Staff
MoveNation Dance Academy was founded out of a passion and need for sharing the owner's expertise and passion for dance to the youth and adults in Houston Texas.
​Houston is now the third largest city in the United States and we are excited to contribute to the development and growth of the performing arts in our city!
Jennifer San Miguel - Owner/Director
Ms Jennifer San Miguel received a minor in Dance a major in Entrepreneurship & Strategic Management from the University of North Texas for the express purpose of owning a dance studio. While at UNT, she studied under Ballet Master Arleen Sugano where she honed her technique and performed in the contemporary ballet "X=10". She also gained great appreciation for improvisation and modern dance. Prior to that she was a Senior Company Dancer at Joy's School of Dance in Waco, Tx where she had the opportunity to dance with the Austin City Ballet in the Nutcracker, attend TATD and LA Dance Force Conventions, open for the Texas Special Olympics, and much more. Jennifer also danced as a Dance Management major at Oklahoma City University under the direction of Jo Rowan, Lyn Crammer, Liz Retter, and other inspiring master teachers.
Her teaching career has been a balancing act with raising and supporting a family and maintaining part time work as a business process and software consultant. She has taught private lessons in Denton and Houston, taught a jazz dance school program in Waco, was a ballet, tap and jazz teacher at Rodriguez Academy of Dance in Houston, and held various substitute positions in Oklahoma City and Houston throughout the years.
Dance will always be her passion and she has shared that passion with her three children and everyone at MNDA. Her daughter was colonel of her high school dance team and one of the pivotal moments in her lie was when they both traveled to New York to take classes at Alvin Ailey, Broadway Dance Center, and Steps on Broadway. This trip led to the opening of MNDA and replicating NYC energy and drive is one of the pillars of the studio's competency.
Ms Jennifer has continued to retain and improve her technique through master classes with Master Teacher/Dance Scientist Arleen Sugano, traveling to NYC to take master classes, participating as a Member of TATD, and then shares this knowledge with MNDA students.
Check out a recent article on Miss Jennifer @ https://gosolo.subkit.com/jennifer-san-miguel/
Bethany Meyferth - Assistant Director
Ms. Bethany started dancing at age 3 when it was the only way her mom could get her to overcome her shyness! She has since done many styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, liturgical, musical theatre, and ballroom. While Ms. Bethany studied elementary education in college, she also took several dance classes in Movement Fundamentals and Contact Improvisation. She also participated on the competitive ballroom dance team with her now-husband as her partner. After college, she taught first grade and kindergarten in the Spring Branch school district. Ms. Bethany is excited to share her love of dance with her two children. She has loved getting to teach our youngest dancers for the last several years, and is excited to step into the role of assistant director.
Christine Janis - Instructor
Meika Powells - Instructor
Ms. Meika has been dancing since she knew how to walk. While growing up in a large family Meika and her siblings would put on talent shows and mini dance competitions for anyone who would watch. As Meika grew her love and capacity of dance grew as well. She took her first official dance class in 2012 and fell in love with jazz, modern and contemporary. Hip-Hop has always been her strong suit but learning to express herself in different ways to different rhythms was exhilarating. While in college Meika taught at an amazing dance studio for 4 years. Her choreography has been presented on various different stages, including Disney World, Houston City Parades, Dance Competitions and local theaters. of professional dance experience. Meika states that the best part of dance competitions was being able to receive the judges critiques and perfect her skills as a dancer, and choreographer. Meika is excited to be a part of MoveNation Dance Academy and be able to pour into the students’ dance journey.
Christine arrived at MNDA in 2023 as a ballet and preschool combo instructor. She spends her time when she is not at MNDA as a professional ballerina with Uptown Dance Company. Her background aligns well with MoveNation style of ballet, with knowledge and experience with Balanchine choreography and Vaganova technique. She is also well versed in modern dance styles.
Adriana Zornosa- Instructor
Right after Adriana finished her first dance class, she realized she had a passion. She's been training and working hard to achieve her goals as a dancer, and she has. She was captain of her high school dance team, got accepted into her college dance program, and became a dance teacher! She began teaching at MNDA to continue spreading the love of dance to others. "I couldn't be more thankful to have the opportunity to teach here."
Emily Jule Bullard - Hip-hop / Jazz / Heels Instructor
Ms Emily, as the daughter of a dancer, has been dancing since before she was born. Gaining rare opportunities to participate as a college dance honor society mascot at ages 3 & 4, observe college dance classes, having open access to dance life at all times, she has had an unusual dance education. Apart from growing up dancing in mom's living room, she also studied at Houston Academy of Dance, Rodriquez Academy of Dance, Cornerstone Academy, and participated in Dance Team as the Lt. Colonel her Junior year and Colonel her senior year at Spring Woods High School. She won HTE Awards and has taken classes at Steps, Broadway Dance Center, and Alvin Ailey.
Emily also has experience as a vocal performer and recording artist. She is a Senior at University of Houston pursuing a psychology degree and has several health care certifications.
Olivia Rodriguez Jimenez - Instructor
Maia Granwehr - Assistant Teacher
Ms Maia has been a dancer for most of her life. Beginning ballet classes at the age of three, Maia has always been passionate about the art of dance. She loved ballet so much that she decided to explore other forms of dance. Maia started jazz and hip-hop a few years after she danced her first recital. As a ten-year old, she auditioned for her company’s competition team. This team began her passion for all forms of dance including lyrical, hip-hop, jazz, ballet, and more. Only three years after she began competing, Maia got her first pair of pointe shoes. She would perform the Nutcracker on pointe and other studio productions every spring. She went on to join the Pearland Prancers drill team and is now studying Dance at the University of Houston.
Chad Franklin - Instructor
Chad’s journey into dance started his senior year at Westside High School, where he learned the Breaking, House and Hip Hop dance styles. With a firm grasp of the basics he then went on to work with Sunrise Dance Company, Sonkiss’d Dance Company and Fly Dance Company. His time working under Kathy Wood helped him develop much of his current identity in dance. As well did his many years competing and battling with the Breaking and Hip Hop Dance Scene.
Born in the old city of Havana, Cuba, and raised across the diverse landscapes of Latin America, Olivia brings a rich tapestry of cultural influences to her teaching. With an extensive background in both theater and dance, she has honed her craft through years of dedication and passion. Olivia's journey led her to the heart of the performing arts world in New York City, where she pursued professional dance training at Steps on Broadway. Her experiences in various countries have endowed her with a unique perspective, enriching her classes with a blend of styles and techniques.
Nicole Truong - Instructor
Miss Nicole's dance journey began in middle school. She started out as a self taught dancer, joined the drill team in high school, and trained at SoundBox dance studios. The majority of her training is at SoundBox where she was on OneUp dance cru and WyldStyl which are exhibition and professional adult dance teams. She has also trained at Soreal in Houston, Motiv in Orlando, and UC Dance Space in Saigon. Her main strengths are in hip hop, jazz funk, heels, and kpop. However, she is also versed in contemporary, pom, and ballet as well. Nicole is currently a senior in the University of Houston pursing a Bachelors in Health and minoring in Nutrition. She also is Basic Life Support (BLS) certified.
