Preston Hollow Dance

Belinda Richardson: Owner/Artistic Director

Ms. Belinda trained with the Deborah Case Dance Academy in McAllen, TX where she studied the Vaganova Method from the age of 10. She has trained under Prima Ballerina Galina Mezentseva of The Kirov Ballet and attended summer intensives with the Joffrey Ballet working specifically with Willy Shives. Her passion for teaching ballet led to further her education in dance pedagogy, earning a Masters Degree in Dance from Texas Woman's University in 2012. Since then, she has presented her research at the North Texas Philosophical Association in Denton, TX and published: La Femme Grotesque: The Disruptive Performance Art of Marie Chouinard and Orlan.

Her choreography won PHD 2nd place for Best Contemporary Dance at the Tremaine Dance Convention. As an instructor, Belinda specializes in the art of classical ballet with an emphasis on somatic awareness.

Brittany golden: Assistant Director

Ms. Brittany has been performing for an audience since day one! In high school, she learned ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop under Lori French, competed at the State level in One Act Play under Victoria Jackson and apprenticed as an Assistant Instructor at her dance studio.

She earned a degree in Performance Studies from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where she performed leading roles in several stage productions before spending a semester in London to study theatre production. During undergrad, she also cheered competitively for UMHB, coached cheer & tumbling at Heart of Texas Gymnastics and continued her dance education under Lisa Shed in Temple, TX. 

Brittany has a Master’s of Liberal Arts from Dallas Baptist University. She joined the PHD teaching staff in 2012 and now serves as the Assistant Director. She oversees our after school programs, summer camps and annual recital production. Ms. Brittany has a passion for dance education and strives to instill students with the skills needed to perform well on and off the stage!

RACHEL ELLIS

Ms. Rachel graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at Belhaven University, was inducted to and graduated from the National Dance Education Organization with honors. She received training at the Los Angeles Ballet Academy in Encino, a Royal Academy of Dance-certified studio, where she studied under Andrea Paris Gutierrez, Conny Mathot, Nichelle Bane, Kee Juan Han, Betsy McMillan, Caleb Mitchell and Laura Morton. Rachel was also featured guest instructor for All Star Dance Academy's summer intensive in ballet and contemporary.

Ms. Rachel is skilled in classical ballet, pointe, and contemporary jazz. Her vast training has helped guide our after school programs and competition teams!

Madilyn hill

Ms. Maddie has been dancing for 24 years, and she received her training in the Vaganova method from Tuzer Ballet and the Kirov Ballet Academy. She danced professionally with the Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet for 5 years. Today, Maddie is now the Owner and Creative Director of Bishop Street Ballet company, where she directs and performs in productions at the Texas Theatre year-round.

Her love for ballet is apparent in the classroom as she teaches the importance of kinesthetic awareness in pointe to prevent injury and create better ease of movement. We love the level of training and expertise Maddie brings to our students!

Sarah Junkins

Ms. Sarah earned a BFA in Dance Education from Texas State University, where she was inducted into the College of Fine Arts and Communication Council of Scholars, graduating Summa Cum Laude. During her time at TXST, Sarah was a company member of the CIM TEYA Dance Company, led by professor Kaysie Sietz Brown. During this time, Sarah was also the Dance Coordinator for Navia Dance Group; a student-run and audition-based dance team comprised of TXST students. Sarah has performed in works by professors and artists such as Tiffanee Arnold, Shate’ Edwards, Torens Johnson, and Sarah Gamblin. Sarah has extensive experience in Screen Dance, both as a director and as a performer, and her dance productions have been featured at film festivals in Texas. 

Sarah's favorite styles of dance include Ballet and Contemporary Hip Hop, and she is a K-pop dance cover artist. She focuses on making sure her students have fun while they learn the foundations of movement!

Elena Olshin

Ms. Elena, received her early training at the American Dance Institute where she studied with founder Pamela Bjerknes. She attended summer
intensives at the Kirov Academy of Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Rock School, and Ballet West. Elena was selected to participate in the Kennedy Center Masterclass Series for two years and also competed at the Youth American Grand Prix semi-finals and New York City Finals, as well as a soloist at the Tanzolymp Dance Festival in Berlin, Germany. After graduating from the Akhmedova Ballet Academy where she completed her last four years of training, Elena moved to Delaware to join First State Ballet Theatre. She danced there for four seasons and performed
roles such as Cupid in Don Quixote, Canary Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Ocean and Pearls Pas de Trois, and Pas De Deux from Flames of Paris, as well as working with Viktor Plotnikov on his premieres of Romeo and Juliet and Dracula.

In 2021 Elena became a Resident Teaching Artist at the Wilmington Ballet, and had the pleasure of performing roles such as Dewdrop and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Waltz from Les Sylphide, Pas de Trois from Swan Lake, and The Dying Swan. Elena joined Bowen McCauley Dance Company for the 2021/22 season, and just recently moved to Dallas to continue her teaching career. We are thrilled to have her join our dance family!

Kathleen Barnes

Ms. Kathleen graduated from Northwestern State University earning a degree in Theatre with a concentration in Dance and Musical Theatre. Her professional works include: AS IS: Nick Cave Project, dancer and actor in TEXAS! Outdoor Musical Drama, Illumination Sensation at The State Fair of Texas, and many more! She is technically trained in modern, jazz, contemporary, and ballet and is skilled in fusing different style elements to create new innovative movement.

Kathleen and her husband recently welcomed the birth of their first child, Bonnie. We are thrilled to have her return to our teaching staff!