Sunny Herman has studied dance for 18 years.  During her childhood she traveled throughout the Southern region of United States competing in various dance competitions winning many titles. Sunny has also taken lessons in master tap classes from the late Henry La Tang who was a mentor and teacher to many including Gregory Hines and Savion Glover.   She also traveled to several clogging workshops throughout Missouri.  Herman has competed with her past Junior High and High School teams in gymnastics as well. She has five years of gymnastics training that she uses in combination with her dance instruction.  Sunny Herman lives here in Hot Springs with her husband Mitchell Herman and their two children Laney (8) and Landon (1).  This will be the 5^th year Sunny has worked with Patty Tackett at Dance City.

Brooke Smith Howard has been dancing since the age of three. She is professionally trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop, and Broadway and has studied at UALR under the direction of Dot Callenen - Gravitt and at Henderson State University under the direction of Jennifer Maddox,  where she was also on dance company.  Brooke has traveled all over the U.S. performing with dance companies, competing in dance competitions, and taking master classes at conventions such as Tremaine, Dance Olympus, and Dance Masters of America. She is a former captain of the UCA Honeybears and danced with them for two years.  Currently she is the preschool director at Hot Springs Baptist Church and resides in Hot Springs with her husband Scott and three children, Hayden, Savannah, and Anna Kate.

Stacey Webb Pierce is a native of Hot Springs. She began taking dance lessons at the age of 2 in Hot Springs and Little Rock. Her 16 years of dance training include tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, contemporary, broadway, and classical pointe ballet, including a performance in the Arkansas Ballet Nutcracker. In 2001, Stacey received her B.A. in psychology from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Stacey is the Public Relations Director at Genesis Cancer Center, and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Organizational and Human Resource Development from Abilene Christian University. Stacey and her husband Thomas have one daughter, Elli. This will be Stacey’s second year teaching for Dance City.

Sara Stathakis Runyon has been involved in dance for a number of years. Her love for dance started at age four, taking lessons in tap, jazz, ballet and pointe in Hot Springs.  Sara was a member of the Lakeside Golddusters dance team, where she was later named Captain of her squad and performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sara became a teacher at Dance City during its inaugural year. Sara received a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She is currently a Pre-K teacher with the Lakeside School District. Sara and her husband, Jeff, welcomed their first child, Samantha Grace, in September 2008. This will be her fifth year as a choreographer and instructor at Dance City.

Juli Stoyanov began dancing at age three while growing up in Hot Springs. For all three years of high school, Juli was a member of the Lakeside Golddusters (Co-Captain 2001-2002, Captain 2002-2003) while teaching at Dance City.  Juli attended the University of Central Arkansas, and danced on the UCA Honeybears Dance Team, which placed 7^th in the Universal Dance Association National Competition. She graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education and currently teaches first grade at Oaklawn Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School.  She just recently returned from the well-known Beginnings Workshop in New York where she studied acting, singing, and dancing with current stars in the entertainment industry. This will be Juli’s fifth year teaching for Dance City Studio.

Courtney Tackett is the daughter of Dance City’s owner, Patty Tackett. She began dancing at age two. Courtney was a member of the very first Ram Dance Team at Lakeside Jr. High (Co-Captain 2000-2001). She was selected as a Universal Dance Association All-Star, performing at the Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was a Lakeside Goldduster during the teams’ three year dynasty as State Champions (Captain 2003-2004). In college, Courtney was a Universal Dance Association Instructor, member of the UCA Honeybears Dance Team, and was Miss UCA 2006. After graduating from UCA, Courtney completed a Dietetic Internship at Southeast Missouri State University. This will be her fourth year on staff at Dance City.

Patty Tackett, owner of Dance City Studio, is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas. Patty studied under Glen Irby of Conway and later taught for Irby studios. She took dance at Kansas University and classes under Gus Giordano. She is a member of the National Association of Schools of Dance, Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, PEO, National Association of Executive and Professional Women, Lifetime Member of Junior Auxiliary, and an Arkansas Delegate for National Dance Week. Patty is the Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen and Miss Arkansas Pageant Princess Choreographer. She is the 2009 "Woman of the Year" for the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and is the Spa City Business Owner of the Year 2008.  She has been married to David Tackett for 32 years and they have 3 children, Bryan, Chris, and Courtney.