FACULTY
KALLIE BOURGEOIS FOX
Owner/Director/Instructor
It has always been Kallie’s dream to teach dancing, and she’s been blessed to have lived her dream for nearly 30 years.
Kallie has been dancing since the young age of two. She got her start at Charlene and Darlene's School of Dance in the small town of Lafitte, LA where she grew up. At Fisher Middle/High School, she was captain of the middle school and high school dance teams. In high school she had the honor of dancing in London and in New York. Kallie attended the Dari Pennino Dance Academy in 1990 and began assistant teaching in 1993. There she studied many styles of dance under the direction of Dari Pennino and later, Derek Reese. Kallie was in charge of many tasks at DPDA which included directing and instructing at many week long Summer Dance Camps. When the director/owner of DPDA, Dari, took maternity leave, Kallie became the principle dance instructor in 2000.
Kallie attended the University of New Orleans where she took many child development classes and graduated in General Studies. Also, she taught Kindergarten at Leo Kerner Elementary.
Kallie has many certifications including Yoga 200 ytt, Cize, and Piyo. She has received certification in Progressing Ballet Technique and attends various dance workshops, seminars, and classes across the country every year.
Kallie lives in the Prairieville area with her husband, Jonathan and their dog (fur baby) Gracie. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, painting, photography, and writing short stories about the daily shenanigans of her much loved fur baby.
TRACI CHESTERMAN
Faculty
Traci has been dancing since she was two years old. She danced for Dari Pennino Dance Academy under the direction of Dari Pennino Reese and Kallie Bourgeois Fox. In 2014, she joined the competition team under the direction of Derek Reese where she competed in Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, many local competitions as well as conventions to learn more techniques. Traci taught from 2016-2021 alongside Kallie and Derek; During her last year of dancing, she and another student taught classes individually. Traci wanted to continue dancing while attending college and was excited when Kallie gave her the opportunity to come teach at her studio.
In addition to dancing for DPDA, Traci danced for five years for the Archbishop Shaw High School Eaglettes Dance Team where during her senior year she served as co-captain. While on the ASHS Dance Team, she was selected several times for the American All Star weekend to attend clinics. Also, during her time on the dance team, they attended several competitions, marched in parades, rode in a Mardi Gras parade at Universal Studios and performed in Downtown Disney.
Traci is currently attending LSU in pursuit of her nursing degree. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoys listening to music and riding in her Jeep. One of her favorite things is to rewatch Grey's Anatomy repeatedly.
JONATHAN FOX
Office Manager/Etc
Jonathan is Kallie's husband and does not dance. He greatly enjoys helping Kallie live her dream of having a dancing school filled with excitement, creativity, and love. Jonathan provides support on all non-dance teaching elements of the studio, whether it's making props, editing music, installing lighting, installing flooring, cleaning up, working on the website, or even just providing a smiling face and support to help parents know the details of the studio.
When Jonathan is not at the studio, he works with technology solutions to aid the every day life of driving on the road. Jonathan has been helping coach his nephews in baseball and basketball for nearly 10 years. In his free time he enjoys spending time with family, competitive running and slalom water skiing.