Westwood Dance

Rebecca began dancing at the age of three. She danced at Fort Bend Academy of Dance in Sugar Land, under the direction of Michael Bannigan and Dianne Jarrell. She was a member of the pre-professional dance company, BalletForte. In her time spent with the company she had the opportunity to perform many different ballets including, Coppelia, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and various works choreographed by Mr. Bannigan. Along with being a principal member of BalletForte, Rebecca was also an active member of her high school drill team, The Dulles Dolls. She spent three years as a member serving as a lieutenant and Co-captain her senior year of high school. After graduating, Rebecca attended Sam Houston State University and received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in dance. While at Sam Houston, she was fortunate enough to work with an esteemed faculty, Dana Nicolay, Jennifer Pontius, Dr. Cindy Gratz, Andrew Noble, Melissa Wynn. She is very excited about being the director of Westwood Dance Academy and can not wait to meet all the beautiful dancers.  

Kim Taylor began dancing at the age of five under the direction of Debbie Busby at Busby Dancecenter in Victoria, TX. She was a member of the Victoria Ballet Theatre for four years. She was accepted into both Joffrey and Ballet Austin’s summer intensive programs. Ms. Kim traveled with the Victoria Ballet Theatre to Regional Dance America for two years. She had the opportunity to travel with VBT to Austria and Germany to perform and take master classes. During her years with the Victoria Ballet Theatre Ms. Kim performed in many ballets from Firebird, Cinderella, and their annual performance of the Nutcracker. In high school Ms. Kim became a member of the St. Joseph High School drill team, the Starlighters. She was an officer for two years and Captain her senior year. Ms. Kim won numerous awards at camps and was a solo winner at a competition the drill team attended. She choreographed a number of the teams dance performances and solos for other dancers. She is a 2007 graduate of Sam Houston State University with a BA in Fashion Merchandising and minor in Dance. Ms. Kim had the opportunity to perform in Kista Tucker’s Dance Company and the Sam Houston Dance Company performances. She is currently dancing with the City Dance Company in Houston. Ms. Kim has had the privilege of being a part of Westwood Dance Academy since January 2008 and enjoys sharing her love of dance with others.

Haylee Garner has trained in the art of ballet, jazz, and modern for past 15 years. In high school, she studied in a small dance studio in Davison, MI where she trained in classical ballet, jazz, and tap. Upon graduation, Haylee attended Eastern University, which is located just outside of Philadelphia, PA and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Dance. While there, she continued her training in classical ballet under Dr. Joselli Deans a former dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. In addition, while attending Eastern, Haylee began her study of modern training in various techniques such as Horton, Graham, and Humphrey. During her four years at Eastern Haylee also trained in teaching the art of dance to the public whether in a classroom or studio setting. Upon graduating from Eastern in May, Haylee was accepted into the trainee program with the professional dance company Ad Deum in Houston, Texas. In the future Haylee hopes to continue teaching dance, performing with companies in the area, and eventually plans to return to school to achieve her Masters of Fine Arts.

Miss Kierstan Hernandez began dancing at the young age of four. She took classes at DanceWorks in Sugar Land, Texas. She recently graduated this past May from I.H. Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas. While at Kempner she was an active member of the schools’ drill team, the Cougar Brigade for four years. While on the team she had the opportunity to serve as an officer, being historian and then a junior and senior Lieutenant. She will be attending the University of Houston Downtown this fall to study medicine. Miss Kierstan is also going to be a member of the dance team at the university known as the Cougar Dolls. She is excited about teaching the dancers here at Westwood and we are excited to welcome her to the staff this year.