About Us > Staff
Teri Jernigan
Teri Jernigan, Director of Dance! And All That Jazz! and Artistic Director of T.J. Hoofers, Inc. has been teaching for nearly 50 years. She is Tap instructor for Beginning and Advanced Adult Tap classes. Featured in “Who's Who Among America's Teachers”, many of her students have pursued and achieved careers in dance ducation, dance companies and the dance industry of video, stage, screen and commercials. Many of her students have received awards and scholarships for their performance and technical abilities. Teri organized the first Newport Dancers' Workshop over 30 years ago. It showcases nationally known instructors and choreographers for an all-day event of Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, Turns Technique, Contemporary Dance and an Audition class for scholarships. Dancers from Oregon and Washington attend the amazingly fun, coastal event, held at Dance! And All That Jazz! Her studio, established in 1978 has become one of the largest dance studios on the Oregon Coast.
Helyn Layton
Helyn Layton teaches the 3 year old and 4/5 year old Creative Dance, the Basic Jazz and the Jazz I classes to youth. She has over 20 years dance experience and was an original member of T.J. Hoofers, Inc., performing in the opening of the first year at the Newport Performing Arts Center. Helyn is very involved in the community as well as local theater companies. She assisted in the production of Schoolhouse Rock as well as choreography. She has been in the ensemble, specialty dance numbers and choreographed scenes with Coastal Act Productions. Helyn has also been a coach for 3 years for the Samaritan House Fundraiser- Dancing with the Coastal Stars. She has over 30 years of experience instructing and mentoring kids of all ages and currently works for the Lincoln County School District.
Reneé Taunton
Reneé Taunton has over 25 years experience teaching Ballet and Jazz. A native of Newport, she began her dance studies at Pat’s School of Dance almost 44 years ago. She began taking Jazz from Teri at Dance! And All That Jazz when it opened it’s doors in South Beach, in 1978. At age 12, during the summer she taught Creative and Basic Ballet for the City of Newport for free for those who could not afford class. It was there that she fell in love sharing her passion of dance with others. She began teaching Ballet at Dance! And All That Jazz! In the 80's.She then opened the Lincoln City Dance Academy to be near the schools her children attended. She closed the Academy in 2006 to focus on family. She has been back teaching at Dance! And All That Jazz! for 6 years, offering Cechetti style Ballet to her intermediate and advanced level students. ”Dance teaches you that hard work does pay off, and not to give up. It frees the mind to focus on what goals you need to reach, and it challenges you to be the best that you can be”, said Taunton.
Nakiva Cleveland
Nakiva Cleveland grew up in Newport and received her dance training at Dance! And All That Jazz! from the ages of 3-18. She was a member of the T.J. Hoofers Inc. Jazz Line for several years, performing in the annual Kidstuff productions and the Loyalty Days Celebrations at the Newport Performing Arts Center. Upon graduating from college, she moved to the Seattle area where she continued to receive instruction at Reflections School of Dance. She began her teaching career with Tap and Contemporary at Reflections before moving to Haven Dance Academy in Lynnwood, WA. Nakiva taught Tap, Jazz, and Ballet for two years at Haven before moving home to Newport and continuing her passion for dance instruction at Dance! And All That Jazz!, where she is currently teaching Tap, Jazz, and Contemporary and also a Jazz class and an Intermediate Tap class for Adults.
Ashley Garner
Ashley Garner teaches Creative Dance for 4/5 year olds, Musical Theater and Ballroom. She studied dance as a child, and fell in love with the world of dance. Dancing in and attending shows like the Nutcracker quickly became a favorite. During college, she studied dance at Brigham Young University where she also tried out and participated on their Folk Dance teams and 6 different times competed at their International Ballroom Competitions. She also studied clogging, contemporary dance and history of dance. Before moving to the Newport area, she taught children’s ballet classes at a dance studio in Seattle. She has also taught Zumba, Dance Aerobics and Fitness for over 8 years. “I have had the immense pleasure to work with the Newport Coastal Act Productions theatre company as choreographer.” Her shows include Little Mermaid and Cinderella and Tarzan and summer children camp productions of Frozen Jr, James and the Giant Peach Jr. and Moana.
Ciara Hoffman
Ciara Hoffman began studying dance with Dance! And All That Jazz! at 4 years old and has participated in Tap, Jazz, Contemporary and Ballet classes for over 20 years. She also assisted teaching Tap classes her last 3 years of high school. When she returned home to Newport after college, Ciara also returned home to Dance! And All That Jazz!, assisting with Tap classes and taking classes as a student once again. In 2019, Ciara began teaching her own Tap classes and has taught Basic Tap, Tap 1, and Tap 2 levels. Ciara was a member of the T.J. Hoofers, Inc. Jazz Line and has performed in numerous Kidstuff productions. “Teaching dance is one of the funnest and most uplifting experiences I have ever had!” said Ciara.
Sophie Cottrell
Sophie Cottrell has been performing with Dance! And All That Jazz! since she was 3 years old. She has performed with community theater since the age of 6. Her first role was as a Tap dancing chimney sweep in Mary Poppins and her most recent role was the lead role as Moana in the CAP 2022 summer production. Sophie is also an avid dance student as well, with studies in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, Contemporary and Ballroom. She is the dance instructor for youth in Basic Ballet and Basic Tap. “Since the first time I saw a Kidstuff production at age 2, I knew I wanted to join the dancers up on the stage and I am very excited to share that joy and excitement with my young Ballet and Tap students again this year. I love watching my students grow in both their love of dance and their technique.”
Noah Reed
Noah Reed has returned to teach at Dance! And All That Jazz! after a two year break. He studied Hip Hop in Monmouth and joined the performing dance team at Central High School. He has also studied Jazz, Contemporary and Tap and taught both Hip Hop and Contemporary. He has a drive for success and enjoys teaching and helping his students reach their goals. He is back to teach the Hip Hop classes. “I believe I'm a good fit for this studio and dance family. I love seeing all the potential from the young minds that call this studio their home ”said Noah.
Ángel Macias
Dance instructor, Ángel Macias will be joining Dance! And All That Jazz! and instructor Noah Reed to teach in the Hip Hop department. He has experience in teaching and coaching students throughout their teenage years. In 2018 he coached a middle school team called “The Albany Gems Dance Team”, showcasing different dances and competing for the state of Oregon. The team won 1st place in his first year of coaching. He competed with South Albany Dance Team in High School where they made it to state championships, winning 1st place in 2017 in the 5A division. He has taught Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz and Ballet. “I'm excited and driven to put my creativity and heart into teaching others and getting the opportunity to dance again. I can't wait to meet new faces and be an inspiration for others who love and share this same passion for dance like me,” said Angel.
