Dance has always flowed through Alex Kessinger’s veins. Raised in Southern California, she began her journey as a dancer at the age of 4 at her mother’s studio, West Coast School of the Arts. Alex started working as a dancer and child actor at the age of 6, where she developed her portfolio through numerous commercials, print work, and feature films like Disney’s The Santa Clause 3. While building her professional career, Alex also trained as a competitive dancer, winning impressive awards and national titles along the way. After winning a national title in the United States in 2011, she was chosen to represent the US at the international competition Spotlight in Australia, where she won the gold. 

After her competitive dance career, Alex furthered her education at Chapman University, where she was one of the few students awarded both a talent scholarship and a scholastic scholarship. She graduated Cum Laude from Chapman in 2016 with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Theater Technology. 

Currently, Alex works as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer to dancers across the country. Some of her achievements as a dancer include dancing with Jojo Siwa, assisting Michael Rooney on national commercials, performing on television shows such as GLOW with Marguerite Derricks, working as a digital backup dancer in Paula Abdul’s tour “Straight Up Paula”, and dancing in and choreographing for various music videos. Most recently, Alex became a full time faculty member on The Dance Xperience Convention.

Alex’s teaching philosophy involves creating a safe environment for dancers to feel comfortable in exploring their capabilities while challenging themselves to be better, bigger, and stronger with every step.

Andrea Woodward is the owner of Hermitage Dance Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, where she has been training, inspiring, and educating dancers since 1997. Andrea is certified by Dance Masters of America and holds a B.S. degree from Cumberland University. Along with her dance training and certifications, Andrea is also licensed in Strong Nation Fitness, Zumba, and Zumba Toning.

Andrea has won countless awards for her stylistic and emotional choreography, as well as her students’ technical ability. In 2014 she was nominated for Choreographer of the Year at the Industry Dance Awards. She has also won Teacher of the Year and Choreographer of the Year numerous times over the years at Kids Artistic Revue Nationals. Andrea has been on KAR Dance Convention’s faculty since 2011.

Along with teaching in the studio and on the convention circuit, Andrea continues to choreograph for a variety of events, including awards shows such as the Nashville Women Who Rock Awards, in which she was also the recipient of the “Inspiring Arts” award. She has also served as the choreographer for the Opening Number for several National Finals events. Some of her student success highlights include dancers on So You Think You Can Dance, convention tour faculty, NBA dance teams, recording artists and more. Andrea is passionate not only about teaching, but also the business side of studio ownership and sharing what she’s learned with the dance community. 

Andrea hopes to bring a challenge and fresh perspective to every student, allowing them to leave behind their image of perfection and dive deeper into their artistry.

Joe-Joe Grooves – since receiving his BFA in Dance Performance in Jazz from East Carolina University in 2004, he has become an accomplished professional commercial dancer who’s worked with major artists such as Paula Abdul, Jennifer Hudson, Katy Perry, KeKe Palmer, Latin Popstar Chayanne, Sugarland, Nicki Minaj, Aloe Blaqq, MC HAMMER and P.Diddy.  In 2018 he was a part of the 60th Grammy awards performing in an unforgettable and electrifying performance with Kendrick Lamar and U2. In 2019 he was a part of the 2019 BET Awards with Jay Rock & Jamie Foxx, also performed at the Teen Choice awards and the Latin AMA’s.  He got to play the part of the infamous MC SKAT KAT from Paula Abdul's music video "Opposites Attract" for Paula's live concert, Motion Capture work for the FACEBOOK company (Happy Friends Day Dancer) as well a BUD LIGHT commercial that’s shown all over Canada, became a new member of the dance phenomenon iLUMINATE from America's Got Talent, and worked with well known brands such as PUMA, NIKE, and UNDER ARMOR.   With 4 world tours under his belt, Joe-Joe is currently on tour with legendary r&b group  THE ISLEY BROTHERS!  As well as a cycling instructor for SoulCycle in Los Angeles. Joe-Joe is thankful and great full everyday with all that he’s accomplished in his career so far and looking forward to many more amazing opportunities that may come his way!  

Michelle Richey received her education in dance from Long Beach State in California and CSUF. She worked for United Spirit Association (USA) for 6 years as a songleading head coach. For over 10 years, Michelle made her home at Disneyland Park, performing in both parades and live shows such as the “Queen Mary” and the “Spruce Goose” show. Michelle has performed for many superstars including Milton Berle, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson, and Frankie Avalon. Some of her choreography credits include Grease, Anything Goes, Cabaret, Oliver, Peter Pan, Bye Bye Birdie, Godspell, The Wiz, and Beauty and the Beast. Michelle also was the proud owner of MKR Productions. 

Michelle’s choreography and students have been the recipients of countless regional and national titles. Many of her students have performed on TV and in music videos, received dance scholarships to major universities, and have become nationally ranked choreographers themselves. Michelle judges for competitions and is in her 12th year of being a faculty member of KAR Dance Convention. She was also honored to be one of the judges for the very first KAR Live event in Australia. 

Michelle’s warm heart paired with her vast experience and thoughtful approach to teaching dance makes her a truly exceptional part of the KAR Dance Convention faculty.

Originally from Columbus, Ohio and currently residing in Los Angeles, California, Zach has created a name for himself not only as a dancer and performer, but also a sought after teacher and choreographer. His career has allowed him countless performance opportunities spanning across film, television, and stage. 

Some of Zach’s credits include the Warner Bros. feature film Project X, the television show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, assisting the legendary Michael Rooney on the television project Hit Record starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tony Danza, a Ford Superbowl commercial starring James Franco, performing with China’s top 5 artists on Hunan TV’s New Year’s Eve Countdown, and a world tour with pop artist Adam Tyler. 

Most recently, Zach worked with Walk the Moon as the assistant choreographer for the popular “Shut Up and Dance” music video. Zach cites tap as his truest love, and credits much of his training and artistry to Gregg Russell, along with Paris Mann and Rashida Kahn. Zach has had the pleasure of teaching and choreographing at studios both nationally and internationally, and can be found on national convention tours with Art of Movement and KAR Dance Convention. Zach also teaches for competitive studios in the Greater Los Angeles Area, where he hopes to inspire the next generation to love and appreciate dance as much as he does. 

Zach’s goal is to approach every class with a kind heart and constructive eye, pushing dancers to not only believe in their movement, but most importantly in themselves.