Tabitha Boulding
Owner/Artistic Director
Born and raised in Eden, North Carolina, Tabitha earned her BFA in Dance from East Carolina University before moving to New York City, where she wasted no time launching her professional career. Her NYC credits include The Miss New York Metropolitan Pageant, Culture Shock of NYC (Hip Hop), The Elan Awards, Dancers Responding to AIDS, and two Off-Broadway productions — Confessions of a Dance Teacher and Invisible Child. She has also performed in opening acts for Chaka Khan and Stephanie Mills, and both choreographed and danced with “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Her career has taken her across the globe, from Poland to South Korea, where she danced, choreographed, and appeared in a children’s television series.
In addition to performing, Tabitha is a dedicated and versatile teacher and choreographer with over a decade of experience. Her choreography credits include High Society, The Happenings at Sogmush River, Cats, Crazy for You, Anything Goes, Release Your Style (NYC Salon Commercial), The Curious Sofa, Swing, Meet Me in St. Louis, It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman, Shrek Jr., and, most recently, The Melody Lingers On.
Estie Kalter
Young Dancers Program
Estie Breeze Kalter is a dedicated and versatile dancer with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, concentrating in Studio Operations, from Stockton University. She began her training at The Leffell School (formerly Solomon Schechter School of Westchester).
Her collegiate career has been rich with performance, choreography, and production work. Estie has performed works by acclaimed choreographers including Lauren Putty-White, Beau Hancock, Rain Ross, Michael Nickerson-Rossi, and Molly Glenn. She was invited to perform with the Nickerson-Rossi Dance Company in Palm Springs, CA, and has choreographed adjudicated works such as Fallen Society, Dissonant Minds, and Petrichor.
Beyond performing, Estie has extensive production experience, serving as House Manager, Light Board Operator, and educator at Stockton University. She has taught modern, hip hop, and creative movement classes, working with students ranging from young children to college-aged dancers. Her skills extend to understanding kinesiology, business operations, and inclusive teaching methods for dancers with diverse learning and behavioral needs.
Her training includes master classes with companies and artists such as ODC, Flamenco Vivo, Tiffany Mills, Meredith Rainey, Michael Rios, and Ellen Mihalick. She is passionate about fostering a positive, healthy environment for aspiring dancers, combining technical excellence with a nurturing teaching style.
From competitive dance to professional showcases, Estie brings creativity, discipline, and a deep love for the art form to every stage, studio, and classroom she enters.
Trix
Hip Hop
“TRIX” is a very talented hip hop choreographer and performer with over 14 years commercial dance experience and 12 years of teaching experience. Trix has appeared on Bet’s Hit Show “106 & park” several times as a champion contestant and as a dance weekly guest performer. He was a finalist on “So You Think You Can Dance Season 9.”
Trix has had the pleasure of working and performing at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida across all theme parks. From theme parks to the basketball court, he choreographed a half time performance for the Orlando Magic Dance Team.
Trix is currently a guest faculty member at Broadway Dance Center and Peridance Company. In addition to those well renowned schools, he is a master instructor for the Joffrey Ballet Summer hip hop program in multiple cites across the US and participates in the audition tour recruiting talent from all over the United States.
David Parra
Hip Hop
David Parra is thrilled to be teaching with The Tate Academy,
A professional dancer originally from Bogota, Colombia; he moved to New York City in 2010 to pursue a career as a commercial hip-hop and street jazz dancer. David has participated in conventions as well as competing twice in the Hip-Hop World Championship. He has worked on numerous industrial jobs in New york city including The World Pride Concert in Barclays Center, Nintendo Launches, TV show, many more.
David is honored to teach, and looks forward to sharing his love and passion for dance with the students of The Tate Academy. He hopes this generation of Dancers will benefit from the same opportunities dance has given him.
Mackenzie Simons
Contemporary
Mackenzie Simons is a freelance dancer and choreographer from Charlotte, NC. She graduated Summa Cum Laude’ from East Carolina University with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography where she had the opportunity to perform pieces by Joe Cotler, John Dixon and David Ingram. Mackenzie has also trained at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London under the direction of Hofesh Shechter. She has taught and judged for conventions, competitions and intensives across the East Coast and choreographed pieces for “Fuze” and “Uptown Rising.” Mackenzie currently resides in New York City where she has performed the works of Mary Grace McNally, Eric Delgado, Hannah Gossett and Alexa Luke in shows such as Sybarite and Carnival. She currently travels throughout the United States teaching, choreographing and dancing and is a dancer for Donterreo Culp’s Culpdid and Emily Greenwell’s CLOUDE.
Tais Vargas
Ballet
Raised in Teaneck, NJ, Tais Vargas is a dedicated dance instructor with a strong background in ballet, pointe, contemporary, and various modern techniques. She began her formal training at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, where she majored in ballet pedagogy and dance performance. During her time there, she studied under esteemed faculty members including Hilda Morales, Stephen Pier, Nina Watt, Miki Orihara, and Andrea Weber. Her performance repertoire includes The Willis from Act 2 of Giselle, choreography by Chanel DaSilva, and original Cunningham-inspired Min Events.
Following her time at The Hartt School, Tais furthered her ballet training in the American Repertory Ballet/Princeton Ballet School’s trainee program. Under the guidance of Aydmara Cabrera, Rebecca Maso, Ana Novoa, and Kathleen Moore, she performed lead roles in Don Quixote, Raymonda, Giselle Act 2 Corps, and Cinderella. She also had the privilege of working with ARB’s former Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel and Artistic Associate Gillian Murphy, performing in their annual Nutcracker, as well as in Stiefel’s and Johan Kobborg’s production of Giselle.
Tais has completed summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, and American Academy of Ballet. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and love of ballet with younger generations, inspiring them to grow both technically and artistically. She continues to advance her own artistry through regular ballet training and occasional performances with Art of Motion Dance Theatre.
Marcello Bernard
Ballet
Mr. Bernard began his early dance training at Armonia Danza in his native Italy under the direction of Mariangela Bernacchia. During this time, he also trained with Marit Bech, a member of the International Vaganova Method Society, and earned numerous awards at prestigious European competitions such as Eurocity and DanzaEuropa.
In 2011, after a brief period of study at the Contemporary Academy, Codarts, in Rotterdam, Mr. Bernard joined Ajkun Ballet Theatre under the artistic leadership of Leonard and Chiara Ajkun. With Ajkun Ballet Theatre, he performed a wide range of classical repertoire including Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, and La Bayadère, and took on lead roles in several contemporary works choreographed by Leonard Ajkun, such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Goya, the Spanish Master.
In 2018, Mr. Bernard joined Connecticut Ballet as a featured dancer under the direction of Brett Raphael, and also became a member of the Carole Alexis Dance Company—later serving as a répétiteur for the company. Over the years, he has appeared as a guest artist with companies such as Orange County Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Kodiak Dance Theatre, and has participated in international festivals and workshops including the Dance in Italy Festival and Danzainfiera.
In 2024, he became an official member of the International Dance Council (C.I.D.).
Currently, Mr. Bernard serves as a faculty member and ballet master at multiple dance studios and conservatories, including Movement Dance Center, Dance Mixx Dance Studio, Ballet des Amériques, Performers Edge Dance Center, 5678 Dance, and The Tate Academy.
Matthew Winnegge
Ballet
Broadway/NYC: Chicago the musical (Harry and The Jury), The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Dancer). National/International Tours: Chicago (The Jury), Wizard of Oz. Regional Theatre: Arkansas Rep, Stages St Louis, Fireside Theatre, Surflight Theatre. Industrials/Dance: Kate Spade NY Commercial/Summer Ad Campaign, Samsung 4G Promotional, Broadway Follies.
In addition to performing, Matthew has been guest teaching teaching all over the country with Deviate Dance and Broadway Connections, as well as setting choreography for various studios. Judging for Star Dance Alliance competitions since 2016.