Faculty
Meet our team of qualified instructors
Kara Royall
director
ballet, barre fitness, preschool
Kara began her dance training on the Middle Peninsula in 1987 with Debbie Diggs at Diggs School of Dance. From 1995-2003 she performed as a member of the Bayside Youth Ballet, a student performing company, based in Gloucester. Kara studied at East Carolina University as well as Radford University, and holds a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from Radford University. Performing credits include a soloist role in Bayside Youth Ballet's Paquita, Marzipan in Radford University Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker, and Zaneeta Shinn in Court House Players' The Music Man. Kara has over fifteen years' experience in dance instruction in the local area, and has choreographed for local dance organizations and community theater productions (of note: Hello, Dolly! and Mary Poppins). She opened Etudes Ballet School in 2016.
I grew up dancing in a small-town studio. It was a converted service station with no bathroom, a kerosene heater, and two support columns in the middle of the dance space. Not much to look at, but I loved it there. It was my happy place, my safe place, the place where I could let go of everything else that might be causing me stress and just focus on dancing to feed my soul. That little studio behind the public library in Mathews is no more, but it lives on in my heart along with the lessons I learned there: Point your feet, reach for the stars, and never forget where you come from.
Rebecca Taylor Ruse
modern, preschool, yoga, cardio
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Taylor is from Richmond, VA, where she began dancing at Ann Catherine Cross School of Dance at the age of 4. She holds a BFA in dance and choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. During her time at VCU, Taylor spent a semester abroad at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, Israel. After graduation in 2019, she moved to Brooklyn, NY, to pursue a professional dance career. During her time in NYC she developed a love for health and wellness and began teaching classes in fitness as well as dance. Taylor holds a 200-hour yoga teacher certificate and has created her own style of cardio dance. She inspires her students of all ages to dance from their hearts, and loves to share her encouragement-based approach to both dance and fitness with her community.
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Alisa Kish
tap
Alisa is from King William, VA, where she trained at Dawn’s School of Dance for 14 years. During this time she performed in the Russell Athletic Bowl, competed on the dance competition team, and danced at Disney Springs in Florida. She taught at InMotion School of Dance while attending James Madison University, returning to teach at Dawn’s after graduating. She wants to continue spreading her love for dance as long as possible and is excited to join Etudes Ballet School. Alisa will be teaching tap and jazz in the fall.
Larsen Sheridan
ballet, tap, modern, jazz
Larsen began dancing at Etudes Ballet School at age 13. Since then, she has taken every style of dance she can find, including Polynesian fire knife dancing! She currently holds a title in this. Larsen successfully completed the team-teaching trainee program and is a full-fledged instructor at Etudes.
Annabelle Morgan
ballet
Annabelle started dancing at age 5 through Diggs School of Dance and joined the Bayside Youth Ballet company at 8. She preformed with them for 6 years taking ballet, jazz, modern, character, and tap. At 14 Annabelle began taking classes and being a teacher assistant at Mathews Dance Studio. She has always loved dance and wants to continue teaching for as long as she can. Annabelle is also currently going to school at Rappahannock Community College, with the hopes transferring to VCU to get a Bachelors Degree in Biomedicine.
Audrey Bryant
preschool
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Audrey Bryant is from Gloucester, VA, where she began dancing at the age of 9 at Diggs School of Dance (Ms. Kara was her first ballet teacher), where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, character, and modern. She joined the Bayside Youth Ballet company and performed with them for six years. She then spent two years at Mathews Dance Studio, where she helped assist with classes and performances. When she isn't dancing, you can find her fishing, studying, or spending time with family and friends and her pet turtle Donnie. Audrey is excited to see where her journey with Etudes will take her!
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