Ramona Reuter - Owner/Managing Director
Ramona has 30 years of teaching experience including operating her own dance studio at the age of 20 years old. Ramona is Certified by Test to Teach by Dance Masters of America and was honored to teach master classes for Dance Master of America, Chapter 8. She was the dynamic dance coordinator for the Love Shack/ Jillians in Rochester, NY and choreographer for the Daisy Dukes Girls also in Rochester, NY. Her prestigious honors include Miss New York USA, competing for Miss USA 1997, and she is a former NFL Cheerleader for the Buffalo Bills. Her students have also cheered for the Bufflao Bills. Her choreography has won several awards over the years including high score honors at local and national levels. She has also been chosen as “Top Teacher” at various dance competitions. She is sought out to judge at dance competitions, as well as pageants. In 2005 her tap students received the national honor of the higest "overall entertainment" award and were selected to join the USA Tap Dance tap and compete in Italy. Several dances Ramona choreographed and taught were selected to perform in the Finger Lakes Tap Dance Festival, founded by Andrew Nerm and the late Gregory Hines. Other students have gone on to perform in Las Vegas, New York City and around the world. Ramona and her students have worked with other artists including Aaron Tolson, Dr. Jimmy Slyde, Dianne “Lady Di” Walker, Dormisha Edwards, Michelle Dorrance, Rocky Mendes, Chloe Arnold and Baakari Wilder. As a performer, she was a featured dancer with the Beach Boys and guest dancer at the Mrs. America Pageant. You may have seen her featured in Oxygen Magazine as the “future of fitness" or on the cover of Rochester Healthy Living.
Ramona continues to attend master classes throughout NY and surrounding areas and just came back from the DC Tap Fest under the direction of Chloe Arnold. Ramona strives to give her students and studio the best possible education and training for both the recreational program and competitive program at Studio East. She is working towards a certification with YPAD (Youth Protection Advocates in Dance).
Ramona is both certified in personal training, Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) and is a Dance Masters of America (DMA) certified teacher.
Kaitlyn Owens - Instructor
Kaitlyn attended SUNY at Brockport for 2 years where she was a BFA dance major. She graduated in 2016 from School of the Arts where she completed grades 7th through 12th as a dance major. Starting dance at age 2, Kaitlyn has now been dancing for over 20 years. She has attended many local dance competitions in Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse and has received many awards. In 2012 Kaitlyn was in a dance performance with Perry Dance Center and Steps on Broadway in NYC. She was invited there by a former special guest dance instructor from NYC. Kaitlyn has dedication, determination and a love for teaching dance. She is very excited to continue with Miss Ramona who was one of her teachers.
Lex Davis- Instructor
Born in Syracuse, New York, Lex Davis received her training from CMC Dance Company in the styles of jazz, modern, contemporary, and hip hop. Lex was also trained by Fulbright Scholar and international choreographer Danita Emma, studying ballet, pointe, and repertory with her from ages 10-18. She graduated from Nazareth College in May 2020 with duel majors in Dance Studies and Marketing, where she has been focusing on modern and contemporary techniques, in addition to choreography.
In addition to her studies, Lex has performed in the Rochester Fringe Festival 2017-2019, including works by Nazareth College’s Associate Professor in dance Heather Roffe, Broadway actress and dancer Hettie Barnhill, and colleague Caz Lopata-Linn. She has also performed in White Wave’s 2017 DUMBO Dance Festival, the Brockport Alumni Dance Showcase in 2019, and numerous collegiate performances and dance concerts. Lex was a part of a group of students involved in learning repertoire from Koresh Dance Company, and performed the piece “Wet Stones” in February 2020 at Nazareth College. Most recently, she was an artist in collaboration with Hettie Barnhill and Robert Gertler in the creation of the film “a love letter to Brian, Lesley, and Michelle,” with the company Create A Space NOW. The film premiered at SUNY Potsdam in February 2021, was shown in the Rochester Fringe Festival 2021, and has recently been a part of numerous national and international film festivals.
Lex is very excited to start her third season with SEDC, and hopes to share her love of dance with as many students as possible!