Flor de liz norris
As Director, I welcome new faces and energetic bodies to join me in spreading the joy of dance. As a student of dance for over 20 years my raw passion for the art of dance continues to grow. Dance was awakened in me at the age of ten when I performed my first public concert as a member of St. Joseph Ballet. With the training came an awareness of the importance of an arts education and how it can change the course of one's life. Under the guidance of Beth Burns (artistic director, St. Joseph Ballet) and famed choreographer/dancer Donald McKayle, I pursued further training in dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Subsequently after my training at UNCSA I came to Tucson where I earned my MFA at the University of Arizona. Over the years I've had the opportunity to work with a number of famed choreographers further enhancing my love of dance which I hope to help you experience.
LOIS BLACK
Lois Black-Unkrich was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1956 where she began dancing in her mother’s school at the age of three. After moves to Hawaii, Northern California and Scottsdale Arizona, Lois settled with her family in the Phoenix area in 1970 where she became a serious ballet student at The Phoenix School of Ballet under the guidance of retired American Ballet Theatre soloist Kelly Brown.
At the age of 16, Lois auditioned for Jillana of New York City Ballet and was awarded a Ford Foundation Scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet’s summer program at Julliard where she attended in 1972.
Lois began her professional career with Arizona Ballet Theatre in Phoenix under director Steven Wistrich in 1976 and in the spring of 1979 accepted a contract with The Des Moines Ballet from director and choreographer Jorge Samaniego of The Nederlands Dance Theatre performing in many original works by Sananiego including I.P.B.N.’s film production of Romeo & Juliet.
In 1982 Stephan Laurent began his directorship of The Des Moines Ballet producing several ballets among them The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Coppelia where Lois was a featured dancer.
After leaving Iowa and The Des Moines Ballet in 1986, Lois danced a season under director Jean Paul Comelin in Tucson’s Arizona Dance Theatre and from 1987 through 1994 was a member of Mary Beth Cabana’s Ballet Arts Ensemble (now Ballet Tucson).
Lois is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Taylor Carlson
Taylor began dance lessons at 3 years old in Richardson, Texas. At the age of 15, she was invited to train at Boston Ballet School’s year-round Pre-Professional Division, where she had the opportunity to perform in Boston Ballet company productions. She was also chosen to teach and perform for aspiring young children in Boston Ballet’s Community Outreach Program. After high school, she was accepted into the competitive Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Ballet. At Indiana University, she was fortunate to train under world-renowned ballet dancers such as Violette Verdy, and work with Balanchine repetiteurs including Sandra Jennings, Victoria Simon, and Zippora Karz. Following her graduation, she immediately joined Ballet Tucson in 2014, and was awarded the Pearl Brady Award for Outstanding Professionalism during her first year with the company. While at Ballet Tucson, she performed both principal and soloist roles in many ballets including The Nutcracker, Serenade, Phantom of the Opera, Sleeping Beauty, Walpurgisnacht, Donizetti, and more. During the off-season at Ballet Tucson, she enjoyed traveling to guest teach and choreograph ballet showcase and competition pieces.
Now that her performing career has finished, she enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for ballet to the next generation of dancers! In 2004 she found her life’s partner in Tucson. Here she was able to teach for a time at Pima College and has been giving classes with Flor de Liz Dance.
REBECCA GARCIA
Becca began dancing at age 3 and trained in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus in Great Britain and continued dancing at Creative Dance Arts in Tucson. She has earned numerous awards while intensively studying, performing, and competing in ballet, tap, and jazz.
Bringing more than a decade of teaching experience, a passion for education and a love of dance to the classroom, Becca seeks to foster children’s natural creative movement and excitement for dance within a classical technical framework.
LEILANI GOMEZ
I grew up here in Tucson AZ. I am a current student at the University of Arizona getting my bachelors in Elementary Education with my endorsement in Bilingual Education. I have been dancing since the age of 3 years old and started my dance journey here at Flor De Liz Dance. My passion for dance grew as I got the chance to grow up in this studio. I have been trained in Ballet, Hip hop, Tap, Folklórico, Jazz, Lyrical, and so many more styles. At this studio I was able to meet some of the most amazing teachers and also made some great long life friends. At the age of 15 I moved from studio dancing to highschool dance and continued my journey through the Flowing Wells High School dance program.
Now I have had a full circle moment and have been given the chance to teach here at the studio that I grew up in & have been teaching here for about 3 years now & i couldn’t be happier! Besides being a dance teacher here I am also a Cheer coach for the flowing wells high school cheer team.
I am so glad that I get to work at the place i like to call my second home and inspire dancers to have a passion for dance. This studio taught me everything that I know & helped mold me into the dancer that I am today. I have made some beautiful memories here and I will continue to do so not as a dancer but as a teacher. I love getting to work with kids of all ages & getting to teach them the art of dance through the studio that created that love of dance for me is an opportunity that I will always cherish and I hope to be able to share that passion with you!
CLAIRE HANCOCK
Claire Hancock is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, and actor. She holds a Master of Arts degree in European Dance Theatre from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, and earned both a Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Arizona. Hancock has been a guest teacher and choreographer for organizations including the Limón Institute, Broadway Theatre Project, University of Arizona School of Dance, Arizona Opera, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, True Concord: Voices and Orchestra, The Rogue Theatre, and Broadway in Tucson. She currently teaches at Pima Community College. Hancock co-founded and directed Artifact Dance Project from 2009 - 2019 with colleague Ashley Bowman, a company dedicated to dance, live music, and film. Recently Claire has been developing and creating work with composer Vincent Calianno for a new company, Two Trains, which focuses on producing works for new media.
www.clairehancock.com
CHRIS OLLAR
Chris Ollar has an extensive background in various genres of dance such as Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Musical Theater. He currently teaches our Tap and Lyrical classes. Chris enjoys sharing his passion for dance with his students.
Mira Manapova terrazas
Mira Manapova Terrazas, Ballet, Point and Pilates Instructor and Choreographer, is a graduate of the State Academy of Choreography of Tashkent formerly known as the Soviet Union Ballet School of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Applicants to the Ballet School undergo a rigorous acceptance process conducted at the National level and once accepted, train to be a professional dancer six days a week, six-eight hours per day for eight years. School studies were conducted after ballet training. Mira was accepted to ballet school at the age of nine and graduated at the age of eighteen at the top of her class. Beginning in her junior year, Mira was invited to dance at the Alisher Navoi State Academic Bolshoi Theater and continued dancing at the Navoi Bolshoi Theater for the remaining years of her ballet school training. Upon graduation and over the next five years, Mira continued dancing at the Navoi Bolshoi Theater and the Operetta State Theater performing a variety of ballets and operettas. Mira performed the Dance of the Little Swans in Swan Lake, the Blue Bird variation in Sleeping Beauty, and performed in Don Quixote, the Fountain of Bakhchisarai, My Fair Lady, Bayadera, Maritza, Die Csárdásfürstin, Der Zigeunerprimas, Die Fledermaus and others. Shows typically ran for months with nightly performances five days a week. During her fifth year of performing, Mira was given the opportunity to tour South Korea with a dance company. It was during this tour that she met her future husband, decided to move to the US and start a family. The decision to leave her dancing career behind was a difficult one but the joy she has experienced from teaching gives her the opportunity to continue her passion for dance and to share this passion with her students. Mira’s teaching experience includes Classical Ballet and Point Technique for medium to advanced level students, Variations, Character Dance, Pilates for all ages, Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) for all ages and levels, and Ballet for Gymnastics and Rhythmic Gymnastics. With proper instruction, Pilates helps students improve posture, increase flexibility and add muscle strength. Combined with PBT, students will improve core stability, weight placement, balance and alignment and help students advance in all dance forms. I enjoy helping young dancers develop their skills, performance ability and their overall confidence through hard work and disciplined technique. I will always strive to create a friendly, respectful and safe learning environment for my students.
BRITTANY SCHOER
Brittany began dancing at age three in Broomfield, Colorado. She trained at Dance Arts Studio, and performed with their company for eight years. She was also a guest artist with Danse Etoile Ballet’s company for one year.
Brittany went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from the University of Wyoming in December 2015, where she studied modern, ballet, pointe, jazz, tap and vertical dance. During the summer of 2015, Brittany attended Yoga Adventure’s 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training. She fell in love with teaching yoga, and incorporating it in her dance classes.
After graduation from UWYO, Brittany danced professionally with two small contemporary companies in Denver, Colorado for two years. In August 2017, Brittany moved to Alamosa, CO with her husband. There, she continued to teach yoga, began to teach group fitness classes and started a kids dance program. She then fell in love with fitness and became an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer in January of 2019. Since then, Brittany has been closely working with clients one-on-one to help them achieve their goals.
In February of 2021, Brittany and her husband moved to Tucson, AZ.