mrs-t

TAMARA DUVALL

Owner & Studio Director

Studio owner and dance instructor of 20+ years, Tamara trained in Cecchetti Method of Ballet and worked as a dancer on stage in musicals and was a member of The Dance Theatre of the Inland Empire in Southern California. She attended the UC Riverside and finished at UC Irvine in Dance Education.

Affectionally known by her students as “Mrs. T” or “the Boss,” she established the foundation of Duvall Dance Academy on strong technical training. For that reason, we encourage students to study ballet throughout their dance education.

She strongly believes dance teaches balance, self-awareness, confidence, discipline, and teamwork. All great attributes no matter what the future holds.

Our teachers

Get To Know Us

GABI PATEN

Dance Instructor & Company Choreographer
GABI PATEN is a dance teacher, award-winning competition choreographer, and technical dancer with a solid experience in teaching students of various ages and levels.

Highly skilled in assessing and adapting to dancer's needs, applying patience, and maintaining professionalism, Gabi trained for over 18 years in all genres of dance including ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, and jazz funk with a specialty in jazz.

She has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry in Orlando, New York City and Los Angeles.

CLARISSA TURNER

Dance Instructor & Company Choreographer
CLARISSA TURNER is a dancer/choreographer based out of Orlando, FL, locally known for her precision, versatility, and stage presence. She is versed in many styles, such as contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip hop. She is currently training in urban dance styles which include waacking, locking, house, popping, Krump, and animation.

Her performance credits include Funkywunks, the Nomads, Universal Studios, Old Navy, Janet Jackson, Street Beatz, and Disney. She has battled underground to win the title of Queen of the Floor, and is a USA Hip Hop International gold medalist. She has been seen on America&rsquo's Got Talent with one of the top traveling percussion shows in the states, choreographed for the Orlando Magic Dancers, and is the director for the Nomads.

She strives to educate and encourage her following to be open to learning a variety of styles and to concentrate not only on understanding their craft, but being able to show who they are within it.

BONNIE BREWER

Tap Instructor & Company Choreographer
BONNIE BREWER has obtained a degree in Sports Medicine from East Carolina University. She currently teaches Health, PE, & Medical Skills courses at Lake Mary Prep. She has been teaching tap to DDA’s dancers for the past 9 years. Her energetic, upbeat numbers have won numerous awards & recognitions both regionally & nationally.

She also uses her extensive knowledge of sports medicine and rehab to help our company dancers with safe and effective conditioning exercises and healthy eating habits.

AMY SEAWRIGHT HARTMAN

Dance Instructor
AMY SEAWRIGHT HARTMAN began her dance training in Gainesville and continued at the School of American Ballet in New York City. While attending UF, she danced with Dance Alive International Ballet and was a guest artist throughout the state of Florida. She earned her B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, from UF and was asked to join the Miami City Ballet where she danced for 11 years. Upon invitation, she joined the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the JFK Performing Arts Center for 4 years. During Amy’s career she has toured throughout the US, Europe, Central and South America. She was featured on the main stage at the Edinburgh Festival, Spoleto Festival, Torino Arts Celebration, Kennedy Center Honors, Jacob’s Pillow, Wolftrap, Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Dance Aspen. She has been a part of over 70 professional productions from the Balanchine Trust, the Bolshoi, the Kirov, the Paul Taylor Company, the Stuttgart Ballet and Royal Ballet. Amy loves leading her students towards a better understanding of movement, technique, body alignment and stage craft. She is certified in the ABT’s National Curriculum, PBT.

TORI DAVIS

Acro Instructor

LAUREN CORY

Dance Instructor
LAUREN CORY graduated from UCF with a BS degree in Elementary Education and has been teaching for 10 years, currently at Sabal Point Elementary. Lauren grew up dancing and competing from the age 3 in all styles of dance. While competing, Lauren also performed in the Nutcracker as well for Disney and Universal Studios. Lauren also traveled, trained and performed with many of today’s top choreographers and performed all of FL and Los Angeles including many showcases, one featuring the Backstreet Boys. While in high school, Lauren was a member of Seminole High School’s Nationally ranked Dazzler Dance team where her choreography was also featured, along with Destiny Show Choir. Lauren began teaching her own dance classes at the age of 16 at her mom’s dance studio. Lauren also spent some time teaching for UDA (Universal Dance Association), training and teaching dance camps to other high school dance teams for their upcoming dance season. While being a mom of 4 now, Lauren spent many years teaching for local dance studios where her choreography was featured and won many awards on the competitive stage.

SAMANTHA MACKLIN-GONZALEZ

Dance Instructor
Samantha Macklin-Gonzales grew up dancing in Pittsburgh, PA studying under Rosalene Kenneth and Rachelle Rak. She attended PointPark University as a dancer major with a jazz concentration. She began her professional career while still at PPU, performing in various industrial gigs for Don Brockett Production Company and at various theme parks in the summers. After attending PPU, Samantha was offered a dancer role for Disney Cruise Lines aboard the Disney Magic. She then moved to Las Vegas, NV to continue to pursue her dancing career. Once in Las Vegas she danced with several performance companies, danced for the local Las Vegas Arena Football League and the got a role dancing in An Evening At La Cage at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. Samantha performed at La Cage for several years. When she is not teaching or judging Samantha loves spending time with her friends and family.

Lisa Natale

Dance Instructor

W SEAN DUVALL

Guest Choreographer
W SEAN DUVALL has obtained his B.S.B.A. in Finance and is working on his Masters degree in Economics. He has toured with the Bad Boys of Dance “Rock the Ballet” in 2011. His choreography continues to win numerous awards at competitions. He danced for Disney in “Dreams Come True” and is living in Dallas, TX.

WILLIAM R DUVALL

Owner/Studio Manager