Laura Williams: Artistic Director / Owner

Laura Williams created Ambition Dance Productions to provide technical dance and musical theater training as well as college and professional career mentorships in Southlake, TX, the heart of DFW. She is part of the choreography team for the Miss Universe Organization, with the 2015 Miss Universe and 2016 Miss USA pageants in Las Vegas. Laura graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University and performed across America, Malaysia, and Singapore. Laura performed nine years as a Radio City Rockette in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with additional NY work for Lincoln Center, NY City Center, and the National Tap Extravaganza at Town Hall with Buster Brown, Savion Glover, and Jimmy Slyde. As an Actors Equity and AGVA union member she performed in musicals including Beauty & the Beast, My One and Only, 42nd Street, Pajama Game, and Evita. Teaching for twenty years, she has worked in the dance studio and competition industry as an artistic director, competition judge and regional director, former studio director of Studio A Dance Southlake, and continues to provide new opportunities for aspiring students in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Angela Sellers: Jazz/Lyrical Technique & Company Choreography

Angie Sellers, a former Disney World dancer, is the Director and  Choreographer for many award winning entertainment companies that produce shows for multiple Theme Parks, Touring shows, and Corporate  Events across the county and abroad. She recently was awarded the distinguished ”Spotlight Award” as Creative Director of the Year.  Throughout her career she has directed and choreographed many Six  Flags productions, Industrials, Professional Basketball dance teams and  Television Specials including NFL halftime shows. She choreographed  the touring production of “The World’s Greatest Magic” and “The World  of Magic” in Branson, MO. Angie is co-owner of the production  company, Two4one Productions, who choreographs for “Darci Lynne and Friends”, winner of America’s Got Talent. She is honored to have  co-produced and choreographed a live televised special that won an  EMMY Award for “Best Special Event”. A member of Dance Masters  of America, Angie has established herself as a master teacher,  choreographer, and performer. She is passionate about sharing her love  of dance and travels with many organizations judging and teaching across  the United States. She recently moved to the DFW area and is excited to be teaching at Ambition Dance Productions. 

 

Rion Towery: Company Choreographer & Guest Instructor

Rion Towery has been working professionally in the entertainment industry for the past 16 years in the U.S. and internationally. Currently, he is a performer with the group Vocal Trash performing in Romania and Morocco summer 2016 and an MC for Encore Performing Arts competition. He has worked at Troy University as a guest choreographer and in Costa Rica for their yearly Jazz Dance Festival. He has performed as a dancer in the Hip Hop/Pop music and industrial scene for such companies as Cabi Fashion, La Quinta Inns, and Mary Kay Cosmetics. Rion has had the opportunity to perform alongside such artists as Destiny Child’s “Beyonce”. He has also been the leading man in musical theatre stage productions of Gershwin’s Crazy for You as Bobby Childs, and Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady as Freddie Eynsford-Hill. Rion has received many awards and top honors for his choreography at competitions in the U.S. He has performed not only as a dancer, singer, and actor for Disney Theme Parks and Six Flags, but as a stunt man as well. With a college degree in Music, Vocal Performance and Dance from Centenary College of Louisiana, Rion likes to combine all facets of dance and theatre into his style and choreography. Growing up as a Bboy and Hip Hop dancer, Rion has stayed true to his roots while incorporating other styles for more of a contemporary hip hop feel. He believes that “dance should be more than just the movement of the body.  It should be a journey and self-expression of one’s self. Dance should be fun and exciting while learning the discipline and hard work it takes to be a great performer!”

Mariah Jackson: Jazz, Lyrical, Technique Instructor
With over 20 years in the dance industry, Mariah has an extensive range of artistic and professional dance experience. Born and raised in Fort Worth, TX, Mariah began her lifelong dance career at the young age of 4. Studying locally and country wide, Mariah furthered her dance education by studying under a vast number of industry known dance masters. With nearly a decade of teaching experience, Mariah is currently an Associate choreographer for Tarrant County College. You can find Mariah’s choreography credits throughout many Texas school districts dance programs, college dance festivals, and more.

 

Mandi Kolling: Tap & Jazz Technique, Company Choreographer
Mandi Bryan knew at a young age the dance world would definitely be in her future. Being trained in all areas of dance and specializing in Jazz, Tap, Contemporary & Technique, Mandi stresses the importance of being a well rounded and strong dancer.
Mandi has had the opportunity to dance and work in almost all areas of the entertainment industry. While living in New York and California, she continued her training and began her performing career. She’s performed in numerous industrials, shows, benefits and awards shows while working with some amazing artists along the way. From MAC makeup to Pfizer pharmaceutical, Tap shows to Swing shows, the MTV VMAS to Dancers Responding to Aids, she’s been fortunate to perform in a variety of styles and events. All that time, Mandi became heavily involved in teaching, whether in studio or traveling as a master teacher on convention. She also has judged for a wide range of competitions and loves being able to offer her critiques and share her knowledge. Deciding to embark on a new adventure, Mandi moved to Dallas, TX to co-own/direct Motion Center for Dance for six years. She found her true passion lied in choreographing and working with kids on a more continuous and ongoing basis. Through Motion, the privilege was given to be able to train and be a part of some amazing peoples lives, and give them the tools needed to go on and achieve their dreams. After Motion, Mandi continued training passionate dancers at Larkin Dance Studio where she once trained herself years ago. Many of her students have gone on to dance professionally in shows, companies, and cruise ships. Others dance through college, programs including Juilliard, The University of Minnesota, NYU, Chapman, and OCU. Mandi‘s energetic classes and innovative choreography is why she’s in constant demand among many. Her “mind over matter” mentality is what keeps her students inspired, while her students continue to inspire her. Most recently she’s continuing to teach and choreograph, while judging and occasionally performing. Living in a place she now calls “home”, she is more than excited to share her experiences with others.
Janya Cook: Hip Hop, Jazz & Drill Team Technique

Janya is originally from Paris, TX where she trained and competed with the Elite Dance Academy of Paris. She studied dance at Tyler Junior College and was a member of the Apache Bells. She currently attends University Texas at Arlington and is studying Kinesiology with a minor in dance. She is trained in all styles of dance including jazz, jazz funk, hip hop, and lyrical/modern. She is a choreographer and instructor for the Young Audiences Program of Northeast Texas. She is also a member of the Texas Live Lonestar Dance Team.

Jessie Brown: Hip Hop

Jessie is from Dallas, Texas and has been training in hip-hop for over 12 years. Through participating in numerous competitive dance teams, to learning from elite choreographers from around the world, she has discovered and run with a huge passion for hip-hop dance. Jessie has been teaching her choreography for 3 years now at many different studios, while holding an officer and choreographer position for UNT’s Choreoblock as well. She is humbled to continue to be able to share her creativity and love of dance to others. Jessie joined the faculty of Ambition Dance Productions in 2020 and is excited to share her passion with her students.

 

Tina Tobias - Contemporary & Jazz Technique
Tina Tobias was born and raised in Flower Mound, Texas and has been training all around the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex in dance for nine years. Tina was an inaudgural member of the Ambiton Dance Company. Tina is currently in her senior year at the University of North Texas pursuing a BA in Dance and she will graduate in May. She has performed alongside Todrick Hall at the Black Tie Charity Event in 2017. Tina also performed in UNT’s Faculty Dance Concert and the New Choreographers Concert in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In addition to performing Tina has a passion for teaching dance and hopes to continue doing both upon graduating.

 

Wendy Jenkins: Executive Director / Owner

Wendy is a highly accomplished executive and business leader with demonstrated technical, operations and business management experience. She has notable success articulating organizational vision and executing strategies to maximize operations performance and profitability.

Wendy left her executive role after 21 years in financial services and technology. She spent a year consulting in the dance industry in studio operations and management. She decided her next venture would leverage her business experience and her love of dance which started at age 5. Wendy danced for 13 years  (ballet, pointe, jazz and tap) with her focus on competitive baton twirling. She won many state and national championships and was captain of her dance / baton twirling team in high school.

Wendy was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She graduated from Bryant University in Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. She spent her professional career working in Boston and relocated with her job to Texas in 2011.

Wendy lives in Southlake, TX with her husband Michael, her beautiful daughter Emma (who is also a dancer), and 2 shitzu-poodle fur babies Brenson and Brody.

Wendy loves her new role as a business owner. She loves seeing the dancers explore their passion for dance and the joy that she sees in and outside of the classroom and stage. She also loves the costumes – from vision to creation.

 

Yulia Ilina: Ballet Program Lead & Choreographer - Ballet, Pointe, Variations

I was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1981 to professional championship athlete parents. Since childhood my parents enforced a commitment of hard work which helped me to later overcome difficult situations.  At the age of 7, my mother took me to the “arts school” in Kiev.  The professor of the dance class, L. Shatilov, an honored artist of Ukraine, exclaimed after checking my physical abilities: “A child like this is born once in a hundred years. She must be professionally engaged in the ballet.”

I first attended the Kiev Ballet School 1991–the only specialized school in Ukraine that trains professional ballet dancers.  By the end of the fourth year of training, I had already been included in the corps de balletscenes of the National Opera of Ukraine, among the older dancers.  During the last year I danced solo pas de deux and a number of modern dance compositions.  Upon graduation, I was the only one in the class who received the esteemed invitation to go to St. Petersburg and audition for the Eifman Ballet Theater.

The audition was a success and I was offered a contract with one of the best theaters in the world.  Working in this theater was not easy, but within a year I firmly established myself in the main part of the troupe and was engaged in all the productions of the theater.

From 1999 to 2004, as a member of the theater, I toured all over the world.  I danced in the U.S., France, England, Germany, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Croatia, South Korea, and other locations.  In addition, Eifman’s Theater performed on numerous Russia stages including the Bolshoy Theater in Moscow.

In 2004, I decided to expand my experience in teaching and choreography. At the invitation of A. Andreev, honored artist of Russia and a master of the St. Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, I was selected as assistant teacher-choreographer of his Drama class. Working with students of the Drama Department opened new pathways of artistic thinking and ways to apply it in through many mediums in the profession. I realized that in order to dance well, one does not necessarily have to encompass perfect physique and ballet training. When creating choreography for my students, I tried to focus not only on common rules, but also on the individuality of the artist.

Ultimately, applying the same principle, I choreographed several productions for Operetta Theater, such as “Sylva”, “Cinderella”, and “Mr. X”.  The 2005 premieres of these productions were successfully held in Riga, Latvia; Vilnius, Lithuania, and are standard repertoire of the Operetta Theater program.

In 2007, I returned to performing on stage and became a member of the St. Petersburg State Academic Theater named after L. Jacobson.  A month after signing a contract, I successfully performed the role of Myrtha in the ballet “Giselle” and immediately was promoted to the position “Soloist of the Highest Category”.  As a soloist, I toured extensively with the Theater in Russia, U.S., Mexico, Germany, Japan, and Israel.  My performances received high critical acclaim.  In 2010, the St. Petersburg Committee of Culture awarded me the Diploma of Recognition: “for the best preservation of traditions and invaluable contribution to the development of Russian ballet”.

In the conferral of my certification, to ascribe the highest status for the soloist of the ballet, the chairman of the Certification Commission stated:  “Images of Ms. Ilina’s characters, written in secretly-fragile choreographic patterns, unveil a saturated palette of her diverse personality.  Each new work opens up new facets of her talent.  She is able to lead and to assist the partners exceptionally well in the creative process.”

Currently, I have reached a pinnacle of acquired skill and practiced expertise.  I now feel compelled to expand my accomplished experience to the teaching profession. I know how to help students to expand their professional and artistic horizons, have complete confidence in themselves, and to transfer their inner thoughts and feelings through the art of dance.

 

Constance Dolph: Dance Instructor - Ballet, Pointe, Modern

Constance Dolph, a native to Dallas Texas, began her classical training under Nathalie Krassovska of the Ballet Russe. She was a pre-professional dancer with Dance Institute of Dallas where she performed leads roles such as Lilac Fairy, Giselle, and Odette. In May of 2013, Constance graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BFA in Dance Performance where she performed works by Martha Graham, Shen Wei, Millicent Johnnie, Max Stone, Bruce Woods, and Mel Tomlinson. Following graduation, she performed with Martha Graham’s second company, Graham II, in the works Lamentations, Temptations of the Moon, Appellation Springs, Cortege of Eagles, and Acts of Light. Recently returning to Dallas from New York City, we are excited to have Constance Dolph sharing her knowledge and talents with our Ambition dancers.

 

Cara Switzer: Young Children's Program, Jazz, Technique, Drill Team Instructor & Choreographer

Cara Switzer brings over 19 years of teaching/directing experience with her. Cara is an accomplished dancer, singer, instructor and choreographer who graduated from the University of North Texas in 2003 with a degree in Business Administration. She has been studio trained since the age of 4 and has loved the arts from the beginning! Her experience, combined with a focus on building her student’s confidence in the classroom and onstage are a proven recipe for success! Cara’s dance resume includes over 35 years of studio experience, and teaching in the DFW area since 1998 at various reputable studios, including 11 years as a Dance Company Director and Instructor at Lifesong Studio and 7 years as an Instructor at Doubletake Dance Studio.  As a child, Cara grew up in the entertainment industry, with credits in television, film and print, including JC Penney, Dilliards and the Saturday morning TV show “All Star Kids”. She worked alongside artists such as Jo Anne Worley (from Laugh In) and many others. As an adult, Cara concentrated her efforts in the competitive dance world and has coached and choreographed several National Champion soloists and groups and her students and routines have received numerous overall and top awards at both Regional and National competitions. Cara is consistently recognized for her creative routines and choreography and received “Best Choreography” at competitions including Stage One, Hall of Fame, Talent on Parade, Starquest, International Dance Challenge and many others. Her routines also won the coveted “Critics Choice” award at both the 2010 & 2011 Onstage NY Competition. Cara also served as the choreographer for the Colleyville Heritage High School Ovation Jazz Choir from 2000-2005 and Cara did choreography for LifeStage Theatre’s 2007 production of Scrooge, the Musical, 2009’s Seussical and 2013’s Wizard of Oz. She has also choreographed for jazz choirs and musicals at schools all over the North Texas area. While being at the studio is one of her passions, Cara also has a lot of enthusiasm and experience with Drill Team working as an instructor, choreographer, and adjudicator for American Dance/Drill Team School for several years. She now is a veteran judge for Crowd Pleasers Dance Company, with over 15 years of judging experience. She now serves on Crowd Pleaser’s core judging panel and gives seminars on judging at various dance and drill team events. She also judges drill and dance team tryouts all over the North Texas area.  In 2004, Cara was instrumental in the development of a dance ministry at Highland Meadows Christian Church (now Compass) in Colleyville, TX where she served as choreographer. Cara and her students have participated in many televised events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the FedEx Orange Bowl, and many Dallas Cowboys Halftime Performances with stars such as Destiny’s Child, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson, Billy Gilman, Toby Keith, Creed, The Jonas Brothers and many others. Cara has three beautiful children, Sawyer, Savannah & Sutton and they reside in Hurst, Texas, where Cara continues to teach dance and manages a custom dancewear company, Just Dance Customs.

Jayci Meister: Contemporary
Luke Kolling: Lyrical/ Contemporary, Company Choreography
Luke Kolling started dancing at a young age and hasn’t stopped since. Through dance, Luke’s been able to teach, live and preform in a multitude of places. In his professional career he’s had the opportunity to work with many top artists in the industry and companies alike; such as Vanessa Williams, Amber, Gloria Estefan, Target, Hilton, Warner Bros., Disney, Wendy’s and Redken. He’s danced on stages in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orlando, or the occasional city near you in a variety of different venues from stage to TV. Not only did Luke have a niche for performing he also had a love for creating. Early on his passion for creating was found in teaching and choreographing. His smooth style and ability to create the perfect dance atmosphere is what enables him to train a dancer who is confident and care free. Since the late 90’s, Luke has been choreographing and teaching, doing master classes, dance camps, conventions and in-studio choreography. He’s directed and choreographed a wide range of shows and feels privileged to have worked in so many aspects of this field.
From 2005-2011 he was the Co-owner, director of Motion Center for Dance in Dallas, TX. During this time he had the opportunity to learn the “ins and outs” of having a studio as well as working with a group of students he could inspire and be inspired by every day. Many of his students have gone on to dance for colleges of their choice such as Juilliard, NYU, OCU, Chapman and others have moved on to New York or LA to continue their careers in companies, shows, cruise ships, or become teachers themselves.
Furthering his student base Luke then moved to MN to teach at the world renowned Larkin Dance Studio. Now living and based out of Texas Luke continues to share his talents with others locally and around the country.
Daniel Lim: Contemporary & Technique

Daniel S. Lim graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Southern Methodist University where he trained in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz. Soon after, Daniel joined Bruce Wood Dance as a company member and featured performances on World of Dance Houston. Lim has also performed in A Chorus Line (Larry), toured as a backup dancer for Vietnamese artists such as Pham Luu Tuan Tai (Isaac), Bao Ahn, Hong Ngoc (Ruby), and Song Luan. Daniel is currently in his first season with the Zion Dance Project. Daniel Lim joined the Ambition Dance Productions faculty in 2020 and teaches Contemporary & Jazz technique.

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