Peter Hershey received his early training at the Seiskaya Ballet Academy in St. James, New York. He went on to attend both the School of American Ballet and The Juilliard School, also studying under New York-based teachers Francis Patrelle and Johan Renvall. Peter danced professionally with Ballet San Jose and has guested with several ballet companies nationwide. Peter is proud to represent the Dance Connection Ballet Company and run the ballet program at Dance Connection!

A Southern California native, Frankie Mendoza was born in the small town of Brawley; where he quickly found a passion for the art of movement at a young age through freestyle. Though from a very small dance community, Mendoza set out to carve his path as an artist and individual in order to build an understanding as movement enthusiast on his own. He enjoys using concepts and techniques from all aspects of art to influence his eclectic style of movement in choreography. Aside from the new journey to musical theater, he continues as an artist and educator with his philosophy that dance reflects the art of expression through movement while emphasizing the journey of individual progression. He uses this philosophy to provide students with a new creative look and understanding of dance beyond their technical application as a way to open their minds to new waves of expression.

Originally from Minnesota, Brooke Wertwijn graduated from the University of Utah School of Dance in 2021 with a B.F.A. in Ballet, Ballet Studio Teaching Certificate, and Business Minor. She was principal Company Artist with San Jose Dance Theatre. During the 2021-2022 season, she danced as a Trainee at Ballet Idaho and performed in Peter Anastos’ The Nutcracker, George Balanchine’s Serenade, Bruce Wells’ Beauty and the Beast, Anne Mueller’s Peter and the Wolf, and new works by FLOCK, Nicole Haskins, and Quinn Wharton. Brooke was a member of SALT Contemporary Dance’s Pre-Professional Training Company directed by Courtney Mazeika in 2020-2021.

Casey Tessier is a professional tap dance artist and award-winning percussionist from
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, she has devoted her
life to honoring, sharing, and advancing tap dance as a percussive instrument. Casey began studying tap in Reno, Nevada at the age of 4 with Jeanette Conkey. She continued her studies in Albuquerque with Tracy Ritter-Golson and Luke Loffelmacher with additional training in ballet, jazz, modern, flamenco, and swing dancing. As an adolescent, she performed for many years as a principal tap dancer with the Alley Kats Tap Company and was a nationally recognized jazz drummer with performance credits at the Albuquerque Jazz Festival, Stanford University, and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. Casey presently studies with world-renowned professionals Sarah Reich, Sam Weber, Max Pollak, and Nico Rubio. As a member of Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project Team, she has traveled to numerous cities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada assisting and co-producing Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project intensives highlighting the musicality of tap dance. In San Francisco, Casey is contracted as the tap dance understudy for Vanessa Sanchez, the Executive Artistic Director of La Mezcla: a multi-disciplinary, polyrhythmic ensemble rooted in Chicana, Latinx, and Indigenous traditions. In Oakland, she serves as an executive board member for LoRee Kenagy’s non-profit, TapIN Youth Dance Ensemble, driven by equity in arts education and social justice. Casey holds a B.S. in Pure Mathematics and Latin from the University of New Mexico. Her unique background continuously infuses the creative direction of her debut company, Accenτap. Casey has nearly a decade of experience teaching marching percussion, is the founder and Artistic Director of Forge Independent Percussion, and is the Percussion Caption Head at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale. Casey strives to inspire others by offering an alternative perspective in movement, expression, and performance while communicating her passion for rhythm.

Kahana has been dancing since the age of 4 and teaching various styles of dance for over 8 years. Growing up she enjoyed tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and ballet and danced competitively throughout high school. Kahana continued her dancing career in college on the Santa Clara Dance Team. She enjoys teaching all different styles of dance and cannot wait to continue the journey at Dance Connection!

Isabella Marines is a California native who performed in the dance industry with studio and theatre companies. Since they were 2 years old, they have trained in various styles, including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre, and acrobatics. When they were 12, they began closely studying acrobatic safety and techniques and were mentored by Acrobatic Arts professionals. Since they were 16, Isabella has choreographed in California and in the Maryland-Virginia area for theatre productions, recreational dance, and competition dance routines. In their time choreographing for competition, multiple pieces have placed in the Top 10, Top 5, and Top 3 at regional and national competitions. For their education, they have an A.A. in Social and Behavioral and a B.A. in Organizational Communication which they use to adapt friendly lesson plans for all ages and backgrounds. At this time, they are also pursuing an A.S. in Paralegal Studies in hopes of entering family law to help people in their times of need.