OUR STAFF  

Denise Derus,  Artistic Director
Denise started her dance training in the Los Angeles area with Stanley Holden and completed her training in London at the Royal Ballet School. During her time at the Royal, she was exposed to the ballet legends of our time; Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn and Natalia Makarov. Denise performed professionally for several years with dance companies in Europe before returning to the United States and dancing with ballet companies in San Diego and Denver. She performed in such ballets as Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, and Scherherzade. She also performed in musicals and operas dancing in such favorites as My Fair Lady and the Can-Can in Orpheus in the Underworld. Denise is celebrating her 25th year anniversary teaching dance.  She teaches ballet, jazz, tap, pointe and creative movement. She was the owner of Dance Arts Center in Corona from which several students pursued careers in teaching and on stage professionally. 

Megan Miller has been dancing with Miss Denise for several years.  She has danced mostly in jazz and lyrical but has added tap and ballet to her training schedule.  She currently attends UCR - pursuing a teaching credential.  Megan enjoys teaching all age groups and will be teaching jazz, ballet/tap and jazz/tap combination classes.

Alysa Butvich-Hill continues to train and perform in the classical forms of dance- ballet-tap-jazz.  She also studied modern and hip hop in your college years.  Her favorite dance classes to teach are ballet, hip hop and jazz.  She comes from a family of dancers with her mother a previous dance teacher at Center Stage.  She is a regular performer in our summer showcases.

Vicki von Eps is a graduate of the Berkley College of Music in Boston, MA with a B.A. in Composition. She is a professional musician with over 30 years experience leading her own trio in countless jazz venues. Previously she was the lead pianist at the Shubert Theater in Boston playing such shows as Cats, 42nd Street, Guys and Dolls and Sugar Babies. She has over twelve years experience teaching piano and voice lessons in a private setting as well as group lessons.