Alicia Cardoza ~ Dance Teacher

Alicia Cardoza, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, began studying dance at the age of four at The Ballet School in Walnut Creek. She continued to study classical ballet technique under the direction of Lareen Fender for the next 14 years until graduating high school, starting on pointe at age 11, and becoming a member of their company, The Ballet Joyeux, by age 13.

Throughout high school, along with staying actively involved with her ballet studio, she became heavily involved in her school’s dance and cheer programs. She was a member of Varsity Pom, and member of the competitive Danceline her junior and senior year. She was also member and captain of the Can-Can team for two years, a spot awarded to only the top seven dancers in the entire dance program. Danceline was where she was exposed to a wide variety of new styles like jazz, hip hop, and lyrical, as well as allowing her to participate in dance conventions and competitions that she was not able to experience with classical ballet. During these Danceline years she had the privilege to perform in exciting venues like Disneyland, compete at the regional and national level, as well as take private classes at studios like The Edge and The Performing Arts Center, in Los Angeles.

After high school, she went on to Arizona State University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned her BFA in Dance choreography in 2008. During her four years in the Herberger College of Fine Arts, she immersed herself into yet another new style of dance she had never previously experienced-contemporary ballet and modern dance. Under the instruction of some of modern dance’s brightest minds like Cynthia Roses-Thema, Jennifer Tsukayama and Shouze Ma, she learned Graham, Horton, Limon, and release technique, and had the pleasure of working with many famous guest artists, such as Delfos Danza Contemporanea and Robert Moses.

In the years since her undergraduate study, she has kept her passion for all things dance and concentrated on becoming a superior dance teacher and choreographer in the Phoenix area. Now entering only her sixth year of teaching, she has already choreographed numerous award-winning pieces for prestigious dance competitions like New York City Dance Alliance, Celebrity, and Showstoppers, and has recently taught dance in the public school districts, and working towards her Teaching Credential in the state of Arizona. Alicia is still actively performing, choreographing and teaching all throughout the Phoenix area, and has no plans of stopping any time soon.

Previous | List of Faculty | Next