Welcome to Season 12!
Meet Our Studio Owner & Director, Ms. Kelly
KELLY SALVATORE
Ms. Kelly has been teaching all styles of dance & choreographing for the past 28 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! Prior to opening Protégé, Ms. Kelly worked as a Creative Video Editor for Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros & Sony Pictures Studio, among others. 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 Faculty & Office Staff
MIRIAM DURRIE-KIRSCH • MUSIC FACULTY & OFFICE • Training from the age of seven in Los Angeles in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, voice and acting, Miriam then moved on to New York City to receive a Bachelor's degree in Musical Theatre at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Miriam went on to work professionally in a multitude of shows including off-Broadway and Regional Theater in both New York and Los Angeles. Some of those shows include Guys and Dolls, Annie, Oliver, Mame, and For Me and my Gal to name a few. Miriam has taught at several dance schools throughout Southern California, was the artistic director of The San Fernando Valley Youth Ballet and choreographed several ballets. In addition, she ran award-winning tap, jazz and musical theater competition teams. Miriam has been a choreographer and director for Conejo Players Theater for the past two decades. Some of her most recent works are Singin’ In The Rain, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sweet Charity and Catch Me If You Can. She has also directed and choreographed musicals for High Street Arts Center, Young Artists Ensemble and Panic Productions. Throughout this time Miriam has always remained connected to Protégé, either as a tap teacher or as a co-choreographer and co-director of Protégé’s The Nutcracker. This is Miriam's 12th year at Protégé!
EMILY ELBAUM • OFFICE • Emily began dancing at Protégé in our very first season and is a proud alumni. She is a recent graduate from the University of Oregon, having received her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a Minor in Dance. She is now pursuing her Master of Arts in Teaching and Single Subject Teaching Credential in Mathematics at Pepperdine University and hopes to teach high school math one day. While at Protégé, she trained in all styles of dance, competed on our competition team and performed in many shows including The Nutcracker! In college, Emily had the opportunity to perform in several student choreographed works. She was also involved in dance production, where she stage managed and worked on lighting design. You may have seen Emily working our camps on her summer breaks from college and she never misses working backstage at our shows. Emily is so excited to continue to be part of Protégé for her 12th year!
MCKENZI FAURIA • DANCE FACULTY & OFFICE MANAGER • McKenzi has been dancing since she was three years old and has trained extensively in ballet, pointé, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary. She began training with Ms. Kelly at the age of seven at Gotta Dance Studio in Granada Hills. She enhanced her training at several summer intensives including Ballet Arizona. McKenzi performed a variety of roles in the Nutcracker including Sugar Plum Fairy, Dewdrop Fairy, Snow Fairy, 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 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. This is McKenzi's 8th year at 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 5th year with Protégé and she could not be more thrilled to share her love of dance with her students!
KACEY JACOBS • DANCE FACULTY • Kacey discovered her love of performing at age three and grew up studying jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, hip hop, jazz funk, heels and musical theatre. After graduating high school, Kacey landed her first professional dance job at Disneyland Resort. She then ventured overseas to Tokyo Disneyland, where she spent three years making magic for countless audiences.
After returning home from Japan, Kacey embarked on a journey with Norwegian Cruise Line, enriching her professional experience and growing as an artist. Now back in her hometown of Los Angeles, Kacey remains wholeheartedly committed to her craft and continues to expand her training and performance repertoire. She has danced in music videos, on TV/Film and in various live stage performances. She has been fortunate to train under the guidance of many esteemed choreographers and dance educators including Marguerite Derricks, Lisa Eaton, Cat Rendic, & Patrick Franz. Kacey is excited to share her love of dance and is looking forward to a wonderful season in her 4th year at Protégé!
After returning home from Japan, Kacey embarked on a journey with Norwegian Cruise Line, enriching her professional experience and growing as an artist. Now back in her hometown of Los Angeles, Kacey remains wholeheartedly committed to her craft and continues to expand her training and performance repertoire. She has danced in music videos, on TV/Film and in various live stage performances. She has been fortunate to train under the guidance of many esteemed choreographers and dance educators including Marguerite Derricks, Lisa Eaton, Cat Rendic, & Patrick Franz. Kacey is excited to share her love of dance and is looking forward to a wonderful season in her 4th year at Protégé!
RYENNE JURGELLA • DANCE FACULTY • Ryenne started dancing at the age of four and has trained in all styles including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical, contemporary and musical theater. She has competed on national award winning competition teams. Ryenne has received dance scholarships at conventions such as Revel, Radix, 24Seven, Jump, Thunderstruck and NRG, where she traveled the country assisting elite choreographers. Ryenne was actively involved in the Simi Valley High School Dance Team for 4 years choreographing routines for half-time shows at sports games, pep-rallies, showcases and more. She completed the ROP Dance Pathway where she shared her love for teaching beginning dancers. In addition to her love of dance, Ryenne is a DSM-V certified behavioral therapist for children on the autism spectrum. This is Ryenne's 4th year at Protégé!
CHRYS RYAN JOHNSON • MUSIC FACULTY • Chrys has been working in the music business for well 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. He has the unique talent to play most songs by ear and has extensive experience playing keyboard with different artists and bands. Chrys also has a strong background in musical theater, performing as both an actor and a musician in the orchestra. 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 Protégé. This is Chrys's 6th season at Protégé and we are so happy to have him in our studio family!
KAYLA MONTGOMERY • DANCE FACULTY • Kayla has been dancing since the age of three and studied classical ballet with Jayne Zaban of Dance Arts Center in the Bay Area. She continued her training at LINES Dance Center and ODC Dance Commons in San Francisco. Kayla has her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from California State University, Long Beach. While in college, she was gifted the Dance Department Scholarship. Her contemporary ballet trio just before flight was chosen to perform in the student choreographed Contemporary Concert and to represent CSULB at American College Dance Association. Kayla has performed works by acclaimed artists such as Mold by Mike Esperanza of BARE Dance Company, Jacqulyn Buglisi’s Reqiuem- repertoire from Buglisi Dance Theatre and Wild Sweet Love with the Trey McIntyre Project. Professionally, she danced for contemporary ballet and modern companies: Backhausdance, Lorin Johnson’s Body Current Dance and Jessica Kondrath’s Grayscale. Kayla has performed concert dance in theatres throughout California, danced for film and worked as a dancewear model. Teaching is her passion. Miss Kayla has over 15 years of teaching experience, and adored 7 seasons as Ballet Mistress for the Ballet Academy at Strong Dance Studios in Cypress. Also, she instructed Ballet Labs for the Department of Dance at CSULB. Kayla loves technique and artistry. With gratitude, this is Kayla’s 1st season with Protégé!
GENIE PATRA • DANCE FACULTY • Genie began dancing at the age of 3 and has trained in a full range of styles including ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, hip hop and more. At age 8, she began focused training at Gotta Dance Studio, where she built a strong technical foundation with Ms. Kelly as one of her main teachers. She later trained at Media City Ballet and participated in programs and auditions with the Joffrey Ballet School, receiving an invitation to the school with partial scholarship. In high school, she was a member of the competitive JV Cheer and Varsity Song Pom teams at Notre Dame High School. As she advanced, Genie continued her education at Millennium Dance Complex, The Edge, and Pineapple Studios in London. At UCLA, she danced with Icarus Contemporary, a contemporary showcase group, and NSU Modern, a competitive urban crew. Genie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UCLA and a Master’s degree in Interactive Media from the University of Westminster in London. Alongside a professional career in marketing, she later founded her own dance studio in Austria, and built an award-winning competition team there. She brings a high-energy, technique-focused approach to every class. This is Genie's 1st Season at Protégé!
SAVANNAH RUBIO • DANCE FACULTY • Savannah fell in love with dance at age 11 when she joined Protégé during their very first season. Her passion for teaching began at age 13 as a Protégé assistant, helping young students discover their love for dance. She is trained in ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz and hip-hop. As a former member of Protégé’s competition team, she has competed at Nuvo, Showstoppers, KAR, Rainbow, and many more. She has attended Joffrey Ballet’s Summer Intensive to advance her ballet technique and has performed lead roles in Protégé’s Nutcracker including Arabian Coffee Princess and Snow Queen. Savannah recently earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology & Brain Science and a Minor in Applied Psychology from University of California, Santa Barbara. She enjoyed performing in multiple productions with UCSB’s Theater and Dance program. Savannah also volunteered at the Grace Fisher Inclusive Arts Clubhouse where she taught individuals with disabilities both dance and American Sign Language. This is Savannah's 12th year as part of the Protégé family!
MADDIE WHEATLEY • DANCE FACULTY • Maddie began dancing at the age of three in Simi Valley, training in all styles including hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap, and ballet. She continued her development under Shannon Mather at Mather Dance Company and is now represented by Go 2 Talent Agency for dance and Evolve Artists for commercial and print work in Los Angeles. Maddie is currently training in acting at The Groundlings Comedy School and Lesly Kahn & Co. Her dance credits include Sesame Street Live, Old Navy, and M3GAN on The Tonight Show. Commercial credits include campaigns for Square, T-Mobile, JCPenney, Adobe, and Round Table Pizza. Outside the studio, Maddie stays busy auditioning, taking class, and traveling nationwide to teach and choreograph. Now in her 6th season with Protégé, she’s excited to continue spreading her love for dance with her Protégé family!