Faculty

Tatiana, Studio Director of BBDS started her love of dance at age 10. She attended The Dance Factory as a student and quickly moved into an assistant position until she graduated from Franklin High School. She returned to the studio in 2011 and was lucky to work directly under Mrs. Rita Schaeffer learning the dance studio trade. Tatiana completed her Associate of Arts degree in Psychology and plans to pursue her Masters in Business Administration.

As one of BBDS' core faculty, Mandy Herrera brings energy, style, and passion to her students. Known for inspiring and technical classes, her choreography focuses on moving beyond the steps to allow each dancer to find their breath, emotion, and movement. Mandy's dance training began in her hometown of El Paso, Tx with the incomparable Andree Harper. She soon discovered the love for all styles of dance and went on to train extensively in ballet, jazz, tap, clogging, hip hop, and contemporary, traveling often to New York City to study at the Broadway Dance Center under world renowned faculty.
Post graduation from the University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree, Mandy moved to Colorado Springs, Co where she became a RYT 200 yoga instructor and is currently seeking her 500hr. She incorporates this fundamental knowledge of the body into all aspects of her dance classes. Mandy is thrilled to be back in El Paso and a member of the Breakin' Beats family. Her versatility as a teacher, choreographer, and performer are testament to the growth and success of her students.

Laura started dancing at the age of 3 and has more than twenty years of ballet experience. She has enjoyed learning various other types of dance including tap, clogging, flamenco, jazz and drill. She continues her day job as a psychiatrist and works with students in the intersection of movement and mindfulness. She believes dance is a powerful skill that can strengthen not just the body but also confidence, connectedness, wellbeing, focus, memory and mind-body connection.

Alyssa Donnelly was born and raised in El Paso, TX and is currently a first year Dance major at the University of Texas at El Paso. She began dancing ballet at the age of 3, and has been passionate about it ever since. She has studied at various studios throughout El Paso including Dance Factory, Olga's Russian Ballet School, Ballet Centre and finally Breakin' Beats dance studio where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and hip hop while being a Sr. Company member. In July of 2015 she participated in El Paso Independent School District's summer musical Anything Goes, and fell deeper in love with musical theatre. She is excited about sharing this love with her students and is thrilled to be apart of the Breakin' Beats family!

Stephanie Smith is new to El Paso and loves being part of the community. Most recently from San Antonio, she has lived throughout the country with her military family. Dancing has been a passion her whole life and she loves exploring the various styles. Stephanie has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Brigham Young University, and danced on BYU's Ballroom Dance Company's Tour Team, competing and performing around the world. She loves teaching youth and sharing her joy of dance, and is grateful to be teaching at BBDS.