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Zoika Garcia
Zoika Garcia is the founder of Zoika's Dance in St. Augustine, Florida. A professional dancer, choreographer and teacher, Zoika is a former principal dancer with the National Opera of Cuba and Capezio Ballet of Bolivia. She has travelled extensively as a dancer and choreographer, participating in festivals and winning awards at international competitions in ballet and contemporary genres. Zoika is the former artistic director and choreographer of Capezio Ballet in La Paz, Bolivia, and the former owner, artistic director and choreographer of ZoikaDance in Guatamala.
A native of Cuba, Zoika attended the Superior Institute of Art in Havana, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Ballet and Fine Arts with honors. She continued her studies as a teacher, dancer, and choreographer, receiving a post-graduate teaching degree in Ballet and Character Dance Methodology, and a certificate in Musical Theater and Dance from Opera Lyrical of Cuba. Zoika is also a Certified Fitness Instructor and personal trainer with in-depth knowledge and experience in conditioning for dancers. Always growing as an artist, Zoika is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Choreography at Jacksonville University.
As a teacher, Zoika has taught ballet at the school of the National Ballet of Cuba and the Superior Institute of Art in Havana, Capezio Ballet Studio in Bolivia, and ZoikaDance in Guatemala. In the United States, Zoika has choreographed and taught for the Saint Augustine Ballet.
A bundle of warmth and energy in a tiny package, Zoika is committed to nurturing her students’ growth as dancers, as well as their confidence in every aspect of life. Zoika’s students have received awards at international dance competitions and invitations to pursue dance at professional ballet and contemporary companies. Her students have also received scholarships to continue their dance studies at universities and colleges.
Zoika's Dance Instructors
Emily Masson
Tap, Ballet & Jazz
Emily Masson is a dancer and instructor with a degree in dance from Florida School of the Arts. Beginning at just five years old, Emily’s passion for classical ballet, which grew over the years to include tap, jazz, and modern dance, has influenced her every move. After earning her degree, Emily took her talents to Atlanta and Boston before returning to her hometown of St. Augustine. With over a decade of experience as a dance and fitness instructor, as well as working as a full-time teacher at Island Prep Elementary,
Jenne Vermes
Tap & Contemporary
Jenne Vermes is a professional tap dancer and choreographer from Jacksonville, FL. She is the Artistic Director of professional tap dance companies Noise Complaint Tap Dance Theatre and Rhythm Theory Tap Ensemble, currently performing across the US. She is also a Professor of Tap Dance at Florida School of the Arts, and a music and math teacher for Duval Public Schools. She holds a B.A. in Music and two Master's degrees in education from Florida State University. From 2010-2012 she toured as a dancer/singer for the internationally acclaimed band, The Crüxshadows, traveling across Europe, the Caribbean and North America. From 2014-2018 she was a member of the "#Taplife" Tap Dance Company based in New York City.
Shellsea Monge is dancer, choreographer, and instructor who began her dance education in New York at the age of two, studying jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, Latin fusion, flamenco, and many other folk dances. She began competing nationally at the age of seven, and has been choreographing since the age of sixteen. During her career, Shellsea has danced professionally for the NY Nicks and the national Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City. As an instructor and coach, she has been privileged to have her original choreographed pieces compete and win many national titles. Shellsea recently relocated to Florida, and she is excited to begin teaching at Zoika’s Dance!
Shellsea Monge
Hip Hop, Jazz
& Contemporary
Isa Pullen
Acro
Isa Pullen has been coaching gymnastics since 2021. A former gymnast, she trained with elite level coaches and finished her gymnastics career competing at level 9 and training at level 10. She loves to see her students come out of their shells, growing and blossoming as people. She also loves giving them a safe place to have fun and be themselves. Coach Isa is very excited to be teaching students at Zoika’s Dance - and we are so excited for our students to be learning from her!
Tap & Jazz
Shelby Howell is a professional tap, K-Pop, and musical theatre performer and choreographer from Fleming Island, FL. She has been performing since she was 5 and hasn't stopped since! She is a musical theatre major at Florida School of the Arts and a dancer/stage manager for the professional tap dance company Noise Complaint. Shelby's greatest inspiration is Donald O'Connor from movies like Singin' in the Rain and Anything Goes. She's so excited to teach them to a new tap generation!
Shelby Howell
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Alex Rubio
Alex Rubio is a professional tap dancer and instructor from Miami, Florida. He earned his B.A. in Economics and Theater/Drama from the University of North Florida. Alex is one of the founding members of professional tap dance company, Noise Complaint Tap Dance Theatre, which performs throughout the U.S. He has also been a featured performer in Zoika's Dance productions for the past three seasons. Alex takes his greatest inspiration from the legendary dancer, Fred Astaire, and he is excited to share his passion for tap dance with students at Zoika's Dance.
Tap
Grace Karger
Grace Karger is a musician and former ballet dancer whose roles included Sugar Plum Fairy with partner Julio Concepción (Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Cincinnati Ballet, OK City Ballet), Dew Drop, Snow Queen, and Arabian in the Nutcracker; Tiger Lily in Peter Pan; Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz; Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland; and solo variations including Paquita Etoile, Kitri Act III, Gamzatti Act III, Sleeping Beauty Aurora Act II and Lilac Fairy. Grace trained with Zoika Garcia and spent summers training with American Ballet Theatre, Irina Dvorovenko & Maxim Beloserkovsky (ABT), and Steps on Broadway.
Ballet & Pointe
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Naomi Lewis
Naomi Lewis is a dancer and instructor with over 11 years of experience. After training for four years in gymnastics and tumbling, she transitioned into studying ballet, pointe, and character dance at the age of 11. Naomi has trained under Zoika Garcia for many years and has danced featured roles in Christmas FANTASTIQUE, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz. She has also served as stage manager for many Zoika’s Dance productions, and has served as a summer camp gymnastics instructor. Naomi is excited to introduce young children to the joys of dance and acro at Zoika’s Dance!
Baby Acro
Zoika's Dance Assistant Instructors
Sophia Budd
Zoika's Dance Guest Instructors
Claudia Ruby
Guest Instructor
Claudia Ruby is Founder and Owner of the largest Performing Dance Center in her native country of Bolivia. She studied Classical Ballet in the Ukraine and later graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Education. She continued her education at the University of South Florida in Dance Education, and worked for the Hillsborough County public school system for many years. She now directs Ruby Dance Center in Riverview, Florida, and offers a unique After School Program to 15 local schools.
Melanie Anastacia Van Allen, Ph.D., M.A., M.F.A
Guest Instructor
Melanie Anastacia Van Allen, Ph.D, M.A., M.F.A, is a New York City-based choreographer, dancer, teaching artist, and emerging scholar of dance. Melanie holds a Ph.D. in Dance Studies from Texas Woman's University, an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Draper Program of Social Thought at New York University, an M.A. in Performance Studies from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and an M.F.A in Choreography/Performance from the University of Michigan. Melanie has presented her research and choreography internationally at various academic conferences and performance venues. She is a certified Yoga Instructor, completing her 200-hour yoga teacher certification at Pure Yoga in New York City.