Cynthia Coker

          Artistic Director, Senior Instructor and Choreographer

Ms. Coker is a senior instructor in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Pointe, Modern, Pas de Deux, and Competition classes.  She has Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in dance from Southern Methodist University (SMU).  She is the Founder and former Artistic Director of the South Texas Dance Theatre, and a former officer in the Southwest Regional Ballet Association (Regional Dance America).  She served on the committee for the National Choreography Conference for two years.  Ms. Coker taught Dance and Stage Movement at the University of Texas Pan American for eight years during which time she twice orchestrated the hosting of the National Choreography Conference.

Arielle Coker

          Instructor and Choreographer

Ms. Coker is a dancer and choreographer living in Los Angeles.  A dance major at Loyola Marymount University  she also trains at Quest Learning Center.  She has appeared multiple times on Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" and was a runner up in the Dance Spirit cover model search 2008.As a senior member of Avant Dance Company she competed in dance competitions at Showstopper, JUMP, Starlight, Tremaine, New York City Dance Alliance, and Dance America.  She has won a 'Best Performance of the Show' award at Starlight and NYCDA in  group numbers, was included in the Mid-America National Video, won a JUMP scholarship award in 2006, 2007, & 2008, won a JUMP VIP scholarship, and placed 1st Place Overall in Senior Duos with a "You Rocked Jump" award at Jump.    She has won platinum awards in solo and duo competition at Showstopper, NYCDA, and JUMP.  She has trained with Bruce Marks, Sonya Tayeh, Justin Giles, Chad Michael Hall, Scott Heinzerling, Tekla Kostek, Holly Johnston, Quest Crew, Box Cuttahz, Joe Istre, Kim McSwain, Joe Alegado, Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore, Ray Leeper, Nick Lazzarini, Dan Karaty, Dee Caspary, Tre Holloway, AJ Russo, Chris Judd, Wade Robson, Laurie Ann Gibson, Brian Friedman, Shane Sparks, Gil Stroming, Keith Green, and  Emily Green.  She performed in the off-Broadway production of Shake N Break on New years Day, 2007and 2008.

Charles Roy

Charles, an Avant Dance alumni,  is a dance major at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.  Charles performed as a backup dancer for Rianna at MTV's VMA awards, has  performed in Carnival at the Choreographers' Ball in Hollywood, at nationals in ACDF in Washington DC at the Kennedy Center, and was a Vegas qualifier for SYTYCD,   The teachers he has trained with include Patrick Damon Rago, Rogelio Lopez, Holly Johnson, Tekla Kostek, Paige Porter, Mike Esperanza, Nick Long, Dan Karaty, Keith Green, Tre Holloway, and Fanny Pak.  As an Avant Company dancer and instructor he has won awards in Showstopper and JUMP competitions, has performed off-Broadway in NYC for Shake N Break, and has been a JUMP scholarship winner. Charles (P-nut) is a graduate of Ray High School and was the leader of the Hip Hop team when he attended the school.

John Dix

           Instructor - Hip-Hop

As a member of Avant Dance Company since 2002, John has won numerous platinum awards and national honors in hip-hop, jazz, and lyrical dance.  He was a 2007 winner of a hip-hop scholarship from Break the Floor Productions.  As a choreographer and performer he has led the hip-hop company for several years.   A talented music and video editor, John has been responsible for Avant music editing. His company, "Reign Ingenuities", has produced video clips for Avant Dance.

Ashley Perez

           Senior Instructor

Ashley Perez, an A&M Corpus Christi graduate and former Avant Company dancer is currently living and dancing professionally in NYC.  Ashley remains a guest teacher and choreographer for Avant Dance. She has studied ballet, tap, jazz, contortion, gymnastics, voice, and theatre.  She was the TATD all around junior scholarship winner, won 2 scholarships to the Jillana School where she studied for 3 summers, and has won 1st place in Encore, Rainbow Connections, Showstoppers, Starbound, Dance Showcase USA, L.A. Dance Magic, and L.A. Dance Force competitions.  Ashley has trained at the Virginia Ballet School, Mayra Worthen Ballet/Ballet San Antonio Academy, and Studio 10 Dance Center.  She has been accepted to American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, Boston Ballet Summer Dance, Washington Ballet Summer Intensive, Jillana School Summer Intensive, and the Houston Ballet Academy.  Ashley is currently teaching ballet, jazz, and lyrical at Avant.  Ashley is a 2007 & 2008 winner of a Break the Floor Productions ballet and jazz scholarship as well as a JUMP VIP scholarship winner.. She also performed in the 2007 & 2008 off-Broadway production of Shake N Break in New York City.

Jenny Espino