Meet the Staff
Marlo Hilton Almonte, Director
“Dance less out of habit and more out of intent,” is the expression symbolic to Marlo’s formula for a well-rounded dance class. A native to Zephyrhills Florida, she has been dancing for 39 years and a dance teacher for 23 years. She has studied dance at Broadway Dance Centre in New York, Jacksonville University, and the University of South Florida. While at USF, she received a Bachelor of Science in Dance Education and was certified to teach in the public school system. She has studied dance styles including ballet, modern, contemporary, lyrical, pointe, hip hop, jazz, tap, clogging, musical theatre, baton, acrobatics, gymnastics, african dance, belly dance, ethnic and folk dance, improvisation, choreography, and movement analysis. She has studied with artists such as Madam Darvash, Tony Coppola, Michael Foley, Laurie Ann Gibson, Geri Houlihan, Sifiso Kweyama, Liz Lerman, Finis Jhung, Chris Judd, Mia Michaels, Brice Mousset, and Shane Sparks. She has performed for Walt Disney World, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the National Football League, the University of South Florida, and several college bowl games, as well as televised events. She has received numerous titles, choreography awards, and other recognitions as an educator, teacher, choreographer, and director. She has also choreographed for other venues including television commercials, plays, musicals, art schools, cheerleading squads, pageants and church functions. Marlo is the Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Dancer for Asher Dance Eclectic, a professional dance company that incorporates and encourages persons with disabilities. Marlo is looking forward to sharing her passion by educating and training dancers at Downtown Dance Collective.
Elizabeth Flannery- Ballet, Pointe, Variations, Private Lessons
Lizzy grew up in St. Petersburg, FL and began dancing at the age of 5 at Academy of Ballet Arts under the direction of Suzanne Pomerantzeff. She attended high school at Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School where she focused on Classical Ballet taught by Ms. Pomerantzeff as well as Horton Technique (Modern) taught by Patricia Paige-Parks. Throughout high school, Lizzy took her love for Classical Ballet to the performance stage and participated in Youth America Grand Prix, High School Dance Festival, and performed with St. Petersburg Ballet Company. She spent her summers at The Harid Conservatory Summer Intensives. In college she went on to study Classical Ballet, Pointe, Repertoire, and Partnering as a non-major at The University of South Florida.
As an adult, Lizzy has taught at various local studios in the Tampa Bay Area, as well as throughout Colorado Springs. Family and dance are her passions and she’s very excited to be a part of Downtown Dance Collective and share her love of the Arts!
Heibel Oreza - Hip Hop
Heibel is 33 years old and recently moved to Zephyrhills from Rhode Island. He has been dancing since he was a small child. Heibel has been teaching and choreographing for the past 17 years. Throughout his performance years, he has achieved numerous titles and awards. He has been a competitive dancer, competed and performed in battles, and has even been seen dancing on television shows. His biggest achievement was being in the World of Dance. For Heibel, dance is a passion that has been his getaway. He believes dance is so much more than "just dancing." It can become an outlet for your internal and external struggles. Heibel is excited to be teaching Hip Hop at Downtown Dance Collective so that he can share his passion with students, while showing them how much dance can better their daily lives.
