Rise Dance

After taking 10 years of ballet as well as tap dancing at a local dance studio, she went on to become a member of her high school’s drill team. Having an innate love of dance, she decided in her high school years that she would pursue dance as a major in college.

She attended Stephen F. Austin State University and obtained her Bachelor of Science in Dance as well as a minor in Business. While in college, she trained mainly in ballet, jazz and modern and was also a member of a dance company where she served as an assistant director and choreographer.

Since graduating, she has enjoyed teaching young dancers at studios in the Houston area and is dedicated to continue sharing her passion for dance at RISE.

Kierra McKay

Kierra McKay began her dance journey when joining her high school dance team. With a growing interest in dance, she became co-captain her last year of high school and sought to further her education at Lamar University where she learned the foundation of many forms of dance and found her true passion in performance.

Kierra also attended many conventions and intensives, including Broadway Dance Center in New York City where she worked with many great teachers and choreographers such as Lane Napper, Derek Mitchell, Sean Carmon, Tricia Miranda, Sheila Barker, Yanis and more.

Kierra has worked professionally with Main Street Theater, Queensbury Theater, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, Abby Production, Skoolbo, and Dance Houston where she was recently featured in The Nutcracker Party.

She hopes to continue to inspire young people to express themselves constructively through the arts.

Suzanne Lang

Suzanne Lang started her dance training at age three at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Deer Park, Tx. Later in her dancing, she continued training in ballet, pointe, tap, and jazz at Rowlands School of Dance. At this time Suzanne was also member of the Kingwood Dance Theatre, performing in multiple performances including “Alice in Wonderland, “ “The Nutcracker,” and “The Sleeping Beauty.”

In high school, along with continuing her studio training, Suzanne also was selected as member and dance officer for the award winning Deer Park Deer Escort Dance Team. This time in her life led her to her future career path of teaching dance.

Excited to broaden her knowledge of dance, Suzanne auditioned for the Dance Major program, was accepted to this elite group, and attended Sam Houston State University. At this time she added modern and contemporary technique to her dance toolbox. While at Sam, she was selected as a member of the Dance Spectrum Company and the Texas World Dance Company. She was so excited to have the opportunity to perform and choreograph a wide variety of pieces gaining invaluable experience. Suzanne also served as an officer for Chi Tau Epsilon, the Dance Honor Society.

Since graduating from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Education, Suzanne has taught all levels and ages of dance students both in Texas as well as internationally, most notably serving as the Director of Teacher Training for the Society of Performing Arts of Nigeria and directing dance programs throughout the Houston area.

Along her journey Suzanne also earned her Masters degree in Education, her husband David, and three beautiful daughters, Zoe, Ivy, and Izzy.

Emily Clark

Emily Clark, a Houston native, began dancing at the age of 5.

Emily first learned ballet and tap, and expanded into other styles, particularly jazz, lyrical and pointe. Her dance training started in her school and later by way of two primary dance studios in Houston that provided her the opportunity to perform all over the city, including at the Wortham Theater and other venues for multiple recitals every year. Her first job as a teaching assistant for younger students in her dance studio resulted from her dedication to dance and passion for teaching.

Upon graduating high school, Emily attended Stephen F. Austin State University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a minor in Dance Performance and Education. While in college, she continued her ballet, tap and jazz training, as well as broadened her knowledge in modern, world dance, and choreography creation. She also performed in the college’s DanceWorks production.

Emily’s return to Houston was sparked by her desire for further education while spreading her love of dance with future generations. She believes dance is more than just pretty movements; it’s an art medium, sharing a part of oneself with the world. She hopes that by teaching, others fall in love with dance just as she did and achieve their dreams, whatever they may be.

Our Instructors

Stephanie Sullivan

Stephanie Sullivan, a Houston native, began dancing when she was six years old.

After taking 10 years of ballet as well as tap dancing at a local dance studio, she went on to become a member of her high school’s drill team. Having an innate love of dance, she decided in her high school years that she would pursue dance as a major in college.

She attended Stephen F. Austin State University and obtained her Bachelor of Science in Dance as well as a minor in Business. While in college, she trained mainly in ballet, jazz and modern and was also a member of a dance company where she served as an assistant director and choreographer.

Since graduating, she has enjoyed teaching young dancers at studios in the Houston area and is dedicated to continue sharing her passion for dance at RISE.

Kierra McKay

Kierra McKay began her dance journey when joining her high school dance team. With a growing interest in dance, she became co-captain her last year of high school and sought to further her education at Lamar University where she learned the foundation of many forms of dance and found her true passion in performance.

Kierra also attended many conventions and intensives, including Broadway Dance Center in New York City where she worked with many great teachers and choreographers such as Lane Napper, Derek Mitchell, Sean Carmon, Tricia Miranda, Sheila Barker, Yanis and more.

Kierra has worked professionally with Main Street Theater, Queensbury Theater, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, Abby Production, Skoolbo, and Dance Houston where she was recently featured in The Nutcracker Party.

She hopes to continue to inspire young people to express themselves constructively through the arts.

Suzanne Lang

Suzanne Lang started her dance training at age three at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Deer Park, Tx. Later in her dancing, she continued training in ballet, pointe, tap, and jazz at Rowlands School of Dance. At this time Suzanne was also member of the Kingwood Dance Theatre, performing in multiple performances including “Alice in Wonderland, “ “The Nutcracker,” and “The Sleeping Beauty.”

In high school, along with continuing her studio training, Suzanne also was selected as member and dance officer for the award winning Deer Park Deer Escort Dance Team. This time in her life led her to her future career path of teaching dance.

Excited to broaden her knowledge of dance, Suzanne auditioned for the Dance Major program, was accepted to this elite group, and attended Sam Houston State University. At this time she added modern and contemporary technique to her dance toolbox. While at Sam, she was selected as a member of the Dance Spectrum Company and the Texas World Dance Company. She was so excited to have the opportunity to perform and choreograph a wide variety of pieces gaining invaluable experience. Suzanne also served as an officer for Chi Tau Epsilon, the Dance Honor Society.

Since graduating from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Education, Suzanne has taught all levels and ages of dance students both in Texas as well as internationally, most notably serving as the Director of Teacher Training for the Society of Performing Arts of Nigeria and directing dance programs throughout the Houston area.

Along her journey Suzanne also earned her Masters degree in Education, her husband David, and three beautiful daughters, Zoe, Ivy, and Izzy.

Emily Clark

Emily Clark, a Houston native, began dancing at the age of 5.

Emily first learned ballet and tap, and expanded into other styles, particularly jazz, lyrical and pointe. Her dance training started in her school and later by way of two primary dance studios in Houston that provided her the opportunity to perform all over the city, including at the Wortham Theater and other venues for multiple recitals every year. Her first job as a teaching assistant for younger students in her dance studio resulted from her dedication to dance and passion for teaching.

Upon graduating high school, Emily attended Stephen F. Austin State University and earned her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a minor in Dance Performance and Education. While in college, she continued her ballet, tap and jazz training, as well as broadened her knowledge in modern, world dance, and choreography creation. She also performed in the college’s DanceWorks production.

Emily’s return to Houston was sparked by her desire for further education while spreading her love of dance with future generations. She believes dance is more than just pretty movements; it’s an art medium, sharing a part of oneself with the world. She hopes that by teaching, others fall in love with dance just as she did and achieve their dreams, whatever they may be.

Our Facilities

Dance is a beautiful art form that can be used to tell stories and elicit an audience’s emotions. But dance is also a sport that involves dynamic movement, stamina, balance, strength, and flexibility. Dancers are athletes, and just like any other athlete must train on the proper equipment, so must a dancer train on the proper dance floor.

That’s why RISE has invested in a professional grade sprung dance floor, the exact same flooring system used by some of the top ballet schools in the country such as San Francisco Ballet School and Joffrey Ballet School in NYC.

Our sprung floors reduce fatigue, prevent injury, and ultimately ensure a long dance career for our students. Investing in sprung floors is an important part of how RISE prioritizes the health and safety of our dancers!

For dancers, open space is a canvas for their art, so we wanted to give our students the biggest canvases possible. We have 3 dance studios:

Studio A is 1,500 sq. ft.
Studio B is 1,200 sq. ft.
Studio C is 600 sq. ft.

All of our studios feature high ceilings, mirrored walls, and in-wall speaker systems. Studios A & B are separated by a floor-to-ceiling acoustical floating partition that allows the studios to open up into one large performance space for recitals and showcases.

Studios A & B hold our ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and conditioning classes. Studio C holds our tap, PreK, and hip hop classes.

Performance Opportunities

Our unique campus offers multiple spaces to host onsite performances for our students. Dance is meant to be performed, and our goal is to help normalize the experience of performing in front of an audience.

We build confidence in our younger students by starting with smaller, more intimate performances for family and friends. Students then advance to performing for larger audiences.

We offer performance opportunities in our 1,200 sq. ft. studio, 1,500 sq. ft. studio, 2,400 sq. ft. expanded studio space, and our 2,400 sq. ft. outdoor lawn. Additionally, we hold off-site dance performances for our students’ Spring Dance Recital.

Teaching Methodology

Our program follows our very own RISE Dance Ballet curriculum, featuring a blend of techniques from the Vaganova and Cecchetti methods.

Students are introduced to fundamental positions and terminology along with guidance on coordination, body alignment, and musicality.

Our studio is dedicated to teaching students proper technique while also providing them with a space to have fun and build lasting friendships. We believe that having fun while in the dance studio is just as important as receiving high quality training and developing as a dancer.