Sara Battaglia
Director & Teacher
Ms. Sara started dancing around the age of 8 and shortly after became a competitive dancer learning skills in jazz, tap, lyrical, acro, ballet & pointe. She always had a love for ballet so soon followed that passion. She trained with Sarasota Ballet and School of Russian Ballet, taking intensives with Atlanta Ballet & Orlando Ballet. Throughout high school, she danced in the performing arts program performing performing notable roles such as Swanilda in Coppelia and the Snow Queen in the Nutcracker. Following high school, Sara went to further her dance education at the University of South Florida, where she learned all dance styles but focused on ballet & modern. During her time at USF, she also danced with School of Russian Ballet and Brandon Ballet. Sara graduated with her Associates in Arts and hoped to continue to her Bachelors but unfortunately a hip injury occurred. Since, Sara has taken ESE courses, became YPAD certified, took Autism trainings, and hopes to continue training in other ways. She also took a tap training course with Aubrey Cheek and continues to attend Florida Tap festivals. She has also done quite a bit of modeling, both for dance & fashion. Sara has taught at studios all over Florida and continues to teach for her own program and Dawson Dance Academy. She enjoys speaking to other dance teachers about making their studio a more inclusive environment and has presented at the Florida Dance Teacher conference. She hopes to instill her values of inclusion, acceptance and giving back to her dancers, as well as create a safe, welcoming environment where children and their love for dance can grow.
Amanda Ross
Assistant Director & Teacher
Ms. Amanda started dancing at Karl & Dimarco School of Theatre and Dance at the age of three, where she continued her training for 16 years. She has experience in multiple dance styles, but focuses on ballet and tap. She has danced as a Swan in Swan Lake and received her most recent ballet training from Ms. Sara. Amanda is in her third year at St. Petersburg College and working to complete her associates degree, with plans to pursue a Bachelors in Special Education from there as well. She is a NASM certified personal trainer, YPAD certified, and an intern for Traveling Tutus. In addition to continuing her training in both dance and working with children of all abilities, Amanda has also taken a tap teacher training course with Aubrey Cheek and enjoys attending various tap festivals in the area. Dance has always been a huge part of her life, with her passion for helping students with different abilities being the result of pushing through her own learning challenges and anxiety, something that has allowed her to accept and appreciate the differences of others. She loves being a part of Dancing for Donations because of its inclusive, welcoming environment and it being a place where dancers of all abilities can dance together as well as share their love of dance!
Tedra Mason
Acro & Combo 1 Teacher
Ms. T joined Dancing for Donations as a teacher & assistant summer of 2018. She is a first grade teacher in Hillsborough County and has experience working with children of all ages. She has experience in ballet, pointe, jazz, acro/flexibility training, and cheer leading. She trained with Ms. Sara at North Port High School and Universal Dance Academy. Ms.T hopes to become Acrobatic Arts certified in the next year and continues to educate herself through adult classes. She has loved to dance since a young age and is excited to get back to what she loves after a few years!
" I love to work with children and am excited to step into a dance teacher position to help your children grow not only as dancers and learners but as leaders with perseverance, courage, and compassion."
" I love to work with children and am excited to step into a dance teacher position to help your children grow not only as dancers and learners but as leaders with perseverance, courage, and compassion."
Savannah Stepp
Acro & Hip Hop Teacher
Ms. Savannah’s training started in Norfolk, Virginia where she began dancing at a very young age and fell in love with the art! She began competing on a national level winning numerous titles and awards. She continued her training at The University of Cincinnati where she trained and danced on the Cincinnati’s Dance team! Her training includes Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Pom, and Acro. Savannah has a love for all styles but finds herself having the most fun in Hip Hop! After graduation Savannah taught at local studios and found a love for teaching the youth! Teaching all styles and ages she enjoys being able to share her passion with others. She recently moved to Tampa, Florida and is continuing her dance career teaching children! Savannah is very excited to share her love for dance at Dancing for Donations!
Kimberly Errity
Yoga Teacher
Mrs. Kim is married and has two sons, ages 22 and 20. She has been teaching elementary school in Hillsborough county for 26 years. She has taught Pre-K, K, 1st, PE, and ESE. She has been doing yoga for over 10 years and received a certification through Yoga Ed. about 5 years ago and started teaching it to the students at Brooker elementary and then the HOST program. Last summer, she received her official yoga certification through the Breathe 4 Change program which focuses on yoga, self-care, and social emotional learning for educators. She will be attending another children’s yoga training in July called Kidding Around Yoga and will receive certification from them!
Dancing for Donations is YPAD certified! This means our teachers are trained in making the dance environment for your child safe and age-appropriate. Teachers are also CPR certified & background checked. We hope to make the dance environment the most ideal environment for every child.
We are a Wingman for Dance studio! We love the morals and values Wingman teaches and are excited to start implementing their ideas into our program.
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"Behind every dancer who believes in themselves, is a teacher who believed in them first." ~Anonymous