Our Team.
Jali Stafford
Founder
HipHop & Tap Instructor
Jali Stafford started her dance journey in Bossier City, Louisiana at the age of 2. She trained in many styles of dance on her competitive journey including ballet, pointe, contemporary, lyrical, modern, tap, hiphop, musical theater, and jazz. When Jali turned 14 she started choreographing/student teaching at her home studio. By the age of 15, she had her own recreational dance classes and by the age of 16 she was choreographing competitive routines. She won multiple titles while competing including Senior Dancer of the Year at Celebration Talent Competition. After high school, Jali went on to major in Dance Performance at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock and received her Bachelors in Fine Arts. During her undergraduate experience, she worked at Triumph National Talent Competition as backstage manager, and is now the official Emcee and Sound Technician. She earned the competition director position at her home studio in Arkansas and received a multitude of technique, choreography, and overall awards this season such as; the 12 and Older Most Entertaining Award at KAR Dance Competition, the 11 and Under Technique Award at Edge Talent Competition, and the Teen Encore Award at Triumph National Talent Hot Springs Nationals. Jali is now working to create her very own dance convention debuting in October called “Double Take”. Double Take is Jali’s chance to extend the opportunities and experiences from her past three year as a traveling choreographer across Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas. Her main goals as a dance teacher and choreographer are to create smart, employable, and empowered dancers ready for their next step into the professional industry!
Laney Belle
Contemporary & Acro Instructor
Laney Smith was born and raised in White Hall, Arkansas. She graduated from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock and received a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts with an emphasis on Dance Performance. She has studied and continues to study various styles of dance that include ballet, contemporary, hip hop, jazz, modern, musical theater, and tap. She also studies gymnastic disciplines when she is not dancing. Laney found her love to dance at the age of two and now shares her love with students across the nation. Laney has been in the competition dance world for 22 years as a student and now an instructor. In those years, she has received multiple national titles and awards. She as trained and performed in various cities and is now employed by Triumph National Talent as a Director/ Production Manager. In her free time, Laney enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and with her dogs Earl and Sam.
Kayla Burke
Injury Prevention & Hip Hop Instructor
Kayla Burke grew up dancing at Tutus and Tennis Shoes, training from the age of 3 through 18, where her love for both dance and teaching began. By 14 she was student teaching, and she is now stepping into her first year as a competition choreographer. She also worked behind the scenes in the industry, spending three seasons on staff with a dance competition, which gave her a unique perspective on the competitive world.
Hip hop has always been her favorite style, earning her multiple solo titles, including the National Explosive Entertainer Award. Beyond performance, Kayla’s true passion is helping dancers reach their fullest potential. She is a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant, certified in dance physical therapy, and the owner of Dance Strong, a wellness-based training program designed to build strength, flexibility, mobility, and resilience against injuries.
At conventions, Kayla combines the artistry of a lifelong dancer with the science of movement and injury prevention. Her mission is simple: to empower dancers to move smarter, train safer, and perform stronger.
Addi Knight
Jazz & Musical Theater Instructor
Addi Knight is a lifetime resident of Rison, AR where her love of dance began to develop almost two decades ago. She has trained in numerous styles of dance with a heavy emphasis on musical theatre and tap. In her time as a performer, Addi was awarded numerous awards for outstanding showmanship, scholarships and national champion titles with one of her favorites being the coveted Encore award at Triumph National Talent. Addi has also danced on the collegiate level as a member of the Golden Girls dance team at Arkansas Tech University. She is now living in her full circle moment as an award winning choreographer teaching at her hometown studio, Rison Starz Dance Academy, as well as Mrs. Tana’s Dance Factory and working as Tour Director for Triumph National Talent. When Addi isn’t dancing, she enjoys working as the store manager at her family-owned restaurant, Mom & Pop’s Cafe, taking the boat to the lake and spending time with her husband, Hayden, their dog, Slinky, and cat, Milo. Addi is so blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to share her love of dance with others and can’t wait to bust a move and meet some new friends at Double Take!
Trent Montgomery
Ballet Instructor
Trent Montgomery is a SEARK-born dance artist, teacher and choreographer, recently stepping into the role of Associate Director at Arkansas Festival Ballet. He toured stateside, and internationally for several years with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, where he was also featured in The New York Times for his artistry and performance excellence with the company. He holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a MFA in Performance and Choreography from Florida State University, where he had the privilege to perform works by Merce Cunningham, Dan Wagoner and others. While residing in Florida, he danced with The Tallahassee Ballet and served as the Associate Artistic Director of Ballet Arts Conservatory of Tallahassee for several years. He has worked extensively as an educator for dance, and he is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique teacher.
Ivette Lopez
Latin Fusion, Musical Theatre, & Improv Instructor
Ivette Lopez is an award-winning choreographer, creative director, and co-owner of Fuego Dance Co in the Tampa Bay area in Florida. With over 30 years of dance experience, she specializes in Latin Fusion, Jazz Funk, Musical Theatre, Hip-Hop and everything in between. Her choreography has been recognized across Florida with numerous titles, top awards, and industry accolades.
A lifelong performer, Ivette began her competitive dance career in Indianapolis, IN, where she trained extensively in dance, theatre, and vocal performance for more than a decade. She earned multiple scholarships, including a prestigious summer intensive in Los Angeles, where she trained with legendary choreographers such as Travis Payne, Vince Paterson, Brian Friedman, and many more.
After relocating to Florida, Ivette performed for the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando and became a member of CoMotion Dance Company at St. Petersburg College, deepening her skills in Modern and Contemporary dance. She went on to perform professionally through 2016. A pivoting moment from dancer to choreographer was when Ivette was selected to showcase at ShowStoppers Miami, debuting her work alongside some of today’s most notable choreographers in the Latin music industry. Her creative direction spans a wide range of projects, from conceptual dance films, music videos for up-and-coming artists, to large-scale productions like The Unstylish Virtual Fashion Show—the first of its kind in Florida. Ivette’s passion for dance education has taken her nationwide, judging and teaching at conventions and masterclasses, specifically spreading knowledge of Latin Fusion and other innovative fusion styles. Whether on stage, on set, or in the studio, Ivette Lopez is always creating—pushing the boundaries of artistry and performance.
Alex Spugnardi
Social Media Manager
Born from a passion for dance, performance, and storytelling, Spug Studios bridges the gap between dance and social media.
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Growing up, owner Alex Spugnardi immersed herself in dance and musical theater, developing a love for performing and the arts. Her passion grew, and she began teaching dance in her teen years, a role she continued well into adulthood. Through this journey, she discovered that small businesses and dance studios were often being quoted outrageous prices for social media management. This sparked the creation of Spug Studios, with the mission of helping studios and small businesses grow and promote themselves online at an accessible rate.
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As Alex expanded her work in the dance social media field alongside industry professionals, she noticed that many dancers and choreographers were still using outdated headshots. From there, her mission grew: to provide affordable photography and social media services for dancers, studio owners, artists, and industry professionals. And that brings us to where we are today! Spug Studios, a creative small business where passion meets production.
