Meet the team!

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Miss Brittney has over 16 years of cheer and dance experience. She started in 2008 at Polk Middle School and Ultimate Destination (UD) Cheer as a cheerleader. She cheered for years until she tore both of her ACL's and was forced to hang up her cheer shoes. Brittney then decided to to tryout for her high school varsity dance team, which she made varsity as a freshman. She missed the all-star life and went back to UD, where she danced as a soloist for the next two years. After high school, Brittney decided she wanted to share her passion of dance with kids. She then coached at a local dance studio for roughly three years. That studio then shut down so Brittney decided to open up her own dance studio. Dancing Stars Dance Studio emerged in July of 2016. 100's of students have walked through the doors and Brittney continues to share her passion with others. Brittney's favorite genre of dance is Jazz and Lyrical. She loves jazz because of all the sass that comes with it and she loves lyrical because of the emotion and passion it brings to compliment the technique of the dance. Brittney has also done other things outside of the dance studio such as dance and coach for a professional adult team for the Duke City Gladiators Pro Indoor football team. she has also dipped her toes into the wedding industry as a choreographer for first dances, wedding party dances and so much more. Lastly, she takes joy into taking pictures of family and friends. 

Danae began her cheer career in 7th grade when she joined Polk Middle School cheer team and Ultimate Destination (UD) allstar cheer. She cheered at Polk for 7th and 8th grade where they won many 1st place trophies and division champs. Danae made varsity cheer as a freshman at Albuquerque High School which was such an amazing experience. Danae competed on multiple teams at UD from 7th grade until her sophomore year when she got an injury which ended her cheer career. With UD she got to compete in many different states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Las Vegas, California for Nationals and even Florida for Worlds! Becoming a national champ and getting a bid to compete at worlds is one of the greatest accomplishments Danae has achieved.

Johanna began her dance journey when she joined her elementary school cheer team and then show choir all through middle school. In 2011, Johanna joined her high school dance team in Broken Bow, Ok. for 4 years then attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Ok. In 2015 to join the Sparks Dance team for all 4 years and graduated with a minor in dance. Johanna’s favorite style is Hip hop but also love Jazz and contemporary 

Jeri has 15 years of dance experience in various styles such as hip-hop, jazz and pom, but her passion for hip-hop started to bloom when she was about 13 years old. She started in 2005 at a small, local dance studio on the West Side of Albuquerque where she danced competitively up until high school. She made the transition between studio and dance team in 2014 when she tried out for the West Mesa Fillies, a team she will always hold dear to her heart and which she credits for much of her technical training. The Fillies was a rigorous and demanding team, which challenged her both mentally and physically. She attributes her success in many other aspects of her life to the discipline she learned while training under Beto and Carlos at West Mesa from 2014-2018.

The West Mesa Fillies were a hip-hop/pom team that held state titles for 3 out of the 4 years she danced for them. In 2015 they took 3rd at the State Spirit Championships, and 2nd with just points away from 1st in 2016 and 2017. Many of Jeri’s lifelong friends have emerged from the community of dancers she has met through the Fillies. She takes pride in the tough, “no-excuses” coaching style that this team has gifted her with. She participates in paid gigs with her semi-professional adult group, “Throb” that has been around since the early 2000’s and is widely known and embrace by the LGBTQ+ community in Albuquerque. Throb’s name is proudly carried on by WM Fillie alumni and her beloved coaches, turned friends.

Currently, she is captain of the Duke City Gladiator Girls, a professional adult dance team that cheers for the Indoor Football League. She choreographs most of the hip-hop material for the team and is excited to lead the team in a successful season.

She loves hip-hop because it allows for the freedom to be as stylized and creative as you want. To Jeri, hip-hop is a way for marginalized communities to come together and express themselves in a way that isn’t as rigid and technical, though it calls for athletic abilities that push the boundaries of many other styles of dance. She has been coaching at Dancing Stars Dance Studio since 2018 and has grown to love sharing her passion for dance with the youth of the South Valley. Jeri is a strong believer that you should never miss a chance to dance, or take for granted that you can!

Hi my name is Aleigha Montoya. I’ve grown up around dance since I could remember but I actually started taking it seriously when I was about seven. I’ve been to multiple studios, including dancing stars, before making varsity as a freshman at my high school. I stayed a captain there for four years until I made the UNM dance team. I’ve had wonderful experiences of dancing for the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, and celebrity choreographers like Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Madonna, and so much more. I love teaching and helping students grow. Seeing them express their true self through dance is beautiful to watch and be apart of. Helping them reach their full potential is always my goal.