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FACULTY

To join our teaching team, please send your resume and cover letter to info@splitzdance.com


Stefanie Bauer

Owner & Artistic Director

Stefanie has been dancing since the age of four and has been teaching dance since 2001. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia she danced all through her childhood and teen years, training in Classical Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Hip Hop and Musical Theatre. At the age of 12 Stefanie was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts and began studying dance full-time from the age of 15. She studied the Royal Academy of Dancing syllabus (R.A.D. Classical Ballet), and obtained her Certificate IV in Classical Ballet and a Diploma in Performing Arts from Danceworld, Melbourne. During Stefanie's formal, classical Ballet training at Danceworld, she studied under American Ballet legend Gelsey Kirkland.


After graduating from her full-time studies Stefanie pursued a career as a professional dancer, having performed in countless shows and events throughout Australia and Asia. Some career highlights include; an aerialist in the principal role of Ariel in “The Little Mermaid: Under The Sea” Show at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort in Japan. Dancing a lead role as “Flora Fairy” in “The WinX Club” Singapore Tour. Cheerleading for both of Melbourne's major professional basketball and rugby teams. Dancing on the starting line of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix for 3 years. Dancing in front of 100,000 people at the nationally televised sporting event, the Australian Football League Grand Final with internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Irene Cara from the original movie of “Fame”. (This event is the Australian equivalent of the Super Bowl)


Stefanie has lived in Marin County since 2012 with her husband and two sons. She feels very blessed to be living out the dream of opening her own dance studio and providing the opportunity for more creative outlets for the children of Marin. Dance and child development have both been Stefanie's lifelong passions, and advocating for age appropriate dance in today’s youth is the important driving force behind the creation and standards of Splitz Dance Academy.

Sloan Takeuchi-Ross

Instructor & Administrator

Sloan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to this, she graduated with Honors from the Dance Program at Marin School of the Arts in Novato. Her dance journey began in Marin County, training at various schools, where she studied extensively in ballet, hip hop, jazz, contemporary and lyrical and participated in studio dance teams competing locally.


Professionally, Sloan has performed with Disney World's Live Entertainment department in Florida. Her performance credits also include Meredith Cabaniss's reimagining of Rite of Spring (2022) and Valerie Huston's Winters Song (2024), a dance elegy to melting ice.


Sloan's artistic endeavors extend to choreography and film. She has choreographed and performed in award-winning student films, and has been recognized with multiple dance scholarship awards for her exceptional commitment to the art and demonstration of strong dance research abilities.


Sloan attended the Creative Network teacher training by Kelli Forman in 2023, where she further developed her dance teaching skills. Dance is Sloan’s form of expression, makes her feel alive, and is her greatest joy! She is delighted to share this joy with the dancers at Splitz Dance Academy.

Sky Palacios

Instructor

Sky grew up as a competitive gymnast and cheerleader before falling in love with dance in college. She has studied numerous styles including Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, Hip Hop, Tap, Salsa and African. Upon graduating with her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and Performing Arts, Sky attended Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first Black classical ballet company. Since then, Sky has had years of experience in teaching both dance and gymnastics, encouraging the health and well-being of young artists and athletes. She loves to choreograph and merge different styles of dance together.

During her experience as a professional dancer, she had the privilege of performing with Savage Jazz and PUSH dance companies, and is currently a dancer with eMotion Arts. Sky has also had her dancing featured in short films and advertisements such as FitBit and Daroo. She continues to train in and teach this humble art form in addition to pursuing her other passions of theatre and music, having recently released her debut EP titled “Juke to my Uke”. Sky is a compassionate and dedicated leader who aims to create a more vibrant community through empowering people and encouraging the free expression of all.

Belen Ham

Instructor

Belen was born and raised in Costa Rica, where she grew up in a family of dancers and musicians. From an early age, she was exposed to many of the musical genres found throughout Latin America. Her love for dance motivated her to join different performance groups in her hometown where they danced salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata and reggaeton.

Belan has a bachelors degree in preschool education from Costa Rica and a Masters in Early Childhood Education from SFSU. She has worked with preschool age children for over 13 years as a teacher, curriculum coordinator and preschool director.

After moving to the United States, she continued to pursue her love for dancing, and became a Zumba instructor in 2019. She is currently a dance & fitness instructor and has continued to develop expertise in other latin dance styles such as samba and lambada.


Sydney Shelton Ferrario

Instructor

Tap Teacher, performer, student, educator, and choreographer, Sydney’s love of this truly original American art form is matched by her passion for sharing its rich history. Her style emphasizes the importance of solid technique, practice, musicality, and music theory as it relates to the diversity of historical tap stylings. 

Growing up in San Jose California, Sydney watched Hollywood musicals and was soon tap dancing with her mom on in the kitchen floor. This love took her all the way to the stage performing in many musicals including Oliver!, Anything Goes, and Guys and Dolls, just to name a few. Sydney studied Ballet, Tap & Jazz at the esteemed Marie Stinnett Academy, the Benny Smith Academy and went on to De Anza Community College Performing Arts Dept, with an emphasis on Choreography. Sydney has taught tap for all ages at many studios creating recital and performance pieces for groups and solos; and went on to choreograph “Anything Goes” for Director Steven Kline at Del Bar High School teaching the majority of the 50+ cast members how to tap dance in just 4 weeks.

Ben Donner

Instructor

Ben Donner is a native Santa Rosa street dancer with skills in Hip Hop, Popping, Waving, Tutting and Freestyling. Ben has taught youth dance at various dance studios and elementary schools in the Bay Area for over five years. He focuses lessons on the importance of foundations within learning and understanding Hip Hop as a genre and utilizes these foundations as a basis to help students discover their own art within dance and hip hop. Ben dedicates his time to learning different crafts within Hip Hop, how the body can be used differently, and implementing the importance of the music and its correlation with the body. 

Ben’s experience and dedication lead him to become the Assistant Director and Choreographer for Santa Rosa's dance team, "Auxiliary Dance Team", whom went to perform on World of Dance Bay Area 2019, battle in freestyle competitions all over California and Arizona, winning an online popping tournament "VSDF: Street Dance Fight" based in Vancouver, as well as being a guest battler in Ohio and Georgia, and becoming a guest teacher at a Popping Camp at Millenium Dance Complex in Salt Lake Cityr. Ben is also a part of the International Popping Crew, "Funny Bones Crew", based in Los Angeles. Ben thrives to use the experiences he has obtained in the Hip Hop Dance Community and educate students on the importance of its foundations, styles, music, history, and individuality that has shaped the world of Hip Hop.

Brianna Rykov

Instructor

Brianna Rykov has been dancing since she was 2 years old. Her background is in classical ballet, with her training beginning at Marin Ballet, where she performed in the annual Nutcracker production for 4 years. Brianna’s dance training includes jazz, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, modern and classical ballet. She is currently studying dance at Marin School of The Arts, whilst teaching and training at Splitz. Brianna has been a beloved member of the Splitz dance family for many years and after being mentored as a student teacher, she is looking forward to taking on the new role of instructor for our students. Brianna’s natural skill in choreographing performance pieces, and her caring and patient nature, are her greatest attributes as a leader.

During the summer of 2023, Brianna was accepted into a summer dance intensive at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Dance is very important to Brianna and no matter what happens in her life she will always find a way to keep dancing. It is her way of expressing emotions and taking her mind off of stressful things. She loves to share her passion and joy for dance with students of all ages.


Matt Bauer

Technical Director

Matt handles the technical duties for Splitz Dance Academy including photography, videography, lighting, music editing, studio maintenance and website design. Matt’s full time role is in game development as a Director of Audio, so his skillset comes in handy for various tasks at Splitz.