Faculty

Cheryl was born in Vancouver, B.C. Canada and moved to the states when she was 4 years old. She began her ballet training under Katherine Lowe in Fullerton, California. After moving to Utah, she continued her studies with Nila Horton of Ballet West at the University of Utah. Cheryl attended Brigham Young University and studied modern dance under the direction of Abby Fiat, Dee Winterton and Pat Debenham, who choreographed the 2002 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. After moving to New Mexico, she began teaching dance at NMSU-C and for 10 years traveled every summer to study dance at the University of Utah with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Cheryl began teaching in Carlsbad in 1979 and in 1985, Cheryl founded the CHS Dance Company. Knowing the importance of continuing her own dance education, she traveled continuously in the summers and has been able to study under the Nicholais Dance Theater and the Moving Earth Dance Company, both located in New York, Tandy Beal of Tandy Beal and Company, and Lynn Topkowski and Donna White at Utah State University. Cheryl traveled for 3 years to attend the dance teacher workshop with Cathy Roe, Angelo Moio, and Lyn Cramer. She has been taking students to compete at Regional and National levels for almost 20 years. Cheryl spends her summers traveling to Dance Teacher Conferences.

Harmony Preece, a Carlsbad native, began her dance career at Cheryl’s School of Dance and studied ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, modern, and ballroom. She attended Southern Utah University on the prestigious SUU Leadership Scholarship, the Western-Undergraduate Scholarship, and the Mary E. Lindley Scholarship. Harmony graduated Summa Cum Laude, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Dance Education. She was a member of the Orchesis Dance Company and performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Harmony was selected to attend the American College Dance Festival in Long Beach, California. She was also chosen to study and perform under the internationally recognized choreographer Charlotte Boyd-Christensen. Harmony loves traveling to conventions and competitions with her students. She loves spending her summer’s traveling to various dance teacher conferences that focus on teaching techniques and management skills.

Rexanna grew up in the world of dance studying tap, jazz, modern and ballet. She has taught dance at NMSU-C, Tip Tap Dance Studio, and is the former owner/director of Spotlight Dance Academy. She has had the honor of studying with choreographers Mike Minery, Gil Stroming, Cory Finn, Mark Goodman and Laurie Johnson. She has taken her students to conventions and competitions, winning numerous awards and titles. Rexanna feels very blessed to share her love and passion of dance with her students and encourages them to live up to their greatness!

Sarah Prentiss began dance classes at age three. She studied ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip-hop, ballroom and musical theater. She was a CSD Company Member in all styles and assisted classes in tap and hip hop. She traveled to competitions and conventions, winning numerous awards and individual scholarships, and has attended Dance Excellence five times. After graduating she attended The Young American’s College of the Performing Arts, in Corona, California where she obtained an Associate’s Degree in Performing Arts with a dual emphasis in both Dance and Voice. During her time as a YA, she had the amazing opportunity to tour Japan, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and the Netherland’s where she was able to teach, perform and share her love of the arts. Within all of these places and in California, she taught kids of all ages, worked with students with special needs, and taught with the outreach program at a juvenile detention center, bringing joy to troubled teens. Sarah is so excited to take her great love for working with kids and combine it with all she has experienced to create a fun and positive environment, inspiring her students to be a light and use their gifts in which they have been blessed.

Dustin Franco has danced his entire life. He was a competitive dancer with the CSD Intensive Teams, taking numerous Titles and recognitions. Dustin joined the CSD Faculty in 2019, both assisting and teaching jazz, lyrical, leaps & turns, and acro.  He loves being in the classroom and sharing his love and passion for the art of dance.

Mallory Arbogast grew up dancing and cheering. She joined the CSD Intensive Team program during her high school years. Mallory has been assisting and teaching at CSD since 2019. Mallory has been able to travel with the Universal Cheerleaders Association as a Staff member in 2021 and 2022. She recently received her Acrobatic Arts Module 1 Certification and is excited to be taking over the acro program at CSD. Mallory loves teaching and brings a great energy into the classroom.

Kati-Lyn started dancing at the age of 3 in Mississippi, under the directorship of Kimberly Mahonee. There she studied ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and acro. She started competing at the age of 9. Since then, she’s won multiple placement awards and 4 National Titles. Over the years, she’s assisted multiple ages in all forms of dance. At 14 she moved to Carlsbad, NM and started dancing/competing with Cheryl’s School of Dance. 2022 was her first year teaching at CSD and she couldn’t have asked for a better start with a better group of kids. She is beyond grateful to get to work with such talented, hard working students!

We are excited to have Megan as a part of the CSD Faculty!

We are excited to have Megan as part of the CSD Faculty!

We are excited to have Peyton as a part of the CSD Faculty!

Amelia grew up competitively dancing at a studio in Minnesota, training and competing in all styles but drawn specifically to Lyrical and Jazz. She continued her dance education at a collegiate level as a member of the University of New Mexico’s Dance team, training mainly in Pom, Jazz, and Hip Hop.

Outside of dance life, she spends her days as a 2nd Grade teacher at Carlsbad Prep Academy and loves every second she gets to spend with her students. She is thrilled for the opportunity to merge her love for dance and teaching and is looking forward to getting to know all the CSD families this fall!

We are excited to welcome Laura to the CSD Faculty! 

We are excited to have Payson as a part of the CSD Faculty!

Natalie has loved theater and performing arts for as long as she can remember. She and her sisters own and operate Showtime Performing in Colorado. She has worked in all aspects of theater for the past 7 years. Natalie has done directing, back stage, costumes, music and blocking. She attended ThesCon in Denver for 2 years, along with taking master classes in performing from Emily Shumway. In her younger years, Natalie performed in Oklahoma, Hello Dolly and Alice in Wonderland. In recent years, she has done performances from Les Miserable, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, and Sister Act.  She has also assisted with high school drama performances of Shrek; The Musical, Annie, Drowsy Chaperone and Matilda. Natalie loves to work with kids and help them build confidence and good stage presence.

Marissa Mitchell is CSD’s Office Manager! She has been with us since 2018. She has traveled to New Jersey to participate in the management portion of the DanceLife Teacher Conference. Marissa has also completed courses in our dance studio’s computer software. Marissa is organized, efficient, and brings a wonderful energy into the studio.