Our Faculty

Ms. Kelsea-Janenne Bucher

Kelsea Kaplan Our owner and Director, Kelsea Bucher, has over 20 years experience as a dance educator. She has been on the faculty of Broadway Dance Center and PeriDance in NYC, as well as Impulstanz in Austria. She served as Artistic Director and lead instructor for New Hopewell School of the Arts and STARS Theatre and Dance Academy. Most recently she owned and operated her own successful studio in New Jersey.

A native Texan, she began her training at her Mother’s dance studio. When the family relocated to New York, she went on to train and perform with the School of American Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, and NYU/CAP 21 Musical Theater Program. She is a well-rounded performer, versed in many styles of dance. She has been a member of a National Titled Clogging Team and a Musical Theatre Touring Performance Troupe. She has appeared professionally in the US and abroad with several ballet and contemporary dance companies. She has performed, choreographed and directed Off-Broadway and for regional musical theater performances, on TV and in film. Her dance company, New York Performers Project was featured in the International Dance Festival-NYC and the World Dance Congress in Cyprus.

An established choreographer, adjudicator and educator, Ms. Bucher, along with her professional faculty, is dedicated to ensuring your child receives the highest quality of dance education in a nurturing environment.

Ms. Peyton Nichols

Peyton has been dancing for 12 years and has choreographed multiple award winning competition routines including “Most Entertaining Routine” and “Best Choreography”. Over a few short years, her students earned numerous high point awards, platinum/double platinum designations, and 1st overall placements at various studio competitions. She is a Ronald Reagan Diamond Dancer Alumni and choreographed alongside her former coach in the 2019-2020 Marching Band Show “Secret World” which won 1st place at Bands Of America San Antonio…breaking the record for the highest scoring routine in BOA history. She spent time as an instructor with Universal Dance Association (UDA) where she traveled around Texas teaching at Dance/Drill Team camps before joining Stone Oak Dance Academy full time. Her choreography has also been recognized at the 2022 ShowMakers of America (SMA) State Competition at Texas State. She teaches all ages in a variety of styles such as, Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Acro/Tumbling, Leaps and Turns, and Technique, and continues to teach Dance/Drill Team members from several NEISD and CISD campuses through private and small group lessons. Peyton is also a certified Personal Trainer with an emphasis in Corrective Exercise. Her passion is teaching both studio and dance team styles, and she gets so much joy watching her students grow in their abilities.

Ms. Ellen Sisley – Guest Faculty

Ellen is thrilled to be back teaching at Stone Oak Dance Academy! A San Antonio native, Ellen graduated from NESA and was a member of RPM Youth Tap Ensemble under the direction of Barbara Phillips. She attended Oklahoma City University, where she graduated with a bachelor of science in Dance and Arts Management. Ellen began teaching at SODA in 2017 while also performing at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. She took a hiatus from teaching to perform around the world at Cedar Point, Hersheypark, Busch Gardens, and on Holland America cruise line.

Ms. Claudia Mondragon – Guest Faculty

Claudia completed the Intermediate degree with the RAD and continued her career in Classical and contemporary dance at a professional level at independent companies like Morelos’ state Ballet company (BACEM in Spanish) under the direction of Martha Pimentel, Ardentía Dance Company directed by Reyna Perez, L’Arte de la Perla directed by Yreh Morales, Bellet & Circus Company directed by Luis Morales, Ballet of Mexico City directed by Isabela Avalos and Anima Inc. under the direction of Alejandra Gonzales.

She danced as corps de ballet and soloist in “The nutcracker” suite, “Alice in wonderland ballet”, “Walpurgis night ballet”, “Dream of a summer’s night”, “4×100 Don Quixote, 400 years of ridding”, “Al Son Latino” “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”, “Petrushka”, “BACEM’s Spring Gala” “Hansel & Gretel” and different Galas interpreting Kitri’s variation, Nutcracker’s Arab Dance, and the complete Pas de deux, of Le Corsaire. Also Worked as an invited artist at the National Company of Dance (CND) for two season of ”The Swan Lake” under the direction of Laura Morelos.

She worked with many Choreographer such as Citlalli Caballero, Jetzemani Velasco, Cuauhtémoc Nájera, Carlos Carillo, Laura Morelos, Irma Morales, Reyna Perez, Erick Campos, Isabel Avalos, Quetzalcoatl Becerra, Christian Rodríguez, Beatriz Furalev, Luisa Leyva, Delia Siqueiros, Beatriz Guzmán, Guillermo Ríos, Diego Vásquez, Concha de Icaza and Gabriel Becerri

At the same time she worked as a teacher in many private studios in Mexico City and became the National Coordinator of the ANVFF ballet school for 5 years, managing 13 branches along the country and rising it from the ground up. Her work assignments went from classroom set ups, to training and interviewing teachers, making up school’s rules, mission, vision, job descriptions and other formats, adapting methodology to the school’s needs, managing parent’s concerns, coordinating branch schedules and group capacities, organizing annual recital’s, exams and national competition.

Ms. Emily Elizalde

Emily Elizalde was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and has been dancing since she was 13. She was a member of Stone Oak Dance Academy’s competition team for two years as well as an assistant. Emily began teaching at Stone Oak Dance Academy in September of 2018. She has trained in all styles including ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, contemporary, pom, hip hop, and acro. She has attended numerous conventions and traveled from New York to California training under top choreographers such as Travis Wall, Mark Meismer, and Brian Friedman. Emily is currently a sophomore at The University of Texas at Arlington working towards her Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree and is a member of the school’s dance team.

Ms. Madelene Hall

Born and raised in San Antonio, TX, Madelene has trained in classical ballet for over 20 years along with other variety forms of dance. At the age of 15 she became a senior company member at The San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet. She has danced many featured and ensemble roles to include works by Philip Broomhead, Molly Buchmann and Harrison McEldowney to name a few. She then continued her training at the Quenedit Ballet School along with studying dance at The North East School of the Arts High School. Madelene has performed in 6 Regional Dance America/Southwest Festivals and was awarded the Irina Pal Dancer full Scholarship to attend the 2014 National Choreography Intensive in Provo, Utah. In 2014 she was selected as San Antonio’s “Top 20 Under 20” an honor given to those that are working to make a better future for themselves and their community. Shortly thereafter she competed and won 1st place in the City’s Talent competition receiving a scholarship. After graduating, Madelene continued to study dance at the University of California, Irvine as well as the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Los Angeles, performing in various productions. She has attended intensives including Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Hubbard Street in Chicago, Joffrey Ballet, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company and Ballet West. She now continues her passion performing in San Antonio along with teaching inspiring young artists.