about us

Athena Dance Academy

As one of the founding members of the Athena Culture Education Foundation, Athena Dance Academy establishes from the outset a tradition of innovative arts education, pursuing a pure spirit of artistry.

Athena Dance Academy is opening Spring 2020 and offers comprehensive dance programs for students of all ages and levels. Here, dedicated, enthusiastic and professional teachers hailing from all over the world—from various language and culture backgrounds— are fully committed to students’ dance training and development. Under the ownership and direction of Athena Anwar, who has thirty years of extensive dance training and performance experience, the school and staff are committed to empowering diverse students through dance and strive to support each student in their dance journey.

 

Our dance academy is located at Pearland Learning Center and features newly modeled classrooms. The nurturing classroom environment is designed to encourage students to become lifelong lovers of movement and dance. Under the tutelage of our teachers, all of whom graduated from professional dance schools and are still active in the performance arena, students will gain both solid training in technique and creative artistic thinking towards dance as an art form.

We are excited to have the opportunity to positively impact the community by equipping our students with the technical and artistic skills that will enable them to express themselves through dance. At the Athena Dance Academy, students will develop discipline, build self-confidence, feel a great sense of achievement, and experience the liberty that movement and imagination can bring to any dancer.

OUR TEAM

Athena Anwar

FOUNDER & CHOREOGRAPHER

Athena Anwar is a famous contemporary dance artist and producer with more than 35 years dance experience. She is a famous choreographer, and Oscar winner of the dance art industry: Lotus Award.——A dream chaser in the spirit of dance art.

As the founder of the Athena Dance Academy, she always pursues a love for the spirit of art in her dictionary. “Dance is a living art, dance art is an interpretation of internal personality, artistic spirit, and quality. The artistic spirit and quality of dance are the beginning source of dance art. “—— This is her artistic spirit and the best interpretation of Athena Dance Academy

Rachel Stevens

BALLET, TAP, CONTEMPORARY, JAZZ, MUSCIAL THEATRE, POINTE INSTRUCTOR

Rachel Stevens is very excited to be part of Athena Dance Academy.  She has been dancing since she was 5 years old.  She trained under the late Lynette Mason Gregg at Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Feijoo Ballet School under Lorna Feijoo, Nelson Madrigal, and Lorena Feijoo.  Rachel has extensive training in Ballet, Contemporary, Tap, Jazz, and Musical Theatre.  Rachel was a company member for 4 years at Bay Area Ballet and Theatre and has performed in many BAHBT productions including Dracula, Swan Lake, Cinderella Coppélia, Bye Bye Birdie, The Sleeping Beauty, and 7 seasons of The Nutcracker. Other previous productions include Seussical, Little Shop of Horrors, A Chorus Line, Into the Woods, and The Wizard of Oz.  Rachel continued her passion for dance and has been teaching ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and musical theatre for the past 3 years.  Rachel is very excited to work with young ambitious students that are passionate about the art of dance. 

Alyssa Battad

TAP, HIP HOP, CONTEMPORARY, JAZZ INSTRUCTOR – NBA DANCER FOR THE HOUSTON ROCKETS

Alyssa Battad is from Houston, TX and She has been dancing since she was 3 years old! She grew up training in various styles of dance such as ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop.  She have also had the opportunity to travel across the country to take part in various competitions and conventions. 

Aside from being a dance choreographer and instructor, Alyssa is currently living her dream as a NBA Dancer for the Houston Rockets, where she has been able to perform in front of thousands of fans and meet new people! She is  so excited to join the Athena Dance Academy team and looking forward to getting to work with amazing students!

 

Linda “Lynn” Cantu

BALLET, HIP HOP, JAZZ, KPOP, CONTEMPORARY INSTRUCTOR

Linda “Lynn” Cantu began training in ballet and jazz at a ballet school in Katy at age 2 after her family discovered her love for music and performing for family members. When she was 13 years old, she developed her passion for hip hop performances. As she moved on to high school, she was accepted to their dance team as an Elite member.  Her experience includes the following: performing with the Houston Rockets Power Dancers; performing in numerous festivals; dancing with the award-winning crew “Riot Squad”; managing multicultural performances; and choreographing several winning numbers for dance competitions around Houston. Because of her leadership, creativity, and passion, her students have successfully earned scholarships and awards for dance conventions in Los Angeles. Lynn is also currently a member of Houston’s Kpop dance crew “Wonderbox”. Music and dance will always be her first love and she will continue in the industry for a lifetime.

 

Lena Yeh

FOLKLORIC, BALLET, CONTEMPORARY, TECHNIQUE INSTRUCTOR

 

Yuling Yeh has a diverse background, coming from her homeland Taiwan to the State to seek for further exploration in her artistry. She got her BFA in Dance in August of 2019. With her authentic background, she also has a wide knowledge of skill sets, ranging from choreography, ballet, modern, and traditional Chinese, to the martial art. During school, Yuling has the honor to work with Erin Reck, Andy Noble, Dana Nicolay, Mike Esperanza, Joshua Manculich, Nicole Von Arx, and Elijah Gibson. Yuling also was invited to went to Lucca, Italy to participant in Dance Italia where she exposed to Gaga technique, counter-technique, and Kidd Pivot Rep. Yuling also had experiences with costume design and production, she was studied under Barry Doss for her entire college career alongside with Shannon Stone. Her most recent design including Dana Nicolay “Alice in Wonderland”, Erin Reck “Whisper in Darkness”, and Jennifer Pointus “Pa De Duck”.

Jessica Figueroa

JAZZ, FLAMENCO, MODERN INSTRUCTOR

Jessica Figueroa is graduating with a BFA degree in dance from the University of Houston. She was trained in flamenco for 8 years in Cuba and later focused on modern and contemporary styles. Figueroa is president of the Dance Student Association for the second consecutive year and a 3rd year member of UH Dance Ensemble. She was also a part of Young Audiences Touring Company (YATC) and performed around the City of Houston integrating arts and science. Figueroa is currently an apprentice for the dance company 6 Degrees which performed at the Women’s March, and Psophonia Dance Company performing in their latest show “Colony” at the MATCH. She has also performed in works choreographed by John Beasant III, Karen Stokes, Becky Valls, Teresa Chapman, Toni Valle, and others. She has taught in studios for the last 3 years and is the marketing distributor for Dance Source Houston. She hopes to continue performing and choreographing after college and create work that showcases her culture and experiences. 

Join Our Team