Faculty
Meet our team of qualified instructors
Kara Royall
director
ballet, tap, jazz, 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.
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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Lauren Spittle
ballet, Acrobatic Arts
Lauren has training in ballet, modern, and musical theater from various schools across the country, including Steps On Broadway (NYC), Malashock Dance (San Diego), and Inland Pacific Ballet (Los Angeles). Following this training, Lauren was a member of Uptown Dance Company in Houston, Texas, where she studied ballet and modern. Memorable productions have included The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, George Balanchine’s Serenade, and Footloose with the California Theatre of the Performing Arts. Lauren will be teaching ballet and acro dance at Etudes this fall. She holds a certification with Acrobatic Arts.