Faculty
Patty Pietkiewicz (Director/Studio Owner)
Patricia was raised and conditioned from a young age to strive for success. Her dance journey began at the age of four and quickly transitioned to the competitive level. Patricia’s passion for dance ignited under the professional instruction of Joyce Poole, Jan Johnson and Tommy Boyz, while training at Attitude’s Performing Arts Center; it was here that she found her home in dance. Her competitive nature and drive for perfection soon granted her the opportunity to train with Frank Hatchett, Mia Michaels, and Bob Rizzo in New York City.
At the age of 13, she was accepted into BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. By age 15, she had been recognized on the regional and national dance competition circuit with numerous titles. At the age of 16, she was appointed Principal Dancer for Naples City Ballet Company/Sarasota Ballet.
Along with her exceptional skills, Patricia also brings a tremendous educational background to the classroom. She began sharing her passion for dance through teaching. She created the Department for Performing Arts at Redlands Christian Migrant Association Community School. Patricia remained the Arts Director for seven years instructing kindergarten through sixth grade students. During this time, she directed the musical, Disney’s Aladdin Jr., and owned a private dance studio, Top Floor Studio. Her training and teaching experience include various genres of dance, such as, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Acro, Lyrical, Modern, and Musical Theater.
Today, Patricia has an Elementary Education degree. In 2013, she was recognized as a Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction and named the Social Studies Teacher of the Year. She is also an interior designer and owns NP Home Designs, LLC alongside of her husband Nick Pietkiewicz. She is thrilled to be sharing her passion and love for dance with each of her students.
Lynnea Ferrier (Office Manager)
Lynnea is originally from Michigan, where she started dancing at the age of 3. She entered the competitive world of dance at the age of 7. Lynnea started teaching dance classes at the age of 13 and knew at that point she wanted more. Being award multiple titles along the way and continuing with regional and national competitions Lynnea knew still wanted to give back to the community in some way. Lynnea was one of the founders of a non-profit performance team at the age of 16, that strived on community service, performing at festivals, nursing homes, and community events. After graduation she studied abroad at the National College of Dance in Newcastle, Australia. When returning home to her small town she was given the opportunity to jump into an artistic director position for a neighboring studio while opening her own dance studio (Let’s Dance and Company). She was featured as a guest judge for KAR (Kids Artistic Review) for several years. In 2017 Lynnea, her husband, and their beautiful daughter took a leap of faith and moved to the wonderful sunshine state and settled in Estero, FL. She is now a mother of 3 amazing kids, two of which share her love of dance. Her passion for dance still runs deep but most of all she loves to lend a helping hand, watching young minds develop, grasping new techniques, and seeing children pour their hearts into the art of dance.
Matt Smith (Dance Instructor)
Matt's love for dance performance, choreography, and teaching began at the age of three, where his passion for artistic movement first began. He graduated from Houston's High School of the Performing and Visual Arts, where he was exposed to a variety of dance disciplines. Matthew then began to assist top industry choreographers such as Mia Michaels, Braham Logan Crane, Lisette Bustamante, and Stephen "Twitch" Boss. He has appeared in music video projects with artist as Macklemore, Sia, Beyonce, and Jesse & Joy. Matthew has worked with Andrew Winghart on concept visuals including Pneuma and Blue Wave. His movie credits include Stargirl on Disney+, choreographed by Mandy Moore. Additionally, he has traveled the world dancing with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. He has also worked as a choreographer's assistance alongside Mel Charlot on So You Think You Can Dance. Matthew's teaching philosophy is based on creating a welcoming and diverse environment that encourages students to be their most authentic self. He emboldens you to identify your artistic voice while also ensuring that you understand dance movements are a visual representation of the music you hear and feel. Matthew is also a faculty member at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and TMILLY TV in Los Angeles and a Guest Faculty member at BDC in NYC. He also teaches for well established dance convention called Artist Simply Human where he tours the U.S. teaching Fusion movement and Hip Hop.