DANCE TEACHERS IN BASTROP TX
MEET THE LIBERTY DANCE CENTER INSTRUCTORS AND MENTORS
Marisa Bain
Meet Marisa Bain, our passionate and experienced dance studio director. Marisa's dance journey started at the Joee Shapiro School of Dance in Houston, and her dedication to the art has been unwavering ever since. With a professional performance debut at just 15, Marisa honed her skills at renowned dance studios nationwide, including Houston Ballet Academy, EDGE Performing Arts Center, Millenium Dance Complex, Broadway Dance Center, and more.
Marisa’s extensive experience enables her to do what she loves: contributing to the Bastrop community by enriching children’s lives through dance and wellness.
Krista Baker, Instructor
Krista Baker is a seasoned dancer who began dancing at the young age of 5 years old. For as long as she can remember, she was always very interested and involved in theater and dance, which would lead her to travel throughout her home state of Kentucky.
As an adult, she continued her interest in dance and went on to study ballet, jazz and modern dance at University of the Arts and Western Kentucky University.
Krista’s ongoing passion for dance and movement led her to move across the country to California, where she continued to train with local dance companies and schools in San Diego and Los Angeles.
She had the fortune of performing in various projects and events where she became a member of companies such as Continuum Dance Company and Ooh La La Revue.
She continues to find joy through movement, expression, and choreography which has led her to pursue a career in dance education for both children and adults. Her interest in dance education led Krista to start an organization that focused on bringing the performing arts curriculum to public schools.
Krista is now a resident of Austin, TX, and is very excited to join the LDC Dance Family! She is looking forward to continuing to share her love of dance. She will be teaching Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Musical Theater at LDC this season.
Amy Bailey, Instructor
Amy began her dance training with Ballet Academy in Corpus Christi, the Houston Ballet Academy, and Joffrey Ballet in New York City. At 18, she moved to London to start her professional career. She was privileged to be coached by such legends as Dame Alicia Markova, Margaret Barbieri, and David Wall from the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet.
After performing classical ballet with notable companies such as London Ballet Theatre and on stages from The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to amphitheaters in Cyprus, Amy and her husband Anthony re-trained with coaches from the Cirque du Soleil to travel the world as an adagio and aerial team. Amy then segued into musical theatre, starring in several productions including The Producers, Oklahoma, and Guys & Dolls.
In 2009, Amy was cast as a singer and dancer in Rob Marshall’s film NINE which sparked her interest in acting. Since then she has enjoyed a successful TV and film career both as an actress and producer.
Amy has taught all ages, all over the world, and has a passion for sharing her love of dance.
Joslyn Fink, Instructor
Joslyn Fink is from San Diego California where she grew up spending much of her time at the beach, swimming and surfing in the ocean. One of her greatest passions then and now is dance. From her earliest memories at age 3 through high school, Joslyn enjoyed ballet, tap, jazz, pointe and hip hop, through competition as well as simply performing for the love and joy of dancing! In high school Joslyn also discovered another beautiful expression of movement through the sport of golf.
Over the years, she has played golf on a team competing with other schools and had the opportunity to play some beautiful courses around the world. She graduated from a golf academy and began both working in the golf industry, and teaching it to others. Joslyn also spent 10 years discovering the world through fashion and modeling. Joslyn is now married to the love of her life James and they have two beautiful children. She is excited to pursue her first love of dance and share it with the amazing LDC family. She will be teaching ballet, jazz and tap!
Anthony Bailey, Instructor
Anthony Bailey was born in Canada and trained at the National Ballet School of Canada and the Quinte Ballet School. After studying with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, he won a scholarship to train with David Wall at the London Studio Centre in England where he toured the UK. Upon graduating, he joined London City Ballet as an apprentice, then danced as a soloist with London Ballet Theatre touring throughout Europe. Anthony has guest performed with Bejart Ballet, Cyprus Ballet, English National Opera and Corpus Christi Concert Ballet. In 2001, he joined the London cast of the Phantom of the Opera as the lead male dancer, at the original Her Majesty’s theatre.
In addition to his ballet career, Anthony and his wife, Amy Bailey, travelled the world as an adagio couple guest performing on various cruise ships. Anthony’s commercial clients include Star Wars, Lego, Microsoft, Health & Fitness and various music videos. He has been featured as a judge on Australia & Norway’s Next Top Model, plus appeared as himself in the 7 part series, “The Agency.” Most recently he took part in a 2022 Sky/Guardian 3 part exposé documentary called, “Scouting For Girls.”
Anthony has taught dance, specialising in partnering, all over the world and helped to set the Corpus Christi Concert Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker.
Carla O’Connor, Instructor
Carla O'Connor is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and ACE-certified fitness instructor hailing from Chicago. With a solid foundation in classical training, she earned her BFA in Dance from Western Michigan University in 2016, where her exceptional skills led her to be showcased as a featured dancer at the National American College Dance Festival at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Following her graduation, Carla embarked on an exciting journey abroad, teaching dance and fitness in vibrant locations such as Panama, Brazil, and China. These international experiences broadened her perspective and enriched her teaching methods, allowing her to connect with diverse communities and inspire individuals from various cultural backgrounds. In 2023, she relocated to Austin, Texas, to continue her coaching career in an environment that fosters creativity and innovation.
While Carla continues to pursue her passion for dancing and performing, she has discovered that her true calling lies within the studio rather than the stage. Her deep dedication to helping others achieve their fitness goals has propelled her success in the group fitness industry. Carla's remarkable journey in this field began in 2017 when she joined Space China as an instructor, teaching a variety of classes ranging from cycle and HIIT to barre and dance cardio. Her talent and commitment led her to attain the positions of Senior Instructor and Teacher Trainer by 2018.
In 2021, Carla's expertise took her to FITURE, China's leading fitness mirror, where she continued to make a significant impact as a dance & fitness instructor. Always eager to explore new avenues, she co-founded NovaPulse, a digital media dance & fitness brand, during her time in China. NovaPulse swiftly gained recognition and amassed an impressive following of 60k followers in less than 9 months on Chinese social media channels.
Having recently returned to the United States, Carla has been sharing her expertise by hosting group fitness classes at renowned brands such as Studio Three, Equinox, and [solidcore] in both Chicago and Austin. Her dynamic teaching style, combined with her ability to motivate and inspire, has garnered her a devoted following among fitness enthusiasts. She is excited to be sharing her love for dance as a new instructor at Liberty Dance Center in Bastrop, Texas for the 2023 season!
Erin Aviles, Instructor and Assistant
Erin Aviles started her dance training at the age of 3 in Bastrop, TX. She studied styles such as ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and contemporary.
Erin was trained by Paula Sansom and Jade Greenough who both inspired her in different ways which she is very thankful for.
Erin attended the American Ballet Theater Intensive in 2019 and has taken master classes in ballet and contemporary from well-known artists in the greater Austin area.
She’s also had the opportunity to choreograph work for 5 X 7 Austin Dance Fest.
In 2019, she joined and started performing with Metamorphosis Dance in Round Rock, TX as a Senior Artist. After graduating, Erin was then promoted to Resident Artist in 2021.
She had the pleasure of being taught by some amazing instructors at Metamorphosis Dance and has had the opportunity to choreograph and showcase her own work.
Erin’s favorite roles have been Clara’s sister in ‘The Nutcracker’, as well as ‘The Night’ in the ballet ‘Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda’.
Being in her hometown, Erin is very excited to teach and grow as an artist with Liberty Dance Center and share her love for dance!
Sydney Moilan, Instructor
Sydney Moilan has been dancing since the age of 2 years old. She began her training in Bastrop, TX where she studied Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. Before becoming a student herself at Liberty Dance Center, Sydney trained for 8 years locally. She has studied at Liberty Dance Center for 7 years under the direction of Marisa Bain. Sydney has continued to develop her dance repertoire in the areas of Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, and Hip Hop. Sydney has performed and competed in numerous group numbers as well as duets and solos. She has also attended many college dance camps. Sydney has assistant-taught classes and camps at Liberty Dance Center as well. Her skill not only lies with dancing.
Sydney has been a Cheerleader for 5 years where she has led as Captain in Middle School, JV, and now as Co-Captain on Varsity. She has attended many UCA cheer camps and competitions. She teaches mini cheer camps and has choreographed numbers for her Cheer Team.
Sydney is very excited to share her love of dance. She will be teaching Pom and Hip Hop, two of her favorite styles!
Liberty Bain, Assistant
Liberty began her dance training in the womb when her mom, Marisa Bain, founder of Liberty Dance Center, became pregnant. Liberty has lived in the dance studio since she can remember. When Liberty turned 2, she took the Mommy & Me class and loved it so much! Even her mom knew that dance would be a part of Liberty’s life forever. Throughout the years, Liberty has assisted class with her mom and other instructors. At the age of 9 she auditioned for the LDC Competition Company and made the team! She is currently taking every dance class she can: ballet, jazz, flexibility, jumps & turns, and pom. She also has the honor of learning her first solo and will be competing in the 2022/23 dance season.
Amongst all her talents, she is also a trained barrel racer and loves horses probably more than dance. She has 2 horses, Dixie & Breeze. She trains weekly to perfect her barrel racing skills. Good thing ballet helps with horse riding too! If you ever meet Liberty, she will probably be petting an animal or talking about one. She is a true animal lover. Liberty’s dreams are to be a professional barrel racer and compete in the American Barrel Race, run the dance studio one day, and own her very own horse farm.