Jazzmine Brown is 15 years old and a member of the Senior Dance team. She has been dancing for 5 years and this is her 5^th year on Team JDE. Jazzmine attends MCAA and is involved in various school activities and plays (including: Brigadoon and Pinocchio). She will be seen in the upcoming MCAA production “Fiddler on the Roof”. Her favorite dance is Contemporary. She loves to text, go to ‘My Space’, and eat (especially ‘tender crisp chicken sandwich’ from BK)!!! It is sad to say that Jazzi dislikes vegetables and her History class. Jazzmine is generally a happy person and only gets annoyed when “I’m hungry!” But she has been eating right because she always has a good attitude towards her dance mates, the parents, and to the younger dance students (as an Assistant Ballet and Jazz Teacher). “Mum” (Janice) notes that “Jazzmine is like a butterfly…she flutters all over the place and when you see her, she is always smiling and happy”. Jazzmine is an awesome young lady and a wonderful example to all kids.

JJ (Jennifer) Johnson is 13 years old and in the 8^th grade at Faith Christian School. She has been dancing for ten years and enjoys all dances. Her favorite style of dance is Tap followed closely by Ballet. She delights as an Assistant Ballet Teacher for the little ones as well and they love Miss JJ because “She’s sooo nice.” She manages to get straight A’s, even though she spends hours texting her friends (when do you do homework?). Her favorite color is green and her favorite food is Chocolate!!! JJ likes to go to the beach and turns into a giddy little kid once her toes hit the sand. JJ has an older brother, Kyle, who is also her personal driver. JJ’s Mom and Dad would like her to know that they are very proud of her. Keep up the great work, JJ!!!

Timarie Phillips is 11 years old and attends Brittan Elementary School as a 6^th grader. She has been dancing since she was 8 and loves Lyrical. This is her first year on Team JDE. She enjoys school and hanging out with her friends. Her favorite subject in school is Math. In her free time, she likes to ride her bike and swim. Her absolute favorite color is Orange. Timarie wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She has two older brothers (Steven,19 & Mark,16) and an older sister (Kaylee,14). Timarie and her brothers are involved in drama productions in school and love “hamming” it up. Timarie is a bundle of energy and fun. Timarie says “My family supports me in all I do and I’m thankful”. We are grateful that you are a part of Team JDE family as well.

Tesh-Ann Silveira is a 15 year old Sophomore at River Valley High School. She has been dancing for 12 years and has been a member of Team JDE for 7 years. Tesh-Ann lives with her Mom and Dad in Yuba City and has a 20 year-old older brother attending Humboldt State. Her favorite colors are green and purple but is currently on a big Zebra print phase. Favorite food=Junk…would rather snack than eat a real meal. When not dancing (“What?”), Tesh-Ann enjoys going to the beach in the Summer, snowboarding in the Winter, and hanging out with her friends. She is never far away from her phone and her parents feel that she is training for the next Texting Competition. Tesh-Ann also helps out the younger dancers as an Assistant Teacher (including for the current Peewee team) and frequently shows her versatility by filling in and readily jumping into spots (from absent dancers) thus helping the choreographers achieve their vision. We are lucky to have this talented young lady dancing for Team JDE.

This 11 year old has a passion for dance! Hannah Hawkins is a sixth grader at Faith Christian School. She spends most of her time outside school at Jacque’s attending and assisting dance classes. She lives in Yuba City with her Mom and Dad and little sister, Haley. She has been dancing at Jacque’s for more than 7 years and a member of Team JDE for 4 years. One of her personal accomplishments in dance is winning a Co-Dance scholarship last year. Her favorite style of dance is Jazz and favorite color is purple. Hannah loves to go on vacation at places like Lake Tahoe, Sun River, Seaside, Las Vegas, Washington, and Disneyland. She loves to spend time on the beach building sand castles and picking up seashells. Hannah likes to swim, ride her bike, and snow ski. She dislikes tomatoes. She plays volleyball and softball on her school team. Her grades are usually A’s (awesome!). Hannah’s family would like to say that they are proud of her and love her very much.

Lauren Bartlett has been dancing for 6 years and this is her 2^nd year on Team JDE. This 6^th grader just turned 12 years old and attends Butte Vista Elementary School. She lives in Yuba City with her Mom and Dad and little sister, Lindsey. She loves hanging out with her friends and babysitting her baby cousin, Thomas. Lauren is looking forward to taking formal babysitting courses in November so she can start making $$$. Her favorite foods are chicken, steamed broccoli, and ice cream (Yum). She dislikes carrots and tomatoes. She was active in Girl Scouts for 7 years but decided to take a break this year and focus just on dance. Lauren’s favorite dance is Lyrical. She is also looking forward to learning Tap soon. Dance has been her passion since she was a baby: dancing in her high chair at restaurants, and bobbing her head to the beat of the music while in her car seat to the delight of her parents!!! She is now delighting audiences as well… Keep on dancing, Lauren!!!

Brianna Houston is 14 years old and a freshman at Yuba City High. She just finished her first season as a cheerleader for the Freshman Football team and loved it. Brianna has been dancing for 11 years and started with Ballet with Ms. Carolyn. She had the honor of dancing for the Sacramento Ballet Nutcracker as a doll, a teeny tiny mouse, and two years as a cherub. Over the years, she began taking more classes including two of her faves, lyrical and tap. Brianna has been an assistant teacher to Ms. Andrea (on Saturdays) for 3-4 years now and enjoys her ‘little kids’, which is great practice because she wants to be a teacher someday. This will be Brianna’s 4th year on the Team JDE. Her dance friends are also some of her best friends. Thank you Ms. Jacque for having her in a Trio with her buddies, Morgen and JJ. When not dancing, Brianna likes to hang out with her bestie Tesh-Ann, watching TV shows like ‘Jon & Kate Plus8’ who she would like to offer her services as a babysitter. Brianna loves the beach and Disneyland (and her fave, Goofy). Her favorite food is Tri-tip, crab, artichokes, and chicken Caesar salad. The only veggie she’ll eat is corn and dislikes squash and okra. Brianna has gone a long way from her first dance recital as a ‘little chickie’ where there were yellow feathers everywhere. Now, she’s spreading her genuine heart and smile on stage.

Isabelle Schicht is 10 years old and attends Lincrest School as a 5th grader. She is an Honor Roll student and her favorite subject is Math. She started dancing at 4 (Tap) then progressed to taking more styles of dance over the years. This is Belle’s 4th year on Team JDE. She loves being a part of the team and being with all the other dancers. Before dance, she took Gymnastic lessons and now tries to hone her skills on her own. She is an assistant teacher for Ms Janelle’s Acrobatic class. She also assists for Ms Jacque’s Jazz and Ms Andrea’s Funky Jazz classes. Belle’s favorite style of dance is Musical Theater. When she isn’t dancing (What?), she likes to camp, hike, fish, bike ride, play with her pets, and veg in front of the TV. Belle won the “Physical Fitness Super Star” award last year at her school. Her favorite color is purple. She loves Hamburger Helper Stroganoff (who doesn’t?) and dislikes asparagus (who doesn’t?). Much to her mother’s worry, Belle is a daredevil and loves being part of any lifts that Ms Jacque will put her in. Belle has won “KAR Kids Award” for two years now and is hoping that one of these times, her parents will actually let her go to New York. Keep flying high, Belle.

Courtney Vaars is 11 years old and a 5th grader at Lincrest Elementary. She has been dancing for five years and this is her 3rd year on Team JDE. She lives in Marysville. Courtney has 1 sister (Dominique), 3 stepsisters (Brianna, Amanda,& Kaley), and 2 stepbrothers (Ray & Mason). Her favorite style of dance is Lyrical and would like to perform a lyrical solo in the future. Her favorite food is lasagna (Yum). Her favorite school subject is Math. Courtney dislikes going to sleep and doing homework (but kids have to do homework And have to sleep!). Her favorite color is black. Courtney wants to be a Chef and an actor when she grows up. In her free time, she likes to go tubing, knee boarding, camping, fishing, swimming, spending time with her friends, and playing with Buford (her basset hound). Courtney is funny and very lovable to her friends (most of them, dance with her)…that shows on stage.

15 years old, Kelsey Cena is a member of the Senior Competition team for Team JDE. She has been dancing since the age of 4 when she begged her parents to take ballet. Now she is in her 7th year on Team JDE, studying everything from jazz, Lyrical, Tap, and her favorite style of dance, Contemporary. Kelsey knows that dance will be a part of her life forever. This sophomore attending Marysville Charter Academy of the Arts, not only commits 12-15 hours a week to the dance studio, but also maintains a 4.0 GPA while taking college-prep and honors level courses. When she isn’t living at the dance studio or finishing her homework, Kelsey enjoys being around her friends, watching movies, reading the Jane Austen novels, or shopping. Her favorite show is “So You Think You Can Dance?” (vote for Kelsey in a couple of years!!!). She likes eating ice cream and hanging out with her friends. Kelsey is also involved with school activities as the sophomore class president, a peer counselor, and a member of the Friends of Rachel club. After graduating high school, Kelsey plans to attend Chapman University or Loyola Marymount as a double major focusing on dance and European History. Kelsey’s personal dance accomplishments include: scholarships from Co-Dance, Hollywood Connection, and DEA as well as invitations to summer workshops through KAR and Hall of Fame Dance. She has also placed in the top ten soloists for various competitions, as well as participated in the final rounds for Spotlight dance downs. Kelsey says that dance has given her an outlet through which to express herself. The complexity of the art form is what attracts Kelsey to dance and what keeps her hours or training and rehearsal exciting. We Love Kelsey!!!

This 6th grader is 11 years old and attends Riverbend. Alexis Dewitt lives in Yuba City with her Mom and Dad and younger brother, Brandon. Lexi has a dog named Ruff and a fish named Squirm. She has been dancing since she was three when she took Tap classes at JDE. Eventually, she began to take Jazz and Ballet and even added Lyrical this year. Her favorite style of dance is Tap. This is her second year as a member of Team JDE and thinks it has been very fun and a great way to make new friends. Her BFF is Samantha C. and they attend Riverbend and JDE together (just try to separate these two). Her favorite thing about dance is learning new things all the time. Lexi’s favorite food is Macaroni and Cheese and does not like seafood. She does like salmon, especially when made by her favorite cook, Craig (Sami’s Dad). Lexi’s favorite color is brown and her favorite subject in school is PE. Lexi is one of the best runners in her school…her Dad thinks that she may be in the wrong sport and she may have to do more running and go to the Olympics (!!!) someday…but Alexis is still dancing!!!

Rennu Sandhu has been dancing for 3 and a half years now. This beautiful young lady is 12 years old and attends Barry Elementary School as a 7th grader. This is her first year on Team JDE. She truly has a passion for dancing since she was a little girl. She dances her way around at home always. She lives in Yuba City with her Mom, Dad, and Grandparents. Rennu’s favorite style of dance is lyrical followed by Tap. She loves assistant teaching Jazz (Ms Andrea) for the little ones. Rennu also enjoys acting. She played Lucy in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” production earlier this year. Her favorite things to do besides dancing are spending time with her cousins, shopping, watching movies, and texting! Rennu’s favorite colors are purple and orange. She likes spaghetti and ice cream. Rennu’s family would like to say that they are very proud of her and to “keep doing what you love.” Rennu may be an only child, but now she has 28 brothers and sisters on Team JDE.

Nik Mehta is a 15 y/o sophomore at River Valley High. Nik has been dancing for 10 years and a member of the competition team for 6 years. His favorite styles of dance are Tap and Hip-hop. Nik likes basketball, playing Guitar Hero, swimming, and reading…And dislikes chores and sushi (Kids, we will not push the sushi issue but you still have to do chores!!!). He lives in Yuba City with his Mom, Dad, and younger brother. His older sister is a freshman at St. Mary’s College. Besides dance, Nik is involved in sports (basketball and cross country), leadership, and maintains an A average. This bright young man has also received multiple Academic awards: including Top Math and Science Student as well as Presidential Award for Academics. Nik started dancing after watching his sister perform at Jacque’s first recital 10 years ago. Nik has received multiple awards in dance, including: JDE’s Tap dancer of the Year 2002, Hip-Hopper of the Year 2004, Co Dance scholarship award, JDE Student of the Year 2008, and recently had the honor of performing with Greg Russell’s Tap into the Network in Southern California where select participants werechosen from all over the world (Awesome, Nik!!!). We would like to Thank Nik for being a wonderful role model for all the kids.