Welcome to Season 11!
Meet Our Director & Owner, Ms. Kelly!
KELLY SALVATORE
Ms. Kelly has been teaching all styles of dance & choreographing for the past 25 years! Her lifelong dream of opening her own studio came true in 2014 with the opening of Protégé Performing Arts! Ms. Kelly has choreographed music videos, directed & choreographed countless musicals and has coached competition teams for over two decades for both studio and high school dance teams. She has performed nearly every role in the Nutcracker and loves Nutcracker season at the studio! With all of her professional experience, teaching has always been her greatest passion.
Welcome to the Protégé family! We can't wait to dance with you. :)
Our Teachers
JUSTIN DEANDA • ACRO & TUMBLING • Justin grew up in Northern California and has been immersed in the dance scene since he was 8 years old. While in the Bay Area he competed as a member of the famed Hip Hop Crews, Culture Shock and Funk Beyond Control. Since moving to Los Angeles, he has appeared regularly on Disney's "Shake It Up" and additionally on Glee, Dancing With the Stars and in the feature films Camp Rock 2, Honey 2 and Alvin and the Chipmunks. He has danced with artists such as Demi Lovato, Keke Palmer and the Jonas Brothers. He has toured all over the US, Japan, Europe & Mexico with Austin Mahone. He also has appeared on the Billboard Awards dancing with Nicki Minaj. This is Justin's 3rd season with Protégé.
MCKENZI FAURIA • DANCE FACULTY & OFFICE MANAGER • McKenzi has been dancing since she was three years old and has trained in the genres of Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, and Contemporary. She began training with Ms. Kelly at the age of seven at Gotta Dance Studio. She then continued her training with an intense focus on Ballet, Pointe, and Variations. She spent a summer at Ballet Arizona summer intensive where she was able to further her training and experience what studying with a professional ballet company. McKenzi performed a variety of roles in the Nutcracker including Sugar Plum Fairy, Dewdrop Fairy, Snow Fairy, Mechanical Doll, Russian lead, Spanish lead, Mirliton, and Arabian lead. She also performed the role of the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, as well as Pas de Quatre and Shade variation in La Bayadere. Alongside classical dance, she was the captain of a national award winning dance team at Bishop Alemany High School, competing in the genres of Pom, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Jazz. She recently graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Kinesiology and Dance at California State University, Northridge. McKenzi is so excited to bring her creativity and passion for dance to her students at Protégé! This is McKenzi's 8th season with Protégé.
WHITNEY GRUBB • DANCE FACULTY • Whitney has been dancing since she was three years old, training in ballet, tap, hip-hop, jazz, musical theatre, lyrical, and modern at Camarillo Academy of Performing Arts. An alumni of California All Stars and Buena High School in Ventura, Whitney is no stranger to the spotlight. Her love of performing has led her to be a part of countless productions at Conejo Players, High Street Arts Center, and Camarillo Skyway Playhouse. At a young age, she found a passion for working with children in performing arts settings. She has choreographed for various youth programs, award winning show choirs, and community theatre productions in Ventura County. She is currently the choreographer for Chaparral Middle School and Moorpark High School’s theatre programs. This is her 4th season with Protégé and she could not be more thrilled to pass on her love of dance with her students!!
KACEY JACOBS • DANCE FACULTY • Kacey was trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, heels, jazz funk, hip-hop and musical theatre by world renowned teachers Marguerite Derricks, Type Diorio, Lisa Eaton, Amy Morgan, Patrick Franz and many more. She has performed all over the world including at Tokyo Disneyland in shows like "Mickey's Magical Music World" and "One Man's Dream II." Kacey has performed in parades at Disneyland, Club Jete, Choreographer's Carnival and for Norwegian Cruise Line. Her TV & film credits include ABC TV's Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration Special, BIRDS and The Spirit Squad. Kacey has attended summer intensives at Joffrey Ballet and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Kacey is looking forward to a wonderful season with her students in her 3rd Season at Protégé Performing Arts!
JESSICA JAUCH • DANCE FACULTY • Jessica is thrilled to be starting her 9th year on faculty with Protégé and is excited to bring her love of dance to young hearts. Jessica started dancing at the age of 3. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Dance from California State University Long Beach in 2011. She was on Long Beach States dance team where her team placed 2nd in the Nation at the UDA National College Competition in Florida in 2010. After college she was a Dance Instructor with Webby Dance Company till 2013 where she shared her passion of dance in preschools and elementary schools. She has performed with Pacific Festival Ballet in their annual Nutcracker, Noah's Ark, Sea Princess, Heaven and Hell...the Journey, Bambi, Mary Poppins, The Secret Garden, and Peter Pan. Jessica spent her summer of 2005 at ABT Texas and 2004 at State Street Ballet. Jessica is a founding teacher here at Protégé in her 11th season teaching at the studio!
RYENNE JURGELLA • DANCE FACULTY • Ryenne started dancing at the age of 4 and has trained in all styles including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical, contemporary and musical theater. She grew up dancing at various studios where she competed on national award winning teams. Ryenne has received several dance scholarships at conventions such as Revel, Radix, 24Seven, Jump, Thunderstruck, and lastly NRG, where she traveled the country as a Prodigy assisting elite choreographers. In 2016, she took on a leadership role as she was awarded Miss Simi Valley Days being socially engaged in the community. During all 4 years of high school, Ryenne was actively involved in the Simi High Dance Team choreographing many routines for half-time shows at sports games, pep-rallies, showcases and more. As well as completing the ROP Dance Pathway where she shared her love for dance instructing beginner students. In addition to her passion for dance, she trained as a DSM-V certified behavioral therapist for children on the autism spectrum. This is Ryenne's 3rd season at Protégé.
ELIZABETH HIGHWAY • DANCE FACULTY • Elizabeth Highway trained at the Westside Ballet in Santa Monica. She received scholarships to study at San Francisco Ballet and Houston Ballet. She danced professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet Indianapolis and the Buffalo City Ballet. Ms. Highway is a certified Pilates instructor and worked in conjunction with physical therapists designing rehabilitation and dance conditioning programs. She is thrilled to be in her 3rd season at Protégé!
CHRYS RYAN JOHNSON • MUSIC PROGRAM • Chrys has been working in the music business for over a decade! As a singer, his voice has been featured in two of the “High School Musical” films, the 2007 “Hairspray” soundtrack, and various episodes of the television show “Glee.” He has performed background vocals for artists such as Carole King, Pink, Alicia Keys, Childish Gambino, Sam Smith and many others. Playing piano for over 10 years as well, he has the ability to play most songs by ear and has tons of experience in playing keyboards with different artists and bands. Chrys also has a strong background in musical theater! Performing as both an actor as well as a member of the orchestra for many shows. Some of his favorite productions include Rent and Spring Awakening! Chrys enjoys studying music theory, and is so excited to be sharing his knowledge with the students and families here at Protege Performing Arts. This is Chrys's 5th season at Protégé and we are so happy to have him in our studio family!
FRANCISCO RUIZ • MUSIC PROGRAM • Hailing from Ecuador, Mr. Francisco is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and music director for a variety of choirs and music groups in LA. He has worked with various artists including U2, Ivan Lins, Luis Enrique, Jerry Rivera, Noel Schajris and KC Porter. He has worked as vocalist and choir director at various important venues including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Wiltern, among others. Most recently, Francisco worked with producer Hector Crisantes as vocalist and arranger in 2022 Latin Grammy Nominated Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album "LA VIDA" by KURT [Universal Music Mexico], as well as background vocalist in Best Folk Album "LA TIERRA LLORA" by Paulina Aguirre. A graduate from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Francisco has been a vocal educator for over 10 years, touring with vocal projects and sharing his knowledge in vocal improvisation acquired by studying and performing with ten-time Grammy Award winner Bobby Mcferrin and members of Voicestra: Joey Blake and Rhiannon. Francisco performed in Chile at the 2016 Viña del Mar International Song Festival alongside Paulina Aguirre representing the Latino Immigrants in the United States, winning Best Performance. The Quinta Vergara venue was sold out the 3 nights they performed, attracting over 60,000 people and millions of TV and streaming viewers around the world. We are excited to welcome Mr. Francisco to the Protégé family for his 1st Season!
MADDIE WHEATLEY • DANCE FACULTY & TEAM DIRECTOR • Maddie started dancing at the age of 3 in Simi Valley where she trained in all styles of dance, including hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap and ballet. When Maddie was a Junior in high school, she knew dance was something she wanted to pursue professionally so she moved to Orange County to train with Shannon Mather at Mather Dance Company. After training with Shannon for years, Maddie signed on with Go 2 Talent dance Agency in Los Angeles. Soon after that, Maddie booked a national tour with Sesame Street Live! She toured all around the United States and performed a countless amount of live shows for two years, bringing smiles and joy to those around her. Maddie is so excited to be part of the Protégé family and spread her love of dance and be a positive role model for her students! This will be Maddie's 5th season at Protégé!