Teri has been a director and teacher of HeartBeat Dance Academy since 2002.  Prior to this, Teri taught at various local dance studios, including Shely Pack Dancers and Millbrae Dance Academy.  She has been active in the community, choreographing for many schools and summer programs.  Teri began her training in the bay area at the age of 9, studying under Benny Smith and many local dance studios and teachers.  Teri is a member of and certified dance instructor through Dance Masters Association.  Teaching and coaching dancers of all ages is her passion.  Teri is proud to watch the growth and development of her dancers and studio.

Mollie has been performing and competing many different genres of dance in the Bay Area for over 15 years. She received great training from many instructors in the Peninsula and was given the opportunity to perform in many musicals, festivals, and professional sports games. Mollie began choreographing at the age of 16 for her high school dance team as well as teaching the first Hip Hop classes here at HeartBeat Dance Academy. She attended Sonoma State University to pursue a Business Degree and participated in a nationally ranked collegiate team, which gave her the opportunity to perform and compete around the nation. During this time, she continued to choreograph competition routines at HeartBeat and also founded one of the first high school dance teams in Sonoma County. After receiving her degree, Mollie now works at HeartBeat Dance Academy full-time, working as the Office Manager, Competition Co-Director, and still pursuing her passion of choreography through competition and classes.

Allison’s love for dance began when she was 6 years old, after taking her very first jazz class at HeartBeat with Director Teri Nash. In third grade, she started on HeartBeat’s first competition team and competed in several different styles up until her high school graduation. During her many years at HeartBeat she trained in lyrical, jazz, ballet, and tap and developed a passion for lyrical and contemporary.   

Her love for dancing quickly turned into a love for teaching dance as she began choreographing competition routines for HeartBeat during her four years at college. She has since graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Sociology. She also took many ballet, modern, and jazz classes as well as theatre and lighting production through the School of Music and Dance at UO. 

Allison will be teaching conditioning and a few different levels of lyrical, as well as continuing to choreograph for the competition team. She is very excited to be teaching and is looking forward to watching dancers’ abilities grow and their passions flourish. HeartBeat has been her home since 2004 and she wants to continue to foster a positive and rewarding dance environment that she was lucky enough to receive.

Megan Lysgaard began to dance at the age of three at Menlo Park Academy of Dance where she trained under Director Sarah-Jane Measor in the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) technique. While studying at MPAOD, Ms. Lysgaard also had the privilege of studying with Leyla Boissonnade, Nona Ybarra, & Anthony LoCascio. Ms. Lysgaard participated on the competition team & won national competitions all over the country & was featured on numerous occasions on national television for winning “Best Overall” in her category at the International Dance Challenge (IDC). Ms. Lysgaard continued her dance career at San José State University where she obtained a degree in the Bachelor of Arts from the School of Music and Dance, in which her focus was Jazz & Modern. Ms. Lysgaard has performed in many fall & spring concerts, in addition to being involved with the advanced performing company, University Dance Theater, under the direction of Gary Masters. Since completing her studies, Ms. Lysgaard has choreographed pieces in collaboration with many artists, such as Jay Ruland, Sarah Lysgaard, and John Robert Peck. In addition to collaborations, Ms. Lysgaard has expanded her repertoire by attending historical dance workshops and progressing ballet techniques. Currently, Ms. Lysgaard is the Ballet Director at HeartBeat Dance Academy under Director Teri Nash. Her goal is to continue to create and collaborate with all styles of artists to help build a better world.

Bio coming soon!

Clarissa K. Ko is a spirited dance educator and choreographer who encourages supportive and reflective dance spaces for all ages. She grew up training in RAD and CSTD ballet syllabus and modern/contemporary technique. She has had the honor of being mentored in somatic principles as a young dancer by Ms. Juna Koo and later as a teacher and professional dancer by, master teacher, Ms. Augusta Moore. Clarissa received her BA in Performing Arts and Social Justice from the University of San Francisco and her MSEd in Learning Design and Technology from Purdue University and is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique teacher. In addition to teaching somatic-based ballet and contemporary technique at dance studios she has also worked on curriculum integration in K-8 schools. In recent years she has danced with Lizz Roman and Dancers, Pete Litwinowicz, and 13th Floor Dance Theater in dance films and site-specific work. Through her dance company, Five Feet Dance, Clarissa has presented work at CounterPulse, SAFEhouse for the Arts, Little Boxes Theater, and the Asian Art Museum.

Dara Takemori, a Bay Area native, has been teaching dance for 13 years and competitive tap for 10 years. Her competitive solos, duets/trios, and groups have won top awards at the regional and national levels; her success includes a Petite Miss Dance of America finalist in 2013. While tap dance is her passion, Dara is also trained in ballet, jazz, lyrical, pointe, and hip hop. Most of her dance training took place at Schumacher’s School of Dance in South San Francisco under the direction of Dolly Schumacher James, Julie Wroten, Wendy James, and Maribel Lavin. Dara has also continued to train with talented Bay Area choreographers such as Ayako Takahashi, Berle Davis, and Bob Macke. The highlight of Dara’s professional career was performing as a backup dancer to Jackie Chan and Superstars in Concert held at the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. She was also invited to join Cirque Du Soleil at the age of 15. Dara is a graduate of San Jose State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising and a minor in Psychology. Dara is very excited to join the talented teachers at Heartbeat Dance Academy!

As early as he can remember, Jeric was born a performer, dancing with and for groups of people at the age of 5. While participating in his school’s dance productions, he picked up on various dance styles such as Hip Hop, West African, Belly, Ballet, Contemporary, and more. With almost a decade of teaching experience, he has taught at several dance studios, high schools, and college programs. Outside of school, Jeric has trained with multiple dance teams, has had the opportunity of auditioning for America’s Got Talent with Str8jacket and choreographing for Filipino celebrities. Jeric is a former team captain and choreographer for a couple dance companies and has competed at numerous dance competitions. Dance constantly gives Jeric the motivation and purpose to work towards bettering himself and his community. Jeric believes anyone can positively benefit from dance by working hard, embracing self discipline, developing confidence, trusting the journey, and thus reaping the reward of self discovery.

Alice Foy grew up in Millbrae, CA, and has been dancing since the age of 3. She has experience in ballet, pointe, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and tap, but her favorite is contemporary dance. She began her teaching career at the age of 17, where she discovered her love of children. She then decided to pursue a BA in Education Sciences at UC Irvine, where she graduated within only 2 years with specializations in Early Childhood Learning and Development and Children’s Learning and Development. Her favorite part of teaching dance is watching her students learn new skills, work hard at them, and gain confidence in their abilities!

Alex began her dance training at the age of 8 in Modesto, CA and has been persistently studying all forms of dance since. In 2007, she became captain of STRUT Dance Team, a nationally ranked championship team. She and her team Instructor - traveled all over California and Las Vegas earning 1st place at dance nationals for four consecutive years. In 2011, STRUT qualified for USASF Dance Worlds and took 4th place representing the USA in Orlando, FL. Alexandria earned a B.S. Health Science from DePaul University Chicago, and was an active member of the DePaul University Dance Team for 2 years. While in Chicago, Alexandria choreographed performances featured at a Chicago Bulls Game as well as Madison Square Garden in New York. Alexandria currently works in pediatric research at Stanford University, and enjoys writing and dancing in her free time.

Serena began dancing in Cupertino, California at age six studying jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, and lyrical. She started dancing competitively by the age of eight and continued through college, taking classes in Los Angeles, New York, and Paris. Serena has danced for semi pro teams and had the opportunity to perform in Los Angeles, including Disneyland’s California Adventures, Las Vegas, and Orlando. She started working for Heartbeat Dance Academy in 2015.

Jillian Couch has had a passion for dance since she started ballet at 3 years old. She was trained in classical ballet for 14 years, as well as jazz, lyrical, hip hop, contemporary, and west african dance. Jillian is a student of Michael Lowe, Sarah Measor, Pope-Flynn, Lauren Mindel, and Deborah Stevens-Sterling. She started performing with Dancers Repertory Theater when she was 9 and continued to perform with her high school dance team as a captain and choreographer till she graduated on to Saint Mary's College Dance Company. Jillian is pursuing her love of
dance and medicine through her education in hopes of becoming a Somatic Dance Therapist.