Teacher Bios
Celinda is the owner of En Pointe Dance & Fitness. She began dancing at the age of three in a small town in Northern California. She danced with Ballet Repertoire Theatre throughout her high school years.
She continued to dance in college and followed her love of dance to California State University, Long Beach where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance. Celinda owned and operated a children's mobile dance company for the past ten years, bringing dance to children in preschools, elementary schools and junior high schools.
She has performed in ballets such as "The Nutcracker," "Cinderella," "Alice In Wonderland," "Hansel & Gretel," "Sleeping Beauty" and many others. Celinda is a certified Burn at the Barre instructor and is licensed to teach Zumba, Zumba Toning and Zumbatomics.
She is excited for the opportunity to bring dance and fitness to the community through En Pointe Dance & Fitness.
Liz Valdez Gilliland, a Long Beach native, has trained extensively in all genres of dance throughout the L.A. and Orange County areas. She began her training at the age of 8 years old at a local studio in Long Beach. Shortly after beginning her training she began her teaching career at the age of 12. Liz danced through high school at Wilson and received a dance scholarship to Chapman University where she continued to broaden her dance training to include Modern, Dunham African Dance, Pilates and Musical Theatre. She has performed with Van Son Entertainment in Orange County and Atlantic City as well as various venues throughout the community. Ms. Liz has taught all ages from toddlers to adults and currently teaches Creative Movement, Ballet/Tap Combo, Barre and Adult Lyrical. She believes that there is healing and joy in movement and is pursuing a degree in Dance Movement Therapy.
Chelsea Brooks is a recent transplant to Long Beach from Chicago. She graduated with honors from Columbia College Chicago with a B.A. in dance, choreographic concentration. She received extensive ballet training through high school, but fell in love with modern and contemporary dance in college. After graduation, Chelsea danced as an apprentice for Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater and company member for Noumenon Dance Ensemble, Innervation Dance Cooperative SPEAKS, Tapestry Dance Company, Project606, and a featured dancer with Core Project. Her choreography has been showcased at Going Dutch, an all female choreographers showcase in Chicago, and Delve Showcase. Her most recent passion is fitness and completed her certification in Jillian Michaels Body Shred in 2015.
Laura Jane Schierhorn, a Chicago native, began her dance career training with Watmora Casey, Homer Bryant, Bruce Stegman, Jay Fagan, Melissa Ridgway and Fletcher Nickerson. Upon moving to California, Laura continued her training at Jimmie DeFore Dance Center eventually becoming a company member of Jazz Spectrum under Artistic Director and company founder, Christine Baltes.
Laura also began teaching at several Southern California studios including the prestigious Southland Ballet Academy. Laura is an International award winning teacher and choreographer and has students that have gone on to have illustrious careers with companies such as ABT, Nashville Ballet, the Royal Ballet, Alonzo King’s LINES and many more.
For the last 15 years, Laura‘s work as a Global editorial and celebrity makeup artist and beauty editor has taken her across the globe, but dance has always been her first love.
Destiny Santiago has been training in jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical/contemporary, ballet, musical theatre,ect., for 13 years. Her journey began on a competitive dance team which gave her many opportunities including, performing at the Warriors Half-Time shows for four years, obtaining the title of Dancer of the Year and National Champion several times, working with many professional choreographers, and performing on Disneyland stages, as well as dancing in the Disneyland Christmas parades.
In High School, Destiny joined and choreographed for the Cheer and POM team and for the school dance shows all four years. Once she graduated, she relocated from the Bay Area to Long Beach to further her education at Cal State University, Long Beach, where she plans to obtain a degree in psychology as well as a minor in dance. Once Destiny moved here in 2019, she joined a local hip-hop dance team known as PAC Modern. Destiny Santiago has a strong passion for dance and hopes to make an impact on future generations!
Andrea is a current pre-professional dancer with thirteen years of dance training in ballet, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, tap, and jazz. Experience concentrates in competitions, conventions, musical productions, and theater performances with Dance Academy USA as well as the Cal State Long Beach Dance Department. During this time she was mentored by influential choreographers such as Jackie Royal, Mitchel Federan, and Tyce DIorio. Other experience includes training under the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee program alongside teaching a variety of ages and styles ranging from Intro to Dance (Ages 3-6) to intermediate and advanced level technique, jazz, ballet, tap, and hip hop classes (Ages 8-17). Additionally, she has also served as an assistant to choreographers such as Greg Chapkis, Clarice Ordaz and Hollywood Connection Convention Faculty. She is looking forward to the opportunity to share her passion for dance with others, and create a welcoming environment for all levels.
Olivia, a New Mexico native, has been training in ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop for 18 years. She was a soloist in the Las Cruces Chamber Ballet throughout high school - dancing as the Spanish Chocolate in the Nutcracker, the Diamond Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, and the Black Swan in Swan Lake. While attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for her bachelor's in civil engineering, Olivia joined United in Movement, a dance team focusing on hip-hop and modern dance styles. During her presidency, she and her board of directors planned a performance that showcased all 13 dance clubs on campus, which sold out the 1,300-person capacity of the Performing Arts Center. Since moving to Long Beach, Olivia is looking forward to helping people realize their passion for dance, just as she has.
