The Difference...
Destination Dance of Oviedo (DDO) is not your ordinary dance studio. One of the things that makes us unique is our approach to performances. Rather than one recital at the end of the year, our dancers will perform on stage twice each year in our fall and spring productions. Different than a traditional recital, where your child would dance for 2-3 minutes during a series of unrelated dances, our productions are very entertaining! Your child will dance as part of a story told to the audience through music and movement. This type of production allows dancers to show theatrical ability in addition to dancing ability and creates a connection between the dancers, the teachers and the audience that is missing with traditional recital formats.
We do not have a competition team here at DDO. Instead, we have our DDO Performance Team. This team will perform at different events around Central Florida. Our mission is to provide quality dance instruction to all dancers, regardless of how many hours per week they dance, without an extreme time or financial commitment. Since dancers are not required to take specific classes, our students find themselves amongst peers all dedicated to that class and what it has to offer, creating a positive class environment!
The atmosphere at DDO is welcoming to dancers and parents. We want you and your child to look forward to the time you spend with us. State of the art studios, comfortable lobby seating, large viewing windows, a work station and our friendly staff help to provide this welcoming atmosphere.
Come see us soon and discover the difference at Destination Dance!
Our Wonderful Staff:
Sheila Smith
Studio Owner
Sheila has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University, where she was a gymnast from 1987 to 1990, specializing in balance beam and vault. She is married and a mother to three dancers. After several years of competition dance for her girls, Sheila’s family made the decision to stay with dance, but to find a better balance. She made the decision to open Destination Dance with the mission of providing a welcoming atmosphere to all levels of dancers and to provide quality instruction for the advanced dancer without requiring an extreme time and financial commitment. When Sheila is not busy running the business, you will occasionally find her assisting acro classes, getting to use her love of gymnastics in a small way at the studio! Her husband Tim is a big help to the business (maintenance man and all things props for productions)!
Candace Isaacs
Artistic Director
Performance Team Director
Candace is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with degrees in both Theatre and Dance. She has been dancing for over 29 years, training in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, hip hop, musical theatre, lyrical, and contemporary. Along with dance, Candace began singing and acting at a young age and fell in love with performing. As a competition dancer, she attended many competitions throughout her early dance career and now adjudicates for competitions all over the country.
She started teaching and choreographing when she was fifteen years old and continues to teach dancers from pre-k to adult levels. She is the dance team coach for the Lawton Chiles Pantherettes, as well as the choreographer for the Timber Creek High School Theatre Department. She has choreographed for numerous middle school, high school, and college dance teams, musicals, and show choirs as well as choreographed for professional & college Theatres throughout Florida.
Candace has taught several dance classes in Ballet, Jazz, and Hip Hop at The University of Central Florida as well as master classes for Broadway Unhinged, Knights and Damsels Dance Company, Broadway Lights Dance Center, Chance to Dance, and many others across the state of FL. She originally moved to Central Florida to attend college at UCF but stayed to dance and perform in the parades and shows at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, & Sea World in Orlando, Florida. Candace is the creator and Director of the DDO Performance Team and directs all the shows at DDO. Candace has a strong connection to her students and and loves being able to share her love for the Arts with all of them.
Rachel Mateya
Ballet Academy Director
Originally from Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, Rachel Aimee began her career in the arts at a young age. After several years of voice & piano lessons she was taken by an overwhelming love for the art of classical ballet. At 9 she began her training with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet studying Balanchine technique. After 5 years of intense training at CPYB she was accepted into The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. After two years at the Rock and three summer’s with the Miami City Ballet and studying with Madame Adrienne Dellas Thornton she was accepted into The Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington DC.
Upon graduation Rachel spent a year dancing for The Nashville Ballet. The following season she was offered a position with The Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet II and several other classical ballet companies but opportunity called elsewhere. A position with ME Dance of Orlando was the next step and she danced with the troop for two seasons until finding her true passion for teaching.
Rachel has worked with choreographers such as Nicole Tongue of the English National Ballet, Darla Hoover of New York City Ballet, Edward Villella from Miami City Ballet, Violet Verdi of The Paris Opera Ballet & many more over the years. Rachel has an overwhelming love for classical ballet & is thrilled to be able to use her experience to fuel her classroom. Through thorough education and a sturdy classical base the most incredible well dancers can be born.
Starr-Simone Mckenzie
Instructor
Assistant Performance Team Director
Starr is from south Florida going into her Senior year at UCF. She is majoring in Entertainment Management with minors in Theater, Dance, and Education. Starr is a former member of the Knights and Damsels Dance Company at UCF and assistant Performance Team Director at DDO!
Allie Bath
Instructor
Allie Bath is dancer and choreographer originally from Cincinnati, OH. Allie began dancing at a young age before beginning her professional career at age 15 . She furthered her dance education at Point Park University where she received her B.A. in Dance, concentrating in Jazz. Throughout college, Allie performed with many reputable choreographers, in a touring burlesque inspired show, and was a part of multiple music videos. Allie completed internship programs at Steps NYC and Broadway Dance Center. Allie is a member of the Actors Equity Association and performed as Equity dancer in “Dream Along With Mickey” at Walt Disney World. Allie has toured the world with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as a dancer and aerialist. She has also enjoyed working, teaching, and adjudicating for Starpower, Power Pak, The World Dance Pageant, Encore Talent, Pro Artist Series and more. You can catch her now at the Edison in Disney Springs! Allie is very excited to share her passion and knowledge of dance with the students at Destination Dance!
Colleen Madden
Acro Instructor
Colleen Madden is a Dancer and Acrobat who grew up in the Oviedo area. She has been dancing for 15 years, training in Acrobatics, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theatre and Hip-hop dance styles as well as some gymnastics training. As a competition dancer, she attended many competitions throughout her dance career and continues to compete in swing and line dancing competitions. She started teaching acrobatics classes in her junior year of high school and has been teaching ever since. She loves to share her passion for acrobatics and help her students find that same passion that she has!
Alexa Barone-Hunalp
Instructor
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Alexa Barone-Hunalp began dancing at just five years old on the competition circuit with Horizons Dance Center. Reaching her high school years, Alexa began more rigorously training in Manhattan, at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts (“The Fame School”). Throughout her years performing, Alexa has appeared in numerous performance pieces in New York at Radio City Music Hall, and Symphony Space, has backup danced for Jordan Fisher and Sarah Hyland on Disney’s ABC Christmas Day Parade as well as danced in several parades and shows at Walt Disney World. She can currently be seen in The Festival of the Lion King at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. While performing was Alexa’s first love, teaching the next generation of dance is something so special to her. She can be found teaching and choreographing lyrical and jazz throughout the country, and traveling with Intrigue Dance Convention as a competition judge. Her passion for teaching has led her to co-founding a dance convention company, Broadway Unhinged with her husband, Daniel. She hopes to teach her students to not only dance full out with their bodies, but with their hearts as well.
Daniel Hunalp
Instructor
Born and raised in Deltona, Florida, Daniel Hunalp began taking dance classes at the age of 6 at Mariam and Valerie’s School of Dance Arts in Sanford, Florida. He attended the Sarasota Ballet Summer School for three years, as well as trained for a summer at Ann Reinking’s Broadway Theatre Project. From a very young age, Daniel knew his destiny was to perform on stage and in film, so at age 12, he was part of his first national commercial for Walt Disney World. Daniel’s stage credits then began at the age of 17, when he joined the touring cast of Iron Beats as a tap soloist. From there, he has gone on to perform on many stages across the world. His credits include: I Got Love (off-Broadway), West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Disney Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line (where he also choreographed and directed), and many AEA stage shows across Walt Disney World property where he has also backup danced for Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, and the cast of The Descendants in multiple filmings and special events. Daniel’s dance career is now geared towards teaching and choreographing tap, ballet, and musical theater at dance studios around the country, and travels with the staff of Intrigue Dance Convention as a tap instructor. He was part of the collaborating team that founded the Orlando Tap Festival in 2017, and has been on faculty with them every year following. His love for sharing his knowledge with the newest generation of dancers has led him to founding his own dance convention, Broadway Unhinged with his wife, Alexa. This convention is where they, along with a small team of instructors, offer classes in all styles and live feedback sessions to prepare kids for their competition season, in hopes that it all one day leads to a future career like Daniel’s one day!
Bree Walton
Hip Hop Instructor
Breanna Walton has been dancing since she was 2 years old and was trained technically all the way up until the age of 13. Continuing her dance career, she joined a professional hip hop team known as Motiv Crew. During this journey with Motiv, she has been blessed to be seen in many music videos and in the hopes of being in more in the future. She also has trained with Joffrey school of ballet in their hip-hop program and gained so much knowledge. She is so excited to be joining us and sharing her strong passion for dance with everyone!
