Bree Viscardo
Dance Director, Primary Instructor
Ms. Bree Viscardo brings over 20 years of experience as a dance educator, choreographer, and professional dancer. She is dedicated to inspiring dancers of all ages to achieve technical excellence while fostering creativity, confidence, and a lifelong appreciation for the art of dance.
Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, Breanna began her dance training at The Southern Academy of Ballet Arts under Natalia Botha and Charles Hagan. She performed with Pas de Vie Ballet and The Tallahassee Ballet, where she danced soloist and principal roles in productions including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Coppélia, and Cinderella. During her
time with the company, she toured internationally, performing in Dublin with the Irish National Youth Ballet and at Sligo’s Hawk Well Theatre in Ireland.
Breanna earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from Florida State University. Upon graduating she moved to New York City to pursue a professional dance career. She danced with ACFDANCE Company, Ariel Rivka Dance, and York Dance Works, performing at many of New York City’s premier venues, including Alvin Ailey Studios, The Duke Theater, Joyce SoHo, The Flea Theater, University Settlement, Merce Cunningham Studio, the White Wave Dance Festival, and the DUMBO Dance Festival. In addition to performing, she choreographed original contemporary works, taught master classes, led educational outreach programs, and directed rehearsals and auditions.Since relocating to the Washington, DC area in 2010, Breanna has become a respected educator and artistic leader. She has taught Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary, and Modern to students from preschool through pre-professional levels. Over the past fifteen years, she has served as Ballet Mistress of Ravel Dance Company, where she has choreographed original works, produced full-length ballet productions and large annual company performances. She has also served on the faculty of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre & Academy since 2021. Her teaching philosophy blends strong classical technique with artistic expression, encouraging every student to develop not only as a dancer, but as a confident and expressive artist.
As Artistic Director of Essence Studios at Riverworks, Breanna is excited to build upon the studio’s strong foundation while creating new opportunities for dancers and families. Her vision is to create a welcoming and inspiring community where dancers are challenged to reach theirhighest potential, discover their unique artistic voice, and develop a lifelong love of dance.
Austin St. John
Instructor, Senior Faculty
Austin is a native of Pasadena, CA where he trained at Le Studio (now Pasadena Dance Theater) with Phillip and Charles Fuller and Cynthia Young Fuller. He was a company member of the Oakland Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, and Cleveland San Jose Ballet. He has performed works by George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Lew Christensen, Flemming Flindt, Bronislava Nijinska, Alonzo King, Dennis Nahat, and many others. He performed with Rudolph Nureyev in “The Overcoat” at the Edinburgh Festival. After moving to Bethesda in 1991 he danced with the Maryland Youth Ballet, Eric Hampden Dance, Bowen McCauley Dance, Dancesmith, and other local companies. He has been a teacher in the DC area since 1991 and at the Maryland Youth Ballet from 1991-2020. His responsibilities at MYB included rehearsal director, outreach leader, Gala co-coordinator, and for over 15 years, performing the role of Drosselmeyer in their annual production of The Nutcracker. He is excited to be teaching at Essence Studios.
Audra Johnson
Instructor, Senior Faculty
Audra Johnson, a New Jersey native, received her early training from Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyeava and went on to continue her studies at The New Jersey Ballet School, The Harid Conservatory, and The Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education. She spent various summers studying at The Eglevsky Ballet, School of American Ballet, Boston Ballet, and The Harid Conservatory. She has danced professionally with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, The Washington Ballet, and American Repertory Ballet. Ms. Johnson performed several principal and soloist roles in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Kirk Peterson’s Glazunov Variations, and George Balanchine’s Serenade and Allegro Brilliant. Her Balanchine Repertoire includes Danse Concertantes, Gounod Symphony, Stars and Stripes, Swan Lake, Concerto Barocco, Episodes, and Divertimento from Le Baiser de la Fee. She has also been featured in Twyla Tharp’s Eight Jelly Rolls, Octet, and Nine Sinatra Songs and in new works by Kirk Peterson, Harrison McEldowney, Graham Lustig, Susan Shields, Douglas Martin, Laurie Stallings, and Melissa Barak. Ms. Johnson has taught at Princeton Ballet School, North Jersey School of Dance Arts, Ballet Nova, The Washington Ballet, Maryland Youth Ballet, and Olympia Dance Center in Olympia, WA. In 2018, she taught for Suzanne Farrell at the Kennedy Center during her summer program.
Veronica Contreras – Fuentes
Instructor
Ms. Veronica is an alumna of Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre and a graduate of the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. She began her dance training at the age of three under the direction of Fran Ichijo at Hope Garden, where she performed in numerous classical productions, including The Christmas Carol, The Little Mermaid, and The Jungle Book. During her time at Hope Garden, Ms. Veronica attended prestigious summer intensives with the Joffrey Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and Kirov Academy. At age 15, she was accepted into the Kirov Academy’s pre-professional program, where she trained for three years and performed in renowned classical ballets such as The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Giselle, and Paquita. Upon graduating, she was invited to join Ballet San Antonio as a member of the corps de ballet.
Following an early retirement due to injury, Ms. Veronica shifted her focus to her family. She is a dedicated mother of two and remains deeply connected to the dance community. In 2024, she returned to Essence Studios as part of the administrative team and was delighted to assist in staging Giselle for the Spring ’26 season. In her free time, she enjoys weight training, exploring the out-
doors, cooking, and baking.
Ashley Kelch
Instructor
Ashley joined our Essence family in October 2023. She is currently certified in LaBlast® & TRX® and was a multi-sport collegiate athlete with a strong background in Tap & Jazz. Ashley teaches a wide variety of dance from Ballroom to Line Dancing and anything in between. Dancing has always been a big part of her life and she is so excited to spread the joy & passion through movement to all. She loves spending time with her family, pets, garden, and of course dancing!
Peter Pattengill
Instructor
Ella Rommel
Instructor
Abigayle Burkholder
Instructor
Rachel Weisz
Instructor
Evelyn Petrella
Instructor
Avery Snyder
Guest Instructor
Born and raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, Miss Avery began her dance training at the age of 3. When her interest in ballet grew into a passion for the art form, she transferred to the newly formed Charlottesville Ballet Academy in 2011. She was a student there until 2016 when she joined the professional company as a trainee, while simultaneously completing her junior year of high school. In 2018 Miss Avery attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts high school classical ballet program for her senior year, then continued her training at the collegiate level at UNCSA and graduated in May of 2021 with a BFA in classical ballet. Miss Avery is now a 1st Company dancer with American Repertory Ballet in Princeton, New Jersey, under the artistic direction of Samantha Dunster and Ethan Stiefel.
Roland Jones
Guest Instructor
Mr. Roland’s dance career began at the age of eight with five years of instruction under Fran Ichijo at Hope Garden Ballet, followed by another five years at Maryland Youth Ballet. Upon graduating high school he moved to Salt Lake City to take a trainee position at Ballet West, and was promoted to the second company the following year. Covid interrupted his quick progression, and he returned to Maryland, where he continued his development with zoom instruction from Eric Trope (shown below.) Mr. Roland was a member of the second company at Richmond Ballet for the 2021-22 season, and is now a 1st Company dancer at American Repertory Ballet under the direction of Samantha Dunster and Ethan Stiefel.
Kate Borman
Student Intern Instructor
Claire Jones
Artistic Director Emeritus
Miss Claire was a graduate of Hope Garden Ballet Academy, with several additional years of study at Maryland Youth Ballet. She performed multiple roles in HGCBT’s annual “A Christmas Carol”, as well as several spring performances. She performed with American Ballet Theater and the Joffrey Ballet at the Kennedy Center, and at the height of her performance career danced with Bowen McCauley Dance at multiple venues in the DMV, including the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center.
Regionally Miss Claire also performed with Deep Vision Dance in Baltimore, ClancyWorks Dance Company in Washington, DC, Other Voices Theatre in Frederick, and at Olney Theatre Center. She assistant directed, directed, choreographed, and taught for Red Branch Theatre’s Drama Learning Center, Round House Theatre Education, Butler Montessori, and with our own Poolesville High School Midnight Players.
Whilst deeply versed in classical ballet, Miss Claire studied tap, contemporary, modern, stage management, and lighting, earning a degree in dance with a minor in theater from the University of MD, Baltimore County. She has been teaching all age groups for 15+ years at multiple studios in Columbia, Germantown, Silver Spring, and Frederick. She taught for HGBA from the time she was 15, including summer ballet camps.
Energetic, fun, and disciplined, Miss Claire loves kids and dance, and used that passion to launch Essence Studios into the future for Riverworks Art Center to propel it into the next chapter!