Evie was raised in the Seattle area, and moved to Portland in 1999. Her dance history includes growing up in dance studios learning, jazz, tap, ballet, etc. She discovered a love of choreographing and teaching dance in high school, where she was on a co-ed competition cheer team and continued that into college at Central Washington University.
She later performed in a Seattle dance group doing “hip hop”, appearing at major sporting events, and traveling to LA
Upon moving to Portland, she danced for WNBA Portland Fire Jam Squad, and worked in the Fitness Industry. She taught at several studios and gyms around the area and honed her teaching skills, but noticed that there was at that time, no drop-in style studios that adults could attend, like the ones she was used to in Seattle. With much support from her husband and now also business partner, Joe, she opened Vega Dance+Lab in 2004. She wanted a place people could continue dancing when they were aged out of their children’s studios, or to get back to dancing after a long time away from it, or try it for the first time. Although the studio has grown and developed into a living breathing entity beyond her imagination, she sticks to her guns with that core reason for being here.
Since then, she has discovered a love for burlesque, neo-burlesque, and choreographing and performing that style in groups, versus the traditional solo style. It has turned into one of her more popular classes, Burly Q, and even inspired her to start teaching chair choreography.
She has created several dance companies over the years, from which she has developed life long friendships, performed in music videos, appeared in a documentary (“Glitter Tribe: The Heart of Burlesque”) and even choreographed and danced in a B-rate movie with Daniel Baldwin. That is not a brag. She will not say the name of the movie, but it was zombie-related. Go forth and do your googling, if you must. There are probably a zillion other things she has done, but she forgets things.
She now dances on Danial Brown and Jodie McDonald’s company, The Mad Reckless (PDX Cast), which is a cabaret style, rock and roll, sexy explosion of a dance show. When she’s not doing ALL those other things, she rocks the wife and mom life with two beautiful and kind children, and her dog. And reading murdery books. And watching murdery tv shows (She's pretty dark and twisty, ok?). Oh, and writing this bio.
With endless energy and a fierce passion for working out (and working it ;) ), Kati comes to the Vega team with a background grounded in dance, fitness and mindful movement. An avid athlete growing up, she’s had training in gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, competitive cheerleading, dance (ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, etc.), yoga and more. After studying at the UO School of Music and Dance, she found herself back in Portland training at Vega, gravitating to Burly Q, jazz and workout classes. She loves a little sweat and a little slink.
Kati has also danced in various shows in Portland over the past few years and was mostly recently a part of Danial Brown and Jodie McDonald’s “The Mad Reckless” company.
When she’s not at the studio, you can find her on a spin bike, lifting weights or working on a slew of her own business projects, including nutrition and mindset coaching.
Nicki took her first dance class at age 7, but it wasn’t until age 13 that dance became her life. She was involved with competition dancing focusing mostly on ballet and jazz until she was 19. When college started the dancing did not. Not only was Nicki a UNLV Rebel Girl, she would also go to dance class on her lunch break at the local dance school for adults. One day another student in dance class offered Nicki a job as a professional dancer in a show on the Las Vegas strip. That’s when her life changed. She decided to finish college early and pursue a career as a dancer.
Nicki danced professionally from 2003-2020. She worked in afternoon magic shows, evening burlesque shows, and would go go dance at night. She also went to circus school and learned aerial silks, lyra, pole, and more. Since retiring from dance, Nicki now lives in Portland and teaches yoga, dance and fitness full time. She loves movement of the body in all its forms and feels so grateful that she gets to have this as a career.
Originating from the pastoral lands of Northern California, Laurel made her way farther north and fell in love with Portland, OR roughly 13 years ago. Growing up in the world of competitive cheerleading, Laurel spent much of her early years training, choreographing, and competing with several teams before moving on to hip hop, jazz, and musical theater. Once in Portland, Laurel joined the Push Jones dance crew and began her nearly decade long tenure of teaching at Vega Dance Lab. Throughout the years she has enjoyed performing and working with Lyfe Dance Company and co-directing her own group, Grandma's Medicine Cabinet. Laurel continues to find inspiration in the weird, the sexy, and the hilarious and loves taking her students along for the ride.
Savannah grew up in the Los Angeles area dancing competitively in the studio scene at a very young age. She then continued on to high school, where she was on the dance team, and conservatory program. When she moved away for college she stopped dancing but never lost her passion. In 2016 she founded her college’s dance team that is still running today. After graduating, she trained under Simma Wear and was asked to become one of the coaches for the program. She most recently made her dream team (Portland, Trail Blazers) and moved to Portland to continue her dance career.
Lindsay has been dancing since she was 5, growing up in studios around Portland. She had her primary training from Body and Soul Creative Dance, where she taught and choreographed for their senior competition teams. After high school she attended Washington State University receiving her Bachelors of Science in psychology. While at school she was an active part of the dance community both on and off campus. She studied under the dance program all four years and also worked with a local studio, creating their first ever competition teams.
After college she moved back to Portland and started performing and working in the dance team community. This began her time choreographing and teaching along the west coast as an instructor with NW Dance Company, leading to opportunities working with both high school and college dance teams.
Lindsay danced for the Portland Winterhawks Rosebud Dance Team for 5 years and was captain for 3 years. For the last 5 years she has co-directed Mixd Dance Company, where she co-produced and choreographed 2 full length productions and established training programs for advanced dancers that have graduated past typical studio ages. When Mixd isn’t producing shows and training they produce concept videos and themed photoshoots with company dancers.
Helping other dancers train and grow their love of dance is one of the best feelings in the world, and Lindsay values every opportunity she gets to do what she loves!
LaTya is a dancer, choreographer and has been an instructor at Vega since 2014. Although not technically trained, LaTya has had a natural talent for dance since childhood, but more professionally began dancing in 2011. She’s taught various dance classes for all ages since 2004, performed in several dance productions under the direction of Vega’s own Durante Lambert, opened up for concerts and festivals & even competed on a national television show (twice)! As she has continued to grow and evolve in her craft, she created Portland’s first Heels Choreography dance group, Werk Dance Crew, who are sponsored by Vega Dance Lab.
Tara is a Portland native with a passion for performance. Tara started dancing at her local dance school at the age of 4. Her passion for dance followed her to Atlanta where she joined a professional dance team, traveling all over the south performing and choreographing. Tara began dancing at Vega in 2013 during her college breaks until she moved back to Portland in 2018. Her career then took off performing as a dancer immersing herself into the Portland Dance community and is ready to share her style and performance background teaching at Vega!
Portland born & bred, I have been sharing my love of dance fitness since college. From the early Funk Workshops at Portland State University, to Hip Hop Hustle, Zumba, and U-Jam at studios & gyms around our amazing city. My goal to make exercise FUN for people of all ages and abilities through dance. I can’t think of any other workout that fills you up as it works you out. The rewards are endless, the friendships formed in classes - priceless.
When I’m not dancing, I’m at work- I have the best career - Realtor - and I get to help people navigate huge life changes. I’m also a mama, a wife, and have the most awesome dog & spoiled cat.
Born and raised in Idaho, Dani Jo took modern and jazz dance classes when she was very young and throughout high school she really enjoyed mixing the music and creating choreography for her Cheerleading team. After a long dance hiatus, in 2010, Dani Jo was inspired to become a dance fitness instructor. Since then she has taught at gyms all over the state of Oregon teaching formats like Zumba, Club Dance, U-Jam, GROOV3 and most recently created her own format WERK. During her time she was also a Dance Fitness Coach for 2 years and performed in local PDX events solo as well as with dance crews. The atmosphere that dance radiates not only is apparent to her on the dance floor, Dani Jo has found that dance is a lifestyle, a support system and a community. More than anything she loves being able to share this bliss that she gets from dancing with others and so they can walk out of her classes feeling healthier and happier.
Sid's passion for dance was sparked in 2009 after taking her first Zumba class. She had zero formal dance training prior, but always loved to dance. Being introduced to the concept of dance fitness changed her life forever. The easy to follow class format combined with high energy and great music was everything she never knew she needed in her life!
After teaching Zumba fitness for a couple years, she created her own signature dance fitness format, Dance Party Hustle (DPH). Sid has been teaching DPH for over a decade now, and what started as a class grew into a strong and fiercely loving community across the globe. You can check out her youtube page with a global reach HERE
She has taught dance fitness class all over Portland and in St. Croix. From big box gyms, youth centers, parks, boutique studios to kids and adults of all demographics. Whether she has 3 people in class or 60, she always brings 100% of her energy!
Above all else, family is everything to her. She is married to the love of her life with two kids and always feels happiest when they are all together. When she is not with her family and friends or dancing she loves to paint!
Sophie Formanczyk is a professional dancer from the UK. Born and raised just outside of London Sophie started dancing and singing at her local dance school at the age of 8. From an early age she began competing around the country in the styles of Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Hip Hop, Commercial, Contemporary and Musical Theater. At the age of 18 she was awarded a 3 year scholarship to a prestigious performing arts college - Laine Theatre Arts where she graduated with a National Diploma in Musical Theater & Dance.Her career then took off performing as a Dancer/Singer on various Cruise ships with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines around the world.
She has also played ensemble/cover Jan in Grease The Musical. Performed in Tony Award Winner Warren Carlyle’s show ‘Havana’. Performed at Wembley Stadium for the England Finals Football Cup and has performed at the Royal Albert Hall which was aired on BBC. In between performing contracts Sophie taught all styles of dance at her local dance school in the UK. Since the pandemic Sophie has moved to Portland and earned a position on the Rosebuds Dance Team, she is super excited to be teaching at Vega sharing her passion and knowledge for dance!
Originally born in Canada, Taylor grew up in the states and began dancing at 3 years old. She started competing at age 5 and training in various styles. She traveled to LA and NYC at a young age after receiving dance scholarships which lead her to master camps with Debbie Allen, Broadway Dance Center, and choreographers on Break the Floor Productions. She appeared in the breakdown videos for West Coast Dance Explosion and danced with iconic legends such as; The Pointer Sisters and Charice. She assisted her dance teacher, Kim Wolfe, on WCDE for 9 years and continued to choreograph and travel around the country visiting different studios. At age 16, she was brought in to test Star Wars Kinect Dance, choreographed by Wade Robson. Her score was the benchmark performance on what other players were graded. At age 18, Taylor moved to LA after signing with Go 2 Talent Agency and began school at Loyola Marymount University. She danced in performances including; Halloween Carnival, Daylight Come with “Dance Moms”, Shushybye on PBS; as well as worked for E! Red Carpet at the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, and Grammys. Taylor moved to Portland, OR 5 years ago to continue dancing and teaching. She has taught at many studios around the metro area as well as received many choreography awards for her work. She’s been a Blazer Dancer for 2+ years and continues to perform and choreograph for her studio and dance teams. She’s currently a member of Tone Society led by Shandon Perez and Toya Ambrose to continue growing as a performer and artist. It's her biggest passion to inspire and be inspired by the artistry and visionaries within this workforce.
Danial started performing at the age of two. By the age of six, he was on a national tour with The Hollywood Hooligans and has never looked back. Since then, Danial has performed on Broadway, been in over 70 national commercials, and choreographed and directed shows all around the world.
His list of noteworthy credits includes the Original Broadway Cast of Saturday Night Fever, Original Australian Cast of Wicked, original cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, Choreographer/Director of Fiebre de Sabado por la Noche in Mexico City, a dancer on the television program“Fame,” and Original Creative Director/Choreographer of The Space dance company in Melbourne, Australia. Two of his personal highlights were appearing at the White House in a command performance for the president and as a dancer in Michael Jackson's iconic film Moonwalker.
In addition to serving as the featured choreographer at a multitude of clubs in New York, Portland and L.A. with his shows The Mad Reckless, LIMELIGHT and others, Danial has also taught a variety of styles of dance at some of the top studios in the world including Vega dance Lab Portland OR, Harbour dance centre Vancouver CA, The Edge performing arts Los Angeles CA, The Space Melbourne Australia and Broadway Dance Center NYC.
With over thirty years of experience in “The Business," Danial understands the ins and outs of teaching a variety of styles and that growing and learning more about the arts every day is what sets his productions and students apart and keeps the arts alive.
My name is Keyante and I am from Columbus, OH. I graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in Theatre & Performing Arts. I’ve been apart of various dance and theatre companies since high school and eventually started my own performing arts company in 2017 entitled Black Cultured Performing Arts which is currently in Columbus, OH & Portland, OR. I’ve directed, choreographed and produced over 7 stage productions and choreographed a television show episode for the TBS Network. I’m currently a hip-hop dancer for The Portland Trailblazers Rip City Crew
Starting dance at the age of 11, Brittany joined her high school dance team after a couple years at her local studio. Training in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop she decided to continue her training after graduation at Western Oregon University. There she continued to train in ballet, jazz, and modern styles.
After graduating college she moved to the Portland Metro area where she has been a part of groups such as 11:Dance Co, Werk Dance Crew, and Lyfe Dance Company. She has performed for Nike SNKR Ball, PGE, POA, and worked with choreographers such as Durante Lambert and Jonte Moaning. Currently, Brittany continues to assist and choreograph for her hometown dance team as well as teach at Vega Dance Lab.
Maria started dancing with Groove Nation Dance Academy based out of Vancouver, WA, back in 2007. She was trained in hip hop, tap, ballet, jazz, and contemporary. With Groove Nation, she performed and competed at numerous regional and national competitions/shows, including World of Dance and Unrated.
Since moving to Portland in 2015, she has danced in many local events including performing at the Governor’s Ball, Portland Fashion Week, worked with PGE, Pacific Automation, Portland’s Street of Dreams, etc. She has worked with Nike appearing in a promotional video for the Brian Grant Foundation, performing at Nike’s Sneakerball and Nike’s Maxim Awards. Maria has worked with numerous choreographers, such as Durante Lambert and Jonte Moaning, for various projects and shows. Most recently, she danced professionally as an NBA dancer with the Portland Trail Blazers where she performed with artists such as New Kids on the Block and Portugal, the Man.
Throughout the years, Maria has developed a love for teaching and sharing her craft. Notably, she has choreographed/assisted for Lyfe Dance Company, Oregon State University, ProAction Dance, and various local high schools and dance studios.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Durante has been an instructor at Vega Dance Lab for over 10 years! Durante Lambert, first got the urge to become a professional dancer and choreographer at the age of 12 when he became a principle dancer for the Northwest Afrikan American Ballet (NWAAB) under the Artistic Direction of Bruce Smith.
Now this accomplished Dancer/Choreographer still uses the creativity and individualism he gained with NWAAB as inspiration to create and share through dance. In 2000-2001, Durante was also part of the famed Jefferson Dancers in Portland, under the Artistic Direction of Steve Gonzales; where he traveled across the country performing and training in Ballet, Jazz, African and Modern with some of the top choreographers in the world.
Durante also danced for the WNBA Portland Fire Jam Squad & Portland Trail Blazers Hip Hop Squad and Portland Trail Blazers Rip City Crew and contributes choreography for the team.
Durante has trained in Los Angeles, CA with many well known choreographers and was also selected to debut his Choreographic work at the famous Carnival, Choreographer’s Ball
Durante’s first love is his dance company, LYFE Dance Company, formally known as The Detail. As the Artistic Director for LYFE, he continues creating and choreographing energetic and exciting pieces that are performed for a wide range of audiences.
With continuous love and support from friends and family Durante has taken his Company on an ever evolving journey providing incredible performances and learning opportunities/experiences for his dancers. Durante shares his insane drive with his company and students always supporting their success. His dedication fills studios and auditions with the amazing dancers featured in his shows. You can find him teaching classes all over the Northwest.
Durante continues dancing, choreographing and teaching & provides inspired dancers a chance to perform and express through movement.
