Franco Baleto has been a street dancer his entire life. Born in Dallas, Texas, Franco grew up break-dancing and competing in talent shows and battles. Following in the footsteps of Barry YoungBlood, Franco began dancing with GDDS seven years ago. He strives to encourage…

Mrs. Whitney started dancing when she was just a toddler and has never stopped! She has never met a stranger or a dance floor she didn’t love. Her early years of dance started in Pine Bluff, AR and Plano, TX until her family moved to Fort Smith in 1997. She began dancing at Fort Smith School…

Rebecca began her dance training at the age of three with Dorothy Taylor at Ballet Westside in Rogers, AR. She began teaching dance at GDDS in 2007. Her training includes classes in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and musical theater such…

Madysn became a student with GDDS at the age of 15, studying ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip hop. She was a member of DANCE est Joie, Inc. for three years, competing in Tulsa, Branson, Bentonville and Joplin. She has studied with Darryl Retter, Janice Barringer…

Kameron was destined to dance. She made her first stage appearance in June of 1979 in her mother’s dance recital and was born 3 months later. Kameron danced with GDDS for 15 years and was a founding member of DANCE est Joie. She studied in Los Angeles under scholarship…

Miss Jayci began her dance training at the age of three in her home town of Fort Smith, Arkansas at Grayce Dewitt Dance Studio. She joined the DANCE est Joie company at age 12 and shortly after began training at the pre-professional level at conventions and competing…

Carson’s journey with dance began at the age of 2 in Crossett, Arkansas, where she took her first steps onto the dance floor. From ballet to pointe, jazz to hip hop, she immersed herself in various styles, but it was tap that truly captured her heart. Throughout her school years…

Brianna danced for 15 years at Pam’s Academy of Dance in McAlester, Ok. She was on McAlester Varsity Pom for 4 years, winning 3 state championships. She also danced on NSU Pom for 2 years and was in GoVertigo Dance Company for 4 years. She taught at…

Robbi began “dancing with Grayce” at the age of three, and was a DANCE est Joie company performer for seven years. She was a featured dancer in the Barry YoungBlood hip hop video series. Robbi served as a staff member and choreographer for the National…

Kayli has her BA in Dance at Lindenwood University, where she trained under Professors Janet Strzelec and Tricia Zweier for 3 1/2 years. She has attended multiple festivals while attending Lindenwood University. Kayli has had the opportunity to perform and take class…

My family always says I never walked anywhere, I danced. I began my classical ballet training at Fort Smith School of Ballet at the age of six where I eventually joined the company. Over the years, I trained in ballet, pointe, modern and jazz with both Fort Smith School of Ballet and GDDS…

Alexa began dancing at Grace DeWitt Dance Studio at 2 years old and danced at various dance studios for 14 years total, competitively dancing for many of those years. She ended up back where she started at Grayce DeWitt Dance Studio where she took…

Miss Emily is an alumni of Alma High School. She is currently attending the University of Arkansas pursuing a degree in Interior Design. She started dancing at GDDS at the age of 7. During her undergraduate dance experience, she competed with DANCE est Joie for 7 years…

Mary’s dance career began at the age of two with Nancy Nicholson and Linda Kent at the Newport School of Dance. She continued training under the direction of Ann Boyce, who specialized in Ballet and Pointe, and The Irby Studio, where she was a member of their dance company…