights of Myth & Mayhem in July of 2022. For this role Jade performed ballet on pointe, as well as the aerial hoop.
Jade enjoys aerial so much because being in the air is the closest thing to flying there is!
When not hanging upside down, Jade can be found out in the wilds on Smithville Lake, stand up paddle boarding for hours. Jade’s favorite thing in life is to hang out with her family—she has 4 kids, 2 year-old grandson, & a new grandbaby due in August.
Jade loves helping to mentor future generations of circus performers, and is excited to teach kids aerial classes this fall!
Renee Miller
Shine Teacher
Renee started dancing at 3 years old and continued throughout college. She danced competitively at a young age, and also trained in cheerleading and gymnastics. She was a member of the Ray-Pec Prowlers dance team all four years of high school and was also a member of UCM’s Mulekickers throughout college. She danced professionally with the KC Wizards Dance Team (Now Sporting KC) and has always enjoyed making dance a part of her life.
Throughout college she had a desire to teach children the joy of dance and gymnastics, so she began teaching at Talent Central, where she really fell in love with educating others. Renee joins us to teach our SHINE class, an inclusive class for children with special needs. She loves to give all children the opportunity to experience the joy of dance and the pride of performing on stage! She loves to watch her daughter, who has special needs, overcome challenges and make lifelong friends in dance at PHDA. Renee lives in Pleasant Hill with her husband and three kids. She is excited to see each child make progress and have fun!!
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