Owner and Director – Becky Phelps
Becky started dancing at the age of 2 and began her teaching career at the age of 14. As a member of the world famous Kilgore College Rangerettes, she traveled the world performing. Becky has her BA in dance, has choreographed many award winning dances, and has taught many students over the years. She opened RPAC in 2009 and has been fostering and developing young dancers in the RPAC ‘family’ ever since!
Instructors
Bethany Phelps Lepretre
Bethany has been studying dance for over 28 years. She received her Associate’s at Kilgore College where she was a World Famous Kilgore College Rangerette and graduated with honors. There she had the opportunity to perform at Pearl Harbor, in Washington DC at the Inaugural Ball, Cotton Bowl, and with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. She went on to achieve her Bachelors of Science in Sociology from University of Houston-Clear Lake. Bethany served as director of the Revelution Competition Team at RPAC in Deer Park. She has taught the ninth grade dance program at Deer Park High School North Campus for the past three years while still continuing to teach studio dance. Bethany’s choreography has won her several Choreography Awards at the competitive level and her favorite styles to teach are lyrical and musical theatre! She has also choreographed musicals for local are high schools and community theaters. Bethany is currently the Assistant Director of the Deer Escorts at Deer Park High School. She loves the beach, reading, and spending time with her family. Bethany lives in Seabrook with her husband Kegan, their daughter Livvy, and their two dogs, Traeger and Stella.
Ariel Garza
Ariel started learning dance at five years old. While excelling through solos and competitions ranging from Las Vegas to New York City, she found herself continuing dance after high school. Throughout her college career she joined dance classes at San Jacinto College, later continuing at University of Houston. In 2010, she found a new door open for her, a dance teacher at RPAC. While she still remembers teaching her very first class, she is now proud to be a creative director at the same studio where she started teaching. One of her biggest passions is to see her students mature through dance. She loves her family, including her fun-loving golden doodle named Anna, and of course…Disney!
Jessica Quinn
Miss Jessica brings to RPAC over 25 years of exemplary accolades for her choreography and dance experience. Jessica has been teaching and choreographing at RPAC for more than 8 years and the Assistant Director for 7 years. She has taken her teams, soloists, duo/trios to win multiple awards both regionally and on the national level not just within RPAC but area drill team members as well. It is no surprise that her pieces receive top overall and judge’s special awards. Not only is she an award winning choreographer, she has her Associates Degree from San Jacinto College, is also a Certified Weight Loss Coach with over 150 hours from the Texas Chiropractic School in Pasadena, with an emphasis in nutrition. She currently has been accepted into Lamar University to continue her education. Jessica has been called upon to work with dance classes at both Deer Park High School campuses. She has assisted the Escort director during competition season and aided the team and soloists to numerous awards.
Jessica was a Houston Astros Park Patrol member now known as “Shooting Stars” for 2 years, performing at all home games at Minute Maid Park. She was also a member of the Houston Texans Gridiron Gang where she performed with Toro the team’s mascot on the field at NRG stadium. She was also selected to be a part of the Alfred Lowe Tab Ensemble Group. She studied tap under Alfred Lowe from New York for 3 years. She has a strong love for tap and makes it fun, entertaining and challenging. As a dancer, she competed on multiple competition stages winning high point awards consistently and won Jr. title for I Love Dance, where she went to Las Vegas, learned and performed a Vegas floor show at Caesars Palace. Jessica has choreographed dances that have been showcased at Disney’s Magic Kingdom on the Tomorrowland Stage.
Jessica has studied and learned from a plethora of well-known choreographers from TV shows like, So You Think You Can Dance Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, and the late Stephen “tWitch” Boss, as well as New York choreographers like Steven Boyd and Alfred Lowe just to name a few. She continues her love of dance by taking classes herself at various conventions, watching competitions, and studying and taking classes virtually to stay current with the new dance styles, keeping her dances clean, fresh and entertaining. She believes all styles of dance are important to make a well-rounded dancer. Jessica knows that a dancer’s body is important in being a great performer and brings the knowledge and expertise to her students. She tries to inspire all students that come across her floor making her classes fun and educational. Whether you take a class or private lessons from Miss Jessica you quickly see how passionate and dedicated she is to the dancers’ growth and become a piece of her heart.
Julio Vallejo
Angela Hendrickson
Angela Hendrickson is a dedicated and seasoned instructor. She is the former Artistic Director of Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and danced with Joan Karff’s New Dance Group as well as Clear Lake Metropolitan Ballet. Her training includes Houston Ballet Academy, Joffrey Ballet, High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and Alvin Ailey. She choreographs for Pitch Me This Productions and enjoys her time as a guest ballet instructor for various dance workshops.
Jennifer Jones
Jennifer started dancing at the age of 7 with a tap/jazz/ballet combo class, and has been in love ever since. She went on to be a part of competition team, drill team, and lastly a Kilgore College Rangerettes. She received her Associate of Fine Arts from Kilgore College, Bachelors in Exercise Sports Science from Texas State University, and Doctorate of Chiropractic from Texas Chiropractic College. Throughout the years, she teaches the importance of health and body awareness to her students early on, encouraging them to become more self-empowered and motivated both inside and out. She believes ballet is the heart of everything, for which she bases all of her teaching, from leaps and turns to drill prep, it is the foundation she builds on. Her favorite part of dance, specifically teaching, is watching her students grow. She LOVES to see them push and strive for new goals as they become confident in who they are as a dancer and person. Even though she is practicing as a full time Chiropractor, she will always be a part of the dance world. It has made her into the person she is today and nothing brings her more joy than sharing that same passion with others.
Briana Nieto
Briana’s love of dance began at a young age as one of RPAC’s founding students, and she has since dedicated herself to honing her craft and sharing her passion with others. Briana has experience in a wide range of styles, including ballet, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary. She has worked as a dance instructor for several years, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with students of all ages and skill levels. Whether she’s performing on stage or teaching in the studio, Briana’s infectious energy and love of dance are sure to leave a lasting impression.
Zoe Saenz
Zoe is a former student of RPAC who was part of the competition team for eight years and captain for three. While in the studio, she finds joy in performing various dance styles, with hip-hop and contemporary being her favorites. She has participated in numerous competitions and conventions as a seasoned competitor, earning multiple awards and scholarships. One scholarship allowed her to travel to California and attend a brand new convention called DancerPalooza. The program includes a week of classes with choreographers from the entertainment industry, photoshoots, audition preparation, and an opportunity to perform in a showcase. She also had the opportunity to perform at the Toyota Center and Disney Springs with her teammates. Zoë pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in American Sign Language Interpreting and a Minor in National Security Studies from the University of Houston. She continued dancing during her college years as a member of the UH Cougar Dolls. Throughout her collegiate experience, she performed at all home games for football and basketball. She was chosen to participate in various away games, including the 2021 Birmingham Bowl Championship Game, the 2022 March Madness San Antonio Sweet 16 and Elite 8, and Dickies Arena. At her last football game, she represented the Cougar Dolls by performing the National Anthem in American Sign Language while in uniform. In addition to being a team member, she attended various events such as the Pro Action Dance Convention in Las Vegas, TDEA, Cougar Dolls prep clinics, the MLK parade, the Houston Rodeo parade, and Men’s Basketball watch parties to represent the team. She was a chosen Veteran for the Spirit of Houston photo shoot at well-known Houston landmarks, took part in a student drawing event at Mattress Mack Gallery Furniture, and gave a speech on 104.1 KRBE regarding the achievements of the UH basketball team. Zoë received recognition for her three years of commitment to the UH Cougar Doll team, awarded both the MVP and Outstanding Attitude awards.
Nohelia Cantu
Nohelia Cantú is a fine arts enthusiast! She has been dancing for as long as she can remember. She started choreographing at the age of 14 by doing different quinceañeras, which she still gets to do to this day! She is a former Eaglette. Nohelia found a whole new love for dance in the form of musical theatre in 2016, when she started auditioning and working alongside fellow thespians! Since then, she has been a part of more than 21 different productions, and has choreographed 8 musicals. When she’s not doing theatre herself, she is one of the youth director’s for the Baytown Little Theater’s Next Generation Youth Theatre Company. She is also involved with the Baytown Little Theater as a board member for the Board of Directors. You may also find her as the school librarian for Barrett-Lee ECC. In her free time she enjoys art, crafting, and journaling.
Office Staff
Melissa West
Suzanne Easley