Caren Herbst
Caren feels she has the best job in the world and loves to pass on her love to all her students. Once a year, Caren takes a week off from the studio to go to NYC to work with the Cheerlearders and Dancers in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is a crazy week, working with over 700 dancers but loves getting to be in the parade.
Caren enjoys choregraphing for high school and college show choirs and musicals all over the metroplex. Along with her choreography background Caren is a National judge for Disney World and their Contest of Champions. She judges cheer, drill team, and dance. When Caren is not teaching she does professional theatre. Her degree is a BA in Musical Theatre. She has been seen in many leading roles, dancing, singing, and choreographing in professional theatres such as Casa Manana, Garland Summer Musicals, Scott theatre and headlined her own show at off-Broadway dinner theatre. Although stage is her favorite arena for performance, she acted in a season of the Fox TV show “Act It Out”. She has also performed 3 times on the “California Tonight Show”. She has had the privilege of performing alongside actors/singers such as Jim Nabors, Ruth Buzzie, Ruta Lea, Rex Smith, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Sandi Patti and Debbie Reynolds.
Caren’s favorite role by far is mother to her four children; Courtney, Charity, Christopher and Carly have and are all being raised at the studio and all dance. I am one very lucky mom. I have a wonderful and supportive husband, Todd who encourages me to chase all my dreams. You might just catch him working in the studio office from time to time. The most important fact you could ever know about me is my heart belongs to Jesus and He gave me these gifts and opportunities. “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain”!!! I am blessed to have my family and your family make up the KCDC studio family.
Hope Boyd
Hope Boyd is twenty-three years old and recently graduated from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a BFA in dance performance. In the summer of 2014 Hope was accepted for the Joffrey Ballet School’s Jazz and Contemporary Summer Intensive and attended for six weeks in Los Angeles, California. At UALR, Hope presented her Senior Dance Capstone in September 2014, which consisted of her own choreography; in addition, she performed in the Capstone recitals of two other seniors. She also presented work in the 2013 Fall Harvest Dance Concert. Previously, she has performed in the 2012 Fall Dance Harvest and the 2013 Spring Dance Concert, where in addition to being a part of the ensemble she was also dance captain for the musical/dance review of CHICAGO. Before transferring to UALR Hope received her Associate of Arts degree from Kilgore College in East Texas where she was a World Famous Kilgore College Rangerette for two years. While attending she was given many performance opportunities outside of school and organization dance concerts: Thanksgiving Day parade in Chicago, the 70th Commemoration of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (on the USS Missouri), professional football games, Cotton Bowl Games/events, corporate events, and local (East Texas) events. She had the opportunity to teach and choreograph jazz, ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, private lessons, and drill team prep/fitness at Intensive Dance Company in Henderson, TX for three years and held the position of head instructor her final year. She did choreography as an intern for the Texas family Theater at the University of Texas at Dallas for grades fifth through tenth for their adapted production of Annie. In the future she hopes to have a career as a professional performer and choreographer.
Jamie Mathieu
My dance training background in a nutshell includes: being trained at Academy of Dance Arts (Allen, TX), Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive, Dance Major at Booker T. Washington HSVPA (graduated in 2008), and I have a BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah (graduated in 2012). Professional Teaching Experience / Honors: I am a teacher at The Classical Center at Brandenburg Middle School (Garland ISD; 6th-8th grade students) where I teach Dance and Health. Previously I directed a Varsity Drill Team & taught Dance 1-4 in Grand Prairie ISD for 4.5 years. 2016 North Texas Regional Director Appreciation Recipient ~ Danceline Productions
Caitlin McRight
Caitlin McRight recently received her B.A. cum laude from the University of North Texas, where she concentrated on studies in both American History and Dance, including ballet, modern, tap, and jazz technique. She is currently completing the Texas teacher certification in dance and history. While at UNT Caitlin spent three years as a North Texas Dancer, not only performing at football and basketball games, but taking an active part in community events, as well as performing on stage the Super Bowl XLV halftime show with the Black Eyed Peas and dancing in a music video with the Eli Young Band. She also is an alumni of Chi Omega sorority.
Prior to her collegiate experience, Caitlin’s background in dance spanned over 15 years of intensive training in ballet, tap, contemporary, jazz, and hip hop. She studied under the direction of Kim Barnard and Doris Rouse at The Academy of Dance in Mount Pleasant, Texas from 1995-2010. During those years Caitlin also attended numerous dance conventions with Tremaine Dance Company, the Pulse, and Broadway Dance Center in NYC, drill team clinics with the Kilgore Rangerettes, as well as MA and NDA summer camps. Caitlin received the honor of being named an All-American Dancer by HTE, MA and NDA dance companies.
Caitlin also has extensive team experience, which began at the age of 5 and continued through her years at UNT. She believes being a part of a dance team has been invaluable in providing opportunities to showcase the skills learned in dance class and to further study the intricacies of choreography. Through her studio Caitlin was a member of the Starettes, credited with being “the first Junior Precision Drill Team in the United States” and later competed with Barnard Company Dance, both teams honored with numerous national championships. She also had the privilege of qualifying and competing internationally at the prestigious Dance Worlds. In addition to her studio teams, Caitlin was a member of her high school’s drill team, the Mount Pleasant Tiger Dolls, serving in leadership positions that included First Lieutenant and Captain her senior year.
