Kathleen Connolly Grbic
Artistic Director & Owner

Kathleen began dancing in 1973 with her mentor Linda English.
She is a dance department graduate of the High School of the
Performing and Visual Arts, where she studied with various guest
artist. In 1988, Kathleen became a certified member of the dance
organization, Dance Masters of America and has served on its
Board as the Chapter Secretary. In 1990, she opened Connolly
Dance Arts to bring her love of dance to dance students in this area.
Kathleen has directed her students in many outstanding recital
productions, such as The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in
Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella,
and Toy Story. She is the Artistic Director for the award winning
CDA Performing Company, whose members have won numerous
awards and titles in dance competitions. To keep teaching ideas
and techniques fresh, she attends conventions and workshops.
Kathleen has taught children and adults since 1983.
She is also CPR certified.

Chris Crockett
Teacher and Choreographer

Chris Crockett is an established dancer, choreographer and
actor.  He has performed for over 10 years in musicals, concerts
and various citywide programs.  His professional dance training
includes WIM Dance Company (Modern, Jazz, Lyrical), Planet
Funk (Hip Hop/ Funk), Dance Force Productions (Hip Hop, Jazz,
Salsa) and Houston Met (Hip Hop, Jazz). Chris has also
performed in local and touring theatre productions for Encore
Theatre and the Ensemble Theatre. His choreography credits include:
George Bush High School musicals: Little Shop of Horrors, Fame…
XTRMFLOW: Hip Hop shows, Encore Theatre Musicals: Schezelle,
Hip Hoppin the Dream, Spotlight Dance Production and Motown
and More Revue. Chris also enjoys working with various community
organizations.

Katie Heintz
Teacher and Choreographer

Katie Heintz recently moved to Houston and is an apprentice
dancer with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. She
received her BFA in Dance from the University of Buffalo and has
trained with the Zodiaque Dance Company and the Rochester
City Ballet. Katie was a scholarship student at Edge Performing
Arts Center in Los Angeles and a touring assistant to the faculty
of Tremaine Dance Conventions. Credits include stage
performances with Configuration Dance, Zodiaque Dance
Company, Summer Showcase, solo performance with Stars
Night Out, United Way commercials, Dalai Lama Peace
Convention, and CFA Gala Benefit.

Brandi Shallenberger
Teacher and Choreographer

Brandi has been a student a CDA for 12 years and a member
of the Performing Company for 10 years. She has also been a
member of the local hip-hop company WyldStyl. In addition to
her training at CDA, Brandi has received training from Dance
Masters of America local and national conventions, National
Dance Gala in Miami, and Theater Under The Stars.
Performance credits include Dancers Responding to AIDS
Benefit Concert, Houston Youth Emerge, Kaleidoscope at the
TAPHERD Convention in Fort Worth, GoodPhil Games at
UT Austin, Dance Houston 2006, and Exxon/Mobil National
Convention. While competing with the CDA Performing Company,
Brandi won the DMA Tap Scholarship in 2005 and 2007 and
received the High Tap Score and the High Interview Score at
the 2007 Teen Miss Dance of Texas competition. Brandi graduated
early, as a junior, from Westside High School; her college interests
include journalism and sociology.

Lynsey Steel
Teacher and Choreographer

Lynsey Steel had been dancing since age 6 where she began
her training with Barbara Devereaux in Anchorage, Alaska.
She has completed her Royal Academy of Dance exams from
Pre-Primary through Advanced One. She trained with Catriona
Steel, while performing with Allegro Ballet of Houston where
she had the opportunity to work with artists including Paula
Weber, Domingo Rubio, Thom Clower, John Magnus, and
Margo Sappington.  With Allegro Ballet, she has performed all
over Texas and even in Austria with the Tanzsommer Program. 
She received a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma as a
ballet performance major where she studied with Mary Margaret
Hold and Donn Edwards. She received additional training from
Ballet Austin, Joffrey Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet summer
intensives. She is currently working towards a Journalism degree
at the University of Houston. 

Julie Wood
Teacher and Choreographer

Julie began dancing at the age of three and has been moving
ever since. She danced at Dance Etc. and Conservatory of
Dance and Performing Arts before going to college at Sam
Houston State University. While at SHSU, she received a
Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a minor of History and a Master
of Fine Arts in Dance. She was a member of the Sam Houston
Dance Company and Chi Tau Epsilon Dance Honor Society.
She was also a member, soloist, costumer and rehearsal director
for Dr. Cindy Gratz’s Texas World Dance Company. As a
graduate Student, Julie received a teaching fellowship and taught
ballet, swing and worked dance classes. She was also a
collaborative producer for a Dance Spectrum, Entropy and Graduate
Theses Concerts. In addition to her academic dances, Julie is also
a passionate social dancer. She joined the Houston Swing Dance
Society and is an active member, teacher and performer for the
Houston Hepcats. She enjoys traveling around the country dancing
with new people and meeting others who share her passion for dance.

Sarah Drury
Substitute Teacher

Sarah has been a student at CDA for 12 years and a member
of the Performing Company for 8 years. In addition to hr training
at CDA, she has received training from Dance Masters of
America local and national conventions. Performance credits
includes Dancers Responding to Aids Benefit Concert, Houston
Youth Emerge, Kaleidoscope at the TAPHERD Convention in Fort
Worth and the National TAPHERD convention in Baltimore. As a
member of the CDA Performing Company, Sarah was 2nd runner-up
at the 2007 Teen Miss Dance of Texas Pageant, and as a member
of Westside High School's Inertia Dance Company she was the
National Champion Soloist at the 2007 Marching Auxilary
Competition in San Antonio. Sarah is currently a junior at Westside
High School.

Katrina Fernandez
Substitute Teacher and Choreographer

One of the original members of the Connolly Dance Arts Company,
Katrina has been dancing, choreographing here for 15 years.
She has been teaching hip-hop and acro at CDA for 3 years.
In addition to her teaching, performing, and choreography skills,
Katrina also assists in the costume designs for solo and group
pieces performed in competition. Katrina has been a member of
the Connolly Dance Arts Performing Company for 12 years and
was a 4-year member of Westside High Schools
nationally-acclaimed Inertia Dance Company, with numerous
awards and achievements to her credit. Currently a junior at the
University of Houston, she is working towards obtaining her
Bachelors degree in Business and Design.

Courtney Myers
Substitute Teacher

Courtney has been studying dance for 13 years and has been a
student at CDA and a member of the Performing Company. In
addition to her training at CDA she has received training from
Catriona Steel, Houston Ballet Academy, Steven Boyd, and
HSPVA. Courtney has performed on stage as a soloist in Allegro
Ballet of Houston's Nutcracker, Steven Boyd Dance Ensemble
and HSPVA performances. She has attended numerous
conventions including Dance Masters of America, Dance Educators
of America, NYCDA, LA DanceForce, LA Dance Magic, Cross
Connections & Tremaine and has won numerous convention
scholarships. She received honors on her Vocational R.A.D.
(Royal Academy of Dance) Ballet Exams. Courtney is the DMA
2007 Teen Miss Dance of Texas and the 2007 Stage One National
Overall Senior Soloist. Courtney is currently a junior at the High
School of Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA).