About Studio Dance Centre

Professional-grade Facility

Studio Dance Centre is located in the Teel Village shopping center, at the corner of Main and Teel. Our brand new facility includes a spacious and comfortable waiting area in addition to the two studio classrooms with one-way observation windows, shock-absorbent Harlequin dance floors, and wall-to-wall mirrors.

More Than Just Dance

Studio Dance Centre’s values are based on the belief that a good dance education is never wasted. Dance classes help develop skills beyond dance steps; they also build self-discipline, creativity, musicality, arts appreciation, self-esteem, and much more. Studio Dance Centre strives to be your neighborhood dance studio—providing high-quality, fun dance classes for dancers whose goals may be recreational or professional. We believe that by emphasizing technique, class work, and community performance, we are providing your family with the best possible dance education.

Owner/Director Bio

Julie Holt Lucia (Ms. Julie) is the owner and director of Studio Dance Centre. She has studied ballet, pointe, modern, tap, jazz, and character dance, as well as anatomy, music, body conditioning, and choreography. As a child, Ms. Julie began dancing in Lutz, Florida and then continued her pre-professional training in Plano, Texas at Gotta Dance and the Plano Metropolitan Ballet.  She attended summer dance intensives at North Carolina School of the Arts and The Eglevsky Ballet in New York. Ms. Julie continued her academic and dance studies by attending several arts-intensive high schools, including Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA, Mid-Pacific School of the Arts in Honolulu, HI, and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, FL, where she was the recipient of the Outstanding Tap Dancer award upon graduation.

During college, Ms. Julie studied for her BFA in Dance at Florida State University. It was there that she expanded her in-depth dance studies under the instruction of Richard Sias, Sheila Humphreys, Suzanne Farrell, Anthony Morgan, Patty Phillips, Tom Welsh, and Douglas Corbin. She later shifted focus academically and geographically and graduated from the University of North Texas with a BA in Philosophy. After graduation Ms. Julie held two careers: one in higher education and one as a dance teacher. In 2005, Ms. Julie left her office job to focus solely on a dance teaching career, and Studio Dance Centre opened in the spring of 2006.

To continue her professional education in both dance and business, Ms. Julie has attended Rhee Gold’s Project Motivate seminars (2005, 2006), the DanceLife Teacher Conference (2006, 2008), and The Pulse/Broadway Dance Center Teacher Workshop (2010).  She also occasionally writes for Dance Studio Life magazine.

Ms. Julie is a professional member of two American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance associations: the National Dance Association and the American Association for Health Education. Additionally, Studio Dance Centre is a member of the Dance Council (serving North Texas), the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, and the Frisco Association for the Arts.  Ms. Julie lives in Little Elm with her husband, Chris, and their dog, Sylvester.

Faculty/Staff Bios

Jamie Williams (Ms. Jamie) is a Dance Instructor and Accounts Manager for Studio Dance Centre. Ms. Jamie started her dance career in eighth grade drill team, which led her to four years of drill team experience in high school with the Ford High School Blue Belles in Quinlin, TX. It was there that Ms. Jamie built experience in choreography, event participation, and leadership, as she was named Captain her senior year.  During her time with the drill team, Ms. Jamie performed in Terrell and San Antonio, TX, as well as at Disney World and with the Carnival Cruise Company.  

Ms. Jamie is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in Psychology and Performing Arts. As a dancer at UTD, Ms. Jamie was able to participate in numerous classes including modern, jazz, ballet, and hip hop.  She has performed in fall showcases at UTD, as well as "Sprung." Ms. Jamie has worked with several local and national choreographers, including Micki Saba, head of the dance department at UTD, Michelle Hanlon of Elledanceworks, Kim Jackson of Collin County Community College, and Jennifer Mabus of Robert Battle's company in New York, Battleworks. While at UTD, Ms. Jamie also had the opportunity to participate in the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA). 

In 2009, Ms. Jamie established Dance Unending Performing Company, a professional modern dance troupe with a Christian influence.  Under Ms. Jamie’s direction, DUPC rehearses and performs throughout the DFW area.  She has also continued to further her dance education by attending the DanceLife Teacher Conference (2008) and The Pulse/Broadway Dance Center Teacher Workshop (2010).  Ms. Jamie lives in McKinney with her husband, Blair, and their dog, MacGruber.

Michele Monaghan (Ms. Michele) is a Dance Instructor and Communications Manager for Studio Dance Centre. She has studied ballet, tap, modern, jazz, hip-hop, and choreography, as well as anatomy, Pilates, stage lighting, and theatrical makeup. She began dance training at the age of three in her hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas at S.S.B. Dance Center. There she remained a student and active participant of the studio's performing company until she graduated high school. During her sophomore year of high school, Ms. Michele was nominated the captain of her school's dance team, which allowed her to choreograph and lead weekly rehearsals. She also participated in community performances, such as the Wizard of Oz, a musical production presented by the Performing Arts Alliance of Wichita Falls.

As a dance major at Texas Woman’s University, Ms. Michele took numerous dance classes including technique, composition, body conditioning, pedagogy, performance, and production. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and continued to perform professionally with Muscle Memory Dance Theatre of Dallas/Ft. Worth and The Kinetic Artists Collective of Denton. Most recently, Ms. Michele has also choreographed for Dance Unending Performing Company. In continuing her dance education, Ms. Michele attended Rhee Gold’s DanceLife Teacher Conference (2008) and The Pulse/Broadway Dance Center Teacher Workshop (2010). Outside of dance, Ms. Michele is an experienced yoga practitioner. She lives in McKinney with her husband, Austin, and their two dogs, Paulix and Huck.

Arrica Hackney (Ms. Arrica) is a Dance Instructor and Assistant Manager for Studio Dance Centre.  She began her dance education at age three with ballet classes from a small church sanctuary in Houston, Texas. After moving to Kansas City, Missouri, her training continued with four years of classical ballet, tap, and jazz instruction at Caruthers Creative Centre Dance Studio, followed by six years of classical ballet, pointe, and jazz instruction at Banbury School of Dance upon returning to the Houston area. Ms. Arrica broadened her dance experience as part of the LV Hightower High School Hi-Lites Dance Team in Missouri City, Texas, where she built strong relationships in teamwork and gained the positions of the 1st Lieutenant, Lt. Colonel and Colonel. She enjoyed four years of competitive performing with the Hi-Lites Dance Team, earning numerous solo finalist awards and titles including Senior Miss Austin Dance Classic, Miss Ft. Bend Dance Classic, and Miss Alamo Dance Classic.

Ms. Arrica graduated with honors from Stephen F. Austin State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance and English. As a dance major and member of the university Repertory Dance Company (RDC), she continued her ballet and jazz studies and added modern dance technique under the direction of professors Elizabeth Rhodes, Stan Bobo, and Christy Sadler-Gorman. Ms. Arrica performed in many formal and informal presentations, including the RDC's annual spring concerts as well as performances at the American College Dance Festival (ACDF) and the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (TAHPERD) Convention.  Ms. Arrica also performed in the Lamp-Lite Theatre presentation of The King and I and the Collin College Dance Department’s Spring Informal Concert.  She is a current member of Dance Unending Performing Company. Ms. Arrica is getting married in 2011, and lives in Dallas with her cats, Phoebe and Phillip.

Veronica Young (Ms. Ronni)
Bio and photo coming soon!