LISA WESTBAY

 

Lisa Westbay has over 15 years of experience choreographing, performing, and teaching dancers of all ages. She is a Premiere Certified ADTA Instructor through the Acro Dance Teachers Association and started in gymnastics for 10 years prior to learning dance. Her dance background and specialties include acro, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, drill team, musical theatre, pom, and hip hop. Lisa’s competition routines have received accolades at DFW contests for Best Choreography, Extreme Platinum ratings, and provided dance teams the opportunity to rank in the top 10 at national competitions. Lisa joined the American Dance/Drill Team staff in 2009 and serves as a competition judge, contest announcer, and custom choreographer. While she is not teaching at the Centre for Dance, Ms. Lisa (aka. Mrs. Westbay) is also the Drill Team Director for the Parish Episcopal School Rosettes in Dallas, TX.

In 2015, Lisa received her master’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Texas at Dallas and pursued a career as a medical Speech-Language Pathologist. Specializing in adult cognitive-communication disorders and working alongside physical and occupational therapists in neurological rehabilitation centers, Lisa has a unique background and education of neuromuscular techniques and understanding safe and healthy body mechanics. She incorporates a ‘health sciences’ perspective into her class instruction, giving the students an opportunity to learn about preserving their physical strength, flexibility, and endurance. Coaching dancers about injury prevention and providing referrals or recommendations in their recovery processes allows Ms. Lisa to blend her current healthcare provider license and dance teacher skills!

Lisa loves traveling with her husband and college-sweetheart, Ben, and spending time with their snuggly, energetic German shepherds, Echo and Sierra. Students, parents, and dance colleagues can follow her dance education page on Instagram @lisawestbaydance