Lillian Hill has danced professionally for 14 years and has shared that love of dance with her students for the past 12 years. Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she has had many opportunities to work with top notch teachers in a variety of styles. In high school she attended Dillard Center for the Performing Arts, where she studied ballet, modern, dance history, anatomy, and much more. In the afternoon she trained at Magda Aunon School of Classical Ballet as well as apprenticed with Jubilee Dance Theater, a local company in South Florida. In her senior year, at the National High School Dance Festival, she earned scholarships to several dance programs and decided to pursue a career with Richmond Ballet while attending VCU. After graduating from the Ballet program, she accepted a job with Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, where she danced for six years. She danced many lead roles including Swanhilda, Sugarplum and leads in neo classical ballets as well as performing in three different countries. Throughout this time she began teaching at several different studios across Fort Lauderdale and Miami, sharing everything she learned from her teachers with this new generation and helping them achieve their goals. Wanting to expand her knowledge more, she attended teaching programs, including Pennsylvania Academy’s Vaganova seminar, Finis Jhung technique training, and Marie Walton’s Progressing Ballet Technique. In 2018 she moved to Arkansas to join NWA Ballet Theatre. She continued teaching and performing with the company and was given the chance to dance exciting pieces, such as a Beatles tribute and Stephanie Martinez’s “Otra Vez.” While in Arkansas she earned her Pilates Reformer certification through Balance Body and her Beginner, Bronze and Silver 12 Dance Ballroom certification from Fred Astaire Dance Studios. She moved to the Springs in 2024 and has enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the wonderful people here. She continues to teach both Pilates and dance throughout the area and hopes to continue expanding her knowledge and sharing that with her students.

Amy Schaefer has 20 years of experience teaching ballet and dance to all ages. She is passionate that training dancers is a collaborative effort between faculty, students and their families and believes all dancers deserve to have the highest quality training. Ms. Schaefer grew up in Wichita, KS where she began dancing just before her 3rd birthday. Her early training included ballet, tap and jazz at the Kansas Dance Academy. As a competitive dancer she was awarded several scholarships, including one to study in Los Angeles with the EDGE Performing Arts Center, and twice awarded Top All American from the National Dance Alliance. In high school Ms. Schaefer left competitive dance and began studying classical ballet intensively with Ms. Sharon Rogers at Rogers Ballet, Inc. Relearning ballet technique as an older student was challenging both physically and emotionally. The experience not only gave her the gift of perseverance but also a deep appreciation for the difference quality training can make. As a senior in high school, she was accepted into the classical ballet apprenticeship program at Friends University to begin her collegiate ballet studies early. Ms. Schaefer later graduated from Friends University with a B.F.A. in Ballet. During her time at Friends, she was honored to have roles created for her by Dominic Walsh, formerly with Houston Ballet and Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, and Shawn Stevens, formerly with New York City Ballet. In addition to performing many original works, she was a soloist in The Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, and performed the principal role in Les Sylphides. She also taught evening classes for children and adults. After graduation, she began her professional ballet career with Wichita Ballet Theatre and was an adjunct professor at Friends University teaching tap and ballet for Music Theater. In 2009, Ms. Schaefer joined Ballet Emmanuel, a full-time Christian ballet company based in Colorado Springs. With the company she helped choreographed full length ballets, taught master classes and workshops, and performed nationwide. In 2012, Ms. Schaefer shifted her focus from performing to teaching and has been pursuing excellence in dance education ever since. She is certified in the Vaganova method of Pre-Ballet through the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and is currently training in Level 1. She is also an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Amy has a special passion for dancers with additional needs and is also training to become a Recreation Inclusion Specialist with the National Inclusion Project. Ms. Schaefer’s students have gone on to dance with many companies, full-time pre-professional schools, and collegiate programs such as Boulder Ballet, Ballet Magnificat!, Oregon Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, Butler University and more. In 2025, she was a presenter at the Colorado Dance Education Organization annual conference. Amy and her husband, Jared, have been married for 17 years and have four beautiful children. She is a homeschooling mom and enjoys sharing her love of dance with her family.