GET TO KNOW US
Kristin Daniel
OWNER, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Kristin Daniel, an accomplished and decorated artist & educator, became enamored with performing at the age of 3. She started choreographing at the age of 15, and teaching at the age of 16. Growing up in Lafayette, LA, she trained year-round at a ballet school and danced competitively. She has studied in New York at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and with American Ballet Theatre on scholarship. She went on to be an assistant for LA Dance Magic as a member of their first convention company and toured the country as an Elite Protege with the Pulse on Tour where she was an assistant to some of the dance industry's top choreographers: Brian Friedman, Tessandra Chavez, Tyce Diorio, Wade Robson, Brooke Lipton, to name a few.
After graduating from The University of Louisiana-Lafayette in Business Administration, Kristin moved to Los Angeles to work as a professional dancer where she was fortunate to achieve immediate success. Some of her credits include a national WALMART commercial (choreographed by Tricia Miranda, directed by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg), recurring dance role on “GLEE”, "GREY'S ANATOMY", JANET JACKSON, DAFTPUNK, HELL'S KITCHEN, SAMSUNG, & CARRIE UNDERWOOD’S “Cowboy Casanova” music video to name a few. She was Choreographer for ABC’s “The Astronaut Wives Club”, and Assistant to Choreographers Tyce Diorio & Lindsay Nelko on the hit FOX show, “So You Think You Can Dance?”.
Kristin has been traveling to studios and conventions year-round, teaching Master Classes and setting Choreography for over a decade. Her unique, exciting, and demanding choreography has received numerous Choreography Awards every year at major National conventions & competitions, and has won several National Titles. In 2014, she was asked to be the Artistic Director at her home studio and under her direct training, coaching, choreography, and comprehensive curriculum implementation, she produced a West Coast Dance Explosion Ultimate Elite Dancer Champion, Top 4 and Top 10 Mini Elite Finalists, and completely turned around the competitive program during her 6 year tenure. In 2020-2021, her 1st Season as Founder & Artistic Director of Distinction Dance Company, she and her faculty have proudly produced the 2021 1st Runner-Up Junior Radix Male Core Performer, as well as Top 25 Teen Radix Female Core Performer.
Kristin is excited to continue furthering her career as both an entrepreneur and an artistic force in the industry. She is approaching her 8th year of owning Distinction Arts Company (which produces her charity dance intensive, Distinction Dance Intensive) and is thrilled to continue training & mentoring young dancers & artists, develop relationships with them, and watch them thrive. With this intention, she is proud to present DISTINCTION DANCE COMPANY to her hometown of Lafayette and its dance & arts community.MEET OUR FACULTY
Click their photo below to get to know them!
JESSIE QUANTRILLE
Tap, Acro & Musical Theater
SYDNI BOURG
Ballet & Pointe
BECKY PHARES
Pilates
MACY ROMERO
Assistant Director
GINA ASWELL
Ballet & Pointe
BRIAN WATSON
Hip Hop
MICHAEL GASPER
Lyrical / Contemporary
TAYLOR TRACHE
Acro / Tumbling
JESSIE QUANTRILLE
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR / INSTRUCTOR / GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jessie Quantrille is an enthusiastic and focused dancer who has been teaching in Louisiana since she was 18 years old. She started dancing at the age of 3, competing at 5, and finished her dance training at Main Street Dance in Hammond, LA as a member of their pre-professional company. Jessie is extensively and classically trained in ballet, tap, jazz, and various styles of contemporary dance. She has received numerous convention titles, including NYCDA Senior Outstanding Dancer and Break The Floor Regional Titles. She has received dance scholarships to attend intensives/programs in New York and California, and has trained under master teachers at the top of the dance industry. In the summer of 2014, Jessie was cast in a Mandy Moore professional video shoot to the music of Sam Smith at the first annual Dancerpalooza. More recently, Jessie has been awarded for her choreography in the 2016-2020 competition seasons, and became a co-founder of the "Heat Wave Dance Workshop", and is a featured dancer for a modern dance and collaboration based company, “space Lafayette,” directed by Kelsey Billiot. Jessie’s main motivation in educating young professionals is to give them the tools they need not only be well rounded dancers, but also people, and she is thrilled to be instilling this principle at Distinction Dance Company.
MACY ROMERO
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR / INSTRUCTOR / ASST. ADMIN MANAGER
Macy Romero has been dancing since she was 3 years old, has been teaching since she was 16, and is a recent Magna Cum Laude graduate from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Management. Although she is trained in all styles, Macy thrives in commercial dance including jazz funk and hip hop. From 2014-2018, Macy was a part of the Company Assistant Team at the Streetz Dance Convention. She has worked closely with Matt Steffanina for his Gala Invitational piece at the finale of the Pulse on Tour, was a finalist for Streetz Dancer of the Year, and was awarded acceptance into the Winter Intensive Program at Broadway Dance Center. Macy became a Protégé for the Pulse on Tour in late 2017. She earned this title for 2 consecutive years, and was then awarded the honor of becoming an Elite Protégé Winner in 2019. The following year, Macy traveled the country working closely with and assisting Kevin Frey, Lane Napper, Ian Eastwood, Nancy O’Meara, and Katy Tate, to name a few. Macy travels to studios in various states doing in-house workshops & intensives, as well as setting choreography. She is ecstatic to bring the mission of Distinction Dance Company to life, and is looking forward to both inspiring young artists and being inspired, herself.
SYDNI BOURG
BALLET & POINTE
Sydni Bourg is a Lafayette native and mother of two. Her early training was under Beverly Spell at The Ballet Studio with summer study at Ohio Dance Theatre in ballet, modern and jazz idioms. Additionally, she spent several summers at The Ailey School in New York City. Her Louisiana performance credits include Alice in Alice In Wonderland (Cité des Arts), a satyr in ShadowBox Myth (AcA), a princess/creature in Clare Cook Dance Theater’s rendition of Firebird with Acadiana Symphony, Play; a Residency by Theresa Wasiloski (AcA), STIR (AcA) performing in works by Clare Cook and Gina Hanchey, Parade with live Acadiana Symphony Orchestra (Heymann Performing Arts Center), THIRST; a Residency by Whitney Hebert, SURFACE, and SPORT SUITES (AcA). In addition to her passion for Ballet, Sydni’s interests include nutrition, fitness, holistic wellness, and she enjoys being a part of Lafayette’s dance and fitness community from many different angles.
GINA ASWELL
BALLET & POINTE
Gina began her studies with Hebert Dancentre and Lafayette Ballet Theatre, studying with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York for a year. She later acquired a BFA in Dance from UL. She has 16 years of experience teaching ballet in both MS and LA and has been a collaborator with Cathy Hebert on several works across Acadiana. She worked with the USA International Ballet Competition - the Olympics of Ballet - in 2006. She is the Ballet Master of Basin Arts Dance Collective, and her work was featured in the 2018 State of La Danse at ULL. She attended the teacher training course at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in August 2019. She was the recipient of an ArtSparks grant in 2019 and created the multidisciplinary performance art work, “Every place we ever lived”.
MICHAEL GASPER
LYRICAL/CONTEMPORARY
Michael Gasper is from Louisiana and quickly fell in love with dance upon the start of his training. Just after two years of studying, Michael's extraordinary talent and natural ability was noticed and he began teaching and choreographing for studios throughout Louisiana. Michael brings forth a very unique style of contemporary fused with improvisation movement and technique, which has lead him to many awards. Michaels classes can be described as a very inspirational learning experience, while bringing out the best in each dancer in the room. With an ever-growing passion and love for dance, he has judged / taught/ worked for Louisiana Association of Dance Masters (LADM), NTG Dance, Celebration Talent, and Fire and Ice National Talent Competition. Michael continues to study with various Master teachers and training many dancers all while further educating himself and perfecting his craft.
BRIAN WATSON
HIP HOP / JAZZ FUNK
Brian Lamont, from Baton Rouge, LA, where he attended Louisiana State University and became a member of the LSU Legacy Dance Team. Immediately following LSU, Brian started professionally dancing and teaching in 2012. Soon after, he was cast as a dancer with Debbie Allen Productions. His credits include: PitchPerfect2 (where he worked closely with producer/director Elizabeth Banks), MTV, Lil Wayne's Uproar Genesis, A&E Network TV series “Breakout Kings” Season 2, backup dancer for singer Kourtney Heart, artistic director for R&B and Pop artist Justin Garner, and choreographer & dancer in the Cumulus Media Awards. He has worked with master artists such as Terry Beeman and Aakomon Jones, as well as worked with Young Artist Dance and the Streetz Dance Convention.
Brian has recently focused his time on his students, competitive teams, and community. His work has won choreography awards at numerous competitions and conventions such as DanceMakers, Hollywood Vibe, LA Dance Magic, and The Streetz Dance Convention. Brian Lamont also leads a non profit dance company, called Watson Co., that gives back to charities through dance.
BECKY PHARES
PILATES
Becky Phares, NCPT, owns The Body Initiative Pilates Studio in Lafayette Louisiana. She has taught Pilates for over a decade and has taught dancing for over 2 decades. Becky was comprehensively trained through The PhysicalMind Institute (2009), and bridged into Polestar Pilates (2017). She recently wrote and was featured in an 8 page article for Pilates Style Magazine, entitled ‘Imagine That!’ Becky is an ongoing content writer for the Polestar Pilates International Newsletter and was featured in the inaugural issue of Polestar Pilates Magazine. Becky guest presented at Momentum Fest in 2019, ‘Dancing Through Pilates’ and will be presenting at The McEntire Summit next summer, ‘Imagery.’ In 2016 and 2018 she was voted a top 10 finalist in ‘The Next Pilates Anytime Teacher Competition.’ Her clientele includes dancers, athletes, individuals with back and shoulder pathologies, the active aging population and children. Becky is a wife and a mother to 3 crazy girls.
Coming Soon!