West Austin Dance Academy Faculty

Here at West Austin Dance we know you have many options for dance. Thank you for letting us be a part of your child's life . Our staff will ensure each child has the opportunity to reach their potential and dreams - whatever those may be!

 

 

Director/Owner- Amy Swift Reynolds

Amy Swift-Reynolds is a fourth generation dance instructor/studio owner. Her great grandfather taught her first time-step, grandmother her first plie, and her aunt taught her first pirouette. She grew up in Palestine, TX, then graduated from the world known Oklahoma City University's dance department, and moved to NYC. While in NYC she danced on scholarship at Broadway Dance Center, and performed professionally all over the country playing roles such as Cha-Cha in Grease, Charity in Anything Goes, and Cinderella in the National Tour of Cinderella.  Amy moved to Nashville for performing and recording opportunities, and fell in love with teaching! She was fortunate enough to get to teach and assistant direct a competition team that won numerous awards before moving back home to Texas and opening her own studio. Amy has judged for competition companies such as International Dance Challenge and Celebration Talent, and sets choreography all over the country. Her choreography has won several awards such as overall Lyrical, and best choreography as well as placing top ten at competitions and winning national championships.  Amy currently has dancers dancing at several different colleges on scholarships and pom teams as well as working professionally all over the world. Some of her previous dancers have worked in contemporary companies touring China, international tours of musicals such as 42nd Street, and teaching at studios. She has a passion for what she does and is excited to help your dancer reach their goals!

Instructor- Mary Levoir

Mary grew up in the dance world, starting when she was two and a half at a studio in Minneapolis, MN and has been dancing for 24 years. After high school she attended the University of Minnesota and was a four-year member and captain of the national champion University of Minnesota Dance Team. During her time as a member on the highest ranked dance team in the nation, she was trained in technique, Jazz, Pom, Hip Hop and cheered on the sidelines of every University Football and Basketball game.  Her time on the team also consisted of 7 national championship titles in the Pom and Jazz categories, and one World Pom title competing as Team USA. In college, she majored in Elementary Education in hopes of using her degree to teach dance. Shortly after graduation, she auditioned for her favorite television show,  So You Think You Can Dance  on FOX and quickly realized that her time in the dance world was far from over. She began teaching, coaching, choreographing and mentoring dancers in the local area. Her love for dance, and passion for teaching is what made her thrive. She now travels the country offering master classes and workshops. She also owns her own choreography company, Move Dance Training, where she works with high school and college dance teams, as well as choreographing for multiple studios and soloists across the world.

 

 

Instructor- Emily Anderson

Emily Anderson grew up performing and competing with West Austin Dance Academy as a core dancer until graduating in 2020. Emily has trained with world-renowned instructors and has received numerous scholarships including AMDA, Studio School and National Society of Collegian Scholars. Emily trained with West Austin Dance Academy, was an officer for Westlake Hyline and attended Texas Tech's Dance Program during her college years. She later in her professional dance years competed internationally with American Tap Company, assisted with the Dance League Convention, trained with the Pre-Pro & Go Pro Programs with Talent on Parade.

She has ran the Itty Bitties and Mini team since she was a Senior dancer and has continued to do so.  Emily has also grown-up training dancers, cross-training athletes, and teaching children various styles of dance including jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop, contemporary and strength training. She studied under Amy Reynolds and Lindsay Jo learning the joys of teaching, and found her passion as a dance instructor.

 

 

Instructor-Courtney Thurston

Courtney Thurston grew up in Clifton, VA just outside of Washington,  DC. She has trained at schools such as The Rock School, The Joffrey Ballet, ABT, The Washington Ballet, and Broadway Dance Center. Some of her childhood works include: Debbie Allen’s production of “Alex in Wonderland” and ABT’s Christmas special “The Nutcracker”.
Courtney graduated from Pace University located in New York City with a BFA in Commercial Dance and Pedagogy. Her work includes body doubling Julianne Hough for an endometriosis commercial choreographed by Marinda Davis. She can also be found on the big screen, where she danced in a movie titled “In The Heights” which premiered in the summer of 2021! For the past four years, Courtney has toured with JUMP dance convention judging competition and running their JUMPstart program. Her past works include assistant choreographer for the “Sugar Bowl” halftime show, and assistant choreographer alongside Mia Michael’s for many different events and performances around the country. She has been a main dancer in ads for Canon Camera, McDonald's, and Degree. Courtney was also featured on the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” season 10.
Since graduating, Courtney has developed an interest in psychology. She studied abroad to receive her 200-hour yoga teacher training. She has been certified in mindful mediation coaching and is in the process of receiving her positive psychology certification. She shares her passion of dance and wellness by traveling the country teaching at different studios and events!
A fun fact about Courtney is that she held the world record for consecutive back handsprings from 2013-2016.

Instructor - Kaelie Geiser

Kaelie Geiser is a Vaganova based ballet teacher who teaches students ranging from beginners to pre-professionals. She has a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance from the Boston Conservatory, where she had the opportunity to dance lead roles in Twyla Tharp’s Eight Jelly Rolls, Dwight Rhoden’s Hissy Fits, and Trey McIntyre’s Blue Until June Suite. After graduating, Kaelie joined Nashville Ballet as a second company member where she danced in productions including Paul Vasterling’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Kaelie also danced the principal role of Anne in Gina Patterson’s Anne Frank while on tour with the second company. Kaelie began teaching ballet in 2011 and decided to pursue her passion for teaching full-time in 2017. Kaelie was on the dance faculty at Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy (Laguna Hills, CA), OC Music and Dance (Irvine, CA), and Odyssey Dance Academy (Newport Beach, CA) until she relocated to Austin, TX. Now Kaelie continues to share her love and knowledge of ballet with dancers at Ballet Austin and West Austin Dance Academy.

Instructor- Meghan Lajoie

Meghan is from Dallas, Texas where she trained in all styles at Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre. Meghan was part of the 2014 team that won the Prestigious Studio of the Year award at the Dance Awards and placed first in many other competitions throughout her dancing career. After Graduating High School, Meghan's dancing experience led to TV appearances including Season 12 of "So You Think You Can Dance", where she made it to Vegas week, an episode of "Little Women Dallas", and currently a National commercial for SNHU.

Meghan has been teaching dance for over 10 years and has worked with many dance teams in the DFW area before moving to Austin. She has been teaching at West Austin since 2020 and teaches a variety of styles including our Itty bitty and Mini companies and is also our event coordinator.

 

 

Instructor- Sydney Goode

Sydney Goode began dancing at the age of 6 with ballet then progressively exploring other dance genres. She is a former Texas State Strutter and currently a captain for a small team at her school called Golden Elites. Sydney's passion for dance is beyond words and she can't wait to share that passion with everyone!