LOOKING FOR DANCE LESSONS FROM A PREMIER SOUTH FLORIDA STUDIO?

Artistic Director/Owner Jimmy Locust has worked with top entertainment industry stars such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Quincy Jones and Debbie Allen.  He has been featured in iconic music videos and films including Rhythm Nation and Coming to America. He has performed at the Grammy Awards, Academy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. Mr. Locust was one of the head choreographers for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta (opening and closing ceremonies) and was nominated for an American Choreography Award in 2001 for his work on the Warner Brothers’ network television show Nikki. Locust has choreographed commercials for both international and national companies, including Sanyo in Japan with Nicholas Cage and most recently, Rapid Advance in the U.S. He worked on the Justin Bieber Tour in 2010 and choreographed for the CW Television Network’s The Next with hosts John Rich, Joe Jonas, Nelly and Gloria Estefan.  For the stage, Locust has choreographed successful theater and high school productions. He has designed dance curricula for numerous community and private education programs. Locust has also been a studio owner, master teacher and choreographer for over twelve years. He is the Founder and Director of Harmony Nation, an educational anti-bullying program that performs for schools and youth organizations. He also directs Locust Contemporary Dance Works, a youth company which performs in New York City, as well as Hip Hop's Finest and FOCUS Hip Hop pre-professional groups. Locust was appointed by the renowned Boca Ballet Theatre in Florida as a returning faculty member for their summer residency program. Locust was also selected to be an adjudicator (2015) and Artist-in-Residence (2016-present) for the JCC Maccabi Games Artsfests across the U.S. Most recently, he took on the project of choreographing West Side Story for Musicals at Richter. Locust’s multi-faceted lifestyle is chronicled in his reality show Locust Under 5’.

Artistic Director/Manager Monica Richardson started her dance training at the age of three. She graduated from the New World School of the Arts in Miami with extensive study and proficiency in modern, ballet and jazz. Monica's commercial career has included performing as a background dancer for recording artists Gloria Estefan, Pitbull (Univision’s Latin Pepsi Smash), rapper Nelly and country music star John Rich (the CW Television Network's The Next) and dancing in music videos for rap artists Ja Rule and Missy Elliott. She has choreographed and danced in several performances for artist Jackie-O and group Take Note, with whom she did the opening number at the Reggae Festival in Miami, featuring such big-name artists as Sean Paul. Her work abroad includes that of lead dancer for Tokyo Disney Sea, where she danced in the show ShowBiz Iz. On the small screen, Monica has performed with Scarface actor Angel Salazar, dancing in his comedy show Sheck It Out. Monica danced in a Broadway-style national commercial for Rapid Advance and performed and co- choreographed with choreographer Jimmy Locust for recording artist Arika Kane (New York City’s BB King's).  Currently, Monica continues her dream of performing, choreographing and teaching master classes throughout the U.S. She is also the founder and creative designer of an exclusive legging line, Moni Make Your Mark, which uses unique and colorful patterns to express originality and encourage all individuals to be bold and confident in making their mark on the world.  

Associate Director Katelynn Draper is an enthusiastic dancer who has dedicated her life to dance and teaching. Katelynn graduated Summa Cum Laude and received her BFA from New World School of the Arts. She has worked alongside and performed repertoire from world renowned choreographers such as Judith Jamison, Ariel Friedman, Tony Fabre, Kyle Abraham, Patricia Lent, Peter London, Darshan Bhuller, Rennie Harris, and Robert Battle. In 2012 she had the incredible honor to study at the school of Jacob’s Pillow in the Contemporary program, under the direction of Milton Myers.  She has been the recipient of numerous regional and international dance awards including Intrigue’s Young Choreographer’s Award and Christina Aguilera’s Dance Contest on MTV. Katelynn is inspired to be educating the youth on the importance of an active lifestyle through the art of dance.

Kameo Walker is trained in Hip-hop, Classical Ballet, Modern, Jazz, African and Contemporary dance and holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bethune-Cookman University (2014). Kameo was a Captain of the 14 Karat Gold Dancers of the BCU Marching Wildcats as seen on the Original Netflix series Marching Orders. Kameo has been dancing professionally since 2014. She has performed at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in shows such as Festival of the Lion King, Discovery Island Carnival and Africa’s Burudika Band. She also performed at Walt Disney World EPCOT in the 2018 Kwanzaa Celebration. Kameo was also cast in The Lion King Concert in the Wild at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where she worked with Tony Award-winning choreographer Warren Adams, and shared the stage with celebrities such as Alfre Woodard, Michael Beach, David Allen Grier and Viola Davis. Kameo has recently performed as a Miami Heat Dancer for the 2018-2019 season. She teaches dance at Parkway Middle School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in addition to teaching at Locust Dance Academy. As a Breast Cancer Survivor, Kameo is passionate about inspiring others to follow their dreams, no matter what tries to stop you!

Erin Kristova began her dance training in ballet, modern dance and contact improvisation under Angela McDonough and Kristin O'Neal at Broward College. She trained in stunt work with Cirque Dreams, created by Niel Goldberg, and also studied at New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL and The Ailey School in New York City. Erin has done some promotional modeling work and was featured in several music videos by artists including Jagged Edge, Nelly, Redman and Sisqo through FM Rocks Entertainment Los Angeles. Her television credits include MTV's Summer in the Keys TRL episodes as "Miss Fourth of July," The Glades TV sitcom, and a background role in the film Marley and Me. She was also featured dancing in a promotional video tribute for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Erin choreographed and performed for Broward College Dance concerts at Bailey Hall while training at the Arts Ballet Theater of Florida in Aventura under Vladimir Issaev and Ruzana Iremashvili. Erin performed as a dancer with the Florida Grand Opera for the 2011-2012 season at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Downtown Miami. She taught Graham, Horton and Limon-based modern dance at the Naples Etudes de Ballet Academy, for advanced teens and adults. Erin also established herself in Captiva, FL as a guest dance artist/performer. Erin's dance background includes classical ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, contact improvisation, and dance composition/choreography. She also has some background in the martial arts. Erin has been teaching for over a decade in South Florida and specializes in teaching Vaganova ballet technique, contemporary and modern dance. She was awarded a certificate of performance and completion in the 2016 Vaganova Ballet Teacher’s Training Workshop at the Arts Ballet Theatre by Mr. Vladimir Issaev.

Lauryn Lapread began her dance journey at the young age of eight years old dancing in a traveling West African urban ballet company called Dun Du Dole. With them, she was able to travel all around Florida, performing seventy-five shows a year. While in that company she also participated in an annual showing formerly called The Chocolate Nutcracker (now known as The Family Blessing). Shortly after, she and her family moved to the hot city of Miami. During her first year there she was able to perform at the Travon Martin rally that was co-hosted by Jamie Foxx. She, while in high school at Dr. Michael Krop, was able to fly all the way to New York City to perform in the annual Queensboro Dance Festival for their three day long showing. She choreographed twice at her school and got awarded with the Most Dedicated Freshman, Most Outstanding Sophomore Performer, Most Creative Junior Dancer, Most Creative Senior Dancer and Most Outstanding Senior Performer awards. She was also able to perform a selected piece at her school in the Repertory Showcase called Tande. Lauryn was able to go back to New York with Locust Dance Academy to perform at Jimmy  Locust’s vision showcase as a soloist and as the school’s first company member.

Kameron Woodall has been a tap dancer since the age of 2. Kameron discovered his love for dance when his parents took him to see Michael Flatley’s The Lord of the Dance and his mom enrolled him in lessons a few weeks later. Kameron trained in many forms of dance other than Tap, including Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Contemporary and Ballroom. During high school, Kameron founded the Heart Beat Dance Program, a not-for-profit organization where he teaches Tap to students who are mentally or physically handicapped. Kameron has been teaching Tap for over 7 years, and has no plans to stop spreading his love for Tap to all who want to learn.